Give Thanks to the Lord!

Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk of all his wonderous works. Glory in his holy name, let the heart of them rejoice, that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord, and his strength, seek his face continually. Remember his marvelous works that he has done, his wonders, and the judgements of his mouth. 1 Chronicles 16:8-12

Thanks for coming by today, Friends. May we sing a new song of victory for this coming week! God bless you! And may his peace rest upon you!

 

As We Get Older....

Some of us know what it' like. Getting older, that is. We begin to lose the people we love most in this world. It is my own parents and especially my dad that I didn't know how I would ever go on without his cheery voice, and silly jokes. And most of all his faith in Jesus Christ that started my own walk with God when I was just eight years old.

Boy, do I miss him still. Even though he passed on to his eternal home almost 15 years ago. (Which will be next month)  I still grieve a bit at this time every year and  especially on his special days, like birthdays and Father's day because it just isn't the same any more. But I never thought really how I could instead celebrate his life even knowing that one day I will see him again.

Today's story comes from a family that had found a way to celebrate the birthday of their own husband and father the year after his death. You may find the story here at:  Someone Cares: Double Birthday | Guideposts  May it give you some ideas about those people in your lives who have passed and then to honor someone else in place of the normal grieving that you do.  In my own life, I wonder if perhaps instead of being sad  at this time of year when he had passed, if I can come up with something to do for someone else in his honor. He would love that. 

Someone Cares: Double Birthday

She honored her late father by donating football gear to a baby born on his birthday.

by Shirley UekertFrom  - Posted on Sep 25, 2020

My daughter Brenda called from Virginia. “I’ve got a great way to honor Dad,” she said. “Let’s send some Packers gear to the hospital for a baby born on his birthday.” It was a year after my husband, Eugene, had passed away. Brenda got the idea from a local news story about a woman who donated a special gift for the first child born on the day her mother would have turned 100.

Eugene was a huge Green Bay Packers fan, a proud Cheesehead. He was a season ticket holder; the kids had even bought him a brick at Lambeau Field. It read: “Packers play, can’t be late; farm and cows will have to wait.”

Brenda ordered some Packers baby items and had them shipped to her sister Sharon, here in Wisconsin. Once Sharon got the go-ahead from Aspirus Wausau Hospital, she wrapped the gift and dropped it off there along with a note.

I don’t know which new baby received the Packers gear, but I do know Eugene would have been thrilled to welcome another Cheesehead into the world.

Hello Friends. I apologize for not getting here yesterday as promised. Life keeps wanting to throw some curve balls into my plans. But it is well with my soul as the old song goes. I know that my God reigns and He s my hope! And he can be yours, too.

May the Lord bless and keep you,

May the Lord make his face to shine upon you

and may he be gracious unto you....

Til next time....

"I Pledge Allegiance to...." What?

 Please note: This post was meant to be shared on !0/06

If my people who are called by my name,  will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked way, then I will hear hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and I will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

Since the beginning of this great land we call America, there has been lots of bad things happen here. Wars, civil unrest, poverty, murders, abortion...and much more. We see men and women in our government that works against us for their own agenda, promising us great things but when elected, give us nothing but higher taxes. Along with a LOT of grief.  

But did you know that God himself is the head of our government?

Let everyone be subject to govern authorities. For there is no authority, except from God. and those that exist have been instated by God....Romans 13:1

Wait. What? Those crooked politicians that are supposed to serve the people of this great land, were instated by God? (Not to mention the fact that we....pay their checks.)

No, I don't think all of them are. God gave us all minds. And he gave us the ability to choose. And down through time, there have been many Christians that have believed that they do not have to vote or should not vote because, after all, God was and is the one that is the final authority on who gets voted into office. And there are some churches that teach that it is a sin to even salute the flag because it is really saying that those that do are worshipping it and not God. Crazy as that may seem, it is the truth because years ago, I went to a church that taught that. They seem to forget that in Pledge of Allegiance. we are acknowledging that we are 'One Nation Under God.'  I believe that the flag is the symbol of the freedom and the lives that men and women have fought and died under it,  to keep America free. But the most important part of the pledge is that we ARE one nation under God.

