My Messes

Have you ever made a mess of your life? I know there have been messes that I have made. Always when I have not been close to God and sometimes even when I have been, but just have not been listening to him. It is easy for us to do. Not to be close to him. Not to be listening to him. Not to be following him,

But thanks to what Jesus did for us, that is sooo much greater then anything I have done that has been out of God's will. And he is always there, ready to forgive me in the midst of those messes I have created.

God is always waiting for you and me to look to him. And when we do, he will help us when we need him to get through whatever mess we have made.

June 30, 2019 Promise:   The Lord, he that doth go before thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Deuteronomy 31:8

Hi Friends. I am having to deter from Part 2 of 'Are We Heaven Bound' for a couple days. Things are really busy here. I hope to get to it sometime this week. Thanks so much for being patient with me.

In the mean time, have a wonderful Lord's Day today. I truly hope things are well with you and pray God's blessing on you.

We Are Heaven Bound (part one)

What is there in life, more exciting then knowing that there is more to look forward to after this life has ended? That is, there is for those that trust God and have accepted Jesus as their Savior.

What is there to look forward to  when we get to those pearly gates?

My mother had suffered greatly before she passed. She had pancreatic cancer and cancer had spread to her spine. Once she closed her eyes for the last time, and breathed her last breath on this earth, she was released from all that. Oh yes, we would have liked her to be healed of all that pain while she was alive here. She had suffered even more so with pain in various parts of her body for most of her life. But God had not healed her, until her life was over here.

And so, for those that have suffered any kind of pain during their lives, or even just before their deaths, perhaps the first thing they will have to look forward to is that there will be no more pain in heaven. It will be gone in an instant.

Revelations 21:4 says, There will be no more pain.

What a great relief that will be for those that have suffered it.

And that is something that we can look forward to when we go to be with the Lord.

June 29, 2019 Promise: And my God will meet all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Hi Friends. My life is still very busy here. I have much to look forward to. And beyond it here on earth, is even greater then I can imagine. Thanks for coming and God bless!

Who Am I Lord......I Am Yours

It was a few years ago, that I asked that question one day of the Lord. We were attending a small church in our community. My husband and I and two of our sons. Our daughter was attending church in another state. Three of my children were serving the Lord in some way. It had been a somewhat crazy journey with the Lord in the years that followed our accepting him and prior to this day.. Many twists and turns had taken place. But here we had finally landed in a safe place with him.

I had not known that the scripture in 1 Chronicles 17:16 even existed before that day when I asked that question. I did not actually find it until sometime later.

Who am I Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far. 

I had asked pretty much the same question that the psalmist David did. Who am I that you have brought five of the six of us this far? Because, as I said, our lives had so many twists and turns in it, that I really wanted to know the answer to that question. I was just a regular person. Like everyone else just trying to survive while we had been raising our kids. Nothings special was I, that I knew for sure. Now we had our last two sons finishing up high school, and the four of us were involved in the things of the Lord. As was our daughter in her own church.

"Whom am I lord, that you have brought five of the six of us this far?"

I don't remember really getting an answer from the Lord that day. But the one thing that God showed me through reading his scripture was the fact, that he loved me. And though I didn't realize it then, I really was special.

Yesterday had been a productive yet tiring day in what we had been doing. Our neighbor had come down and chatted for awhile, with us as we rested on our front porch. Finally, I came inside and actually needed some quiet time to spend with God. And as I prayed, the song by 'Casting Crowns' came into my mind. So I pulled it up on my computer and listened to it as the words they sang sank into my weary spirit.

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth,
would care to know my name,
would care to feel my hurt?
Who am I, that the bright and morning star,
would choose to the light the way,
for my ever wandering heart?

Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done,
Not because of what I have done,
But because of who you are.

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind,
Still you hear me when I am calling,
Lord you catch me when I am falling,
And you've told me who I am,
I am yours.

Quite a few years have passed since that day. Our family life has had even more twists and turns in it. But I stand on this side of that time, with an assurance of who I am and why God has brought my family as far as he had.

Because of who is he. Because of what he has done. That makes me his.

I am a flower quickly  fading. I am here now and only God knows when that will end. But knowing all I have learned, gives me a happiness beyond description that when this flower is gone, she will be with her Creator. Because while I am his, I know that he is also mine.

