It Is Well With M Soul

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll

Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say

It is well, it is well, with my soul

It is well

With my soul

It is well, it is well with my soul

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul

It is well (it is well)

With my soul (with my soul)

It is well, it is well with my soul

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, o my soul

It is well (it is well)

With my soul (with my soul)

It is well, it is well with my soul

It is well (it is well)

With my soul (with my soul)

It is well, it is well with my soul

When going through a difficult situation, God gives us something that we can hold on to. Be it a word of encouragement from a friend, a scripture or....a song. 

This song gave me much comfort in a sad time of my life. Upon running across it today it brought back memories of a time in 1995 right before my mother passed. 

I have written before about my mother. She was bi-polar and her illness affected our family life as far back as I remember and I am sure, even further back than that. Though I realize now that she loved me during my growing up years, I never felt accepted by her.I was one of 4 siblings. I was number 3 on the list. My older sister was much like my mom in that she loved doing the same things. Gardens, antiques and so on were some of their passions. My older brother had gone to college but ended up being borderline bi-polar himself. My mother catered to him because he felt he was a reject and she tried to help him the best she could. My younger brother was well.....you know, the baby. And spoiled. 

And then there was me. Shy, non-aggressive in anything good (or bad either) with no interests in the things that made mom and sister happy. And so I never felt like I belonged and there were times I wondered if I was adopted because my genetic makeup is quite different as well and even to this day, I have felt a kind of emptiness that I did not belong. 

Because of the difference in those members of my family and myself, they did cause me to bump heads with my mother from childhood and for years after.. And I can't go into all that and it is not the point of this story anyway. The point is that I was never close to my mom. It did not seem she really cared about my life enough to really take time to know me for who I was. And also how God gave me back some of what I had longed for all my life

 Some of the problems was her illness.. She was sick so much of my life. And I did not really understand it. Not until much later. 

The Bible tells us, God will give back to us what satan has stolen.Joel 2:25. And while it came almost too late, he did restore a bit of the relationship that had been taken from my mother and myself.

In late winter of 1994 mom had gone through a pretty wild manic spell. And then she hit rock bottom and ended up in a psych unit in the hospital.When she came home, she was still very depressed and she pretty much took to her bed. And during that time when we would go visit her, I would go into her room and sit with her just to be with her. And for the first time that I could ever remember, she actually talked with me at a deeper level. She talked with me about the years I was growing up with a concern about how did I feel as her being my mom. 

I can tell you, I was not honest about that with her. She had suffered so much in her life and I had learned much about suffering myself. And so I did not want her to feel guilty any more than she already possibly had. So basically, (and God forgive me) but yes, I did lie.

A few months later my dad called me one day. Mom had gone manic again and it was so bad this time that he and my brother took her to an ER. They were going to run tests on her the next day because she was in a lot of pain and could I go and be with him during that time. Yes, I would go. 

The next day, I met him at his house and rode with him to the hospital. Mom had been in a lot of physical pain as well as the mental pain, for a number of years and most of it was in her back. When we got there, they had already taken her down for the testing. And so we sat down in the waiting room.

While there, I got this feeling of like a heaviness that this was not going to turn out good. But then that song came into my mind and it played over and over. "When peace like a river......it is well, it is well with my soul."  And deep in my own thoughts, I was praying to God, yes, Lord whatever comes of this, it is well with my soul. I don't remember how long we sat there waiting, but I know it was quite a long time before we knew the outcome. She had pancreatic cancer. The doctor gave her a month to live. 

Two days later she was discharged from the hospital, on a Thursday. She passed that following Saturday afternoon. It was hard seeing her go because we had made some progress towards having a closeness that we never had before. But I thanked God for that, for as little as it had been in comparison I knew that God had given me back some of what satan had stolen. And someday I will get the rest back and much more when I see her again in heaven.

She is with Jesus and my dad now, who passed some years later and I would not wish her back to this life. Not in the condition she left in. She is who she was meant to be now. The devil had stolen her in a lot of ways over her life. With her mental illness and all the health issues she had. But God has given her back all that he had taken from her. And she is at peace in the arms of God. And I am thankful for that.

