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A grandfather we know tells of a walk with his 5 yr. old granddaughter in New York City. As they looked up and saw three homeless, disheveled men coming toward them on the sidewalk, little Amy instinctively pressed in to her grandfather's leg, and she anxiously whispered, "Papa!"



He put his arm around her and gave her some words of loving assurance. There was no incident as they passed, but he said it helped him realize how much our Father loves to have us need Him, to press into His presence whenever we sense a need. He wants us to lean on Him for help. It's not what we can achieve, but what we receive from HIM.

As God's huge host of Hebrews anxiously trembled at the shores of the Red Sea, they couldn't see how their great God could possibly deliver them, but Moses was a man of great faith, so he could say, "Don't be afraid."

Years ago my friend, Pat French, wrote a song about that event that has been an enormous source of encouragement to many - to help us to keep our eyes on our God and not on the immediate problems surrounding us. Here are some of the lyrics:




My husband, Don, and I are currently staying in the Savannah, Georgia area, where he is serving as interim pastor. It's a tremendous experience with beautiful people of God, but a couple of weeks ago we all faced a formidable storm - Hurricane Matthew! God came through one more time and what a time of praise.

But you and I are experiencing something unprecedented, too, a storm like we have never seen before - in our nation and in our church. The issues are significant but maybe even more vital is the way we approach the decisions we face. And the way we learn to treat each other through it all.

More than deciding what is right or wrong, is the need for seeking the face of God, individually and corporately asking for His sweet Spirit and wisdom in dealing with those who have differing views.

In his book, ANGRY SAINTS, George Knight takes us back to 1888 and points out what threatened to divide the church back then. The issues were tremendously significant, but there was something even more hideous and sinister endeavoring to work in it all, pitting God's people against each other to confuse, belittle, divide, and destroy. The enemy has used these tactics over and over throughout history, and we see it today.

Throughout Scripture we are reminded to trust, to "lean on the Lord as a trusting child." He still has a plan, a purpose, and unfathomable power.

We come to Him, not to show Him what we can achieve, but to receive everything He has for us that we need so desperately. He's all we have, and so much more than enough.

 Kelly Veilleux, Prayer Coordinator Northern New England Conference

We are praising God for what He did recently at the Northern New England Prayer Retreat at Camp Lawroweld, Maine. People who had been prayed for - for years - made decisions, powerful decisions. God stopped by. A group of stalwarts who have prayed daily for years for 7 husbands watched as God impacted those lives eternally. It pays to pray!

 Pavel Goia, Pastor Lexington Seventh-day Adventist Church
 Joyce Mulligan, Prayer Coordinator Central California Conference

Central California Conference met last weekend with Pavel Goia and experienced a meeting with God. Lives were changed, because of the intense prayers of a caring people and because of a God who loves to answer those prayers. He is faithful.

These are just a couple of the many groups meeting across our division this fall. You may not hear of each one individually, but please pray. These events are being used of God to change the population of eternity.

And be sure to include in your intercession the NAD Year End Meetings in Silver Spring Oct 28 - Nov 1. Some major issues will be up for discussion and there will be much need for the presence of God. We are asking Him to fulfill His promise: "Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place." (II Chron: 7:15)

Blessings, Ruthie

Ruthie Jacobsen NAD Prayer Coordinator

This Month's Zinger I recently came across a sentence written by a friend, and it haunts me. We are so readily enraptured by the intoxicating tyranny of the familiar. God wants to do more. He is impatient with our patience with church-as-usual. Here's the stem-winder sentence I can't shake: "I despaired at the thought that my life might slip by without seeing God show Himself mightily on our behalf."

Heather Whitestone, former Miss America, is coming to our church in Savannah, GA, Saturday night, November 5, 6:00pm. She is a devout Christian and an outstanding motivational speaker. Please pray that God's presence will be felt; the Mayor and many others from out community will be joining us.

During the 1994 Miss America Pageant Heather challenged the limits of her profound deafness to capture both the Pageant crown and America's heart. Her ballet interpretation of Sandi Patty's "Via Dolorosa," drew repeated ovations from her spellbound audience as she danced to music she could not hear. That night Heather became the 75th Anniversary Miss America, the first physically challenged Miss America in the Pageant's history - and eventually one of the most popular Miss Americas ever.