I decided to start this blog (2010) because my son, John-Robert gave me a One Year Bible for Christmas, the New Living Translation... reading it has changed my life... I post a daily Bible verse on my Facebook page every day and it has been well received... I thought that this would be a wonderful way to share part of what I read each day!... I hope that you enjoy it.



This Year 2012 I am going to do things a little different... not much...just a little. I am again reading through my One Year Bible (for the 3rd time). But I am also using "The Secret Power of Speaking God's Word" by Joyce Meyer. This book is divided by putting scriptures under different categories so they can be used to speak over our life situations. Each day I will read a category of scripture and pick a scripture in that category to write about.



Hugs

Jeannie







Wednesday, April 30, 2014

4.30.14

Proverbs 101:3a I will refuse to look at anything vial or vulgar.

My Thoughts
These are words of King David...when I went to look up vile and vulgar I got a huge list of synonyms... A list that will really make you think ....

vile...   foulnastyunpleasantbaddisagreeablehorridhorribledreadfulabominable,atrociousoffensiveobnoxiousodiousunsavoryrepulsivedisgustingdistasteful,loathsomehatefulnauseatingsickening



Then there is vulgar and it's synonyms ... tastelesscrasstawdryostentatiousflamboyantoverdoneshowygaudygarish,brassykitsch, kitschy, tinselly, loud
informalflashflashytack 
impolite, ill-mannered, unmannerly, rude, indecorous, unseemly, ill-bred, boorish,uncouth, crude, rougunsophisticated, unrefined, common, low-mindedunladylike, ungentlemanly 

rudeindecentindelicateoffensivedistastefulcoarsecruderibaldrisquénaughty,suggestiveracyearthyoff-colorbawdyobsceneprofanelewdsalacioussmutty,dirtyfilthypornographicX-rated;  informalsleazyraunchyblue, locker-room; saucy,saltyeuphemisticadult

These words could really make you think about what you allow your eyes to see and your ears to hear!        








Monday, April 28, 2014

4.28.14

Proverbs 14:10 Each heart knows it's own bitterness, and no one else can fully share it's joy.

My Thoughts
When I read this I thought God knows! God knows when I feel bitter, God knows completely my joy!  Yet so often I, we as humans run to people to express our excitement over our joy, or to share the bitterness in our heart. Have you ever been so disappointed when you try to share you joy and feel like no one else understands? We all have. And then there is that sharing out bitterness with humans, one of two things happens, either they don't want to hear it, which makes us more bitter. Or second they feed out bitterness which makes us more bitter. You have to have friends really grounded in God not to get one or the other. 

The thing is, I realized as I read this verse began to write about it, God gets it, the Holy Spirit is inside us feeling what we feel and communicating with God... And God gets it...God understands our joy and out bitterness. god will celebrate with us while keeping us grounded. God will bring us out of bitterness by giving us a new way to think  God wants us to share every part of our lives with Him. When we do God keeps our lives in balance.  

Friday, April 25, 2014

4.26.14

Proverbs 14:4 Without oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong oxen for a large harvest.

My Thoughts
This verse says to me, if we are going to win souls we are gong to get a little dirt slung at us. But we must be strong and get out of our comfort zone a bit. We can't expect to stay all neat and tidy and expect to make a difference. 

We can grow strong bits at a time. We can start as as a baby oxen. Then by the time we get big enough for lots of mud... We will be strong enough to handle that mud. 

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

4.23.14

Like 21:33 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.

My Thoughts
It is funny how many times you can hear or read something, then all of the sudden it catches your attention so much that it takes your breath away. When I read this verse this morning I felt absolute fear for the me I was just  a few years back. I didn't pick up my Bible and read it, lean from it, take it all in. And still today I could do much better than I do.

We can know how important this earth is, our government even passes laws to protect it. There are things about our earth that can get even the least interested person a bit fired up. We all think of Heaven most of us want to be there after we die. We care about at least the piece of land that we own, a part of this great earth. Yet we can have Bibles that sit on our shelves filled with God's words, God's instruction. Full of Jesus' wisdom and never pick them up to find out for ourselves all that is written for us to know. Yet one day God's word will still be ever present when this earth does not even exist. 

