When I am.....

If I can depend on anything in this world, it is this. If there is anyone that I can depend on this earth, it is surely God. I cannot say it any plainer. 

Life goes on after the deaths of our loved ones. And it will go on for our loved ones after our own deaths.

But because our hope is found in Jesus, it doesn't end there. It goes on into eternity with him and all those that have trusted him as well. 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Thank you, Jesus!

Thanks for coming by today, Friends. I intend to keep coming here as I can. I thank you for checking in when you do. 

Have a blessed day!

Its Getting Faster and Harder

 I found this devotion this morning and it is so true of my life. How about yours?

Dear Christians, Our Race is Getting Faster and Harder - Jeremiah 12:5-6 (Bible Love Notes)

Jeremiah complained (Jeremiah 12:1-4). 

When he faithfully shared God’s truth, he was persecuted and despised, even by family members. 

Have you felt Jeremiah's pain?

People once tolerated immorality; now they applaud it (Romans 1:32). They once tolerated Christian values; now they mock them.

If you lovingly share the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality, fornication, or abortion, you’ll feel Jeremiah’s pain.

If you discuss Biblical accuracy or Christian responsibility with some in the family of God, you feel Jeremiah’s pain (12:6).

How did God answer Jeremiah’s complaints?

“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?”  (12:5)

God understood Jeremiah’s pain, but the race was getting faster and God wanted Jeremiah to pick up the pace and keep running. 

Dear friends, this message applies to us as well.

The race is getting faster and harder, but God's Word will give us speed and endurance.
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Thank God that he gives us what we need to finish the race is ever before us. And when we get to the finish line, we can say with the apostle Paul, 

" I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 2 Timothy 4:7-8

Thanks for coming by today, Friends. God bless you!

Are there times in your life when.....

...you wish that you had just five more minutes? 

 Once again I read something on Pinterest that I want to share with you. I feel the way this dad does, sometimes. We take life so for granted that we think it will go on the same way forever. At least I am guilty of that. But the truth is, it can instantly change in a second. 

Please read on:

Thanks for coming by today, Friends. May your weekend be blessed!

Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all. 2 Thessalonians 3:16

Heaven

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I ran across something that I want to share with you today about Heaven. That seemingly faraway place that believers long for. Especially in times of hardship. When life doesn't make sense. When joy is sometimes hard to come by. When we wonder if God is really listening to us.

Read on:

What will heaven be like?

By Christie Thomas 

Do you live with the end of the story in mind? I’ve been told that when we know the end of a story, we enjoy it more. But what is the end of our story?

When God wins and the forever becomes now and the eternal takes over the temporal, what will that be like? What will heaven be like?

We often talk about streets of gold, pearly gates, and mansions of glory, (and sometimes harps and clouds) but there must be more. Will you read Revelation 22:1-5 with me?

Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. 

Do you see it, hear it, smell it, touch it?
Imagine yourself standing at the edge of a sparking cascade
of the cleanest, purest water imaginable,
flowing from the Living Water himself.
As you reach down to touch it,
your skin tingles with the electricity,
and you smell…vibrancy.
The water tinkles through the rocks near the shore,
and roars through the center of the river.
You taste the water and as it runs down your throat
it brings strength to your eyes and heart T

his torrent pours down the center of the City of God, impossible to missThe entire City is built around the River of Life.

On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.

You stand in the shade of an incredible tree
whose roots grow deep into the crystalline, rushing water.
The air is filled with the smell of sweet exotic fruit,
and as you lean against the rough trunk,
its shade and smell bring peace to your soul.

No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. 

Nothing is cursed.
Not relationships.
Not the land.
Not the weather.
Not our thoughts.

No longer tending toward evil,
free of the shackles that have imprisoned our minds,
made our decisions selfish,
and our relationships shallow.

Free.
Free to be alive.
Empowered to worship the only One deserving of
every ounce of worship

I can ever and forever draw out of myself.

And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.

No longer ashamed to have his name engraved for all to see
on our foreheads
because he is all we see, hear, touch, taste, and smell.
No longer feeling the need to smudge
the name written in blood
but to touch the name painted on the canvas of our face

 And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.

Do you see it?
No darkness.
No shadows in the soul, heart, or mind.
God shines light into every crevice and rather than shy away with squinted eyes
we will open our eyes wide
and breathe deep of his glory and grace.
We will stand straight and true,
as children of the King of Kings,
Lord of Lords,
the Alpha and Omega,
the Beginning and End.

Do you live with the end of the story in mind? I’ve been told that when we know the end of a story, we enjoy it more. 

