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







Thursday, June 30, 2011

6.30.11

Ezekiel 16:49-50 The sin of your sister Sodom was this: She lived with her daughters in the lap of luxury—proud, gluttonous, and lazy. They ignored the oppressed and the poor. They put on airs and lived obscene lives. And you know what happened: I did away with them.

My Thoughts
Wow! This verse makes me know that we and individual people can not hope the rest of our country takes action.  We each need to do something. I remember reading that God said if you can find one person, one I will save the city.(Ezekiel 22:30)  We never need to hope there is one to save us...we need to strive to be the one that might save us. In the US most of us live in the lap of luxury, so many of us are proud, gluttonous (so many in the US of over weight), and lazy (I can be sooo lazy)... we ignore the oppressed and the poor (we expect the government to do something). We put on airs (keep up with the Jones')... live obscene lives (sex sells they use it even in commercials).  We can take a stand as individuals by asking God, "God what do you want me to do?" Today we can choose in some small way to make a positive difference in one person's life. Today we can choose to buy something for somebody else instead of ourselves. Today we can choose to turn off the TV to something offensive. Today we can choose to be a person that could save our country by being a person of action, a person that God would see as worthy enough to be saved from destruction. What step will you take today to make a small difference in  the life of someone around you?  Lets not let the US turn into Sodom... let us each make a choice to make a difference.







Wednesday, June 29, 2011

6.29.11

Psalms 147:5 How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension!

My Thoughts
I love this "His understanding is beyond comprehension!" There is nothing we can't tell God! How often do we have feelings that we want so share with somebody that we hope will understand?  We can tell God! We can tell God anything!! "If" we tell God, "then" he will help us. I think God has us ask so that we will know that He is where our help comes from. If God took care of everything for us without us asking we would be so unaware it was God.  How many times have you heard people say "I have just been lucky."? Luck has nothing to do with life.  God is who takes care of us.  When we ask God to help us we become aware of where our help comes from.  I love that when I am frustrated or when I have me feeling hurt that I can tell God!... This is so something that I am still learning to do... but when I do it I feel better....I feel the Holy Spirit inside me helping me to think things through and I feel so much better, so much sooner. God made us, he knows!... God watches us, he understands what we are living with on this earth.  God knows! God cares! and it tells us right here in Psalms that "God's understanding is beyond comprehension!" God will understand, He is just waiting for us to come to Him so that we are aware that He loves us...that He cares, and that He can take care of all of our needs.




Tuesday, June 28, 2011

6.28.11

Psalms 146:5 But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God.

My Thoughts
I love this... who have God as their helper... God is our helper and we can have hope that even when things seem at their worse God is there it will have His hand in making things better... God does not promise that we won't go through difficult times, after all we live on this earth. God does tell us he will be with us and help us.  When we have God in our hearts we always have hope.  Hope is a powerful thing! When we feel hopeless we give up we don't make an effort... when we have hope we push forward.  Did you every have a time when you felt like God didn't help?...I have...what I have discovered in my journey through the Bible and in Bible study is that the Bible is full of "ifs and thens".  God told Moses if you raise your staff at the waters edge then I will part the waters... God told Joshua "if" you march around the wall of Jericho and shout "then" I will make the walls fall down.  God tells us "if" we believe when we ask "then" all things are possible.  The times when I didn't think God was there...I didn't do my "if" part.... I didn't always believe, I didn't always ask...I just expected.  When I started reading my "instruction book" then I learned how....now I always have hope!!... Always!!!  Sometimes I have to stop and find my "if" to get my "then" ... but God is always there when I do!!

Monday, June 27, 2011

6.27.11

Proverbs 18:1 Unfriendly people care only about themselves; they lash out at common sense.

My Thoughts
To know this is true all we have to do is stop and remember the times we have been unfriendly. A good example is when we get behind and have to stop at the store on the way to somewhere important.  All we are thinking about is us, how we will look if we are late and the what people will think of us if we are..... we know we are not being friendly to the cashier... and even tho the people in the other cars can't hear us we are unfriendly to them.  We all have our moments!!...Those moments when we only think about ourselves. We need to remember this verse to keep ourselves in check...if we find ourselves being unfriendly we need to realize that we are in  the mist of thinking only of ourselves. When we are in the mist of being selfish we even miss out when other try to bless our days...we are seeing only ourselves so much that we don't see what others are trying to do for us. If we think of ourselves as being unselfish, but find ourselves being unfriendly, we need to stop and make a mental check and correct our actions. Kindness is never a mistake.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

6.26.11

Proverbs 17:27 A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even tempered.

