2.28.13

Mark 9:50 Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again?  You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other. 

 

My Thoughts

I cooked pinto beans just a couple of nights ago.  They seem to take a lot of salt before you began to taste the salt in the beans and I like to taste the salt in my pinto beans.  When I got to this verse I stopped and thought about salting those beans..then salting them some more and a little more.  Then when I put them on my plate I salted them yet again.  After all when I added the cornbread to the beans I had diluted the taste of the salt.

 

God's word is our salt!  When there is no salt in our lives it takes a bit of salt before we begin to taste that salt...before other sees the salt in us.  It takes a while to sink in to become a part of us.  We need to add enough salt for it to be tasted, to be seen. Enough to effect our lives.  And as we add in the things of this world, we need to salt those things with more of God's word.  We have to add in more so the salt in our lives does not become diluted with the things of the world. 

 

When we find ourselves not living in peace among each other, we have lost some of our slat... it is our red flag that we need to get busy salting our lives with God's word.  God's word will change us... it will make us better people... it will make us stronger, more confident, loving, peaceful, and on the list goes on and on and on... but we have to keep adding in the salt... because no matter what we do the world will keep adding in other things. 

 

I heard this on the show Monday Mornings the other night... I won't get all the words just right...  In every man there are two dogs. One is bad, one is good. The one you feed the most will become the strongest.  The world is going to feed us no matter what is going on.  We have to get busy feeding the good, with God word so that when we go out into that great big world touched by so much bad, the good shines through. 

2.27.13

Mark 9:1-7 Jesus went on to say, "I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Kingdom of God arrive in great power!

 

Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the med watched, Jesus' appearance was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white, far whiter than any earthly bleach could ever make them. Then Elijah and Moses appeared and began talking to Jesus.

 

Peter exclaimed, "Rabbi, its wonderful for us to be here! Let's make three shelters as memorials -- one for you, one for moses, and one for Elijah." He said this because he didn't really know what else to say for they were all terrified.

 

Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him." Suddenly when they looked around, moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus with them.

 

My Thoughts

Peter, James and John were standing with greatness...they were standing with three men who had been to heaven, who had lived in heaven... Three men who had all the answers.  They were getting to listen in on a conversation of such power and wisdom.  But Peter couldn't keep his mouth shut!!  Is it any wonder that God came down and said, "This is my dearly loved son. Listen to Him."

 

I wonder how much we miss out on because we don't keep our mouths shut?   How often do we sit down to pray, the we talk and talk and talk... never listening.  How often do we interrupt God when He is giving us the answer in our quite moments.  How often should our prayer be a minute of talking and and hour of listening.  Yet we go about praying and talking...then we go on our way before we ever take time to listen. 

 

What words of wisdom did these three men miss out on?  We will never know... in Peters haste to speak he stopped the conversation.  A conversation between three men who had lived on this earth and been in the presence of God. Oh what knowledge they must have had! 

2.26.13

Mark 8:22-25 When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged him to touch the man and heal him.  Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village.  Then, spitting on the man's eyes, he laid his hands on him and and asked, "Can you see anything now?"

The man looked around. "Yes," he said, "I see people but I can't see them very clearly.  They look like trees walking around."

Then Jesus placed his hands on the man's eyes again, and his eyes were opened.  His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly.

 

My Thoughts

This was a blind man...seeing people that looked like trees walking around was in itself a blessing!!  The man could have left his answer at just yes... but if he had  he would have missed out on the faces of his loved ones and friends... His life would have been better...but still not as productive as it could be with complete sight.  He was completely honest with Jesus, he told him the details.  When he did his sight was completely restored. 

 

How much do we miss out on because we don't tell Jesus everything? How much do we miss out on when we don't see the whole picture clearly and we stop at that?  How much do we miss out on because we are not completely honest with Jesus, telling him every one of our feelings?   How much do we miss out on because we say, "I understand this"...but then we don't say, "But I don't understand this?"

 

I don't give Jesus my all when I don't tell Him everything!  I pray often through out my day.  Little prayers here and little prayers there... I have got to learn to talk to Jesus, talk to him... all day every day!  Telling him every detail. Then like the blind man I can be completely restored, not partly restored!

 

 

2.5.13

Mark 7: 5-29 Right away a woman who had heard about Jesus came and feel at his feet. Her little girl was possessed by and evil spirit, and she begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter.  Since she was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia, Jesus told her, "First I should feed the children--my own family, the Jews.  It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs."

She replied, "That's true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children's plates."

"Good answer!" he said.  "Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter." And when she arrived home, she found her little girl lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone.

 

My Thoughts

Did you gasp when you read this??  Did you think Jesus was being so unkind?  Did you think that Jesus was telling this woman she was no more important than dog?  The first time I read it I did, then the next time I read it... I was still heart broken it really bothered me... last year when I read it I knew that there was something in there that I just didn't understand, my Jesus was, after all a loving Jesus. This time I had my ahh-haa moment!!  Love when that happens!!

 

Jesus didn't think less of this woman... but the people did they saw her as a nobody.  This woman may have even see herself as a nobody.  This fact made this moment a perfect teaching moment. The Pharisee and the Religious leaders went around complaining about all that Jesus was doing...they were so busy complaining that they couldn't stop and notice the blessings of Jesus.  They were so busy being jealous that they did not accept the blessings Jesus offered them because it might be less then somebody else got. 

