Where did it Go?

Greetings Everyone. Wow, here it is the last day of August! It seems as if we have had a whirlwind of summer! In fact, I was just telling someone a couple of days ago that it seems like this whole year has gone so fast. That it doesn't seem like it should be this late in the year all ready. But here we are. Ready to start a new month tomorrow and soon a new season with holidays in the next several months as well. Where is the time going?

I hope each of you has had a wonderful summer and things are beginning to settle down now that most schools have started in the country. At least so far as that is possible what with all the activities that the kids get involved in, are concerned. If you are like me and do not have kids in school anymore, life is easier perhaps. Even so, I do miss those days when my kids were home and I had that relationship with them that is so different then it is today. But kids do grow up and life changes. It makes me wonder how my own mother felt when I had grown up and left home.

But, I am not going to go there today. In fact, I am taking a semi-different break from the usual topics I have been discussing on this blog and just find some things that will be a little more entertaining and yet have some truth to them. So I hope you will stick around and check them out. In the meantime, I will be back tomorrow with a new series and you can check out the topic at the
end of today's blog. Enjoy!

Actual Announcements from Church

            Bulletins

Ladies: Don't forget the rummage sale. It is a 

chance to get rid of those old things that are not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands

.

Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the Quior. They need all the help they can get.

Low self-esteem to meet Thursday. Please use the back door.

                                                                                                       

Why did God create man before woman?

Because he didn't want any advice on

how to do it.

How does Moses brew tea?

Hebrews it.

The first ever 10 Step Program:

Thanks for coming back today Friends. I hope you have enjoyed today's blog. Tomorrow I plan to start taking a look at what we know biblically about the disciples of Christ. I hope it will be an interesting subject for you to read about. Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Have you ever wondered about the disciples of Jesus? Who they were? What they did before they were his disciples? Maybe what happened to them after he went home to be with his Father?

Starting tomorrow, I want to take a few days to try to find out some information about them to see what we can find out about these men who served our Lord while he was on earth and then after he left them.

Be as Wise as Serpents but as Gentle as Doves (part 3)

Jesus said, "I send you out as sheep to the wolves. Therefore be as wise as serpents, but as gentle as a dove." Mathew 10:17

Isn't it interesting that God uses many animals throughout his word? From the beginning of time when he created them in Genisis to the coming end of time as we know it here on earth when he will ride in on a white horse-they are mentioned throughout the bible.

Just in this scripture alone, he mentions 4 of them. We have looked just briefly at the serpent who is crafty, and yet dangerous. Certain types of them can kill within minutes of striking us. There are wolves also sly and can easily overtake some prey. Sheep are not smart and if threatened, will sometimes not even run from them. And then he mentions doves.

What would be the spiritual significance of the dove in this scripture as Jesus tells us to be gentle when we are out among the wolves? How do we be watchful of the enemy that wants to stop our witnessing by harassment, trying to discourage us or making us look downright stupid as some try to do? Let alone those that would kill us.

The dove is given to us as a symbol of peace through the Holy Spirit. He is a comfort to us in times when we need him. He enables us to go about our lives during stressful times, to get through whatever it is that we need to get through.

 Just a couple examples of this was in Genesis when the dove brought back an olive leaf during the flood to show Noah that it was time to disembark from the boat to start life anew again. A promise from God that he and his family were not forgotten. Life would go on.

And then when Jesus Christ was baptized, a dove alighted on him at his baptism as he began his earthly ministry. In this situation, it was used as a symbol that the Holy Spirit was with Jesus to go and preach the gospel. A symbol to us, that as we go about our own earthy ministries that we need the help of the Holy Spirit because of the serpents and the wolves that are out there, lying in wait for his people.

We need to go in peace to do God's work. Ministry without it is noise. Churches that preach but do not preach the peace that the Bible speaks of, will gain nothing but people that will shoot down the cause of Christ. If we are trying to witness for example, and yet find ourselves getting into arguments with people about us being right and them being wrong, it will only turn them away from the truth. We need to be strong in our convictions yes. But not to the point of having an unloving attitude so that we would give them an excuse to turn away from the truth we want to convey to them. And they might anyway, even if we are gentle in how we present the gospel to them. But at the point, we are not responsible for their decisions.

To give you an example of this. Many years ago, we went to a very new church that had just started by a pastor friend of ours. My husbands family were not Christians, but they had met this pastor when and he had visited with them a few times, inviting them to his church. And they went. However, the adult Sunday School class was taught by a man there and his wife was in the class with him. Unfortunately, she would argue with her husband about whatever the lessons were about right in class week after week.. I don't mean just argue. I mean really argue to the point that it was irritating to the other members of the class. It was not long after that my in-laws stopped going altogether.

To say the least, it was sad. Because it turned them away from Christ and I, to this day do not know if they ever did repent in their own quiet times before the Lord before they passed on. All I know is that why would they want to be Christians if this was the way Christians acted.

The Holy Spirit as the Dove of Peace leads us, teaches us and comforts us. When we need his help, he is there to he[ and guide us.

While we are being wise as serpents, we must be vigilant in our faith. We must be strong and not weak in what we believe. Not be wishy-washy. But we must also be gentle in how we present him and our testimonies to those that we are witnessing to. We are sometimes the only ones that are around that are Christians. They must see Jesus in us. Because if they see us talking about him and yet acting otherwise, why would they want anything to do with him. They need better. They need the best. They are watching us and they want to see if we slip up. They need to see him in you and I. So be wise, but be gentle in the ministry that God has called you to, that it will go well with him!


I am happy you stopped by today Friends! I hope you have gained something from these studies. Please come back tomorrow for a new topic! Have a blessed day with those you love

Be as Wise as Serpents But Gentle as Doves (part two)

I am sending you out as sheep to the wolves, therefore we as wise as serpents and as gentle as doves. Beware of men for they will hand you over to their counsel. They will flog you in their synagogues. On my account, they will bring you before governors and kings to witness to them and the Gentiles. But do not worry about what to say for in that hour you will be given what to say by my Father. Mathew 10:17-20

Speaking to his disciples that day, Jesus knew exactly what he was talking about when he said that they were being sent out as sheep to the wolves. He was predicting his own fate. His own death on the cross.  He was predicting what would happen to them. And could happen to some of us.

