Pledges

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 I gave this message at church this past Sunday.  I didn't realize that some of this information was new to some of the adults. 

Children’s Moments Message

September 25, 2022

I have been thinking about promises lately, sometimes we call them pledges. A pledge is a sincere promise we make. We make one to our nation’s flag, another one to the Bible, and one to the Christian flag.

In all three pledges, we promise to be loyal to each of these.

Pledge to the American flag

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which is stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

mediaistockphoto.com

Pledge to the Bible

I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God’s Holy Word. A lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. It’s words I will hide in my heart, that I might not sin against God. ⁽¹⁾

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Pledge to the Christian flag

I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag and to the Savior for whose Kingdom it stands, one Savior, crucified, risen again, and coming again with life and liberty to all who believe. ⁽²⁾

We have those items in our sanctuary here at Cross Roads. I discovered something I did not know about the Christian flag. I knew there is a cross in a blue section, and the rest of the flag is white. Here’s what I learned:

#The shade of red in the Cross reminds us of Jesus’ blood that He shed because He took our sins away.

#The blue reminds us of the water of baptism. It also reminds us of Jesus’ loyalty to God.

#The white reminds us of Jesus’ purity. He was without sin until He went to the Cross for us. ⁽³⁾

^{________________________}

^1.http://www.ccabrazil.org/uploads /4/3/5/9/4359809/christian_flag__bible_pledges.pdf

2. IBID.

3. http://en.wikiepedia.org/Christian _Flag#:-text=The Christian Flag was first to arrive for the event/

God’s Love.

 

Pinterest

 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV)

 

We all learned this verse as children in Sunday school. We could recite it from memory with ease.

 

For God so loved the world, God has His reasons for all He does. That reason is that He loves what he creates-our world and all who inhabit it. Sometimes, He has to allow difficult things to entre our lives. He does this to teach us something.

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He gave His only begotten Son,  God gave. He willingly gave His only Son. He sent His son to earth, divesting Him from the glories and splendor of heaven. Our Father again gave His Son to give us, His children life eternally.

 

 that whoever believes in Him should not perish, All who come to trust in the Son will not go through a spiritual death.

 

 but have everlasting life.  The men and women who choose to trust Jesus will be able to be in heaven with Jesus whenever their time on earth comes to its end.

 

All this happens because God loves us that much. He sent His Son to earth, making Him identify with mankind so that we might learn about the Father. God loves us so much that He allowed Jesus to suffer a criminal’s death for us, to take away our sins.

Jesus Is. . .

http://navigatinghappilyeverafter.blogspot.com/2010/04/maundy-thursday.html

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 (NIV)

With these words, Jesus makes His position very plain. He ‘spells it out’ for the disciples and for us.

I am 

Jesus speaks here in the present tense. Please notice what he says. He didn’t say, “I will be.” Or “My Father will make me.”

the way

What Jesus says here is basic to his purpose for being on earth. That purpose is to show us how-to live-in order to be able to enter heaven and spend eternity with Him.

God has a purpose in mind for each of us. Sometimes, we must search in order to discover what that is.  Some people learn to rely on God alone to learn what their God-given purpose is.

the truth

Jesus speaks to and lives truth before His children. The words we read in the Bible are true. We are seeing those words come to life before our eyes or we will very soon. (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, and 2 Timothy 3) In spite of these tough passages, we must remember that Jesus is the Truth.

the life

God, the Father of our LORD, created life. Peter preached to the people of Jerusalem that they killed the author of life when they killed Jesus. (Acts 3:15)

We have scriptural evidence that God, with the help of His Spirit, and His Son Jesus, created our world out of nothing. (Genesis 1:26) God, with help from the Son, created life.

When we ask Jesus into our hearts, He creates in us a new life. The charms of our former lives dim as we learn to look to Him for guidance and direction.                           

The Lord Is... (Part 1)

by Gaye Lynne LaGiure

As I wrote this, I received several attributes of God that have helped me through life. I have made it into two separate entries. It is my prayer that you benefit from reading this post and the following one.

Everlasting

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom, there will be no end.” Luke 1:31-33 (ESV)

God sent the angel Gabriel to give Mary the news of the impending birth of her baby, the Holy One.

Gabriel tells us that 1.) Her baby would be great. 2.) He would be called the Son of the Most High. 3.) He would reign over the house of Jacob forever. 4.) His kingdom would never end.