So then how did these corrupt government officials land in the highest office of the land, if we believe that God did not quite put them there, as Romans 13:1 states? It seems to be contracting,  to say the least, to believe that the scripture says God is over the government with all that goes on there. Doesn't it?

Come back tomorrow and I will share with you the probable answer to that question. Thanks for coming by today, Friends. Til tomorrow be blessed!

OBEY GOD! NOT MEN!

 

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority accept God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Romans 13:1

Ok, wait a minute. I am no theologian. I am no expert when it comes to the bible. And I don't claim to be. But doesn't that sound like...well sort of contradictory to you. Because it does me. Lets go on to verse 2.

He that resists authority, resists the authority of God, they that resist shall receive damnation.

But we know that there is a lot of government officials that are corrupt. So does that mean that God has set those kinds of people in place and are heads of government which we have to obey or if we don't we are going to be dammed?

Like I said, sounds like a contradiction to me.  Because in Acts 5:29, Peter and the other apostles had said, "We must obey God rather than men." 

It is my understanding, that yes, we are to be subject to God. And God being over all elected officials, is to whom we obey. 

Gods laws are perfect and they are for our own good. But too, we have to obey the laws of our land unitless those laws are sinful. For example, God tells us not to murder. But as we know, there are people murdered every day. So we are to obey God's law to not murder which is also a law of the land, whereby those that do, are punished.. It is as simple as that.

But what about all these crooked politicians that want us to do what they want because it benefits them? Did God put them in those offices?

No. I don't believe he puts them there.

But he ALLOWS them to be put there. And who puts them there? WE Do. By our votes, or by not voting. The years of yesterday saw many homes acknowledging God in their every day life. But Christians got lazy. Or they began to believe that they didn't have to vote because after all, God puts them into office right?  Wrong. We didn't stand up for our beliefs, by letting people like Madalyn Murry O'Hair (an atheist) who was able to get the Supreme Court to take prayer out of the school. She did have help with her son William but for the most part it was because of one person that got this started and won and prayer became obsolete in school classrooms. (see: School prayer in the United States - Wikipedia)  ( Thankfully, William did repent at a later time when Gold got ahold of him.)Now anything is allowed in most schools except any that proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Including  Christmas programs about the birth of Jesus.

The bible says in Isaiah 53:6 that each of us have gone our own way. And that is truly what happened in these past decades. America has turned away from God and created a big mess for those that even try to worship him the way we are called to. 

Where are the Christians?

It is time for America once again, to come back to him and we can start by praying for him to hear us and heal our land. 2 Chronicles 7:14. Before its too late for him to answer that prayer. Before we regret that we ourselves have turned away. Before America falls. Because there will come a time though we know not when, that it will.

I mentioned once in another blog that after 911 had happened, in a television interview, the late Rev. Billy Graham's daughter had been asked where God was during that tradegy.  Anne's answer was profound and you can check it out here:  Why 9/11

Indeed. Why would we want God's protection when we don't want him at any other time? When we ignore his laws. When we take him away from our children and they grow up to not even know who he is?

Friends, God gave us all a free will. We can choose to vote or not vote. We can throw caution to the wind and just hope things go the way we want them to without us having to do anything. But look what has happened over the course of that time when a couple people and a supreme court were able to get rid of prayer and in retrospect, have done even much more damage to the Christian faith. 

Yes, God is over all. Even those that sit in the high seats in government to rewrite the laws of not only the land, but those of God. Why doesn't he stop them? Because it goes back to our free will and if we don't do something about those things, he won't either. And it will be the price of our heads, if we don't use our own minds to change things.

And so now this election is coming up. What do we need to do? I can't answer that for you. But God can. Don't know what to do?

If any of you lack wisdom, ask of God because he gives liberally to all, and it shall be given to him. James 1:5.

Thanks for coming today, Friends. Til next time.....

What Would You Do?

 

Untitled Story

Read on Air by Phil Foley, Host of Tabernacle Presbyterian Church's Good News From Tab Program on 12/6/2000

After a few of the usual Sunday evening hymns, the church's pastor slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit and, before he gave his sermon for the evening, briefly introduced a guest minister who was in the service that evening. In the introduction, the pastor told the congregation that the guest minister was one of his dearest childhood friends and that he wanted him to have a few moments to greet the church and share whatever he felt would be appropriate for the service.

