Quote for the day

Heaven is not here, it's There. If we were given all we wanted
here, our hearts would settle for this world rather than the
next. God is forever luring us up and away from this one, wooing
us to Himself and His still invisible Kingdom, where we will
certainly find what we so keenly long for.

      -- Elisabeth Elliot

Neat Trivia

33 miners were discovered on the 33 week of the year. It took 33 days to drill down to them. They were brought back up to the surface on 10-13-10 which equals 33. They say Jesus, who was crucified at the age of 33 was there with them the entire time. Very cool don't you think?

 

"History does not entrust the care of freedom to the weak or timid" Gen Dwright D Eisenhower IN GOD WE TRUST!! ---    I AM HONORED TO DO THIS!!  ACLU has filed a suit to end prayer from the military completely. They're making great progress. The Navy Chaplains can no longer mention Jesus' name in prayer thanks to the  ACLU and others. I'm not breaking this one.  If I get it a 1000 times, I'll forward it a 1000 times!  Let us pray...  Prayer chain for our Military... Don't break it!  Please send this on after a short prayer. Pray for our soldiers Don't break it!  Prayer:  'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands Protect them as they protect us Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. in Jesus name, Amen.'  Prayer Request: When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our troops around the world.  There is nothing attached. Just send this to people in your address book. Do not let it stop with you. Of all the gifts you could give a Marine, Soldier, Sailor, Airman, & others deployed in harm's way, prayer is the very best one.

Fable of the porcupine

It was the coldest winter ever -  many animals died because of the cold. The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together.  This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions even though they gave off heat to each other. After awhile they decided to distance themselves one from the other and they began to die, alone and frozen. So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth. Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. This way they learned to live with the little wounds that were caused by the close relationship with their companion, but the most important part of it, was the heat that came from the others. This way they were able to survive

Moral of the story:

The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but the best is when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others and can admire the other person's good qualities.

Gods Power at Work

I received the following quote from an unknown author via email today:

If you want to see God's power at work, you must get out of the

church and into the world. Watch the extravagant lengths which

God will go to reveal Himself to people who don't know Him. Then

you will learn how truly awesome our God is.

     -- Author Unknown

It made me sit back and think for a moment.  How do non believers see the world?  Where do they think the trees and the flowers came from?  How about the birds and animals?  We won’t even get into the people that walk the earth, that’s a whole other can of worms for a later discussion.  After some time spent on Google, I have found a variety of thoughts on the subject.  Some were so non biblical it was scary, like this one from a blogger who posted on the answers.yahoo.com site.  He stated the following: 

There is a model called Grimes' triangle which is useful when considering this. It divides all plants into 3 groups. One of those groups is 'competitive'. Trees are in the competitive group. They are successful because they can grow taller than other plants and block out the light. In a stable environment they are the most effective at dominating the natural resources...

        This response was from a Botany student.  The second respondent from the same site was just as scary as the first.  She stated that:

They evolved from cells that were able to photosynthesis. Like animals there is a succession of plant groups, with newer ones being more dominant for periods of time ( eg carboniferous ear when coal was laid down was the age of fern)....we are currently in the age of angiosperms.  The first plants were mosses, liverworts and hornworts which do not have an internal vascular system so rely on water... So trees came about by slowly evolving over time from small plants to some pretty big mobsters of today with a better vascular system, development of wood and other little tricks to keep the plant stable ( when its tall).......

If we are not careful, we will lose an entire generation to the evolutionary teachers that are in our schools.  They are teaching our children that the world and its contents just appeared and we all came from some kind of primordial ooze.  There is no thought or mention to The Creator, or any tolerance of such “nonsense” as my daughter was told by her teacher during her science class in seventh grade.  At the time we lived in the Bay Area of California where God wasn’t allowed to be mentioned in any public venue, especially at a school.  Thankfully my daughter was already strong in her faith and in God the Creator. She also had the courage to stand up to her teacher and politely, yet firmly, tell him how mistaken he was.  Of course, I was then called and asked to come down to the school for a “meeting”.  During this “meeting” I was told of my daughter’s poor judgment and lack of insight as to how the world worked.  I was told that she would need to apologize in front of the teacher as well as the principle for the statements that she made to that teacher while I was there.  I could see where this was leading and could hardly wait to see how my daughter would respond.  Knowing in my heart God was totally orchestrating this “apology”.

