Everyday Miracles

Sunrise reflected through
our front door

My life has been filled with trials and miracles, sometimes both at the very same time! God has brought me on a journey to a place of embracing faith and trusting Him through anything. It hasn't been easy, but when we can allow God to speak to us and show us His perspective in any situation or circumstance, we position ourselves for Him to turn what was meant for evil in our lives into blessings--and a miracle occurs each time!

I have been a believer for many years now and have been learning to experience the supernatural on a regular basis. No, I don't talk with angels everyday or see the dead raised, but I do see God's hand in the simplest things sometimes. I have gained insight by traveling through some unbelievably difficult circumstances while learning to trust God finding that He sees things much differently. We don't have to wait until we are at our wits end to ask God to reveal His purpose and plan in our trial. He is waiting to hear us call Him and ask from the beginning, in fact to ask to see His perspective each day when we awake, before we even open our eyes. He desires our friendship so much that He constantly gives little hints of His presence in our lives each and every day--just to see if we will notice and receive His blessing. To me this is the greatest miracle in my life, God loves me! Every moment of every day, in sickness and in health, in my weakness and when I shine with His glory--He knows my heart better than I do myself and God still loves me.

I have traveled through a valley under the shadow of death more than once. An unknown severe blood infection caused my husband to nearly die seven times in 2007. Through the prayers of faith of family and friends from around the world we saw many miraculous healings and financial provision. Without their prayers of faith combined with our absolute trust in our faithful God, we could not have passed through that devastating time. I lived an additional 11 years with a walking and breathing miracle! My husband, Duane, a pastor for many years, was transformed by God's hand into His vessel for His glory. I always believed he was one of God's chosen. He had already been a man of humility and sacrifice with a huge anointing on his life to reach those in Africa, Israel (where we lived) and the nations. But God had even greater plans for his life in his later years. Like Job, whom Satan planned to harm and God planned to bless, Duane’s end was indeed multiplied blessings.

It was an amazing blessing to watch first hand as the anointing of God continued to rest on him, even during his worst health issues, as he spoke prayers and blessings led by the Holy Spirit. His life shone with the reflection of one who has had a brush with death. He often responded with prophetic insight and had a different perspective that could only be known by a gift of knowledge and wisdom from God. Humility and grace abounded in his speech and actions. Watching him walk under a cloud of Father God's favor, where doctors, officials and even strangers treat him with honor like he is an important dignitary was astounding to see. Each of us is living each day in a new revelation of the supernatural. It is an amazing journey that we have only just begun I am sure!

That isn't to say it isn't a difficult journey. Having your husband transformed means he isn't the man you married. That can be a shocking revelation, especially if you really liked the way he was before. But I am also finding that God's grace and mercy in every circumstance is a miracle which abounds towards me as I ask Him to help me through all the little things that can seem so difficult each day. The burdens and responsibilities that have multiplied to my shoulders because of the effects of his illness are impossible for me to bear alone. Yet God says, "Come to me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (KJV)

Every day with God is a miracle as we live as citizens in His Kingdom, all and only for His glory. The showers of His blessings of mercy and grace are the best miracles of all!


**For details of this testimony you can purchase Ruth’s book, Trusting God through the Valley, through the Horizon Ministries website.

The God who answers by fire...

I said, “O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days; Thy years are throughout all generations. Of old hast Thou laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. They shall perish, but Thou shalt endure; yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; and as a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed. But Thou art the same, and Thy years shall have no end." PSALMS 102:24-27

Who is the God who answers by fire?

I can think of many things I would love for God to remove from my life. But what if his fire came and devoured something in my life that I wasn't especially wanting to get rid of just yet? He is a Holy God who is a consuming fire.

Lord, help me to let go of everything that might singe me if I hold on to it.... Because I know that your love is the prize that nothing else could come close to substituting for...

(Reference: 1 Kings 18 - The story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal)

How Excellent is Your Name!

 O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!

Who have set Your glory above the heavens! Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger. When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?

For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen- even the beasts of the field, The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!
Psalm 8 NKJV

I am so thankful for God's grace and mercy as He shows himself Almighty and us as dependent, yet precious children who do mighty deeds in His Name.

