10.31.10

Hebrews 2:18 Since Jesus himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.

My Thoughts

This is a wonderful thing to know... to truly know in your heart... not just a verse to be heard and memorized ... but a wonderful think to know.  We all have those moments when we think that nobody understands us... and in those moments we are so vulnerable because we can feel alone and desperate... this times are such a good time for the devil to sneak in and take control of our thoughts.. but if we know this verse, truly understand that Jesus himself knows our suffering and testing, he understand completely our feeling... and he knows exactly how to help us... all we have to do is ask him... then listen and act on what he tells us... Jesus knows... he walked on this earth as a human, he feels our pain and suffering no matter how small we think it seems to people... it is important to God, God cares about the details of our lives... so remember Jesus knows.... we never have to feel all alone in our thoughts and fears and struggles, Jesus knows.... we can talk to Jesus about all our thoughts and our feeling, Jesus will understand and help us to overcome!

10.30.10

Matthew 7:7-8 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."

My Thoughts

The reason we need to ask, the reason we have to seek... the reason we have to knock is because God gave us free will.... so many times we just go about our day and never take the time for God... have you ever had a friend that didn't have time for you??... we eventually give up on those people... our thoughts eventually come to the point "If they don't have time for me I will just move on spend time with the people that do have time for me."... we don't want to beg for some body's time and attention... God gives us free will because he wants us to love him because we want to love him, not because we have to love him!... God want to do for us and take care of us... but we have to ask.  Did you ask God to be a part of your day today?.. have you ever thought that God didn't take care of one of your needs, I have.... did you ask him to?... looking back I know that I didn't!... God is just waiting ... he is watching, looking down on us wanting to help us so so bad, but if we have not spent time with him... if we have not made time for God, he is not sure we want his help... when we feel God is not present in our lives we need to stop and question our actions... we need to stop and say "God I am sorry I have not made time for you... I love you and I want you here helping me." God will never, ever abandon us, he is walking right beside us all the time the only thing holding God back is our willingness to make him a part of all that we do.

10.29.10

Proverbs 26:20 A fire goes our without wood, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops.

My Thoughts

Oh this made me think of the work place... or the ball field .... any place where people are spending lots of time together... our conversation seems to go in the direction of talking about what people are doing wrong... and then that information spreads and the story gets bigger!... and somebody gets mad and/or hurt... it is terrible, always!  Just think if we made an effort for one week that the only thing that is going to come out of our mouth is conversation about ideas, and plans to improve on what we do... what if when we opened our mouth about another person it was to praise them to spread information about something good they had done or something sweet they had done... what a wonderful atmosfear that would create... what if people went about finding the good in people... if we made an effort to do that it would not only change the people around us it would change how we feel about ourselves... we would not worry about what we said.. we wouldn't have to hope that so-in-so didn't tell so-in-so what I said ... and if people were seeking out the good in people we would try to do even better so that people would have something wonderful to say about us... sound like the dream job!...  or the dream ball field!!... it is not impossible it can start with me or with you!!... you can at least be the person that goes home from work without worry about what you have said about another person... you and I can honor God by letting only good things, dreams and ideas be what comes from our mouth.... we can be the place gossip stops if it lands on our ears and the place where prayer starts if we hear something bad about somebody else... we need to be the change that we want to see happen in the world.

10.28.10

Psalms 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise.  Give thanks to him and praise his name.

My Thoughts

I have heard this verse all my life, here and there... but now after my journey through the Bible I was very aware when I read it that I should always be thankful...I should be in a constant act of praise if death decided to take me I want to enter heaven with thanksgiving and praise.... I need for praise and thanksgiving to be my constant thoughts and words... if I live my life with these being constant on my mind I will enter heaven the way that will make God happy.  When we dwell on the good in our lives it is a way to be thankful.. it is a way to show God that we know what he has done for us!... When we spend our time worrying and complaining we are saying that God didn't take care of us and that we don't trust him to take care of is... in a way it is giving the devil praise... I want to live my life where anytime God takes me I am being thankful and in praise of him.... this will take practice.... I will have to be constantly aware... but I am going to work on this for sure!

10.27.10

Titus 2:14 He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.