God's word is important to our souls, it is important to our lives today here on this earth and to our lives after death. The only way to fully understand that is to read and know God's word for ourselves. I had been to church over the years, I had attended Sunday School and listen to my pastor preach.  But until I picked up my Bible and got to know God for myself I could not know how powerful God' word or God's love for me is. 

God's word has been so powerful in my life that I so want people to pick up their Bible and read! I challenge you to make a one year commitment to read your Bible every day, and if you miss a day, pick up where you left off two days before and see how different your life is in a year! God's word never returns void. It will change your life in amazing ways. 

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

4.22.14

Psalm 89:17 You are their glorious strength. It pleases you to make us strong.

My Thoughts
This verse made me smile. This verse is evident in my life, so evident! Satan keep me down for most of my life this far by telling me how weak I was. How I couldn't handle things. He didn't even have to spend much time in me once he whispered in my ear those words, "You cant! You are not strong enough! Life is hard and you can't handle it!"  

But then you know what happened? god put a One Year Bible in my hand...and amazing things began to happen in my life! God delights in making me strong! Now when Satan tells me that I can't... god has taught me that  Satan is just worried, I am about to learn something, God is about to do something in my life that is amazing! Something that increases God in me...and the bigger God gets in my life...the more powerful I become! Because God's amazing power is working through me.

Sometimes it may take me a few days, I may fall into those habits of believing Satan's lies...but then God's truth stares me in the face and it tells me that I can! I grab hold tight and get so excited with anticipation of something wonderful ahead! 

If God can do that for me... He can do it for anybody! 

Monday, April 21, 2014

4:21:14

Luke 19:38-40 "Blessings on the King who comes in the the name of The Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven."

But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, "Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!" 

He replied, "If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!"

My Thoughts
I love this...God is meant to be praised! I never read this without wondering how the stones cheer. Do they cheer by rolling down mountains? Do they cheer by trembling so that they bump against each other? How does the earth and ocean cheer? Does the earth cheer by erupting like a volcano or an earth quake? Do the ocean waves rise up to heights we have never seen and crash into the land?  How often does the earth rumble because we forget to praise God? Do we push nature to do our praising for us?  Do the winds sound like freight trains because we forget to praise God? I wonder! What do you think? 


Friday, April 18, 2014

4.18.14

Luke 19:26 "Yes" the king replied, "and to those who use well what they have been given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away."

My Thoughts
Oh wow! Think about this... If we use our money well then we will be given more, if we use our wisdom well we will be given more, if we use our time well we will be given more, if we use our talents well we will be given more. If we use our knowledge well we will be given more. If we love well we will be given more. If we love our friends well we will be given more. The list can go on and on and on. 

But how can we use this verse in our lives? We can examine our lives and be completely honest with ourselves. But we have to b honest. We can say where am I lacking? If it is in our finances we then have to ask ourselves and be brutally honest...even going to someone that will be honest with us if that is what it takes and find our faults and leant to do better.  ....  If we lack in friendship we can examine ourselves and ask, "Am I being the kind of friend I want in my life?" If the answer is no then we can stop and examine how to be better at being a friend. What talents do we have? Are they being used the best way that they can be to honor God? If not we can ask ourselves, "how can I use what I can do to honor you?" Then move toward that. 

We have the ability to grow in every way, we just have to be honest with ourselves, give what we can do to God...be good Stewarts of all the gifts, the blessings god has given us and amazing things will happen. But it all starts with us...and it grows with God. We just have to listen and act on what he teaches us and tells us. 

Thursday, April 17, 2014

4.17.14

Proverbs 13:13 (The Message Bible) Ignore the Word and suffer; honor God's commands and grow rich.

