Author: sharinHislove

Second Birth

God is being patient with you . . . He wants all people to change their hearts and lives.”  2 Peter 3:9

In many ways your new birth is like your first: In your new birth God provides what you need; someone else feels the pain, and someone else does the work. And just as parents are patient with their newborn, so God is patient with you. But there is one difference. The first time you had no choice about being born; this time you do.

The power is God’s.

The effort is God’s.

The pain is God’s.

But the choice is yours.

~ Max Lucado

Verse of the Day – July 28 – Press toward the Goal

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:14 NKJV

Hebrews 12 NIV

 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Daily Promises – July 28 – When all around us is shaking

Revelation 3:12 KJV
12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Promise #209: Those who overcome will be made pillars in My temple forever.

The Bible says that life is but a vapor. The span of a person’s life is but a twinkle of the eye in the perspective of all eternity. That is why it is so important for us to have an eternal mindset rather than a temporal one. In 2 Corinthians 4:18, the NIV Bible says … 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (NIV)

When the pressures of life get too much. When the worries of an uncertain future cloud our thought life. When we are discouraged with the circumstances around us. No matter what situation you find yourself in today, take a moment, and think about eternity.  In today’s Scripture, Jesus Himself, promises that He is going to make us as pillars in the temple of His God forever and write on each one of us a new name!

When all around us begins to shake, be encouraged that God is giving us a kingdom that cannot be shaken. One day, all those who belong to Jesus will stand firm forever in the city of our God, the New Jerusalem!
Photo by Mark Gyde

He sings over you

The Lord God is like a sun and shield; the Lord gives us kindness and honor.

Psalm 84:11

Rejections are like speed bumps on the road.

They come with the journey.

You can’t keep people from rejecting you.

But you can keep rejections from enraging you.

How? By letting God’s acceptance compensate for their rejection.

When others reject you, let God accept you.

He is not frowning.

He is not mad.

He sings over you.

Take a long drink from His limitless love.

~Max Lucado

THE LORD IS SHAKING THE NATIONS PHYSICALLY, SPIRITUALLY, FINANCIALLY: Why, and how should we respond?

Posted: July 27, 2011 by joelcrosenberg in Uncategorized

(Jerusalem, Israel) The nations are being shaken – physically, spiritually, emotionally, financially, politically and in so many other ways.

The people of Norway have been shaken this week by seeing sheer evil unleashed against precious, innocent children.

Japan has been shaken this year by the enormous earthquake, the resulting tsunami, and the horrific nuclear meltdown.

The people of Egypt, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen have been shaken this year by dramatic and largely unexpected revolutions underway there and throughout the Arab world.

Iran has been shaken by the enormous pro-democracy movement that took to the streets but was then nearly crushed by the tyrannical government in Tehran.

The people of Israel are being shaken by fears that Iran is rapidly closing in on building nuclear weapons and the world is not doing nearly enough to stop them in time.

Greece has been shaken by its unprecedented debt crisis and resultant riots and social unrest.

Americans, too, are being shaken. We face arguably the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Nearly half of all Americans believe we are heading towards another Great Depression. Unemployment is over 9%. Housing foreclosures are sky high. People have lost enormous sums of money due to depressed housing prices and stock market volatility. The federal government is trying to spend our way to prosperity but is making things worse. Our annual federal budget deficit topped $1.3 trillion last year. This year, it looks like the feds will spend more than $1.5 trillion beyond what they are taking in revenue. Our debt is skyrocketing. The U.S. is now on the verge of financial default, and hampered further by political ineptitude in Washington that threatens to comp0und an already precarious situation.

What if these events are not all random? What if the God of the Bible is allowing these to happen to shake us, to wake us, to get our attention, that we might turn to Him and ask Him to have mercy on us and help us?

The Lord said through the ancient Hebrew Prophet Haggai that the nations would be shaken in the future. “For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. I will shake all the nations….I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations.” (Haggai 2:6, 7, 21, 22)

In the New Testament, the Lord reinforced that theme. “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven’….Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:25-29)

Bible prophecy is clear: the Lord shakes individuals and nations that we might let go of all the flawed political, philosophical, intellectual and religions notions that we cling to that won’t give us true peace, that don’t give us real hope, that can’t bring us any security, that can’t provide forgiveness from our sins much less eternal life for our souls. The God of the Bible wants to shake us loose of such things that we might turn to Him, and to the life He offers through faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord isn’t letting us be shaken because He hates us. He’s letting us be shaken precisely because He loves us and wants us to repent and turn to Him and call out to Him, as individuals, as families, and as nations. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

The Fear of Man


by Neil Anderson – July 27

Psalm 118:6-8
The LORD is for me; I will not fear; what can man do to me? The LORD is for me among those who help me; therefore I shall look with satisfaction on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man

 

David’s question in Psalm 118:6 introduces a common fear among Christians: the fear of man. The timid man is quick to respond to the question, “I’ll tell you what man can do to me. He can abuse me, he can fire me from my job, and he can even kill me.”

True, but Jesus tells us to lay those fears aside: “Do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). If you fail to take God as your refuge, the fear of man will control your life.

God appointed Saul to be the first king of Israel and commanded him to utterly destroy Amalek, along with all of his family, followers and possessions. Unfortunately, Saul didn’t completely obey. Samuel confronted Saul, and after Saul’s excuses ran out, he confessed, “I have sinned . . . because I feared the people and listened to their voice” (1 Samuel 15:24). Then the Lord rejected Saul as king of Israel. More than one king has fallen for fearing man more than God.

Suppose you are intimidated by your boss. You work in fear of him from eight to five. What power does he have over you? He could fire you! How could you overcome that power? You could quit or be willing to quit. By not allowing your boss to hold the job over your head, you would free yourself from his intimidations. God’s Word says, “Do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts” (1 Peter 3:14, 15).

I’m not suggesting that you rebel against your boss or become irresponsible. Servants are to obey their masters, and we are to work heartily as for the Lord rather than men (Colossians 3:22, 23). However, when you make God your sanctuary, you free yourself to live a responsible life. If you lose your job in the process, you have the assurance that God will meet all your needs.

Prayer: Lord, I want to be a God-pleaser, not a people-pleaser. Give me strength to stand up for the truth no matter what the cost.

Daily Promises – July 27 – God will take care of you

Matthew 6:25-26 KJV
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?


Promise #208: Don’t worry, I will take care of you.

This is a relatively short promise compared to the lengthy corresponding Bible text. But if you look at the simple message that Jesus is saying, the promise is short and sweet. When I was growing up, I was taught that worry was a sign of being responsible. If I didn’t worry, then I didn’t care.

As I get older, I am learning that many of the things that I was told were actually not the truth. Worry is not helpful to us. Worry is not a sign of responsibility. While worry cannot extend our lives, studies show that it can shorten our lives because over 70% of illnesses are stress related. This only goes to show that our bodies were not created to deal with a lot of stress.

Jesus encourages us to ‘take no thought for our life’…period. The reason why we don’t have to worry is because we have a Father in heaven who has promised to take care of us all of the days of our lives. In this passage of Scripture, Jesus tells how His Father cares for the birds of the air who do not sow or reap or store into barns. He then asks the question… How much more valuable are you than the birds?

Worry is a sign that we are not yet convinced of our value to God. Don’t worry about how much you worry though! Just ask God to give you a deeper revelation of your worth to Him. Fathers provide for their children. Children don’t have to beg for their provision, they can just rest in the knowledge that they are being cared for by a loving Dad. Don’t worry… God will take care of you!
Photo by Jeff Epp

IS A PALESTINIAN STATE INEVITABLE?