We know that sheep are pretty dumb. We used to have a couple when our boys were in 4 H and raised them as projects to eventually sell. 

The problem with them being dumb is if a wolf gets into their territory, he will be able to easily overtake and kill them. That happened to a neighbor of ours at that time to his own herd. One night a wolf got into their barn and killed several of the sheep. 

Wolves are sly. Just as serpents are. And here we have Jesus sending his disciples out into their midst to preach his gospel with dangers all around them. He was warning them to be careful. To be alert. To be aware. 

Because there was going to be people all around that would persecute, attack and kill them for what they believed and taught. Ignorant people that do not feel the need for God in their lives. Ignorant people that do not even believe in him. Just as there is today.

It is also a warning to those of us that profess the gospel and want to go out into the world to win people to Christ. At this time, perhaps all some of us have to worry about is verbal abuse. We can get angry that someone has attacked us for our faith How dare they. And no, that is not what we want and it is not a fun thing to deal with. Many people throughout history have gone through much worse then that, so we need to be thankful for the fact that it has just been verbal for us.

But as things get worse...as things keep heating up leading to Christ coming again, we may find ourselves standing before those in authority that will think nothing of throwing us in prison for what we believe And worse.. Yes, it already happens as I pointed out yesterday. But if we believe the bible, I think we should be aware that as time goes on, many of us will face much the same consequences that Jesus did. We have to be ready. We have to be wise. We have to look to Jesus. Our hope is in him and while we may go through hard times, if we reject the world and accept him, in the end, we will go to be with him and forever live in his presence.

If God is sending you out into the wolves, don't go alone. Don't go unprepared. Learn what, where and who your enemies are that you may give the light of Jesus Christ to a dark world. And in the meantime, God said in  Isaiah 41:10, Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I have overcome the world. In the world and will uphold you with my right hand of righteousness.

That is his promise to all of those that put their trust in him. Even those of us that can be as dumb as sheep. He is our Shepard and he will lead us to those green pastures that he has prepared for us.

Thanks for coming by today Friends. I hope you will be back tomorrow and I pray God's riches blessings on you for today and always!

Be As Wise As Serpents But Genle As Doves (part one)

Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Mathew 10:16.

Jesus wanted his disciples to know the dangers of going out preaching his messages among those that would do them harm. On the other hand, he wanted them to do it with his own love and compassion. I am sure that they didn't always find that an easy task. How do you and do that today?

Satan is introduced at very close to the beginning of creation as a serpent. We don't really know how close to creation, itself, but we find him in the garden, tempting Eve with the fruit that God told her not to eat. Genesis 3:1-25

He knew he could get her to do that. He just had to lie and make her fall for it. And his plan worked. Soon he not only had her disobeying God but Adam as well. 

Serpents or snakes can be dangerous. They have been one of the most plentiful creatures the earth has known. Found most everywhere and in great quantities where they live. Many are, as we know, very dangerous They are sometimes well hidden so that before we know it, we can be right in their territory only to get bitten as they strike at us. They can poison and kill us within minutes. Some can squeeze the very life from our bodies.

The Apostle Paul said in 2 Corthianians 11:3 that just as Eve was deceived by the serpents cunning, we can be lead away from our devotion to Christ.

We know that there are many many and I mean many, dangerous and cunning people that live in this world with us. Many of them would love to get us to doubt enough in our faith so that we would throw in the towel in our relationship with Jesus and turn from him altogether. Maybe some before it even begins or xome even turn from him years after they have even lived for him.

There are those that put up a front of "religion" that are really what we call CULTS. Getting those to come in that want to belong. That need something, or someone, those that have led lives that have never had the things or people in their lives that we all need. It is only when they are in and sometimes programmed to believe the serpent's lie, that they sometimes cannot get out, do not want to get out or are in danger trying to get out. Many do not even know they have been lied to.

The serpent has convinced many people that Christianity is nothing but fables made up by man, good for nothing except to a weak mind that needs a crutch because they believe that they are too strong for such silliness and thinks of it themselves as nothing but hogwash. They are dangerous because they can talk even those people that want to know more about Christ, right out of not believing that he and a relationship with him are very real. That sin is very real.

Then there are those serpents that would go farther and just kill us on sight. Those in countries that have and will throw God's people into prison or behead them.

Aren't we glad we aren't in those countries (us that live in the US) that don't have to be concerned with such violence in our own faith?

Oh, but we do. From the Ku Klux Klan that still operates today to abortionists that kill our innocent babies and on and on it goes. These are the kind of serpents we find in not only our country but the world. Along with those that behead and throw Christians in prison. Oh yes, the serpents are in our country. They are everywhere. They are just disguised as people or theologies or institutions or whatever, that looks like one thing but are really something else. Something evil.

Scary? Sure. So what do we do? Ignore them? No. Mathew 10:16 says to be wise as serpents but gentle as doves. We need to be as wise as they are. Know what they are. Know where they are. Know what they do. Learn how to discern them. Learn how we can avoid them. Learn how to defend ourselves. Learn too how others can defend themselves against them. Teach them about Jesus their defender. And yet be gentle in how we teach them.

One day all the deception by the serpent satan will end. The wolves will no longer be ready to pounce. God promises us a hope and a future, one that will help and not harm us in Jeremiah 29:11. In the meantime, we have the Lamb who had sent us the Holy Spirit (the Dove)  to teach us all things and to be our comfort throughout what we go through here. Jesus knew what we needed and he sent his own disciples out with that knowledge as well. We too, need to learn how to go and do his work just as he did. As wise as any serpent or any evil that exists, but gentle as he is. Therein lies our hope. Please come back tomorrow for part 2.

Thanks for coming today my Friends. Many blessings to you and yours!