With that, an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak. "A father, his son, and a friend of his son were sailing off the Pacific Coast," he began, "when a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to shore. The waves were so high that, even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright, and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized."

The old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two teenagers who were, for the first time since the service began, looking somewhat interested in the story. The aged minister continued with his story. "Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life: to which boy he would throw the other end of the life line. He only had seconds to make the decision. The father knew that his son was a Christian, and he also knew that his son's friend was not. The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of the waves. As the father yelled out, 'I love you, son!', he threw out the life line to the son's friend. By the time the father had pulled the friend back to the capsized boat, his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black of night. His body was never recovered."

By this time, the two teenagers were sitting up straight in the pew, anxiously waiting for the next words to come out of the old minister's mouth. "The father," he continued, "knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus, and he could not bear the thought of his son's friend stepping into an eternity without Jesus. Therefore, he sacrificed his son to save the son's friend. How great is the love of God that He could do the same for us. Our heavenly Father sacrificed His only begotten Son that we could be saved. I urge you to accept His offer to rescue you and take hold of the life line."

With that, the old man turned and sat back down in his chair as silence filled the room. The pastor again walked slowly to the pulpit and delivered a brief sermon with an invitation at the end. However, no one responded to the appeal. Within minutes after the service, the two teenagers were at the old man's side. "That was a nice story," politely said one of the boys, "but I don't think it was very realistic for a father to give up his only son's life in hopes that the other boy would become a Christian."

"Well, you've got a point there," the old man replied, glancing down at his worn Bible. Sorrow began to overtake the old man's smiling face as he once again looked up at the boys and said, "It sure isn't very realistic, is it? But I'm here today to tell you that I understand more than most the pain God must have felt to give up His only Son. For you see, I'm the man who lost his son to the ocean that day, and my son's friend that I chose to save is your pastor."

http://godslittleacre.net/inspirationalstories/untitled_story.html

- Author Unknown -@: Untitled Story

"....I will never leave or forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

This man knew what it meant to give up his only son for the price of another boy that could live that he might find Jesus. What would we do in this situation"? Would we be able to do the same thing? It would not be an easy thing to do. It is probably not something God will ever require of us, but my question is: What if? Because, God does require painful things from us sometimes. And yet, he promises never to leave or forsake us. Like his own Father had done, God allowed his Son to be born for a purpose, and so are we born with a purpose. But we must be ready to give back what he ha given to us freely, if and when he asks. 

Hello, Friends. I promised yesterday  a story about a man that received a blessing by way of a cake. I apologize, but I had an issue with that story for today. So I hope that this one for will have blessed you because sometimes God does allow us to go through hard things and all for his glory. Even when at the times, they don't seem like it. Have a wonderfully blessed 'Lord Day.'  Until next time.....

Remain in me, Oh Lord and Create in me a Clean Heart

 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit in me. Do not cast me away from your presence and do not take your your Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me, the joy of your salvation and uphold me with your free spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways and sinners will be converted to thee. Psalm 51:10-13

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robes of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, as a bride adorns herself with jewels. Isaiah 61:10

Jesus said: "Remain in me, and I will remain in you..." John 15:4

Hello, my Friends. Thanks for coming by today. May God bless you abundantly today. Come back tomorrow for another story in which the good news of how one man received some wonderful news about a serious condition...by way of a cake delivered to him. All I can say is "Only God!"  Til then....

What Do We Seek First?

 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations (various trials); knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience but let patience have her perfect work, that you will be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all liberally and find no fault. and it shall be given to all. But ask in faith, not wavering. For those that wave is like a sea wave of a sea driven by the wind and tossed. And will not receive anything of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all of his ways. James 1:2-8

But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and these things shall be added unto you. Mathew 6:33.

Hello, Friends. Seeking Gods will for us should be the top priority of us even as we step out of bed each morning. It is only when we are committed to doing this, will we receive his full blessings for us. Do you ask for his will each morning? Do you ask for his wisdom when you need it? Sometimes the weariness of the day before can make us restless at night and maybe unable to sleep well. It is especially important for us to keep God at the center of all we do, so we can do the things he is calling us to do each day. Not always easy, but always necessary. And sometimes we fail. But, he is always there for us when we need him. Have a blessed day!