I would encourage you to listen to the full song by Casting Crowns, go to https://www.google.com/search?q=i+am+yours+casting+crowns&rlz=1C1JZAP_enUS844US844&oq=I+am+his+by+casting+&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0.12681


It is a peaceful song that allows you to worship God as you listen to it, knowing that you are his.Not because of who you are, but because of who he is. Not because of what you have done, but because of what he did. You are his.

June 27, 2019 Promise: It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassion does not fail. They are new every morning and great is his faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22

Hi Friends. Thanks for your visit today. And God's blessings to you and yours. 

Morning, Noon, and Night.....

As morning passes into afternoon and afternoon to evening. As evening goes into the night. Where are you God?

Sometimes we just do not feel his presence in our surroundings. Sometimes, we do not know his plans for us. Sometimes we wonder if he is even there. Sometimes we don't bother to even look for him because we don't really think he is there at all.


Evening, morning and noon will I pray and cry aloud, and he shall hear my voice. Psalm 55:17

Sometimes it is hard to hear God's voice. Sometimes it is difficult to know that he is there. Sometimes we just don't feel his presence or understand what he could be possibly doing in our lives.

But, just because we don't see him. Or feel him. Or we can't touch him, does not mean is not there hearing our prayers and our cries to him.

The psalmist knew that well, as he penned and cried to the Lord, those words. So should we earnestly be seeking God in our cries, and our prayers to him.

God knows what he is doing when we don't. He does have our backs when we see no other way and instead of going on without him, we choose to turn to him.

How many people in our lives has what we need that is as complete as what God does?  No one, because we are human and often selfish even when we try not to be. God is not a 'you do this for me, and I will do that for you' God. He has only our best interests at heart. Whether we choose to believe them. Whether we choose to follow them. Whether we choose to obey him. Or not.

It is up to us. Crying out to him  and praying in the morning as it passes to afternoon to evening and throughout the night? Seems like a lot of work, doesn't it? Maybe to some people. But, when we want God's answers to what we are going through, it can become second nature to us. Whispers of prayers even in our cries, through our days and nights can be just as beneficial to us as when we actually take time to stop and pray to him. Because he hears it all. He is after all, God.

June 26, 2019 Promise: I sought the Lord and he answered me, and delivered me from all of my fears. Psalm 34:4

Hi Friends. Well the good news is, my son made it in from out of state yesterday and had a good flight. He will be with us for at least the next two weeks and it is so good that he is here. It has been some 8 years since he has been back to his home state and even though he didn't quite grow up in the town we live in now, he did for a couple of years or so before he moved. Since then he has married and has two children and they will be looking forward to him coming back home to them. But in the mean time, he will enjoy his time here because even though sometimes we don't want to admit it, "There is no place like home."  I for one am glad he is here and so is his dad. More to come on this soon. In the mean time, God bless your day!

!

A Hope and a Future

Have you ever been at a place in your life, where you know God is moving you on to something different? Maybe something better? You don't know how he is going to get you there, or what he is doing. But without a doubt you know that whatever it is and however you do get there, it is from God.

That is where I have been for the past 3 or so years. Up until now, it has felt like I have been in limbo. I sort of knew what was coming to a degree. How I was going to get there was another story. And God has only been allowing me get little glimpses of it, even though until recently, I did not even know that is what they were.

In the past 4 or 5 weeks, it has become clear that at last he was moving us on. The hows are being taken care of. And the outlook ahead is really a good thing. Still there is some things that have yet to be resolved and will not be yet.

Even this is not my first rodeo in that there have been other times that God has done something miraculous in my life, this is something different that he is doing for us. And Friends, I have to say, it is no less scary then some of those other times that God has moved on our behalf.

I am not ready to say what he is doing. That will come in a short time. But it is what all this blog has been about these last few weeks. Being late in posting, and sometimes not at all. And things will not get back to more normal, until later this year.

For now, I just want you to know, I will continue to keep up the best I can. And if I cannot post a regular devotion etc., I will post something each day as God is willing and when I can. So please don't give up on me.

This week that is coming up and probably the one after, will be busier then ever. And so my plans for now are to at least post a scripture each day. And as soon as I am ready, I will let you know what has been going on.

In thinking ahead to how things are going to change, it is a little scary for me. After all, I am close to being 70 years old and not in the best of health. Thank the Lord, I have my husband, and other family members to help me get through.

And even more so, I have God. It is because of him, that we are where we are at this point in our lives.

It reminds me of the scripture in Jeremiah. (29:11-12)  I know thoughts the I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil. To give you and expected end. Then shall you call upon me and you shall go and pray to me and I will hearken to you. (KJV)

The NIV says it this way: I know the plans I have for you,,,plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future....