God's Perfect Will vs God's Permissive Will-How to Hear God's Voice (part 3)

Sometimes it is not easy to hear when God is speaking to us. With all that goes on in our lives these days, much noise comes from the things we read, hear on tv, talk about with friends-his voice can tend to get muffled in with daily living.

But there are ways if we really want to know clearly what he is saying to us.

He wants to be ever present with us, spending moment by moment conversing with him. We are to pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:16:18. That is his will concerning us.  Not always easy, I know. But it is possible to learn to do this as much as possible.

He speaks to us in his word. That is what the bible is for. To give us guidance and to learn things that he wants us to know.

As with the people in the Bible, he may send messages through angels and visions but most of the time, he speaks to our hearts or through our minds. One time when I had been worrying about how I was going to explain something to a relative to defend myself, the thought came into my mind, "You are more concerned about what she thinks than what I think." I knew that I had just heard from God on that. It was very clear that it was exactly what I was doing.

He will use other Christians to give guidance to someone that needs an answer from him.

It is again by asking God to renew and transform our mind each day to bring us closer to him to know his will. If we do that he will clean up the negative and dirt that is there to make his will clear to us.

Understand that God will never contradict himself by telling you contrary to what his word says. His will always lines up with it.  His voice will bring with it peace and confidence that you are making the right decision. If you are struggling with something that you think is God's will, and have no peace about it, chances are it is not God's will.

Learn to wait on him. He sometimes does not give us an answer right away. There are times his answer is no. Do not rush to get ahead of him because it can be disastrous or painful to have to accept the consequences for something we could have avoided.

Don't always do the talking to God. Listen as well. Be respectful. Don't demand. I know someone that pretty much demands God to give her answers to her prayers right away. God does not honor that because he knows what is best for us and when we need the answer and how to give it to us.

And lastly, it is good to keep a journal of the time you spend with him each day. What scriptures you are reading, what your prayer requests are, what the answers you get for your requests. This helps to see how God is working in your life. And as I found a few months ago upon finding one that I kept back in the 1990s it is a testament of how God was faithful during some difficult years and how far he has brought me today.

For more help on hearing Gods voice please visit: How to Hear from God's Voice - 10 Ways to Know it's Him

Thanks for coming by today folks. Have a blessed week!

God's Perfect and Permissive Will-How do we know the difference? (part two)

How can we know what God's perfect will is for us? How can we tell the difference between that and what his permissible will is for us? What does the bible say about it?

The first thing we need to know of course is, in order to be in God's perfect will, we must be born again. We must have a relationship with our Father.

And then Romans 12:2 says: Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God and well-pleasing a perfect.

To be in his perfect will is to have a relationship with him and to have a relationship with him means that we must daily be in his word to be able to discern what his will is. It also means praying that he will guide us in all decisions of our lives.

When we make the wrong decision which is out of his will, that does not mean that God suddenly changes his mind and says it is ok that we have done something that we shouldn't have done.

Malachi 3:6 For I am the Lord, and I do not change.
Numbers 23:19  God is not a man that he should lie or the son of man that he should change his mind.

When we disobey, there are consequences. Just as we impose consequences on a child that disobeys, we must pay the consequences for our actions. However,  he will let us have our way not because he wants to punish us but there are things that we will go through that we do not like. And the purpose of that is not to sit on this throne in heaven and crack the proverbial whip at us to be mean. Rather it is to let us realize that we made a mistake and bring us back to him. He allows it to then accomplish his perfect will in our lives.

And he uses our disobedience to work all things to the good of those that love him and are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28. Not to crack that whip at us, but because he loves us and wants his best for us even though at times it may seem like he is doing just that.

So the difference in his perfect and permissive will is simple. If we choose to hear and obey his voice, be in his word and pray, we can be in his perfect will. If we ignore him and go about our own way, we miss it. Going to church but living as the world does, does not make us a Christian. Sometime prior to his death in 1982, Christian songwriter/composer Keith Green once sang in one of his songs that going to church on Sunday does not make a Christian just as going to Mcdonalds does not make someone a hamburger. It is not enough to just go to church but then living like the world the rest of the time.

It requires so much more. It requires knowing God's word. Prayer. Spending time with him. Hearing his voice. It requires obedience. It requires a commitment to him in all things.

How do we hear God's voice? Come back tomorrow for more on that question.

Thanks for your visit today Friends! Please come back tomorrow and may God bless you this Lord's Day!

God's Perfect Will vs God's Permissive Will (part one)

Did you know that we can either have God's perfect will in our lives, but we can miss that and he will permit us to have his permissive will instead?

I learned that later in my life, that indeed I had missed his perfect will in my life and went through some very hard things for years to come and had to learn some very hard lessons.

As a teenager, my father quoted quite often to me the scripture in 2 Corinthians 6:14. Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what has righteousness have to do with wickedness or what light has to do with darkness?

As a teen, I was a believer. So basically, I should have had no excuse and yet coming from the background that I did, and being that teens do not fully have brains that have grown enough to remotely even look to the consequences of my actions, I disobeyed his warnings and married at the age of 18. At some point, I became painfully aware that I had been so unprepared to even be a wife and then a mother which happened soon after, until it was much later and I almost got to the place that there was no hope.

Things in that situation got pretty desperate for me for the next 15 years of marriage. However, God does have a way of getting our attention. The bad thing for me was that it took that long to get it and things by that time could have ended badly had it not been for the fact that I did get it and God had me right where I needed to be.

Looking back on that time, I have learned the difference between the two. I had taken what I wanted. What I shouldn't have had. I can even remember praying the night before my wedding that God would just let me have this man for a little while because since I knew he wasn't a Christian, I wasn't sure God would really let me have him for a lifetime. I was happy that evening praying that because I wasn't looking to the future. And really had no sensible way of doing that in my youth with little experience of the world. Except that I should have listened to my dad.