Posted: July 22, 2011 by joelcrosenberg in Uncategorized

(Jerusalem, Israel) — While traveling through Israel this month, I’ve been asked by many people if a Palestinian state inevitable, and will it happen this fall? It’s a controversial topic, to be sure, and an increasingly relevant one given the upcoming vote in the U.N. General Assembly this fall. Here’s what I’ve been sharing with people here:

  1. The Bible doesn’t speak specifically to the issue of whether a sovereign Palestinian state will be created or not.
  2. That said, I tend to believe the geopolitical and prophetic evidence suggests there will probably be a Palestinian state in the not-too-distant future.
  3. International pressure on Israel to cut a deal, divide the Land, and create a Palestinian state is overwhelming, relentless, and intensifying.
  4. Currently, the Palestinian leadership refuses to negotiate directly with Israel. Rather, they hope to unilaterally declare a state by getting the vast majority of countries at the U.N. to vote for the creation of state at the General Assembly session in New York in September.
  5. The Palestinians have more than enough votes to pass such a U.N. resolution in the General Assembly (though the U.S. has suggested it would veto a unilateral declaration if it came to the Security Council).
  6. The most intense international pressure for a Palestinian state is coming from Western Europe, which has grown anti-Israel and increasingly anti-Semitic.
  7. A majority of Israelis have become exhausted with the Arab-Israeli conflict and now would support a Palestinian state under certain conditions.
  8. Even Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — the leader of the center-right Likud Party (which has historically opposed creating a Palestinian state) — has offered to divide the Land and help create one, so long as it is demilitarized and doesn’t divide Jerusalem.
  9. However, the Bible strongly warns the nations not to divide the Land of Israel and states that all nations who do so will face God’s judgment. The Lord said to the Hebrew Prophet Joel, “And I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land.” (Joel 3:2) 
  10. Despite this warning, the nations have repeatedly divided the Land of Israel over the centuries.
  11. Bible prophecy suggests the Land will be divided again in the last days. The Hebrew prophet wrote in Daniel 9:26-27 that in the last days “the prince who is to come” (the Antichrist) “will make a firm covenant” (a peace treaty) “with the many” (neighbors of Israel) for seven years, but will then break that treaty after  three and a half years. This strongly — though not definitively — suggests a state will be created or reaffirmed through this treaty.
  12. Eventually, after breaking the peace treaty, the Antichrist will invade and conquer Israel and rule the world with great evil and tyranny from the “Beautiful Land.” The Prophet Daniel wrote, “He will also enter the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall….and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate many. He will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain [Jerusalem]” before being destroyed and judged by the Lord Himself. (Daniel 11:41, 44, 45)
  13. On the basis of these and other Scriptures, I suspect a sovereign Palestinian state will be created, though it would likely be temporary in duration. The outlines of a geopolitical deal are already done. Israeli and Palestinian officials have been negotiating on and off for decades. 
  14. So we should expect European pressure to continue to build and eventually a European leader to take the lead and get a deal done — to many, it will look like a wonderful peace deal, at first, but the Bible makes clear it will turn disastrous for Israel, and the Palestinians, and the world.
  15. I do not support the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state because I believe this would violate the Biblical admonition not to divide to the Land. I do support Palestinian autonomy, the right of Palestinians to run their daily lives and their local governments. I believe Israel should always work on doing a better job of treating Arabs with love, compassion and justice. What’s more, I believe the Church should do a much better job loving and caring for Israeli Arabs and Palestinian Arabs, and sharing with them the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ that they might find forgiveness for their sins, peace in their hearts, hope for their future, and salvation for their souls (John 3:16)
  16. The Scriptures are crystal clear: the Lord loves the Palestinian people as much as He loves the Jewish people, and He told Moses to tell the children of Israel to care for non-Jews in the Land and bless them and treat them honestly and fairly and with justice and compassion. (See Deuteronomy 14:29, 23:7, 24:14-15, 24:19-22, 26:12-13)
  17. Jesus modeled love for the Jewish people (Matthew 15:32, Mark 6:34, Mark 8:1-3, Luke 10:3-9, Luke 23:34), and their neighbors (Matthew 19:19, Luke 10:27-37), and their enemies (Matthew 5:43-44) and told His followers to do the same.
  18. Let us continue to pray for the Prince of Peace — Jesus the Messiah — to draw more and more people in the epicenter to Himself. This is the only true and lasting hope for peace.

What’s in store for you?


The Lord will guide you continually, watering your life when you are dry and keeping you healthy, too.

Isaiah 58:11 NLT

Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,
Pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but Thou art mighty;
Hold me with Thy powerful hand;
Bread of heaven,
Feed me till I want no more,
Feed me till I want no more.

William Williams

A step at a time

Wouldn’t you like to know now what is in store for you a year from now? God leads us a day a time, a step at a time. No need to worry about distant events. The Welsh hymn writer William Williams compared the Christian life to the Israelite’s trek through the wilderness. We may not know the route by which God is leading us, but we humbly count on His guidance.

As a college student, Williams prepared for a career in medicine. But one Sunday morning he heard a man preaching in a Welsh churchyard. Williams responded in faith, and his life was radically changed. For forty-three years he preached and sang throughout Wales. “He sang Wales into piety,” said one writer. He was the poet laureate of the Welsh revival. Soon, all of Wales was singing their way to the coal mines and soccer matches. And their favorite hymn was this marching song by one of their own: “Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah.…Songs of praises I will ever give to Thee.”

Adapted from The One Year Book of Bible Prayers (Tyndale House) entry for January 12

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

Daily Promises – July 26

Psalm 86:7 KJV
7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee:
for thou wilt answer me.

Promise: When problems arise, call to Me and I will answer you.
Jesus told us that in the world, we would have trouble. He went on to encourage us that we could be cheerful because He had overcome the world. In this Psalm, David is calling out to God to help him. David is aware of the many promises that God made to Israel and was confident that when trouble came, God would answer him.

Sometimes I think that God is there for the really big problems, but He is leaving me to my own resources for the little problems that pop up in every day life. I believe that God is ready, willing and able to help me in whatever problems I face today. Big or small. He promised to be a Father to me (2 Corinthians 6:18) and fathers are there for their children all the time. Whatever trouble you might face today, be encouraged in knowing that when problems do arise, you can call out to your heavenly Father and He will answer you.
Photo by Barry Adams

Daily Promises – July 25

Deuteronomy 4:7 KJV
7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them,
as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?

Promise: I am near to you whenever you cry out.
In this particular Bible verse, the nation of Israel is marvelling that there is no other nation on the earth that has a God that is so close to them that He is near whenever they cry out. What an advantage over every other nation of the day! They worshipped a God who was near and attentive to the cries of His people.

And that was the Old Covenant relationship with God. In the New Covenant, God is even closer! He lives within those who have accepted the free gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. We are the very temple of the living God! He is closer to each one of us that we could possibly imagine.  My prayer today is that each one of us would be aware of the tangible presence that dwells within us and that we would know that our God is really close to us when we cry out to Him.
Photo by Jeff Epp

How should I pray?

 

For days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.

Nehemiah 1:4 NLT

Pray like this:
Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven.
Give us our food for today, and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Matthew 6:9-13 NLT

Aligning my will to God’s

E. Stanley Jones described the effect of prayer on us like this:

Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God. Aligned to God’s redemptive will, anything, everything can happen in character, conduct, and creativeness. The whole person is heightened by that prayer contact. In that contact I find health for my body, illumination for my mind, and moral and spiritual reinforcement for my soul. “Prayer is a time exposure to God,” so I expose myself to God for an hour and a half or two hours a day, asking less and less for things and more and more for Himself. For having Him, I have everything. He gives me what I need for character, conduct, and creativeness, so I’m rich with His riches, strong in His strength, pure in His purity, and able in His ability.

quoted by R. Kent Hughes in 1001 Great Stories and Quotes (Tyndale House) p 326

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

How is your prayer life?

Our prayers bring us into God’s presence.

 

The Lord is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness. The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him sincerely. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them.

Psalm 145:17-19 NLT

Then Saul said, “Let’s chase the Philistines all night and destroy every last one of them.” His men replied, “We’ll do whatever you think is best.” But the priest said, “Let’s ask God first.”

1 Samuel 14:36 NLT

The next morning Jesus awoke long before daybreak and went out alone into the wilderness to pray.

Mark 1:35 NLT

Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT

About this promise

The most universally practiced yet least understood of human experiences, prayer is one of the great mysteries of the Christian faith. Its simplest definition is communication with God. Yet so often we approach prayer like a one-way telephone conversation, forgetting that God also wants to speak to us. Prayer appears nearly on every page of the Bible as the very essence of a faith relationship with the living God.

From the TouchPoint Bible (Tyndale House) p 1246

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

How can I make my prayers effective?


I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. As you make your requests, plead for God’s mercy upon them, and give thanks. Pray this way for kings and all others who are in authority, so that we can live in peace and quietness, in godliness and dignity.

1 Timothy 2:1-2 NLT

Praying effectively

Paul urges Timothy to lift up requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving.

A request is a need, a deep desire for something we don’t have — something only God can supply.

A prayer is a word of praise and adoration. A more accurate translation of this word from the original Greek might be to “worship in earnest.”

Intercession is praying on behalf of others. Our prayers should regularly reflect this kind of selfless lifestyle.

Thanksgiving involved remembering those past prayers that have already been answered, acknowledging that we not only trust God’s supremacy and involvement in our life but also how his hand has moved and guided us in the past.

When we pray effectively, we do more than communicate with God — we commune with him. We become one in mind and spirit and purpose. Today, let the focus of your prayer time be to connect with God in a very real and personal way, not as a slave would petition his master, but as a son would enjoy the company of a loving and gracious father.

Adapted from a devotional by Frank M. Martin in Embracing Eternity (Tyndale House) p 36

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

What is the best time to pray?

 

We can be confident that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything in line with his will. And if we know he is listening when we make our requests, we can be sure that he will give us what we ask for.

1 John 5:14-15

I love the Lord because he hears and answers my prayers. Because he bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I have breath!

