Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope

Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a beautiful poem from a good friend. And I’m a big fan of good poetry, especially poems that have been written in the furnace of affliction. I have a friend like that. Her name is Lisa Marie and honestly, she is such an inspiration to me. When Lisa was around 12 or 13 years old, she started suffering from unusual achiness in her joints; she was always seemed tired and listless. Her parents took her to one doctor after the next, but they never got a clear diagnosis. The achiness and tiredness turned into exacerbating pain, and an overwhelming weariness. Brain fog and super-sensitivity to light and sound eventually drove her indoors when she would spend long periods in bed. Finally, it was determined that Lisa Marie was dealing with an unusual form of Lyme’s disease, among other autoimmune disorders. But as her body declined, her heart inclined to God. Her young faith took a beating, but her disease could not defeat her. At the age of 20, Lisa Marie became bedridden. It’s not what any young girl would want, and Lisa Marie kept praying and hoping that things would get better; that they would come up with a treatment for this strange Lyme’s disease gone crazy that relegated her to one room in her house, and a dark room at that, given her sensitivity to light. Get this – that was 20 years ago. And now Lisa Marie is more than 40 years old and she is still in the same situation, living daily with pain that most medications just can’t reach. Yes, and she is still in her bedroom, spending most of her time in the dark. Lisa Marie wears sunglasses when she works on her computer and so this valiant woman is able to write inspirational poems and she posts them on our private pain pal page. Not only that, she prays regularly for each of us in our pain, interceding with great empathy and bolstering our spirits with comforting scriptures. She wrote a poem recently that touched me so much—touched all the “Pals”; I just had to read it for you. She calls it “Cup of Anguish.” And it goes: “Sometimes it all seems too much, This overflowing anguished cup. I say, “I can’t. I’m not this tough.” But then I see upon that tree, The Man of Sorrows slain for me – Unshakable even to death. And though my strength has nothing left, I feel a deep, steadying Breath. For a sacrifice so infinite, May my gratitude be evident. In Your strength, I know I can. So, precious Lord, with all I am. I surrender to Your perfect plan.” Right underneath her poem, Lisa Marie wrote Psalm 119, verse 143, “Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me; yet Your commandments are my delights.” Well, I think you can tell Lisa finds the Word of God her biggest delight; it’s what sustains her day in and day out as she lies on her bed. Hebrews tells us to encourage one another daily, and that’s what I hope Lisa’s story has done for you. If you are troubled and you feel as though anguish has taken over, remember the power and protection, even the delight that is found in the word of God. Because if the Bible, as well as God’s grace, can sustain Lisa Marie, on her bed for some 20 years, He can be your help. By the way, if you’d like a copy of Lisa Marie’s poem called “Cup of Anguish,” just download it off of my radio page at joniradio.org. Or for a hard copy, write to Joni and Friends, P.O. Box 3333, Agoura Hills California, 91376. God bless you today and thanks for listening at Joni and Friends. By: Joni Eareckson Tada © Joni and Friends

Well hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and it’s wonderful to imagine what that garden must have looked like: the first animals, the first flowers and trees. Well, we know that there was the tree of life in the middle of the garden, but perhaps you did not realize there were two trees in the middle of the garden. Listen to Genesis Chapter 2, verse 9, then let me flip over to Genesis Chapter 3, right after the man and the woman ate the fruit. It says, “In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And the Lord God said, 'The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to now reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever.'" Wow! It’s the old, old story. The serpent beguiled Eve, and she and her husband ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Suddenly they understood the difference between what was good and what was evil, and because they did not obey God, death, sorrow, and disease became a fact of life. Now, some people think that God was unkind in banishing Adam and Eve from the Garden, but not so. God was just, because God is just. From