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Friends, thankfully the end of our lives here on earth does not mean the end of our lives for eternity. It will be just the beginning of those things to come, and that we long for. Heaven is as glorius as scripture tells us and our minds cannot even imagine. And just as Christie Thomas so wonderfully spells it out for us here, we will worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, forever.

Thanks for coming by today, God bless!

O Death Where is Thy Sting....

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is strength sin; But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:35-57

I read the following quote on Facebook just yesterday.

"All that death can do to the believer is deliver him to Jesus."                                                        John McArthur                                                                                                        -                                                                                                                        

Scripture tells us that our enemy the devil is a roaring lion, seeking to steal, kill and destroy whomever he may devour.

We know this to be true. We see it every day in the news. We see it in the physical body. We see it in our homes.

But the fact is, for those of us that are believers, John McArthur is right. All that the devil can do through our deaths, is deliver us right to Jesus and the sting of death is broken.

And so while we suffer at the loss of our loved ones that go on before us to their eternal home, we can also rest knowing that they were delivered to Jesus, the moment that they left this world to join Him.

And we can thank God for His mercy.

Thanks for coming by Friends. God bless you

                                                                                       

Its Better to Give than Recieve

 I am so sorry that I have not been here for so much of the time these past few weeks. I hesitate to say any more about the situation that I am going through. Only because I know that I am not the only one going through some type of pain. Please do know that God is getting me through, and I am trusting completely on him. 

With that in mind, I am just going to post something quick today that will hopefully make you smile or even give you an idea from someone else that maybe you could share with in your own life. 

This one came from Pinterest and reminds me that giving to others often gives back to us in due time. Please read on:

 

And maybe that doesn't sound like a big deal to you or me. But it meant something to both these people. Imagine what the girl felt like when she had made such a impression on that homeless man during her high school years.

God wants us to give. 

But sometimes we feel that they are homeless people by choice.

And maybe some are.

But there are other reasons for those situations.

And when we feel God's leading to give to someone,

we must remember this scripture in Mathew:

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed Thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. Mathew 25:40-46

We aren't to judge why people are the way they are. Or how they got to the place they get to. But we are to just love them with the love of Jesus and give to those that need help. That being said, I believe God would want us to be careful about who we give to because there is so much crime and sin in the world that would want to take advantage of those helping them. But I believe when he leads us to give, we should be prepared to do so because we never know how much we can help those that need our help. 

Thanks for coming by today, Friends. God bless you that you may also bless other

God's Blessings

As a kid growing up in Ohio, we had both an apple tree and a cherry tree in our back yard. Times were tough back then. My folks were rasing four of us siblings. Plus during some of those years, we also had two cousins living with us due to family problems in their lives. I know times were probably lean in the food department at times, but I don't recall ever going without it. And those fruit trees made up the difference at times, I am sure. 

My mother would use them for pies, dumplings and such. What a joy they were just to eat right off the tree. Back then we didn't even worry about washing them first. Ha, ha. 

Many years later, our own back yard provided us with many apples on the four trees we had there, and I took over the job that my mom had by using them to feed my own growing brood. 

God gives us so much in his world, to enjoy. Take the cherries. They come in its own edible wrapper, filled with a sweet goodness and packed with vitamins and minerals and fiber. And back then because candy and other sweets were more rare, all that it really took to satisfy us was a bit of sugar on it.

Our apple tree bore green apples which too are full of fiber, good fort bones and lungs. And more. Unfortunately for my brother and some neighbor boys, they were used back in the day for throwing at each other in their own mock playtime battles. As did my boys who engaged in their own battles against each other with them.

Still thinking back to those days, these fruits kept us going as well as the gardens that my mother would also have growing to keep us healthy.

Yes, God was good to us even in those lean times. And even throughout the years following, in my own growing family, we never went hungry.

“Praise the Lord…who satisfies your desires with good things…” Psalms 103:5

My prayer is that he will also satisfy those that all over this country, and all over this world who may be starving and or hungry today, that they may be filled with the goodness of God. 

Thanks for coming by today, Friends. May your evening be peaceful and full of God's blessing. 

Trojan Horse? What Has it got to do with the Bible?

Trojan Horse

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This article is about the mythological Trojan Horse. For the type of malware, see Trojan horse (computing). For other uses, see Trojan horse (disambiguation).

What does the Trojan Horse have to do with the Bible?

Trojan Horse refers to a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks, during the Trojan War, to enter the city of Troy and win the war. There is no Trojan Horse in Homer's Iliad, with the poem ending before the war is concluded, and it is only briefly mentioned in the Odyssey. But in the Aeneid by Virgil, after a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks at the behest of Odysseus constructed a huge wooden horse and hid a select force of men inside, including Odysseus himself. The Greeks pretended to sail away, and the Trojans pulled the horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night the Greek force crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed back under cover of night. The Greeks entered and destroyed the city of Troy, ending the war. (Read more of this story on From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

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My question about this horse is, what does it have to do with the Bible?

