Saul´s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and

                                helped him find strength in God.   -  1 Samuel 23:16.

     Cancer treatments and surgery were dark clouds on my horizon when I received an unexpected package in the mail. What could it be ? I wondered. As I opened it, light broke through the shadows of my circumstances. A hand-knitted shawl lay folded beneath a letter. The letter explained that a group of knitters had passed this shawl from woman to woman, each one praying for me by name. I gratefully lifted their gift from the box, tears streaming down my face. Then I took the prayer shawl and gently placed it on my shoulders. I felt the concern of those women wrap around me like a warm hug. I felt their love and prayers, and I was strengthened and encouraged.

     Some folks make casseroles. Some provide transportation or financial help. Some send cards and make phone calls. And some knit prayer shawls. Regardless of the gifts at our disposal, each one of us is called to offer those gifts back to God by serving one another. When I think about the encouragement I have received, I am eager to use the gifts God has given me to strengthen and encourage others.

                                                Karen M.Sudduth (Mississippi)

                                      --------------------------------

     Job worked patiently and faithfully for over 30 years to do God´s work on Earth. But no encouragement was ever forthcoming throughout his toil and pain and sicknesses.

     Then a little child came forth with the first encouragement in his life, and may God bless you always, Linda. Later Jen from China and David Whitham from England were added unto 

Job´s blessings with their love and encouragement. Neither God nor Job shall ever forget their kindness and generous hearts. May God´s abundant blessings come upon them, because they put healing balm upon a soul in great distress. For the marks of Christ are in Job´s hands and feet.

                                            S.R.Haralds, Reykjavík 25.1.2012, 11.30 pm.

                                 "Can any of you by worrying add a single hour

                                  to your span of life?"   - Matth. 6:27.

     Many times I have observed my four-year-old son calmly sleeping. His face reflects peace, a tranquility that comes from knowing that his parents are there to care and provide for him.

    My job and the realities of the economic crisis bring me moments of intense anguish and doubt. Sucked into these feelings, I forget God´s promise. When I close my eyes and think, no matter the depth of my anguish, I know I cannot rely on my own resources and strength. God is my strength and confirms each day the promise to stand by me.

     In those moments, I think about the peace I see in my son; and I feel close to God. I will never abandon my son. Nor will he ever want for anything I can provide. In the same way, I believe that God knows what I need and will provide. Like my son, I want to rest, in trust that I am loved.

Prayer: Gracious God, renew our faith each day. In you, we want for nothing.

We pray as Jesus taught us:

                             Our Father and Creator,

Prayer Focus :  The children in my life.

                                                            Carolina Maria Agudelo (Cali, Columbia)

                                      ---------------------------------

                             Are you ever burdened with a load of care?

                             Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?

                             Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,

                             And you will be singing as the days go by.     -  Oatman.

                                            --------------------

                               S.R.Haralds, Reykjavík 22.1.2012, 3.20 pm.

     Over six decades of genocide by the Jews against the Palestinians !  What is holy about that ? Jesus Christ was born there. He was also crucified there  -  by the Jews ! What is holy about that? Most of the prophets were murdered in the "holy" land. What is holy about that?

     The Jews have taken God´s name Israel, and made themselves the chosen ones ! What is holy about that?  For God´s Is-ra-el are all god-fearing people of whatever nationality or religion !!

     So God has answered the Jews in Palestine with Malachi 1:1-3 and Isaiah 13:19-22, "the people against whom the LORD has indignation FOREVER !"

     The holy land ?? It is full of murder and violence and persecution and apartheid against the rightful owners of the land  -  the Palestinians ! No, there is nothing holy about that.

                                            God´s Chosen Ones.

                          humility, gentleness and patience.  -Colossians 3:12.

                                                  S.R.Haralds, Reykjavík 20.1.2012, 9 pm.

     I bear the marks of Christ on my hands and feet. At times the pain is so sharp that I cry out. This has been going on for over 30 years, Zechariah  12:10-14.

     One day soon the nations of the world will know why Friday the 13th has been hanging over them like a black cloud of dread for centuries, Jeremiah 46:10.

                                 S.R.Haralds, Reykjavík 20.1.2012, 3 pm.

                                My speech and my proclamation were not with

                                plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration

                                of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might 

                                rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.  1 Cor.2:4-5.

     In August 2010 in Chile, the walls of a mine collapsed with a loud noise. Confusion and panic followed  -  then, total silence, total darkness. Underground, 700 meters down, 33 miners were trapped in a copper-and-goldmine. Above ground the families of the miners took up vigil. Camps were set up and the waiting turned into 69 days  -  families sharing the wait and the hope that the miners would be found alive.