My Thoughts
This made think...that if we keep our mouth shut when we first feel the need to get angry...and take time to try and understand where the other person is coming from we would avoid so many misunderstandings.  We would become more even tempered..... Have you ever noticed how many older people seem to do this?  They have that wisdom to have patience...they let people finish their thoughts so they know the whole story before the speak... they are better to understand that things usually have two sides...the have wisdom of experience.  Just think how much better off we would be if we just took this verse to heart and had the wisdom to do this at an early age?  It would save us so much trouble and heart ache. We often say if we only had instructions...we do...we just have to learn to read the instructions and follow them.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

6.25.11

Psalms 143:5 I remember the days of old. I ponder all your great works and think about what you have done.

My Thoughts
Ponder is defined as think about carefully. David spent time carefully thinking about all the great works of God. If we would take time to do that today it would do a couple of things for us....it would make us so aware of how God takes care of  us.  It would give us much less time to worry about the little things. It would also give us a chance to thank God for things we often over look. So many times we thank God but attribute wonderful thing to man.  We just don't stop and think...we don't ponder God's great works. Especially things that we are use to. An example of this is an appendectomy. The first appendectomy was risky...and amazing...people were aware that is was a miracle... they were in awe of how many lives would be saved. The family of the person saved were thanking God!!  Now somebody says "I have to have my appendix out." and the people around them say "Oh, no big deal..they do that all the time and you'll be fine."  The person going through the surgery doesn't even get credit for being sick or put to sleep.... for being cut on... much less God for saving them. Each and every time a person has a "simple surgery" God has a hand in it...it is still as much a miracle as it was the first time. Jesus healed more than one person it was a miracle every time... every time a person has their appendix out, or their gallbladder out...every time a person has a stint put in their veins...they have been saved from death...these things happen every day!  Yet we don't ponder how great God is.  When Jesus healed people whole towns were amazed...whole towns believed!...Now maybe the family of the person with the appendectomy knows that a life was saved. 

When Orville and Wilbur Wright flew the first plane people knew that was a miracle... people knew that God's hand was in that...now thousands of planes fly everyday and instead of being in awe, amazed and thankful, people are frustrated and angry that a plane takes off late..that they have to wait. We forget to be thankful that we can even fly.

When we find ourselves pondering how somebody has hurt our feelings...or what went wrong in a day...or how somebody cut us off in traffic...that is a good time to stop your mind from being upset and angry. A good time to stop and really ponder all the wonderful things God does in our world each day!  That is a good time to take time to be thankful instead of angry and upset. Instead of pondering our troubles...we should ponder the works of God.

Friday, June 24, 2011

6.24.11

Psalms 142:1 I cry out to the Lord; I plead for the Lords mercy. I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles.

My Thoughts
Isn't it funny how much we go to God for and then when we need to complain we find a friend? It's like we don't want God to hear us complain... we only want God to see us in our best light... but He sees us all the time...He knows all about our thoughts. We can take our complaints to God, David did!  Friends can't help us with our complaints.... God can! Sure they help by listening...but they can't really help us.  God can help us by letting us know when we have a bad attitude... or whispering to our heart what to do about the problem.  Our complaints are the very things that get gossip started!! We really do it backwards... we should want the world to see us in our best light to see our sweetness and our kindness... to see us as loving and thankful..... and we should run to God like He is such our friend that we can talk to Him about anything.  We go to our friends with our complaints because we feel they will understand... God made us.. he shaped us and molded us... God knows exactly how our minds and hearts work.  It is sad but true often our friends just like hearing the gossipy part of our complaints... God actually cares always about what we are complaining about and has the power to make it better. God should be so much our best friend that we go to Him with everything... our joy and our complaints. When we complain we are wanting this to get better. People tend to stoke the fire... God puts the fire out!  There is so much to learn from what David wrote... it didn't survive all these years just to be a story... it survive to teach us how to have a better life. When we complain to people we make the world less good...when we complain to God we make the world a better place. (Don't forget to thank God too.)

Thursday, June 23, 2011

6.23.11

Psalms 14:3 Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips.