What a better promise for June 23, 2019. As I look ahead to what God has for me, there is no need to think of it as scary. He has me right where he wants me. In the palm of his hand. It is already all planned out. Not to how I expect, but how he does.

Til next time, God bless!

Standing on the Promises of God/ Women Submit to Your Husband Part 6

"...but he will rule over you."

That means that he (the husband) should stand with a whip in his hand so that she will obey his every command, no matter what. Right?

Wrong.

 Despite the fact that there are men that would love that, it  would at best lead to so much anger and resentment towards him  and at its worst, would be spousal abuse and sometimes even death.. Neither which  would be condoned by God.

In the New Testament, God explains to us his own qualities  of what marriage between husband and wife, should be. Starting with how the woman should willingly submit to her husband in the home, which was in Genesis 3:15. And following up in the New Testament, there it is again in Ephesians 5: 22. "Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as unto the Lord."

But in Ephesians 5:21, it says "Submitting yourselves to one another in the fear of God." And on down in verses 25 and 28, husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the Church and lastly in verse 33, husbands are to love their wives as themselves, and wives are to reverence their husbands.

Admittingly, there can be problems with that. Character/sinful flaws in an overbearing husband that makes a wife hate him much less want to submit to them or revere him. Or the husband whose wife makes her duty to control every aspect of his life. God is not going to condone the behavior of those that are not willing to really love and support them and be guided by his Spirit. 

In verse 32, Paul calls it a "great mystery." Yet, he likens the relationship between the husband and wife, as the relationship between Christ and the Church. Because he loves the Church, he also loves the marriage relationship. After all, it was he that created it all.

After the fall from grace that happened in the Garden that day, there have been no one that has come after that who have experienced God's blessing, like they did before they sinned. And that was why God had to send his Son to die for the disgrace that humanity brought on themselves. Our humanity. 

But thankfully, he was willing. And so was his Son who went to the cross for those of that believe. Because though we have not known that kind of blessing yet, we will. It is waiting with God and Jesus on the other side. It is waiting there for us.

June 22, 2019 Promise: The Lord is good to those that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. Lamentations 5:25

Thanks for stopping by Friends. I plan to be here tomorrow. I hope you will come back. God Bless!

Standing on the Promises of God/Promise to the Woman Part 5

...and thy desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you. Genesis 3:16

Ah, our desire will be for our husband. Isn't that a good thing?  Maybe not so much that second part. He will rule over us. How many woman can actually rejoice at that statement?

So what does God mean by those two statements anyway?Are they meant to be a blessing? Or a curse? What?

Let's summarize a bit. God had given them the perfect of all perfects settings.Each other. A beautiful garden to call home. Food to eat. Above all, his companionship. 

Surely, there was harmony within their own relationship as husband and wife as well as all the above.

His only rule with which to keep it, was to not eat from that one pesky tree. And then all of it was gone in an instant. All because Eve's eyes were too big to see the consequences of what she was about to do. 

If we put that in to context with what has happened since that time, it is perhaps easy to see. Husbands and wives, men and women that battle over the control of the opposite sex. Women don't want to be controlled by their husbands by nature. Rather they would want to be the ones that do the controlling. And some are very good at it. Likewise, men feel that it within their right to control their women, and some of them are very good at it, as well. (Albeit, neither is good at all.) 

I have in my 60 plus years of life, seen how negative and damaging that they both can be. The woman that is so out of control that in her attempt to control her husband or even others, she makes everyone miserable. Or the neighbor, who years ago used the Bible as his excuse for trying to make his wife do everything he wanted. Which laughed in the face of God, because he didn't even go to church, much less know what the Bible said about how husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the church.(And believe me, he didn't) Ephesians 5:21-30 teaches us that we are to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 

Be that as it may. The battle has raged on since from that first bite that Eve took in the Garden. Discord between the sexes that God had created to live in peace with. It was never his intention for us to control each other or anyone else for that matter. He gave us all minds to think with. He does not want us to be his  puppets. Neither does he want us to be each others puppets. 

Instead, we are to take our wedding vows seriously. To love and honor each other as Christ loved His Church. When we do that, our relationships are a blessing. Not a curse. 

But perhaps that while this all makes sense, what about this "he will rule over you" statement? 

Maybe tomorrow we can make some clearer understanding of it as we study a bit more. Please come back to find out. 