 

This woman could have walked away mad...but she didn't she pretty much said, "Jesus anything that you give me, no matter how small, even if it is a crumb, will be enough!! I would be glad just to have a crumb from your table!"  When she accepted what Jesus offered her, she got all that she needed.  If she had gotten mad and walked away, her daughter would not have been freed from the demon that possessed her.  That woman got what she needed. It didn't matter to her what Jesus did for anybody else, or how much Jesus did for anybody else, Jesus did enough for her!!  She choose to take a crumb if that was all she could have, she know that a crumb from Jesus was enough. 

 

How often do we miss out on the blessings of Jesus because we are too busy feeling sorry for ourselves?  Because we think we deserve more?  How often do we walk away with nothing when Jesus is offering us all that we need?  How often do we think the offer is a crumb when in fact is more than enough? 

 

God tells us that when we love Him, He will supply all of our needs!!  How often do we miss out on God's blessings because we don't take what we have now and feel blessed, send up thank yous. How often do we go out and demand more and get ourselves into trouble...when God gave us enough all along?  How often does our jealousy of what we think God has given others get in the way of us enjoying the blessings, that are more than enough, that God gave us today. 

 

We need to learn from this lady... she took what Jesus offered. When she got home Jesus had given her just what she needed.  I imagine that she was shouting praises from the roof top!!  Her little girl was her's again!!!  I believe that even though we don't know the rest of the story...that her faith, her thankfulness, her total trust in Jesus' gift being enough, enriched her life beyond riches!!

2.24.13

Mark 7:6-8 Jesus replied, "You hypocrites! Isiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. For their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.' For you ignore God's law and substitute your own traditions.

 

My Thoughts

We have to be so careful that we don't take on man made ideas and twist  of God's word as the truth, the way to act.  That we don't use what man says is acceptable... what our neighbor says is acceptable. What our friends say is acceptable.  We have to look to God's word, we have to pray and listen careful to the Holy Spirit and choose what God says is acceptable. It is so easy to accept what people say... If they can put things in a way that make our actions seem ok the we can go about feeling ok.  Feeling ok does not make our actions ok.  Others actions don't make our actions ok. How people treat us does not give us the license to mistreat them.  We must act on what God tells us, what Jesus taught people while He walked here on this earth.  We must turn to God and ask Him what is acceptable...then when that seems too hard to do...we must ask for His grace to make us strong enough to be the people that He ask us to be. 

 

How often do we turn to people when we don't want to hear what God will tell us?  We have to be so careful of this... we have to, even when it is hard, especially when it is hard,  to do what God would have us do. When we choose God's way our lives grow in amazing ways! 

2.23.13

Mark 6:52b-52 They (the disciples) were totally amazed, for they still didn't understand the significance of the miracles of the loaves (and the fish).  Their hearts were too hard to take it in.

 

My Thoughts

I read this and remembered when I first started reading my One Year Bible.  For weeks it was like reading a foreign language.  But my son had given me this Bible and I was determined to read it every day.  Then I would come to a passage that I recognized... it would be like water in the middle of the desert, a relief.  Little did I know that my effort and my determination would make my heart soften.  Slowly, but surely, I began to understand a little more...then a little more... then a little more. With each little bit of understanding my heart became a little softer, able to take in more of what God had to tell me!! 

 

I could feel guilty over having a hard heart... making my heart a little harder in the process.  But as I wrote these words in my notebook today I stopped to think... These men had been with Jesus for a while now...they had witnessed many miracles... at this point they had even been sent out to perform miracles and preach on their own.  They had actually walked with Jesus, in person. They had touched him, physically touched him.  They had even just seen him walk on water.  Yet their hearts were still hard... too hard to take it in.  But Jesus still called them his disciples!!  Why? Because they were learning and growing... their hearts were getting softer all the time. One day they would look back on the miracle of the loaves and totally understand it. Their willingness to follow Jesus, their willingness to listen and learn was softening their hearts for a later understanding. 

 

Each day, each week, each year as I keep reading and seeking after God, trusting in what Jesus taught, my heart gets softer, I gain more and more understanding.  I am always amazed when I pick up my Bible and "get" something new from the same words I read last year and the year before that, and the year before that.  My willingness andmy determination will soften my heart... it will just take time.  I have until my death to keep learning and growing in God. God promised me and you in His word that he would grow us until the day Jesus comes back (Philippians 1:6). 

 

In Matthew Jesus talks of of the disciples being in Heaven with him... They believed in Jesus, they loved Him, they learned from Him. Their hearts were changing and getting softer by the day.  If we seek after Jesus, if we long to understand...then understanding will come to us, our hearts will get softer. It is our job to seek to understand...then the rest will come.

2.22.13

Mark 6:4-6 Then Jesus told them, "A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family." And because of their unbelief, he couldn't do any miracles among them, except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them.  And he was amazed at their unbelief.

 

My Thoughts

We have all seen a person that has lived a truly horrific life of sin trust in God and be so changed in a instant... so truly changed. Changed so much that we could be jealous of the change... their ability to so trust in God, and in the fact that God gave them so much. 

 

How often do we miss out on all that God has to offer us because we limited our belief to what we hear? What we have heard all of our lives.  How often do we limit our belief on what we are taught when we are only being taught part of the Bible? How often are we so close that we don't see it all?

 

That is why it is so important for us to read our Bibles for ourselves.  There might be a promise in there that we need, that we can ask for, that we have never heard about before.   How many promises do we miss out on that are important to our lives?  So often we are taught in Sunday School or in the pulpit what has been important to our teachers and our preachers because they teach what they know, they teach about what has effected them. And that is all wonderful, and from them we can learn so much.  But there is so much to learn that we can't learn it all from others.. we have to take time to learn for ourselves too.