the very beginning, disobedience carried a penalty; fellowship between God and man had been completely severed. So, God was just, but (get this) He was also kind, very kind. Because –listen to this from Chapter 3, "After [God] drove the man out, He placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth (now get this) to guard the way to the tree of life." How good and merciful of God to keep diseased and sin-sick Man from eating of the tree of life. The tree of life is a big deal. If you look in the book of Revelation, it’s right there – when we get to heaven, we will eat of the tree of life, and we will live forever. Had Adam and Eve not been banished from the garden to prevent them from eating from the tree of life, it's likely that mankind, in his very sad and sorry state would have lived forever. Yes, in his sinful state forever. That is terrible. Oh my goodness, how awful! Who wants to live forever in a body of sin and death? Certainly not me! So, when you read about God throwing Adam and Eve out of the garden and setting up strong angels to prevent them from coming back, He’s not being unfair and He’s certainly not being unkind. Far from being a story of heavy-handed, cruel justice, the real story in the Garden is one of God's wisdom, compassion and protection. Because like I said, the tree of life not only grew in the Garden of Eden, but it will one day grow in the new heavens and new earth. Revelation Chapter 22, "On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse." Praise God! I’m so grateful that the Lord prevented Adam and Eve in all their sin from reaching for the fruit on the tree of life. But you and I sure can reach for that tree as we reach out for the cross where the Lord of life died not only for Adam and Eve’s sin, but for your sin and mine. Hold fast to that cross, and you’ll experience what it means to really eat and enjoy fruit from the tree of life. Enjoy eating that tree today as you open up the Word of God. When you have a chance today, drop by joniandfriends.org. By: Joni Eareckson Tada © Joni and Friends

Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada thanking God for His protection. And speaking of protection, I love Psalm 5, where it says, "But let all who take refuge in You. [Oh Lord] be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread Your protection over them that those who love Your name may rejoice in You." I love that because when God protects us, it’s great cause for rejoicing, I have a fun story to prove that. Some years ago, as I was getting ready to go to Africa with Wheels for the World, I was stuck with every kind of needle, from yellow fever shots to hepatitis. I took malaria pills. I took immune boosters. And when I left the doctor's office, I relaxed, knowing I had done every responsible thing from my end, and now I was under God's protection. While overseas, I was doubly careful with the food and water, not eating anything from kiosks on the street or in homes (although my friends did). I pretty much stuck to our hotel restaurant. I became doubly cautious when, midway through our trip, everyone else was running to the restroom. They looked at me and kind of went, “uh-oh!” We all knew that if I became sick like that, it would be awful; it would be impossible – I just can’t get up out of my wheelchair and run to a bathroom! In my efforts not to become ill, mealtimes were a challenge. To make things worse, I lost my special spoon again (it’s the one I feed myself with and it has a certain length and an angle so it fits snugly into my arm splint). Well, it got lost. My friend thought she had cleaned it off after breakfast and put it back in my handbag. But we looked and it wasn’t there. I was so demoralized, knowing that someone would have to feed me all the time. We looked at my suitcase, under the bed; we called the restaurant I was at the night before. Nothing! I asked the Lord to show me where that spoon was, but He was strangely quiet on the subject. But right near the close of the trip during our last meal, I was suddenly struck by a crystal-clear thought. I had the strongest impression, as though the Holy Spirit were speaking to me, saying: “Joni, you lost your spoon because it was contaminated. Had you used it, you would have become sick.” Immediately I shared this with my friends at the table. One of them dropped her fork and gasped. She said, "God just told me that exact same thing this very instant." When we talk about it, it was obvious. I mean, other people are constantly handling that spoon with their hands. It sits on tables. Once in a while, people forget to wash it thoroughly; they only wipe it. In Africa