My Thoughts
Before knowing God, really knowing God, I could have and probably would have read this verse in a harsh light. More like, "IGNORE THE WORD AND I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER!" Satin would have smile and shouted, "VICTORY!" I would have been clueless, Jesus would have prayed harder for my soul without me even knowing....and thank goodness God would have smiled only because He knows the beginning from the end and would know that I would eventually see this verse in its true light. 

When we ignore the word we only suffer because of the choices we make... Now I see this statement more like this. With God holding my face it his hands He says to me' "Now look at me Jeannie, it's okay look at me, I want you to hear this it's important. If you ignore my instructions in the Word you will not take the right paths, you will make many mistakes that could be avoided. Mistakes that will hurt you and hurt the people around you. Yo will walk outside of the place where my blessings abound. You will feel sorrow and pain and I won't be able to help you because you will be walking in sin and not know how to ask for forgiveness so that I can come close to you, you see unforgiven sin keeps us separated, and if you don't know my word you will not even think to ask for my forgiveness.  I don't want that for you. I want you in the right oath, the safe path, the path where I can walk close to you, be right by your side holding your hand and keeping you safe. When you know my words, my instructions and do what they say I can be right beside you at all times, even when you mess up, I won't be far away, because you will remember I am close and you will ask forgiveness and I can take your hands again. I can be there to pour out blessings when you need them and even when you don't. So please, because I love you so don't ignore my word, it will help you, because you know it I can help you. I keep you close enough that you can feel all the love I have for you. I want to shower you with my love." 

My heart almost keeps out of my chest when I read these words now...and Jesus and God and the Angels celebrate because I am learning. Y know they celebrate because I feel the joy from that celebration right inside my chest. I feel love and peace and pure joy. And if that goes away because I stepped away from .god for a moment, I know, because of His word, that I can call to Him, ask for forgiveness and He will take my hand again. When He does Heaven will celebrate again and peace will come again to my soul. Wow!

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

4.15.14

Luke 17:17-19 Jesus asked, "Didn't I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?" And Jesus said to the man, "Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you." 

My Thoughts
The men who should have been aware of Jesus, the men who were aware of Jesus enough to ask for healing didn't come back and thank Him. The foreigner who was most surprised by his healing cam back to thank Jesus. Then Jesus want upset because he didn't get a thank you, Jesus was upset because God was not given the glory.

How often as children of God, who are not surprised by God's goodness,do we forget to notice all the good things God does for us in a day? How often do we overlook God's blessings? How often do we take them for granted? We need to say to ourselves I may be the only one that says thank you today, so I don't need to forget! 

Shame on me, I have often told of blessings God has poured out in me...but forgot to send up thanks! I must do better! 

Monday, April 14, 2014

4.14.14

Proverbs 13:3 Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything.

My Thoughts
I was thinking as "normal" everyday people who are not going to get shot or stabbed for something we say, how can our lives be shorter because of what we say?  Then I thought of how stress shortens our lives, causes disease in our bodies, I thought of how us normal every day people mostly go about our days working and taking care of our families.. The biggest thing we do to get ourselves in trouble is to open our mouths!  How much stress do we cause ourselves, how many days do we take from our lives because of the things we say. I would say that more than half our stress comes from our tongues. 

I am getting better...I am learning to listen to then Holy Spirit when He tells me, "shhhh, don't say it Jeannie!" I am learning that I walk away with mor dignity and mor self respect when I stop even if I have gotten started.  If you quit smoking..in minutes you start recovering your health...and in 15 years it is like you have never smoked.... I wonder if keeping my mouth closed will work like that...giving me back my health and long years to follow. It is worth a try ... And it will make 
God happy.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

4.12.14

Luke 15:7 in the same way there is more joy in Heaven when one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over the ninety-nine others who are righteous and have not strayed away.

My Thoughts
I read this and had my moment of complete understanding, finally! My heart almost jumped out of my chest. Twenty minutes later and I still feel giddy with excitement! I read this verse, with understanding, finally and immediately thought of the story of the Prodigal Son and his brother the good son who was so jealous and upset when his brother got a party when he cam home....then there in the next verses was that story. Like a confirmation of my truth. I have always read this verse and seen the story of the Prodigal Son as "not fair." But I was looking at it a not have angel instead of an all that I have angle! I actually have tears in my eyes.