My Thoughts
These are the words of David... who loved God with all his heart... who talked to God on a regular basis... who went to God with everything... who seek-ed after God.  David depended on God... even for control of what he said.  O Lord, guard my lips....I wonder how our homes, hour work places, the ball fields, our churches, our lives would change if we all asked God to guard our lips?! Then listened when the Holy Spirit said "oh don't you say that!" It would surly be a better place. I try all the time to listen when the Holy Spirit tells me not to say something... it can change your life... I need to add this prayer for God to control what I say. If we are to strive to be like Jesus, and we are, our words should be full of love, kindness and understanding.  What will your words be today.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

6.23.11

Psalms 140:13 Surely righteous people are praising your name; the godly will live in your presence.

My Thoughts
In verses 1-12 David is praying for God to protect him from his enemies...I feel sure David wanted protection for him and his men. In the end of this prayer David says "Surely righteous people are praising your name; the godly will live in your presence." What David knew what that we have to draw God near.... God waits to be invited... when we need God and don't know what to say all we have to do is praise Him...that draws God near.... God protects us when He is near.  We often go about our day stressed out... worried.... alone... frustrated..... sad. Not knowing what to do to change any of that... when we get that way we get more stressed out... we worry more.... we fell more and more alone.... we get more frustrated...our sadness grows deeper and deeper.  We feel so lost sometimes that we don't even know how to pray.  God knows our every need... our every thought when we get so deep into the struggles of life that we don't know what to ask God for all we have to do is praise God.... Praise His name! We just have to make the choice to love in God's presence...and when we praise God we draw Him near...when He is near we are in His presence...and when we are in God's presence He protects us from our enemy... from our frustration... from our stress... he protects us from feeling alone... from our sadness.  We don't have to remember perfect words... we don't have to even get our head together... we just have to start praising God... God will take care of the rest!!  (I so needed this today!!  God is so good!)

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

6.21.11

Psalms 139:1 Oh Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.

My Thoughts
Have you ever felt a way you did want to feel... dwelled on thoughts you knew you should disagree with?  Knew you were feeling things that were making you sad and upset and wanted to stop?  But just didn't know how to stop?  You knew God could help you! But, you were embarrassed to tell God what you were thinking and feeling..what you had done and wish you hadn't done?  God has already examined our heart and knows everything about us!!..God already knows!!... So instead of getting worse... feeling more ashamed... moving backwards instead of forward.. talk to God..God knows anyway.  God helps us when we ask...He just waits for us to need Him.  I use to wonder why God waited until we ask. Have you ever tired to help somebody do something for themselves they were not ready to do??? It doesn't work...until they make up their mind to do it you can't help... God knows that! God could change things but he knows we will change it right back if we are not ready. So we have to ask to show God we are ready for the change. Ready for the help.  What is wonderful about God is we can ask God to help us to be ready... we can ask God to help us have the want to to do better.  God already knows!...God still loves us!... No matter what God loves us! You know that person on earth that you can tell anything to? You trust them went all your thoughts and feeling no matter how bad they seem?.. God loves us more than that person! God understands more than that person!... and God has the actual power to help us with anything and everything. So start talking...start spilling all those thoughts and feeling!!.. every single one... it is okay to "spill you guts" to God, He knows any way and He is the one that can make all the difference.

Monday, June 20, 2011

6.20.11

Proverbs 17:17 A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.

My Thoughts
I have always been thankful for my brother, Jamie.  I love him with all my heart! I have never really thought that God gave him to me...and me to him as a help in time of need.  I thanked God for him this morning, I thanked God that he gave us each other for that very purpose. I have often thanked God for my brother, just because I love him so.... but never for giving him to me for when I need him. My brother always comes when I need him, always!.. My mom, who is not his mom, had a heart attack several years back.... they rushed her to surgery because all the blood drained out of her leg.  I had to sign a piece of paper that they could take my mom's leg if necessary. I was terrified!!... My husband and kids were with me.... my mothers brothers ans sisters were there...but all the sudden I said "I have to call Jamie, I need my brother!" I called him, it was the middle of the night...he came. He always comes when I call...and it always gives me strength..that extra bit of strength I need to get me through.  In Psalms 138:3 it says "you (God) encourage me by giving me strength." One of the reasons God gave me my brother was for those times when I need extra strength. Now when Jamie walks in a room and I grow stronger, I know to thank God! Because that gift of strength, that gift of love that gift of my brother, Jamie came straight from God!  I love you baby brother!.... Thank you God that you gave me my brother, Jamie.  Who are you thankful for today? Who gives you that extra bit of needed strength?