Psalm 116:1-2

Seize any time

And talking of sleepiness, I entirely agree with you that no one in his senses, if he has any power of ordering his own day, would reserve his chief prayers for bedtime — obviously the worst possible hour for any action which needs concentration. The trouble is that thousands of unfortunate people can hardly find any other. Even for us, who are the lucky ones, it is not always easy. My own plan, when hard-pressed, is to seize any time and place, however unsuitable, in preference to the last waking moment. On a day of travelling — with, perhaps, some ghastly meeting at the end of it — I’d rather pray sitting in a crowded train than put it off till midnight when one reaches a hotel bedroom with aching head and dry throat and one’s mind partly in a stupor and partly in a whirl. On other, and slightly less crowded, days a bench in a park or a back street where one can pace up and down will do.

C. S. Lewis in Letters to Malcolm
Quoted in The Quotable Lewis edited by Wayne Martindale and Jerry Root (Tyndale House) p 493)

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

What should be our attitude in prayer?

 

Then Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy. So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, ‘Yes, Lord, your servant is listening.'” So Samuel went back to bed. And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Yes, your servant is listening.”

1 Samuel 3:8-10 NLT

Speak, Lord, in the stillness, while I wait on Thee; hushed my heart to listen in expectancy.
Speak, O blessed Master, in this quiet hour, let me see Thy face, Lord, feel Thy touch of power.

Emily May Grimes

God revealed

God revealed himself mightily to the prophet Elijah, sending fire to burn the sacrifice on Mount Carmel. But later, as Elijah moped on the mountain, the Lord taught him an important lesson. There was a wind, an earthquake, and a fire — but the Lord was not in any of these. Then came a still, small voice. That was how God chose to speak to His prophet.

The same is true today. We long for fire from heaven to silence the skeptics once and for all, but God doesn’t usually work that way. Long ago He revealed Himself as a helpless baby sleeping in a dirty feed trough, and today He speaks quietly to ordinary people like you and me—if only we are still enough to listen. That is the sentiment expressed by Emily May Grimes in the words of the hymn, “Speak, Lord, in the Stillness.”

From The One Year Book of Hymns (Tyndale House) entry for September 5

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

How can I deal with feelings of hopelessness?

 

“The truth is that you will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

Jeremiah 29:10-11 NLT

A future and a hope

Jeremiah 29:11 is a favorite verse of many, but it comes in a context that may add even greater meaning.

It appears in the middle of the prophet’s announcement. The people of Israel were going to spend a long exile away from their homeland — 70 years — as God’s discipline. After that, God would return them to the land. In other words, God had a plan for their future.

Our sinfulness often leads to dismal situations and feelings of despair. But we must always remember that hopelessness does not come from God. God is the author of hope. Even the Exile, with its seeming hopelessness, was part of God’s long-range plan for his people. And his plans were good.

If you are facing hopelessness, you may be inheriting the results of some other person’s sinful decisions and actions. Or you may be reaping your own bad rewards. You may not have really discovered the hope that is found in God’s love for you through Jesus Christ. Reject despair and seek out God’s plan — and his hopes — for you.

Adapted from the TouchPoint Bible
(Tyndale House) p 660

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

Daily Promises – July 24

Hebrews 4:9-10 KJV
9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

Promise: If you enter into My rest, you will find rest from all your striving.
One thing that marks the orphan world system that we live in is the absense of the ability to rest. Busy, busy, busy. There is so much to do and too little time to do it. Rushing from work to home, rushing from home to work. Rushing to do the groceries, driving the kids to sports, going to church, etc. Throw in the thousands of media messages that we all get bombarded with every day. Busy, busy, busy.

It is exhausting just thinking about it. God is calling each one of us into a deep Sabbath rest in the very core of our being. While on the outside this might appear like pure inactivity and therefore unproductive, I believe the very opposite is true. When we allow ourselves to come into a place in our hearts where we cease from our own works, we are demonstrating in a very practical way that we are relying on God to work on our behalf.

This very real form of trust moves the heart of our heavenly Dad in a way that nothing else can. As long as we try to do all the work ourselves, carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders, we will be trying to do the work in our own strength. When we come to a place where we can slow down in our hearts and quiet the busyness that resides in the depths of our soul, we will find the Prince of Peace waiting for us to join Him.

Sure work needs to get done, groceries need to get bought, kids need to be driven to their various activities. But I believe it is our Papa’s heart that we enter into a deep Sabbath rest in our hearts where we cease from our own striving and join Him in His rest. May God give each one of us wisdom today to show us how we can labor to enter into that place of rest.
Photo by Steve Taylor

What bad consequences does anger have?

by Paul J. Bucknell

Angry People find it very difficult to admit the evil nature of anger.
Perhaps this is because the spirit of anger is so close at hand.

A review of the consequences of anger can help motivate those with a spirit of anger to get rid of their anger.

Anger or angry is used 433 times in the Bible. Much research can be done on these passages. In what passage did Jesus expose the need to eliminate anger from our lives?

• Anger is unacceptable before God.
  

We can never accomplish God’s ways with anger.
    James 1:19-20
   “This you know, my beloved brethren. But let everyone be quick to  hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.”

• Anger leads to more anger.

     If you think ones anger is bad now, it will get worse unless you take a strong course of action.
    Proverbs 10:12
” Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all transgressions.”

• Anger becomes addictive.
 

Angry people don’t simply change.
    Proverbs 19:19
” [A man of] great anger shall bear the penalty, For if you rescue [him,] you will only have to do it again.”

• Anger leads to hostility and lawsuits.

  Anger easily leads to extra expensive and stressful situations that otherwise could have been avoided.
    Matthew 5:25
“Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, in order that your opponent may not deliver you to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.”

• Anger always needs reconciliation.

Anger produces strained relationships which must be solved before we go on in our spiritual lives.
    Matthew 5:23
“If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”

• Anger always needs restoration.

Angry people are constantly hurting people and causing offenses.
    Proverbs 14:17
“A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, And a man of evil devices is hated.”

If you do not enjoy relationships but are tense, mean and critical, there is a good chance that you have an angry spirit.

People don’t like to be around angry people. It simply follows that if a person has an angry and bitter attitude, he will more than likely have problems in his interpersonal relationships. Ask yourself the following questions?

  •  When was the last time you lost your temper?
  •  Did you ever physically hurt someone through your anger?
  •  What are some of the phrases that you use when angry?
  •  Have you ever apologized for your anger?
  •  What relationships are being stressed because of unresolved anger?

The gospel of Jesus Christ is centered around God’s love for us and through us. We cannot tolerate anger in our lives. Anger brings physical, emotional and social damages to our lives and others. All these serious consequences point to our need of the gospel of Christ’s love.

Daily Promises – July 23

Isaiah 58:7-8 KJV
7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy reward.

Promise: If you share with the needy, My glory will guard your back.
God’s heart is always for the poor and those who are in need. It is simply a foundational part of the heart of God. He protects the widows and the orphans. He says that the poor of this world are called to inherit the riches of His everlasting kingdom.

In this promise, God says that if we look after the needs of the poor and our own family, there are many benefits that will come our way. Our light will break forth like the dawn, healing will quickly appear, righteousness will go before us, and the glory of the Lord will be our rear guard. (NIV) I love how the NLT Bible says verse 8… 8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. (NLT)

God’s heart is always for the underdog. He is always thinking of those who are need. When we really connect to the heart of our God and Father, we will share His concern for those around us. The stronger His heart beat becomes in us, the more we will share what we have with others and the more His glory will guard our back. May each one of us become more aware of the immediate needs of those around us today.
Photo by Barry Adams

Daily Promises – July 22

Habakkuk 3:19 KJV
19 The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet,
and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.
To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.

Promise : I will strengthen you with feet like a deer so you can reach great heights.
Have you ever watched a deer or a mountain goat walk on the side of a mountain? It is really quite an amazing sight to see. They are so sure-footed that they can walk on ledges so thin that it would seem impossible in the natural.In this promise, Habakkuk says that since the Lord is his strength, God will make his feet as steady as those of a deer so he can walk in high places. I believe that God wants to take us all to greater heights and walk in the sure-footedness that only comes from walking not in our own power or self-effort, but from the strength from Almighty God.

In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul says that eye has not seen, nor has ear heard what God has prepared for those who love Him, but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit. There is a great adventure calling each and every one of us to come up higher in the Spirit. May we not allow our fear of heights to prevent us to go today where He is calling. He will equip us with the strength we need to go where He is calling us to go. All we have to be is willing vessels.
Photo by Carl Dyck

Daily Promises – July 21

 

Jeremiah 30:17 KJV
17 For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds,
saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying,
This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.