June 19, 2019 Promise: Repent ye therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19.

Hi Friends. Wow! What a promise. We need the Lord to come and refresh us, don't we?  We need his presence in our lives every day! Have a blessed day!

Standing on God's Promises/ Promise to the Woman (Part 4)

To the woman he said, "I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children..." Genesis 3:16.

After God's promise to Satan, he came next to Eve. His promise to her was actually two-fold that day in the garden. 

Most any woman that had gone through labor, knows what it means for it to be painful. And for some, very painful. 

It is not a gentle reminder that every woman that would go through childbirth,  

 (Eve included) and came after her, would indeed have to go through suffering for what Eve (and Adam) had done that day. 

Not only had it been a promise to her, but it was a judgement for her sin. Because sin does not leave us off the lease of allowing us to get away with it scott free. No, just the opposite. It becomes the lease that can be so wound so tight around our necks that we can strangle from it. And or lead us straight to the pit of hell, for those that do not confess that Jesus is Lord. 

 To be sure, labor pain and childbirth can be very painful for most women. But it is very very little in comparison to the pain that will be everlasting once our time is up on this earth. 

Which do we choose? Obedience or rebellion? Blessing or curse? It is our choice.

June 18, 2019 Promise:And there shall be no more curse but the throne of God and the Lamb of God shall be in it and his servants shall serve him. Revelations 22:2.

Hi Friends. I look forward to the day when there will be no more curse and we can be with God around his throne. 

Up tomorrow, the second part of that verse in Genesis 3:16.

God Bless!

Standing on God's Promises/ Promise to Satan (Part 3)

The question for today is, in the Garden of Eden, when Satan had conned Eve into eating that fruit, where if anywhere, does Jesus come in to it? Because after all, it would be eons before he would even be born.

I happened to find a quote that someone made on Pinterest about that very thing and I am going to print it for you here because I really like it. It simply says this:

God was promising that the serpent (Satan) would receive a head crushing blow (he will be defeated forever) and Jesus would receive just a "snakebite" (his death on the cross resulted in resurrection and victory.) God promised a Savior who did come. And He's  promising eternal life for you, which started with Jesus.

God had made his own move on Satan's game board that day. And even though throughout the ages Satan has kept playing and trying to win, and surely we can look around and see that he has in the lives a lot of people. 

And yet as we go back to the Garden, and see that God had given them a choice in whether to obey  him or not, he has continued to give everyone the same choices. To obey his word or not to. And because some have decided not to, so they have not been given the blessing of eternal life. 

It really is not that hard to figure out. Do we? Or don't we? Obedience? Or Rebellion? It is up to each of us to make that choice. Just as it had that day in the Garden. God will win the game in the end. And that is the greatest promise of all!

June 17, 2019 Promise: And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow or crying, neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21:4/

Hello Friends. Talk about a promise! That one just says it all for those that have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior! We can look forward to that day because it will come. We have God's Word on it!  God bless!

Standing on God's Promises/His first Promise Part 2

God had created Adam and Eve and had given them the most perfect life they could ever have. He had one condition for them. And that was not to eat of the fruit of that one tree. Did he know that they were going to disobey that command for them to not violate his word? Of course he did. So if that is true, why then didn't he just let them enjoy all the garden and not create a tree that they could not eat from?

An interesting question but not a hard one to figure out. God loved them. But he did not want robots that would just do everything he said without giving them a choice to do it or not. He gave them a free will. Just like all creation has had every since right down to you and I.

When we choose to obey God, we reap the benefits and blessings he has for us. When we choose not to obey him, we must pay the consequences because now we have sinned.

Satan had been cunning when he offered Eve a deal she couldn't resist. All it took was a piece of fruit from a tree that God had said "no" to. And she fell lock, stock and barrel for it. She was a pawn on his game board that he had wanted to flub up God who he hated. Of course, it hadn't worked. Not entirely because God had other plans. After all, he is God above all gods. He was not going to let Satan get away with his  evil game plans.

Here though I want to let you know that I did not quite quote that scripture right in yesterdays blog. I really apologize for that. So here is what the KJV says:

And the Lord God said unto the serpent. "Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: and thou shalt bruise his heel." Genesis 3:14-15 (KJV)

This was the promise that God had made to Satan that day. But what did it mean and who was it for?