Sunday, June 19, 2011

6.19.11

Acts 13:15 After the usual readings from the books of Moses and the prophets, those in charge of the service sent them this message: “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, come and give it.”

My Thoughts
This verse says to me that it is very important to encourage each other.  It comes just after reading from the books of Moses and the prophets. We all need encouragement in all areas of our lives. We need to know that what we do matters. Growing is hard to see in ourselves.  It is kind of like looking in the mirror. When we look in the mirror at ourselves we tend to notice the things we don't like about ourselves. I don't like my nose and that is always the first thing I see when I look in the mirror. Try as I might I can't see the whole of myself. I see myself in parts...and usually I am seeing the parts of me I like least. Every once in a while we pass a mirror that we don't know is there and we catch a glimpse of ourselves as others see us...and it takes a minute to even know it is our reflection.  We see the whole...and even think to ourselves "hey, I look pretty good!" It is especially nice when we have had the thought that "That person sure is pretty." and that person was our self!  We tend to see how we have grown or what we have accomplished in much the same way, in parts. Noticing what we can't do, what we have not accomplished, ways we haven't grown. We see other people...and other people see us more in a whole part... they can see what our accomplishments are. They see how we have grown. The look at us and see the big picture. I think that is why words of encouragement are so important. Important enough to list here just under the reading of the Bible so far as it had been written. We all love to be encouraged! One of the reasons we love it when people see what we have done is because they see it bigger and better than we do.  When someone else notice what we do and comment on it, for a second we get to experience us through somebody else's eyes. Say for instance we have just given a party...we often think about what could have been done better, what we forgot. But, somebody else see how well everything went, how everything feel into place perfectly. We never know that unless somebody tells us.

I believe we do better when we are told we are doing good.  When somebody says to me that I am so sweet, I try harder to be even sweeter.  They have encouraged me by noticing what I can do, they have noticed what I am good at. When I am told what I am doing is working I try even harder. When our boss tells us we are good in an area, we tend to always pay extra attention and be good in that area.  When others encourage us it gives us the will to do better, to go on!. Encouragement is so important in  our lives. As much as we need that from others, others need it from us!!  When we notice the good in others, the accomplishments in others, the growth in others. When we see something somebody has just done that was good we need to tell them just how good we see it, to build them up, to spur them on.  It gives  us the want to,  the strength, the "encouragement" they need to move forward and become the best they can be. Today, everyday when we notice something nice about somebody else, something positive about somebody else don't keep that wonderful treasure hidden in your heart...share it with that person. It may be the encouragement they need to become even better than they already are. It may be that encouragement they need not to give up. Those thoughts shared become seeds that grown into bigger and better things.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

6.18.11

Acts 12:5 But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.

My Thoughts
The story goes on to tell how Peter was surrounded by guards, bound to guards...there look like there was no way out and Peter was going to be put to death.  But an angel of the Lord came and freed Peter. Notice the people prayed earnestly... earnestly is defined as "Marked by or showing deep sincerity or seriousness" another definition of earnestly is :With a purposeful or sincere intent" and one more is "Serious; determined." These peoples "earnest" prayers were answered by God.  If God were going to save Peter without the prayers would they have been mentioned? I wonder how often we feel our prayers have not been answered when we just sent a quick "would you do this for me" kind of prayer up to God. How often do we not get answered because we don't consider something important enough to ask earnestly? Do you think that God wants us to ask earnestly because it is important that we know that God is who took care of our problem...when we ask earnestly we are more aware of God's power... are more aware that God is working in us, around us, through others on our behalf?  When we ask earnestly and God answers we are aware that it was God and we are more likely to give God the credit that is due God? There are days I pray in earnest...there are days I pray quickly...more out of habit. It is good to have the habit of praying ... but we need to have the habit of praying earnestly. In all three definations of earnest a form of serious is mentioned.  If we don't treat our request as serious, should God?  Do you have a prayer that has not been answered?... Did you pray earnestly? There are many things I have prayed about in a passing way... now I need to go back and pray about them earnestly.

Friday, June 17, 2011

6.17.11

Proverbs 17:9 Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.

