If You Look For Me At Christmas

If you look for me

At Christmas

You won't need a special star --

I am no longer just in Bethlehem,

I'm right there where you are.

You may not be aware of Me

amid the celebrations --

You'll have to look beyond the stores

and all the decorations.

But if you take a moment

from your list of things to do

And listen to your heart, you'll find

I'm waiting there for you.

You're the one I want to be with,

You're the reason that I came,

And you'll find Me in the stillness

as I'm whispering your name.

Love,

Jesus

I received the above from a friend via email and wanted to share it with you. I thought this 'letter' was very good. I don't know who wrote it so I am unable to give them credit for it.

Merry Christmas and may you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!

My Confession

Do you remember when I stared writing the blog again? I told you about some things that had been going on; Dave had to have treatments for his cancer, my dear friend, Pat had surgery for cancer, another dear friend Jason, had an accident when a 5,000 pound safe fell on his leg, and I had surgery. Things have gotten some better, we are waiting on results from tests for Dave's cancer, and prayerfully we will get the results this week on Dave.


The one that I am writing about is my surgery I had in October. Everything went great, it was a successful surgery and so far nothing has gone wrong. I prayed about this surgery as I didn't really want to have it but after praying about it for sometime the Lord God told me everything was going to be fine and there was nothing to worry about, after all isn't worry the lack of faith? I wished that I could say everything went fine after that but I can't. I still didn't want the surgery so in my small mind that it is :( I got myself to thinking, if something would happen to my foot or something I wouldn't have to go through with the surgery as then I would have something else bothering me.

You know, the Lord already knew I didn't want to have the surgery so why didn't I just talk to him about it and ask Him what to do? He was there to talk to me and help me out through this but no, I didn't talk to him I just thought I had figured away to keep from having the surgery. What an injustice I did to the Lord and myself?

You see, even though I didn't pray for something to happen I did suggest it and I truly believe Satan jumped at the change to have a field day with me. I Peter 5:8; ...because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour": We should never allow something to catch the eye of him that wants to destroy us and this is what I did.

I have spent the biggest part of the last two weeks in bed trying to keep the swelling and pain down in my foot and leg. I went to the doctor after I got home from the hospital and he said it was Cellulites so he treated me for this. I was allergic to the medicine he gave me so there was another hurdle to get over. I finally went to my family care doctor and she said she thought physical therapy might help, that isn't working, and the swelling and pain got so bad that I had to stop that. The doctor finally decided to do blood work so now we are waiting for the results of this. She thinks it might be Gout (oh, to me that sounds like such a dirty name) but is afraid Cellulites might set in.

What I am getting at here is I should have taken the concern of not wanting to have the surgery to God, He had told me everything would be fine and I believed Him and knew the surgery would go well I just didn't want to have it. The surgery would save me some pain and discomfort after it was over and in the long run I would be much better off. Don't take just part of your problems and concerns to the Lord, take them all to Him. God knows all about what is bothering us and He waits for us to go to Him. If I had done this in the first place He would have helped me through this feeling and given me peace and comfort. I Peter 5:7; "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you". In that verse it says ALL your care upon Him not just one or two cares but ALL. I didn't do this so I have caused myself undue pain, no one else has caused it and I opened up the door for Satan to jump right in.

If you have any cares, concerns, or troubles please take them ALL to the Lord not just part of them as I have done. God is waiting for you to do this just as He was waiting for me to take them all to Him but I didn't do it.

This is my confession of what I should have done and what I did. This is very embarrassing for me as I knew better than to take just part of my cares to the Lord but should it help anyone that may have a similar problem, it is worth the embarrassment. I have asked the Lord to forgive me for this and I know that He has but there are consequences to pay for my act. There is no way to undo the fact that I didn't go to the Lord with all my concerns but I know I have learned that stopping in the middle is not the thing to do.

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!

I Am Angry

It is this time of the year I become angry. Why? After all this is the time to be happy and joyous and I am in my heart.


The thing that makes me angry is it seems people want to take Jesus out of CHRISTmas. Why are they doing this? They don't want to offend anyone, well, I am offended that they do this but that doesn't seem to matter.

They say Jesus wasn't born December 25th but this is the day that has been chosen to celebrate His Birthday. The first time I heard that December 25th wasn't really Jesus' birth date I had a lot of trouble with it but does it really matter? Shouldn't we treat each day as the birthday of Jesus Christ? Luke 2:11; "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord". Shouldn't we just be thankful to God and give Him our praises that He loved the world so much that He sent a Saviour? I think so.

When I was growing up and when my kids were growing up and even when my grandchildren were really young everyone wished everyone a "Merry Christmas" but now they say happy holidays. The stores, all kinds of stores, want our business and make their ads enticing so that we will go in. They have things on sale so that we can't pass it up. I wonder what they would do if we Christians refused to shop unless they put Jesus back in Christmas. I think they would probably beg us to give them another chance, I would hope so anyway.

The government doesn't even call it Christmas break anymore they call it a winter break. Just like for Easter they call it spring break. The schools do the same thing. What is wrong with people anyway?

For Halloween the stores don't mind having witches and evil things put up in the stores but they just can't bring themselves to have things about Jesus in the stores.

The TV stations want us to watch their channel and they won't say Merry Christmas but happy holidays. They don't want to offend anyone. I would rather offend them than I would my Lord and Saviour. I don't want Him to be ashamed of me but the people, if they want to be ashamed of me because of Jesus so be it.

Mark 8:38; "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in glory of his Father with the holy angels". Are we going to seek to be popular or to be accepted by the ones that is trying to take Jesus out of everything or are we going to follow Him and be proud of who we are in the Lord Jesus Christ? I want to follow Jesus and be so very proud of whom I am in Him.

I for one am refusing to say anything but "Merry Christmas". I will show my love for the Lord in anyway that I can, if someone doesn't like it well that is the way it goes.

Thanks for letting me voice my opinion on what people are not doing for our Lord.

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!