As for me, even in the days following her death,I know he put that song in my mind because it was of such comfort and he knew it was something I needed at that time. Praise God,  "It is well, it well with my soul." 

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF JESUS PERFORMED HIS MIRACLES IN THE 21ST CENTURY?

http://christianfunnypictures.com/2017/08/happen-jesus-performed-miracles-21st-century.html

Thanks for coming by! I hope you will come back tomorrow!

Jesus, the Sacrificial Lamb of God (part 7 conclusion)

Jesus took away the sins of the world. John 1:29

Sacrifice is spoken of all throughout the Bible, starting in Genesis 4, with Cain and Able the sons of Adam and Eve. In the New Testament, of course, is the sacrifice Jesus made to redeem the sins of man. And from there it goes on to speak of other sacrifices, such as sacrifices of praise and our bodies are to be a living sacrifice to God, and so on. But why were the sacrifices of the Israelites so important?

Why didn't an alrighty God just send his Son down to earth and sit him on a throne in a big and beautiful palace to rule and reign from that kind of a vantage point instead of making him go through the humility and not to mention the terrible pain that he went through? And what did that have to do with Old Testament Sacrifices anyway?

As aforementioned, the sacrifices that God required in the Old Testament were a prelude to the sacrifice that would eventually have to be made for the sins of this world. And they are none the less as important in this day and age, as they were in Bible times.

Jesus, the Good Shepard, as called in Psalms identified himself also a lamb. He allowed (not forced by his Father) to be taken away to be slaughtered as a sheep, to die for an undeserving and ungrateful and sinful world. And just like the blood of the innocent animals of the Old Testament, his blood had to be spilled for that reason.God, in light of the Old Testament sacrifices, was preparing man kind way for the redemption of their sin without having to pay the price for it. Jesus was dammed in every sort of way we could only ever imagine. Humiliated beyond anything this world could ever know, and yet he did it because he loved us. God loved us and Jesus gave himself for us. John 3:16.

I have just touched on a partial look at what the bible has to say about sacrifice. There is so much more. But, as we look ahead to the upcoming Holy week (starting March 25th) we celebrate the most important reason why Jesus came to this earth. Not to sit on a grand throne to give us orders and tell us what to do, but to sacrifice himself to take away the sinful natures that we are born with. And as we celebrate the upcoming day that he arose from the grave, we must also be in reflection and in quiet thankfulness of that awful time when he had to do the very thing that we as a sinful people really deserved in the first place. Because without his suffering first, we could not have that redemption of our life. All praise to the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ!

Friends as we humbly contemplate the upcoming week that represents the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, may this time be a blessing to you and those around you. 

Christ died for you to give you life and he knew you are worth all it took for him to hang upon that Roman cross. If he would have had to do it just for you, he would have certainly done it. Thanks for spending this time with me. You are important to me! And you are even more important to God!

The Sacrifice of Trespass (part 6)

The second manatory sacrafice was the Sacrafice of Trespass (Levitcus 3_1-5)

This offereing was given as an attonement for unintentional sin when an reimbursement was given to an offended party. Or when some one needed a cleansing from something they encountered that was unlean. 

And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity.

2 Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcase of an unclean beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of unclean creeping things, and if it be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty.

3 Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty.

4 Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in one of these.

5 And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing:

In offering all of the above sacrafices, the Isaelites were covered for any sin that they might commint. These sacrafices were also pointing to the final sacrafice that led up to when Jesus offered himself for the sins of man and no animals no longer were needed for that pourpose. At that point, God's old law was abolished and in its place, man found new freedome in Christ. Jesus did pay it all and we do  owe  him everything because with out his sacrafice we are without hope. Amen!


When sin is trying to enter in, show it the Exit Door!

I had to share this sweet story called A CHILD'S VIEW OF THUNDERSTORMS 

source:

http://christianfunnypictures.com/2017/05/childs-view-thunderstorm-sweet-little-joke.html

A little girl walked to and from school daily. Though the weather that morning was questionable and clouds were forming, she made her daily trek to school. As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up, along with lightning.