     Living outside of relationship with God is similar to being trapped  far underground without light, sound, communication, food or water. The families of the miners were determined to wait for their loved ones for as long as it would take. How much more is God willing to wait for us to turn from our sins ?  And when we do, we are forgiven through grace and drawn close to God.

     Massive human effort and a great deal of money were spent to rescue the miners. But, as impressive as these efforts may be, they are limited. God our Creator has the power to rescue us wherever we are, in whatever darkness, silence, despair, abandonment, illness or need. God´s power is unlimited !

Thought For The Day: Our rescue is the blessing of finding God.

Prayer: Dear God of hope and grace, help us to place our confidence in you, not on what humans can or cannot do. Amen.

Prayer Focus: Miners and their families.

                                                Mila Roxana Guerrero Jaramillo (Biobio, Chile).

                                     ---------------------------------------

                             "Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though

                              God were pleading through us :  we implore you on

                              Christ´s behalf, be reconciled to God."   2 Cor. 5:20

                              The good news of the Comforter Noah is too 

                                MAY THE NAME OF THE LORD OUR GOD,

                             "Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets,

                                             S.R.Haralds, Reykjavík 10.1.2012, 3pm.

     Message for David Roper, Idaho Mountain Ministries : "I did NOT come to bring peace on Earth but division. I AM NOT THE PRINCE OF PEACE. The Prince of Peace is still to come, and he is already on his way. His name is Noah, the Comforter (Gen.5:29 and John 16:7-15). He will bring peace to my people in every nation, religion, tribe or tongues.

     Oh ye of little faith !  I have told you that I would send the Comforter, he who has the Spirit of truth and will lead you into all truth ! He will take from my teachings and make you understand them. But ye are a backsliding people and refuse to listen to my Comforter Noah. Be it unto you as Moses promised, and is also written in The Acts 3:22-23.

     The two archangels Michael and Raphael, known on Earth as Jesus and Moses, have watched over all my work since April 9th, 1978. And they communicate with me daily, awake or asleep. And the third archangel, Gabriel, is also active. He is the one on Earth right now.

                                  Let the fullness of thy Spirit

                                  Fall upon us here this hour.

                                  How we need a new anointing

                                  Of the Holy Spirit´s power.  -  Jarvis.

                                               S.R.Haralds, Reykjavík 9.1.2012, 4.15 pm.

                               "I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD.

                               "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to 

                                give you hope and a future."  - Jeremiah 29:11.

     When I divorced, I wondered if I had wrecked my life. Not only had a disappointed my family, but I am a pastor. I am supposed to set an example for Christian living. How could people take me seriously as a spiritual leader? How could I preach about marriage or covenant  when my marriage had failed ?

     But Jeremiah 29:11 promises that God has good plans for us. A curious detail in that verse has caught my attention. The Scripture doesn´t say  "plan";  it says "plans". The word is plural God has more than one plan. Perhaps God has a Plan A for us; but if we mess up, God has a Plan B. And if Plan B doesn´t work, God has a plan C. And so on.

     I doubt that many of us are living Plan A. And people like me may be rapidly approaching the end of the alphabet. Man y people feel that they have made so many mistakes that if God ever had a plan for them, it must be spoiled. But God does not give up on us. God has more than one way to give us hope and a future. Not only does God have more than one plan; God is at work to fulfill those plans.

Prayer :  Dear God, we give thanks that you do not give up on us.Show us the path you put before us daily, and give us the strength to walk in it.Amen.

Prayer Focus :  Those experiencing divorce.

                                                                       Michael Raypholtz (Ohio)

                                      -------------------------------

     The plans God has for Iceland are that out of this nation will come people to be the light bearers for all the 12 tribes of Is-ra-el, God´s Is-ra-el  (not the Jews in Palestine!). As Christianity came out of Judaism, so will they start a completely new spiritual movement that will come out of Christianity, with the Comforter Noah as their spiritual leader. Because Christianity has nothing to do with Jesus Christ.

                                        Matthew 16:18.

                                                      S.R.Haralds, Reykjavík 7.1.2012, 3 pm.

                                    "Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only,

                                     deceiving yourselves,"  James 1:22.

     When my dad was a young man, someone said to him :"You know, you never give a compliment or say anything good about others."  These words devastated him, but their truth also changed him. He became an affirming, caring and expressive man because he was able to listen and willing to change.

     Generally, we do not like people who tell us the hard truth about ourselves. Today Abraham Lincoln may be revered as one of our greatest U.S.Presidents, but during his lifetime his speaking painful truths got him vilified and hated by many. Martin Luther King, jr. told the hard truth about racism and segregation, and plenty of people hated him for it. Nelson Mandela was thrown into prison for his prophetic stance on apartheid. If Isaiah or Jeremiah or Amos were living today and said what they did back then, we probably wouldn´t admire them as we do now. This is the nature of painful truth  -  it looks better in retrospect.