Salvation Is Forgiveness

Romans 3:23; "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God"; There was only one Person that did not sin and that was Jesus Christ. The rest of us are sinners and there is one way and only one way to be cleansed of our sins and that is through the Son, Jesus Christ.


Our salvation is through the forgiveness of sins, without forgiveness there is no salvation. We have to acknowledge our sin to Jesus and ask for forgiveness. Psalm 51:3; "For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me". Our sin is continually in front of us and we need to go to God and ask Him for His forgiveness, sometimes this isn't always easy as it seems our sin is a terrible thing, after all we have sinned against God.

Acts 3:19; "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord". When we go to the Lord asking for forgiveness we can be sure that He will forgive us.

II Corinthians 5:17; "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new". After being forgiven for our sins we are to walk in our new life, sinning no more. This is much easier than what a person may think; after all we have Jesus and the Holy Spirit to help us.

Romans 12:2; "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God". We must proclaim the truths and righteous standards of the Word of God as well as want to do the will of God and forsake the ways of the world and Satan. We need to conform to God's way of thinking. We need our mind on God at all times.

What are the joys of our salvation? We now have Jesus with us, He left us a comforter, the Holy Spirit, we have the presence of the Lord with us, He is with us always, we know should we slip and sin all we have to do is ask for forgiveness and know that God will forgive us, we are able to talk with the Lord, we can call on the Him at all times (night or day), we have happiness, we have the love of the Lord at all times, walking in love towards all, and we have a forever home in heaven waiting for us where there will be no tears, no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, there will only be joy and happiness, and it is where the Lord is, we will be with Him. We are able to share our experiences of salvation with others and count on winning lost souls for the Lord. Salvation truly is JOY! Perhaps you have some other thoughts you would like to share with us, I encourage you to do so in the 'Comment Box'. All of us would love to hear from you.

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!

Happy Thanksgiving

Dear Lord, I come to you not to ask for anything but just to thank You for the many, many blessings you have given to me and my family. Things have not always been perfect and when they haven't been I have learned from them. You are the One that knows exactly what is needed and when, I thank you so much for all things. Your love is the greatest love of all. Thank you. In Jesus name I pray. Amen


May each of you have a wonderful and thankful Thanksgiving however you choose to celebrate this day.

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!



Being Thankful

Here it is Thanksgiving already. The day we want to let everyone know how thankful we are. There are so many things I am thankful for but not just at Thanksgiving, I am thankful for them continually.


Psalm 92:1, 2, 4, 5, and v.8; "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High"; v.2; "To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night", v. 4; "For thou, Lord hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands". v. 5; "O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are deep". v. 8 "But thou Lord, art most high for evermore".

It is so important to give the Lord thanks and to praise Him at all times not just at a certain time and I believe most of us do this.

We need to show everyone God's loving kindness and His faithfulness all of the time. We need to let others know how great and wonderful God is. We need to remember what God has done for us and what He will do for us. The works that men do are actually little compared to what our Lord God does, His works are so far above what we do and at times it is hard to fathom God's works. God's thoughts are holy righteous thoughts at all times and it is hard for us to understand this at times but none the less He is the Greatest and above anyone or anything else.

I am so thankful God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ; John 3:16; "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life".

I am so thankful Jesus loved us enough to die an agonizing death for us. What an awesome thing He did for us. Romans 5:8; "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us".

I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit. Jesus left us with a Comforter, the Holy Spirit. John 14: 26; "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you".

I am so thankful for the Words of the Lord. Mark 13:31; "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away".

I am so thankful that I am able to cry out to God and He will hear me. Psalm 99:6; "...they called upon the Lord, and he answered them".

I am so thankful for the home in heaven that I will be going to someday. I Peter 1:4; "To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you",

There are so many things to be thankful for, the above are things that to me are so important and I want always to remember to thank the Lord for these. It is because of these things that I am able to be thankful for earthly things. Some of them are listed below.

I am thankful for:
  1. Dave, my husband whom is so special to me.
  2. My children and their spouses, Debi and Jim, and Ken and Dana, I wouldn't
  know what to do without them.
  3. My grandchildren, Jenifer, Kendil, Brian, Brooke, Sarah, Shanna, Amanda, and
  Kenny. All of them have a very special place in my heart.
  4. My great-grandchildren, all 11 of them. So far they are the ones that have completed
  the circle but I hope we have many more.
  5. Our church, it is such an awesome church and Pastor Seaba is such a great pastor
  and cares for each and everyone one of the congregation.
  6. My precious home, it isn't a mansion to anyone but me. It is the home the Lord
  chose for us and I am so thankful He did.
  7. The car, truck, and motorcycle the Lord has given us to drive.
  8. Our 5th wheel camper.
  9. My precious animals, they are special to me and great companions.
10. Each one of my blogger friends, I appreciated each of you.
11. For all of my family and friends, each one means so much to me and adds to my life.

There are many more things I am thankful for but I am sure you understand why I don't write everything down. God has blessed me and my family with so much that I could write and write and still I would have to write more and more.

I was the winner of the giveaway over at Sweet Blessings by Jenifer. I wanted to win but I didn't think I had a chance as she has so many wonderful readers but I made it. Thank you for the giveaway, Jenifer. I am truly blessed and I can hardly wait until I get the DVD and CD. Thank you so much.

May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and may you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord.

The Israelites And Us

If you have ever studied the Bible, especially the Old Testament, you have probably wondered why the Israelites appeared to be so stubborn. I used to wonder that before I really got into studying the Old Testament.


As long as everything seemed to be okay the Israelites were fine; they continued living their lives, praying to other Gods and praising them and continued in their evil ways. But when God finally got angry with them and words were given to the prophets by God for the people to turn from their evil ways and turn back to Him they wouldn't listen. Eventually what the Lord had told the prophets to prophesy came true. A lot of this is found in the Book of Jeremiah.

The Israelites would finally turn back to God when all the things came to pass. They would pray to God and give Him praise. But then they would always turn back to their old and evil ways. Then the same thing would happen all over again. When they would call upon the Lord He would forgive them and be with them again and again.

