TESTIMONIES/SORROW-PAIN

God Is Good All the Time And All the Time God Is Good

walkingbyfaith.us In the Sunset of Our Lives Yet On the Dawn of Eternity

Testimony

Gayle MacNair

Gayle MacNair was born Gayle Fleishman in Los Angeles, CA just three weeks after Pearl Harbor. She attended school in Los Angeles and then went to work in the insurance field. She worked for John MacNair and ended up marrying him in 1971.

They were married in her parents’ home by her Rabbi. He had four children, so Gayle decided to stay at home be a stay-at-home mom. John eventually sold the insurance agency. They opened a restaurant on the Malibu Pier.

Gayle worked with him until she got pregnant with her son, Karl.

In 1990 they sold the restaurant and their home in Malibu and moved to Southern Oregon. They had visited it before and fell in love with it! They bought a home on the Applegate River outside of Ruch.

Gayle was raised in the Jewish religion, and she went to Temple and religious school from age five until she was confirmed and continued attending until she was 21.

At that time, she saw some women elders of the Temple, sitting in the bathroom smoking on Yom Kippur, and she never went back, except for her mother’s memorial service. She spent 20 years searching, and she and John looked into some other religious beliefs.

Her son’s babysitter invited her to a Bible study in Malibu, and she kept refusing to go, until she heard the Lord ask, “Why are you refusing Me?” Gayle answered, “Ok, I will go and find out what this is all about!” She accepted Jesus when she heard the Gospel for the first time, and she was flabbergasted!

Gayle tells of being a new believer and giving her parents a book about a Jewish couple who sent their daughter to college, and she came back a Christian. Gayle believes it changed her mother’s life, before she died a few years later. Gayle was on the floor crying out to the Lord about where her mother was, and she heard Him say, “Don’t fret, she is with me.” That was the start of Gayle’s deeper faith in Him.

Gayle was 42 when she accepted the Lord, and although John came from a Christian family, he did not have a personal relationship with Jesus until a year or so before he went to Heaven on March 23, 2006, nearly 20 years ago.

They came to Applegate to visit and as they passed ACF, she felt the Spirit, and turned to look at her husband and said, “We have to move here!”

So, they did make the move and Gayle started attending ACF two months later.

Three of Gayle’s four stepchildren live here in Medford. Her son Karl and his wife Noelle also live in Medford. Gayle also has five grandchildren, ranging from age 11 to 36. She also has five great grandchildren.

Gayle is active in her retirement with many church activities (such as 55 Live) and other Bible studies, plus she enjoys exercising.

We are blessed to have a Messianic Jew in our congregation….we can learn a lot about Jewish history from her!!!

Testimony

pat smith

A Favorite Verse - “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

Why?: So many examples, but the big one was back in the 90’s when our house burned down. Our four kids were young. We lived in an older 2-story farmhouse. I awoke in the middle of the night to find the house on fire.

We literally barely escaped with our lives…quite a story in itself. We lost every physical thing we owned, except our car. No insurance as we were renters.

Out of that a kind realtor comes and got us involved in a program for “low income” folks to qualify for a loan to build a house on an acre of land in a rural area.

God is good!

Within a year we had a brand new 3-bedroom home on an acre of land behind the school here in Ruch. An absolute miracle from an awesome God.

To heavy to bear

A Glass of Water

During one lecture, a professor suddenly picked up a glass of water and held it up. He stood there quietly, just holding it, as the students began to glance at each other, waiting for an explanation. Ten minutes passed, and he still didn’t lower his arm.

Finally, he asked: “Tell me, how much do you think this glass weighs?”

The students started guessing: “Maybe a couple of ounces!”

“Four ounces!”

“Five!”

The professor smiled. “Honestly, I don’t know either. To find out, we’d have to weigh it. But that’s not the real question. What happens if I hold this glass for a few minutes?”

“Nothing,” the students replied.

“Right. Now, what if I hold it for an hour?”

“Your arm will start to hurt,” one answered.

“Correct. And what if I try to hold it all day?”

“Your arm would go numb, you’d be in serious pain, maybe even need medical help,” another said as the class laughed.

The professor nodded calmly. “Exactly. But tell me—did the weight of the glass ever change?”

“No,” came the reply.

“So why the pain in the arm? Why the tension in the muscles?”

The room fell silent.

Then he asked: “What should I do to get rid of the pain?”

“Put the glass down,” someone said.

“Exactly!” the professor exclaimed. “Life’s problems work the same way. If you carry them in your head for a few minutes, it’s no big deal. Think about them for too long, and they start to hurt. Dwell on them all day, and they paralyze you—you won’t be able to do anything else.”