If you view it only by a non-biblical study of it, it has nothing do with the bible. But if we take a closer look at what scripture says, it can be very significant.

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy...John 10:10

And so, isn't that the purpose that the trojan horse was used for? Even if, that horse never existed (because I discovered that some say it was a myth and not real), and supposing it was just a symbol, it can most definitely be used with John 10:10.

But for arguments sake, let's assume that it was real. The Greeks constructed this horse supposedly as a gift to the city of Troy who pulled the horse in believing they had won the war with the Greeks. They must have felt pretty proud of themselves. That is until during the cover of darkness some Greek soldiers got out of the horse and opened the gates of the city to let in the rest of their army, who then destroyed the city and thus ended the war between them.

It begs the questions: Why didn't they look a little closer at that horse? Why did they just all of a sudden trust the enemy?

Isn't that so like the enemy?

Our enemy, the devil I mean.

In John 10:10, its who Jesus was speaking about.

"The thief (devil) comes to steal, kill and destroy,,.

He's dirty. He is underhanded. And he also sneaky.

The problem is sometimes he is so sneaky that we don't even recognize the red flags that if we had bothered to look at them, we might see them as a gift or reward that will turn out to be bad for us. 

It happens, Friends. In our homes, in our governments, and yes, even in some of our churches.

The trojan horses we allow entrance into our lives.

Make no mistake, they are waiting for us.

To come in to kill, steal and destroy us.

But the good news is, that Jesus didn't end that passage on a sour note. 

He also said:

...but I came that they might have life, and they might have it more abundantly."

That is where our hope lies. Not in the trojan horses of our lives.

It's only in Jesus, who shed his blood not in secret, but in full view of all in attendance that day, to take away our sin.

That's what I am talking about.

Thanks for coming by today, Friends. I appreciate you for staying with me through these last few painful weeks as I go forward without my husband. I still plan to continue with this blog and ask that you be patient with me as I try. There will be some days I just won't be here. But I will do my best.

God Bless You!

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Are You in Pain?

 Are you in pain today?

I know I am. And I am not alone in my pain. Many people are. Whether it be from just the everyday things that they are living with. Or maybe its because of the affects that Hurrican Ian had on them and their property earlier this week.

Or maybe like me, you recently or maybe even not so recently lost a loved one in death.

There are all kind of pain. But did you ever think of pain as being a gift from God?

I ran across something that comes right across where I am at today. I am going to copy and paste it here because maybe you will think of your own pain in a different light after you read it.

Pain - The Gift Nobody Wants

Pain is a gift nobody wants. But it's a gift, just the same.

We don’t ask for it or enjoy it, but we all experience it in one form or another.

My friend Peggie says, "Pain always brings change."

She's right. We can let it disable us with bitterness, anger, and depression. Or we can let it equip us with wisdom, sensitivity, humility, and grace.

When I’m suffering, I want to remind God of Bible passages where He rescues His people. I want to forget about the more prevalent passages where He loves His followers enough to let them suffer for their good and the good of others (e.g. Joseph and Paul).

We discipline our children, make them get shots, even give them over to doctors for surgery...because we love them. They could (and sometimes do) accuse us of letting them needlessly suffer. But they don’t understand.

As God’s children, we often misunderstand too. He doesn’t promise to prevent pain (Hebrews 12:1-11). He promises to use it for our good (Romans 8:28).

Help us, Lord, to see our pain the right way.

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The best thing that I can say about pain, is that it doesn't last forever. Eventually, it will go away. Maybe not until we pass from this life to the next.

My mother was in pain most of her life. And even though people prayed for her to be healed of it, it never left her. In fact, the last couple years of her life, she suffered much more than anyone that I ever knew. 

But then she went home to be with Jesus one day at the age of 73. And that was it. Her pain was gone. Prayer had not healed her in this life and that had been very disappointing to family members who thought she would be. But as I contemplated that in the days following her death, I knew that I would never wish her back from where she was because if she could not be completely healed, I was glad she was home and free from it.

Pain for me, is not just physical. It comes from the passing of those people who left me for Heaven. And yet, I have the hope and thankfulness that they are there waiting for me to join them. At whatever time that God deems it is my time.

And in the meantime, I can look at it as this article says. God promises to use it for my good. Because undoubtedly, he loves me.

And He loves you too. 

Thanks for coming by today, Friends.

God bless!