God had granted my request. Not only did he allow the wedding to go through, but here I am 48 years later married to the same man. Things only began to change after that 15-year mark when finally I let God catch up with me. Or perhaps it was I who caught up to him. Whatever the case, even my husband got saved during that time when he too came to the end of himself. We went on to raise our 4 children which we had in those first 15 years and while things did get better and somewhat easier and God has answered so many of our prayers for us as a family-it still has not been without much conflict and strife at times too. And I know that is the same for many families for marriage is not easy. We are human and sinful and life is hard. But I also knew if I had not married an unbeliever, perhaps my life would not have been as difficult as it can be still to this day.

Today I am living more in God's perfect will as it can be today despite what my life has been in the past. And it is a long way from being in his permissible will that he allowed me when I did not know better, and yet did know better. At least I cannot say I had not been warned and my dad went through his own dismay watching me through those years, knowing that he had given me permission to marry and yet knew that I was going to have problems. Watching me during those years had to have caused him pain in his own way. In his quiet times at night praying for us. Thankfully, there did come a day when he could rejoice and he and my husband became quite close in later years.

God knows we are human and he does let us have our way if we insist upon it. But that is not what he really wants for us. How can we then know what his perfect will is? How can we tell the difference? What does the bible say about it? Come back tomorrow for my answers to those questions.

Have a blessed day Friends. I hope you will come back tomorrow!

Got Questions? Need Answers? Don't Go to Fortune Tellers

Instead, go to God! He is who we need to ask our questions of. He is who has all the answers. Not half-truths. Not half baked junk that leads us nowhere. He has all we need. And it does not require us to spend our money or go broke doing it. He is always available. We never have to get an appointment or go online to chat with him.

Looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is now set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2.

Consulting these other means of getting answers-well let's face it. It is sin. God makes that clear and if we participate in going to them, there will be very severe consequences for us.

So what do you do, if you already have and didn't know it wasn't wrong to go to them?

You don't have to worry if you have come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. However, you do need to repent of having done so. Maybe that was all back before you were a Christian. Maybe you read your horoscope back when you were a teenager as I did and maybe that was where it ended for you. Or maybe you have indeed tried other ways of finding the answers you want. God will not hold you accountable once he has forgiven you in any circumstance. Just ask him.

Delving into these kinds of practices is not only sin, but it is opening yourself to the occult. Because that is what they are. Part of the occult. And who is the center of the occult? Yep. Satan. And he wants to make it look good so that he can draw us in and if we continue on and don't ask God for his forgiveness, we can be in jeopardy of losing our souls to it. Not only that but it can cause problems in this life.


Fortune telling is a cognitive distortion in which you predict a negative outcome without realistically considering the actual odds of that outcome. It is linked to anxiety and depression and is one of the most common cognitive distortions that arise during the course of cognitive restructuring. Jul 30, 2015


(source:)fortunee telling and mental illness - Google Search

Is there any good that comes from it? Certainly, there will be those that tell you yes, there is. However, the bottom line goes back to what the bible says about that and other like practices.

Do not turn to people that participate in these things or God will destroy us. They will be put to death. They deserve to die. They are disgusting to God. They will make us unclean.
Leviticus 19:31, Deuteronomy 18:12, Leviticus 19:31.

Why would I want anything to do with any of that. My answer is, I wouldn't and I don't. When I need an answer (Which is practically every day) I go to the Lord. He is my source and as I said, he is available all the time, no appointment necessary At no charge and I know that he is not going to try to squeeze every penny I have out of me.

What about you? If you have consulted any of these ways of getting answers for your life, quit it while you have the chance. Because you have bitten into that fruit that took Adam and Eve away from God's provision.  Whether before you were saved or after. Ask God for forgiveness and he will. Do it now. He is waiting for you.


Thanks for coming to visit today Friends. I apologize for the tech problems I was having. I am going to try to redo that part in the next day two so if you would like, watch for it. In the meantime

God Bless You!

Looking under Jesus the author etc

The First Ever Fortune Teller (part two)

• Fortune Tellers, Spirit Mediums, Seances. It is all a part of the lie that Satan wants to make people believe in. To take our eyes off or away from Jesus. And he has been very successful at it. Especially to very vulnerable people that are looking for their loved ones that disappeared. Not to mention those that just want to know what their future holds for them.

So what does the bible say about these things? Here are just a few verses that address that question.

Leviticus 19:31 “Don’t turn to psychics or mediums to get help. That will make you unclean. I am the LORD your God

Leviticus 20:6 I will condemn people who turn to mediums and psychics and chase after them as though they were prostitutes. I will exclude them from the people

Micah 5:12 I will destroy your witchcraft and you will no longer cast spells

.Jeremiah 10:2 This is what the LORD says: “Do not act like the other nations, who try to read their future in the stars. Do not be afraid of their predictions, even though other nations are terrified by them.

 Deuteronomy 18:10-12 You must never sacrifice your sons or daughters by burning them alive, practice black magic, be a fortuneteller, witch, or sorcerer, cast spells, ask ghosts or spirits for help, or consult the dead. Whoever does these things is disgusting to the Lord. The Lord your God is forcing these nations out of your way because of their disgusting practicies 

Ok so reading God's word on these things, we know that we should not practice them or consult those that do so that we can find out what will happen to us in the future. Let me point you to one more scripture in Duetronomy 18:22.

If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed. Deutormony 18:22

And likewise, it can be said of a fortune teller. Most of these people, psychics as well claim that they have this gift from God. However, if what they claim does not happen, then it is not from God. A prophet or anyone must be 100% right 100% of the time. God does not lie. He does not tell half-truths. And he does not take us for everything he can get out of us when we go to him in prayer.

Thanks for coming by today Friends. Come back tomorrow for the conclusion!

May God's blessing be upon you!

.

The First Ever Fortune Teller (part 2)

Genesis 3:1-4

Where in the bible does God mention fortune tellers? And if they are in there, what does he say about them. Before I get to them, let me suggest that the first fortune teller mentioned was in the garden, and the devil himself. Umm. You say. Think about it. Genesis 3-3 has satan trying to convince Eve to eat of the tree that God told them not to. God had told her that they would die if they did. Satan, however, told her that she would not die, but her eyes would be opened and she would be like God.