I am so reluctant to share this because I don't think I can put it into words good enough to fully explain the truth if this story. If you look at these statements from a "look what I didn't get" angle all you see is the celebration of  the person that choose wrong over right...no wonder I would see it as not fair. But if you look at it from a "look at all I have" angle you see so many blessings. How often do we rob ourselves of the joy of our blessings with jealousy?  Wow! 

When you look at theses verses from the "look at all I have" angle here is what you will see.  In the story of the Prodigal Son the "bad son" went out and had a big party... Then he reaped the consequences of that... Which was probably lots of guilt, loss of "friends" when the money was spent, many sleepless nights wondering  where the next meal was coming from, wondering where he was going to sleep. The good son didn't see all the story, only the parts that looked good. All along the good son has good nights of sleep from hard work and peace of mind from living right,  he has wealth building up, he had a warm bed...and there is no telling how many "goats" worth if stew and steak he had to fill his body. He spent his days working hard and his nights the way he wanted to..with family and close friends. He didn't even want a party. He all along had every thing he wanted. He all along was spending his days the way that he enjoyed. And if he had not gotten jealous, he would have enjoyed the overflow of the blessings that his brother received at the party! After all his brother could only eat until he was full and the good brother could have too, eaten until he was full...enjoyed the overflow of blessings.  The bad son didn't have his cake and get to eat it too...he had his cake and wallered in the shame of it all and with the pigs. The good son had his cake...and could have celebrated with more if only he had not got jealous.  He robbed himself of the joy of the blessings all around him because he would not open his eyes to what he had. 

The righteous people from the verse above have been living in the rejoicing of God all along. They get the excitement of each celebration if they choose to join in the celebrations. They have all along lived in the blessings of God, in the joy of God's love... How much bigger can more joy feel? We can choose to bask in the joy of others and let our hearts feel full... And enjoying the overflow of the joy of others. Or we can dump our baskets of blessings on the ground and forget they ever existed.  We only loose out in that overflowing of joy  when we step back into the sin of jealousy...we can  cast a shadow over the blessings we have been living in all along.... Sometimes so dark that we forget we ever had joy.  Jealousy can rob you of blessing that you have already lived through.  We have a choice... To see the good, the amazing blessings God gives us... recognize those blessings and know that if God has given us those blessings He will be giving us more...celebrating the blessing of others and get blessing from their overflow. Of we can choose to let jealousy cast such a shadow that we don't even see the blessings that abound in our lives. 

I feel full with joy...amazingly full with joy at the blessing of understanding. 

Friday, April 11, 2014

4.11.14

Psalm 80:3 Turn us again to yourself, O God. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then shall we be saved.

My Thoughts
I immediately thought of Mark 9:12 where the father is asking Jesus to heal his son and Jesus ask, "Do you believe?" The father says yes then adds, "please help my I belief!" That man wants nothing in the way of his child being healed and he knows that Jesus can help him even with unbelief. I love that verse and this one!  Both of these verses tell me that I can go to God with anything, I can ask God to help me with believing in Him, to draw me closer, to strengthen my faith, to help me with any inforgiveness I have in my heart. I can say'  "God help me understand!" I can tell God that I want to believe but am having a hard time and I need His grace. God answers our prayers that say I don't know how, that say believing is hard, that say loving is hard, that say I am far from you pull me back. All God needs to know is that we want Him in our lives. The word, "God help me!" Tell Him that...then He can help us with every thing else. Don't you just love it! 

I love the line in the song "Oh How He Loves Me"  where it says, "If His grace is an ocean, we are all sinking." His Grace is so much bigger than anything we face and God will help us with anything. We just have to ask! 

Thursday, April 10, 2014

4.10.14

Joshua 1:8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so that you will sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all that you do.

