Thank You, Lord

 

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in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NKJV)

We have entered the season of giving thanks. What do we have to be thankful for? Thee are several things each of us have received and must give thanks to God for:

* Our Salvation

* Our lives

* Our families

* Our Friends

* Our health

* Our neighbors

* Those that keep us safe

When I was in third grade, my teacher talked to us about the Thanksgiving holiday. She said; “Thanksgiving is a day for us to give thanks for what we have, even if it’s peanut butter and jelly.” I remembered what she said several years ago.

Sometimes we get so ‘caught up’ with focusing on the material ‘things’ in our lives, we forget that these things are temporary, they could be taken away from us in an instant.

A part of our nation went through two hurricanes this fall. In western North Carolina there are towns in the mountains that are no longer there. The residents lost everything.Years ago, there was a message that was on the Internet that asked; “If you lost everything, home,car, belonging, would you still have Jesus?” Those people in the North Carolina mountains are living this.

I say all this to remind each of us that we must be grateful for everything God gives us.

Blessed People

 

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                                       Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust

and does not respect the proud nor such as turn aside to lies.

                                                                                                       Psalm 40:4 (NKJV)

Words of David

From time to time, we experience difficult things in our lives-sudden serious illness in our families, loss of employment, death of a loved one,- events that we have to face even though they seem to be hard to understand.

David tells us that the person who trusts God is blessed. He further defines one who trusts as one who chooses not to respect those who think too highly of themselves, or one who comes across as being a ‘know it all’.

Also, one who trusts in God will refrain from listening to those who repeatedly abandon the truth for lies.

When we follow the Lord, we have all of His blessings for us and His power keeping us safe. Then we are truly blessed.

Why Did Jesus Give Thanks?

 

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And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and broke it, and blessed it (gave thanks) and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Matthew 26:27 (NKJV)

Our Lord gave thanks to His Father at the Last Supper. He set a precedence for His children to follow. Jesus took the time to give thanks for the bread, and later the wine. The elements seem to be simple and insignificant as compared to other items we have in our lives.

Are we guilty of thinking an item is not significant because it is not important to us? Or it is too simple by our personal standards?

Could Jesus have chosen to give thanks because He knew God provided it? Could He have done this to teach those gathered in the upper room not to think they were entitled to what they were receiving? Do we feel entitled to what we have in our lives?

Prayer:

Dear Father God: Please accept our thanks for all we have that we can see around us and hold in our hands and arms. You have given us these things and these people out of your grace and abundance. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. AMEN

Be Thankful, Bless His Name

 

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

                                                            Psalm 100:4 <NKJV)

How we enter God’s house can forecast what we get out of the worship experience.

If we have been rushed and are frazzled because of that fast pace, we will not receive what God wants to give us.

I once read that our days actually begin the night before. If we have a time of restlessness at night, we could have a difficult day on the following day. I am attempting to work on this condition in my life.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

Yes, we must enter God’s house with a thankful attitude. We serve a God who loves us.

                                * He saved us from our sins.

                                * He has been extremely good to us.

                                * He may have brought us through some very difficult times.

And into His courts with praise.

When we enter God’s sanctuary, we must give praise to Him.

                            * Praise Him that we got to His house safely.

                            * Praise Him that we are healthy enough to be in His sanctuary.

                            * Praise Him for those others who are able to be there.

                            * Greet those who are there.

                            * Greet those who are visiting. Make them feel welcome.

Be thankful to Him and bless His name.

                         * We must give thanks for each gift God has given us.

                        * We must give God thanks for those things He allowed that we thought were

                            difficult issues that we learned from those circumstances.

                        * We must bless His Name because of all He has done for us. We do not deserve                                         anything from God, except death and, yet, He has given us eternal life.

Blessed Mary

 

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For He who is mighty has done great things for me,

And holy is His name.

And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.

Luke 1:49-50 (NKJV)

Verses from the Magnificat of Mary.