that’s asking for trouble. That spoon could easily become full of germs. My friends and I were amazed. God was no longer quiet on the subject. Neither was I. It was just like Psalm 5: “Spread Your protection over them that those who love Your name may rejoice.” Really, I kept rejoicing; I kept praising Him and happy to not only be healthy, but to be able to hear His reasons for “losing” my spoon. We say it all the time. We pray to the Lord, "Deliver us from evil." God answers that prayer with a resounding "I will," yet we cannot see the thousands of ways He does it every day. But He does. Time and again, He is protecting us. In fact, if you have especially observed how God has spread His protection over you, then take a moment, take all day, rejoice. Thank Him and give Him praise. Every day, our great God is delivering you and protecting you. And guess what, I lift my spoon to that! Oh, and by the way, if you have a prayer request, let me know on our radio page and our Joni and Friend staff will lift up your need before the Lord. By: Joni Eareckson Tada © Joni and Friends

Hi, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada with a good word from Mark, Chapter 1. That’s the scene where Jesus is walking along the shore and he calls to Simon and Andrew “Come, follow me,” and they obey, leaving their nets at once to follow Jesus without delay. Don’t you love that? They dropped everything and obeyed at once without dragging their heels or second-guessing his call. How compelling must’ve been that call of Jesus! Not only did those men leave their nets behind, but I tell you what, they left their identity. They left their livelihood. They left everything, by which they had been known. They were no longer fishermen; they became fishers of men. To me, that’s inspiring, because that’s the way I want to live. When I hear God’s word, I don’t want to second-guess it, I don’t want to drag my heels, I want to be a doer of it. If I hear a truth from the Bible, I want to act on it. I don’t want to believe Satan’s lies. But so many times I end up believing lies without even thinking about it, I listen to lies like: “I’m powerless; there’s nothing I can do to make this bad situation any better!” Or I’ll listen to a lie like: “I can’t tell my friend how I really feel; it’ll ruin our relationship.” Or I cave in, telling myself, “Sure, I believe in spiritual warfare, but I’d really rather watch “American Pickers” right now and not do any battles; not fight them.” I hate thinking like that. It’s kick-it-into-neutral thinking, cowardly thinking. It’s do-nothing thinking. Because the truth is, I do have power—I have God’s power—to make a bad situation better. And telling the truth is the best path for any friendship. And every spiritual battle is worth fighting, no matter what your emotions insist. When the Holy Spirit whispers to me, or calls me forth into battle, or tells me to rise to some new, yet harder obedience, I need to not only listen, but act on it; actually wrap my hands around the challenge, and put some weight behind it, give it effort; give it honest, spiritual muscle and fight back against laziness or lies. In other words, I have to leave my nets and follow Jesus at once without delay. Spurgeon once wrote: “When God calls you to do something, hasten right then to fulfill it before the holy glow departs from your soul. Leave your nets at once and do not give place to the devil by delaying.” Love that! Perhaps Jesus is telling you to talk about Him to your coworkers; you know, share your testimony and talk up Jesus. It sounds great at first, doesn’t it? You feel courageous as you picture how you’re going to approach that group of coworkers in the lunch area; you see yourself saying this and that, and your heart swells with anticipation. But if you delay in doing it, over time you are going to lose the glow; you start second-guessing what the Lord wants you to do, putting up resistance and saying, “you know, God, I’m not sure I heard you quite right. I really don’t think my coworkers are ready right now to hear my story”. We check and double check what we think we heard God say, until we have convinced ourselves it wasn’t Him who spoke anyway, in the first place. Like Spurgeon says: “When God calls you to do something, hasten right then to fulfill it before the holy glow departs from your soul. In other words friend, leave your nets at once and do not give place to the devil by delaying.” Don’t second-guess God and rationalize away His calling in your life. Listen to His call and join me in being not just a hearer, but a doer of His word. When you have a chance today, drop by joniandfriends.org.

Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and yes, I am tired. But I am so happy! We are getting closer to the end of my radiation therapy and I am so, so grateful for the prayers of so many of you who have remembered me, and my husband Ken in your intercessions. We are beating back this cancer with radiation and after it’s over I will be on other medications for a long, long time. But that’s okay. I’ve made it! And Lord willing, my lungs have done okay. In the future, you may hear some gravel in my voice, but hey, my lungs will be doing the best they can, and that is good enough. And I'm using my lungs today to simply express my gratitude to you for your concern and for your prayers. I was sustained by many things over the last few months since my surgery back in late November to remove that tumor. But none was so precious as these first few verses from Psalm 116. Get this: I love the Lord, for He heard my voice; He heard my cry; He heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, but then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me!” The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.” My goodness, that passage describes me to a T, and that I have made it this far after surgery and radiation, I’m going to call on the Lord as long as I live. There’s another thing that really bolstered my spirits, it’s a quote from Charles Spurgeon and when I found it, I cut, pasted, and printed it out so I’d have it with me. This is what Spurgeon wrote, he says: "I know of nothing in which I could hold Pontius Pilate as an example to you, save this one thing; he placed the Name of Jesus on the cross. Writing these words with his own hand, he refused to alter them: 'Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews.' Here Pilate, the vacillating governor, for once stuck to the truth, and would not be driven from it. So now whenever you have a cross, write the Name of King Jesus above it and stand to what you have written. He has himself carried a cross far heavier than yours, and His hearty sympathy is WITH you. He is so united to you that all your crosses are His own. Even when the cross weighs heaviest upon you, rejoice that you are honored to suffer with Christ, and are thus be crowned as well as crossed. Write his name on all your crosses!" And that’s exactly what I did. And because I constantly attached the name of Jesus to my trial, it didn’t feel heavy; it wasn’t burdensome. Jesus kept telling me, “Joni, my burden is light, so keep lifting it with my grace.” And what a difference that made. And finally, these words from Mary from Luke, Chapter 1 in a paraphrase called The Message. I just grabbed hold of this and made it my own, because Mary says: “I am bursting with God-news; I am dancing the song of my Savior God. God took one good look at me, and look what happened – I am the most fortunate woman on earth! What God has done for me will never be forgotten, the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others. His mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before Him. He remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high. It’s exactly what he promised, beginning with Abraham and right up to now.” I love those words from Mary. So friend, whatever cross you are bearing today, write the name of Jesus on it, call on Him as long as you live, and keep bursting with God-News and dancing the song of your Savior.

Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and has this ever happened to you? Okay, here’s the scene—tell me if you see yourself in it, okay? It was just a few weeks ago and I wheeled up to the kitchen table with every intention of spending about a half hour or so in my Bible. Before I had a chance to open the Word, sitting right there on the table, my eyes glanced to a couple of catalogs which had arrived in the mail that morning. Now, I love Coldwater Creek and immediately I spotted this brightly colored blouse on the cover. Under that was a Soft Surroundings catalog and I started thinking about the fitted sheets on our bed, and how the elastic is starting to fray. That’s when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw my Bible again. A little stab of guilt made me whisper a quick prayer; Oh Jesus, I know, I know I'll get to my reading, I promise, but I just want to take a minute to glance through these catalogs.” Twenty minutes later, I still had my nose in the magazines. I'm ashamed to say, my time in the Bible was pushed aside. And this is why I have learned to pray Psalm 119:36, "[Lord], incline my heart unto your testimonies, and not to covetousness." Friends, there are days when I don't even want to pick up the Bible. But I know if I succumb to a ho-hum attitude toward the Word of God, my spirit will shrivel, my faith will shrink, and my hope will become dull and dim. Like you, I have experienced those dry seasons of the soul when the Bible holds no interest and you and I know that’s not good! Yes, I confess, I will get sidetracked now and then and yes, by something as innocuous as Coldwater Creek. And that’s exactly why I find myself constantly pleading, "Lord, don't let me get away with this! Put the 'want-to' in my heart, persuade my heart, bring it around, predispose my heart and prompt it. I know you won’t give up on me, Holy Spirit, so please, incline my heart to your Word and don't let me covet anything in its place, especially something as stupid as a clothes catalog!" Another good prayer to offer up is from Psalm 86, "Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name." You know, it’s hard to find undivided hearts these days, even among Christians. Maybe it’s this age of social media or everything on demand; maybe it’s that next shiny object. All these things have lessened our attention span, and our hearts become fragmented, easily distracted, they go every which way. I'm thinking about laundry to pick up, a project to finish for Sunday school, a birthday card I need to put in the mail, a "warning" light on my dashboard that needs to get checked. So many things vie for my heart's attention. I just have to ask God to gather the fragments, pull my heart together, and unite it to fear His name. How about you? Do you have an undivided heart toward the Lord? If, when it comes to reading the word, you find that your heart has gone AWOL, then ask God to go grab it, unite it, incline it, persuade it; ask God to bring it around; give it a good shake so that the King of glory might be the Lord of your heart. Give God full reign to rule it. Invite Him to sit on the throne of your heart. And then, when the Holy Spirit whispers to you, “Put down those magazines, that catalogs (or, turn off that TV, or now’s not the time for a snack, or listening to your playlist, or raiding the refrigerator, whatever), when the Holy Spirit whispers it, you will be inclined, more inclined to obey. And hey, if you need more inspiration, you just have to go to my blog today at joniandfriends.org. Again, that’s my blog at joniandfriends.org.

