I appreciate those of you who continue to send me Christian related topics and links.
This video is one that I think really makes us think, where is the line to see Jesus?
I appreciate those of you who continue to send me Christian related topics and links.
This video is one that I think really makes us think, where is the line to see Jesus?
As the Thanksgiving Season ends and Christmas begins, I wanted to share a Psalm of Thanksgiving:
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His faithful love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His faithful love endures forever.
4 Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles.
His faithful love endures forever.
5 Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully.
His faithful love endures forever.
6 Give thanks to him who placed the earth among the waters.
His faithful love endures forever.
7 Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights—
His faithful love endures forever.
8 the sun to rule the day,
His faithful love endures forever.
9 and the moon and stars to rule the night.
His faithful love endures forever.
. . .
23 He remembered us in our weakness.
His faithful love endures forever.
24 He saved us from our enemies.
His faithful love endures forever.
25 He gives food to every living thing.
His faithful love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His faithful love endures forever.
What does it mean to follow God? I came across this video, and I think it speaks more clearly than words. Enjoy…
or try video at this link:
In ancient Israel, it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot. And Dot Com was a comely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she was often called Amazon Dot Com. And she said unto Abraham, her husband, “Why dost thou travel so far from town to town with thy goods when thou canst trade without ever leaving thy tent?” And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said, “How, dear?” And Dot replied, “I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale, and they will reply telling you who hath the best price. And the sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah’s Pony Stable (UPS).”
Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever having to move from his tent.
To prevent neighboring countries from overhearing what the drums were saying, Dot devised a system that only she and the drummers knew. It was known as Must Send Drum Over Sound (MSDOS), and she also developed a language to transmit ideas and pictures – Hebrew To The People (HTTP). And the young men did take to Dot Com’s trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Sybarites, or NERDS.
And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches were going to that enterprising drum dealer, Brother William of Gates, who bought off every drum maker in the land. And indeed did insist on drums to be made that would work only with Brother Gates’ drumheads and drumsticks. And Dot did say, “Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others” And Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or eBay as it came to be known. He said, “We need a name that reflects what we are.” And Dot replied, “Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators.” “YAHOO,” said Abraham. And because it was Dot’s idea, they named it YAHOO Dot Com.
Abraham’s cousin, Joshua, being the young Gregarious Energetic Educated Kid (GEEK) that he was, soon started using Dot’s drums to locate things around the countryside. It soon became known as God’s Own Official Guide to Locating Everything (GOOGLE).
That is how it all began. And that’s the truth. (Ha, Ha…!)
- author unknown
It’s Sunday…and I’M not in church. This feels really weird. I know I should be in church, but instead, I’m travelling to Texas for my regular job. So, I missed Sunday School and church…Biscuit day at church too! ![]()
Anyway, we still have a responsibility to worship and praise God. Despite our location, despite our feelings, it is truly a privilege to be able to worship God.
So, today, as I missed church, I decided to wear my “Security” shirt which has a verse from 2 Samuel 22:33 on it:
It is God who arms me with strength
and keeps my way secure.
By doing this and showing my faith, I have two things working for me. First, I can proudly witness to people without saying a word, but also that everytime I think of it – I am reminded that it is GOD who does everything for us.
Sometimes we forget that God started it all. And in case you’ve forgotten, He will end it too, in a most miraculous way.
So, today as I sit in the airport, I log on to one of my favorite Scriptural reference websites and see the following verse:
“Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”” – John 6:29
I didn’t get it at first. WHAT is this supposed to mean? I’ve challenged the youth to ask this type of question. So, what should one do when they don’t understand? One solution is to go back and read the context of the passage. In this case, this passage follows the feeding of 5,000 and Jesus walking on water in the middle of the night to reach his disciples. Many people went in search of Him, but didn’t understand how he left, because there was only 1 boat, and he didn’t leave with the disciples.
However, the focus of the conversation was not about his miracles and about who He was. Jesus, however, brought attention to God’s work. The people asked:
John 6:28- Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
In this case, Jesus was replying that there is NOTHING that a person can “DO” to earn God’s acceptance, EXCEPT:
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” – John 6:29
Therefore, if you want God to accept you as you are, you MUST believe in Jesus. There is NO other way to get to Heaven, but to believe. That’s all that God requires! If you don’t believe, make a decision today to change your future, and believe in Him!
Here it is for y’all:
The official SOUTHERN TEN COMMANDMENTS:
1. Just one God.
2. Put nothin’ before God.
3. Watch yer mouth!
4. Git yourself to Sunday meetin’.
5. Honor yer Ma & Pa.
6. No killin’.
7. No foolin’ around with another feller’s gal (or ‘nother gal’s feller).
8. Don’t take what ain’t yorn.
9. No tellin’ tales or gossipin’.
10. Don’t be hankerin’ for yer buddy’s stuff.
Now that’s plain an’ simple. And bless your little ole cotton pickin heart…
A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in WalMart. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence.
It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout.. We all stood there, under the awning, just inside the door of the WalMart.
We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day.
Her little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in, ‘Mom let’s run through the rain,’ She said.
‘What?’ Mom asked.
‘Let’s run through the rain!’ She repeated.
‘No, honey. We’ll wait until it slows down a bit,’ Mom replied.
This young child waited a minute and repeated: ‘Mom, let’s run through the rain..’
‘We’ll get soaked if we do,’ Mom said.
‘No, we won’t, Mom. That’s not what you said this morning,’ the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom’s arm.
‘This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?’
‘Don’t you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, ‘ If God can get us through this, He can get us through anything! ‘
The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn’t hear anything but the rain.. We all stood silently. No one left. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say.
Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child’s life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.
‘Honey, you are absolutely right. Let’s run through the rain. If GOD let’s us get wet, well maybe we just need washing,’ Mom said.
Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They got soaked.
They were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.
Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories…So, don’t forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories everyday.
To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. Pray like you mean it, and live like you believe it.
I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN.
sometimes we forget, but here is a reminder:
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1
We often spend time thinking about yesterday: why did I do what I did? Why didn’t I…? We also spend time thinking and worrying about today: What if….? What now? And unfortunately, we even predict what will be tomorrow: What will happen when…?
But all these questions are really irrelavent. What’s past is over. There is no changing it. What will happen today and tomorrow are truly the same issue. There is no need to worry or think about any of it…IF we truly trust in God’s capable hands. As we look forward to our future, we need to remember that God has a plan already laid out. In fact, that plan is much bigger than many of us think about daily. We continually focus on minor aspects of our life, the little things. What time is this event? What is for dinner tonight? Remember, though, these are really little aspects to a much bigger plan!
What is the bigger plan? John saw our future:
1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” – Revelation 21
We know the future. We know it’s true. And we know that there will be no more tears and no more pain.
Don’t fret over the little things. Instead, praise God for the big things!
Sometimes we wonder, ‘What did I do to deserve this?’ or ‘Why did God have to do this to me?’
Here is a wonderful explanation! A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she’s failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.
Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, ‘Absolutely Mom, I love your cake.’
‘Here, have some cooking oil,’ her Mother offers.
‘Yuck’ says her daughter.
‘How about a couple raw eggs?’
‘Gross, Mom!’
‘Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?’
‘Mom, those are all yucky!’
To which the mother replies: ‘Yes , all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! ‘
God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!
God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He’ll listen.
He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart. GOD LOVES YOU!
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16
Return that love to God today.
Thanks and credits go to an unknown author for this devotion.