Mary, the future mother of Jesus, sang praise to the Lord. In context to our passage, Mary recognized herself as a lowly being. (1.) She realized that future generations would call her blessed. (2.)

She recognizes that the LORD has done something special in His decision. He also recognizes that the LORD will be merciful to all those who keep His commandments forever.

Mary took this task seriously and rejoiced that she was chosen by the Lord to bear and raise His Son.

Present day, should we not all take on tasks as working for the Lord? We have scripture that tells us we should. However, do we truly believe that we work for Him?

Ephesians 6:6-8 --not with eye service, as men-pleasers, but as bond servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

Colossians 3:23-And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,

God Be Merciful and Bless Us

 

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God be merciful to us and bless us,

And cause His face to shine upon us.

Selah

That Your way may be known on earth,

Your salvation among the nations.

Psalm 67:1-2 (NKJV)

These verses form an invocation. The writer asks God’s blessing on the people through His mercy. The scribes ask those hearing, and later, reading these words to ponder or think about them.

The psalmist believes that God’s way will become known to all who inhabit the earth.

Even today, there are places on our earth that need to know the One True God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and ( ). We must pray for the people striving to bring the gospel to those nations.

We must also remember that a lot of our neighbors might not have heard of Jesus. We also must keep in mind those who have forsaken Him.

As I refine this entry, I am reminded that we, as Christians, may be the only Bible some people read. We must ask God to keep us near to Himself and let His light shine forth through us, His children.

God blesses, in Spite of Our Sin

 

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Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD. The people He has chosen as His own inheritance. Psalm 33:12 (NKJV)

The LORD chose the children of Israel as His special people. We sometimes wonder why He opted to do this. We come to realize the God’s grace and love for those who He made is so great that, even when they did something He did not like, He chose to love them rather than bring down wrath upon them.

In Genesis, He did not “take out” Adam and Eve for their disobedience. He even created clothing to cover their bodies before He cast them out of the garden.

In 2 Samuel, God didn’t take out David for his sin with Bathsheba. When Nathan, the prophet, confronted him with the fact that what David had done was sin, David realized that he had sinned against God. God took the son to be with Him. He spared David’s life and blessed him personally but, also, allowed dissension in David’s family.

Each of us has had to make a decision to follow Jesus. By doing so, we tell Him that we will follow and obey Him. We allow Him to guide us through our lives. We have had times when that commitment was not always easy for us but, deep inside, we knew that was the path we should follow.

Truly Blessed

 

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Blessed is the man to whom the LORD

does not impute iniquity,

And in whose spirit, there is no deceit.

Psalm 32:2 (NKJV)

Blessed

Looked upon with favor. When a child of God receives a blessing, that child realizes the special degree of God’s care he or she has received.

Impute to impute means to charge with, to ascribe. When a follower of Jesus confesses his sin to Jesus, God wipes it away. We are not held accountable for that transgression.

Iniquity a lack of righteousness, injustice; wickedness, sin. As children of God, we quickly learn that God prefers us not to sin, However, He forgives us when we confess to Him when we do. If God did not wipe away my sins, I would not be able to stand up.

God chooses to look with favor on those of us who confess our sins before Him. He does this out of His grace, mercy, and love. In our world today, a lot of people don’t think of certain of their actions or habits as being sinful. This is because people have forgotten God. They choose to live as they wish.

All we can do is pray for those who have forgotten about God and especially for those who have never heard of God or His Son, Jesus.

Bless The LORD

 

I will bless the LORD at all times;

His praise shall continually be in

my mouth.

My soul shall make its boast in the

LORD;

The humble shall hear of it and be glad.

Psalm 34:1-2 (NKJV)

Words Penned by David

I will bless the LORD at all times;

David appears to be thankful for all the LORD has done for him.

Are we thankful for all He has done for us?

His praise shall continually be in

my mouth.

David states that he will always give praise to God.

Do we, as 21^st Century followers of Jesus, give God praise in every circumstance we face? Yes, I realize some of what we face is less than desirable. But, when we are faced with difficulties, we must praise Him for being there with us and guiding us through.