My Thoughts
This is an important Bible verse to remember.  As humans we tend to remember and dwell more on what has hurt us.... or made us mad and upset more than we do on the good things people do.  We can have a friend for years that has done all kinds of sweet and kind things for us... then one act of selfishness, or one thing said on a bad day can ruin a friendship. How sad is that!!  Years of love and kindness destroyed over few minutes of a bad mood... all because we dwell on the mistakes,  all because we find fault instead of forgiving and and choosing to dwelling all the good we have had from a friendship.  How different would our life be, our wold be,  if we just made it a habit of dwelling on the good in life, in people, in the world.  Our own attitude would change if when we walked into a room we and sat down at a table full of people and we made a conscious effort to think a good thought about each and every person... just one good thought.  What if we walked into our work place and made sure to think one good thought about each and ever person we came in contact with that day.  So often we see somebody at work and our first thought is how they may have wronged us at some point.. how sad is that!?!  I am going to make an effort to think good things about people the minute I set my eyes on them!...Imagine how a marriage could change if every time your spouse walked into the room you made sure to think a good thought about them... or every time  child walked into a room you thought a good thought about them.... Just think how your relationship with a person you have a hard time with could change if you made yourself think a good thought... Philippians 4:8 tells us "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. We are instructed not to dwell on the bad..but to think about the good and be forgiving... we are told to do these things because it will make our lives so much better.... the better our lives are the more productive we can be...the more we can share love just as God intended.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

6.16.11

Isaiah 30:15 (The Message)"Your salvation requires you to turn back to me and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves. Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me—

My Thoughts
We are so often strongest just after we "give up." That is because when we give up and decide we can't do it we finally turn things over to God. Just think how much more effective we could be if we turned things over to God in the beginning when we still have energy! In this translations of the Bible God calls our efforts to save ourselves silly. That is because God sees the big picture... God is our strength and God knows this... he is looking down watching our wheels turning as we stay put in one place. God is  just waiting on us to ask for his help the He can put His hand on our back and give us that nudge we need to move forward.  We in our own effort have to work really hard to do what God can do with just a nudge.  We are only in control of us... God is in control of us and all that is around us. I picture it like this... from the ground (our view..our ability) we come in contact with a tank...we push and push... that tank is huge...and heavy and we can't budge it.  From above... (God's view and ability) it is like a child playing with army men...he can make anything happen he just moves that tank out of the way so the solider can accomplish what needs to be accomplished. When I stop and in-vision it like this I see that my efforts are so silly in comparison to God's ability and it makes me want to just give it all to God...now the hard part....I need to not take it back so I feel in control...after all I am not in control at all of the world around me. God can only have my back if I give him my everything.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

6.15.11

Proverbs 17:7 Eloquent words are not fitting for a fool; even less are lies fitting for a king.

My Thoughts
We have all see somebody try to sound big by using "eloquent" words.  We have watched them being laughed at ... talked about.... when a fool uses eloquent words no one believes what they say....their foolishness stands our like a sore thumb.  It says here in Proverbs that lies are even less fitting for a King.... a King is a person in power... somebody that rules over...in today's world we don't have kings...but we do have  persons in charge like bosses, managers...company owners... mayors, governors, the president... once they lie they become as effective as a fool using eloquent words... most of us have witnessed a boss who loses power or influence over his employees because he gets caught in a lie...because he talks bigger than he is. It is not a pretty thing to see... or be a part of. The thing is we all loose creditability when we lie... we all loose creditability when we try to appear bigger than we are. We accomplish more when we are honest with others and with ourselves. No matter what our lot in life is we get more respect by being who we are and being honest.  We look foolish when we try to appear more important than we actually are..... and we look foolish when we are in an important position and respect that position of power so little that we lie to get what we want or to impress.  The fact is when we are honest with others and ourselves...when we don't try to be somebody that we are not....when we don't talk too big... or treat people like they are so small they won't know the difference we are more effective in all that we do.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

6.14.11

Acts 9:31 The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee,, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers.

My Thoughts
Remember fear of the Lord is defined as wonder and awe. The church had wonder and awe for God...and loved God.  Because they loved God they were able to know when the Holy Spirit was encouraging them...guiding them to do what was right... guiding them to love one God and to love one another. Because the church loved God and had wonder and awe for God it became stronger.  How simple is that!.. We can become stronger as individuals, as a church, as a family, and a city, as a state, as a country by loving God because we are in awe of Him...because we see Him with great wonder.