In our world, all things come to an end.  Cars wear out, clothes also wear out, Flora and fauna don’t last forever. Friendships can end. Houses sometimes have to be demolished.

The things that last are God and His Word.

Savior

My soul magnifies the LORD,

and my soul rejoices in God my Savior.

For he has looked on the humble estate/of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

Luke 1:46-48 (ESV)

Mary rejoices that God chose her for the task of bearing His son. She calls God her Savior.  He kept her from being stoned. The Hebrew Law had strict words concerning adultery and those caught in the act. Joseph, her fiancé could have divorced her but the angel of God told him to stay with Mary. 

God through Jesus Christ saves us from our sins. He takes our hard stone-like and replaces it with a tender heart “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

Ezekiel 36:26 (ESV)

God also saves us from personal danger as we go through life. I once heard the story of a man who overslept and went in late to his factory job a bit late one day. When he arrived on the assembly line, he learned that a baking furnace that sat next to where he worked had exploded before he arrived. God watched over him and saved him from severe injury.

Freedom in Christ

 

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. You are Free indeed. John 8:36 (NIV)

In what ways are we free in Christ?

·         God frees us from our sins.

We do not have a black cloud hanging over our heads because of that bad thing we did as a child.  He forgives us of our sins whenever we realize we have committed and ask His forgiveness.

·         We have access to Christ whenever we need Him.

We can call out His name at any time of the day or night.

                              If I can’t sleep, I have learned to talk to Him.

·         We have the freedom to know He hears our prayers.

Sometimes we have to wait to get answers.

                 But when we do, we realize that God heard and

                  chose to answer them.

         ·We have the freedom to be angry with God.

He can handle it. However, we must deal with that anger quickly.

         ·We have the freedom to worship God in the church of our choice.

Only God can tell us how to worship Him. He tells us through

His Word and His leading.

Light

Godsongs.net

Again, Jesus spoke, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 (NRSV)

In our lives, due to our humanity, we, as well as others, have times of experiencing darkness. Uncertain times can bring times of fear. Financial difficulties, health crises, unemployment and marital problems all have caused people to begin to doubt themselves.

Some of these issues can cause people to sink into depression. However, there are remedies to looking at things cheerily while others might have a bleak attitude.  I just got off the phone from talking to my Sunday school teacher’s wife. She works in our church office. We go to talking about the weather. She told me our pastor came in today wearing his snowman tie and then went into the kitchen and found his snowman mug for his coffee. His answer to all this is, “You just have to embrace the weather.”

When one is faced with seemingly insurmountable issues in his or her life, we can turn them over to Jesus and let Him smooth out the problems.

I remember in some old movies when a family was facing hard financial times their neighbors would have a ‘rent party.’ At a church we were in, the congregation would hold a ‘pound party’ where the people would each bring a pound of some food item and give the items to the new preacher or do one for pastor appreciation month. Some places call it ‘pounding the preacher.’

Once, when I was a child, we went up to see my great-uncle while my dad was laid-off from his job. As we were getting ready to leave, here came Uncle Charlie carrying an armload of fresh vegetables for us. I didn’t understand why he did this until I was older. He wanted to help us out.

When I was in college, a fraternity house caught fire. That fire was a total loss of the house and all its contents. All the women in my residence hall started donating things-blankets, pillows shampoo, toothpaste, soap, anything that they thought could help those displaced men.

Sometimes, we get to extend Jesus’ light to others. A get-well card, a condolence card, a phone call, or a cheery note just to tell a person we are praying for them will take away the feelings of gloom and sadness. We have times where someone needs to hear a special compliment from us. That thought might lighten their load and brighten their day.

Jesus calls Himself the light of the world because His Father sent Him to cast light into our world and to lead us out of the dark places into which it can lead us.

Praise the LORD for the light Jesus brings to us.

______________

If this looks and sound familiar to you, it's my mistake. I was trying something different and wasn't sure if it would work and I deleted this entry instead of the one I was working on. Please for give me for this error.

Confess

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Whosoever, therefore, shall confess me before men, him will I confess before my father who is in heaven. Matthew 10:32 (KJV)

 Also, I say unto you, whoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:  Luke 12:8 (KJV)

These are two passages written in the gospel accounts of the ministry of Jesus Christ. He said the words from Matthew to the disciples as he sent them out. Luke records words Jesus spoke to a multitude of people.