My Thoughts
God said this to Joshua and it still holds true. To do what God ask of us, we have to know what God ask if us. To know that for ourselves, we must read it for ourselves. We can't get all of it in Church even if we go every time the doors are open. There is just too much to get. We need to be studying every day. In Romans 2:12 it tells us that we need to constantly renew our minds. God will bless us, He says that we will prosper and succeed in all that we do if we obey everything written in His word. 

The more I read God's word the more I understand the importance of constant renewal. I forget! I have to be reminded.  There is so much coming at me from the world, a constant input of stuff. God's word can so easily be crowded out if I do not keep at it daily, learning and relearning. god tells us here just how to have a blessed life, stay in His word, not just reading it, but thinking on it and doing what it says to do. What I love about God is that He always rewards my efforts and forgives me my mistakes when I got to Him. When I ask He offers me a his grace to help me understand and to help me do better!

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

4.9.14

Deuteronomy 33:1 This is the blessing that Moses the Man of God, gave to the people of Israel just before his death.

My Thoughts
God tells us that our words are important. Jesus told his deciples tha they needed to have faith. He told them that we could move mountains with our word coupled with faith. Moses left blessing for each tribe of the Isrealites just before he died.  This all made me wonder how many blessings that we miss each day because we don't have the faith to call down blessings over the lives of the people we love, that we meet, that we cross paths with. I pray that God reminds me that I can use my words to call down blessing in the lives of the people around me. How exciting it will be to watch God's blessings come down from Heaven as we learn to use our words in faith! 


Tuesday, April 8, 2014

4.8.14

Luke 12:35-36 "Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning, as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast.  Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks.

My Thoughts
I have read this many times before and understood it's meaning, to be ready for Jesus's return ant any time in my life at any time in my day. Today I got another meaning from it. One that was very personal for me. That I need to be dressed and ready each day to go and serve. There many not be an opportunity each day, but each day I need to be up and dressed and ready to walk out the door if the opportunity arises.

You see today I had a "lazy" day. I tend to love this, well the first half of a "lazy" day and by the second half, somewhere around 2:30 I find myself not liking me very much. I must learn that on even a lazy day I need to be up and dressed. Then see what the day brings. When I get up and get dressed I accomplish so much more, even behind the four walls of my house. I serve my husband better when I do what this verse says,"be dressed and ready for service." I must work in this! 

Monday, April 7, 2014

4.7.14

Deuteronomy 30:19 "Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on Heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving The Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your  ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

My Thoughts
I could not help but notice that the earth would be witness to the choice we make of blessings or curses. In Deuteronomy 11 God tells us that if we live under his blessings that we will get rain in the right times so that the crops will grow and can be gathered. So that the earth will yield its crops. Yield  means to produce or provide. The earth knows when to provide for us, because it has been given the authority to be witness to our choices of blessing or our choices of curses. When we choose blessings, we we obey Gods commands .... The things of the earth work together for the good ... The earth produces blessings for is. 

I believe that when we do not live our lives in praise to God by following His commands the earth knows this and rises up itself to praise God in mighty ways. But when we praise God ourselves the earth does not have to rise up, it can work in perfect balance, bringing us blessings for loving our wonderful creator it's wonderful creator God. 
2 Chronicles 7:14 says that, "Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land."  It is God's people that have to make the choice to choose blessings. We have to be honest with ourselves, truly honest and ask ourselves where we are making the choices of blessings in our lives and where we are making the choices of curses in our lives...then we have to ask forgiveness of our sins so that we are right with God and move forward and do better. Then the earth will rejoice with us...fruit and veggies will rise up from the ground because the rain will come in the right season...flowers will blanket the earth making us feel great joy. blessing will abound. The earth will be able to do its wonderful things because it won't have to be busy sending up the praises to .god that we have not. 

Saturday, April 5, 2014

4.5.14

Luke 11:34-36 Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But, when it's bad your body is filled with darkness. Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness. If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light." 

My Thoughts
This says to me that we need to be so careful about what we read, what we catch, what we engage in. It says to me that when we feel darkness closing in on our lives that we should step back and take inventory of what we are allowing into our lives. 

