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, Rich in Mercy

 

” But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:4-6 (NKJV)

God has made us alive because of Christ. He rescued us from the sins of our trespassed and will give us a place in heaven when our time here on earth is over.

God showers us with mercy, His great love, and His grace.

When Jesus returns to earth, God will bodily raise those who have lived for Him, giving them each a resurrected body that will be reunited with their spirits.

Our son was born with a birth defect that caused him not to run “like the other boys.”

One evening when he was in either kindergarten or first grade, he asked me, “Mom, when will I be able to run like the other boys?”

I thought for a second and answered him, “When Jesus comes again.” I believed it then and I still believe it all these many years later.

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Several years ago, we started attending a different church. There we met a man who, several years before, had been in an accident on his motor scooter. This was his second accident that summer. He was a quadriplegic. At the time we met him, he lived with his mother who, with help, took care of him.

This man was unable to do anything physical. However, he could pray and pray, he did. He would call me from time to time and we would talk and then we would pray for each other. When he prayed for me, I felt prayed for.

When God called him home, I wrote a poem about him. My first thought when I heard of his passing was that “Heaven is Richer Now”. That was what I entitled the poem. Our pastor at that time read it at his service.

God Be Merciful and Bless Us

 

Warner Sallman 

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.

Thanksgiving

 

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Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. Psalm 100:4 (NKJV)

This verse is from a chapter in Psalms we had to memorize when I was in the fifth grade. I always think on this chapter during the month of November.

Each of God’s children must be thankful for no other reason than they belong to God. God blesses, (inward joy is theirs), us because He chooses to.

Each week at the beginning of that week’s journal thoughts, I list things I am thankful for, I call these pages, “Praise More.” This exercise helps me keep in mind who He is and what He does for me.

Do we ever take the time to thank God for bringing us through to another day? We must because each day we have is a gift from Him.

Do we remember to give thanks to Him for His watch care over us? Have we ever barely missed being involved in a car wreck because of something that kept us from being where we could have been severely injured?

Do we realize that God is our protector at all times during our life? He knew us in our unformed state (Psalm 139:16) and watched over us even before we knew Him.

All we can do in return is give thanks and praise Him for who He is.

Let Your Gentleness Be Known

 

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Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

Philippians 4:5 (NKJV)

As believers, we must not haggle over unimportant details.  One afternoon recently, I had two incidents with a clerk at our CVS store. I had to ask where something was that I could not find. His response was, “Aisle Seven.”

Instead of responing to my query, I felt that he should have accompanied me to the area. That to me is good customer service.

When I checked out, I had two coupons, one of which did not get applied to my bill. I was not in the best frame of mind when I left the store. I did not know that the second coupon was not applied until I had returned home and checked my receipt.

I decided how to handle my response on this. This is not the first time I have had issues with his service.

Then, I read this scripture. I do have some work to do on this gentleness issue. When I was asked to evaluate the service I received (online), I gave the store middle valued response. When I had to evaluate the person who checked me out, I gave that person low markings.

My reasoning for the action I took was as follows:

# I am a senior citizen, in my late 70s. If a person working in a store treats a senior citizen badly, it reflects on the store. I have seen people in the business world help and guide an elderly person through the process he or she has to go through to complete their transactions or even to find what they are looking for.

# I walk with a cane, it is sometimes hard for me to get around. When I have to hunt for the location of a product, I get frustrated when I have looked and still can’t find it.

As I said above, I do have some work to do on this gentleness issue.

We Must be Faithful

 

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This is a faithful saying:

For if we died with Him,

We shall also live with Him.

If we endure,

We shall also reign with Him.

If we deny Him,

He will deny us.

If we are faithless,

He remains faithful;

He cannot deny Himself.

2 Timothy 2:11-13 (NKJV)

Paul wrote these words to Timothy. This was his last letter he would write. Paul knew he would die.

Paul gives words of encouragement to Timothy to stay close to God. These words are especially important to followers of Christ today. We see people who followed Christ in their youth go their own ways and get tripped up by the enemy. We have at least two generations that seem to have denied Christ. We must endure for His sake. We must not deny Him. God is faithful; we must be faithful to Him.

Each of us must re-dedicate our lives to live for Jesus, to stand for what He has taught us.

Being Faithful

 

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His Lord said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant: you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” Matthew 25:21 (NKJV)

The disciples asked about the end times and the Rapture. Jesus told them several parables that relate to the end times and His return. One was about being faithful with what we have.