Have you ever wondered what it means to confess? We hear of people confessing to breaking laws. In that sense, it means to admit to a wrong. However, when we read it in God’s word, it has a different meaning: to acknowledge something.

How can we acknowledge Christ in our 21st Century world? We do this through belonging in and participating in (as much as we can) a local church. We stand for Jesus by praying for those who hurt, struggle with issues and those who have lost their way.

When we acknowledge or confess our own needs to Jesus, He can then take that problem from us and either resolve it or guide us through to the outcome He wants us to achieve.

In both of these passages, Jesus uses the phrase, “Before men.” How can we acknowledge that we belong to Christ to others? I try to tell the cashiers and the sack persons at our local grocery store to be blessed as I depart the check-out line. This store is a very busy place. And I am aware that these workers deal with all sorts of people while doing their jobs. Sometimes, certain ones thank me for my words.

I used to ask the women who helped me at the pharmacy if they had to work on the upcoming weekend. Sometimes, I would ask how late they had to work that day. I say ‘used to’ because the ones I came to know are no longer there.

It came to me as I wrote this that I have a new set of women to let know that I care about them and desire to have them blessed by God.  

The Triumphal Entry

JesusWalk.com

“The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted. ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest.’ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this? The crowds answered, ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” Matt. 21:6-11 (NIV)

            The people came out to see the Master as he rode on two donkeys from Bethpage to Jerusalem. They rejoiced that He chose to come to their town.  

            Have you ever wondered what caused the people to rejoice the first of the week, turn angry, then ugly as the week wore on?  We have been told by Biblical scholars that the people of Israel were looking for a physical king, not a spiritual one. The religious leaders stirred up the people, especially after Jesus cleared the Temple of the money changers.

            Have you ever asked yourself, “What did Jesus think of the way he was received? I believe He would have preferred to come into town with as little fanfare as possible. He traveled a great distance on his journey to Jerusalem.

            Due to Jesus’ humanity, could He have been fatigued? Might the reception He received at Bethpage have stressed Him out?

             Earlier, Jesus had pointed out to a crowd of people they were only interested in receiving food from Him. I wonder what He would have told these people along the road to Jerusalem, had He the chance. What do you think He would say to them?

Book Review: Spirit of Truth

 By Marja Verschoor-Meijers

            Mrs. Verschoor-Meijers explores the meaning of the ninth commandment in this, her latest book. She begins each chapter with a Scripture verse; she ends each chapter by leaving us with three thoughts on which to meditate, along with space for the reader to journal his or her thoughts.

            I would recommend this book to anyone who desires to grow in the LORD. The length of this book-95 pages would make a very good study for a small group.

            Marja delves into the nuances of being truthful about what we share with others. She approaches the issues involved with a magnifying glass and sheds light on issues most of the people would only think about in passing. I like the concept of the series of which this book is a part; the whole series is about the Ten Commandments in the 21^st century’

 

Marja shared this with us. “In my latest book Spirit of Truth I have taken a closer look at three statements by three different people:

•           Pilate, who proclaimed three times that he could not find any fault in Jesus

•           Peter, who said three times in a row that he did not know Jesus and

•           Jesus, who announced three times the coming of the Spirit of truth

Three men, three messages. In Spirit of Truth, I am taking the reader to the courtroom where Jesus stands in front of Pilate, while Peter was outside denying his friendship with Jesus. Pilate confronted Jesus with a direct and desperate question: What is truth? It is one of the most famous questions ever asked in the history of mankind and it still lingers in our courtrooms today. Is it possible to live and speak the truth? Is it possible to stand up for biblical values and principles in a troubled world that has taken a free fall into lawlessness? The letter of the Old Testament Law says ‘do not accuse anyone falsely’, the Spirit says ‘speak truth’. The Holy Spirit will always urge us to change from the inside out. In this book we will take a closer look at Truth, yes, with a capital T, and discover its awesome power and identity.

            Because Marja lives in Europe, her publisher is also in Europe. For those of us who live in the USA and Canada, this volume is available here in E-book form. At www.amazon.com/Spirit-Truth-certainty-standing-troubled-ebook/dp/B01COACFWE?ie=UTF8&keywords=spirit%20of%20truth&qid=1463673161&ref_=sr_1_2&s=books&sr=1-2   

      

I received this book from the author in paperback form. All she asked of me was to give an unbiased opinion.