 

I just missed out on so much that God has for me before I started reading my Bible daily.  Each time I pick it up I learn more and more and more.  I get more and more amazed at how alive those words on those pages become.  And now when I hear my teachers talk and my pastor preach...those words mean more to me because I have read them...I can connect better with what they are saying... I can question them when I see it differently. 

 

When I take time to read my Bible I can better discern the truth of God word when Satin tries to twist those words around to confuse me. 

 

When I take time to read my Bible I can truly know who Jesus is... instead of trusting on my preconceived notion of who Jesus is. 

 

The people closest to Jesus decided who Jesus was based on the fact that they knew His family...His family based Jesus on who they were not on who He was.... they didn't take time to really know who Jesus was.  To be able to believe, to be able to receive all that Jesus has for us... we have to truly know Jesus for ourselves.  When we do that ... oh the things Jesus can do in our lives!!!

1.21.13

Proverbs 10:9 People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will slip and fall.

 

My Thoughts

Integrity is defined as "The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness." God protects us when we walk with integrity. 

 

We have all had those times in our lives when people that were doing so much wrong seemed to be the ones flourishing.  The key is not to let their wrong doing effect the way we live our lives.  No to get that "it doesn't matter anyway" attitude.  It does matter, it matters to God, it matters to our well being.  In the end God will protect us if we live our lives with integrity. It is not always easy, but it is always, always worth it! 

 

Remember the blessings that God sends down from heaven are far greater than anything we can imagine, anything we can accomplish on our own.

 

 

2.20.13

Mark 4:26-29 Jesus also said, "The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground.  Night and day, while he's asleep or awake, the seed sprouts, and grows, but he does not understand how it happens.  The earth produces the crops on its own.  First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of the wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens.  And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvest it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.

 

My Thoughts

John 1:1 tells us  that in the beginning the Word was with God and the Word was God.  This tells me that God's word is part of the Kingdom of God. When we study God's word, even just a little bit each day, that word grows in us day and night. It makes a difference in our lives.  These verses also tell me that God knows that it will take time for us to grow.  If we plant the seed of God's word into our lives it will take root and change us. It will take root and change our lives, slowly but surly it will grow into something amazing.  It changes us even while we are sleeping!!  How awesome is that!! When we study God's word and grow in Him, when harvest time comes we get taken up with the harvest!!  This just excited me!! 

 

I am learning that as I read God's word I am like a snowball collecting snow.  At first I was just that little grain of sand... so as I rolled over in the snow I collected just a little bit...but each time I roll over I collect more than I did the time before.  I can feel myself learning more and more, understanding more and more, each time I read God's word. I love knowing that God's word is growing in me even when I sleep!! 

2.19.13

Mark 4:16-17 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.  But since they don't have deep roots, they don't last long.  They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's word.

 

My Thoughts

I couldn't help but think of this "politically correct" world we live in when I read these verses.  The more "politically correct" the world becomes the less Christians speak out.  The more we get choked out.  We must be prepared to stand the test of time.  We must grow our roots deep into God's word so that we will be able to stand our ground... so that we can stand strong in our belief in God when times get bad...and times will get bad, the Bible tells us they will. When they do I want to stand strong.

 

In verse 24-25 Jesus tells us how to grow our roots strong... it says: Then he added, "Pay close attention to what you hear.  The closer you listen the more understanding you will b given __and you will receive even more. (another versions puts it this way, 'The measure you give will be the measure you get back.) To those who listen to my teaching more understanding will be given,.  But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them."   To grow our roots we must read and study God's word. The more we read and study the more we will grow. The more we grow the more strength we will have in hard times.  We have to be able to say, "I believe in God!!" in the face of death.  If we are not strong enough to do it in the face of "political correctness" how can we do it in the face of death. 

 

I am not talking about the kind of death we see in hospitals.. or in homes at the end of long illnesses where the family is all gathered around.  I am talking about the kind of death where someone is asking you to denounce God, to denounce Jesus as our Lord and Savior if you want to live.  We can't have roots on rocky soil and stand up to that kind of persecution!! What if we are the generation that has to stand up to that??   Would you be strong enough?... Would I? 

 

The only way I will be strong enough is if I study God's word.. if I know God word enough that it deep into my mind and body and soul.  If I want to live forever with Jesus... I have to be strong enough to die for my belief in Jesus!!  Jesus loved me enough to die for me! 

 

I know that our great-grand parents, our grand-parents and even our parents didn't have to go through such a thing.  They were blessed... so far we have been blessed.  But as I look at the world around me and see more and more people taking a stand against God... as I see people proud to be atheist and stumble upon articles about the atheist movement growing... as I see other countries that hate us because we believe in God...  the more I feel like I must be prepared to defend God and Jesus, even to the death. 

 

To be strong enough to do that I must know God, truly know God.  I must have His word engraved in my heart so it is there for me to call on.  How will I be able to call on God's word in such a desperate time if I can't call on it in my daily life?  I must make sure that my roots grow deep... deep into good, fertile soil!!  For my roots to grow deep I must be able to recognize the rock from the soil...and the weeds from the flowering plants...I must fertilize my soil daily with God's word.  Jesus said if verse 24 if I do that He will give me even more understanding. 

 

I pray that when I die... it is with my family gathered around me... it is at a time when I can die peacefully believing in Jesus, in God. I pray too, that I am prepared if I die at the hands of somebody telling me I can live if I denounce Jesus, if I denounce God, that I am flooded with understanding and a strength that comes straight from Jesus Himself.  That I die with my head held high, shouthing to the top of my lungs, "I love my sweet Jesus!" 

 

2.18.13

Psalm 37:5 Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.