My soul shall make its boast in the

LORD;

David states that he will praise the LORD from his soul.

We sometimes have to give praise to God silently. Some people call this type of praise a heart praise.

The humble shall hear of it and be glad.

David believed that those burdened with issues would hear of his relationship with the LORD and how he is always praising Him.

On the day of my initial writing this, I had to go to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription for Jim. I also needed to get some vitamin supplements. They were out of the brand I prefer. The manager of that store helped me out by finding one that saved me some money. She and I talked; she was having a rough day. A condition with the status of that store has caused problems. I listened and asked her if I could pray for her right then. We stood there, held hands, and I prayed.

Be Careful How We Walk

 

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Blessed is the man

Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor stands in the path of sinners,

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

Psalm 1:1(NKJV)

The writer of this Psalm shows a progression that evil brings to a person.

Blessed is the man

Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Sometimes an individual needs guidance or advice on an issue. A follower of Jesus must be careful in his or her decision of whom to consult lest that other person encourages the follower of Jesus to compromise his or her faith.

Nor stands in the path of sinners,

The follower of Jesus may be enticed to do certain acts that lead to habits and actions that quickly lead him or her into sin. The believing person may be ill-advised that if he or she wants something bad enough that they have to do this questionable thing.

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful,

We all have heard the expression, “slippery slope”. This verse paints a picture of such a slope. Things start out “innocent” or a person just wants to better him or herself and starts cutting corners or joking around with a co-worker and things move quickly into a bad direction.

We must choose to live as close to the LORD as we can in order to receive His blessings on our lives and for our actions.

Prayer:

Father God: Please show us the way You want us to live for You, keeping Your lessons You have given us close to our hearts at all times. We give You praise. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. AMEN

We Became His

 

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When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was a time of love; so I spread my wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine,” says the Lord God.    Ezekiel 16:8 (NKJV)

God speaks to Jerusalem about His love for the city.

God speaks of covering Jerusalem’s nakedness. The city had nothing to cause God to be attracted to it. However, during the eras of David and Solomon, God made this city one of beauty. Every one knew of it.

God chose to make a covenant with the city, in doing this, the city of Jerusalem became His.

As I initially typed this post, the thought came to me that when we ask Jesus into our hearts, do we not make a covenant with Him that we belong to Him and that He is in control of our lives?

Do we understand what surrendering our hearts to Jesus truly means? God loves us and wants us to follow Him in ALL we do.

Someone was delivering an appliance to our home. He insulted me. Then, as he walked past me he took the Lord’s Name in vain. My response was, “He’s listening.” That man and his partner chose not to complete the tasks they were to do. I had to call the company where we purchased the product and register a complaint. I did not like to have to do this but Hubby felt it needed to be done. As I see it the delivery men did not honor a contract between us and the appliance store. Only God knows for sure.

HE IS WITH US (and Blog Break)

 

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Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, “God is with us.” Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 7:14 (NRSV)

Do we understand the significance of the angel’s message? This message refers to a prophecy of Isaiah some 4oo years earlier. God is with us!

Even today, we see evidence of God’s presence in our world. The end of November 2017, I received a prayer request from my best friend. Her husband’s nephew had called and asked her to pray for his new-born granddaughter. The baby was born with three heart abnormalities.

The medical team waited for almost a week before performing surgery. In the meantime, several of us were praying. I requested prayer from one of my social media friends and from an online social media prayer group. This family needed to see God’s working in this circumstance. On the day I prepared this. My friend texted me a picture of the baby being held by her 3-year-old sister. She seems to have no tubes for breathing or feeding or heart monitor leads. We believed that this baby will go home very soon. God was with them throughout this past year.

UPDATE: In the fall of 2022, my friend and her husband along with their younger daughter journeyed out west and visited this nephew and his family. The little girl told my friend’s husband that she has a zipper on her chest. He told her that he has a zipper as well. The child is doing very well.