Interview with Marja Verschoor Meijers.

Marja Verschoor-Meijers

We begin this month of June with getting to know more about author and blogger Marja Verschoor-Meijers. Those who read her blog, Fresh Insights On Ancient Truths, come away with greater thoughts on the issues she discusses.

Let's get started!

Thank you Marja for taking the time to answer some questions for us.

QS:   Please, tell us about yourself.

MVM:Well, I was born and raised in The Netherlands and a life of adventures and traveling took me all over the world; from Norway to Nepal, from Canada to Chile and from Singapore to Switzerland. For many years, we called Southern California our home, where my husband was a mechanic in off road racing and I started writing books.

QS: How long have you been writing?
MVM: As long as I remember, I enjoyed writing… anything, from poetry to short stories to articles and essays, but I started to write my first book back in 2004.

QS:  In what genre do you write?

MVM; Christian non-fiction. My books are mainly Bible studies and tools for spiritual growth.

QS:  Do you have a ‘day job?’

MVM: In the year I turned fifty I started my own business. I offer services in text writing, translation, administrative and project support. I work for various customers.

QS: What have you written before this?

MVM: Spirit of Truth is my sixth book in a series about the Ten Commandments in the 21^st century. I have also written several Bible study books in the Dutch language. Several of my books have been translated into German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, and Russian.

QS:  Do you write a blog? Please give us the address.

MVM: This past month I celebrated 10 years of blogging. It started with my blog Fresh Insights on Ancient Truths and later I added a Dutch blog, as well as a blog about our non-profit organization Traveling Light. We offer financial support, practical help and spiritual encouragement to ministries in need all over Europe (well, all the way to Kazakhstan) and the Mediterranean.

http://sacredsabbath.blogspot.com and http://janandmarja.blogspot.com

QS:  Tell us about your family. (Married or single,)

MVM: I have been together with my husband Jan for 30 years, we have no children, but enjoy a big (and growing) family on both sides.

QS: Thank you, Marja. On my next blog entry, I will share a review of Marja's latest book, Spirit of Truth,

Encouragement

princessofthelight.wordpress.com

“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.” Philippians 2:1-2 (NIV

en·cour·age·ment

inˈkərijmənt,enˈkərijmənt/

noun

1. the action of giving someone support, confidence, or hope.

   "thank you for all your support and encouragement"

   synonyms:

   heartening, cheering up, inspiration, motivation, stimulation, fortification;More

   • persuasion to do or to continue something.

     "incentives and encouragement to play sports"
   • the act of trying to stimulate the development of an activity, state, or belief.

     "the encouragement of foreign investment"^1.

               Have we received good guidance from spending time with Jesus? Has He consoled us through loving us? Have we benefitted from being in the presence of the Holy Spirit?

               The Apostle Paul tells us God wants us be unified—together in purpose and in heart. This does not mean we should all drive the same kind of car. Nor does it mean we should all dress alike. Paul uses the phrase, ‘like-minded.’ We should all want the same thing—Jesus to be glorified.

               Recently, I heard of an instance where a strong-willed woman stepped in and took over the leadership of a church function. The one who was supposed to be in charge of the event got her feelings hurt and is presently staying away from church. I believe things like this are hurtful to the body of Christ and to Jesus himself. An update on this circumstance is I have seen the one who was hurt at church services lately. Prayer brought her back.

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1, www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=Encouragement

Unplugging

After a few weeks of feeling beat, I have decided I need to unplug from blogging.  I have some 'home' projects I need to attend to and can't find the right time to work on them.

I will pop back in to check for responses to my posts but I will not be posting anything here until Monday September 7, 2015.

I intend to  spend my time, getting ready for fall by going through my clothes and my household items and donating them to our church's rummage sale the weekend after Labor Day.

My reasons are because of health, both physical and mental. I deal with some depression and I want to stay on top of things as the season changes.

I trust you will understand.

Judgement and Discipline

 “But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgement. When we are judged by the LORD, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.” 1 Corinthians 11:31-32 (NIV)

               Have you ever evaluated your actions or your attitude toward another person? Were your thoughts realistic? Or were they what you wanted them to be? Did you rationalize your stance, finding someone who had done worse deeds than you on which to pick?