What a prediction. What a lie. Does that sound familiar to you today. Fortune tellers and people that would sell it to us at our own obvious expense.

Satan might as well also had his own set of tarot cards with him with a death card included. Not only did she eat the fruit but she got Adam to eat it as well and when all was said and done, they were driven out of the garden-out of God's provision and sin and death were established for all the world that would come after. 

Ok, so that is how I see it. But what does God say about it? I am going to stop here for today because I am really having trouble getting all I wanted to say on this post. So please come back tomorrow for part 3.

                                 Thanks for coming and I leave you with many blessings today!

Got Questions? Need Answers? Consult a Fortuneteller? (part one)

Have you ever wanted to consult a fortune teller or a psychic medium? I hope not. But there are plenty of people that do. Physic services are a big business. According to Yahoo Finances, there are "roughly 85,000 people that work in physic services and make $1.5 billion a year in total wages.:
These include "people that work in palmistry, cartomancy, mediumship, aura readings, and astrology."

The problem is that so many of these people are frauds. Taking people for as much money as they can get out of them. Telling them lie after lie. And they will take them down to their last penny leaving people to wonder what happened. Their dreams didn't come true. Their boatloads of money didn't come through. Their missing loved one was never found. And that loved one said to be in the water, was eventually found elsewhere, not in water but in the ground. By the time they find it out, their money is gone.

I know, some mediums seem to know things about people that they shouldn't. Details, initials, names for people. But consider something for a minute. God created all things good. And until the fall of Adam and Eve, all things were good. But in the garden, along came satan. And he was able to get them to do something God had told them not to do. Do you not think that just perhaps he can give mediums and fortune tellers information about people that they should not know? Maybe they get some things right, but folks they don't get everything right and when someone is told something about a loved one that proves not to be true, especially for someone that is missing-how much harder it would be then if they had not consulted that person in the first place.

Some of these physics are pretty good at using questions to draw details of a person from the one that they are doing the reading for.

Then these fortune tellers use death cards in their tarot cards. Really? It is said on one site I looked at that that card is the most feared of all. And if that fortune teller is a fraud, (which all of them are. It is just that some do get some information right at times) then they could be making people afraid and even paranoid to even leave their own house every day, for fear that at any moment death will come for them. What a heavy thing to be under. No thankyou, I believe I will let God decide when my time is up. It saves my sanity to know he is the one in control. Not some card and whatever (satan) is behind this stuff.

Where did all this begin? What is the biblical view of it? Is there even a biblical view? Come back tomorrow for answers to those questions. In the meantime, if I were you, I would stay away from anyone that claims they can read your future. People that do are playing with fire.

I am happy you came to visit today Friends. May you have a blessed day!

What Does Righteousness Have to do with Me?

Righteous: acting in accord with divine or moral law: free from guilt or sin

Merriam-Webster

There is none righteous, no not one. Romans 3:10

What does being righteous have to do with me? I sure do not think of me as being that. I am a sinner. A sinner saved by God's grace. However, Habakkuk 2:4 says that the righteous live by faith. And Psalm 37:29 says the righteous will inherit the land. 

And so the question in my mind is; Can Christians really be righteous? Can I be? Really? We equate righteousness with God.  How can this be for sinners? For sinners who have done the things that I have done?

We know that God is perfect. Every word he speaks. Every deed he does. Everything about him.

But we also know that true perfection, true righteousness is not attainable for us as human beings. Not in and of ourselves. It is only possible for us because God knowing that we have sinful natures are in need of a Savior. So then he sent his son Jesus, who never ever knew any sin at all to us to die the cruelest death possible, to take upon him the sin of the world so that in him we become the righteousness of God.. 2 Corthianians 5:21.

Sometimes it is still hard to believe that through my sin-even though I do it everyday-I am still counted as righteous. Yet I know that because I can go to the Father through Jesus Christ and ask his forgiveness and he will forgive my sin and remember them no more. Hebrews 10:17.

And that friends, is what righteousness has to do with me. What it has to do with you.
Aren't you overjoyed that God sees those of us that love him that way? No longer under that burden of our sin, we are made perfect through Christ. Praise his holy name!

Thanks for coming by Friends. Have a blessed day!

When Depression Comes Knocking (part two)

Depression: Have you ever had it? I don't mean the "blues" that everyone gets now and then. I mean the downright, hardcore depression that makes life so bad that you don't ever want to get out of bed.

There are some teachings in churches that do not allow for any other solution to getting rid of it, then by praying out demons of depressions or whatever else they may teach about it. Sorry to say, they do not see it as anything but that. Antidepressants and medical problems are looked down upon and they sometimes teach that they may even be the cause.

There is not a "one size fits all" solution, however.

The first thing to look for in deciding what route to take in getting rid of it is its root cause. Such as marital problems. If a couple is having those, they may need to seek good Christian counseling to resolve them. But what if one of them refuses to get it? Maybe they don't feel it is their problem but their spouse that is to blame. Where does that leave the spouse that really needs to get their problems worked out? Depressed? And maybe even more so than before there was any talk about counseling. Maybe she/he has already been depressed for a length of time and been silent about it. In that case, the depression that person has already experienced, probably just digs in deeper. Because their situation then looks all the more hopeless.

Or what about physical reasons that contribute to depression. I struggled with it for years. Granted, much of it was due to other factors than physical. But more recently, when I just could not stay out of bed, my doctor ran blood tests and found that I had hypothyroid disease. When the thyroid gland is deficient, it can cause depression along with a host of other problems. And so, every since then I have taken a drug that helps that problem. If I miss it for a short period of time, the depression I had before will come back and the blues that I might have occasionally become full-blown depression.

 Sometimes depression has to be dealt with in the physical body.

