On Halloween

Tis Halloween ...

On the Eve of All Saints Day
Jack O' Lanterns light the way.

Witches and monsters we close our eyes to
But Lord, open our eyes to those who need You!

All God's children no longer need fear
The ghosts and goblins that gather near.

For evil ghouls with icy breath
Must bow to Him who conquered death.

Send up a prayer with your goodies this year
You never know what seeds will fall near!

A seed that will sprout and soon grow to be
Lord, another ripe harvest made ready for Thee!

Give us words and deeds on this night
That give others peace, not fear and not fright...


Have a Safe and Happy Halloween!

Sunday Post

Let All That Have Breath Praise The Lord Psalm 150:6

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Sunday Post

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Acorn to Oak Tree

From an Acorn to an Oak

Isaiah 61:1-4 NKJV

" The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And th...e opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations"

A miracle is in progress when we look at a tiny acorn. The miracle in progress lays there totally unnoticed - which makes me wonder how many times I have stepped on one of God’s miracle’s in progress.

It takes spiritual eyes to see a tall oak tree when you are holding a tiny acorn. There is an oak tree inside of every acorn and no one but God can pull that oak out of the seed.

Isaiah 61 says that God’s children grow up and become “oaks of righteousness.” I am so glad that in my early stages of Christian growth that those around me looked at me as an acorn and saw the miracle that God was creating in me and didn't trample me down under foot.

Think about that when you are surrounded by new Christians (and those we hope soon will be) and don't trample on an acorn that God puts in your path. Pick them up gently when they fall and speak life and you will soon see the miracle unfold, the tiny acorn will become a magnificent oak tree for Christ.

 

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Praise

Trust

Hebrews 1:2 NKJV
..."  has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds ..." 

Jesus was God's agent in creating the world. As followers of Christ, we  may believe that Christ knows and controls the laws of heaven (pertaining to salvation and spiritual growth), but we may act each day as though our financial, family, or medical problems are beyond His reach.

If Jesus could create the universe, then no part of life is out of His control. Do not exclude Jesus' wisdom and the Bible's guidance in your daily problems of life. No expert, professor, doctor, lawyer, or financial advisor knows more about your ultimate security and well-being than Jesus does.

Go first to God for advice. Talk to Him in prayer and listen to Him in his Word. He can sustain you in times of stress. From that perspective you can evaluate all the other wisdom and help He has made available to you.

In other words; Jesus is the only One with the real answers to any problem you will ever have - not the world and the people in it.

Trust Jesus!

Not Offended

Easily Offended

“Oh, Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.”
Psalm 34:3

Have you noticed the increase in the opportunities to get offended? Even after all these years with my man, I sometimes get offended by what he says. As a rational woman, I may know he doesn’t mean something the way I took it, but I still feel a huge pull to get offended. I believe in the day that we are living, the days prior to the return of the Lord, there will be a greater pull than ever before to get easily offended.

Jesus taught us in Mathew 18:7 that offenses will surely come. In Mathew 24, when the disciples asked Jesus what the signs of His return would be, He said in verse 10, “and then many shall be offended…”

So we should not be surprised when we feel the pull to get offended at the drop of a hat. The question is, how fast do you move past an offense? Jesus made it possible for us to be able to move past offenses very quickly.

I must constantly remind myself that we are in “the time,”  of the days before Jesus's returns.  Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, that there would be a great falling away in these days. I believe the falling away is due to being offended. If your love waxes cold according to Mathew 24, you will fall away.

So knowing all this, and being reminded of it as I write, I know when I am offended, I must quickly forgive. Forgiveness is the only answer! It is the way of escape! The quicker I forgive, the quicker I come back into my right mind. When I am offended my soul is in control.  When I forgive my spirit rises up above my soul and takes back over.

I have learned that when I am offended everything is distorted and even my emotions become out of control. When I am offended at a person I will see them in a distorted way. Also I realize that when I am offended at someone, I will become overly focused on them. They become the center of attention, or it's all we talk about for days. Every conversation even goes back somehow to what you are offended about. The more we put our focus on who we are offended at, the more magnified they become.

This is why offenses cause our heart to wax cold and may lead us to sin against God.  He is the only one we are to magnify. When we focus on others and what they did to offend us, we make them bigger than God.

So right now press the minimize button and minimize the person who has offended you. Bring them down to the right size and forgive them, and remember, if it were not for the grace of God you might be the one that is offending others.

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He Is Risen!

Be It Unto Me; Lord

Be it unto to me Lord; that I may feel as You feel.


Those things which break Your heart; let them also break mine.


That which humbled You; allow them also to humble me.


Those thing that brought You joy; may my spirit also find joy in them also.


Let the love that was forever in Your spirit; reign in mine.


Give me the grace to turn the other cheek so that I may not live nor die by the sword.