               I once knew a young woman who thought of herself with an inflated mindset. It was not always in her best interests when she did this.  As I saw her do and say certain things, I wondered how she could mature if she kept this way of thinking.

               When God chastises us, it is definitely for our own good. We learn what He expects from us and what we are to do as we live for Him.

               God sets a standard for us. We cannot meet that norm by ourselves. He gave us Jesus so that we could become acceptable to Him.

               When God returns to judge the world for its sin, He will separate those who belong to Him from those who have rejected Him. Those He will reject will be dealt with on His terms, not theirs.

Saved by Grace

Christian Quotrs.info

“If we claim to be without sin,

 we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

 But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and

will forgive us our sins an purify us from all unrighteousness.”

1John 1:8-9 (NIV)

               Did you ever watch a movie or a television show where a rough character tempts one of the good guys? The likeable character listens until the shady one finishes his spiel. The last words of the proposal are, “No one will ever know.” The hero of the show responds, “But, I’ll know.”

                Whenever I here this dialogue, I say aloud, “And God will know.” My reasoning for my added thought is based on Scripture.        

                 In Psalm 139, David writes, “you perceive my thoughts from afar. . . Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely.” (:2b, 4)

               Let’s face it, each of us is a sinner saved by grace. All of us, except Christ, were sinners until we asked Jesus into our hearts; then we became saved through nothing we did but by the love of Jesus Christ.

               In this a new year, people make resolutions in an effort to become better than they were in the past.

               The apostle John writes that if we claim to be sinless, we actually lie to ourselves. John continues by telling us if we admit our wrong-doing God forgives us and blots away the impurities and wrongdoings from our hearts.

Prayer:

Dear Father God;

               We thank you for being available to hear us when we confess our wrongdoings to You. We thank You for that privilege given to us. We give You all the praise. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. AMEN 

The Way, the Truth, the Life

“I am the way and the truth and the life.

 No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6 (NIV)

The disciples were confused. They didn’t understand what their Master had told them. Thomas responded, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” (John 14:5)          

Jesus answers with words that allow faith in the heart of believers. He tells the disciples three facts of who He is.

THE WAY: God sent His Son to earth in order so you and I to have a way to be able to be with Him when our time on earth is over. In order for us to have a place in heaven, God had to give Jesus over to our sins—each sin for each person who would ever walk this earth.

THE TRUTH: God is truth. Jesus is His Son; therefore, Jesus is truth. People want to look good to others; they embellish their qualities before others. Jesus doesn’t do that because He doesn’t have to; He told his followers, “I AM. . . THE TRUTH.”

THE LIFE: God gives us life, both physically and spiritually. Jesus enhanced our spiritual life by sacrificing His physical body to our sins. Because of this one selfless act; we have eternal life-a life with God. Because we have a future life in heaven, we choose to live for Jesus while we are here on earth. We learn to rely on Him for our daily needs and those that enter our lives unforeseen.  

Trials Will Come/Two Sides RJD July 2014

Journal entries March 8, 1998

(Entries based on Charles H. Spurgeon devotional, Morning and Evening)

Trials (Morning)

“We must go through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” Acts 14:22 (NKJV)

Spurgeon states that “It was never God’s design for His people to be untried.” The book of James tells me “Consider it pure joy when you experience trials of many kinds,” James continues with,” the testing of your faith develops perseverance, perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4 (NIV)

Yes, God does test his children; he tests them for their own good. If we weren’t tested we would not gain any spiritual insights into our world and we would never know God for who He is. We would never know to rely on Him in times of stress, especially from the world. I would have caved in this past Thursday if I had not known that God would listen and take care of a situation and He has. Thank you Lord!

Two Sides (Evening)

“She called his name Ben-Oni [son of sorrow], but his father called him Benjamin [son of my right hand.] Genesis35:18 (NKJV)

We know there are two sides to “all earthly things.” There are two sides to coins, literally and figuratively, there are two sides of fabric. The embroidery work I have done has a ‘nice’ side-the front of the piece—and a ‘not so nice’ side; the back of the piece.

When an event happens, we have the responsibility to decide whether it’s a good or a bad thing. The outcome has the decisive factor. This weekend I made a discovery that has me trying to decide if a decision made late last spring was a good decision or a bad one. All I have seen is not-so-good outcome for my worship family. Lord, are You listening? Are You in this? Are we listening to You? What do you have for us?