By "thy seed and her seed" it probably does not mean Satan's literal offspring. Instead, God's promise which is really a curse, likely means all fallen angels, demons, and those humans which would be the seed of the woman that have come to follow the devil. Those that do not repent and take Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

But, Jesus wasn't even born yet. How could this have anything to do with him?

Come back tomorrow for part 3. Or in the mean time, you may also take a look at the following website for more on this subject.  What does Genesis 3:15 mean?

June 15, 2019 Promise: If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all, without finding fault and it will be given to you. James 1:5

Hi Friends. Again, I apologize for incorrectly quoting Genesis in yesterdays blog. I try very hard never to do that. I pray God's blessing on your life today!

Standing on God's Promises. Really God? Part One

Since the beginning of 2019, I have been posting a promise that God has given us in his word-everyday. Or at least most every day.

We like to learn them depend on them, look forward to some, and believe them. They are all parts of the good things that God has for us.

However, can we say there are some, that are not so good for us? Some that we hope do not come to pass in our lives? Some that come with unbearable consequences.

Why do we call God loving and forgiving, when sometimes he is not?  Why did we sing his praises or teach our children even at an early age that he is our protector, our provider?

What right does he have to say he is all these things when in fact, he doesn't even start off his Word giving us a wonderful promise but instead gives us one that threatens our very future with him?

And what was the very first promise he made anyway?

Consider Genesis 3:14-15 So the Lord God said to the snake, "Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all the wild or domestic animals. You will crawl on your belly. You will be the lowest of all animals as long as you live. I will make your descendants hostile toward each other. He will crush your head and you will bruise his heel."

So there we have the very first recorded promise in God's Word. As we know, it all started with his creation of the world, it's animal inhabitants, and of course more than all else, his creation of the human race.

But who was this promise for and what had happened that he had given it?

Well, it all started out with the sin that Adam and Eve had just committed in the Garden. God told them not to eat the fruit of a certain  tree. That they could eat of any other tree, just not this one, because if they did, they would die.Along came the snake (Satan) who lied to Eve and said that they would not die. In fact, their eyes would be opened to good and evil, and they themselves would become as gods. Well Eve couldn't resist eating that fruit because it looked so good and after she had, she had then gotten Adam to eat it as well. Genesis 3:6.

For mankind, it was the beginning of the end. The end of God's blessing on man's life that is. And so he had had to make promises to them for their sin, and those promises held consequences. Of course, that first one was for our enemy Satan the snake.

But what had it meant? And who was God talking about?

Come back tomorrow for part two.

June 14,2019 Promise: How Amazing are your thoughts concerning me. How vast is the sum of them! Psalm 139:17


Hi Friends. It is another busy week and again I am late. I am still asking God for his blessings on your life however. Not only his blessings but his richest ones. Thanks for coming as always. You are important to me, but more than that, you are important to the God we serve!

Sharing Christ With the Lost

I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel; which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.  Galatians 1:6-9 (KJV

They mean well for the most part. Those people that usually two by two show up on Saturday mornings to tell you their version of the "good news." They can be irritating to some Christians because it seems they often know more of the bible then we Christians do.

You can usually spot them even as they are going down the street as we did two men one day last week. 

The problem is they just don't have all the truth. They haven't come to our house in a long time because a couple years ago, my husband answered the door, and told them we are Baptist and well...they left and never came back. 

If it is like it used to be, they want to "give" you their pamphlets.....for a donation. Or they would love to start a bible study in your home, but they will lead it. If you invite them in and tell them you would like to pray for them, they will leave scuff marks on your porch trying to get out of their as fast as they can. I know because while I made up the part about the scuff marks, that almost did happen at our home years ago when two men came to our door.  

Another time many many years ago, I started asking them questions that they could not answer about the 144,000 that are supposed to go to heaven to rule with Christ one day. They didn't stick around long, and never came back. I hope I planted a seed or two that day because sorry to say though these people are basically trying to do what they think is right, they are very much missing the mark about what real Christianity is about.

I talk a lot about things of long ago in my blog, and here is another one. Back in the 1980s while attending a church, we were often given the chance to give testimonies of what God had been doing in our lives. One day a member (I will call her Barbara) stood up to tell how thankful she was that as a Jehovah's Witness, she and another member had gone to the door of what turned out to be a born-again Christian. To be sure J.Witnesses do not like to be found at a Christians home to be themselves witnessed to. Their goal is to get people into their church etc. and will take those from their lists never to visit them again, should they find out they are said born again Christians. Anyway, this lady and her friend did end up on a Christians door step one day and the Christian that answered the door witnessed to them, and having planted some seeds the two ladies came to know the real Jesus Christ. And that is why Barbara had gotten up thanking God that day, for showing them the truth. Had it not been for the Christian that shared with them that day, Barbara and her friend might have never come to know Jesus.