A wealthy man prepares to travel a great distance from home. He leaves three of his household servant in charge of some talents (money). After a lengthy absence, the wealthy man returns. Two of the servants had made the talents work for them, doubling the amount each was given. They were praised and rewarded for their efforts. Their master said they were faithful. The third servant did nothing with what he was given. The master took away the gifts and gave them to the other two servants.

Do we see many people being faithful to the LORD or even to each other in our world today? Are we as faithful to God as we were when we first gave our hearts to Him? This is something I have to deal with often.

We all want to hear God tell us that we were faithful over what He has given us.

Because of His Faithfulness

 

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His mercies fail not. They are new every morning; Great is your faithfulness. Lamentations3:22-23 (NKJV)

Did you ever have ‘one of those days’ when nothing went the way you planned or wanted it to go? Because we are human, we all have them. Not sleeping at night, forgetting where you put something you need to function, needing to alter plans to accommodate someone else are just a few of the ones we could face in our days.

Because we belong to God, we can function in spite of the plans that go awry. He blesses us with the strength to continue with what we need to do.

My study Bible lists some advantages because of God’s faithfulness:

*We can have confidence when we pray.

*We can conquer evil and temptation.

*We can praise Him.

*We can have courage when we are afraid.⁽¹⁾

We all must rely on His faithfulness as we go through our lives. When we do we become stronger in our witness and testimony for God.

_____________________

(1.)Jeremiah Study Bible, Dr. © 2013 David Jeremiah Inc, Worthy, Hatchette Book Group NY, NY. Page 1045.

Everlasting Mercy

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For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.

Psalm 100:5 (NJKV)

 

These words come from a Psalm of Thanksgiving. I find comfort in them as I type them. I remember learning this Psalm in the fifth grade.

 

We sing choruses about God’s goodness to us. But do we really understand what we mean? God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are the only truly good persons we know of. They are without sin. God endows His children with His goodness so that they can display that goodness to those who need His love axpalnd kindness.

The goodness God showed to the Biblical heroes He can also show to us. What was truth in those times is still truth today. God never changes. We as a nation and a people need to get back to following God. 

We never realize how merciful God is until we know we have received mercy in a way that we cannot explain any other way. I experienced His mercy in this way several times lately.

God will see us through these difficult times.                             

       We must remember God's goodness to each of us. I trust you will enjoy this song.

What God Requires

 

 

He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to love justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God!  Micah 6:8 (NKJV)

 

God shows us His goodness to us each day. The sun shining through my living room window brings the words, “Thank You, Lord!” to my mind and heart. When I manage to get some good sleep through the night, I try to thank Him for that gift.

 

God shows us His goodness in many ways, ways we often take for granted. What does He expect from us?

 

God expects us to love justly. What does that mean? Could it mean that when we hear of someone doing wrong to another that we are to ask God to deal with this person according to His standard of right and wrong-according to what His justice?

 

The Lord also expects us to love mercy. Could this mean that we are to show mercy to those who have done wrong to us or to others? Showing mercy can be difficult but God expects His children to do it.   

 

He also desires that we “walk humbly” with Him. God wants His children to know that He is perfect and infallible, while we, His children are imperfect and make mistakes.

 

I was reminded of this song as I initially typed this blog entry. I hope you enjoy it.

Book Review: Kingdom Values by Tony Evans

 

Books a Million

 

Doctor Tony Evans has written a book that is needed for our time. He explores the words of Jesus He spoke in the Sermon on the mount. The Bible calls them the Beatitudes. Dr. Evans calls them Kingdom Values.

 

With each Kingdom value, God gives a blessing. As usual, Dr. Evans speaks to our hearts. He shows us that we can overcome the difficulties of life by modeling the Kingdom Values before those in our circle of friends, our neighbors, and those with whom we do business as well as to those with whom we worship.

 

I learned a lot from this book. One thing was that we can exhibit these values in our daily lives to those who may be trying to ‘try our patience.’

 

I would recommend this book to all those who are dealing with issues in their families, their neighborhoods, their work places, and their churches. I believe it would make a wonderful study for a group.

 

This book can be purchased at:

Books a Million: here

Christian book: here

 

I received a copy of this book for free from Bethany House, a division of Baker Books. All they asked of me was that I give an unbiased review.                      