UPDATE: I journaled these entries sixteen years ago. From the standpoint of the writing craft, they are raw. I broke a lot of the writing rules back then but I wasn’t aware of them.

I can’t remember the situation or the decision I refer to. All I can say is God had to be in them.    

Looking back tells me a couple of things.

1)      How much I have grown in the craft of writing.

2)      How much I have grown in the Lord.

As of this writing,(6/30) I plan to ride on our church's float in the Indepencence Parade on the evening of July 3, 2014. I didn't get to ride in the parade after all. I had to see my doctor and she thought it would not be a good idea.

Linked to :enthusiasticallydawn.

Demons in our Lives

 

A friend is the pastoral assistant at our church. From time to time, she preaches in place of our senior pastor. She had to preach at our Son rise Service on Easter Sunday. In her planning she got to thinking about Mary Magdalene.

When we think about this Mary, we hone in on the fact that Jesus healed her from seven demons. We don’t know what those were. We do know she appreciated the healing she received to the point she followed the Master as he taught and healed others.

My friend wondered if we who live in the 21^st Century have demons controlling our lives. She came up with three, distractions, doubt, and despair. When she shared this thought with me, I thought she was onto something.

Later, I reached into our mailbox and, among the ad mail, I found an envelope addressed to us. The return address was that of a daughter of a recently deceased friend. I immediately had a bad thought. I opened it and read the sweetest note I ever received. I realized I judged the daughter for taking a month to get the thank you card to me. Then I thought of the conversation about demons. I had the demon of Judgmentalism.

Later, I posted a message on Facebook of our conversation and added some traits that fall under category of “demons.” Two of my Facebook “friends” indicated they liked the thoughts. I also received two comments that gave me two more traits believed to be demons.

The list presently includes:

Distraction,

“You will keep in perfect peace whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3 NIV

Doubt,

“. . . he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed away by the wind. James 1:6b NIV

Despair,

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my savior and my lord. Psalm 42:5

Judgmentalism,

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1-2 NIV

Impatience,

“. . . everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. . . “James 1:19 NIV

Self-entitlement, Selfishness,

“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.” Phil. 2:1-2 NIV

Conceit,

“. . . do not think better of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” Rom. 12:3-NIV

The aftermath of anger,

“A fool gives full vent to his anger but a wise man keeps himself under control.” Prov. 29:11 NIV

“But I tell you, anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.” Matthew 5:22 NIV

“ . . everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” James 1:19-20 NIV

“In your anger do not sin” Psalm 4:4; Ephesians 4:26 NIV

Pride,

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18 NIV.

Pettiness,

“. . . be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2 NIV

Criticalness,

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1-2 NIV

Several of us have been trying to grow spiritually. We were on a journey throughout the Lenten season. This time of personal introspection has shown us so very much about how we should live our lives for Jesus.

A word about the graphic:

  This is how we feel when we break through  a demon that controls our lives.

graphic: www.reposty.com via God Tube.

More than Conquerors

“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.”

Romans 8:35-37(NIV)

Paul cites possible circumstances that could happen to a church. The church at Rome eventually did go through these situations. Paul’s purpose for writing these words was to remind the Roman believers of God’s infinite love for those who believe in Him.  No matter what happens, God’s love is real and lasting.

In her book, One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp relates her experience of ministering to a homeless man on the streets of Toronto. The man had a dog-eared Gideon Bible in the duffel bag he carried. He asked one of the teenage girls to read aloud Romans 7-8, which she did. When the girl reached a certain point, this homeless man echoed each line that she read. Ann and the youth were there to minister to him; he ministered to them.  

It impressed me that this man, who lived on the streets, had experienced God’s love and knew the Word. It gives me a new aspect to consider when I think about those without a home.

A little over thirty years ago, I took a personal leave from the job I had; after the leave ended, I resigned. I remember telling people I wanted to survive the stress and mental fatigue I dealt with. I slowly realized I didn’t just want to survive; I wanted more. Then I discovered this passage.

“More than conquerors,” that means more than just getting by, it means surmounting those harsh circumstances and giving thanks for our new-found knowledge that Jesus loves us and will stand beside us in every circumstance we face.

The Love of God

Graphic: testimoinesofhisgoodness.wordpress.com