A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need. Proverbs 17:17
AN OLD BOY Scout manual told the story of two brothers who were fighting side by side in France. The brothers struggled to rejoin their unit, but only one made it back safely. He approached his commanding officer and asked permission to retrace his steps in an effort to find his brother.
The officer shook his head. “It’s too dangerous,” he said, not without pity. “Your brother is probably dead, and there’s no use risking your life just to find him dead.”
The brother persisted, however, and begged the officer to let him try. Finally, the man agreed, and the soldier dashed back toward the enemy fire to hunt for his brother. Some time later, he returned-with his brother draped across his shoulders. But just as he reached the safety of the bunker, his brother gasped and died in his arms.
“You see,” said the officer. He clapped a hand on the soldier’s shoulder and shook his head. “I let you risk your life for nothing.”
“Oh no, sir,” the brother answered respectfully. Tears welled in his eyes. “No, sir,” he repeated emphatically. “You see, when I crawled up beside him where he lay, hurt and dying, and I took him in my arms, he said, ‘I knew you’d come, Tom. I knew you’d come.'”
That soldier’s faithfulness was rewarded by his brother’s dying words. Can you imagine how Tom felt to know that his brother’s last words were a testimony to his faithfulness?
Don’t forget, “The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and faithfulness” (1 Samuel 26:23, Niv). Your faithfulness may be rewarded immediately-and it may not. You may see the results of your faithfulness to a friend or family member in this lifetime, and you may not. But faithfulness is often its own reward, as it was for Tom.
REFLECT: What do you think would have happened if Tom had not gone to look for his brother? Do you think Tom would have known of the blessing he had missed? Do you think you have missed any blessings by not being faithful to a friend or family member? Have you experienced any rewards for your faithfulness? If so, what?
ACT: Be alert this week for a chance to be faithful to a friend or family member, especially “in time of need” as Proverbs 17:17 stresses.
PRAY: “Lord, I don’t want to miss the rewards and blessings you give for faithfulness.”

I love hearing the sound of waves on the shoreline of a beach. Whether the wind brings them crashing in, or calmer weather causes them to gently lap the sand, there is a consistency, a repetition to waves that fascinates me. I find myself listening for their rhythm and discernible pattern.“Crash!” The waves impact the shore and are drawn back out to sea. “Crash!” The white foam of the waves crests, then diminishes as the sand absorbs the blow.   
To me, the sound of waves is a ministry to my mind. I deal with tinnitus, which is a loud ringing in my ears. At its worst, tinnitus can bring on a panic attack. But it’s best managed when I am able to focus my brain on something other than the annoying ringing. Listening to waves helps me do that. Truly, their sound is a ministry to my soul and mind.
I think discerning God’s voice works this way for me, as well. Read on.

Bridging the Gap blog #hurthealedwhole

Discerning God’s Voice Like WavesI was recently asked by a friend how I discern God’s voice. I shared that it’s like a wave; that a thought hits the shore of my mind. I’m aware of it, but it ebbs away as I move about my day. But sometimes the thought revisits the shore of my mind. It could be a scripture, or a person’s name, an idea, a situation, or a sin that I need to address. As the thought ebbs and revisits, I become aware of its consistent repetition. Sometimes the thought crashes; other times it’s a gentle, persistent lapping.
Praying, looking to God’s Word, listening for the Holy Spirit, and seeking wise counsel are part of discerning God’s voice. But when a thought keeps nudging me, experience has taught me that it’s often God trying to get my attention about something He wants me to do, either for myself or another person. Oh, I wish I could tell you that I always acknowledge and act on what I hear, but I don’t. Only God knows the blessings I have missed out on by ignoring His voice.

You might be asking, “How do you know that it’s God’s voice and not your own thoughts?”
First, by considering the thought. I compare it to what I know about God’s character, and whether it is contrary or in direct defiance to the truth of who God is and what He expects of His people. I then go to the Bible. And I pray. I ask God to confirm what I believe I hear Him telling me.
Would God ever tell me to get even? No! (Romans 12:19) Would God tell me to sin? No! (Matthew 5:48) If my thinking doesn’t align with God’s Word, I can be sure I need to reject it. We know who originates that kind of thinking, right? Satan. And we know what God tells us to do with the thoughts he suggests: reject them!
As God’s Word teaches us in Galatians 5:16, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” If our thoughts are not of God, we are called to confess any sin around our thoughts and walk in the forgiveness that Jesus Christ has secured for us.
We may never fully understand the mystery of God’s voice in our life, but we can listen for evidence of it. Today, consider your own persistent thoughts.
Is God trying to get your attention so that you take action? How is God prompting you to look to His Word for guidance, to pray, or to rely on the empowerment of His Spirit before you make a decision?
Be encouraged that God is speaking to you, in waves both crashing and lapping. He desires that all of His children hear His voice. But we have to listen, pay attention, and be willing to take action.