The thing is this. Those people need the light of Jesus Christ to be turned on to them. Often people do get irritated when they show up. Christians sometimes do not know how to talk to them because they really do dig in to their doctrine. And their doctrine misleads them, using only certain scriptures which are usually and most always out of context. And they have their own version of the bible. 

But again they need Jesus. And if they show up on our doorsteps, we need to be able to share with them the truth. Even if it is just to plant a seed or two. They may not come back to our house again, but if all Christians would even plant one seed in their mind, and also be praying for them, eventually and God willing, he can and will open up their understanding to who Jesus Christ really is. 

They should not be thrown off the porches of people that don't want to hear their gospel as a some have done. Just like any other sinner, they need Jesus too. And we may be their only hope of finding him. God forbid we turn them away without a second thought to sharing the love of Christ with them. 

June 12, 2019 Promise  Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him and we will come to him and will make our home with him." John 14:23.

Thanks for coming by Friends. God bless your day!

Will You Really Forgive Me God?

Why is it that sometimes we don't think that God can or will forgive us?

Are our sins greater then every one elses? 

Hebrews 8:12 says this: I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more.

That word 'wickedness' is a pretty strong word. It includes perversion, corruption, viciousness, immorality and many other definitions.

And yet, there it is right in the bible as a word that God says he will forgive and remember it no more.

So why then can't we believe that promise is for us? Perhaps it is because we can't seem to forgive ourselves for the things we have done.

But 2 Corinthians 5:17 says:Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Behold old things have passed away, and all things have become new.

We do not have to live under the devils condemnation any more. We now belong to God who has redeemed us and forgiven our sin. Romans 8:1

The next time you get down on yourself, and think that the sin you have committed is too much for God to forgive, go back to that verse in Hebrews. In fact, if you really have a problem in that area of thinking God can't or won't forgive you-print that verse on a card and tape it someplace or maybe in several places in your home where you can see it on a regular basis. Let it get into your spirit as you go through your day.

Because he wants to forgive you and I or he would not have given us that promise.

June 11, 2019 Promise: Blessed are those that keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.

Thanks for coming by today Friends. God bless you today and be sure to pass your blessings on to someone that needs them.

Promises, Promises, Promises

Promises, Promises, Promises

Has anyone every made you a promise that they didn't keep? Have you ever made someone a promise you didn't keep? Sure, promises are made and not kept every day to people. Whether they can't be kept or the person making them didn't intend to after all, and was just trying to appease someone. 

God doesn't make promises that he doesn't keep. He does what he says he will do, when he says he will and how he says he will. 

It may not be in our time frame. Or, how we think it should be.

Years ago, my mother had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Doctors gave her a month to live but she passed several days later. My sister came from out of state to attend her funeral. Linda was one that believed in absolute healing, and not in doctors. Going to doctors was committing sin, so the church in which she attended taught and she believed. She said to me that morning of the funeral, that she had prayed that our mother would be healed. I said to her, "But she has been healed. As soon as she breathed her last in this life, God had healed her."

She looked at me like I was crazy. If only all of us had been praying for mom's healing, she would not have died. I guess she thought it was our fault for not praying the way we should have, or because she had gone to doctors, that was why she had died. 

She didn't seem to think that it wasn't up to us. It was up to God when he called her home. If he had wanted her healed, he would have done that. Instead, we had depended on him, praying his will, and not our own.

And that evening when she passed, it had been his will. 

God does not always answer our prayers on our time clock. He does not have a magic button on which we can push to get what he want. He knows what is best for us, and when the time is right he will answer our prayers. And he doesn't always answer them just the way we ask or hope. 

Jesus was teaching his disciples how to pray one day, and part of that prayer he had told them to say was, "...thy will be done. in earth as it is in heaven..." (Mathew 6:10)

That means God's will, not my will. If God does not heal someone that I am praying healing for here, I am confident that if they are saved by his blood, that they will be when they take their first breath after they have passed. 

Why?

Because, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways, declares the Lord."  "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher then your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."  Isaiah 55:8-9

I don't know about anyone else, but that is way good enough for me. Because after all God is above all and he has the final say.