 

My Thoughts

Commit everything, EVERYTHING. I have trouble with everything.  I so often go about my day and give a lot to God... but I have to learn to give him my everything.  Each task I take on in a day I need to give to God.  How many things do I start and not finish because I didn't give that task it to God.  How many things in my life would I do better if I would give it to God as I get started. I have got to learn to trust God with every task I take on... every word I speak... every craft that I do.... every meal that I cook.... every penny I spend... every penny that I save.... with my sleep at night and my waking up in the morning.  What would I choose to do different if I prayed before every choice I made?  What if I said, "Dear God I am going to was a load of clothes be with me. I am going to clean the kitchen be with me. I commit this job to you."

 

I have to learn not to go blindly into each and every task I take on.  I know that when I pray first I learn more and do better!!  So much of what I do seems to be on automatic.  I need to quit doing about, going about and give each thing to God. 

2.17.13

Proverbs 10:2 Tainted wealth had no lasting value, but the right right living can save your life.

 

My Thoughts

I looked up tainted.. it says this 1.a trace of something bad, offensive, or harmful. 2. a trace of infection, contamination, or the like. 3. a trace of dishonor or discredit.

 

We can see that the tainted wealth of a criminal has no lasting value...they make loads of money by selling drugs or stolen goods but then they never seem to have anything.  It is obvious.  What I wonder is how often our money doesn't last because we have done something to taint it?  How often does a tax return end up not going as far as somebody thought it would because somebody lied on their taxes?  How often does somebody work an extra job, under the table, to find that all that work didn't end up helping them at all?  Was it because they didn't pay their taxes?  How often do we just choose to do something "fun" with our money when God has a different plan for it?   Then we get an unexpected bill that that money would have paid?  How often do we simply get so wrapped up in our wants that we forget we have obligations?  How often have we been so busy seeking our wants and end up not being able to meet our needs?  Did we miss out on meeting our needs because we were greedy? Wouldn't greed taint our wealth?

 

The thing is...if we choose to do the right thing, no matter what our wants are, God will take care of us and we won't find ourselves in need. Psalm 37:4 tells us that God cares about the desires of our hearts!  So if we choose to do the right thing... no matter how hard it seems at the time. No matter how hard giving up an extra $100 to Uncle Sam seems at the time... God will bless our decision to do the right thing.  God will meet our needs and give us some of the desires of our heart. A gift that will come with no guilt or later consequences.  To enjoy life to it's fullest we must make right choices.   When we do that God will open the gates of Heaven and pour down His blessings on us.  Blessings that are bigger than anything we could think to want!! 

2.16.13

Mark 2:1-5 When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room. even outside the door. While he was preaching God's word to them, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat.  They couldn't bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head.  They they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, "My child, your sins are forgiven."

 

My Thoughts

This is the first time I read this story and thought about how these men didn't give up.  The could have seen the crowds and turn around and went home.  But they didn't they climbed up on the roof, dug a hole in the roof and lowered the man down.  They did everything they could to get near Jesus.  How many times do we want something from Jesus but don't make every effort we can to get close to Him?  How can we expect Jesus to take time for us when we don't take time for him? 

 

This man didn't say Jesus make a way for me to get near you and heal me too.  He and his friends did all they could to get close to Jesus...then they asked for help.  They went to Jesus they didn't ask Jesus to come to them.   What do we miss out on because we don't go to Jesus and spend time with him? How much would Jesus give us if we were spending time in his presents daily? 

 

I imagine it wasn't easy to get that man on the roof... dig a hole and then let him down. But look what came from the effort.  It isn't always easy to make time to spend time with Jesus.  Oh but it is so worth it...the blessing that come from the effort are so much bigger than the effort.

Exodus 40:38 Then the cloud of the Lord hovered over the Tabernacle during the day, and at night fire glowed inside the cloud so the whole family of Israel could see it.  This continued throughout all of their journeys.

 

My Thoughts

I read this today and thought, "How could these people ever do wrong with God right there with them?" It amazed me.  Then I got to my New Testament reading and read Mark 1:10-11 As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, "You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy."  Just before that in verse 8 John the Baptist says "I baptize you with water but he (Jesus) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.  I thought God was with the Israelites in the cloud and fire, Jesus sends down the Holy Spirit to engulf us, to cover us, to pray when we don't have the words, to live inside of us, to guide and teach us....  how can we go about doing wrong?? 

 

What I am learning as I read through my Bible again and again is this.  The more I know God the less I do wrong.  The more I seek after wisdom, the more wisdom comes to me as I live out my day.  God makes me able when I make the effort. 

 

Proverbs 9:12  If you become wise you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.  God was with the Israelites teaching then... instruction them all the time.  God is with us... His word teaches us. The Holy Spirit is inside of us.  We have to tap into those resources.  Proverbs 9:12 tells us that we suffer if we ignore wisdom... we ignore wisdom if we don't pick up our Bibles for ourselves and read and learn.  We scorn wisdom when we don't learn to talk to and listen to the Holy Spirit inside of us directing our steps, our words, our actions.  We have the opportunity to benefit from God and all of His wisdom... but we have to make the effort!! 

 

Before I picked up my Bible I loved God because I was suppose to... because I didn't want to burn in Hell.  Once I started reading and learning all that changed.. now I love God because I he loves me so much I can't help but love him.  I have so much growing left to do... so much... I am way behind, I started late.  But you know what? That is ok... God met me where I was and He grows me every day... He forgives me every day and the Holy Spirit inside me tells me how to do better.  Sometimes the Holy Spirit has to tell me and tell me and tell me...then one day it finally sticks.  But I have learned to hear Him. I am learning that when God tells me to do better it is because He wants the very best for me. 

