4.30.11

Proverbs 14:13 Laughter can conceal a heavy heart, but when the laughter ends, the grief remains.

My Thoughts

Our bodies, our souls,  was made to serve the Lord, to do what is right, to love one another. Our bodies grieve when we don't do what we were made to do.  We can go about acting happy... doing things that we think will make us happy.  We can try our best to hide our sadness...but when we go home at night and climb into bed we will feel that grief.  Shopping, partying, playing those things will not get rid of the sadness we feel when we are not doing what we were created to do. Only loving God, loving our neighbors, doing the things God ask us to do will get rid of the grief.  Our souls were made for love and serving the God... for serving other. To have a happy soul we need to love God with all our hearts, and love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37).

4.29.11

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

My Thoughts

Every time I read this I think.... God could take us at any time the only way to enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise is to be in a constant state of thanks and praise. I praise and thank God  more all the time... but, I have not reached that place where it is constant.  When the trees fell in our yard during the storm I thanked God when I saw the branches laying against my sliding glass doors...I was so thankful that they didn't come through!... But I was not thanking God while I was huddled in the laundry room waiting for the storm to pass.  This was a time that I knew that something could happen to me... yet I was not praising and thanking God.  When I get to heaven I want to enter His gate with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.  I want to be the child of God that God wants me to be. God wants me to be constantly thankful... constantly praising Him.  Just think how our lives would change if we would live just this verse!

4.27.11

Luke 23:34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.

My Thoughts

Forgiveness sometimes seems so hard! We can be so hurt or so broken we sometimes feel like we just can't forgive.  Jesus forgave...when Jesus forgave it was in the middle of great suffering... he had been beaten, carried his cross,  been nailed to the cross with huge spikes, his side had been pincered and Jesus asked forgiveness as he hung on the cross and soldiers gambled for his clothes.  Now if there was a time that we would have a hard time forgiving it would be then!!.. Yet Jesus forgave. We should always forgive. I have learned that God steps in where I fall short.  All I have to do is show the willingness to do something and God will take over.  The way I learned to forgive things I thought impossible to forgive is to start by speaking the words in my prayers.  I said them each day...over and over again...then God saw that I wanted to forgive and He stepped in with his grace... I found one morning as I was doing my forgives that I didn't need to say the hard one anymore... God had given me what I needed to forgive... I made the effort God made me able.  If Jesus can forgive while hanging on the cross in great pain and agony...surly we can forgive. We just have to start by opening our mouth.

2.26.11

Psalms 96:11-13a Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice!Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy! Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise before the Lord, for he is coming!

My Thoughts

I read this and smiled.  I will never again hear the ocean and not think that it is shouting praises... I will never again see a garden bursting with blooms and the fruit of its vine without knowing the earth is praising God... I will never again hear the rustling of the trees without knowing they are praising God.  Even the earth gets excited over God... over His presence...over his return!!... if the waters and the plants and the trees get excited  so should we.  I want to be reminded each time that I see these wonderful creations of God and each time I hear these wonderful creations of God to feel great joy... to sing God's praises. How exciting to know that even the waters and the ground...the trees and the plants praise God. Can you say Wow!

4.25.11

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

My Thoughts

I thought want on earth does this verse mean?!?!?!  Then almost as quickly as I had that thought I had the answer.  We can stay in our safe little world of home and church... surrounded by things that don't tempt us that don't dirty our minds ... that won't dirty our hearts... but to reach people for God we need to risk messing up... getting "dirty"... taking the wrong steps to reach thee people that don't know about God's great love. I think God would rather us try and mess up and learn and try again... than for us to stay as white as snow locked away from the world... when we take that step in faith God's grace steps in and takes over.

4.24.11

Luke 22:31-32 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.”

My Thoughts

Jesus was saying to Simon... I know you are going to mess up...the devil is really after you!!.... I know you think you won't mess up...but you are going to.... I am already saying prayers for you... I know you will ask forgiveness .... aft...er all this happens help the people you know be strong in me.

Jesus loved Simon... knew he was going to mess up... Simon was going to mess up by denying Jesus!... Jesus loved him anyway.... Jesus loved him so much that He prayed for Simon. What an example of pure love! It is hard to love people that talk about us... it is hard to love people that are mean to us... it is hard to love people that betray us. But Jesus loved Simon even thou He knew that one of his best buddies in the world was going to deny Him. Don't you know this was hurtful!... as hurtful as it was Jesus didn't just pray for Simon... Jesus pleaded, pleaded in prayer for Simon.

We need to take this example and follow it. We don't need to react in anger when somebody upsets us...we need to stop and pray for them. Imagine what prayer will do for not only for the other person but for us... it will soften our heart... if we take time to pray for the people that wrong us, people that hurt us, people that make us angry... then we ourselves are changed. When we have offered up forgiveness...when we have sent a prayer up for the person that hurt us...and we have cleansed our own heart from anger. ...our day also be better!!.. When we do this we can go about being happy and productive. But when we stay angry and hurt we destroy our day with our words, our feelings and our actions... we actually make the anger grow into a creature all its own...sometimes we destroy a whole week or year with the anger in our hearts.. just think of all we have to gain when we pray for those who hurt us. Imagine how love can grown when we focus on love.....When we react in anger the devil smiles...when we react like Jesus, God smiles.See More

4.23.11

Psalm 91:14-16 The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”

My Thoughts

This passage just makes me feel all safe and warm.  In this world we become all self absorbed... we are taught to think me, me, me.  We are taught to take care of ourselves and not depend on others.  Commercials tell us be selfish it's OK... you deserve it! The Bible tells us to love! ... To put God first.... and God says I will take care of those who love me...I will be with them in trouble...when they call on me I will answer...I will reward them with a long life and salvation.  The best way to take care of yourself is just to love God... to honor God... to trust God.  If we quit worrying about our self and put all our energy in God everything else will fall into place.  The world may send trouble our way...but God will be with us and God is stronger than the world.  One way that salvation is defined is : Preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss.  When we love God, trust God, call on God, He will protect us from harm, ruin or loss.  In John 10:10 Jesus tells us that the came to give us life... more abundantly.  God loves us and wants to take care of us... God wants to make our lives better.... To make our life better we don't need to look to stuff...we don't need to go around saying I deserve so I am going to have not matter what it cost... we need to take time for God... we need to love God... we need to trust in God...everything else will fall into place.  Because God loves us even more than we know how to love ourselves.