A disability doesn’t have to destroy you – that’s today’s issue on "Joni and Friends". Hi, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada and I'll be the first to confess: when you get that bad medical report, when you learn the broken neck means paralysis, when you hear you have some terminal disease, when any of these physical hardships hit you broadside, it can come close to breaking you. I’ve experienced many of these things and Jesus is right when He said, “In this world you will have trouble.” Because this world is so very broken, and God wired it to be very difficult. Disability is part of it and it is not easy. And it’s the little things that can get you down -- like this battle with cancer you know I'm going through right now? It’s making it harder for me to feed myself with my right arm where the muscles have been weakened where I had the tumor removed. Suddenly something that I had taken for granted for decades has been taken away from me – so for the first time, as I sit at the dining room table with Ken (having to feed myself everything on my plate), well… let’s just say Ken has to help me, and sometimes he has to have the Kleenex nearby, because it’s just so disappointing. But I have learned these many years that embracing God in the midst of a physical affliction involves a lifetime of small choices. And if you are going through a physical hardship right now, I invite you to join me in committing to four simple things: First, give thanks to God for great and small things. I Thessalonians 5:18 tells us that in everything we are supposed to give thanks. So as I’m sitting there at the dining room table, I’m thanking God -- but I can’t feed myself as well as I used to. It prevents bitterness from getting a toehold. Next, if you want to learn how to embrace God in the midst of a disability, learn to look out for other’s interests before your own. I often say to Ken: “No, no, it’s your turn to take a bite of your own food.” Philippians Chapter 2 tells us to do that, even though a disability seems to scream for your own attention; even though your arthritis or autoimmune disease can turn your focus inward, learn to resist that temptation, and always think about other’s needs. I’ll encourage Ken ‘Oh, take a break from helping me, you help yourself.’ Another tip: Take responsibility. Galatians Chapter 6 tells us that we need to carry the load that God gives us. Yes, there are many ways others can share your burden, but you are the one who must face your own physical limitations head-on. So as much as possible, manage the needs surrounding your disability. Are there things you can do for yourself? Then do them (I tell you, trying to feed myself with weak muscles is not easy. More food spills on my lap than gets in my mouth). But I want to encourage you as the weeks have gone by and as I am getting near to the end of radiation, I am able to feed myself a lot better and I was never so thankful as when I was finally able to feed myself again with my right arm). Finally, if you want to learn how to embrace God in your hardship, then don’t forget to have hope in your future. God's plans are not to harm your soul, but to strengthen it, to refine and mature your soul. Friend, our cynical world is looking for Christians who will act on their beliefs and exhibit grace in hardship. So I’d like you to join me in this challenge. After all, He does have the final word. God gives it and the word is ‘hope’. Hey, if you’d like to learn how to help people with disabilities like me, then contact joniradio.org and ask for your free copy of “Start with Hello.” Because there’s so much hope available for anyone with a disability, and I should know having had to learn to feel myself all over again. So go to joniradio.org today and ask for the free booklet “Start with Hello.”