In the early part of our nation, there were people who believed that God created the world and chose to stand back and see what we would do. However, this is not the way the modern theologians teach. Those of us who have witnessed His workings know that God chooses to stand beside us in the good times and in the not-so-good times and guides us through those less than good times.

As we continue in our walk with God, let us learn to seek God in our lives and let Him lead us through the difficult times of our lives.

May this thought continue as we approach the upcoming New Year.

I am going to take a blog break until Tuesday, January 3, 2023. There are some things I need to get done here at home and also finish a bit of Christmas shopping,

SHINE

 

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This is an updated version of a post from a previous year.

It is God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6 (NRSV)

We have often heard we are to show Jesus to those we meet. Also, we hear we are the only Bible some people read. What can we do when we try to incorporate these thoughts into our personas?

At my Tuesday morning prayer group, I shared a reading entitled “Shine”, from an Advent devotional book Pauses for Advent Words of Wonder by Trevor Howard. Our Sunday school class is studying it.

A dear friend of mine responded that she always tries to smile when she meets people in the stores and in passing. I discovered I am also trying to smile more than I have in the past.

I believe there is something else that would help us shine for Jesus. We can try to speak in well-modulated tones of voice when we answer someone else. (Here again, I point three fingers back at myself.)

One habit I have developed is to tell everyone who waits on me or helps me by holding a door open for me to be blessed. Just today, I told a Salvation Army bell ringer to be blessed after I heard him wish a Merry Christmas to everyone who came by his station, whether they donated to the kettle or not. That touched my heart.

One way we can do this is to think before we speak or act. Even taking a deep breath before we begin to speak might give us time to think about how we want to respond to what we hear and time to send up a sentence prayer to God to guide us in what He wants us to say and how He wants us to say it.

Lord God: Thank You for Your guidance and instruction as we learn Your ways to shine for You in this fallen world. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen

What Lacking Self-Control Looks Like

 

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A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. Proverbs 25: 28 (ESV)

Words of Solomon, the son of David.

Someone without self-control seems to fall for ‘the latest’, what he or she hears from the television or reads in the newspaper. That person is not grounded in faith.

We see this result in our world today with the seeming popularity of “groups” that promote ideas that were unheard of 40, 50, or more years ago.

Carla Gasser, author of The Beauty of An Uncluttered Soul, tells us that a person who practices self-control practices spirit- control. That person lives with the Holy Spirit guiding him or her.

At first, it is not easy to function with the Holy Spirit leading our lives. I believe it gets easier to do as we go practice giving issues to the LORD through our days. Even then, we may have times when the enemy chooses to test our resolve.

We must remember that we serve a LORD who understands the stress when the enemy tempts us. He tempted Jesus and Jesus rebuked him.

My sister-in-law had a friend give her a print-out of a meme that had a special message:

“When the devil knocks at your door, ask Jesus to answer it.”

A Gift of God’s Grace

 

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, and godly lives in this present age.

Titus 2:11-12 (NIV)

When we turn over our hearts and lives to Jesus, He gives us His Father’s grace to guide us through our lives. We receive salvation and so much more.

We receive the strength to stand against the worldly ungodliness that, from time to time, we have to face. Yes, as I read this scripture believers can say “No” to the worldly things.

The grace of God teaches us that we can manage in this world when we trust in the Holy Spirit to utilize self-control through Him and live lives pleasing to God before our neighbors and those we see where we do business.

I believe it is important that each follower of Jesus must strive to get closer to God and model our beliefs to those around us. However, I do not say this is easy to do. We have to rely on the Holy
Spirit to guide us through the roadblocks that life throws in our way.

A God-Given Spirit

 

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for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)

Words of Paul to his spiritual son Timothy.

Paul encourages Timothy to not be ashamed of speaking about God or about his (Paul’s) imprisonment.

God empowers His people to stand for Him and His Word. He still empowers us, His followers, to stand firm in the face of what the world throws at us.