I use to love to watch American Justice and City Confidential ...  Shows about true crime. One day .god told me to stop.  When I did I noticed my mood changed.... I became less anxious and less afraid of the world. I really had no idea that these shows were effecting me that way. but God knew and He protected me. For me these shows planted darkness in my life. 

I am learning that when I find myself feeling overcome with a dark mood, to step back and examine what I have been doing. To ask God what I need to change. Some times it takes me a few days or more to remember to ask. But once I do life gets better... Just asking lights up those dark corners. I love how God comes to our rescue. 

Friday, April 4, 2014

4.4.14

Luke 10:41-42 But The Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all the details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it and it will not be taken from her." 

My Thoughts
Don't you just love how Jesus addressed Mary! "My dear Mary!" Wow! I think He was saying you are so busy trying to be perfect! How exhausting! You are going to get lost in serving me. You just need to relax and love Me, then I will help you. I will make sure it all works out for good. Don't get so busy and exhausted that you forget your purpose which is to love.

First this to story is about taking time to love Jesus. But it is also about taking time to love. We need to be careful as mom and dads, as grown children to our parents, as sisters and brothers, as friends that we don't get so busy doing thing because we love somebody, that we actually forget to love them, that we fail to make them feel loved. Sometimes we get so busy doing for somebody when sitting by them and holding their hand would set their world back in course.  Sometimes we get so busy that we don't take the time to notice that someone we love walks in the room...we miss out on their light, their face. They miss out on knowing someone lights up when they enter a room.

My little dog, Shaggy lights up when I walk I to the house, the same after I walk to the mailbox as he does if I have been gone from his world a couple of days. He greets me with a wildly wagging tail and will not let me don anything until I have picked him up so he can love me.  I heard a preacher say once that he was jealous of his wife's little dog. Then one day he noticed how that little dog treated his wife. He always greeted her with love and excitement to see her. He always sat newsprint to her in the couch. He thought to himself, "Wharton if I were to treat my wife the way that dog does?" So he tried it. He would meet her at the door all excited to see her. He would greet her with kisses. He sat next to her in the couch. And sure enough his wife treated him with the same love that the dog had been getting. No doubt that man loved his wife. No telling how many times he was doing something for her when she arrived home...busy with the details of locking her by being a dutiful husband. But those details didn't matter so much as just loving her did.

Jesus was saying, just love me Martha and then everything else will work itself out.


Thursday, April 3, 2014

4.3.14

Proverbs 12:13 The gossip of bad people gets them into trouble; the conversation of good people keeps them out of it.

My Thoughts
Before Robby and I started reading our Bibles most every day out conversation was often about people. Luckily we have always been able to talk about ideas and concepts. But still we often talked about people. Have you ever noticed how even if you only talk to your spouse about people, it still comes back to haunt you. It haunts you in how it makes you feel about someone. Gossip grows any anger or resentment you have inside you. And all too often when we gossip we look for someone who we know will agree with us... Which only feeds the talking and the feelings. If it only gets you into trouble with yourself, that is a most horrible feeling. Have you ever noticed that even if you keep the gossip within the four walls if your house it can feel like it seeps through the cracks and down the road into the ears of the people you have discussed. It builds a wall between people isolating us from each other. 

What I have noticed over the last 4+ years is that the more Robby and I read out Bibles the more we spend out conversation time on what our Bible reading has taught us. Now if we find ourselves talking about someone we tend to, together find a different way to thin about the situation. We try to see things from that persons point of view. If we see someone in trouble we look for ways to help them, or we pray for them. Our conversation about people is not gossip that we have heard, it is concern for people we know and love, or for complete strangers even. Our conversations are about how we can be better people, what we can do to help sometimes complete strangers. We work so often now days on how to implement what we have learned. 