     After centuries or even decades, it´s easier to fool ourselves into thinking that a message wasn´t intended for us than to act on it. But if we listen to God´s words today and apply them to ourselves, God will help us to change.

Link2Life:Join - or start- a Christian accountability group.

Prayer Focus : Friends who tell me the truth.

                                                       Dan G. Johnson (Florida)

                                  --------------------------------------------

     Winston Churchill once said :"Democracy is the worst possible way to govern, but we have nothing better though we´ve tried other ways."

     And the Bible says :"There is nothing new under the sun."  Corruption has followed mankind since Adam ate the famous apple. Wherever there is money and power, there is corruption. And the higher the office, the more corruption you will find. How can we uproot it as long as man does not obey the ten commandments ? Not even the church going people obey God´s law !  Even the priests are hypocrites as Jesus pointed out 2000 years ago. Yes, mankind is doomed if God would not intervene. But He has all the time in the world, and so He waits. "For the Scriptures must be fulfilled."

                                 S.R.Haralds, Reykjavík 4.1.2012, 00:44 am.

                                     Parents, do not provoke your children, or they

                                     may lose heart.   -  Colossians 3:21.

     Long ago when I had discovered God, I read in the newspaper that the Bible tells parents not to provoke their children. It was a secular newspaper; and for some reason, I could not believe that such words might be in the Bible. From childhood, even when we were far from faith, we heard that we should honor our father and mother if they are god-fearing people. But we did not hear the reverse, that parents should respect their children.

     I immediately opened the Bible and began reading the New Testament, looking for those verses. I did not find the relevant ones at first. But when I found them and understood their meaning, I made them the foundation of my relationship with my daughter.

     They have given me great consolation when I was irritated by the behavior of my child. I have carried them in my heart like a motto;  and on many occasions when bringing up my child was difficult, these words from the LORD gave me strength. My daughter also came to God, and I think that one of the reasons was that I listened to God´s word not to provoke my child but to encourage her.

Prayer:  Dear God our Guide, give us strength always to encourage and respect others.Amen

Prayer Focus : Mothers and daughters.

                                                            Galina Samson (Voronezh, Russia)

                                           ---------------------------

     Something to consider during the coming years.

     "Enemy of the State". Only a movie? Big Brother has been watching you for many decades ! Soon he will be watching you through your television at home, installed in every room, nook and cranny, attic and toilet. And all in the name of security !  They did a good job with 9/11.

                                          S.R.Haralds, Reykjavík 1.1.2012, 2.25 am.

                                  

     God bless Iceland, said Geir Haarde, Prime Minister of Iceland, after the big bank crush in 2008.

     Why should God bless Iceland?  What have they done to deserve His blessings except grow rich and fat, and spend, spend, and spend !! God has already sent two prophets to Iceland to implore them to return to God and seek His advice, one in 1937 and the second in 1978. But this nation is as incorrigible and backsliding as the Jews have always been as the Bible proves throughout. They don´t want to have anything to do with God or His prophets, even if it is Jesus Christ or the Comforter Noah !!  They despised them, ridiculed them, persecuted them and rejected them !  

     Yes, why should God bless Iceland while they are scheming and plotting to take His prophet and do away with him like they did away with Jesus Christ !  For God knows all their secret plans and their darkened hearts against Him and His prophet. Let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like a never-failing stream, and God will surely bless you.  But here the poor,the single mothers, the disabled,the sick and the senior citizens are oppressed and mistreated outrageously, and forced to pay with their small income the debts that the rich and the well to do have accumulated over the years. It is a crime that cries to high heaven. It is so bad that they are forced to go begging for food in a country that has everything. For there is no justice in the land !  And the young people are all more or less into drugs and alcohol, and it cost the government 83 billion a year.

                             "But those who trust in the LORD shall be like a tree

                             planted by water, sending out it´s roots by the stream.

                             It shall not fear when heat comes, and it´s leaves shall

                             stay green;  in the year of drought it is not anxious, and

                             it does not cease to bear fruit,"  Jeremiah 17:8.

                             The power of God can turn a heart

                             From evil and the power of sin;

                             The love of God can change a life

                             And make it new and cleansed within.  -  Fasick.

                                         S.R.Haralds, Reykjavík 27.12.2011, 9 pm.

28.12.2011 Question in Fréttablaðið:  Did you go to church on Christmas? No: 88%, Yes:12%. There you have it, they are not even going on Christmas any more.