 

God loves us with a love that is bigger than any human mind can even imagine.  I didn't know that before.  I heard people say it... but I, me, Jeannie didn't know that.  Wisdom taught me that... I can't wait to see what else wisdom teaches me. 

2.14.13

Psalm 34:11-14 Come, my children, and listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the Lord.  Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies!  Turn away from evil and do good.  Search for peace, and work to maintain it. 

 

My Thoughts

We all want to live a long time... here is how... we must watch our mouths!!!  It is a must.  I know it can be so hard!!  We have to learn that even if we are slap dab in the middle of saying something we shouldn't we have to stop!! 

 

And look at this part... search for peace... this tells me that peace is not easy to find!!  We have to look for it. It tells me that in every situation that is a peaceful place and it is our job to seek it out and live in that part of the situation.  Look here.. it also says "work" to maintain it.  Peace takes work. Work is not easy either!  Maintaining peace is work.  So even if nobody else is working ... we have to do our jobs... hunt for peace and work at maintaining it. 

 

I want to live a long time... I want to see my grandchildren grow up and I want to see them have babies of their own.  Looks like I will be busy shutting my mouth and searching from peace...and working hard to live in that peaceful place.  I am so thankful that God tells us how!! 

2.13.13

Psalm 34:4-7 I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.  He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. In desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles. For the angel of the Lord is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him.

 

My Thoughts

Oh how I love this!!!  Recently I had a really bad Lupus flair... I let myself get consumed with fear.  The fear of always hurting! I know it was a spirit of fear because each day I fell deeper and deeper into such a darkness and each day I hurt more.  I could feel the actual weight of that fear putting pressure on my body and causing me more pain.  I was spiraling out deeper and deeper into that fear. 

 

Then one morning I read about faith in my daily Bible reading...and a friend posted about Jesus asking the man at the healing pool, "Do you want to get better?"  I knew that I had forgot to put my faith in God. I had forgotten that God was in control. He was in control if I asked him to be...I had forgotten to ask.  That day I sent up a prayer for God to take over. My husband had left for work and I was in tears, tears of fear and desperation....when he got home from work God had sent down his angel to surround me and I was filled with radiant joy!!  I was laughing and smiling and feeling good when Robby got home.

 

I can tell you this was straight from God. As soon as I sent up that prayer I felt the weight of darkness lifted from my body.  My pain level went from about a 7 to about a 2... my spirit went from darkness back into the wonderful light of God... light that is made straight from love. 

 

God's love is amazing.. it is life changing.. our part is to choose to live in that love... we have to make that choice over and over and over... we have to be constantly aware that we have that choice..then we have to choose God's love over all else.  God's love is greater than any fear we have... we have to give that fear to God! When we do God will send down His angel to defend us... and great joy will be the end result!

Psalm 33:18-19 But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love.  He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine.

 

My Thoughts

This verse makes me think of my MawMaw... she love God!!  I never remember her lacking for anything.  She was a widow for at 26 years and lived on Social Security...she was 96 when she died.  She paid her house off early...I remember running into her that day.  She was celebrating and she gave me $20..she said I just paid a little extra here and a little extra there... I thought I had a few more years to go...but today I only had to pay a little over $100 and my house is paid for!!  On a Social Security check she paid her house off early.  She was always helping other... she took many kids into her home in times of need. I heard many a story of how she "treated me just like I was her own."  She took care of her children when they needed her...she always had enough to feed others and to feed herself.... I would often hear her talking to God out loud. I never once heard her complain because money was tight... I know why too, because  God took care of my grandmother because she was in awe of Him, because she loved him!

 

Over the last three years I see God talking care of Robby and I in that same way. Every time He calls for us to step outside our comfort zone and give extra our savings seems to grow by that amount.  We are never in "need" for anything.  Before I would have thought that "we" were doing good. Now I know that God is watching over us. He watches over us in so many ways... the closer we get to God the better our life gets...we talk all the time about how God is taking care of us.

 

I look back on our lives at the harder times and think how much easier they would have been if we had just trusted God like we do now.  I feel so very thankful that God made sure that I would get to know Him...to really know Him... He loves me so much that He put my One Year Bible in my hand through my son so that I didn't have a choice but to read it at least once.  I am excited to think that if I live to be 98 years old I will have been blessed to have read through my Bible 50 times. If it changed my life so much in three years..what will it do in 50 years?!?!?!

2.11.13

Proverbs 8:33-36 "Listen to my [Wisdom's] instruction and be wise.  Don't ignore it.  Joyful are thos who listen to me, watching for me daily at my gates, waiting for me ourside my home! For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the Lord.  But those who miss me injure themselves. All who hate me love death."

 

My Thoughts

Look what wisdom, which comes straight from God's word, brings us.... joy, life, favor from God. It says here that we are to seek wisdom daily... we are to be anxious to learn all that God has to tell us!!  Romans 12:2 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  We can not change our lives to please God if we do not know God's word. 

 

These verse go on to tell us that when we do not seek wisdom we injure ourselves...all who hate wisdom love death. 

 

We can make excuses, we all tend to do that, that we don't have time... that we love God's word but there is just not enough time in a day.  We have to be so careful not to be indifferent.. careful not to go about thinking we know enough.  In Revelations 3:14-16 it says this:

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

 

We can't wait...we can't put it off until tomorrow... we have to start today!!! Right now!! Renewing our minds, seeking wisdom.  Matthew 27:21-23 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.  On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ We can not keep God's law if we don't know God's law.  It is not enough to know what it says... we must know it and act on it. 