Hi, I’m Joni with an interesting observation about the apostle Paul. You and I both know that Paul has got to be one of the best examples in Scripture of what it means to follow Jesus, and follow him closely. Yes, you are very much like Paul when you’re filled with the Holy Spirit; when you are out there doing great spiritual conquests, when you are energized by the Word, and you just can’t stop talking, you can’t stop singing, you can’t stop witnessing about Jesus. All this makes you feel filled with God’s power, and even your faith seems enlarged, like anything is possible. That’s like Paul because he is just like that in the book of Acts. The golden days of Paul's ministry are recorded in Acts. It seemed no effort for him to be wide awake at midnight in a jail cell, earnestly praying despite his weary, aching body feeling weighted by chains. Even then, especially then, he was singing hymns at the top of his lungs. Scripture tells us the jail doors flew open and everyone's chains fell off. Prisoners applauded him, and the jail keeper, whom God saved instantly, even invited him to his house. Things were looking up! There were countless spiritual victories; miraculous healings and huge advancements on the mission field. This new fledgling church was growing and Paul’s preaching kept bringing more and more into the fold. No wonder Paul was filled to overflowing with joy. But then, time goes by and if you look closer at his last epistle, you see a different, a softer side. Sure, Paul was in jail again when he wrote Second Timothy. But this time there was no loud singing, there was no miracle, there was no escape. Winter was approaching and Paul felt old and tired. Deserted by his friends, he struggled against sickness. Even his companion Trophimus was sick, yet Paul couldn't do a thing to heal his friend. He couldn't even heal himself! Yet the old apostle didn't allow discouraging circumstances to get him down. Things were not the same as the "golden days of old," yet he hung on courageously to God, sharing honestly with his readers about his need for prayer. He isn’t too proud to admit that he is in dire need of spiritual support, for he writes in his 2nd epistle in the 4th chapter, "For I am being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith, but do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me." You can almost hear the weariness and even a little bit of loneliness in his words. And there’s a lesson from Paul’s life for us. Because some days you feel like life is on the up-swing, and other days it's totally flat. Sometimes you sense the miracle in your life, and other times everything seems very ordinary. Are you energized today to meet a challenge head-on? Or do you feel tired and trapped? Life's circumstances can make you feel like a yo-yo, can’t they, but don't allow the "ups and downs" to get you down. Learn a lesson from the apostle Paul at both ends of his wonderful ministry. Don’t look at your situation; just keep looking at your Savior. Just keep committing to God to fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep up the faith no matter what your age might be. Let us hear from you today on my radio page at joniandfriends.org.

Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a good word about our Abba daddy. Yep, our Abba heavenly Father daddy who is totally invested in the spiritual battles that His children face every day. God is a warrior: a daddy-warrior who fights hard on behalf of His children, you and me, and when I am in a tough spiritual battle, mostly against those irksome demons that harass me constantly—you know, harassing spirits of discouragement, lying spirits, or even battling against false guilt over past sins that I know have been forgiven and forgotten. When those battles start raging in my heart, when the spiritual bullets start zinging by me, I appeal to my Abba-daddy-heavenly-father-warrior. I know the enemy will try to divide and conquer; he will try to separate me from Jesus, tempting me to think that God is off somewhere listening to the prayers of more obedient Christians, or that he is busy taking care of someone else’s separation or divorce, or that God is off in the Middle East fulfilling biblical prophecy, or whatever. But I know well enough to even recognize that is a lie. And so… I’ll come up with Psalm 143 and pray insistently, “Oh Lord, in your mercy put an end to my haters, and send destruction on all those who are against my soul; for I am your servant.” Man, I love that verse! Because the psalmist is not just talking about the Philistines, the Amalekites or the Midianites; no, he’s talking about the father of all those pagan nations, Satan himself – Satan and his miserable minions. And it’s so comforting, so encouraging, so incredibly reassuring that our heavenly Father, our daddy-warrior immediately jumps right in the ring with us when we cry out to Him. All we need to do is cry out, and he’s going before us, he’s landing a knockout blow to the enemy. And why wouldn’t he? He’s