No other god claims to love or value his children like our God does.  He is magnificent. The universe He created causes us to stand in awe at his power and creativity. Yet his desire is towards us and He delights in our communion with him. May we recognize our need and privilege to spend time with the Master as He guide us toward Himself so that we reflect Him and His glory more and more.

Baruch HaShem! Blessed be His Name Forever!

 

Oil in Israel

In 1983, the Lord gave me a dream of a map of Israel. At the time I was ignorant of the geographical region of the Middle East and I was unfamiliar with the shape or size of the state of Israel, but I did understand that I was seeing a map of Israel. I was also ignorant of any knowledge of geological makeup of the land of Israel and the surrounding countries. I did know that in general there was much oil in the Middle East, but I was unaware as to whether Israel had oil. In my dream, I first saw the map as if looking down on it lying on a table. I saw three areas on the map that indicated there was oil. I was surprised at my understanding and wondered what it meant. Then the map changed so that I could see the view underground. I could see the depths of the deposits below the areas. There was more oil than would have appeared from the original view. Then I saw and understood that there were areas in countries to the east of Israel that had vast reserves, but as I watched those reserves began to deplete as the oil reserves under the land of Israel swelled. It was as if the deeper wells under Israel were draining oil from those other lands. I awoke thinking that it was wonderful that Israel would have such abundance of such an important resource, but that there would be great danger when the other countries discovered their reserves were depleting. I understood that the Israeli oil wells were very, very deep wells, deeper than wells are normally drilled.

Most of my understanding about Israel in 1983 was from reading the Bible. I knew that oil in Israel was a blessing God had promised. It was also in 1983 that the Lord told me I would go to Israel. I saved my pennies and obtained a passport by faith. In the years following this dream, I watched the news for any information that would relate to an amazing find of oil in Israel—and I prayed. I learned that the places on the map where I saw the oil in Israel were in areas south of Haifa, south of Tel Aviv and near the south end of the Dead Sea. The areas where the oil drained from are the geographical areas of Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia. I informally gathered bits and pieces of information through the years. I developed a desire to join an archeological dig and thought perhaps that might be the avenue to bring me to Israel but it never materialized. In 2000, I began to use the internet to find more information about Israel. I also continued reading and studying scripture with a deep sense of connection with the land of Israel while my relationship with the Lord grew on many levels. In 2002, at Pesach (Passover), I finally had the opportunity to visit Israel. I went again that year during Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) and again in 2003, and 2004. Beginning with my first visit, my connection to Israel, her land and her people, grew even deeper. The more I understood about Israel, the Middle East and oil, the more I prayed. I met a pastor from California in Jerusalem, in 2004. I returned in 2005 to marry him and serve together as ministers in Jerusalem. In 2006, my research on the internet led me to find lots of information about oil exploration in Israel. I was excited to share with anyone who would listen about Zion Oil—a company with a divine vision and desire to bless Israel. They were Christian Zionists, men of integrity. I was thrilled to know that someone else had a dream like mine to see Israel prosper by finding the hidden oil promised in scripture. I even considered writing a letter to John Brown to tell him about my dream and that I knew he had to drill deeper. But I waited for God’s timing. I wanted to buy stock when it first became available—but as ministers, we had no funds. So I continued to pray—praying for God’s blessing of oil for Israel.

In 2009, we returned to Rochester, NY, while my husband recovered from some health issues. I worked part-time as a software consultant while caring for him while he regained his strength. In February 2010, God led me to investigate getting a mortgage because rent was so expensive. Suddenly, I found myself with a pre-approval of a mortgage. Two weeks later an offer was accepted on a house. The house was perfect. A ranch built in 1955 that needed some extensive cosmetic work, but not more than I could handle. The previous owner built the house but had passed away. The house had been left through the cold NY winter with no utilities so there were some complications in accomplishing the closing that was originally to happen at the end of March. At the beginning of June, we had taken pre-possession and were living in the house while we painted and began upgrading the kitchen and bathroom. When the tile around the shower began leaking into the basement, I worked to clean out the old grout. However the wall was so rotted from being wet that the soap dish fell into my hand with a huge lump of plaster and newspaper stuck to the back of it. One large piece of newspaper fell into the wall. As I cleaned up the mess, I reached into the wall to retrieve it. The paper was from an advertisement section of The Daily News, November 25, 1955. The paper was brown with age and had some water damage but was fairly legible. Later, on closer examination, I saw not only stoves, toasters, ice skates and various things for sale, but one tiny news article in the middle of a page. I gasped as I read the title, “First Oil Well Gushes in Israel”. I had to photograph the page to decipher all the writing.

