April 2010 Simply Praise

Simply Praise
1 Ch. 29:13 “Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.
(A monthly meditation considering our God)

Where Does My Help Come From?

Psalm 121:1-8
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
My help cometh from the Lord. Throughout my life I have faced personal summits that at times have seemed more than I could bear. But looking back I can see the hand of God reaching down from heaven and pulling me up one step at a time. Catching me when I fall, covering me when I needed rest, and always giving me the courage to carry on. I will not compare myself with others whose mountains are higher and more rugged than mine. That would be foolish. For not all summits are the same, each posses its own unique challenges. I’ve never climbed a real mountain before, but I’ve reached the summit of spiritual ones. I’ve never fallen off a real cliff, but I have fallen off a spiritual one. I like the fact that God, the LORD neither slumbers nor sleeps, He is ever watching me. Mindful of my every step. My help cometh from the Lord. There is a story of courage and faith on page two that I love, because it reminds me of how the Holy Spirit guides us through life's dangers, joys, decisions and more. My whole life is a testimony of Gods mighty hand of mercy, grace, salvation and everything in between. Its hard to pinpoint just one miracle when every breath and heartbeat sings of His miraculous beauty. If you are facing a summit of whatever size, be it a hill, or as high as the clouds, if you allow God’s Holy Spirit to guide you, and listen as He calls out instructions then I know you’ll reach the top. Faith, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, that’s something real to hold onto. D.M.

Higher Summits
by Tonya Stoneman

Equipped with trust, courage, faith & prayer, Eric Alexander lives each day to reach higher summits. When Eric Alexander climbed the razor-thin ridge of Mt. Everest’s South Summit, he looked to his left at a 10,000-foot vertical fall into Tibet, then to his right at a 7,000-foot fall into Nepal. “If you’re gonna fall, fall right,” he mused. Eric is a world class adventurer with an uncommon affinity for conquering extreme challenges, but his deepest passion is helping other people triumph over adversity in their lives. It is his servant’s heart that drove him to the pinnacle of Everest when critics and naysayers abounded. The expedition was unlike any other in history, he guided a blind man to the top of the world’s highest peak. Eric had guided his blind friend, Erik Weihenmayer, on other formidable climbs. The two made an attempt at Ama Dablam in the Himalayas but were turned back by a menacing storm. They spent six days pinned to a ledge after they had called the expedition off. In spite of inhospitable conditions, the trip was memorable and solidified their friendship. “He always makes fun of me,” says Eric, in a typically whimsical and self-effacing way, “because I forgot my book-you always pack a light paperback. He said, ‘What are you gonna do?’ I said, ‘This is a beautiful mountain. I’ll go outside and meditate and reflect on my life.’ ‘Twenty minutes later I was back in the tent.” interminable boredom, bad food, “spam, cabbage, potatoes, and more spam” extreme cold, discomfort, and physical pain are par for the course on voyages like this. “On my way down, I stepped on a rock that moved on me,” Eric recalls. “Kind of like standing on a diving board over a cliff and then it snaps, that kind of thing. It was a 500-foot cliff, and I fell 150 feet.” Miraculously, he landed on a three-foot ledge, which he likens to the arms of an angel. He was taken off the mountain by a helicopter, because his lungs were filling with fluid and pulmonary edema was setting in. despite the fall, Weihenmayer asked Eric to guide him again, this time up Everest. Just three months before the expedition, Eric experienced an Everest in his personal life when his best friend and prayer partner, Joseph, died tragically. “He was a lot like the biblical Joseph,” says Eric. “He just had that kind of character and integrity. Unbelievable. Great guy. He was out snowboarding by himself one day in the back country in Vail and went over the edge of a cliff and landed upside down and suffocated. We went out looking for him, a few of us friends. We found him in the snow. That was the hardest thing for me ever. Holding him there. My best friend.” the only thing Eric took with him to the top of Everest was his friend’s picture. When he summated, a gust of wind blew the photo into Tibet. “Joseph would have liked that,” he says. Girded by the prayers of his family and friends, Eric pursued his trip to Nepal. “I had a feeling of confidence from my family, not just my immediate family, but the church. I knew there were a lot of people praying. As you’re stepping out in your faith and exercising it, you need to be supported in prayer. That was critical for me. I could feel it, that there were a thousand people who were praying. I’d never experienced anything like that, that kind of confidence. I knew it was coming from God because people were petitioning on my behalf through prayer.” Psalm 121 was particularly helpful: will lift my eyes up to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” The trek was sobering and at times intimidating. Crevasses threaten to swallow climbers, who must negotiate ice fields, falling boulders, and even dead bodies along the way. “There are a lot of times where you’re forced to depend on God, because there’s no other way,” says Eric. “There are no atheists on Everest. Once you move up onto the mountain, everybody’s got faith. I can’t tell you how many guys promise me that they’re going to church when they get home. I’ll be reading my Bible, and they’ll say, “What are you reading? Or “Why don’t you pray for us?, that kind of stuff. The intensity of it makes you want something more.” there is a notorious ladder, actually multiple ladders tied together with ropes and anchored on the sides of crevasses that his team named the “Jesus Ladder.” “If you don’t believe before you cross it, you will when you’re on it,” quips Eric. He trusts his comrades with his life and takes available opportunities to share his faith with them in ways they understand. He prays with them crises arise, Serves them when he can, and shares the Gospel with them if they express interest, He held an Easter sunrise on Everest, which ten climbers attended. Trust is an essential character trait for those who traverse the mountain. “You need to trust. You need to have faith, perseverance, discipline, integrity, and leadership,” says Eric. “All these principles are true in life, but the mountain really draws them out and makes them directly applicable. You can’t hide when you’re on the mountain. Your weaknesses and strengths are exposed.” these are the principles Eric spends his life imparting to others. He marvels at his blind friend who has never seen him, yet trusts him enough to follow him through dangers and snares. “Without trust, Erik wouldn’t get very far,” he says. “That’s the way I think of God. It takes courage to follow Him. Courage is not the absence of fear, but it’s moving forward in spite of your fear.” this is the way Weihenmayer has learned to live his life, with a little help from his friend. “Eric’s efforts on the climb were heroic,” says Weihenmayer. “He was like my guardian angel.” Summiting Everest was a personal victory for Eric, but his greater joy came from helping another reach the top. His ultimate desire is to use his own life and skills in ways that enable others to reach out and embrace their dreams. When not instructing disabled skiers in Vail, Colorado, Eric directs Adventures Beyond Limits, an organization that educates, encourages, and provides opportunities for youth with disabilities to experience the great outdoors. He has just taken 18 high school kids, half of them blind, on a 30-mile trek through Peruvian Andes. He will take those same kids to Mt. Kilimanjaro in February. His website, www.highersummits.com, posts travel logs of his expeditions. Since his return from Everest, Eric has been instrumental in Weihenmayer’s pursuing his goal of summiting the highest points on each of the seven continents. The two have been to Australia’s Mt. Kosciusko and Russia’s Mt. Elbrus, and have also traveled to New Zealand, where they met the esteemed Edmond Hillary and climbed Mt. Cook. When they aren’t climbing, they enjoy skydiving, and skiing. The ever-faithful guide, Eric calls out helpful navigational suggestions to his friend: “Death-drop two feet to your right. Cliff directly in front of you. Two thousand-foot drop-off…”
(Article found in “In Touch magazine, pages 10-15.)