The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school. She also feared the electrical storm might harm her child.

Full of concern, the mother got into her car and quickly drove along the route to her child’s school. As she did, she saw her little girl walking along.

At each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up, and smile.

More lighting followed quickly and with each, the little girl would look at the streak of light and smile.

When the mother drew up beside the child, she lowered the window and called, “What are you doing?

The child answered, “I am trying to look pretty because God keeps taking my picture.”

May God bless you today and every day as you face the storms that come your way!

And I second that. May God bless and keep you  especially through the storms that come into your life! I hope you will be back again tomorrow Friends!

The Sacrifice of Sin (part 5)

There were two mandatory offerings. The first was the Sin Offering.(Leviticus 4)

The purpose of this offering was to cleanse the person of unrighteousness and atone for sin.Some of the animals used in this sacrifice were a young bull, goats, lambs, a dove or pigeon and  also fine flour. The type of animal used in the sacrifice depended on the financial position of the person offering it.

These animals atoned for the sins of God's people by the shedding of their blood. He required it as temporary solution to cover for sin. As we know, when Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross many years later, he took care of the need for animal sacrifice. He was the Sacrificial Lamb that took away the sins of the world. John 1:29. We no longer participate in this ritual cleansing of sin. We just need to acknowledge that we are sinners, ask Jesus to come into our hearts and ask him to forgive us our sin. He that had no sin, took on the sins of the whole world that we could be free from it. That chorus that goes:"Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe, sin has left a crimson stain, he has washed it white as snow" rings true for every believer that has put his trust in Jesus. Have you trusted him? Do it now.

In Memory of Billy Graham:  He preached on every continent, in over 185 countries, to more than 215 million people. Here are 50+ Billy Graham best quotes from his lifetime of preaching and writing.

My father was saved under the ministry of this great man of God. While in a foxhole during the war with artillery fire going off everywhere, my dad told God that if he would get him home alive, he would serve God the rest of his life. God did his part but dad sort of forgot about his own until a few years later. In 1951 dad heard Billy Graham preach and he remembered his vow. From that day forward, dad was a walking/talking witness for God. I often wonder what would have happened had it not been for Billy's ministry as far as we, his family was concerned. But I am thankful that he had such an impact on not only my family, but the millions that he has brought to the Lord in his time. He is home with Jesus now, gone to his eternal reward. He is with his wife and all those that have gone before and are there because of this mans faithfulness to his calling from God. 

Thanks for coming by Friends. Now go in peace and be blessed throughout your day or night. 

The Scrafice of Peace (part 4)

 The third voluntary scrafice is found in Leviticus 7:11-21 and is the peace offfering.

It was give to God in 3 different instances. The first was given to as a freewill offereing that was thanking God for his goodness. The second was given with a fullfilled vow. An example would be when Hannah fullfilled her vow to God by bringing Sammuel to the temple, she also brought a peace offering to express the peace she had towards God for her scrafice. And the third scrafice was thanking God for his delievernce during a time of great need. 

None of these offerings were given to God as way of appeasing him or trying to get on his good side. And neither today do we do for God to get on his good side. He does not expect us to do for him and yet that is how we sometimes feel. That we must do good for him so that he will bring good to us. And instead he wants us to just confess our dependence upon him. 

The idea of in modern times that a gift is given to appease someone, to make them less angry such as a husband that gives his wife flowers after an argument is quite different then what God wanted out of his people in the Old Testamant. And is what he still wants from us today. We do not do good to get his favor. We do good from a heart that yes, wants to please him but because we just love him. And we recongize that he is the one person that we can always depend on when everyone else may fail us. 

For more information on the Scrafice of Peace, please visit:  https://www.gotquestions.org/peace-offering.html as well sa Leviticus 7:11:21

                                                             Cartoon of the day:

                                    Thought for the day:

Thanks again for coming by. You don't know how much I appreciate it! Please come back tomorrow for the part 5-the Manatory of Scrafices in the Old Testament. Have a great day and remember to be blessed!