If you look at our world today the very same thing is happening to us. We are acting just like the Israelites did. We have taken the Bible and prayer out of schools and they have been replaced with guns and hostility. They want the Ten Commandments taken from the courthouses, anything to do with God. What are we Christians doing about this? Yes, we get angry and there are some Christians fighting this but what would happen if every Christian would get down on their knees and pray, I mean pray with their entire strength.

When we have a catastrophe happen all of us start praying to God and asking for His protection and guidance. We continue doing this for sometime. When the bombing happened in Oklahoma what was the first thing we did, PRAY. When the Columbine killings happened, what was the first thing we did, PRAY. Then when the planes hit the Twin Towers, what did we do, PRAY. When Katrina hit and the flooding in the Midwest hit, what did we do, PRAY. Do you see where I am going with all of this?

Aren't we acting just like the Israelites? After all of the catastrophes had happened we prayed. But then we, like the Israelites just went back to our old ways. We forgot to keep on praying and praising the Lord. We forgot to ask the Lord to guide us in everything we do in our life. Are we going to do the same thing when another catastrophe happens or have we learned our lesson? I am sure we will do the same things as we have done before. Every one of us should be ashamed.

No, everything doesn't always go the way we want it to but we do have the Lord and we can certainly talk, pray, and praise Him. The Lord wants us to have a relationship with Him and to do so we must love Him, obey Him, talk to Him, praise Him, and make sure He is number one in our life. We need to want to do His will not ours. Life is so much better for us when we have the Lord walking with us. He loves us so very much and has before any of us were ever born. He gave us His Son so that we could have eternal life. Jesus bore our sins, illnesses, hurts, cares, and iniquities if we would just believe in Him. We have a home in heaven because of Him. Whatever we endure here on earth will be worth it when we are home at last.

All we have to do is to remember to pray and keep our relationship with God.

Matthew 19:26; "But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible but with God all things are possible".

Mark 10:27; "And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible".

We have been told by Jesus there is nothing that God can't do. But we cannot continue in our evil ways and expect God to do what we want Him to do if we are not willing to do what He wants us to do. Are we willing to get down on our knees and pray fervently for God to guide, protect us, and be willing to keep our relationship with the Lord? If we can't do this, why should we expect a Holy and Righteous God to do what He wants to do?

Have a great day and may you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord.

Why Is It?

As I was sitting and thinking about several different things I began to think "why is it?" people seem to think things are easier to not do the works of God? I came up with a few different answers, of course it may not seem right to you but it does make sense to me.


Why is it easier to say bad things about others? Could it be because we think if we say something nice about others that others will think that person is better than us?

Why is it easier to be nasty to others? Are we having a bad day and we just want everyone to have a bad day?

Why is it easier to say God's name in vain? Is it because we are at loss for words?

Why is it easier to tell a lie than to tell the truth? Could it be that we are afraid of getting in trouble or that someone will not like us if we tell the truth?

Why is it easier not to read our Bible? Perhaps it is because we think the Bible is boring and we won't understand it?

Why is it easier not to help someone in need? Is it because we feel we have helped enough people and it is time for someone else to help instead of us?

There are so many "why is it's" that I could go on and on. When in truth it just may be because we are not seeking to do the will of God. On the other hand perhaps we are letting Satan get his foot in the door, sort of speaking. John 8:44; "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." Lying is specifically mentioned in the Bible as being the character of the devil, Satan is the foundation of all falsehood and is opposite of what God is, who is truth.

Matthew 12:50; "For whosoever shall do the of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother." Is it not better for us to seek and do the will of the Father? Jesus considers all believers to be His and takes care of us.

Colossians 3:17; "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and Father by him." If we do things that are not good we can not do them in the name of the Lord Jesus. Have you ever stopped to think about the things you do that is not pleasing to Him? If they are not pleasing to Him then we can not say we have done them for the Lord. We need to always ask ourselves if what we say or do, will this bring glory to Him? If not then we should not do it.

In our lifetime we will constantly have to fight against the forces that push us to do the things of the world, the flesh, and Satan but always know all we have to do is call on the Lord to help us through this. Jesus is always there, just call on Him. Just be sure to say and do things that will bring ONLY glory to do the Lord.

I John 4:4; "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that in you, than he that is in the world." Remember, Jesus is in us and that is all we need.

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!

It Has Been Quite Awhile

Well, it has been awhile since I have posted on God's blog so thought I would try to post something. I may not post every day but will try to post something two or three times a week.


First of all I want to thank those of you that have inquired about me in one way or another. You will never know how much I appreciated your concern. Thank of you for your prayers, they have been greatly appreciated. THANK YOU!

Things have been going pretty well here. Dave has completed his treatments and will be going to see the doctor on the 21st of this month to see how things are going. He has felt pretty good but has been extremely tired. Thanks to all that have remembered him in your prayers, we certainly appreciate them very much.

My surgery went well. I am on the way to recovery and I know the Lord has been and is with us at all times. I just want it all done in my time but I know it will be done in God's time. I praise the Lord as He knows what He is doing even if we can't see or understand everything He is doing.

I would like to share something rather funny with you. When it was much warmer I was setting outside where I have my quiet time with the Lord and I was praying for God to take the pain away from my hips. About that time an ant went crawling by my feet and I thought "I am so glad I don't have the legs ants have as I am sure they have hips and if I had that many I would really be hurting". I know very little about ants but like I thought they surely have hips and at least I don't have that many so I started praising the Lord that I only have two hips to hurt. Perhaps the Lord was trying to tell me the pain could be much worse. If we are open to hear the Lord we can learn many things, I am glad even though I was hurting I was able to see that things could be worse. I thank the Lord for being able to see something funny to make things better.