 

In Matthew 27:20 Jesus says "Just as you know people by their fruit, you can identify people by their actions."  Think about falling in love... when you fall in love you want to spend ever waking moment with that person... you can't stand to be away from them... you want to know everything about them.  If we love wisdom, if we love God... our action of love would be to spend time learning, taking in all we can about God and his love, God and his laws, God and his wonderful wisdom. 

 

Matthew 6:33 tells us that if we seek God first all that we need will be added.  We so often go about it all wrong...seeking all that we think we need...then if we have time we seek God.  If we would take time to seek God and his wisdom...then everything else would fall into place for us, God would add it!

 

Our lives depend on God... on seeking God. We need to take that as seriously as we would take chest pains if heart disease ran in our families.  We need to be all in!

2.10.13

Psalms 32:1-2  Oh, what joy for those who disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt. 

 

My Thoughts

Look here!!  When we confess our sins, our disobedience to god and he forgives us, we are cleared of guilt. We don't have to walk around feeling guilty.  God wants us at our best. We can't be our best if we are drowning in guilt for our past mistakes.  God forgives us... He clears us!!  God makes us right again just for the asking!! Once God has forgiven us there is not guilt... Satin tries to make us feel guilty...he loves to remind us of our past mistakes, our past sins.... if he can get us "wallering" in guilt then he is able to immobilize us, stop us in our tracks... make us think we are not good enough.  But that is a lie... a totally lie...when God forgives us we are made right and we have been cleared of guilt... we no longer have to feel guilty!! 

 

One day when I was "wallering" in guilt, not long after my mother died God dropped these words in my spirit, "When you waste time worrying about the person you didn't know how to be, you can't become the person I intend for you to be."  Guilt stops us in our tracks... for some of us it makes us completely unable to move.  God does not want that for us... God wants us able... able to grow and learn and change into the person God wants us to be.

2.9.13

Proverbs 17-22 I love all who love me (wisdom). Those who search for me will surely find me.  I have riches and honor, as well as enduring wealth and justice.  My gifts are better than gold, even the purest gold, my wages better than sterling silver! I walk in righteousness, in the paths of justice. Those who love me inherit wealth. I will fill their treasuries. The Lord formed me in the beginning before he created anything else.

 

My Thoughts

The Lord formed me in the beginning before he created anything else!!!   Wisdom comes straight from God.  We have access to that wisdom.  If we search for it we will find it, God will make sure.  And look at all that comes from seeking the wisdom of God... riches, honor, enduring wealth, justice... if we keep our eyes on God and seek His wisdom everything else will fall into place.

 

This is also why it is so important to elect godly men and women to office.  If we have leaders that seek true wisdom, the wisdom that comes from God, good things will follow. 

 

To know the difference between godly wisdom and our own puffed up sense of knowledge, we have to study God's word...we have to take time to get to know God.  We have to seek after the knowledge that comes from God. We have to guard ourselves from the lies Satin will tell us that keep us from being dependent on God.  If Satin can puff us up with pride in what we think we know, then he accomplishes his task of turning our eyes away from God.  He can move us out from under the protection of God. Then he can sit back and watch us unravel. 

 

Seeking God should be foremost... if we do that wisdom follows and everything else will fall right into place.

 

 

2.8.13

Proverbs 8:12 "I, wisdom live together with good judgment.  I know where to discover knowledge and discernment. 

 

My Thoughts

As Christians we are expected to seek knowledge... we are expected to use good judgement!  God put His word in our hands... at our fingertips for us to use!  God expects us to use our resources, His word, prayer, listening to the Holy Spirit. We can't just stumble along, we have to use our resources!  I believe that we will be accountable for the knowledge we have had at our fingertips whether or not we accessed that knowledge or not.  It is of the utmost importance that we make time to learn all that God would have us to learn. God did not make education so avaliable to us for us not to use it for His good.  We must pick up our Bibles, editions that we understand, and get busy learning and growing and doing. 

Matthew 25:28-30 "Then he ordered, 'Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with ten bags of silver.  To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance.  But from those who do nothing, even what little they do will be taken away.  Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"

 

My Thoughts

I urge you to read Matthew 25:14-30.  It is the parable of the 3 servants who were all given money to watch over while their master was away.  The first two, each given different amounts doubled their money.  Another words they used their money wisely.  The did with their money the things that would please their master.  When their master returned he was pleased that they had used their money to make more money. So pleased he gave them more responsibilities so that they would have a chance to do even better.  And then he gave them a party!!!  He celebrated with them.

 

 

Then there was the third servant.  Let me tell you about him.  He didn't blow his money, he did run up a credit card bill. He buried his money in the ground. He didn't waste any of it, he didn't misuse it... but he didn't use it to the very best of his ability.  He didn't even use the small resource of interest from the bank. The master was so upset that he took the money from the man and threw him out into the dark streets.  Imagine what he would have done if the man has used the money to make more bills, to get deeper into debt!!! 

 

God reward us when we use what we make to do better.  Here in verse 29 it tells us that more will be given and we will have an abundance when we use well the money God has given us.  It also tells us that if we make bad choices, never considering what God would want us to do what we do have will be taken away. 

 

Have you ever seen this??  I have, we see it all the time.  People coming into money, money they could use to find a better way for themselves. Money that could change their life.. or money put to good use that could turn their circumstances around. Around enough to get them back on solid footing. But they make foolish decisions and end up in more trouble than they started out with. Their money  gets all used up...and the "things" they bought with that money ware out and can't be replaced.  I have even seen people ending up on the streets.  

 

God tells us how to live wisely...then He tells us that He will reward us when we do make wise choices.  We are told in Proverbs 8 to use good judgment, to show understanding of the wisdom we have been given. It also tells us to detest every kind of deception.  