Promise: I will restore your health and heal all your hurts.
In this fallen orphan world that we live in, sickness is part of every day life. We all know someone who is struggling with some form of infirmity, or we ourselves may be struggling. When Jesus taught us to pray the Lord’s Prayer, He said for us to ask our Father to bring His kingdom to this world. Since there is no sickness in heaven, we can receive comfort in knowing that healing is part of the good news of the gospel.

In today’s promise, God promises to restore health to our bodies and to bring healing to all our wounds. How the fulfillment of that promise applies to us personally is as unique as each one of us is different. God’s ways are not our ways and the fulfillment of this promise is tailored uniquely to our own circumstance.

Personally, I have suffered partial deafness as a result of a childhood ear infection. I can’t count the number of times that I have received prayer for healing. While the healing has not yet manifested itself, I still hold on to the promise that God is faithful and healing is part of the New Covenant bought and paid for by Jesus Christ.

Though there are times when I feel disappointment for not yet receiving my healing, I continue to open up my heart for more prayer. Sometimes that feeling of disappointment can open the door to disillusionment about healing. It is times like this that I need healing of the wounds of my soul. In Jeremiah 30:17, God promises to bring health to our bodies and healing to all the wounds we suffer in our heart.  I pray that whatever your circumstance is today, that faith would rise up in your heart and you would believe God for the healing you need for both your body and your soul.
Photo by Barry Adams

Daily Promises – July 20

Psalm 30:11 KJV
11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing:
thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.

Promise: I will turn your mourning into dancing and surround you with joy.

We all struggle with grief at one time or another in life. We lose those we love. We suffer the loss of many things. In a life that ebbs and flows, there are seasons of mourning and seasons of dancing. In Ecclesiastes we read that there is a season for all things. The promise for today acknowledges there is a season for grieving in our lives but it also points to the time when our God and Father will turn that season of mourning into a season of dancing. It is God Himself who will throw off our clothes of sadness and clothes us with joy!In times of grief and heartbreak, God promises to be close to us. So if you are in that season, allow the love of God to fill your soul and carry you in your weakest moment. But be encouraged, that there is a time coming when God Himself will turn your mourning into dancing and will surround you with His own joy.
Photo by Jeff Epp

Signs of a Healthy Prayer Life

Have you ever experienced the discouragement of an unanswered prayer? Have you found yourself questioning God, wondering “Why didn’t he answer my prayer?” and “Why is he silent now when I need him the most?” As you sit there, you may realize that prayer sometimes seems like a one-sided event, even though we know God’s there.

How do you respond to his silence? Do you try to “figure” God out—the purpose behind it all—asking “Was it because I sinned?” “Is a better opportunity coming?”or “Have I lost God’s favor?” Answering these questions will most likely leave you disappointed and confused. After all, our Lord’s ways are mysterious.

Instead of resorting to gimmicks stating to “pray this and receive,” it’s time to deepen your understanding of prayer itself.

The Bible shows us:

  • How to pray.
  • Four kinds of prayer (ACTS).
  • Three destable prayer forms.
  • How Jesus prayed.
  • Phrase-by-phrase analysis of the Lord’s Prayer .
  • Denied prayers throughout the Bible.
  • What to do when God seems silent.
  • What to do when waiting for an answer.
  • Over 100 biblical examples of prayer.

8 Signs of a Healthy Prayer Life

  1. Prays frequently and persistently
  2. Asks in faith
  3. Acknowledges God’s will
  4. Depends on the Holy Spirit
  5. Avoids selfish and hypocritical prayers
  6. Accepts when God says no
  7. Knows what to do when God seems silent
  8. Listens for God to answer

 

From Rose Publishing

Daily Promises – July 19

 

Ephesians 6:11 KJV
11 Put on the whole armour of God,
that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Promise: My armor will help you stand against the plans of the enemy.

In Ephesians 6, Paul the Apostle exhorts the church at Ephesus to put on the full armor of God in order to be able to stand against the tricks of the enemy. It is interesting to note that the armor does not belong to us, but it belongs to God. It is His armor.

He has given us His helmet of salvation to guard our mind and give us peace. He has given us His breastplate of righteousness to protect our heart. He has given us His belt of truth so that we would know the truth and the truth would set us free. He has prepared our feet with shoes of peace so we can proclaim the good news wherever we go. He has given us His shield of faith so that when we lift it up, we quench all of the fiery arrows from the enemy.

And last but not least, He has given us an offensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit, the very Word of God so we can advance the kingdom. Our God and Father has given us everything we need to live a godly life through Jesus Christ our Lord. We stand in His armor, His power, His protection… not our own. So having done all to stand in the power of God’s might, continue to stand today.
Photo by Barry Adams

Note: I was amazed at the new understanding that this author relates. It is much of a relief to know that God has us covered. We just choose to let Him handle everything. It’s our willingness to put on God’s armor that He is interested in.

Daily Promises – July 18

Psalm 5:11 KJV
11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

Promise: I will blanket My protection over all who trust in Me.

In the NLT & NIV Bible versions of this verse, the psalmist asks God to ‘spread His protection over them‘. The Amplified Bible says ‘make a covering over them’. When I think of this promise, I imagine that Papa God spreads a huge canopy, a nice warm comforting blanket over us that provides warmth, protection and shelter all the days of our life.

The knowledge of a loving God that is brooding over us and protecting us will cause us to trust Him even more and fill us to overflowing with unspeakable joy. I chose this particular photo of cloud cover to remind me that just as the clouds can shield us from the heat of the sun’s rays, so God’s love covers us and shields us from the harshness that life can bring our way.  May each one of us snuggle under the blanket of God’s protecting love today and may our hearts be filled with joy knowing that we are safe and secure today and for the rest of our lives.
Photo by Barry Adams

Daily Promises – July 17

Psalm 138:7 KJV
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth
thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.

Promise: I will save you in the midst of your troubles.I took the photo for this promise at the Horshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Canada. I chose this particular photo because it represents an overwhelming sense of being surrounded by an unstoppable, never-ending power. I imagine being in the center of this torrent of water while I am engulfed by the power of the rushing water around me.

In this promise, the psalmist declares that though he walks in the midst of trouble, God’s right hand will reach out and save him from his enemies. God is mighty to save us and will quiet us with His love (Zephaniah 3:17). We can rest in this. No matter what your circumstances are, no matter how insurmountable the odds, God promises to save you in the very midst of your troubles!

My encouragement today is for you to lean into your heavenly Father’s comforting breast, feel His big strong arms wrap around you just like the rushing waters of Niagara Falls and watch Him come to your rescue. That is what fathers do. They protect their children in the midst of their troubles. God really is the best Dad ever and He will reach out with His mighty right hand and save you in the midst of every circumstance.
Photo by Barry Adams

His Perfect Love will banish fear from your heart

1 John 4:18 KJV
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear:
because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

Promise: My perfect love will banish fear from your heart.According to the Strong’s Concordance, the Greek word for ‘perfect’ is complete. Imagine a love that is complete in every way. The love of a father, the love of a mother, the love of a friend, the love of a brother, the love of a spouse, etc. Whatever love we need, the true source is found in the completeness of God’s love.In this passage, the word for love used here is the Greek word ‘agape‘, which often describes the love that comes from God. In 1 John 4:16, God Himself is described as the complete expression of love and then two verses later the Apostle John says that God’s perfect love will violently throw out all fear from our hearts. The root of worry is fear. The root of insecurity is fear. Fear of man, fear of the future, fear of the present, fear of lack, etc.  There are many things in this world that cause us to be afraid but God continually is telling His kids “Do not fear!”I believe He says it 365 times in the Bible, one encouragement for every day of the year! What an amazing promise! Fear cannot co-habit with love. When love comes, fear is banished forever! God is love.  Whoever lives in love, lives in God!

Today, allow the perfect, complete love that flows from the heart of Almighty God to fill your heart to overflowing and fear will have no option but to flee in response.

Verse of the Day – July 15

James 1:21-25

NKJV

21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;

24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

Daily Promises – July 15

Nehemiah 8:10 KJV
10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet,
and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord:
neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.

Promise: Do not be sad for My joy is your strength.

In this passage of Scripture, Israel had assembled to listen to the Word of the Lord. It sounds like it was a very intense time and people were weeping in such a solemn assembly. No doubt they might have been surprised when they heard the Lord’s encouragement for them not to be sad, but to rely on the joy of the Lord to find their true strength.

The word strength here in the Hebrew means a fortified place, a fort, a rock, a strong hold from the Strong’s Concordance. Just think of it…the joy of the Lord is your personal fortress! Whenever you are faced with sadness, run into the strong hold of the Lord’s joy and that is where you will find your strength.

God is filled with joy! Joy is one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The kingdom of God is described as righteousness, peace and joy. Jesus said that He came that our joy might be full. In His presence is fullness of joy! The joy of the Lord is our unshakeable strong hold in the midst of a world that is continually being shaken. No matter what comes your way in life, take refuge in Papa God’s joy over you today. It is a safe place where you can live forever!