Not all has been good. I had to have TriPod, my cat of 14 years put down. There were quite a few people that didn't really care for him but he was mine and he was a lover. He was afraid of most people but would come to me whenever I called him. The thing that bothers me is that when I took him to the doctor the doctor looked at me and asked if TriPod could see. I told him as far as I knew he could, his eyes looked so beautiful. When the doctor examined him he told me that TriPod was blind. I don't know how I could have missed it as he never ran into things and when someone came close to him he would move. TriPod had only three legs, we had to have the back left leg removed but it didn't change him at all. He was still a lover and was mine. I love him very much and miss him. I do have TriPod's sister, Chubba. She is a lot smaller than what TriPod was but she is a beautiful cat and I love her very much.

Pat, my high school friend had surgery for cancer in October. We don't know much of what is going on as of right now. She has an appointment with the doctor Wednesday and she will find out more. We do know she will have radiation once she has healed. Pat is one that was very seldom sick so this is extremely hard for her as she tires so easily. She is used to being able to do whatever she wants to.

Jason, a very dear friend of ours had an accident. A 5,000 pound safe fell on his leg and he had to have part of his leg amputated. My goodness, this young man is a really strong willed person. Instead of sitting around feeling sorry for himself he is doing things for himself. He is quite a young man and I know without a doubt the Lord is the One that is helping him get through this.

Sometimes we think something is impossible for God; there is NOTHING impossible for Him. We think this at times because we forget God works in His time and not ours. Jeremiah 32:27; "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me"? Even though things look bleak we need to keep our faith and pray continually to the Lord, He hears our every word. God can do anything and He does many times over. We should depend on His word at all times even though we may not know exactly how it will be accomplished.

Hope all of you have a great day and weekend. May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!

We Should Never Wait

Psalm 32:34; "When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring of the day long. v. 4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah".


David was describing the agony and penalty he felt for concealed sin. This is how we feel at times when we don't want to acknowledge our own sin. Trying to hide our sin can bring a loss of health, our peace of mind, happiness, and favor with God. We will experience guilt and inner torment. This is God's punishment for trying to hide our sin.

God already knows about the sin/s but He is waiting for us to confess them to Him. He wants us to take responsibility of what we have done and ask Him for forgiveness.

Psalm 32:5; "I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah".

When David acknowledged and confessed his sin to the Lord with an honest, sincere, and repentant heart God forgave him. When we acknowledge and confess our sins to the Lord with an honest, sincere, and repentant heart the result will be God's gracious forgiveness, and removal of guilt. We will feel His presence with us once again. Even though we are forgiven we must remember there are consequences to our actions.

When we sin we should always acknowledge it and ask the Lord with an honest, sincere, and repentant heart immediately for His forgiveness, we should never wait. Waiting only makes it worse and our hearts can become hardened.

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!

Where Are Our Riches

How do we live? Are we living just to be living or are we living because we have a cause?


What do our lives show of the way we live?

Are we joyful? Are we angry? Are we friendly? Are we snobbish?

Do we show our love for others or are they just there?

Do we live just for money?

Do we live for the material things of life?

Is our life full of Jesus? Or is our life full of the things of the world.

Did you ever stop to think our final test of our lives will not be how much we lived but how we lived? It will not be about how tempestuous our lives have been but how much bigger, better, and stronger the trials and tribulations have left us.

It won't be about how much money, fame, or fortune we have laid up here on earth but what we have done to lay up treasures in heaven. Which is the most important to us?

Life is not all about the riches of the world. Share your love, friendship, compassion, and joy with everyone. Share the Lord with everyone; tell the world all about Jesus and who He is and what He does for us. This is where our wealth is. The Lord wants us to share what we know about Him, our love, friendship, compassion, and the list could go on and on.

We need to think about what the most important thing is to us that will bring us the most joy, love, peace, and happiness. We are here on earth for a season but heaven or hell will be eternally.

Matthew 16:26; "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul"?

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!

The Great Exchange

The pastor of our church gave a message a couple of weeks ago about "The Great Exchange." Although I have known about each of them I was spellbound just hearing him give the message.


First of all God loved us so much that He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, that if we believe in Jesus we would not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16; "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

There is one person that was willing to exchange His wealth so we could have it. The person is Jesus Christ.

Jesus left His home in heaven so we could have a home in heaven. If you had an expensive home would you leave your home so someone could have your home? I am sure I wouldn't, I might share my home but to give it up I just couldn't do that but Jesus did this for you and me.

Jesus gave up His riches for our poverty. Someone had to pay the price/debt and Jesus was willing to do this for us. II Corinthians 8:9; "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich." Because Jesus became poor, we now share His eternal riches. We need to have the same feelings as verification of His grace working in us. The gifts of grace, salvation, the kingdom of glory and heaven are the everlasting riches we have received in exchange for the rags of iniquity. Ephesians 1:3; "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ":

Jesus also gives us His joy for our sorrow. John 16:20; "Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy." Sorrow is something none of us want, it can cause us to feel the Lord has forsaken us but He will never do this. We can have godly sorrow which is good for us as it leads us to repentance, changing our heart that will turn us from sin to God.

We are given peace by Jesus for our troubles. John 14:27; "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid". It is a great feeling to have this peace Jesus gives to us but you need to be willing to give your troubles completely to Him. We can't expect to have His peace if we don't give Him our troubles.

Jesus gives His love for our hatred. Colossians 1:21; "And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled". We were estranged and hostile in our minds and doing evil things but we have been reconciled to Him now. We have love towards the Lord and others now.

Jesus has even given us His righteousness for our rags. Isaiah 64:6; "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away". It is through Jesus Christ that we are clean and made pure. II Corinthians 5:21; "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him".

II Corinthians 6:10; "As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things". Even though our hearts ache we have the joy of the Lord. We may not possess riches on earth but we can help others and we can enjoy everything. Our riches will be received in our heavenly home.

Jesus exchanged everything just for us. This exchange is awesome; to think He loves us so much that He was willing to do this for us. Thank you, Jesus.

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!

With God's Strength

We got the biopsy report back that Dave had done a week ago. He does have a cancerous tumor. We will find out Wednesday what type of treatment will be given.


Both Dave and I know the Lord is right at our sides and He will get us through this but I do know Satan is trying to cut-in on the Lord. It is up to us to make sure he doesn't get this done.