June 10, 2019 Promise: Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Psalm 119:1

Thanks for coming by today Friends. May God bless your day! 

God's Masterpiece or Barbie Makeover?

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14.

As a young teenager growing up in the early 60s, I had a complex about my body. I didn't like the way I looked. I thought I was too skinny. I really don't know where those thoughts came from because I don't remember anyone actually making fun of the way I looked. And yet those feelings that I had, carried on into long after I was married.  (They don't any more even though I am sixty plus years old and beginning to get gray hair.)

We all know that the entertainment world has done a lot of damage to girls and women especially in their quest to make them believe that they have to have a certain image, a certain "look" in order to make it in movies and so on. Sad to say, because they want it so bad, they fall for so many lies that the devil has told them about how they need to change their looks to meet certain requirements to become famous.

I recall seeing a woman on a talk show program that was addicted to having plastic surgery so much that she did not even look normal. Or how about the lady that wanted to look like the Barbie doll so she reportedly spent $500,000 on plastic surgery to become a "Human Barbie." And then there are those that find phony surgeons on the internet that have injected cement into parts of the body supposedly to enhance those body parts, only to maim or cause death to them. 

For what reason do any of these surgeons do that? Whether licensed or not, it all boils down to money, of course. It is a huge industry. 

How sad is our God that looks down on his creation to see the willingness of those that want to transform their bodies into something other then what he had knitted together in their mother's wombs. Yes, how sad.

And how sad is for those men and women that have so little confidence in their looks to spend their money on changing what God has given them, either from some that is qualified, or God forbid, someone that does it that has absolutely no training in it and ruins someones life because of it. All because they are willing to trust someone that has no business at all taking money from vulnerable people.

And yet, they want, when they want it and are willing to do what it takes to get it.

The Psalmist David had it right He knew where he came from. He knew that he wasn't just tissue in his mother's womb to become a baby at some later point. God put him together as he was growing in the secret place, and God actually knew him from his very beginning. Just as he knew you and I in our very beginning.

We must give our children the confidence that they are beautiful because God made them, so they do not grow up thinking they need some surgeon or back alley fraud to make them over into something they are not. It is our duty as parents and even as grandparents.

God help us if we don't. 

June 9, 2019 Promise: Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in times of need. Hebrews 4:16

Hi Friends. I am so sorry that I didn't get here yesterday. I thank you for your patience and wish you a happy and blessed Lords day!

Weed or Seed?

Do you ever feel a little like this dandelion that loses its flower and its remains float off into the wind, losing their strength as well? But do you know that those seeds that do go floating off, plant themselves somewhere else, only to grow and irritate people that do not want them in their yards.

The thing about them is, there are truly some remarkable things to say for these weeds that we don't really want around. From being edible to possibly helping to control blood sugar and more.

However, I am not going to talk about their benefits in this post. If you want more information on that you can go to:  13 Potential Health Benefits of Dandelion

 I think the main thing is, they are a bit like us. Wait. What?

When a person becomes a Christian, they are often so happy for what God does for them, that they want to spread it all around. Just like those dandelion seeds, we spread this good news for all to hear. Only some do not want to listen. And so eventually some get tired of trying.We may lose our strength and become idle. Just letting everyone  else plant the seeds and doing the things that we should be doing to further the gospel of Jesus Christ.

That is when we need our fellow "dandelions." To gather around us, praying for us to take on the strength of Jesus Christ again to grow his kingdom.

Thank God for the ministry of those around us. That can lift us up when we are bent down. That we can also lift up when they feel like their life is just blowing in the wind.

Luke 8:11 says: The seed is the word of God.

But if we are stagnate, and not spreading it, it will not grow. We need God's Word and sometimes the prayers and support of others in Christ, so that we will be as strong as those weeds that we may detest and yet are as quick to come back as soon as our grass is mowed.

Because, unlike those dandelions that will one day pass away forever, God's Word will never pass away.

June 7, 2019 Promise: But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength. 2 Timothy 4:17

Thanks for coming by today Friends. God be with you and bless you and yours!

What is True Love? God's Love

Love never fails. But what does that mean? Because it does everyday. That is why there are so many divorces. Not to mention all the other ways in which it does.

However, the love of God never fails. He created us. And because he created us, he will  never leave or forsake us. Hebrews 13:5. In fact, nothing can separate us from his love. Romans 8:38-39. His love for us is so great that he sent Jesus to die for our sins. Romans 5:8.