 

The very worse deception is when we deceive ourselves.  So often we see what we want to see.  God sends us down a way to make life better and we want to see that as a reward.  We don't use the wisdom that God gives us to figure out the difference.  God wants us to have an abundance!! Not for a day, not for a few weeks but for a lifetime.  God will bless with an abundance when we use what He has given us wisely. 

 

When God places money in our hands we need to look up to Him and say. "God what is this money intended for?" God will answer that question... we need to stop and listen to the answer He gives us and quit looking for the answer that makes us happy for a minute in time.  His decisions over our lives produce lasting abundance.  When we see temporary abundance we have listened to our wants, not God's wants.  If we let Him, God can and will make a difference in our lives.. pressed down and overflowing (Luke 6:38).

 

2.6.13

Matthew 24:45-50 "A faithful, sensible servant is one to who the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them.  If the master returns and find that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all that he owns.  But what if the servant is evil and thinks, 'My master won't be back for a while," and he begins beating the other servants, partying and getting drunk? The master will return unannounced and unexpected, and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites.  In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

 

My Thoughts

Oh my!  The "it don't matter's" and the "I will do it better tomorrow's" are going to be our downfall. That attitude of  "I will be the person that God wants me to be tomorrow, when I have time" ... is just like the servant that decided to party today.  His master did come back and find him not being the person that he needed to be.  Putting off until tomorrow puts us right in there with the hypocrites, says Jesus here in Matthew 24. 

 

But look at the first of the story!! The part were if we do what Jesus, God ask of us. If we are busy doing our best... he did say the servant was perfect he said the servant did a good job.  If we do our best at doing a good job then God will reward us!  What does He reward us with??  All that He owns is ours to enjoy!!!  God's power and protection, His love and peace, His treasures are ours!! 

 

Will we mess up?  King David, a mighty man of God messed up!!  But he was always busy doing his best. God considered Him man of God.  We will mess up!!  Jesus died for us because we do mess up.  God loved us even in our sin, enough to send Jesus.  When we love God, even when we mess up God loves us so much that He will give us charge of His Kingdom!! But, we must love God.  We can't say we will love him tomorrow.  We can't mistreat Him by doing what we want until we think He is looking. We must love Him.  We must do our best to show that love in all that we do.  

 

We each have a choice... we can choose to be a child of the Most High.. or we can choose the world.  And it is important that we understand choosing God only when we think He is looking, is not choosing God at all.  

 

 

2.5.13

Proverbs 7:1-3 Follow my advice, my son: always treasure my commands.  Obey my commands and live! Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes. Tie them around your fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.

 

My Thoughts

Look at that line, "Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes."  Think about how our body protects our eyes.  If something comes toward us, we can't help but blink.  Have you ever had something come toward you and you closed your eyes so tight that they were almost hard to open back up?   When something comes toward our eyes our hands go up without thinking.  We guard our eyes because they are a part of us...something so important that they must be protected.  You might say that our bodies do that automatically...this is true our bodies know that our eyes are important. 

 

The place we need to get to with God's commands that our hearts and minds protect God's commands in our lives as automatically as our bodies protect our eyes. 

 

This year will be my forth time reading through my Bible.  I am not bragging by any means, if I had started when I was 20 this would be my 32 time reading through God's word..but instead it is only my fourth. In the last three years, the commands of God in my life that I protect have grown.  A few of them I now protect like I protect my eyes.  Nothing could make me break them.  Others are not a part of me yet. Partly because they were not the ones I was taught as I was in and out of Church.  But more true, they were words, rules to follow... not a part of who I was.

 

As I learn how much God loves me, and how much His commands are out of such love for me, the more I embrace those words...and I find them finding their way from my head down, deep down into my heart.  As that happens they become so much a part of who I am that anytime something goes against them my hands go up.  My heart protects those commands...which protects my soul... just as my body protects my eyes. 

 

The only way God's commands will become a part of me, is if I read them and learn them. The only way to make them a part of me is if I desire to know them.  The only way that they can completely change me is by becoming a part of who I am. I am not able to be a godly person, a person that knows God if I don't spend time getting to know God.  The more I know God's commands the more freedom I feel, the free-er I am to be loving and kind, the free-er I am to be happy...the more I know God's commands the free-er I become from stress and worry. The more I know God's commands the free-er I am to feel peace.  The more I know God's commands the free-er I am when I make a decision because it is based on sound principle. The more I know God's commands the more they drop down into my heart to become as protected as my eyes are.

2.4.13

Matthew 23:27-28 What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.  Hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs- beautiful on the outside and dead on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of impurity.. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. 

 

My Thoughts

Don't we see this all the time!!  It is so sad that we do.  Just this week I saw a post about a preacher that was eating out in a restaurant. He was a part of a large party and was charged 18% for his tip on his bill.  He wrote on that bill "I only give God 10%" and put a 0 where the tip charge was suppose to be.  The story went on to so that the girl posted a picture of this on the Internet, there was a picture. The preacher complained and the girl that was probably only making barely enough to feed her family lost her job.  Where did a preacher loose site of the fact that when we give to others, in love, we are giving to God?  As a Christian, I was angered by this mans actions, saddened by them.  Aware that his action may be there very action that kept that girl from ever attending church.  On top of that he seemed to be following the letter of the law and missing the intent of the law all together. 

 

We can point our fingers at this man.. or we can learn from this story.  Learning from the story is what will clean the inside of our souls then without even trying what people see on the outside will be crystal and shinny and perfect looking.  What needs to drive us is not what people think of us, but instead God's love. Are we acting in love? Are we reacting in love?  Are our motives about loving God and loving others or are our motives about people thinking we love God. 