I Thessalonians 2:18; "...Satan hindered us". We know Satan is permitted by God to war against and to hinder believers from doing what we want to do for Christ. We also know God can overrule Satan's activities and turn them into good for His kingdom.

We can overcome the hindrance of Satan by praying daily for deliverance and protection from his schemes and power. This is a must for all of us. We must never let Satan get his foot in the door, sort of speaking; we must keep him at bay at all times. There is no one else but the Lord that can and will protect us from Satan. By praying to the Lord we are telling Him we know that He can and will protect us from Satan.

Satan wants us to believe he is no longer a real enemy who takes people captive by sin. We must not let him get away with this. Those little thoughts in your mind that he puts there like telling you God doesn't really care about you or a little lie isn't really a big deal comes from no other than Satan. He wants to build his empire by lying to us.

Yes, this is what Satan has been telling me, God doesn't really care what happens to Dave while in ALL TRUTH God does care. He is there to help me if I just call on Him. Believe me I have been calling on Him a lot lately. I know in my heart and mind God will take care of Dave, it may be through the doctor's hands or by another miracle of healing but Satan sure is trying to get in, I CAN'T LET HIM IN, I JUST CAN'T.

Psalm 18:2; "The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower". We have the Lord to help us through this, He is my strength, and He literally gives us His strength because He knows we are weak. What kind of love is this? It is a mighty love only God can give us. I will hold onto this verse as it will keep reminding me of WHO will help me.

We are not the only ones going through a rough time of one sort or another and I pray they ask the Lord for strength to get through whatever it is they are going through.

Thank you, Lord for being with us in this time of need and for your strength you give us. Thank you for your love and mercy. We give you all the praise and glory. In Jesus Name. Amen

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!

Colossians 3:23

The following is a story about what can happen when we allow the light of Jesus shine through us. We never know what a person is going through and a smile that you might give them could change their outlook on something, like believing others care.

Whatever we do we should do as we are doing it unto the Lord. Colossians 3:23; "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men";

I believe the Lord would want us to smile and not frown at someone we see on the street, in the store, or wherever. It doesn't take much to smile or say a simple 'hello'. If we see someone that needs help it doesn't take a lot to help them out.

I hope you enjoy the story and understand what kindness can do for someone. It not only helps the other person but it will help you also. The story is a bit long but I believe it is worth the time it takes to read it.

____________________

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books.

I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd."

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.

He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes

My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.

As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives."

He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"

There was a big smile on his face.

It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.

He said he had gone to private school before now.

I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.

We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.

I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.

He said "yes."

We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.

I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!"

He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I be came best friends...

When we were seniors we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to NC State.

I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.

He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship.

Kyle was valedictorian of our class.

I teased him all the time about being a nerd.

He had to prepare a speech for graduation.

I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak Graduation day. I saw Kyle.
He looked great.

He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.

He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.

He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.

Boy, sometimes I was jealous! Today was one of those days.

I could see that he was nervous about his speech.

So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"

He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.

"Thanks," he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began.

"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.
Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...
I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them."

"I am going to tell you a story."

I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the
story of the first day we met.

He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.

He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.

He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.

"Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.

I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.

Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions.

With one small gesture you can change a person's life, for better or for worse.

God puts us all in each others lives to impact one another in some way.

Look for God in others.

____________________

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord and share it with others!

A Bad Week

I am sorry I didn't have a post last Friday. It seems everything has gone wrong the past week. Even though nothing has gone right Dave and I know the Lord has been right by our sides to help us and to give us strength.


Isaiah 26:4; "Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength": It is because we believe in the Lord that we have His strength. For without Him we can do nothing.

Dave has been battling cancer off and on for many years. Every four months he has to have his checkup and tests. His last visit went really well we thought, one test came out good but then we found out another one of the tests came back suspicious so he is scheduled for a biopsy tomorrow. We are praying the biopsy will go well and he will get to come home tomorrow after he recovers from the anesthesia. There was one time when he has had a biopsy that he wasn't able to come home so we are praying this will be like the other times and he will be able to come home.

John 14:27; "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid". Jesus has given us peace of mind and heart, I thank Him for this. How could we make it without it!

There may be a few days that I won't have a post but hopefully I will start again really soon.

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!

A Two Way Street

Friendship is a two way street, it is not a one way street.


Friends are always there to help you out, comfort you, and they truly know you, there has been a joke going around that says a friend loves you when no one else does. They know a friendship is something to work on continually not just when you or they need something from the other.

Proverbs 18:24; "A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother". You can not expect to have a friend if you can't be a friend yourself.

Debi, my daughter, has been a friend of mine for years. She has never let me down. I, in turn am a friend of hers. We can talk about anything and if we don't see eye to eye we don't give up on one another. Dave, my husband and friend has very seldom let me down. I can talk to Dave about most anything but there are some things a woman needs to talk to another woman about and Debi is that woman for me.

The one and only true friend a person has is Jesus Christ. He is the one that knows every single thing about you, He knows your thoughts, dreams, dislikes, and He knows exactly where your heart is. John 15:14; "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you". When we have a friend we want to do things for them and walk with them. Jesus has said we are His friends if we do what He commands us to do. We need to be a friend to Jesus as well. A friend is someone we love so we should try with all our might to do what He has asked us to do.

John 15:15; "Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you". Friends do not keep secrets from us. They want you to know what they know just as Jesus wants us to know what God has told Him. What a true friend we have in Jesus.

Always remember friendship is not a one way street but a two way street. It is something we must work on and remember Jesus is our true Friend; He gave us life so that we could live. John 3:16; "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life".

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!

Disappointment and Anger

Today started out just like almost every day. I am thankful for the day the Lord gave me even though it has not been a good one. I guess we can't expect every day to be the perfect day, can we?


This has been a disappointing day. I have had several in the last week but the Lord had helped me through them but today has been different. I know the Lord is right by side to help me but because of the disappointment I have let anger step in. I know anger is something the Lord doesn't want us to have unless it would be righteous anger. If I could just cry I would probably feel better but for some reason I can't. I know if I continue to let the disappointment and anger to grow it will turn into something worse and I certainly don't want that.