God's love is the only thing that has stood the test of time. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 says it all for us. It does not matter if we speak in the tongues of men or angels, have the gift of prophesy,  have the greatest faith in the world, give everything we have to the poor, or give our selves to be sacrificed-if we do not have love, we are no more than the banging of brass or clanging of a cymbal.

That reminds me of these cults that teach all these weird things and people are told to follow all their rules and when they do not, some are ousted from the fellowship or worse yet, beaten, tortured or even killed. What kind of love is that. It is not God's love. And yet, people blindly follow them because they seek something that they need, in hopes of finding it.

The fact is, that kind of ministry-if we can call it that- is sounding brass and the clanging of cymbals because it is without God's love. All they do is make noise. That does nothing for the Kingdom of God and it can lead people straight to hell.

But we can make that kind of noise to. In our communities, in our churches and in our families.

What is true love? These verses in 1 Corinthians is what it means. From here to there, from beginning to end, it is defined by God. He created it. He gives it. He is true love. Love that even in the most difficult of our life experiences, we are called to love as he has loved us.

And even when our love falters, his does not.

June 5, 2019 Promise: Humble yourselves in the sight of God and he shall lift you up. James 4:10

Hello Friends. I hope your summer is getting off to a wonderful start. God bless!

What is True Love? Perseverance

Love....it always preserves: 1 Corinthians 13:7

Perseverance:

 doing something even though difficult

continued effort to do something despite difficulties

never giving up

When I was a fairly young teenager, we used to go out to a farm in Hilliard, Ohio where my aunt, uncle and cousins used to live. I was born in a small town and raised in the city and so getting to go out and spend   time on a farm with them were special times to me.  They had these huge trees on their property and in the summer I used to go out and climb my very favorite one, every time we went out. That was no small feat, I assure you. I had to carefully climb up one limb at a time until I reached very close to the top, so as not to miss my step and go tumbling to the ground, which I was sure would probably be the end of me. Thankfully, I never did and if my parents had known what I had been doing out there, they would have put a stop to it. But they didn't and climbing that tree had gone on for several years with each visit we made there.

Why did I do it? Well, looking out over the beautiful country side had been an amazing experience for me. Not only that, but it was a small piece of freedom and a private place I had apart from everyone else, that they didn't share with me. I suppose I liked that. It was like this tree had its limbs around me holding me in place with each step. I know sounds silly. But how often our thoughts are silly as kids, and yet maybe it wasn't so silly because it did keep me safe.

It had taken perseverance to get up high in that tree and back down without meeting my end and I knew it. All through my life, I have mostly not willingly taken such dangerous actions as I did climbing that tree. Thank God I had chosen a tree strong that would hold me although I was a skinny kid and didn't really weigh all that much even as a teen.

Love is persevering in things even and especially when they are tough. In marriage. In raising our kids. In financial crisis. When we are growing older. In all things.

Jesus himself was the model for us in  Hebrews 12:2. ...looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and is seated at the right of the throne of God.

He persevered in love for us even to his death. Easy? Was his life and death easy? Absolutely not. And sometimes ours isn't either. There are times when it takes the all the strength of God just as those limbs that so long ago held me,  to hold us in his arms to be able to preserve to the end of what we are going through.

It takes love, it takes patience, it sometimes takes the support of others-but mostly it takes God.

June 3, 2019 Promise: And the peace of God that passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

Hello Friends. May God be with you and bless you today and always!

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What is True Love: Hope

What do you hope for?

A brand new car? A beautiful home? The latest smart phone? Or maybe something like a husband or wife. Or children.

Grand as those things can be, our first hope should be for the eternal life we will have one day through Jesus Christ. For those who have called upon his name. He is called our hope in 1 Timothy 1:1.

And our real hope should be laid up in heaven if we are saved by his blood.

Sometimes it can be hard when going through a trial to see any hope for our situation. We can feel stuck. We can feel like things will never change. I know because there was a time in my life when I felt and believed these things.

Until I got hold of the verse in Hebrews 1:1 Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith and hope goes hand in hand. If we hope for the things that we cannot see, God sees our faith and he will work our situation out to our good. Why? Because he loves us and he wants the very best for us.

June 2, 2019 Promise: In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie promised before the foundation of the earth.

Hello Friends: The post today is rather short and I apologize. I had some technical problems with the first one and had to shorten it so I can go on with some other things we are doing. Anyway, I want to wish you with birthdays this month a very "Happy Birthday!" God bless!