The Sacrifice of Grain (part 3)

Yesterday, we saw that there are 3 voluntary sacrifices that Israel made to God in the Old Testament. The first one was the Burnt Offering which was worship to God and also used to atone for one's unintentional sin.

The second voluntary sacrifice is the Grain Offering. Leviticus 2

It was most likely wheat or barley whichever was available It could be offered to God cooked or uncooked in an oven or pan. It had to be finely ground with oil and salt in it and it could not have yeast ( leaven) or honey in it. When the offering was taken to the priest, a portion of it was given to God  with some frankincense and the rest was given to the priest. 

Its purpose was to worship God and acknowledge his provision.  And it was given out of a person's free will. 

Today, when we go to church, we worship God with our tithes and offerings. Unfortunately, some in the church grumble when they feel they should open up their wallets to give to God's  work. And yet, the ministry needs money to win people to Christ. And I speak of real ministry and not when leaders of a church or others in the church are stealing for their own benefit.)  When we go to church, we should give gladly and with a cheerful heart. 2 Corthinians 9:7. This helps the gospel go forth and it pleases God when we are obedient to support his ministry.

Joke of the day: Why it pays to not be the church gossip.

Mildred, the church gossip, and self-appointed monitor of the church’s morals, kept sticking her nose into other people’s business. Several members did not approve of her extra-curricular activities but feared her enough to maintain their silence.

She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his old pickup parked in front of the town’s only bar one afternoon.

She emphatically told George and several others that everyone seeing it there would know what he was doing. George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just turned and walked away. He didn’t explain, defend, or deny. He said nothing.

Later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred’s house…………. and left it there all night.

.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful and blessed Lords Day!

The Scrafice of Burnt Offerings (Part 2)

         Sacrifice. There are different kinds of sacrifice to God.

Have you ever given up something that you felt was important but deemed something else was even more important in the long run?

For instance, giving up single life to get married. Or your freedom as a married person to have a child. 

I was talking to my son Rick on the phone the other night. He and his wife have no children of their own so they have just now started fostering a little boy that is in desperate need of loving parents that will help guide and nurture him. 

Rick and Heather are just beginning their journey into something unknown to them up until now. And what it will take to be parents. They have already started to sacrifice things that are important to give this child a home. And they are happy to do it for him. Because life is not just about them, but it about taking on something greater than themselves. And we were talking about the sacrifices that have been needed to do that.And those which will come as this young boy becomes more and more a part of their family. 

 With that in mind, I wanted to give you a short synopsis of some of the sacrifices that were made to God in the Old Testament.

 There were three voluntary sacrifices. 

The first sacrifice: the burnt offering was an act of worship to express devotion to God and to atone for unintentional acts of sin. Animals used in this sacrifice were either a bull, a bird or a ram that had no blemishes. The meat, organs, and bones were completely burned and offered to God.

It was a very personal experience for the offerer. And the animal was killed for the general state of the offeror's sinfulness and to atone for his unintentional sinfulness. These sacrifices were given each morning and evening as well as on other occasions. And this sacrifice was the most common in Israel.

For more information on this sacrifice please visit https://bible.org/seriespage/2-law-burnt-offerings-leviticus-11-17   and/ or
https://www.gotquestions.org/Old-Testament-sacrifices.html as well as Leviticus Chapter 1.

After the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the old law was abolished and man did not need to offer to God burnt offerings for their sins. Jesus did that for us on the cross. Just as the burnt offerings were a personal experience for the Israelites in the Old Testament, so are the offers of prayer and praise to God today. God loves it when we spend time praying to him and praising him. Asking him to forgive us for our sin is a part of what we can now do instead. And thank God we have that way of offering up our sacrifices to him today.

I found this on a site today and had to copy it. Please pass it on.

Thanks for coming by and I hope you will come back tomorrow for another word on Sacrifice. Have a wonderful day and be a blessing to someone!