Ephesians 4:31; "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you with all malice":

Now why would God want me to put away my anger? Well, for one thing right now it isn't hurting anyone but me but if I don't rid myself of this anger it will lead into other things. It doesn't make any difference who caused the disappointment that caused my anger; God wants me to rid myself of it. It is my responsibility to get rid of it. It is up to ME to do it.

Ephesians 4:26-27; "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
v. 27 Neither give place to the devil". If I don't start praying to be released from this anger it means the devil has already gotten his foot in the doorway. I don't want to give him any room at all.

Sometimes we know what is best but we don't do it and I have to remember I am hurting me, not anyone else. I need to forgive this person for disappointing me and then letting it turn into anger. I want to forgive them and pray for them. This is the first place to start and even though I know it is hard for me I know God will help me.

Dear Lord, I ask that you forgive me for letting my disappointment turn to anger. I ask that you help me to let go of this and to forgive this person and I ask that you would please bless them and keep them safe. Lord, I thank you and praise you for the victory over my disappointment and anger. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!

Is Everything Taxed

There is not a day that goes by that we don't pay taxes of some sort. It seems as though taxes just keep going up and up. I hear people saying we are being taxed to death, perhaps this is so. Have you ever wondered if there is anything that you have that isn't taxed?


I found the following and it is so true, there are some things that are not taxable.

Taxes

A tax assessor came one day to a poor Christian to

determine the amount of taxes he would have to pay. The

following conversation took place:

"What property do you possess"? asked the assessor.

"I am a very wealthy man", replied the Christian.

"List your possessions, please". The assessor instructed.

The Christian said:

"First, I have everlasting life",

John 3:16

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten

Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but

have everlasting life".

"Second, I have a mansion in heaven",

 John 14:2
"In my Father's house are many mansions:

if it were not so, I would have told you. I

go to prepare a place for you".

"Third, I have peace that passes all understanding",

Philippians 4:7

"And the peace of God, which passeth all

understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds

through Christ Jesus".

"Fourth, I have joy unspeakable",

I Peter 1:8

"Whom having not seen, ye love;

in whom, though now ye see him not,

yet believing, ye rejoice with joy

unspeakable and full of glory":

"Fifth, I have divine love which never fails",

I Corinthians 13:8

"Charity never faileth:"...

"Sixth, I have a faithful wife",

Proverbs 31:10

"Who can find a virtuous woman?

for her price is far above rubies".

"Seventh, I have obedient Children",

Exodus 20:12

"Honour thy father and thy mother:

that thy days may be long upon the land

which the Lord thy God giveth thee".

"Eighth, I have true, loyal friends",

Proverbs 18:24

"A man that hath friends must show himself

friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh

closer than a brother".

"Ninth, I have songs in the night",

Psalm 42:8

"Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness

in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be

with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life".

"Tenth, I have a crown of life",

James 1:12

"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation:

for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life,

which the Lord hath promised to them that love him".

The tax assessor closed his book, and said, "Truly you are a very rich man,

but your property is not subject to taxation".

I pray that of you will have this kind of tax free 'wealth'.

Have a richly blessed day and may you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!

What If...

When we have our quiet time with the Lord, have you ever had a thought come into your mind and wondered if it was God talking to you? I have. Sometimes I am sure God is trying to get my attention for one reason or another. The other night when I was having my time with the Lord 'what if' kept coming into my mind. What was He trying to say to me? Then it hit me, He was trying to tell me to think about several different things.


What if, God took away the Bible because we would not read it?
        Did you ever stop to think the reason He gave us the Bible is because there is so
        much in it that tells us how we should live our lives, a godly life? He didn't give us
        the Bible for entertainment; He gave it to us so we would be able to understand the
        things He wants us to know. He wants us to know about His love, mercy, and
        compassion for us.

What if, God took away His message because we failed to listen to the messenger?
        He gave us messengers so that we would be able to hear the Message. We may not
        care for the one giving us the Message but we should want to hear the Message and
        give the Lord the praise and glory that He so deserves for giving us a messenger
        that will give us the Message.

What if, God didn't walk with us today because we failed to recognize His walk with us?
        The Lord wants to walk with us every single minute of the day, we just need to
        recognize the fact that He is with us, and He never leaves us. Don't you ever feel
        His presence? I do and it is one of the most wonderful feelings I can have.

What if, God decided to stop leading us tomorrow because we didn't follow Him today?
        God wants to lead us in everything we do not just ever once in awhile. He knows
        what is best for us and doesn't want us to go the wrong way. What would we do if
        we didn't have Him to follow?

What if, God wouldn't take the time to bless us today because we couldn't take the time to thank Him?
        God blesses us every single day and He wants to bless us all the time. Sometimes
        when He blesses us it is because it is something we have wanted. So much of the
        time He blesses us with things just because He loves us and wants to bless us. No
        matter what the blessing we should always take the time to thank Him, praise Him,
        and give Him the glory. He doesn't have to bless us but He wants to. Shouldn't we
        want to take the time to thank Him?

What if, God took away the animals, trees, and flowers because we didn't take the time to enjoy them?
        Have you ever thought how quiet it would be if you didn't hear the birds singing,
        have the trees for shade, or flowers to smell? It would be pretty dull, wouldn't it?

'What if' should make us stop and think about a lot of things. Have you ever thought about these things?

What if, God hadn't loved the world so much that He gave His Son, Jesus Christ so that we wouldn't have to die for our sins?

What if, God stopped loving and caring for us because we failed to love and care for others?

What if, God would not hear us today because we would not listen to Him yesterday?

What if, God answered our prayers the way we answer His call to service?

What if, the door of the church was closed because we did not open the door of our heart?

What if, God met our needs the way we give Him our lives?

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!

Recall Notice

I was going through some old bulletins I had made for the church Dave and I had gone to sometime back and I came upon the following. I must have received this in an email and put it on the back of the bulletin. I hope you will enjoy it as I have.