Photo by Barry Adams

You are immersed in it

The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad.

Psalm 126:3 NKJV

You have not been sprinkled with forgiveness.

You have not been spattered with grace.

You have not been dusted with kindness.

You have been immersed in it.

You are submerged in mercy.

You are a minnow in the ocean of God’s mercy.

Let it change you!

Max Lucado

Life is too short . . .

Laugh when you can.

Apologize when you should.

And let go of what you can’t change.

Love deeply and forgive quickly.

Take chances and give your everything.

Life is too short to be anything but happy.

You have to take the good with the bad.

Love what you have.

Always remember what you had.

Forgive and forget.

And always remember that life goes on.

Almost

“We don’t live following our sinful selves,

but we live following the Spirit.”

Romans 8:4

ALMOST. How many times do these six letters find their way into despairing epitaphs?

“She almost chose not to leave him.” “He almost became a Christian.”

Jesus . . . demands absolute obedience. He never has room for “almost” in his vocabulary. You are either with him or against him . . . With the Master, “almost” is just as good as “never.”

Max Lucado

Daily Promises – July 14

Psalm 28:9 KJV
9 Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance:
feed them also, and lift them up for ever.

Promise #195: I will shepherd My inheritance and carry them forever.

In this Bible verse, David is crying out for God to save His people, bless His inheritance, feed them and lift them up for ever. In the NIV and NLT versions, he cries out for God to be their shepherd and carry them for ever. We know that David was a man after God’s own heart. As a boy, David learned a thing or two about the heart of a shepherd. In this Scripture passage, David is acknowledging that God is the ultimate Shepherd who has promised to feed His people and carry them in His arms forever! In Isaiah 40:11, there is an amazing picture of God as a loving shepherd…  11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young. (NIV Bible) In Psalm 23, David takes time to describe the many benefits of being shepherded by the living God.  Whatever challenges you are facing in your life today, be comforted in knowing that God has promised to shepherd you, bless you, feed you and carry you forever!
Photo by Barry Adams

Daily Promises – July 13

 

Philippians 4:19 KJV
19 But my God shall supply all your need
according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.


Promise: I will meet your every need through My eternal riches in Jesus Christ.

Our God and Father has promised to meet our every need according to the vast riches in the glorious storehouse of heaven that is in Jesus Christ. In an orphan world system that makes people feel all alone and responsible to claw and scratch for everything they get, this is really good news!

Our God knows what we need before we need it and He delights to provide for us what we need…when we need it. Whether a felt need or a spiritual one, our heavenly Dad is a Father who provides for His kids. In this particular passage, Paul is writing to the Philippians and is thanking them for the gift that they sent to help further the work of the kingdom.

Paul is encouraging them that as they have been obedient to share what they have, God will continue to pour in heaven’s resources when they need it. While we may not have an ample bank account stored up on earth, we can rest in the fact that we have access to the true eternal riches that are stored up in heaven for us through the glorious riches in our elder brother, Jesus Christ.
Photo by Steve Taylor

Was Jesus ever angry?

When Jesus cleared the temple of the moneychangers and animal-sellers, He showed great emotion and anger (Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-18; John 2:13-22). Jesus’ emotion was described as “zeal” for God’s house (John 2:17). His anger was pure and completely justified because at its root was concern for God’s holiness and worship. Because these were at stake, Jesus took quick and decisive action. Another time Jesus showed anger was in the synagogue of Capernaum. When the Pharisees refused to answer Jesus’ questions, “He looked around at them in anger, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts” (Mark 3:5).

Many times, we think of anger as a selfish, destructive emotion that we should eradicate from our lives altogether. However, the fact that Jesus did sometimes become angry indicates that anger itself, as an emotion, is amoral. This is borne out elsewhere in the New Testament. Ephesians 4:26 instructs us “in your anger do not sin” and not to let the sun go down on our anger. The command is not to “avoid anger” (or suppress it or ignore it) but to deal with it properly, in a timely manner. We note the following facts about Jesus’ displays of anger:

1) His anger had the proper motivation. In other words, He was angry for the right reasons. Jesus’ anger did not arise from petty arguments or personal slights against Him. There was no selfishness involved.

2) His anger had the proper focus. He was not angry at God or at the “weaknesses” of others. His anger targeted sinful behavior and true injustice.

3) His anger had the proper supplement. Mark 3:5 says that His anger was attended by grief over the Pharisees’ lack of faith. Jesus’ anger stemmed from love for the Pharisees and concern for their spiritual condition. It had nothing to do with hatred or ill will.

4) His anger had the proper control. Jesus was never out of control, even in His wrath. The temple leaders did not like His cleansing of the temple (Luke 19:47), but He had done nothing sinful. He controlled His emotions; His emotions did not control Him.

5) His anger had the proper duration. He did not allow His anger to turn into bitterness; He did not hold grudges. He dealt with each situation properly, and He handled anger in good time.

6) His anger had the proper result. Jesus’ anger had the inevitable consequence of godly action. Jesus’ anger, as with all His emotions, was held in check by the Word of God; thus, Jesus’ response was always to accomplish God’s will.

When we get angry, too often we have improper control or an improper focus. We fail in one or more of the above points. This is the wrath of man, of which we are told “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). Jesus did not exhibit man’s anger, but the righteous indignation of God.

Article from http://www.gotquestions.org/

How can I overcome feelings of rejection?

We are all prone to disappointment and feelings of rejection, and that is especially true in the aftermath of a broken relationship. However, as born-again believers we have a resource in God’s Word that can bring comfort and clarity to the situation. One person’s rejection does not mean we are unlovable. But we can allow that one rejection to determine how we feel and allow that feeling to color our idea of who we are, or we can choose to put that behind us and move forward on the basis of something that is far more lasting.

What is that? For believers, it is our position in Christ. When we are born again, we are accepted. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves” (Ephesians 1:3-6).

Even though we do not deserve it nor can we earn it (Ephesians 2:8-9), the Lord Jesus Christ has blessed us with every spiritual blessing and has made us accepted in Him. This acceptance is His gift of grace, and it transcends any and all other “feelings” we may have because it is not based on “hope so” but on “know so.” We know that this is true because God’s Word tells us, and as we appropriate this truth by faith, it becomes reality in our hearts and lives.

Walking by our feelings is like walking through the world with our heart on our sleeve. We are bound to be hurt, and we are bound to be disappointed, for we live in a fallen world. What we choose to do with that hurt and disappointment will either allow us to grow stronger in our walk with the Lord or it will mean that we are walking wounded. Both outcomes are our choice. God makes it possible for us to walk through the disappointments in life with a knowledge that His provision for us works. His grace and His comfort are ours as we rest in Him. Every born-again child of God has all of these provisions and blessings in Christ, but we have to choose to utilize them. It is sort of like having a million dollars in the bank and choosing to starve to death because we don’t use that money to buy food. It is also true that we cannot use what we do not know. Therefore, it behooves every believer to “know” the God who knows us and loves us, and that means more than a devotional reading of God Word but study that changes our perspective (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and allows us to face life armed with real understanding about the reality of walking by faith.

As believers we are not defined by our past failures or by disappointment or by the rejection of others. We are defined as children of God, born again to newness of life and endowed with every spiritual blessing and accepted in Christ Jesus. That is the defining factor when it comes to victorious living. God has prepared for each of us unique opportunities to walk through the “all things” of this life. We can either walk in our own strength and what the Apostle Paul calls our “flesh,” or we can walk in the power of the provision God has made for us through the Holy Spirit. It is our choice. God has provided us with armor (Ephesians 6:11-18), but it is up to us to put it on by faith.

Therefore, if you are a child of God, you may suffer disappointment in this life, but you need to remember that as a child of the King, this rejection is a momentary bump in the road. You have a choice to either allow that bump to derail you and walk wounded, or you can choose to claim the heritage of a child of God and move forward in grace. Forgiveness of others and of self is a gift that you can give because it is the gift given to you by the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:32).

Article from http://www.gotquestions.org/overcome-rejection.html

What does the Bible say about anger?

 

Question: “What does the Bible say about anger?”

Answer: Handling anger is an important topic. Christian counselors report that 50 percent of people who come in for counseling have problems dealing with anger. Anger can shatter communication and tear apart relationships, and it ruins both the joy and health of many. Sadly, people tend to justify their anger instead of accepting responsibility for it. Everyone struggles, to varying degrees, with anger. Thankfully, God’s Word contains principles regarding how to handle anger in a godly manner, and how to overcome sinful anger.