The more I know about God the more I am in awe... the more I wonder at all He has done in the world...the more I am aware of what He does for me.  The more I call on God the more he does for me.  The closer I get to God the more I am able to know when the Holy Spirit is guiding me and the stronger I become as a person.  I use to get anxiety all the time... I didn't like new things... I didn't like putting myself in new and different situations.... the tiniest bit of disapproval from a complete stranger gave me anxiety.  (Thank goodness I felt safe within my family) I could ware myself out trying to please people... the more I couldn't the more I retreated inside the safe walls of my home and in the safe presence of my family.  I knew God.... I loved God, because we are suppose to love God.  Then I really got to know God...as I read my Bible I understood more and more about God's great love for me... and I learned to please God instead of trying to please people...if I please God, God will take care of my relationships with people...and how can you go wrong by doing what the Holy Spirit leads you to do.  I have become so much stronger... I rarely have anxiety any more.  I have had a few setback along the way...but when I get my eye on God...when I spend time with God...when I talk to God and take time to listen to God talk to me...I become stronger and stronger and stronger. It is not just a feeling I have inside me...people that know me have seen the difference in me. I am living proof that when you fear the Lord you become stronger.  I have experienced the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.  I pray that God continues to grow me into what He would have me be.  I feel so blessed to be a child of God.  I still have a long way to go... but if God grows me as much in the future as he has in the last couple of years...I can't what to see what I can be!

Monday, June 13, 2011

6.13.11

Acts 9:15 But the Lord said, "Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings.

My Thoughts
This was a man who killed many, many, many Christians for loving Jesus. This is also the man who later became know as Paul and started churches, and lead so many people to Jesus.  In fact his words still lead people to Jesus today.  We should never choose who we think deserves the word of God.  No one would have ever thought that Saul deserved the word of God but Saul became a great witness for Jesus.  Saul became a most effective witness........ Saul reached people that others would have never been able to reach. Jesus didn't decide that Saul was too "bad" to use.... Jesus took this person that put all his energy into being "bad" and turned all that energy into being good.  Our lives can never be so bad that Jesus can't use us for good!  We can never have done anything so bad that God can't forgive us and turn our lives in a something wonderfully useful for Him. We should never give  up on others....and we should never give up on ourselves. God never gives up on us!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

6.12.11

Psalms 130:3-4 Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who,O Lord, could ever survive? But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you.


My Thoughts I love the story of King David.... we are told over and over how much God loved King David.... in  the book of I Kings God tells King Solomon that if he loves Him as much as his father, David did God would make Solomon great. The beauty of the story of David is that David messed up... David sinned .... sometimes David made awful mistakes....but David always loved God... David always feared God.  Fear of the Lord is defined as wonder and awe. David always had wonder and awe for the Lord.  David always went to God and ask forgiveness and God granted that forgiveness.  David seek-ed God in all that he did.....God loved David, God didn't keep a record of David's sins. David never, ever forgot who God was.... David never forgot to take his sins to God, David never forgot to have fear of the Lord. David always, always loved God. God always forgave David and always loved David.

God loves us as much as He loved King David.  When we ask forgiveness of our sins God does not keep a record of those sins. As people we tend to keep records of sins. God throws those sins into the Sea of Forgetfulness.  If people would completely forget what we do to each other we would be in awe of their forgiveness. We would be amazed at their precious hearts of love. God does forgive and forget our sins....he blesses us with total forgiveness and forgetfulness.  For that alone we need to have wonder and awe for God.  What greater gift could we have than total, complete forgiveness. That kind of love is so perfectly pure. I picture it like this.  When a baby is born, we love it with the purest feeling of love we have ever felt...that love in our hearts is bigger than we could ever imagine it could be. That baby is perfect and our love for that baby is perfect because there is nothing, not one thing that has tarnished that love.  God love for us is even greater than that... and it is always, always that amazing once we ask for forgiveness because God is able to fully forgive and forget all or our sins. Oh what a wonderful feeling it is going to be when we get to be in the presence of God and feel that loved! And even tho we are not in the presence of God hear on earth, God still love us that much. We should never be afraid to go to God for anything, for everything. David wasn't.



Saturday, June 11, 2011

6.11.11

Acts 7:59-60 As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." He fell to his knees, shouting,, "Lord don't charge them with this sin!" And with that he died.

My Thoughts
Has there every been somebody that you just didn't think you could forgive?  They say something about you...they wrong you in some way that is really hurtful. Sometimes we just have trouble forgiving. But Jesus tells us to forgive, to pray for our enemies.  Stephen was telling the truth, telling all that God had done.  The people didn't want to hear it and were stoning him.  All Stephen had done was spoken a truth that the people didn't want to hear the truth. These people were killing Stephen in a brutal way... Yet Stephen did as Jesus asked... he forgave these people and ask God to forgive them.  They were taking Stephen's life... not hurting his feeling, not attacking his character, the weren't forgetting a lunch date or trying for the same job...... they were taking his life and Stephen was able to forgive them. Forgiveness is huge, God commands that we forgive others.... we want others to forgive us. We want God to forgive us.  We need to expect from ourselves what we expect from others. If we don't practice forgiveness in the small things would we be able to do what Stephen did and give forgiveness in the mist of death?  No matter what somebody has done to us we need to be forgiving. We would want others to do the same for us. 