Recall Notice

The Maker of all human beings is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to a serious defect in the primary and central component of the heart.

This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype unit's code named Adam and Eve, resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all subsequent units.

This defect has been technically termed, "Sub sequential Internal Non-mortality," or more commonly known as S.I.N., as it is primarily expressed.

Some other symptoms:
1. Loss of direction
2. Foul vocal emissions
3. Amnesia of origin
4. Lack of peace and joy
5. Selfish, or violent behavior
6. Depression or confusion in the mental component
7. Fearfulness
8. Idolatry
9. Rebellion

The Manufacturer, who is neither liable nor at fault for this defect, is providing factory authorized repair and service free of charge to correct this SIN defect.

The Repair Technician, Jesus, has most generously offered to bear the entire burden of the staggering cost of these repairs. There is no additional fee required.

The number to call for repair in all areas is: P-R-A-Y-E-R. Once connected, please upload your burden of SIN through the REPENTANCE procedure.

Next, download ATONEMENT from the Repair Technician, Jesus, into the heart component.

No matter how big or small the SIN defect is, Jesus will replace it with:
1. Love                 
2. Joy
3. Peace                
4. Patience
5. Kindness           
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. Self control

Please see the operation manual: The B.I.B.L.E. (Believers Instructions Before Leaving Earth), for further details on the use of these fixes.

WARNING: Continuing to operate the human being unit without correction voids any manufacturer warranties, exposing the unit to dangers and problems too numerous to list and will result in the human unit being permanently impounded. For free emergency service, call on JESUS.

DANGER: The human being units not responding to this recall action will have to be scrapped in the furnace. The SIN defect will not be permitted to enter Heaven so as to prevent contamination of that facility.

Thank you for your Attention! GOD

Please assist where possible by notifying others of this important recall notice!!!!

____________________

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!

Are You Working?

Are you working for the Lord or are you working for what you think the Lord wants you to? There is a difference between the two. When you are working for the Lord it is because the Lord has called you to do it. When you are doing what you think the Lord wants you to do you are doing something you want to do for the Lord.


God doesn't ask any of us to think up something to do for Him because then we would have to ask Him to help us carry out what we have thought up. A God centered plan is God's plan for what He wants us to do.

What if Abraham would have decided on his own that the Lord wanted him to sacrifice Isaac? Abraham would have had to start praying that God would not let him sacrifice his son, Isaac. It was God that told Abraham to offer Isaac. Genesis 22:2; "And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of".

It was not until Abraham stretched out his hand with the knife in it to slay Isaac that the angel of the Lord called to him out of heaven. Genesis 22:10-12; "And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. v. 11 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. v. 12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me".

God had provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice in place of Isaac, verse 13.

It was because God told Abraham what to do that the plan God had in mind worked the way He wanted it. God didn't really want the physical death of Isaac, God later condemned human sacrifice in Leviticus 20:2; "...Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones".

It is good to think of things to do for the Lord but at the end it must be something God wants us to do for Him. It is the plan that He has for us not the plan we have for God. When it is the plan God has for us He already has a way for us to do it, if we follow His instructions everything will work out. So when you do work for the Lord make sure it is from the Lord and not you.

Mark 16:15; "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature". God has already given each of us something to do for Him. Each one of us should tell everyone and even the ones we don't know about the gospel. If you are like me I can't speak well when I don't know someone but we don't need to worry about it as the Holy Spirit will give us the words to say. From this Scripture each of us has something we can and should do for the Lord.

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!

Vitamin F

Each of us has many friends and no two are alike. Each one has something different to offer that the other one doesn't. While we appreciate them all, thank goodness each one is different. There is one Friend we have that offers all the different things each of our friends offer us plus much, much more, that Friend is Jesus Christ. He is a Friend that will never lead us astray. He is one Friend we never want to let go and we want our relationship to continue to grow. We need to remember to talk to Him daily.


This was sent to me by one of my dearest friends, my husband. What would I ever do without him?

Vitamin F

Why do I have a variety of friends who are all different in character?
Some of them can be considered marginal even.
How do I get along with them all?
I think that each one helps to bring out a 'different' part of me.
With one I am a polite, sophisticated girl.
I joke with another friend.
I sit down and talk about serious matters with one of them.
With another I laugh and giggle at every silly thing.
I have my tea with one.
And dance with another.
I listen to one friend's problems and give her advice.
Then I listen to another advising me.
They are all like pieces of a jigsaw.
When completed they form a treasure box.
A treasure of friends!
They are my friends, who understand me better than myself.
Supporting me through good days and bad days.
They are like colorful anti-depressants that I take on different days.
Doctors tell us that friends are good for our health.
One doctor calls them Vitamin F (Friends) and counts the benefits of
friends to our well being.

I am so happy that I have a stock of Vitamin F!

____________________

We need to remember while each friend has something special to offer us; we need to make sure this friend loves the Lord with all of their heart. If the friend doesn't love Jesus that friend will tell us of their feelings of the world and could try to turn us away from the Lord. Even though this person has things about them that we might enjoy their not loving the Lord should tell us we should be careful of them. James 4:4; "...know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God". If someone doesn't love the Lord they are a friend of the world and an enemy of God's so it is best not to be a friend with them. This doesn't mean we should not tell them about the Lord and His love for us and the things He has done for us. This is something we should tell them; we are to share the Gospel with everyone. Bring them to the truth of the Light.

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!

Did You Remember?

Luke 17:11-19; "And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

v. 12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
v. 13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
v. 14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
v. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
v. 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
v. 17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
v. 18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
v. 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole".

At that time lepers were not allowed to be with other people but they could converse with one another.

These ten men were asking for Jesus to have mercy on them, they didn't ask for a healing just for Jesus to have mercy on them. Jesus did show mercy on each one of them. Jesus didn't tell them He had healed them but told them to go show themselves to the priest to be inspected.

Only one was so thankful when he saw that he was healed that he turned back towards Jesus and thanked Him and glorified God in a loud voice for his healing. In verse 16 it says he fell down on his face at the feet of Jesus giving Him thanks.