Some people go through terrible tragedies in their lives that makes them depressed. Our pastor tells of a situation in his family that happened years ago. His sister's husband had murdered her in their home one night and then committed suicide. What was worse, their two young teenagers woke the next morning to find their parents deceased on the floor. What kind of depression was at work in their lives, which then wrapped itself up in his life as well as he tried to deal with the aftermath.? And what about the teenagers? They are grown up now and grew up in the pastors family and went on into ministry themselves. But what how much depression did they go through during those years? It must have been a terrible time for them.

And then you have the mental illness which goes beyond just depression and causes worse problems than I felt in just a day to day burdens of living under it and not wanting to get out of bed. Some people have disabilities in which they cannot begin to live a normal life or figure out what is wrong with them so that they can get help.

There are just too many elements of it that can produce many symptoms and be many reasons for it. And it may not be as easy as we would like to think that just praying for demons to come out that we would like. Sometimes it is a long road of unhappiness and struggle until relief comes.

But in our struggles, there is HOPE! And that is found in JESUS and in GOD'S WORD!

• Fear not, for I am with you., be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isahia 41:10
• Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding and I will direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
• Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares for you. 1 Peter 4:7
• The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and he saves the crushed spirit. Psalms 34:18
• Come to me all that labor and are heavy burdened and I will give you rest. Mathew 11:28
• The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.  Psalm 9:9
• Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulations, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulations and constant in prayer. How many times during days of depression can we honestly say we are hopeful, patient and in prayer, let alone constant prayer? And yet, that is what we need to be. Getting into God's word is essential to our health and well being, especially (but not limited to...) those times. Scripture is not meant to sit somewhere collecting dust in our bibles. It is meant to be read, meditated on and applied to our lives. It is our source of life. God gave it to us for a hope that as we are patent and praying that he is working all things out to the good of those that love him. Romans 8:28

For those that are struggling with depression right now, I hear you. Just know that you are not alone. God wants you to come to him and depend that he will get you through. I hope that this devotion has given you some sense of peace and maybe some direction with which to think on. But more than that get you to God's word is for the comfort that I know it can bring throughout your struggles. We live in a broken world but there are answers for you. God bless!

Depression. Have you ever been there? Not just the kind of feeling that we all have as in having the "blues" here and there. Most people have those now and then. But those that really suffer from bouts of daily hardcore depression know what I am talking about. The kind that cannot even make themselves get out of bed everyday. And according to statics, there are many people that do.

Some churches teach that it is a spiritual battle. They will use I Timothy 6:12 where Paul says to "Fight the good fight of faith" as if all depression comes from our enemy the devil. When we always go at it like that, and it doesn't go away, we get discouraged and give up. Sometimes on God.

In first getting rid of our depression, we need to look at what is causing it. If we have marital problems that are the root of it, we are not going to just "fight the good fight" and it will suddenly go away. We must do what it takes to work on those problems to correct them.

Sometimes though, even if we do that, our spouse may not be interested or willing to come along with us to work them out. What then? We can do all we can to do on our part, but if the other person does not, where does that leave us? Depressed? And where then does that leave our relationship with God if we are not careful?

Then there is the physical reason that may be causing our depression. I have written before of my own struggles with it and part of mine has been the fact that the doctor found that I have a deficiency in my thyroid. Hypothyroidism. When that is deficient, it can not only cause that problem but a host of others as well.

He treated me with a drug that helps that maintain the thyroid but also I take an anti-depressant as well. And in some churches that is looked down upon that anyone should be taking that kind of drugs.

Years later, when going to a different church than the one that taught against them, we had gotten to know the pastor there and I asked him how he felt about anti-depressants. He said to me, "Becky, some people need them and it is ok to take them if you do."

Here was a pastor who had years earlier, had a sister that was murdered by her husband, then took his own life. That was bad enough but their two young teenagers woke up to find their parents deceased on the floor of their home.

He struggled with depression himself. He knew what it could do. And he could offer hope, not only spiritually to someone that was herself struggling with it, but also that I didn't have to feel under God's condemnation for taking a drug that could hopefully alleviate it.

There is not a "one size fits all" solution for it. And it may just be that it is only the root of a mental disability where someone has problems so great, that they cannot even begin to straighten them out themselves. My own mother was like that. And she came from a long line of people that did as well. Figuring out that I had the thyroid problem just more recently, I often now wonder just how many of them may have had the same problem with their depression, but it just was not known then. Some of them were also Christians that were just never able to get a handle on how to overcome it. Others had the mental disability component.

We know that we live in a very broken world. And it brings on so many of the problems we face in our everyday lives. BUT....we have hope!

No matter what we are going through, Jesus offers the hope that can join together with the medical care, or the counseling or whatever it is that will help us get through the blackness we feel during those times we cannot get out of bed.

Sometimes, as in 2 Timothy 6:12, it is a fight. A fight to get out of bed. A fight to have faith to do what we need to do just to do that. But what then? If we have problems that go beyond that and don't address them, we just find ourselves back in bed again. In the meantime, God does give us hope. Paul also says in that verse: "Take hold of eternal life in which you were called  to in good confession."  Our identity lies in Christ. Not in our depression. And while we are struggling with the latter, we know that he can and will give us the answers if we seek him through it. And he has a lot of scripture for us to hang on to during the darkest of our days.

• Trust in the Lord and lean not unto your own understanding.  Acknowledge him in all your ways and he will direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
• Cast all your worries on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7
• Fear not for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Ishaia 41:10
• Rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12
• The Lord is near to the brokenhearted.m and saves the crushed is spirit. Psalm 34L18

These and many more are not just in the bible to be read. Or worse yet, to not be read. They are promises from God to get us through the hard things this world has to offer us. He is sooo willing to be our help in times of trouble. Psalm 46:1. While we are looking for the answers. While we need his help. When we need his comfort. Because he has it. We just need to find it.

Let me do say as well, that I am not perfect. Just because I found the cause of my own depression, it does not mean I am 100% free. I still have my times. But I know now the cause. I know what I can do about it. And I know where my hope comes. It is found in God's word.