A church I was a part of had a guiding document that included the guiding thought that the church’s calling is to approach the world and change it. Instead, we see the world entering the church and changing it. My present church’s denomination historically has been counter-cultural in its beliefs. Slowly, the world has seen to have crept in and tried to destroy the beliefs and practices we have held dear. Author Charles Colson wrote in some of his books that the colleges of the east coast we founded by churches and originally taught Christian values. Even at the time of his writing, the values, once held dear to the institutions were becoming blurred.

There was a gospel song I heard several years ago that summed up what we must do, it’s title-” The Basics of life”. One line said it all, “Let’s get back to the Basics of life. "We need to do just that!

   

Through His Guidance

 

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In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined to the

purpose of Him who works all things to the counsel of His will.

Ephesians 1:11 (NKJV)

In Jesus, we have received a gift from God, a gift determined by the LORD’s aim for us. God works all things in accordance to His will.

Our heavenly Father knows what He plans for each of His children. We learn His purpose for our lives through the experiences we have as we grow in Him, the spiritual gifts He gives us and through His guidance through our days.

Over the years, I have taken at least three Spiritual Gifts surveys. The results have guided me as I walk with Jesus. Some people find that those gifts change over time. Some of mine went from strong gifts that I could use and to waiting gifts that I could use if I could develop them.

Have you done a Spiritual Gifts survey?

Purpose in Season

 

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To everything there is a season. A time for every purpose on earth.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NKJV)

God creates our live and gives us many epochs in each life He creates. As a person goes through life, he or she might go through certain stages.

As young adults, we study, we work, date, maybe marry.

As young marrieds, we work, provide for our families and care for our homes.

As parents, we care for, provide for and rear children.

As Empty Nesters, we rediscover favorite pastimes. and even learn new skills.

As Caregivers, we spend time caring for or helping older family members.

As Senior Citizens, we may volunteer for church or civic positions.

Each of these seasons have a purpose. God gives His children duties and tasks to perform. Each ‘season’ has a beginning and an end.

Since two weeks before the COVID lock down, I have had several health issues. It seems like one after another. I sincerely need to pray about finding God’s purpose about how He wants me to spend my days in this season I find myself.

Sometimes, all we can do is seek the LORD’s guidance and follow His leading.

Are any of you going through times like this?

God’s Plan

 

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For I know the thoughts [plans] that I think towards [have for] you,

says the LORD. Thoughts [plans] of peace not evil, to give

you a future and hope. Hebrews 29:11 (NKJV) [NI V]

The words in brackets are how I learned this verse.

The LORD has set in motion a time of exile for the Israelite people. They will be in bondage for 70 years, a life time to a lot of people now. How many generations of Israelite people lived in this bondage during those years?

Yet, God had plans for them. False prophets had misled them. One told the Israelite people the enslavement would last just two years. God took him out two months later.

God’s plans were positive-in the long run. The people had to learn some lessons and learn to respect God.

Recently, I came across the thought that what we see happening in our world today has come about because we have lost respect for God and the lessons we have needed to learn. This thought makes sense to me.

What do you think about this? Does God still have plans for His children? Will His children respond to God in a way that uplifts Him?

Show Humility to All Men

 

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Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. Titus 3:1-2 (NKJV)

Paul’s words to Titus whom he describes as a “true son in our common faith.”

Paul lays groundwork here for believers to follow.

* To submit to rulers and authorities.

* To not speak badly about anyone.

* To live peaceful lives.

* To show humility to all we know.

Paul makes some very strong points, getting to the core of human relationships. He writes these words to a pastor who is young. Titus faces a huge task, that of establishing churches.

As we go through our days, we must follow these words of guidance from Paul. We are tasked to helping enlarge the kingdom of God, however, we must learn to daily practice gentleness.

This is a very difficult thing to do. Recently, I received a phone call from a friend who lives in my neighborhood. She wanted my advise on something. She told me her feelings on an issue and I told her that if she felt uncomfortable doing what she was asked, then maybe she should not do it. She had some good reasons about why she felt the way she did. I could have been more gentle about certain related issues she spoke of. I intend to be more careful in the future.

Do we always find ways to show humility to those around us?