We still have our moments! But we are a work In progress. What we have noticed is that our slip ups often come when we have let ourselves get over tired. Or have gotten too busy to study what we need to study.  When we let the world get in the way we start becoming like the world.  We are so blessed to be at an age when the world has less places to creep in because we have gotten to slow down a lot. We feel so blessed that we are learning and growing. So blessed that God gives us wisdom if we just seek after it. What a wonderful God that we have that rewards our efforts and makes life easier for us. 

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

4.2.14

Luke 10:10-12 But if a town refuses to welcome you go out I to the streets and say, "We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to show that we have abandon you to your fate. And know this -- The Kingdom of God is near! I assure you, even wicked Sodom will be better off than such a town on judgement day." 

My Thoughts
I had finished my Bible reading just after I put Ripley down...and needed a much needed nap. I went to sleep  not knowing which Bible verse I was going to write about and woke up with this verse so on my heart and mind.

Such a harsh verse it seems.  But then I thought of the Old Testament and how the Israelites were not to let people who worshiped foreign gods in so that they would not be tempted by them. It is important to move on from people who have heard the truth but so strongly reject it so that we never look at their lives for a moment and think, without truly knowing what their spirit goes through, that they ave it better than we do.  And second there are so many people out in the world hungering for the love of God that we don't need to lose many souls because of one soul that wants to stay lost. We have to accept that as much as we want others to experience the love of  God and all that God has to offer, some people just never will. I believe we are to go in love, but leave with a stern warning, a warning that if you make this choice Hell does await you! A warning that Hell is an absolute truth if someone does not accept Jesus. 

God know when people are ready to seek Him. We need to trust ?God with that and know that He will send someone else when the time comes. God will never ever leave a soul that longs for Him, He loves us too much. Bit Je also doesn't want is to stay in a place where there is only evil to tempt us. 


Tuesday, April 1, 2014

4.1.14

Psalm 73:2-3 & 19 But as for me I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping and I was almost gone. For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. 19. In an instant they are destroyed, completely swept away by terrors.

My Thoughts
Terror is defined as "extreme fear."  In verse 19 an "s" is added to terror...meaning many extreme fears. Have you ever done something you knew was wrong? Spent money you didn't have, said something you shouldn't have said? Then had a fear in your gut about that at night when you laid down to sleep?  We probably all have. Some people live in such sin, and Satan rewards them with so many things that their lives look good from the outside looking in. Asaph the author of this Psalm admits to almost getting drawn in to all that "stuff." But look here, despite having all that stuff, these people are swept away by terrors. You see one of the things that Satan can not give us is peace. He may be able to tell us how to have stuff, but his ways of having do not include peace. In fact Satan's way of having stuff will lead to terrors. Bernie Madoff his way of "having it all" was taking from people with lies. How many nights did he lay in bed unable to go to sleep because of the terrors in his head? I bet as horrible as it was to be found out he was relieved to finally be able to sleep when it was all over. 

My mom and I use to love to drive around and look at really nice homes and dream. All it would do is make us feel like we were missing out. One day as we talked about this feeling we would ultimately feel she wisely said,  "we should never wish for what others have without knowing their story. Without knowing if we would want to do all it takes to have what they have. We don't even know if these people are able to sleep at night, are they drowning in debt?" We talked for hours about that... And never went "dreaming" again. We were like Asaph we got so caught up in wanting. I am sure that some of these fine houses were blessings for hard work, honest living, loving, giving lives... But I know too some of these houses where gotten by dishonesty... By using what Satan says is okay. Some of these people were living in terror.... We didn't need to be wishing for what they had. 

God is the giver of love, peace, joy, blessings. The things that come from God do not give us terror. Satan likes to deceive us, to whisper in our ears we deserve this, or we deserve that....he tells us things like, "It's okay to lie, you will get the house you deserve." God instead tells us how, to have what we need, how much is enough while we are able to love in His peace. God' sword gives us instructions on what is good and honest and right. When we keep our eyes on God we will always have enough, and peace to go with it. My mom and I learned how to look at our homes and see all the blessings that came with just what we had. I am so grateful that God gave me the gift of seeing my blessings or laying me down at night in peace.