 

That preacher was saying to the waitress, "I love God more than I love you!!" and he felt all puffed up and proud that he could say that.  But if his heart had been in the right place he would have loved that waitress because He loved God. He would have taken time to  understand that if she didn't get a tip that she was making only $3:15 an hour without tips.  And he would have blessed her day with a little extra.

 

I stop and think now, "How in my life can I be a blessing to people?" and ask myself, "How in my life am I acting like the Pharisees?"  That can be hard to look at honestly...but if we are God loving, God fearing people it is a question that we must ask ourselves... something that we should ask God to point our in our lives. It is not only important to our own well being and spiritual health. It is important to those people around us that are tinkering on the edge of salvation and can be pushed one way are pulled toward God.  When we are clean from the inside out... loving from the inside out then we are like a magnet to those people standing on the edge and our kindness will pull them toward God.

2.3.13

Exodus 17:10-13 So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the arm of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill.  As long as Moses held up the staff  in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage.  But whenever he dropped his hand the Amalekites gained the advantage.  Moses' arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up.  So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on.  Then they stood on each side of moses, holding up his hands.  So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of the Amalek in battle. 

 

My Thoughts

There are several lessons in these four verses.  One as long as Moses held his hands, his heart toward God he was winning the battle.  Two sometimes it gets hard, life happens around us, the battle is huge and we are exhausted. We need friends, godly friends that will pray with us and for us. That will step in and do when we can't do it any longer.  Three, no where in here do you hear Arron or Hur fussing, or complaining, or criticizing Moses because He couldn't do it any longer...they stepped in. They did for Moses what he couldn't do at the time.  They focused on God for Moses.  Their support got Moses through.

 

I am reminded of this past week... I had been in a Lupus flair for several weeks and it was getting worse and worse.  I was surrounded by such a darkness that I could not see God. I knew deep down that He was there...but I was so exhausted and tired that I could not lift my head. This morning I was scared because I felt so lost in the exhaustion and pain and darkness.  Then God put two people in my path that I could hear.  I had more people than that praying for me... but He put two people in my path with just the right words.  One posted the perfect story from God's word, the other listened with such understanding ears, ears that made me feel not so all alone.  Two people just like Moses had that day.  By the time my husband got home from work he had a smiling happy wife, he had left the house with a scary depressed, crying wife.  Two people had held me up until I could hear God again and God defeated the spirit of fear and darkness that had engulfed me. 

 

A painted picture of me Thursday would have looked like a shy with clouds so dark that you could feel a tornado brewing...the of a straight line at the end of those clouds with a sky so bright, a sun that looked like a happy child drew it and the lines of a wind blowing the darkness away.  The contrast was beyond any picture I could paint.  But two people who got me pointed back to God with love and support and changed my world. 

 

We have to be those people. We have to surround ourselves with people that will do that for us. Several people had been trying so hard to help me...but I needed just those two people.  We can never pass up the chance to hold someone hands toward God.

2.2.12

Matthew 22:29 Your mistake is that you don't know the Scriptures, and your don't know the power of God.

My Thoughts
In Matthew 19:4 Jesus ask, "Haven't  you read in the Scriptures?"

I have read several times Jesus asking this question. He doesn't ask, "Has someone not read you the scripture?" He asked if these people knew the Scriptures, if these people had read the Scriptures themselves. 

 

When we get to heaven will God ask us, "Didn't you read the Scriptures?"

2.1.13

Matthew 21:43 I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce proper fruit.

 

My Thoughts

When we read this we might think, "What can I do? I can't make a difference."  But we can.  Robby, my sweet husband, and I were talking about tipping scales the other day. He drew one on a piece of paper for a visual, and pointed out that for a scale to trip all the weight doesn't have to go to the other side... it just has to move in a little toward the other side. You can put a big man on the inside of a see-saw and a child on the end and make the see-saw tip toward the side of the child.  Our nation is at a tipping point. 

 

Each and everything we do as individuals tip the scale of our nation, one way or the other.  Jesus tells us here that the Kingdom of God will be taken from our nation if we don't produce proper fruit.  Each time we produce proper fruit by making a right choice we shift the weight in our country that keeps God with us.  If we all decide what "I" do doesn't matter evil will win! 

 

God helps us when we put our eyes on Him.  We don't have to ask what the right fruit is if we focus on God, because God will tell us.  I see it in me each day, knowing things I didn't know before. Stopping to think about what God would want over something I am doing, that before did seem like it held in weight in anything before I put my focus on God.  Do I always do it right? NO!!  But more and more often I am tipping the see-saw in the right direction. God sees that and He rewards us for those actions by giving our country favor.  The more of us that keep our eyes on God the more difference we will see in the world.  The more times we choose to turn off evil on our TV sets the less evil will end up being that.  We have the power to save our country. Each of us! By choosing God and listening to Him tell us what the right thing is.   Our every single decision matters.

 

How we act matters in ways that we will never see.  Just like the ripple in the pond...the ripples are still going outward after the rock has sank to the bottom of the water.  Our actions ripple out...our actions touch the lives of others.  When people see that standing up and doing what is right matters, even if it is just a little bit, they choose to make a right choice. 

 

I have the power, you have the power...that power comes straight from God.  He is all powerful!!  If we live in a way that our fruit, our actions honor Him ... He will stay with us!! 

 

Today when you make your choices remember that your actions... each and every one of them...the choice to do the right thing... could be the very choice that keeps the see-saw from tipping away from God.  Your choice, my choices have the power to keep our nation strong.