Friday, June 10, 2011

6.10.11

Proverbs 16:32 Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self control than to conquer a city.

My Thoughts
We so value people of power... so many Americans dream of powerful positions... we see success as moving up the ladder to a more powerful position...then another more powerful position.  We want people to see us as successful.  We may not conquer cities in our time on this earth, but we try and conquer our little corner of the world by having bigger and better toys than the next guy.  We want to have it all even if the stress of having it all makes us impatient and unkind. Our ultimate goal is power and possessions. Our ultimate goal needs to be pleasing God.... and it pleases God when we are patient, when we have self control, when we love one another. If we do what God ask, the rest will follow..... I imagine that Mother Teresa was the most patient person... she didn't worry about being powerful.... yet when she spoke the world listened...now that is true power...that power was granted to her because of her patients and her self-control...because of her great love for humanity.  Because she went about pleasing God.  Great things happen when we do what God ask...and one of the things God ask of us is to be patient...to have self control... would patients and self-control be something others would list about us if ask?...

Thursday, June 9, 2011

6.9.11

Psalms 127:1 Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.

My Thoughts
There is a story in Joshua where God has Joshua  narrow down his army so small that the people would know without a doubt the victory was God's victory. God wants us aware that we need him because we do need Him. We need God to be the best we can be, to be the strongest we can be, to be the wisest we can be. We need to know for our own safety, for our own good, for our own growth how much we need God.  As a nation we need to be aware that we grew strong and powerful because we loved God. As individual people we need to be aware of how important it is to have God in our lives.  As families we need to understand that we need God.  God wants us to be aware that we need Him so that we will depend on Him because he loves us and want to help us be all that we can be. Lets not waste all our effort of living by trying to do life without God!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

5.8.11

Psalms 126:5 Those who plant with tears will harvest with shouts of joy.

My Thoughts
This verse says to me that if we keep our eye on God.... if we see the good God had done in the mist of our hardest struggles.  If we share how wonderful God is during our hardest of times . God sees, God cares and God will reward our faithfulness.  We should never give up... and we should always seek God... and we should always be aware of what God is doing in our lives even, especially when times are hard.  God is always there. God always cares... when we plant seeds of goodness they grow...it takes time but they grow...and they come back to us as beautiful flowers.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

6.7.11

Proverbs 16:25 There is a path before each person that seems right, but leads to death.

My Thoughts
This is the exact reason we need to seek God in all that we do.  We can think something is right. The devil can trick us and make it feel right.  But, God knows!!... If we take the time to seek God, and take the time to listen to what God says. We will know the right path to take. We just can't do it on our own even when we think we can.

Monday, June 6, 2011

6.6.11

Psalms 124:8 Our help is from the Lord, who  made heaven and earth.

My Thoughts
God is always there to help us, always! We just have to ask....and then pay attention. God always listens, always. But for God to hear us we have to talk to Him. Have you ever been talking your problems out loud in an empty room and all the sudden you had the answer?... God was listening. It is amazing when we put our problems in God's hands what happens.  We tend to put big problems or the impossible dreams in God's hands. But we need to get in the practice of putting even the smallest things in God's hands. God cares about it all.  Everything we do shapes us into who we are becoming.... It's the little things that effect our everyday lives... the little things are constant.... the big things come along but not often (thank goodness) and they seem to matter most.  But it is the little things that happen day in and day out... over and over that really shape our lives....if we give those to God...and learn to let God help us with those...then when something bigger comes along we will go to God first...not after we have tried an failed..not after we have sought  advice from people that often have their own agenda..... God cares about every part of our lives.... God wants us to give it all to Him.... God can change our world, but only if we let Him. 