This man was a Samaritan while the other nine were Jews. The Samaritans did not have the pure knowledge and worship of God that the Jews did yet it was the Samaritan that glorified God but the Jews forgot.

Jesus knew only one thanked and glorified God while the other nine didn't. Jesus told him he had been cured because of his faith. The rest were cured because of Jesus' compassion in their distress.

How many times have we called out to Jesus in distress and Jesus answered our call to him because of the distress we were in? How many times have we called out to Jesus in faith because of our distress? When I call out to Him I want it to be because of the faith I have that I know He will help me out in my distress.

I want to always remember to thank Him. I have to be truthful, there have been times I have called out to Him and I have forgotten to thank and glorify Him when He answered my call. I don't believe it happens to often but it has happened. When I do remember I am so ashamed that I have forgotten. I then ask Him to forgive me for forgetting to thank and glorify him. I know He forgives me as I know He sees my heart and how it feels.

Are you one of the nine that forgets to thank Him or are you the one that thanks Him and gives Him glory?

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!

Are You Blessing The Lord?

All of us like to receive blessings from the Lord; God showers us with any number of blessings daily. Some may think they don't receive that many blessings from God everyday but let me assure you that we do.


Are you able to get out of bed in the mornings? That is a great blessing.

Do you have a job? That is another blessing.

Do you have a home? That is a blessing.

Do you have food on your table? This is another blessing.

Do you have a husband/wife? This is another great blessing from God.

Do you have children? What a wonderful blessing.

Do you have parents? This is another wonderful blessing.

The list could go on and on forever. Have you ever thought about blessing the Lord? We should bless Him daily as He blesses us.

To bless the Lord is to love, adore, respect, glorify, honor, praise, and worship Him. We bless Him by recalling all the glory, righteousness, and all of His goodness. All of these things should be done on a daily bases, there is no other that has blessed us with all the things He has blessed us with. His love is the strongest love there is, no one loves us like He does.

Not only does God enjoy receiving our blessings but it gives us a feeling of closeness to our Heavenly Father. Once we start blessing Him, we don't want to stop. Won't you bless Him today?

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!

I Love My Defense Attorney

I wonder if any of you have wondered what it will be like when we are faced with judgment after we die. I have pictured in my mind what it might be like. When I do try to picture this it is never the same way twice. I do wonder what it will be like but I guess it isn't really important, is it? No matter what we will stand before God.


Romans 14:10; "...for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ". Not one of us will get by without standing before the judgment of Christ.

Romans 14:12; "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God". It doesn't matter what we have done we will give account to God whether it is good or bad.

Galatians 6:5; "For very man shall bear his own burden". What each of us have done will have to bear his own. There will be no one that will be able to share your burden.

I John 2:1; "...And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous": This means Jesus will intercede for us when we stand before God.

Christians will have Jesus by their side and will be our advocate.

The following is an article of Jesus being with us as we stand before God. It was sent to me via email and I think it is a neat story or whatever you would want to call it.
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I Love My Defense Attorney

After living what I felt was a 'decent' life, my time on earth came to an end.

The first thing I remember is sitting on a bench in the waiting room of what I thought to be a courthouse.

The doors opened and I was instructed to come in and have a seat by the defense table.

As I looked around I saw the 'prosecutor'.

He was a villainous looking gent who snarled as he stared at me. He definitely was the most evil person I have ever seen.

As I was setting down I looked to my left and there sat My Attorney, kind and gentle looking man whose appearance seemed so familiar to me, I felt like I knew Him.

The corner door flew open and there appeared the Judge in a full flowing robe.

He commanded an awesome presence as He moved across the room, I

couldn't take my eyes off of Him.

As He took His seat behind the bench, He said, "Let us begin".

The prosecutor rose and said, "My name is Satan and I am here to show you why this man belongs in hell".

He proceeded to tell of lies that I told, things that I stole, and in the past when I cheated others. Satan told of other horrible perversions that were once in my life and the more he spoke, the further down in my seat I sank.

I was so embarrassed that I couldn't look at anyone, even my own Attorney, as Satan told of sins that even I had completely forgotten about.

As upset as I was at Satan for telling all these things about me, I was equally upset at my Attorney who sat there silently, not offering any form of defense at all.

I know I had been guilty of those things, but I had done some good in my life - couldn't that at least equal out part of the harm I'd done?

Satan finished with a fury and said, "This man belongs in hell, he is guilty of all that I have charged and there is not a person who can prove otherwise".

When it was His turn, my Attorney first asked if He might approach the bench.

The Judge allowed this over the strong objection of Satan, and beckoned Him to come forward.

As He got up and started walking, I was able to see Him in His full splendor and majesty.

I realized why He seemed so familiar; this was Jesus Christ representing me, my Lord and my Savior.

He stopped at the bench and softly said to the Judge, "Hi Dad," and then He turned to address the court.

"Satan was correct in saying that this man had sinned, I won't deny any of these allegations. And, yes, the wage of sin is death, and this man deserves to be punished".

Jesus took a deep breath and turned to His Father with outstretched arms and proclaimed, "However, I died on the cross so that this person might have eternal life and he has accepted Me as his Savior, so he is Mine".

My Lord continued with, "his name is written in the Book of Life, and no one can snatch him from Me. Satan still does not understand yet. This man is not to be given justice, but rather mercy".

As Jesus sat down, He quietly paused, looked at His Father and said, "There is nothing else that needs to be done. I've done it all".

The Judge lifted His mighty hand and slammed the gavel down. The following words bellowed from His lips...

"This man is free. The penalty for him has already been paid in full. Case dismissed".

As my Lord led me away, I could hear Satan ranting and raving, "I won't give up, I will win the next one".

I asked Jesus as He gave me my instructions where to go next, "Have you ever lost a case"?

Christ lovingly smiled and said, "Everyone that has come to Me and asked me to represent them has received the same verdict as you, PAID IN FULL".

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Stop telling God how big your storm is; instead, tell the storm how big your God is.

May you always know the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!