Heletz Oil Field, Israel, Nov 24, (AP) Israel’s first oil well started production today when Development Minister Mordecai Bentov touched a lever which sent crude oil 4800 feet down gushing into huge tanks. After three or four days of tests, the oil will be taken to the oil refineries at Haifa.

I was surprised that I never heard of the Heletz Oil Field, especially after I researched and found that it continued to produce through the years. I noted that it had been in the news several times in the past year and wondered what it all meant. I marveled that God had orchestrated events for this paper to be placed in the wall of a house built in 1955, that I would buy in 2010, with leaking tiles for me to find “at such a time as this”. I didn’t understand what it might mean but I anticipated that God would soon show me.

I was able to go to the CUFI Summit in Washington, DC as a bus captain, in 2010. I was able to work out the trip at the last minute, because I really felt I had to be there. On July 20, 2010, I met John Brown and Steven Spillman and was able to share this story. That day I read the entire book, Breaking the Treasure Code, by James R. Spillman and Steven M. Spillman. As I read, missing pieces regarding Israel’s oil began to fall into place and I understood that God has done much more than I had imagined in directing my steps and my life according to His purposes. My word to those at Zion Oil is still—Drill deeper!

May the Lord direct and bless the efforts of Zion Oil as they seek to glorify God and bring blessing to His people.

In Your Presence, O God

Words and Music by Lynn DeShazo

In Your presence That's where I am strong In Your presence O Lord my God In Your presence That's where I belong Seeking Your face Touching Your grace In the cleft of the Rock In Your presence O God I want to go Where the rivers Cannot overflow me Where my feet are On the rock I want to hide Where the blazing Fire cannot burn me In Your presence O God I want to hide Where the flood of Evil cannot reach me Where I'm covered by the blood I want to be where The schemes of darkness Cannot touch me In Your presence O God

You are my firm foundation I trust in You all day long I am Your child And Your servant And You are my Strength and my song You're my song Seeking Your face Touching Your grace In the cleft of the Rock In Your presence O God In Your presence http://www.middle-east-pictures.com/middle-east/Cleft-Rock-of-a.htm

© 1995 Integrity's Hosanna! Music
Even as I read the lyrics I imagine the voice of Paul Wilbur singing this song. But this song always reminds me that Jesus himself is the Rock--cleft for me. Being in the place of basking in God's presence as Believers is such a privilege. It is indeed a gift. A gift given and paid for by the Blood of the Lamb, the sacrifice our Lord Jesus gave of His life. For believers it is a safe place, a secure place, a secret place where our heart is open and vulnerable to the God who understands. He accepts us as we trust Him with our lives. But to non-Believers it could be a place of terror. If we refuse to trust Him, we will not allow Him access into our lives to protect and keep us.

I once had a vision of being squished into a cramped crack in a huge rock. The jagged edges poked my sides and felt like they would scrape my arms and legs. I was afraid to move, balancing my weight on first one part of my body and then another. I was unable to be comfortable, unable to sit or stand on anything or straighten fully. Looking out of the crack into brilliant light, the darkness behind me seemed to ooze out of the jagged places. But at the same time I knew that I was being hidden in a safe place. The brilliant light was my assurance of God's nearness. But while I was drawn to the light, I was also afraid that it would overwhelm me.

As I reflect on this experience I understand that even the uncomfortable place was part of His presence. He is light, but He dwells in thick darkness(Psalm 18)--He is there, He is everywhere--but in this case it wasn't that He was where I was, but I was where He was. Wow! My flesh was not comfortable, my soul felt fear of the unknown, both the penetrating darkness and the brilliant light at the same time. I was afraid to relax or even to move--YET, I knew I was safe!

The experience causes me to sing these words with a completely different perspective. I want to be in the cleft of the Rock! No matter how uncomfortable, I know it is a safe place and I can only get there as He places me there. Jesus, our Rock, the Living Word of God can be found as we diligently seek Him. This year spend as much time as you can seeking Him as you read His Word. You will be amazed as He reveals Himself as He has promised.

But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. Deuteronomy 4:29