Anger is not always sin. There is a type of anger of which the Bible approves, often called “righteous indignation.” God is angry (Psalm 7:11; Mark 3:5), and believers are commanded to be angry (Ephesians 4:26). Two Greek words are used in the New Testament for our English word “anger.” One means “passion, energy” and the other means “agitated, boiling.” Biblically, anger is God-given energy intended to help us solve problems. Examples of biblical anger include Paul’s confronting Peter because of his wrong example in Galatians 2:11-14, David’s being upset over hearing Nathan the prophet sharing an injustice (2 Samuel 12), and Jesus’ anger over how some of the Jews had defiled worship at God’s temple in Jerusalem (John 2:13-18). Notice that none of these examples of anger involved self-defense, but a defense of others or of a principle.

Anger turns to sin when it is selfishly motivated (James 1:20), when God’s goal is distorted (1 Corinthians 10:31), or when anger is allowed to linger (Ephesians 4:26-27). Instead of using the energy generated by anger to attack the problem at hand, it is the person who is attacked. Ephesians 4:15-19 says we are to speak the truth in love and use our words to build others up, not allow rotten or destructive words to pour from our lips. Unfortunately, this poisonous speech is a common characteristic of fallen man (Romans 3:13-14). Anger becomes sin when it is allowed to boil over without restraint, resulting in a scenario in which hurt is multiplied (Proverbs 29:11), leaving devastation in its wake, often with irreparable consequences. Anger also becomes sin when the angry one refuses to be pacified, holds a grudge, or keeps it all inside (Ephesians 4:26-27). This can cause depression and irritability over little things, often things unrelated to the underlying problem.

We can handle anger biblically by recognizing and admitting our selfish anger and/or our wrong handling of anger as sin (Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:9). This confession should be both to God and to those who have been hurt by our anger. We should not minimize the sin by excusing it or blame-shifting.

We can handle anger biblically by seeing God in the trial. This is especially important when people have done something to offend us. James 1:2-4, Romans 8:28-29, and Genesis 50:20 all point to the fact that God is sovereign and in complete control over every circumstance and person that enters our path. Nothing happens to us that He does not cause or allow. And as these verses share, God is a good God (Psalm 145:8, 9, 17) who allows all things in our lives for our good and the good of others. Reflecting on this truth until it moves from our heads to our hearts will alter how we react to those who hurt us.

We can handle anger biblically by making room for God’s wrath. This is especially important in cases of injustice, when “evil” men abuse “innocent” people. Genesis 50:19 and Romans 12:19 both tell us to not play God. God is righteous and just, and we can trust Him who knows all and sees all to act justly (Genesis 18:25).

We can handle anger biblically by not returning evil for good (Genesis 50:21; Romans 12:21). This is key to converting our anger into love. As our actions flow from our hearts, so also our hearts can be altered by our actions (Matthew 5:43-48). That is, we can change our feelings toward another by changing how we choose to act toward that person.

We can handle anger biblically by communicating to solve the problem. There are four basic rules of communication shared in Ephesians 4:15, 25-32:

1) Be honest and speak (Ephesians 4:15, 25). People cannot read our minds. We must speak the truth in love.

2) Stay current (Ephesians 4:26-27). We must not allow what is bothering us to build up until we lose control. Dealing with and sharing what is bothering us before it gets to that point is important.

3) Attack the problem, not the person (Ephesians 4:29, 31). Along this line, we must remember the importance of keeping the volume of our voices low (Proverbs 15:1).

4) Act, not react (Ephesians 4:31-32). Because of our fallen nature, our first impulse is often a sinful one (v. 31). The time spent in “counting to ten” should be used to reflect upon the godly way to respond (v. 32) and to remind ourselves how anger is to be used to solve problems and not create bigger ones.

Finally, we must act to solve our part of the problem (Acts 12:18). We cannot control how others act or respond, but we can make the changes that need to be made on our part. Overcoming a temper is not accomplished overnight. But through prayer, Bible study, and reliance upon God’s Holy Spirit, ungodly anger can be overcome. Just as we may have allowed anger to become entrenched in our lives by habitual practice, we must also practice responding correctly until it becomes a habit itself.

Recommended Resource: The Other Side of Love: Handling Anger in a Godly Way by Gary Chapman.

 

Article from GotQuestions.org Home

Netanyahu: Boycott law reflects democracy in Israel

In a heated Knesset debate, prime minister defends controversial law which bans calls for boycotts on Israel; opposition head Livni: You are leading the country into an abyss.

By Jonathan Lis  Haaretz.com

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended Wednesday the boycott law, which was passed in the Knesset Monday night. The law, which penalizes people or organizations who call for a boycott on Israel or the settlements, provoked sharp criticism from opposition MKs and leftist organizations in Israel.

Netanyahu said the law does not taint Israeli democracy. “What stains (Israel’s) image are those savage and irresponsible attacks on a democracy’s attempt to draw a line between what is acceptable and what is not,” he said.

Don’t get confused,” Netanyahu continued. “I approved the law, and if I hadn’t approved it it wouldn’t have passed. I am against boycotts targeting Israel.” Netanyahu spoke of the settler families who might be affected by boycotts. “We have brothers living eleven minutes away from here, in Ma’ale Adumim. You want to get rid of Ariel and Gush Etzion? Go to the Knesset and form a government that will act that way. But hurting families and children in Ariel? I find that illegitimate .”

Netanyahu also mentioned the political freedom enjoyed by Sheikh Raad Saleh of the Islamic Movement and MK Hanin Zuabi (Balad). “Do you know Sheikh Raad Saleh? He is walking freely and speaks everywhere. And he wasn’t allowed into Britain.” Referring to Zuabi, Netanyahu said “an MK who spoke here took part of a the provocation flotilla that was trying to break a security naval blockade.”

Kadima chairwoman MK Tzipi Livni took the podium after Netanyahu and blamed him for using others’ weaknesses to gain more power. “You are leading Israel into an abyss,” she said.

On Tuesday, Israeli leftist organizations launched a series of protests against the boycott law passed in the Knesset the night before.

The Gush Shalom movement took its campaign to the legal level and filed a petition to the Supreme Court claiming the boycott law is unconstitutional and anti-democratic.

According to the law, a person or an organization calling for the boycott of Israel, including the settlements, can be sued by the boycott’s targets without having to prove that they sustained damage. The court will then decide how much compensation is to be paid. The second part of the law says a person or a company that declare a boycott of Israel or the settlements will not be able to bid in government tenders.

Never Underestimate the Power of Your Actions

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class as I 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), 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”.
    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 me an 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 became best friends.

    When we were seniors we began to think about college.

    Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. 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 a business degree on a football scholarship. I teased him all the time about being a nerd.

    Kyle was valedictorian of our class. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn’t me having to get up there and speak .

    On 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 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.

Women gain weight because . . .

With time, women gain weight because we accumulate so much information & wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room, it distributes out to the rest of our body. So we aren’t heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated & happy.

Beginning today, when I look at myself in the mirror I will think, good grief look how smart I am, I must be a genius.

The Green Thing

In the line at the store, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment.

The woman apologized to him and explained, “We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.”
The clerk responded, “That’s our problem today.  Your generation did not care enough to save our environment.”

He was right — our generation didn’t have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over.  So they really were recycled.

But we didn’t have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.

But she was right. We didn’t have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby’s diapers because we didn’t have the throw-away kind.  We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts — wind and solar power really did dry the clothes.  Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old lady is right; we didn’t have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house — not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana.

In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us.

When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power.  We exercised by working so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she’s right; we didn’t have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water.
We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But we didn’t have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service.
We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances.  And we didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn’t it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the green thing back then?

Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smart young person.

The Rule of the Kingdom

We must not become tired of doing good.

Galatians 6:9

When we are mistreated, our animalistic response is to go on the hunt. Instinctively, we double up our fists. Getting even is only natural. Which incidentally, is precisely the problem. Revenge is natural, not spiritual. Getting even is the rule of the jungle. Giving grace is the rule of the kingdom . . .

To forgive someone is to admit our limitations. We’ve been given only one piece of life’s jigsaw puzzle. Only God has the cover of the box.

Max Lucado

The Mythology of Forgiveness

The Mythology of Forgiveness

Posted: 02 Jan 2009 01:00 AM CST

By Jon Walker

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. Mark 11:25 (NIV)

Jesus doesn’t categorize sins by which ones to forgive instantly and which ones we can hold over the offender’s head until we decide it’s time to forgive.

We live in mythology when we think forgiveness is based on our feelings, or on our authority. Some of the myths we live by are explained by Rick Warren in his book The Purpose Driven Life:

  • “I’ll forgive when he proves he should be forgiven.” Biblical forgiveness doesn’t carry any conditions. It can’t be earned; it isn’t deserved; it can’t be part of a bargain as in, “Do this and I’ll forgive you.” God gives you forgiveness freely because Jesus paid the bloody price of your sin debt on the cross.
  • “If I forgive, she’ll get away with what she did.” Forgiveness doesn’t mean you condone or agree with what has happened. When you forgive, you’re not letting her get away with what she did; she’ll still face the consequences of her behavior. You may choose to remove some, or all, of the consequences, but that is a choice independent of forgiveness.
  • “If I forgive him, he’ll keep hurting me.” Forgiveness doesn’t mean your relationship remains the same. You may need time to trust again, to see if his repentance is genuine, and if he’s faithful toward rebuilding your trust in him. And if his offense is abusive or places you in danger, you can forgive him, but maintain your distance.
  • “If I forgive her, she’ll be free to do it again.” Frankly, she’s free to do it again anyway, whether or not you forgive her. On the other hand, you’re free to forgive her, even if she doesn’t seek forgiveness or show any sign of remorse.