He paused, then finished with this: “That’s why it’s so important to put your problems down at the end of each day. Don’t go to bed carrying the weight of them. Rest, recharge, and you’ll wake up ready to face tomorrow with strength and clarity.”

pain

jesus knows your hurt - Song by Dallas Holm

The pain some people bear
No one would believe
The hurt that's sometimes there
Makes it hard to see
That in the darkest hour
There is still a way
Listen to these simple words I say

Jesus knows your hurt
Jesus feels your pain
Jesus knows just how you feel
’Cause He's felt just the same
Jesus knows your need
Better than you do
Just hold on to Jesus
He's holding on to you

Sometimes you feel alone
Does He really care?
Has He left you on your own?
And does He hear your prayer?
Well, He has never left you
Or forsaken you one day
Listen to these simple words I say

Jesus knows your hurt
Jesus feels your pain
Jesus knows just how you feel
’Cause He's felt just the same
Jesus knows your need
Better than you do
Just hold on to Jesus
He's holding on to you
Just hold on to Jesus
He's holding on to you

sorrow - grief

Grief is an emotion common to the human experience, and we witness the process of grief throughout the biblical narrative. Multiple Bible characters experienced deep loss and sadness, including Job, Naomi, Hannah, and David. Even Jesus mourned (John 11:35; Matthew 23:37-39).

After Lazarus died, Jesus went to the village of Bethany, where Lazarus was buried. When Jesus saw Martha and the other mourners weeping, He also wept. He was moved by their grief and also by the fact of Lazarus’s death.

The astounding thing is that, even though Jesus knew He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, He chose to partake of the grief of the situation. Jesus truly is a high priest who can “sympathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15).

One step in overcoming grief is having the right perspective on it. First, we recognize that grief is a natural response to pain and loss. There is nothing wrong with grieving. Second, we know that times of grief serve a purpose.

Ecclesiastes 7:2 says, “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.”

This verse implies that grief can be good because it can refresh our perspective on life. Third, we remember that feelings of grief are temporary. “Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). There is an end to mourning. Grief has its purpose, but it also has its limit.

Through it all, God is faithful.

There are many Scriptures that remind us of God’s faithfulness in times of mourning. He is with us even in the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4).

When David sorrowed, he prayed this in Psalm 56:8: “You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?” (ESV). The touching image of God catching our tears is full of meaning. He sees our grief and does not disdain it.

Like Jesus entered into the grief of the mourners in Bethany, God enters into our grief. At the same time, He reassures us that all is not lost. Psalm 46:10 reminds us to “be still” and rest in the knowledge that He is God. He is our refuge

(Psalm 91:1-2). He works all things together for the good of those He has called (Romans 8:28).

An important part of overcoming grief is expressing it to God. The Psalms contain numerous examples of pouring out one’s heart to God. Interestingly, the psalmist never ends where he began.

He may start a psalm with expressions of grief, but, almost invariably, he will end it with praise (Psalm 13; Psalm 23:4; Psalm 30:11-12; Psalm 56). God understands us (Psalm 139:2).

When we commune with Him, we are able to open our minds to the truth that He loves us, that He is faithful, that He is in control, and that He knows how He is going to work it out for our good.

Another important step in overcoming grief is to share it with others. The body of Christ is designed to ease the burdens of its individual members (Galatians 6:2), and fellow believers have the ability to “mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15).

Often, the grieving tend to shun others, increasing feelings of isolation and misery. It is much healthier to seek counseling, and group settings can be invaluable. Groups offer listening ears and helpful encouragement, camaraderie, and guidance in working through the grief. When we share our stories with God and others, our grief is lessened.

Sadly, grief is part of the human experience. Loss is part of life, and grief is a natural response to loss. But we have the hope of Christ, and we know that He is strong enough to carry our burdens (Matthew 11:30). We can give our hurt to Him because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).

We can find solace in the Holy Spirit, our Comforter and Paraclete (John 14:16). In grief, we cast our burdens on Him, rely on the community of the church, delve into the truth of the Word, and ultimately experience hope (Hebrews 6:19-20).

walkingbyfaith.us In the Sunset of Our Lives Yet On the Dawn of Eternity

Encourage One Another

WHEN LIFE IS HARD

never alone

Testimony

Gayle MacNair

Testimony

pat smith

To heavy to bear

A Glass of Water

Precious truth

jeremiah 1:5

Day 41 is coming

pain

jesus knows your hurt - Song by Dallas Holm

sorrow - grief

loss

PAIN