Just recently I was making a shawl, a little thing in the big picture of life.... but something I love to do every day.... I kept messing up....something that usually relaxes me was making me stressed, really stressed.  Then I remembered I had not prayed about this shawl I was making ...I had just jumped right in. I stopped and asked God to help me.  I pulled out everything past my mistake and started to crochet again... everything feel right into place...I remembered what I had been doing before..and saw clearly what I was doing wrong.  That was God helping me.  When I got my spinning wheel, I prayed over it, I told God I wanted to be good at spinning yarn.... when I started spinning it was easy to me. I was told that people spun yarn for a year before they had accomplished what I accomplished in a couple of weeks... That was God helping.  There are too many things in my life that I didn't ask God to help me with that I have not been good at at all. There are many things God helped me with that I wasn't even aware of because I wasn't looking. Now there are things in my life that I really struggle with that I have not given to God.  But I am learning...and what I am learning is when I give something to God, He always does a better job in me than I can ever do by myself.  Always. God is all knowing...He after all made the heavens and the earth.  Why would I not give my every move to God... after all what I know is only a grain of sand on a vast beach and there is nothing that God doens't know. God tries all the time to teach me and show me that He can make my life so much better.....it is just up to me to ask Him to help!

Sunday, June 5, 2011

6.5.11

Proverbs 123:4 The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant words are persuasive.

My Thoughts
Oh I like pleasant words, don't you?!... You can win me over every time with pleasant words. If somebody  wants me to do something and they  ask in a pleasant manner with kindness I can hardly say no, if fact I jump at the chance to say yes.  If they are demanding, or tell me to do something I am more likely to say no.  Even if I say yes, I am much less likely to put my heart into the task. We all love somebody that we think understands us.  We are more likely to listen to them... we are more likely to seek their advice.  If these things work on how we react to others, they will also work on how others react to us.  If we are understanding and pleasant, and people see us that way, the will be more receptive when we share the love of God. When we are understanding and pleasant people see God in us.  Jesus was understanding and pleasant....Jesus was kind and His words were persuasive. People listened to Jesus. Jesus was full of wisdom and used His wisdom when dealing with people. Shouldn't we do the same?

Saturday, June 4, 2011

6.4.11

Proverbs 16:20 Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the Lord will be joyful.

My Thoughts
God only tells us to do what is good for us. God loves us and only wants the best for us. So if we trust in God and do what He tells us to do we will have reason to be joyful. It's really pretty simple...Satin just likes to tell us it's hard. It doesn't mean life will always be easy...it just means that if we do what God tells us, if we consult God and listen to his instructions, God will always choose what is best for us. God sees the big picture...we see what is right in front of us. So even if we don't understand when God says no, God understands and chooses what is best for us in the long run. We just have to listen to God's instruction and trust the God knows... and the Bible tells us if we do this we will prosper and be joyful.

Friday, June 3, 2011

6.3.11

Psalms 121:2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

My Thoughts
How many times do we think "Oh, what am I going to do?" without looking up to heaven and asking God what He would have us to do.  I have done it so many time.  Even now when I know God better than I ever have I fall back into what I was use to and forget to ask God what I am suppose to do. I do know that when I do ask God everything works out.  If you car breaks it would be wonderful if you could take it to the person, the very person that designed the engine.  If your computer breaks and you knew the person that designed the program, knew them personally wouldn't that be the person we would love to take our computer to?!?! The very maker of the computer!  God is the maker of heaven and earth  and all that is in it. It only makes sense to get our help from God.  He made all the people and all that is in the earth...He knows how we work, how the earth works... He is all knowing!  God is the one who knows how to fix all of our  problems...and we have access to God anytime we need Him... we just have to learn to ask God for his help and then take the time to listen to His answer. In all areas of our lives at all times in our lives.  This could only improve our days and our weeks.  We need to get so close to God, so use to going to God that it would be automatic to say "My help comes from the Lord."

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

6.1.11

Proverbs 16:15 When the king smiles, there is life; his favor refreshes like a spring rain.

My Thoughts
How important a smile is.  It even says so right here in the Bible. A teacher is the king to their classroom. A parent is the king to their children. A boss is the king to his employees. A pastor is king to his Church. A Sunday School teacher is king to their class. Sometime when we feel like the bottom of the barrel anybody we see feels like a king. A king is somebody that is over you.  Sometimes you feel like the whole world is full of kings and you are the only nobody.  We never know when a person is having one of those days, a "nobody day." We should never under estimate the power of our smile. or the power of a kind word. A  smile can completely turn some body's day around. A kind word from a stranger has actually been know to save a persons life.  We never know when our kind word, our smile might just be that important.  Today when we go out into the world lets make an effort to act in a way that says God loves you and so do I!