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

Forgive—Again?

Forgive—Again?

By Jon Walker

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Matthew 18:21–22 (NIV)

Just because someone sins again, doesn’t mean you can revoke, in a sense, the forgiveness you’ve already given. Forgiveness is a choice, so you don’t take it back so much as you choose to be offended again.

Peter struggled with this dilemma and thought he was being generous, under Jewish law, when he suggested to Jesus that he should forgive someone up to seven times.

But Jesus emphasized the unlimited generosity of forgiveness by expanding beyond the limits of Peter’s capacity to forgive; not seven times, said Jesus, but seventy-seven times.

God’s forgiveness is ever-expanding; we can’t run beyond its borders; we can’t bankrupt the account. In God’s refrigerator of grace, the container filled with forgiveness never goes stale and always has a current freshness date.

I’d hate to think my conversion to Christianity is dependent upon being perfect after my conversion instead of being dependent upon God’s infinite, indestructible, and immovable grace. If it is dependent upon my perfection, then I fell from the race long ago.

And perhaps you did, too?

There’s always a flip side to our conflicts with other people. When we’re hesitant to give grace, we forget that we, too, need grace.

Jesus says we will be judged by the standard by which we judge. Is it seven? Seventy-seven? Or, unlimited?

Didn’t Jesus say it only had to be seventy-seven? Yes, but he didn’t say you couldn’t go higher, and he wasn’t speaking about his own unlimited capacity to forgive. If each of us only had seventy-seven forgiveness tickets per person per lifetime, then I ran out many, many, many years ago. Thank God that he is faithful to forgive and actively seeking to restore each of us into the family of God.

If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

Daily Promises – July 12

Jeremiah 31:33 KJV
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Forgiveness

I was particularly drawn to this subject because of the problem I’ve had in my life when it comes to forgiveness and anger.

I had a seething anger that dominated my thinking and affected everything for 52 years of my 63 years of life. When I chose to finally address it (by the way it was a problem with my grandmother who had preached hell, fire, and damnation and was totally anal when it came to anything that didn’t fit within her scope of thinking from her spiritual point of view. She had been extremely judgmental and required us to follow her ideas or never hear the end of it. When I was a child, she would come into our home, requiring my mother to leave the room when she wanted to speak to my father. She would rant and rave to us if we had on shorts, or lipstick, and tell us we were going to go to hell, etc., ad nauseum. Being the adamant, outspoken upstart that I was, I would cringe with anger and inwardly want to beat the crap out of her.)

These feelings, as I mentioned pervaded my subconscious thoughts, and I think I acted them out toward other people, rather than my grandmother, for most of my life.

Why? ‘Cause I was taught NOT to be disrespectful to my elders when I was a child, so certainly I couldn’t say a word in my growing-up home life. I moved away from my hometown and lived far away for years until I was 52. Then I moved back to my hometown area at that time. Consequently I was in closer proximity to her (I called her the battle-axe).

Long story, hopefully a little shorter now:

One day I purposely decided to go see my grandmother. My husband and daughter and I went and picked her up from a group home and took her for a picnic. I had determined I was going to address that old lady right then and there and give her a piece of my mind. (Obviously, she had already possessed a piece of my mind for all those years, ’cause I had allowed her to.) LOL

Lo and behold, as I talked to her, it hit me like a ton of bricks as I listened to her side of the story (after having told her how I had hated her all those years).

I allowed myself to try to see her point of view from her.  As I listened, I realized she actually had had a horrible life herself.

Something inside of me snapped into place during that time with her. God worked a miracle inside of me, and I was able to actually love her and forgive her.

You see, anger had eaten me alive. 

Unforgiveness had done the same. In those moments, I realized that “unforgiveness” and turning from anger is actually more detrimental to the one who holds onto those feelings, not the one those feelings are related to. 

I realized we have choices. We can either give those thoughts and feelings over to God and let Him be in charge, or we can go our own way full of anger and unforgiveness and let it gnaw away at us like a cancer.

I hope if you relate to this story, you’ll feel free to share it with me.

Sharon

You Have Value… Just As You Are

With you very own hands you formed me; now breathe your wisdom over me. Psalm 119:73 MSG

Listen closely, Jesus’ love does not depend on what we do for him. Not at all. In the eye of the King, you have value simply because you are. You don’t have to look nice or perform well, Your value is inborn.

You are valuable…not because of what you do or what you have done, but simply because you are. Remember that.

God takes you however he finds you. No need to clean up or climb up. Just look up.

Excerpted from Safe in the Shepherd’s Arms by Max Lucado.

Enjoying Peace in His Presence

I love you regardless of how well you are performing. Sometimes you feel uneasy, wondering if you are doing enough to be worthy of My Love. No matter how exemplary your behavior, the answer to that question will always be no. Your performance and My Love are totally different issues, which you need to sort out. I love you with an everlasting Love that flows out from eternity without limits or conditions. I have clothed you in My robe of righteousness, and this is an eternal transaction: Nothing and no one can reverse it. Therefore, your accomplishment as a Christian has no bearing on My Love for you. Even your ability to assess how well you are doing on a given day is flawed. Your limited human perspective and the condition of your body, with its mercurial variations, distort your evaluation.

Bring your performance anxiety to Me, and receive in its place, My Unfailing Love. Try to stay conscious of My loving Presence with you in all that you do , and I will direct your steps.

Jeremiah 31:3; Isaiah 61:10; Psalm 31:16; Psalm 107:8

Excerpted from the devotional book, Jesus Calling by Sarah Young.

God Thinks You’re Wonderful!

…It may be difficult for you to believe that God knows your name…but He does.Written on His hand. Spoken by His mouth. Whispered by His lips. Your name.

You have captured the heart of God. He cannot bear to live without you.

God’s dream is to make you right with Him. And the path to the cross tells us exactly how far God will go to call us back.

It is not our love for God: it is God’s love for us in sending His Son to be the way. If you want to touch God’s heart, use the name He loves to hear. Call Him “Father”.

He thinks you’re wonderful!

I have written your name on My hand. Isaiah 49:16

Excerpted from the Book, God Thinks You’re Wonderful! by Max Lucado »

The Christian Horse

     There’s this guy who had been lost and walking in the desert for about 2 weeks. One hot day, he sees the home of a missionary. Tired and weak, he crawls up to the house and collapses on the doorstep. The missionary finds him and nurses him back to health. Feeling better, the man asks the missionary for directions to the nearest town. On his way out the backdoor, he sees this horse. He goes back into the house and asks the missionary, “Could I borrow your horse and give it back when I reach the town?”

The missionary says, “Sure but there is a special thing about this horse. You have to say ‘Thank God’ to make it go and ‘Amen’ to make it stop.”

Not paying much attention, the man says, “Sure, ok.”

So he gets on the horse and says, “Thank God” and the horse starts walking. Then he says, “Thank God, thank God,” and the horse starts trotting. Feeling really brave, the man says, “Thank God, thank God, thank God, thank God, thank God” and the horse just takes off. Pretty soon he sees this cliff coming up and he’s doing everything he can to make the horse stop.

“Whoa, stop, hold on!!!!”

Finally he remembers, “Amen!!”

The horse stops 4 inches from the cliff. Then the man leans back in the saddle and says, “Thank God.”

The Swearing Parrot

One day an elderly pastor confides in his parishioners that he’s feeling a bit lonely and depressed. So one of the parishioners suggests to the pastor that he buy a pet. Thinking this a grand idea, the pastor hurries into town and after much deliberation, buys a parrot.

Unfortunately not five minutes after arriving home, the parrot starts hurling a string of expletives at the pastor.

After about an hour it gets to be too much, so the pastor walks up to the parrot, slaps him on the beak, and yells, “QUIT IT!” But this just makes the parrot madder and he starts swearing at the pastor in even more colorful language.

Finally the pastor has had it and says, “All right, that’s it. Grabbing a blanket, the pastor throws it over the parrot’s cage and screams, “Now, SHUT UP!” Well, this really irritates the parrot and he starts clawing and scratching at the bars of his cage. Finally the pastor removes the blanket. Immediately the parrot starts right in on the pastor again.

By this time, the pastor is so infuriated that he grabs the parrot by the throat and throws him into the freezer. Well, the parrot starts swearing and thrashing about so loudly that the pastor is considering killing the bird. Just as he’s thinking this, it gets very…very quiet.