I pray if you are struggling with depression, no matter how severe or not, that you will take comfort in his word. Don't flail along like I did for so many years, not knowing what to do about it. God has answers for you as he did me. I just had to find hem. And I hope that today's devotion helps you in any way to find his answers for you. You are not alone. He is with those that love him. God bless you!

When Depression Comes Knocking (part one)

Depression: feelings of severe despondency and dejection Self-doubt creeps in and that lead to depression. 

It is estimated that 16.2 million American adults have at least one major depressive episode in a given year according to Depression: Facts, Statistics, and You

Unlike the title of today's devotion: When Depression Comes Knocking, if you have ever had a severe bout of depression, it does not come knocking. It comes ready to pounce and attack.

Why do so many suffer from it?

The causes can be anything. From just being unhappy with the situation we find ourselves in, to drug abuse. From marital problems to financial problems and more. Sometimes it is caused by our health breaking down whether through an age-related situation, a disease like cancer or something that is deficient in our bodies.

It attacks people of all ages. It can start off in a child's life as fear and escalate into a teenager that attempts suicide. It can be a lifelong battle for some people.

Christians sometimes are taught that we should never let others see us feeling down or distressed in any way. We are supposed to be happy all the time. If we show that side of us, we are sometimes looked down upon. We are told we do not have "enough faith."

But, I disagree. Because how are we supposed to pray for others that need our love and support while they are going through a bad time? How can we get them help if we do not know what they are going through?

God gave us the ability to love and care and pray for each other. If we ignore them, or choose to look down upon a person who is really in trouble but afraid to show it we may end up attending their funeral because we didn't try to help them. Often times because we didn't know they were even in trouble.

Sometimes we don't know exactly what others might be going through. We can judge them and make ourselves look like something we are not all the time ourselves. Oh, but don't show anyone that side of us. No, we can't do that. We must live up to high expectations we set for ourselves or others try to set for us.

What does God say about depression and anxiety?
Is there hope for us?
How can we overcome it?

 Come back tomorrow for the answers to those questions.

Happy Lord's Day Friends! May your day be blessed! Thanks so much for stopping by!

I've Found a Friend in Jesus! He is Our Strong Tower!

The last few days I have been going through the old hymn that we used to sing in church so many years ago. In conclusion, I wanted to share with you the rest of the song here, in case you have never heard it before. And then say a few words at the end.

I Have Found a Friend in Jesus

Charles W.Fry 1881

I've found a friend in Jesus, He's everything to me,
He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul;
The Lily of the Valley, in Him alone I see
All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole.
In sorrow He's my comfort, in trouble He's my stay;
He tells me every care on Him to roll.

Refrain:
He's the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star,
He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

He all my grief has taken, and all my sorrows borne;
In temptation, He's my strong and mighty tow'r;
I've all for Him forsaken, and all my idols torn
From my heart and now He keeps me by His pow'r.
Though all the world forsake me, and Satan tempt me sore, 
through Jesus, I shall safely reach the goal.

He'll never, never leave me, nor yet forsake me here, 
While I live by faith and do His blessed will;
A wall of fire about me, I've nothing now to fear,
From His manna He my hungry soul shall fill. 
Then sweeping up to glory to see his blessed face,
Where rivers of delight shall ever roll.

I wonder what Charles Fry was going through at the the time of his life that he wrote this song? Whatever it was, he knew where his strength was. He knew Jesus would get him safely through it and one day he would get to see his Savior. And I can only imagine what a wonderful day that was when it came.

Indeed as the song says, Jesus is our strong tower. More then that though, Proverbs 18:10 says that the name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run into it and are safe.

If ever there is a place to run, when we are lonely, scared, unhappy, depressed or just plain confused-there is no better place to run than into our Lord Jesus. He has all we need there with him. He has all our answers and he has all the manna we need for our soul.

     If you have a need to run, then run to him. Find a friend in him. He is waiting for you!

Thanks for your visit today friends. For those that have children starting back to school, or have started already-or for those of you that are starting school yourselves, I wish Back to School Blessings for all of you. May you have a prosperous year of learning. And while you are at it, get into God's word and learn it as well. The rest of you, may God bless you and I pray you will come back again tomorrow!

Jesus: The Bright and Morning Star

Why did Jesus call himself the Bright and Morning Star in Revelation
I am no bible scholar but I have been looking at different websites this morning to see what others have to say about this question. I find it to be quite interesting. Here are some of the things I have found.

• morning star

Christ Himself is said to be the morning star (Rev. Rev. 22:16+).1 What is the purpose of the morning star, but to serve as an indicator of the approaching dawn? Those who see the morning star are encouraged by the fact that the long night is almost over and soon the sun will shine in its brilliance dispelling all traces of darkness.

The current period, between the ascension of Christ and His Second Coming, is the “night.”

The morning star rises prior to the dawn:

The “morning star” comes before “the day” dawns; the “sun” shines during “the day”; Jesus is both. As the morning star, He is seen by few: as the sun, He is seen by all. Those who watch not merely for the sun, but for the morning star, properly heed the cautions and injunctions relating to the posture of watching.3

We have in the “Morning Star” an implied reference to the first stage of the Advent, the thief-like coming for the saints, and to obtain it indicates that we are worthy of the better resurrection, or (if living) of the translation. The mention of this in such a connection is also exceedingly significant of the exaltation of the saints to coheirship with the Christ when the morning breaks.4

Christ has just mentioned a scepter and now mentions a star , both elements of the prophecy of Balaam (Num. Num. 24:17). In Balaam’s prophecy, the star is seen first followed by the scepter. This accords with the view that the morning star will rise prior to the reign of Messiah on the earth.

Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day comes on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch, therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. (Luke Luke 21:32-36)

The morning star given to the overcomer in Thyatira may be the promise of a visitation prior to the dawn—participation in the Rapture of the church by all true believers and thus avoiding the last part of the night, the Great Tribulation, immediately before the dawn of the Millennial Kingdom. 1Th. 4:16-17).”5 See Rapture.