Looking for a true out-of-this-world vacation? Then you are in luck! On Thursday, April 5, Texas-based start-up Orion Span announced they were taking reservations for Aurora Station, the world’s first luxury hotel in space, which is expected to launch in 2021 and begin welcoming visitors by 2022.
The pill-shaped fully modular space station, which begins construction in 2019, will measure 43.5 feet long and 14.1 feet wide — about the size of a large private jet's cabin — when complete. It will accommodate four guests in two private suites and two crew members, most likely former astronauts. Hovering about 200 miles (322 kilometers) above Earth, Aurora Station will rotate the planet once every 90 minutes, enabling guests to enjoy 16 spectacular sunrises and sunsets daily, as well as scores of the breathtaking northern and southern auroras that the hotel is named.

​While admiring the beauty of our planet, interstellar tourists can nosh on non-astronaut food and drinks or entertain themselves with playing cards and the holodeck virtual reality platform on board. Those hoping to do something more worthwhile will be able to engage in astronaut-like experiments such as growing food in the micro-g environment. The Wi-Fi enabled spacecraft will make it easy for guests to share their experiences with friends and family members on Earth. At the end of the week and half-long vacation, rejuvenated guests will be treated to a special “hero’s welcome,” similar to the one experienced by astronauts returning from a real mission.

Mention goldfish, and the image that comes to mind is that of small, colorful creatures swimming in circles in fish bowls or home aquariums. However, the one recently discovered by biologists conducting a fish survey at a South Carolina lake was no ordinary goldfish - it was a 9-pound, 15-inch-long behemoth!
The massive marine animal was discovered in the 12-acre Oak Grove Lake in Greenville, SC, on November 16, 2020. It came to light accidentally when the researchers were testing the aquatic ecosystem's health through electrofishing. Commonly used in scientific surveys, the harmless technique gently shocks fish and forces them to rise to the water's surface, allowing surveyors to determine the abundance, density, and species composition. "All of a sudden, this giant fish jumped out and into the net, and we quickly snapped a photo while examining it," Ty Houck, director of Greenways, Natural and Historic Resources for the Greenville County Recreation District, told CNN.

The experts, who released the goldfish back into the water soon after, are unsure how it got there or how long it has been living in the lake. "We think someone must have just dropped their fish in the lake because they didn't want it anymore, instead of flushing it down the toilet," Houck said. He attributes the fish's size to its large home and the abundance of food. "Goldfish grow to the size of their environment," Houck said. "To have a 9-pound goldfish survive in our lake must mean we are doing something right."
​

Perhaps you need to unplug and take a walk.I suggested this to a friend earlier this week. Throughout recent weeks while our country has been so divided, he has been riddled with anxiety, fear, even anger. I looked at him and asked, “When was the last time you took 24 hours to turn it all off and disconnect? Unplug? No cell phone. No computer. No TV. When was the last time you woke up in the middle of the night, anxious, and didn’t automatically reach for your phone? When was the last time you stepped away from the noise of this world and took a long walk with the Lord?”
“He has made it clear to you, mortal man, what is good and what the LORD is requiring from you — to act with justice, to treasure the LORD’s gracious love, and to walk humbly in the company of your God.” Micah 6:8
Bridging the Gap blog #hurthealedwhole Photo credit: Vicki Hill
Unplug. Take a Walk.The answer my friend gave me was vague. Perhaps he doesn’t feel it necessary to disconnect from technology. Or, like so many, he thinks it necessary to hear the words of man. But I realized that I probably shouldn’t be making this suggestion if I wasn’t taking my own advice. It was time to unplug and take a very long walk.

Isaiah 30:15 nails it: “Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me. The very thing you have been unwilling to do.”
So I did so … after two days of procrastinating.
The truth is that once I turned the mirror on myself and decided to disconnect, unplug, and take that walk, it was harder than I thought. I needed to start dinner, I needed to pay that bill, I needed to head to that meeting at church. And what was I missing on Facebook?
We cannot text while we are praying. We cannot scroll through Facebook while we are worshipping. We can’t seek dependence on God, if our eyes, hands, and heart are continually focused on images other than Him.
But I finally listened to that sweet, convicting voice that is like none other. The voice pulling me by the hand to walk with Him. I turned off my phone and let the important people in my life know that if they wanted to reach me, they would have to wait.
Invite God to Speak.A few minutes into my walk, I passed by a neighbor. For a moment I considered asking her to walk with me. But God laid a word picture on my heart so fast: that of my neighbor agreeing to walk with me, but she set out in the opposite direction. We tried to talk, to share and listen, but the more our paths widened, the less I could hear her voice. And so it is with God’s voice.
I thanked Him for that fleeting image, and humbly prayed, “Lord, God. Allow me to walk alongside you. Please speak to me. I am listening.” These are words that God honors, just the way a father does when his child snuggles up beside him and says, “Daddy, let’s talk.”
When I checked my phone a day later, I found that nothing had happened in that 24 hours that needed my immediate direct attention. Unplugging for a day hadn’t crashed my world, after all. In fact, just the opposite. I found that when I stepped away from all my distractions, I felt comforted. I found profound peace, a mysterious reassurance that all was well, and a deep, profound love for others. His love.
The language God uses in our ears is different for each of us, but we need to unplug from the noise of the world to clearly hear His voice. Disconnect. Take a walk. Invite Him to join you, and invite Him to speak.