At first the pastor just stares at the refrigerator, but then he starts to think that the parrot might be seriously injured. He becomes so worried that he runs over to the refrigerator and throws open the freezer door.

The parrot climbs out of the freezer, flaps the ice off his wings, and says, “Awfully sorry about the trouble I’ve caused you father. In the future, I’ll do my best to improve my vocabulary.”

The pastor is astounded. He can’t believe the sudden transformation that has come over the parrot. Finally the parrot turns to the pastor and says, “Um….by the way, what did the chicken do?”

 

Forgiven

Forgiven

Grace is the kindness
and favor of God
extended to you. It is nothing
you can earn or deserve.
Grace is God saying to you,
You can do nothing to
to save yourself;
there is no need to even try
because I have done it all.
I have given My Son
to die for you and He has
made the perfect sacrifice
for your sin.
Come and receive
My free gift.

The scripture reference that I would like to share with you follows:


Psalm 103 (NKJV)

A Psalm of David.

 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul;
         And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,
         And forget not all His benefits:
 3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
         Who heals all your diseases,
 4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
         Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
 5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
         So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

 6 The LORD executes righteousness
         And justice for all who are oppressed.
 7 He made known His ways to Moses,
         His acts to the children of Israel.
 8 The LORD is merciful and gracious,
         Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
 9 He will not always strive with us,
         Nor will He keep His anger forever.
 10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
         Nor punished us according to our iniquities.

 11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
         So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
 12 As far as the east is from the west,
         So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
 13 As a father pities his children,
         So the LORD pities those who fear Him.
 14 For He knows our frame;
         He remembers that we are dust.

 15 As for man, his days are like grass;
         As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
 16 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
         And its place remembers it no more.[a]
 17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting
         On those who fear Him,
         And His righteousness to children’s children,
 18 To such as keep His covenant,
         And to those who remember His commandments to do them.

 19 The LORD has established His throne in heaven,
         And His kingdom rules over all.

 20 Bless the LORD, you His angels,
         Who excel in strength, who do His word,
         Heeding the voice of His word.
 21 Bless the LORD, all you His hosts,
         You ministers of His, who do His pleasure.
 22 Bless the LORD, all His works,
         In all places of His dominion.

         Bless the LORD, O my soul!

ABC’s of Inspiration

  • Avoid negative people, places, things and habits.
  • Believe in yourself.
  • Consider things from every angle.
  • Don’t give up and don’t give in.
  • Enjoy life today. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow may never come!
  • Family and friends are hidden treasures. Seek them and enjoy their riches.
  • Give more than you planned.
  • Hang on to your dreams.
  • Ignore those who try to discourage you!
  • Just do it!
  • Keep trying no matter how hard it seems. It will get easier!
  • Love yourself first and foremost.
  • Make dreams happen.
  • Never lie, cheat or steal. Always strike a fair deal.
  • Open your eyes and see things as they really are.
  • Practice makes perfect.
  • Quitters never win and winners never quit!
  • Read and learn about everything important to you.
  • Stop procrastinating!
  • Take control of your own destiny.
  • Understand yourself in order to better understand others.
  • Visualize your dreams.
  • Want your dream more than anything.
  • X-ccelerate your efforts.
  • You are a unique individual. Nothing can replace YOU!
  • Zero in on your goals and GO FOR THEM!

-Author Unknown-

Help Wanted

A sign was hung in an office window. It read:

Help wanted.
Must type 70 words a minute.
Must be computer literate.
Must be bilingual.
An equal opportunity employer.

A dog was ambling down the street and saw the sign. He looked at it for a moment, pulled it down with his mouth, and walked into the manager’s office, making it clear he wished to apply for the job.

The office manager laughed and said, “I can’t hire a dog for this job.”

The dog pointed to the line: “An equal opportunity employer.”

So the manager said, “OK, take this letter and type it.” The dog went off to the word processor and returned a minute later with the finished letter, perfectly formatted.

The manager said, “Alright, here’s a problem. Write a computer program for it and run it.”

Fifteen minutes later, the dog came back with the correct answer.

The manager still wasn’t convinced. “I still can’t hire you for this position. You’ve got to be bilingual.”

The dog looked up at the manager and said, “Meow.”

Israel-Lebanon tensions rise over natural gas rights

Israel Today Magazine

Monday, July 11, 2011 | Ryan Jones

Israel and Lebanon have become embroiled in a legal and diplomatic battle over rights to undersea natural gas fields that could potentially turn violent.

Dispute over natural resources has long been a catalyst for war, and few would be surprised if Lebanon’s dominant Hizballah terrorist militia used this latest quarrel as justification for a fresh attack on the Jewish state.

“Lebanon has warned that it insists on protecting its borders and resources,” a spokesman for Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told Bloomberg.

Berri and the Lebanese government were responding to an Israeli cabinet vote that defined the nation’s maritime borders. Israel was keen to take that step after Lebanon began laying claim to offshore territories that encompass huge natural gas reserves discovered by Israel in recent years.

Last year, Lebanon submitted maps demarcating new maritime borders to the UN. But the lines differ greatly from those decided upon by Israel, and even from those Lebanon itself agreed to years ago.

“The line that Lebanon submitted to the UN is significantly south of the Israeli line,” said Netanyahu. “It contradicts the line Israel has agreed upon with Cyprus, and what is more significant to me is that it contradicts the line that Lebanon itself concluded with Cyprus in 2007.”

Israel will submit its own maps to the UN later this week.

The natural gas reserves discovered in the eastern Mediterranean in recent years are estimated to be the largest in the world, and could drastically alter Israel’s economic and energy situation.

But the new maritime border insisted upon by Lebanon would mean a loss of billion of dollars worth of gas rights to Israel.

Israeli firms working the Tamar and Leviathan undersea gas fields announced last year that in addition to the enormous amount of natural gas, there may also be rich oil reserves in the area.

Hizballah, which effectively controls Lebanon’s government, responded by accusing Israel of “stealing” Lebanon’s natural resources, and threatening war.

Hizballah has attacked and started war with Israel for less in the past.

He gave His blood

“It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” 

Hebrews 10:4 NIV

Sacrifices could offer temporary solutions, but only God could offer the eternal one.

So he did.

Beneath the rubble of a fallen world, he pierced his hands. In the wreckage of a collapsed humanity, he ripped open his side . . . He gave his blood.

It was all he had.

Max Lucado

The price of gas

 

This page is NOT made to imply that gasoline is cheap;
it just illustrates how outrageously priced, all things have become….

Compared with Gasoline……

Think a gallon of gas is expensive

This makes one think, and also puts things in perspective.

Diet Snapple 16 oz $1.29 … $10.32 per gallon

Lipton Ice Tea 16 oz $1.19 ………..$9.52 per gallon

Gatorade 20 oz $1.59 ….. $10.17 per gallon

Ocean Spray 16 oz $1.25 ………. $10.00 per gallon

Brake Fluid 12 oz $3.15 …… $33.60 per gallon

Stomach ReliefVick’s Nyquil 6 oz $8.35.. $178.13 per gallon

Pepto Bismol 4 oz $3.85 . $123.20 per gallon

Whiteout 7 oz $1.39 ……. . $25.42 per gallon

Scope 1.5 oz $0.99 ……$84.48 per gallon

And the REAL KICKER is ….

Evian water 9 oz $1.49..$21.19 per gallon! $21.19 for WATER and the buyers don’t even know the source

Ever wonder why printers are so cheap?

 So they have you hooked for the ink.
Someone calculated the cost of the ink at….
(you won’t believe it….but it is true…..)

$5,200 a gal. (five thousand two hundred dollars)

So, the next time you’re at the pump,be glad your car doesn’t run on water, Scope, or Whiteout, Pepto Bismol, Nyquil or God forbid, Printer Ink!

Gas Versus Printer Ink

Just a little humor to help ease the pain of your next trip to the pump…

The Lord is My Shepherd

A Sunday School teacher decided to have her 2 nd grade class memorize Psalm 23, one of the most quoted passages in the Bible. She gave the children a month to learn the chapter.

One little boy was excited about the task, but he just couldn’t memorize the Psalm. Although he practiced and practiced, he could hardly get past the first line. The day came for the children to recite Psalm 23 before the congregation. The little boy was nervous. When his turn came, he stepped up to the microphone and proudly said, “The Lord is my Shepherd and that’s all I need to know!”

I Don’t Want To Go To Church!

A mother went to wake her son for church one Sunday morning. When she knocked on his door, he said, “I’m not going!”

“Why not?” asked his mother.

“I’ll give you two good reasons,” he said. “One, they don’t like me. Two, I don’t like them.”

His mother replied, “I’ll give you two good reasons why YOU WILL go to church. One, you’re 47 years old. Two, you’re the pastor!”