 

 

 

 

 

                       

We Must Forgive

 

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Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another even as Christ forgave you, so you must all so do. Colossians 3:12-13 (NKJV)

 

The Apostle Paul conveys this message to the believers at Colossae. This is basically the same message he gives the Ephesian believers. However, he goes deeper with the meaning of being kind. He writes that we should “put on” these attributes as we dress ourselves for each day.

 

tender mercies

 

If we should have issues with someone, we must approach that issue carefully and speak with tender words. We don’t always realize how we come across when we just blurt out the issue that is on our hearts.

 

 kindness

 

Even when we have issues with another person, we should approach that person with kind words because we don’t know what they might be going through in their personal lives.

 

 humility

 

We should always remember that each of us is no better or no worse than other people. God made us all. He allows each of us to have experiences and circumstances that allow us to grow. We should learn to practice humility in all our interactions with others.

 

 meekness

 

As people of Christ, we should learn to take the gentle path when dealing with people. We must realize that we are imperfect beings.

 

 longsuffering

 

I love this word. It is an old English word that means “patience”. We must have patience in this world as we deal with others. I walk with a cane. It takes me a while to go from “point A” to “point B”. I appreciate those who cross my path when I am shopping and they either wait as I get past them or help me by holding a door open for me. With all the upheaval going on in our nation, we all could benefit from having some more patience.

 

 bearing with one another

 

Sometimes, we become aware of the need those who are hurting have. We can do this through praying for them and their need. Maybe we can do something more practical. Taking someone to the doctor or to the ER, going to the grocery store for them. Our church has a food pantry that is open twice a month. This is a ministry that has grown over the years.

 

 forgiving one another

 

To get beyond hurts, we have to forgive each other. Someone once asked me to forgive her but then said, “But, I didn’t do anything.” The only way I could forgive her was to ask God to do it for me.

 

Forgiveness from God wipes away the record that He has on us. When we ask forgiveness from another person, we attempt to clear the air between that person and ourselves. 

Be Kind

 

 

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 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 (NKJV)

 

The Apostle Paul penned these words to the believers at Ephesus.The first time I read this, I was stopped in my thinking.

 

 and be kind to one another,

 

How can we be kind to other people? We can open doors for those who are around us as we enter or leave a business establishment. We can offer to help someone who is ill and can’t get out to get food and medicine.

 

tenderhearted

 

We should always remember the “Golden Rule”:

Do to others as you would have others do to you. (Matthew 7:12) Simply stated, we are to treat others as we would like to be treated.  

 

forgiving one another

 

 Forgiving can be difficult. When we can’t do it, we may have to ask God to forgive someone for us.

 

even as God in Christ forgave you.

 

These words caught me up that first time I read them. Do we forget that God forgave us when He entered our hearts, to live with us forever?

 

We have a responsibility to represent the LORD to those around us, our families, our neighbors, those we meet in the marketplace, and those who are healthcare workers. We can only follow through with this commission by learning to forgive those who cause us to hurt.

 

God’s Kindness and His Mercy

 

 

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 For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts, and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward men appeared, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:3-5 (NKJV)

 

When God chooses to extend His kindness and love, He exercises His mercy toward us who are sinners. He does so through the Holy Spirit. None of us are worthy of His love but it is because of His mercy that God extends them to us.

During these times of upheaval in our nation and our world, we must rely on the kindness of God to allow us to keep calm in the light of the circumstances that cause great anxiety in our daily lives.

 

God will guide us through these difficult times, whether they are international, national, or even personal in scope. We must accept His kindness and love to be able to be “more than conquerors.” In today’s world. It is only then that we are able to rise above the circumstances that vex us.

Blessed are the Peacemakers

 

                 

 

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Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. Matthew 5:9 (NKJV)

 

Have you ever wondered what a peacemaker is? “The word translated peacemakers comes from a verb meaning “to join together.” It pictures two opposing forces that are being reconciled. Peacemakers experience joy and excitement as they help others reconcile with God and with one another. ⁽¹⁾

 

Someone whose role is a peacemaker must have certain qualities that set them apart for that work. Those to whom they minister must see Jesus in them. We have peacemakers in our lives, but we sometimes don’t recognize them. One who truly is a peacemaker keeps confidences and does not hold past issues over the heads of those involved.  They never start conversations in a group with: “Why I remember when she (or he) . . .”

 

Jesus was a peacemaker. Let us all strive to be one as well.

