Picture from: Yahoo Images under prayer



READ: Proverbs 29:18

Sinners have no vision, they have no spiritual sight, and they aren’t as happy as they would be if they would turn to the Lord.
Those who live by the Word of God are happy down in their hearts.
We as Christians know we are going to heaven. Even in sad times we have something to be happy about.

When God is chasing you, you can’t be happy. You turn cold towards God. God wants us to be happy and we should want to be our best for the Lord.

**When Christians don’t live like they should, not as many people are saved because our witness is not a good one.

TRUE CHRISTIANS:
Work with the Lord
Walk with the Lord
Worship the Lord

Christians need guidance from the Lord and are willing to follow his guidance. We will never be perfect, but we should strive to follow God’s lead.

Stay in constant prayer!

Forgiveness

Forgiveness

Ahh.. There is that word yet again. It is something we all struggle with, but yet it is something we all need to do.

Has someone wronged you in a way with their words or actions?

I know it’s a hard pill to swallow and we as humans really want to lash out and strike back at them, but in our walk with God we find that is not what he wants from us. Let’s look at this from a different perspective today. So for the next few moments forget about the wrongs others have done against you. Let’s look into the wrongs you have done.

Have you ever lied, cheated, or cussed? Have you had premarital sex? Have you taken God’s great name in vain? Have you ever had an affair? Have you ever envied someone or longed to have what they have?

I am sure you answered yes to at least one of those above. In this case you have sinned against God. What if God decided to hold a grudge and lash out at you? Of course you would deserve it. But instead our God is a God of love and Forgiveness. He loves us so much that he wanted to save us from our sins. Remember the wages of sin is death. Well God sent his only son Jesus to die and conquer death so that we could be Forgiven.

So I ask you this question. Are you above God? Are you better then Him and able to hold grudges and seek revenge? I hope you answered NO. Let’ start by praying and asking for Forgiveness for your own sins and for your sin of not Forgiving others. Next you will want to ask God to please guide you and help you Forgive those who have wronged you. Then out loud say:
__their name______, I forgive you. And release them to God. Justice is for God to seek not us, so once you forgive them, it doesn’t mean you want to be their best friend, but you are freed from seeking justice and judgment against them and have given that role to the rightful owner, God.

Do you feel better? As time goes by and you continue to release this anger and resentment towards this person, you will feel 100lbs lighter almost like you could float away.

Read the following verses on your journey for Forgiveness
Psalm 51
Matthew 6:9-15
Matthew 18:21-35

Any questions or concerns about today’s message?

LOVE

LOVE
Contemporary English Version


Love is kind and patient; never jealous, boastful, proud, or rude.
Love isn’t selfish or quick tempered.
It doesn’t keep record of wrongs that others do.
Love rejoices in the truth, but not in evil.
Love is always supportive, loyal, helpful, and trusting.
Love never fails.

Now, that you have read the verses above. I would like for you to go back and cross out the word LOVE and replace it with your own name. Does it fit? Does this describe you? It should. We should all strive to be more Christ-like and be full of love. As Christians share the word of God and the love of God, this is a great thing to keep in mind. Even if you’re having an off day, remember these words.

I hope everyone has a splendid day and remembers that This is the Day that the Lord has Made. Rejoice and know that you are loved by God today.

**I welcome any thoughts and/or comments you would like to share.**

It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.

Deuteronomy 13:4
New International Version

THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
So many people want us to follow their lead and obey their voice. But God has proved himself faithful and loving through the ages. In his might he is to be revered. But rather than seeing reverence as a "church thing," we are reminded by Moses it is a "life thing." We are to obey and keep his commandments, and we are to serve him and depend upon him in our daily lives. Rather than silence in the assembly, reverence is action to his glory!

MY PRAYER...
Holy and Righteous Father, help me take my worship outside the church building into my day to day life as I try to live what I sing, practice what I say, and pursue what I pray. In Jesus name. Amen.

Thoughts or comments on this one?

"The BLOG"

Suppose you are sufing the net one day and you come across a blog. Now there are thousands and thousands of blogs out there, but suppose this one stands out because it is aimed toward you or someone you love. This is not a positive blog in any way and is actually designed to take a stab at you or your loved one and make you or them feel badly. The worst part this blog does not speak the truth and is actually based on a lie. What do you do? Well of course you contact that person and ask that it please be removed. The response you get is just what you expected and they refuse. Now what? There are 2 responses to look at:

1. Human nature, which is evil and comes from Satan says to get even go after them, if they can post lies well you can certainly do the same, drag them down low as possible, make them feel the pain they have caused you.

----OR----

2. The Godly side, which is based on what God's word says and to sit back and be patient, the TRUTH will come out. You are not the judge nor are you the jury. This is God's place and should be given to him. Give the "blog" or what ever hurt you to God and let him deal with the justice from his end. Now once you give it to him, you have to leave it with him and allow him to do His magnificant work.