That I might forgive those that are mine enemies and call them brother or sister.


Give me the strength to proclaim the Good News to those that are broken.


Let my light shine a path in the darkness that leads to You.


On this most Holy day of the year let the Holy Spirit fall upon me like Heavenly dew.


Above all I wish that You grant unto me the ability to decrease so that You may increase.


Before man and before God; do these things I pray to You; my love, my breath, my life, my redeemer.

Amen and Amen

Holy Saturday!

Good Friday

Galatians 5:6 NIV
" .... The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love". 

The ~ REAL~ Easter Bunny

Passover

"Should Christians celebrate Passover?"

The celebration of Passover is in remembrance of the time in Israel’s history when the Lord moved through Egypt destroying the firstborn of all people and animals (see Exodus 11 and 12.) This was the final of the ten plagues God visited upon Egypt designed to force Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave the country and their captivity. The Israelites were commanded by God to take the blood of a male lamb—one without blemish—and smear it on the doorposts of their houses. When the Lord saw the blood, He would “pass over” that house. This is a foreshadowing of the spotless Lamb of God, Jesus, whose blood would cover the sins of those who believe in Him, causing God’s judgment to pass over them. Ever since that night, Jews have celebrated the Passover in remembrance of God’s grace to them.

There has been an explosion of interest in adapting the Passover festival to Christianity. Various organizations, such as Jews for Jesus, have long promoted Christian Passover services as a means for Messianic Jews to retain their cultural heritage while professing their Christian faith. They have also used the Christian Passover as a means to communicate to Christians the Jewish religious heritage that they value. Many of the rituals associated with the Passover Seder have application to the Christian faith, and a Christian celebration of the Passover provides a unique way to bring the story of salvation to the ceremony.

Whether or not a Christian celebrates Passover would be a matter of conscience for the individual Christian. Like all the Old Testament Jewish Feasts, the Passover Feast was a foreshadowing of Christ’s atoning work on the cross. Colossians 2:16-17 tells us that we should “let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ” (NKJV). Christians are no longer bound to observe the Passover feast the way the Old Testament Jews were, but they should not look down upon another believer who does or does not observe the Passover or other special Jewish days and feasts (Romans 14:5).

While it is not required for Christians to celebrate the Passover, it is beneficial to study it and could be beneficial to celebrate it if it leads to a greater understanding and appreciation for Christ’s death and resurrection. The Passover is a wonderful picture of Christ’s atonement for His people and His deliverance of us from the bondage of sin. That is something we should celebrate every day of our lives.

Palm Sunday

Let Hosannas ring and joy abound,
For the Lord our God rode a donkey to town!

Matthew 21:8-9 NKJV

" And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Hosanna in the highest!”

A Life of Hope

Hoping?

Zechariah 9:12  NIV 
 "Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you"

I have some questions for you:

What are you hoping for?
What are you expecting in life?
Are you looking for something good to happen?
Are you expecting to be disappointed?
How crooked is your path?

So many people are feeling hopeless these days. However, Jesus did not die for us to be hopeless. He died so that we could be full of hope.

The devil wants to steal your hope and he will lie to you. He'll tell you that nothing good can happen in your life or that the things you care about won't last. If you're struggling with a difficult situation, he'll tell you it will never end. But you have to stay full of hope and remember that the devil is a liar. God can change everything! In snap finger quick time Jesus can turn your whole world around and make your crooked path straight again.

Listen to  these promises:

Isaiah 42:16 KJV
"And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them".

Luke 3:5 KJV
"Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth ... "

Isaiah 30:18 NIV
"Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him"

The Bible is literally filled to the brim with messages of Hope. Here are just a few:

Psalm 119:114, Psalm 31:24, Psalm 39:7, Lamentations 3:24, Romans 8:25, Romans 15:4, Proverbs 13:12, Psalm 43:5, Psalm 71:14, Ephesians 1:18, Hebrews 3:6, Acts 24:15, Colossians 1:27, Romans 15:13, Psalm 146:5, Hebrews 10:23, Hebrews 6:19, Psalm 52:9, Ephesians 1:12, Ephesians 4:4, Psalm 27:14, 1 Thessalonians 5:8, Titus 2:13, Hebrews 6:11, 1 Peter 1:3, Isaiah 26:3, Micah 7:7 ...

And that! is just the tip of so, so many Passages that speak of Hope.

Our Father is good, and He has good plans for your life. If you will maintain your hope, especially in the midst of troubled and uncertain times, He has promised you "double for your trouble" (see: Isaiah 61:7) . So refuse to give up hope. Start expecting God to do something. And that "something" is going to be really, really awesome!

Repeat After Me:

Satan is a liar and we as the many membered body of Christ will not listen to him and lose hope. We fully expect the Lord Jesus to do great things in (and with) our lives. Of which we will rejoice and give thanks!


 

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