 

(1)   Jeremiah Study Bible © 2013, David Jeremiah, Inc /study note page 1288)

Be Merciful

 

Servants of Grace

 

But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore, be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:32-36 (NKJV)

 

This passage has good guidance in it. Jesus tells us to “love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return”. If we follow this command, we will be loving those around us as Jesus loved.

 

And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?

In our Christian walk we will see people who need help but cannot repay us for what we do to help them. According to these words of Jesus, we need to help them anyway.

 

if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you?

Sometimes, it is difficult for a person to find a way to repay a loan, it may be such that it would be a double hardship for them to repay.

 

But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return;

These are words of Jesus telling us these things. Even when we love someone with Christ’s love, that does not mean that they love us in the same way. When we do good, Jesus sees that in us. Jesus makes it clear here that we should not expect anything in return for the goodness we do.

 

and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High

Our reward will come from Jesus.

 

“For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.”

When we obey this command we display a certain type of love—mercy. As we do these things to those who do not respond thankfully, we show His mercy. “For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.”

 

“Therefore, be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

 

When we show mercy to someone, we are reflecting Jesus and His love to that person and to those around us as well as those who might hear of our action.

 

Love, Do Good, Bless, Pray

 

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 But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. Luke 6:27-31 (NKJKV)

 

These are words spoken by Jesus. He spoke them to those who had chosen to follow Him, to become His closest disciples.

 

These commands were not achievable by man alone. They could only be followed by those who have the Holy Spirit directing them.  This was true in the days that Jesus walked this earth but also is true in our modern world.

 

We rarely see love like this in our times. We often wonder if we will ever see these words translated into action. However, I see several believers and ministry groups striving to obey this message During the COVID pandemic, I read of and see groups of people working together to ensure that families have enough food to eat. There is a new assisted living facility opening in our city. The local Christian Center opened its doors to some victims of a fire recently.

 

There is a lot of heartache in our world beyond COVD. As believers, we need to follow the words in this passage and show Jesus to those around us.

His Great Love

 

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But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), Ephesians. 2:4-5 (NKJV)

 

We often sing of the mercies of the LORD, but do we realize how great those mercies are? God loves us when we have been unlovely when we sin against Him. He does not allow our transgressions to keep Him from watching over us.  Even when we think there is no way out of the mess we are in, God loves us and guides us through until we reach safety.

 

God does this out of his vast store of grace for us, His children. When we go to Him and tell Him we are sorry for our sin, He instantly exercises His grace and forgives us.  

 

His love is that great, that boundless. It is eternal.

NEW

 

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Happy New Year!

I thought I would get started with January's Theme a bit early this year.

 

Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another.” John 13:33-35 (NKJV)

 

A NEW COMMANDMENT I give to you, that you love one another

 Jesus doesn’t say “You can do this if you want to.  He tells us this is what He expects us to do.

 as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

How does Jesus love us? Does he remember what we did that was wrong when we were growing up?  Of course not!  When we ask Him into our hearts, He forgives us of ALL our sin.

 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW CREATION ; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become NEW. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

 

These are the words of Paul. He is the example of the power Jesus has to change people. Jesus gives each person who comes to him, In the Old Testament, Ezekiel tells us: “God says ‘Then I will give them one heart, and I will put  a NEW spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh.’’ ’Ezekiel 11:9 (NKJV)

 

As we enter the new year of 2022, none of us knows what lay ahead for us, as individuals, as a church, as a society, or as a nation, or as a world. Let us, each one stay as close to the Lord as we can during the new year.

Prepared for You

Sallman

 

                    

 

Then the king will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”

                Matthew 25:34 (NIV)

 

These are words spoken by Jesus. He speaks of a reward for those who have been blessed by God.

 

Jesus tells them that they are worthy of God’s kingdom and this kingdom has been prepared for them since the beginning of the world.

 

We know very little about the kingdom of God, (heaven) except what we read in the book of Revelation. It sounds beautiful.

 

I can hardly fathom God’s kingdom being prepared for me, a sinner, that long ago.  God did this out of His grace and mercy to each of us.

 

I always marvel at the writings of Paul. He tells the Romans: (Romans 8:35-37)

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long:  we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Nothing can separate us from God’s love. He readily forgives us when we ask to be forgiven for our transgressions against Him and against another.

“He paid a debt He did not owe.” I had a debt I could not pay. We should always try to remember that.