At the very least it denotes the blessing of the continual expectancy of His coming:

Into the heart of the faithful believer comes that wondrous expectancy of His coming, which John elsewhere describes as having our “hope set on him” (1 John 1Jn. 3:3). This is the experience of the believer who awakes out of sleep (Romans Rom. 13:11), who by the grace of God hears His voice when He says, “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from among the dead (ones), and Christ shall shine upon thee” (Ephesians Eph. 5:13). . . . so these spiritually awakened or aroused find Christ’s coming arising as the day-star in their hearts (2 Peter 2Pe. 1:19).6

source: Revelation 2:28 Commentary - A Testimony of Jesus Christ

• In Revelation 22:16 we have one of the most interesting names given to Jesus.  Jesus calls himself, “the bright morning star.”  This was to fulfill a prophecy, given all the way back in the Old Testament by the prophet Balaam, who said, "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel," (Numbers 24:17).

Notice that Jesus did not refer to himself as a “star.”  Instead, he called himself, “the bright morning star.”  What is “the Morning Star?” 

In Biblical times and in early astronomy the Morning Star was the brightest star a person saw in the sky, just before daylight.

Today we know that this "bright morning star," is actually not a star at all.  Instead, it is the planet Venus as it appears before sunrise in the western sky.  However many still refer to it as “the morning star.”

Why would Jesus refer to himself as “The Bright Morning Star?”  Perhaps on this first Sunday of a new year, on Epiphany Sunday we should try to answer this.

The wise men used a star as a point of reference.  They were trying to find a certain place and a certain person. 

For thousands of years, mariners and travelers have used the stars as a guide; as a point of reference. 

Jesus was wanting us to understand that he is our point of reference.  Do we need help in knowing what to do?  What direction to take?  What decision to make?  Just as the wise men followed a star, just as that bright morning star pointed travelers the way west, Jesus is our point of reference.  Notice that he is not “a” point of reference.  He is the point of reference.

Perhaps that is another point was trying to make.  He is not just a star among many stars; he is unique.  There is no one else like him. 

We have already said that the morning star is unique in that it is not a star at all.  It is a planet, Venus.  Some say that Venus is unique among the planets of our solar system.  It is not the closest planet to our sun yet it is the hottest.  But there is something even more unique about this planet.  If we could somehow look down on all of the planets in our solar system from above they would all be turning in a counterclockwise direction.  That is all of them except Venus which turns in a clockwise position.

Jesus is unique.  There is no one else like him.  He is the only one who can be our true point of reference.

source: The Many Names of the Christ Child: Bright Morning Star - Faithlife Sermons

• Another View: Splendor and Victory

Lenski thought that the imagery had to do with the “royal splendor” of Jesus.

“The adjective ‘of the morning’ suggests unfading, glorious brilliance both for Jesus in Rev. 22:16, and here [Rev. 2:28] for us. The Victorious King Jesus is the brilliant Morning Star in royal splendor; and he gives to every faithful believer the gift to be like him in royal splendor” (pp. 124-125).

The idea would be that the Lord’s people will partake of his victory “glow” in the heavenly realm.

source:What Is the Morning Star of Revelation 2:28? : Christian Courier

These are just a few of the ideas that I have found this morning on the name of Jesus being called the Bright and Morning Star. Please feel free to study more, if you are interested.

My own thoughts about it are this. Jesus IS our guide. Just as the wise men needed the star to guide them to the Christ Child, we need him to guide us in everything we do. He is also our light out of a dark and evil world. He gives us directions for us in our every day lives. He is our hope in the morning. He breaks through the darkness of night to bring us a new day with whatever it is he has us for each day. He lightens our paths so that we can clearly see his will for our lives. And it is only through his light that we can be forgiven of our sin. He is Jesus, the Bright and Morning Star. Amen!


Thanks for visiting today Friends. I pray that your day will be filled with Jesus. He is the Way, the Truth and the LIfe and he wants to be your Bright and Morning Star. God bless!

In Revelation 22:16 Jesus calls himself 'The bright morning star.'. What did he mean by that? In looking into it, I found there are different opinions in Christianity about it. I am no bible scholar, However, I will take a bit of the opinions that I found and end with a little of my own.

Steve Angus of Faithlife Sermons in part states that the wise men, when looking for the baby Jesus, used the star as a point of reference. For a thousand years travelers have used stars as a guide.

He went on to say that Jesus is our point of reference. In whatever decisions we need to make or direction we need to take.

The morning star represents a promise of a new day.

The Christian Courier has ideas as well about Jesus being the Bright and Morning Star:

“The adjective ‘of the morning’ suggests unfading, glorious brilliance both for Jesus in Rev. 22:16, and here [Rev. 2:28] for us. The Victorious King Jesus is the brilliant Morning Star in royal splendor; and he gives to every faithful believer the gift to be like him in royal splendor” (pp. 124-125).

The idea would be that the Lord’s people will partake of his victory “glow” in the heavenly realm.

Another scholar, Professor Robert Wall, says “it would seem likely that ‘the morning star’” is a symbol of the situation of those Christians who “overcome,” by pointing to their “future participation in the triumph of God’s rule over all those secular and materialistic pretenders to the Lord’s throne” (79).

Similarly, Frank Pack suggested:

“The victorious Christian shares in Christ’s glorious triumph and authority, and possesses Christ as an everlasting treasure” (48).

My own thoughts?

Like I said, I am no bible scholar. And I have no doubt that these people are right on in their opinions of why Jesus calls himself the Bright and Morning Star.

It is my own thought that Jesus is not only what they have said but also that he is our guide out of darkness. Not only does he guide us in our life to make the decisions that he wants us to make or the directions he wants us to go, but he also takes us from sin into his light. He is the light we are told in John 8:12. We can wake up every morning, with a new day starting. The promise of Jesus as our Bright Star pointing us in the ways he wants us to go. The darkness of the night gives way into all that he has for us this day. Everyday. He is our Bright and Morning Star! Halleluiah!