I know I know, this is a very hard thing to do especially with Satan sitting on your shoulder saying your wrong and getting even would feel so much better. At this time it is important to push Satan off your shoulder in Jesus' name and listen to what God wants out of this. Ask yourself and its ok to say it out loud. "who said that?" Are the feelings of revenge and hate from God or from Satan. Remember, that no matter how badly you feel about this person, God loves them and wants to save them and perhaps it is in God's plan to use their lie to aid in turning them around to see the truth, we just don't know. What we can do is pray daily for this individual and let God do things in His own way and on His own time.

Now, this is based on a true event that happened. You see my husband had a blog posted about him that was negative and it really stings because it is all lies. So, I'll be taking my own advice and I'll be giving it over to God as of this moment. I forgive this individual for posting the lies and refusing to remove it and at this time I'll not be giving the posting address as it is not really appropriate, but God knows exactly what it is and what was said and the individual if they read this know who they are too! So to them I say this simple fact. I FORGIVE YOU S.L. I FORGIVE THE LIES YOU CONTINUE TO TELL AND I HAVE GIVEN IT OVER TO GOD. I PRAY GOD WILL BE ABLE TO REACH YOU IN A WAY THAT ONLY HE CAN AND THAT ONE DAY YOU WILL DELETE THE LIES AND CEASE TO TELLING THEM. I PRAY THAT YOU WILL BE RELEASED FROM YOUR BONDAGE AND CHAINS OF LIES AND HALF TRUTHS. I PRAY YOU WILL BE FREED!! In Jesus Amen!!!!

There doesn't that feel better?

Do you have any thoughts or comments on this posting today?

picture from the following link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hackstonr/2327952184/

Holding On To The "B"

Holding On To The "B"
Sally I. Kennedy
Oct 22, 2009

HOLDING ONTO THE "B"

The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. Deut. 31:8

On a family vacation, three year old Tommy wore a new western hat that was nearly half the size of him. He was thrilled the day his dad took him by the horses. He’d never been this close to a horse before.

I watched Tommy struggling to reach through the fence and stroke the horse’s nose. He was holding his “B” In his left hand, the blankie that went everywhere with him. Even on the airplane and out to see the horses. Only thing is he couldn’t quite negotiate getting his hand through the fence hole, without dropping the “B”. And he wasn’t about to drop the “B”.

I couldn’t help but think of how many times there is something good out there, I want to move forward, take the next step. Yet I want to hold on to the security of the past. I just can’t let go of something for fear of how I would be able to manage without it. Kind of reminds me of a story I heard once about a daddy and his young daughter who had a strand of pink plastic pearls.

God asks us to grow in our Christian walk. We don’t have to do it alone, in fact we can’t. 1 Peter 2-3 says, Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. The “meat”, more of God, is a blessing,

Our “B’s” are wonderful for a season, then comes a time we no longer have to hold onto them. May we have the courage and grace to let go and trust our Heavenly Father to take care of us in the next step He has for us. He is already there anyway;

I had a friend that used to put it this way, “you can’t go anywhere that God is not already there.” That is good news.

Forgiveness

Wow. I still have such a hard time with this. Do you? Have you been wronged and then been called to forgive that person? I am sure you have. I just finished reading The Shack. I have read it before and it is just an awesome book. It really makes you wonder and think about God as the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. In the book, it talks about having to forgive in order to grow in Christ. The charatcer is to forgive a man that murdered his daughter. Now if that isn't a hard pill to swallow. Mack has to say it out loud over and over until it becomes easier to do. So in reading that book again, I am going to follow that lead. They say it takes 21 days to perform a habit so over the next 21 days I am going to really pray hard, read my bible and say it out loud. For those of you who have wronged me in the past and you know who you are. I FORGIVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Now its your turn..Won't you participate in this as well? Lets grow in Christ together

Not Alone

NEVER ALONE

There is a legend about the "rite of passage" for Cherokee Indians. The father would blindfold his young son, take him into the forest, and leave him there - alone. He is required to sit on a stump the entire night and never take off the blindfold until the first rays of the morning sun shine through the blindfold.

He is alone. He is totally by himself. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he has become "a Man". He cannot tell the other boys of this experience. Each young brave must come into his own manhood.

One particular young brave was entering this rite of passage. He was terrified. He could hear all kinds of noise. Wild beasts were all around him. Maybe some human would hurt him. The wind blew the grass and earth and it shook his stump. But he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could be a man.

Finally, after a terrifying night, the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he saw his father - sitting on the stump next to him - at watch. He had been there the entire night.

We are never alone. Even when we do not know it, our Father is protecting us. Watching us. Watching over us. He is sitting on the stump beside us.

All we have to do is reach out to Him.



"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

"I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:20

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you" Deut. 31:6