Storms
Sometimes the storms of life have a way of blinding my eyes. Sometimes the dark clouds cast shadows covering my heart. Sorrow begins to build and my hope to wan. Then I cry. Oh my Lord, my heart cries out for Your mercy. Open my eyes, that I might see Your beauty in the storm. Let me see Lord that with these clouds You bring fresh water to my thirsty soul. Open my eyes that I might see You, Lord, in the midst of all these things. For You neither faint nor are You weary. Therefore my hope is renewed, as my eyes stay fixed on You. Every storm You’re beauty shines through, open my eyes, to see You. D.E.M

His Strength, or Mine?

Have you ever faced a flight of stairs that were more in number than 150 steps? At first glance they don’t seem to foreboding, until you actually begin to climb. At first you’re going strong than some where in the middle things get tougher, and three quarters of the way up you feel like you’re dying. You’re legs are shaking, you’re breathing hard, heart pounding faster and harder, and you suddenly realize, I’m out of shape! And you need to stop and sit and rest, until you can take one more step up. In our own strength, when we try to climb up from the bottom of any, and every trial or circumstance, we may get part way thinking we can do this, but we will become weary, and some will give up, and some will fall, and some will even die, because the strain was just to much. It is not meant that we should carry burdens or face uphill trials alone, but we are to share each others burdens. Isaiah 40:31 says; “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” I tend not to seek help from others and I often get weary under the strain of circumstances. But God is teaching me the necessity of waiting on Him. I can only go so far in my own strength, but with Him, I can fly like the eagles! Isaiah 41:13 “For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee. Fear not; I will help thee.” how beautiful is that! Whose strength are you relying on? (D.E.M)

The Positive Power of Courage


Read Joshua 1:1-9; What do the following people have in common:
Joshua, the Israelite leader; Daniel, the visionary; Jesus’ 12 disciples; and the apostle Paul? Besides loving God, they all were in need of courage. Obeying the Lord required bravery, a firmness of spirit that could face crises without retreating. Appointed by God, Joshua was to lead the nation into the Promised Land. Perhaps he thought, Who an I to follow in Moses’ footsteps? Or What if the people will not support my leadership? God spoke reassuringly to him three times, telling him to be strong and courageous. Joshua responded affirmatively and built his bravery on two precious assurances.
Promise #1-God travels with us.
The Lord pledged He would be with the Israelites in the new land, never leaving or forsaking them. In Hebrews 13:5, He makes the same promise to us. In fact, the Lord travels with us in a far more intimate way, through His Spirit living within us. Promise #2-God goes before us.
God promised to take care of the enemy before the Israelites arrived. They still faced battles, but He assured them of victory if they had faith and obeyed. Jesus has gone ahead of us to heaven with the spiritual battle already won.
Our redemption has been secured, our place in God’s family permanently established, and our heavenly inheritance guaranteed. While our earthly trials continue, they are temporary.
If you build your life on these two pledges, then courageous will become part of your name. why not try out how it will sound Courageous_______________