the Father of all compassion: your Father, your daddy, your defender. And just listen to the way He loves you and fights for you when you are discouraged and feeling overwhelmed. In Zechariah chapter 2, verses 8 and 9 (I love this) God says to you, "… whoever touches you touches the apple of the My eye. I will surely raise My hand against them." (Love that). The New Living Translation states it as "anyone who harms you, harms My most precious possession. I will raise My fist to crush them." And here’s the way the Message paraphrase puts it: God says "anyone who hits you, hits me - bloodies my nose, and blackens my eye, they will be stripped down and thrown out." Whoa! What a picture of fierce loyalty and protection. God is the One who fights every battle for you. You are loved beyond measure, and you never have to face a battle alone. Look, you and I both know that the spiritual battle is getting harder and hotter; it’s getting fiercer and more serious. It sometimes feels like all the forces of darkness are marshaled against you, doesn’t it? And yes, you fall easily for the trap that tells you God is off somewhere, He’s uncaring, and He’s not that interested in your struggles. Well, as you fight against guilt or temptation, or a complaining spirit or selfishness; as you battle against pride or self-importance; as you fight the good fight – and a fight against any sin is a good fight – God’s got His gloves on, because you are the apple of His eye and any dark demon that tries to raise its hand against you, His most precious possession, is going to feel the knockout blow from your Heavenly Father. Because the God of Zechariah, your God, is a warrior, a warrior who loves to obliterate your adversary. So just count on Him!

Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and welcome to Joni and Friends. Not long ago I found myself in a prayer meeting at an international church. When I arrived, I immediately noticed many people, all of them believers in Jesus, and they were obviously from different nationalities. Some of them were dressed in African garb, others looked Middle Eastern. One or two people even wore turbans, and I noticed a few women wearing Indian saris. I thought to myself, ‘Oh, this is going to be interesting’, and I was right. More than just interesting, it was absolutely heavenly when we all started praying; oh, sure some in English, but many chose to pray in their own language. And at the close when we sang a few familiar worship songs, the words were indescribable (actually they were indiscernible), but oh, the sound took my breath away. Like I said, it sounded like heaven. My heart is always stunned and stirred when I hear people from different nations giving praise to God in their own language. And if it thrills me here on earth, what will it be like in the throne room of God? Revelation Chapter 7 says, “… I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar: ‘Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!’” Will we say all speak in English, or in French, or Russian? Or will it be the language that people all enjoyed speaking together before the Tower of Babel when God divided that one language into many. Look, I don’t know what it will be like, but that description in Chapter 7 makes me want to lie prostrate in amazement! Recently, I had that same feeling of amazement when a friend shared a link to a fascinating website called Scripture Earth. It catalogs every (and I mean every) known bit of Scripture available in every language on every continent. You can click and listen to (or you can choose to read) scripture spoken and written in all kinds of languages; those well-known and others that are completely obscure. I played around on the website for a while, clicking here and there, looking at John 3:16 written in Achagua and Abidji, wherever those languages are spoken! It is astounding—not only to think of the variety of tribes and peoples God has created, but to imagine standing alongside them from all those nations (those people) as we praise God together. What a glorious day that is going to be. So get ready, get started for the party by visiting joniradio.org and clicking on the link to Scripture Earth. And the best part – if you know someone in your town or on your college campus who speaks Vietnamese, Uzbek, Tamil, Hindi or some other way-different language, hop on the website, cut and paste a few encouraging Bible verses in their tongue, or perhaps your favorite Psalm or maybe your life verse; find it in their language, print it out, and hand it to them with a smile, and maybe a hug :-). After all, it’s a wonderful way – and a simple way – of sharing favorite Bible verses. So today, find the link to Scripture Earth on joniradio.org because God's Word changes lives, so let's do all we can to reach our international friends with God's love, after all, I know you want them to join us before God's throne, praising their Savior on that glorious day! God bless you today and thanks for listening to Joni and Friends.