My Thoughts

Here is something think about... think if you were stuck standing on a railroad track and a train was comming... your best friend in the world was standing there with you, watching and said "Promise me one thing?!"... and you said 'Okay what??"... "Promise me that you will visit my mom every Friday" then your friend push you off the tracks and died in your place... you would visit your firends mom every Friday!!... you would never forget to visit... Well Jesus died in our place just as if a train was comming down the track... and all Jesus ask is that we go about doing good deeds, go about loving our neighbor as we love ourselves... Jesus ask that we love God with our our heart and soul...that is all that Jesus asked for dieing in our place.... we need to make our biggert effort every day to do good, to love everybody and to love God enough to spend time with him each and every day...time learning about what he wants from us... time talking to God and listening to God talk to us... that is not much if you think that Jesus pushed us off that cross and died in your place and in mine!

10.26.10

Titus 1:15-16a Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. but nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted. Such people claim they know God but deny him by the way they live.

My Thoughts

Have you ever noticed that when you are not doing the things you are suppose to do that you see the bad in others... I have done this when my life was all out of sorts... it made me feel better to know that some-body's life was worse than mine... if my house is not clean it makes me feel better if somebody else's house is not clean... and so on.  On the other hand when I am doing all that I can to do what is good and what is right I can only see the good in people... when I am being sweet, and good and kind, I think everybody is sweet and good and kind... when we start seeing the bad in others we need to recognize that as a red flag about our own lives and stop and examine what we are doing wrong in our lives.  I never realized when I do bad that I am denying God... I could know it was not good but I never thought of my actions as denying God... I have thought "How could Peter, Peter who walked with Jesus, deny him?" But I myself have done that in my actions...and God walks right beside me all the time... the Bible tells me so.... I have lived in a way where people would question if I knew God.... now that I have read this verse I will be keenly aware that I can deny God with my actions and my words... My actions, the things I do and say need to say "I am proud to be a child of the Most High God"... what do your actions say?

10.25.10

Jeremiah 48:7 Because you have trusted in your wealth and skill, you will be taken captive.

My Thoughts

Have you ever worked really hard at something just to have somebody else come along and take the credit!!... That is an awful feeling isn't it!!  That is just what we do to God when we put our faith in things instead of putting our faith in God.... Everything we have is a gift from God... I have heard people say, as I cringe "Why should I thank God for that?? I worked for it!"... our ability to work hard, to do a job well comes from God.... we often recognize that a person with a beautiful voice has a gift that is from God... or that a painter that paints beautiful pictures has a gift from God.... we need to stop and notice the gifts from God that we have in our lives... the ability we have in our lives and give God the credit... The things I know about me are that I am sweet... that is a gift from God... I didn't know it for a long time.. but once I figured it out I could see that being sweet is a gift. Not everybody is sweet... I can make pretty cards... that too is a gift from God... God gives me the ability to see the cuts that I put together in a different way than a lot of other people see them and that makes me able to create a little bit of "art"... and now I can knit on my Knifty Knitters... and I understand more each day how the stitches work and how to use those stitches in different ways to create different things...I prayed for this gift... when I picked up my looms I said "God will you please help me to understand this and be good at it."  and God helps me more every day... I was even able to sell one!!... I know that was a gift from God!... My husband, Robby has the ability to go to work every day at UPS from sun up to sun down... he has been at this for more than 30 years now... God gave him that endurance, that ability to keep going... the healthy body to lift those boxes...God gave Robby the ability to provide for his family... and the willing spirit to do so day in and day out... that is a gift from God... Today when we are able to pay our bills, when we are able to buy something knew.. when we are able to make or do something that enhances our lives, lets remember that we need to trust in God and thank God for these things... we don not need to take the credit for all that God has done for us.  We need to remember that when we accomplish something that we like to get the credit... when God accomplishes something through us God likes to get the credit...Today will you thank God for all that you have and all that you can do?... Will you put your trust where it belongs and tell God today... Dear God I trust in you to provide for me and my family... I trust in you to supply all my needs both physically and mentally and spiritually... I thank you God for my skills and my wealth  because I know that these things are a gift from you.... today lets make God smile down on us by letting God know that we know that all we have is because he made sure that we had!