The teacher was called into the office for her apology.  He waited all high and mighty for her to tell him he was right, and that she was sorry.  I can’t remember the exact words she used for this apology, but it boiled down to “I’m so sorry that you have been deceived by the world.  That you haven’t found the love of Jesus and are so lost that you are grasping at anything someone else has written or told you for answers.  I will pray for your salvation, and that God will ultimately be the Lord of your life and not the world.”  She then smiled and asked if she could return to her class.  The principal was so surprised by her apology she just nodded and my daughter went back to class.  I just smiled at both the principal and the teacher, and asked if they had any further questions.  Neither could think of anything to say and just shook their heads no.  I left the school that day feeling both at peace and extremely proud of my daughter.  God had won that debate.  He had instilled into my daughter His truth and the courage to stand up for that Truth.  

According to Romans 1:19-21 which says
“Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.  For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

God has been there from the beginning.  In fact, He is the beginning and the end.

Revelations 22:13
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

We need to be diligent in our walk so the world can see the Truth and the Love that God offers us everyday.  The beauty he makes for our pleasure, like the beautiful sunrises from the East and the glorious sunsets in the West.  I pray that next time you are out walking in this world you take time to appreciate the things of God, the things that He has made for our enjoyment.  Everything from the Redwood trees in Northern California to the smallest little bug that may cross your path.  God made them all.  He made everything.  He is the Creator of the Universe.

I Believe

If you have ever had any question as to the existence of God please watch this video.  Enjoy the majesty of God's creations.  He Is the Great I AM.  The creator of the Universe and what a fine job He has done.

http://www.andiesisle.com/creation/magnificent.html

Stay the Course

“You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1)

The definition of strength, what is it really. Real strength has nothing to do with physical strength.

God expects us to be strong as we read in 2 Timothy 2:1. “Be Strong in the Grace that is in Christ Jesus. We each have a “Grace Tank”. This tank is like a bank account of sorts. We make “deposits” into our tank by being humble in Him. The more we rely on Him and depend on Him to help us make godly decisions whether in business or at home the more your grace account fills. Conversely, the more we act self-centered, selfish and do things our way, the more we deplete that account. As most of us know, it is much easier to spend than it is to save. The more we deposit into our Grace Tank the stronger our walk is with God.

There is a principle that as a Christ follower we need to live by. It is referred to as the Paradox Principle. It is defined as follows: You have to die to live (Philippians 1:21) and you have to be last to be first (Matthew 19:30). As a Christ follower, consider the example of our stewardship of the truth of the Gospel. As a soldier of Christ, we need to be sold on the cause. Yes, I said soldier for a reason. Think about it this way, everyday as a Christ follower the enemy is after you. It might be with big things or small things, but he is not happy that we have Jesus as our Lord and Savior and that he can no longer rule over us. We are in a constant battle for our lives. Not our spiritual lives, but our lives just the same. The enemy is the master of deception and lies. The enemy wants nothing more than to get between you and Jesus, to cause you to stumble and pull away from God. We need to be sold on the cause. What cause you might ask? I know I did when I first heard this. The cause is the Gospel. You have been left here on earth to share the Good News of Jesus. That is our number one job as a Christ follower. This does not mean when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior you need to be going door to door or standing on street corners yelling at the top of your lungs. It does however, mean we need to spread the Gospel whether through speech and writing or just by our actions. Our actions say more about us, the real us, what’s in our hearts, than anything else. Our actions will show others whether they want to be a Christ follower or stay unsaved. Unfortunately, there are some who profess to be “Christians”, but if you talk to them or watch them away from church they look no different than anyone of the world.

We are to be in the world, but not of the world. (John 8:23) We have been set apart. We are to act different from the unsaved. We are to show the love of Christ through our actions as well as our speech. If we say all the right things, but still do the wrong things, we are doing more harm to the world than good. To be spiritually weak is very risky, for not only you, but to the world around you.

I pray that you will stay in God’s Word, be in the world but not of the world. I pray you are blessed by reading this as much as I have been blesses by writing it. With all the Love of Christ have a Blessed and abundant day

Who is God

In Genesis, He’s the breathe of life

In Exodus, The Passover Lamb

In Leviticus, He’s our high priest

Numbers, the fire by night

Deuteronomy, He’s Moses’ voice

In Joshua, He is salvation’s choice

Judges, law giver

In Ruth, the kinsmen-redeemer

First and Second Samuel, Our trusted prophet

In Kings and Chronicles, He’s sovereign

Ezra, true and Faithful scribe

Nehemiah, He’s the rebuilder of broken walls and lives

In Esther, He’s Mordecai’s courage

In Job, the timeless Redeemer

In Psalms, He is our morning song

In Proverbs, wisdom’s cry

Ecclesiastes, the time and season

In the Song of Solomon, He is the lover’s dream

In Isaiah, He’s the prince of peace

Jeremiah, the weeping prophet

In Lamentations, the cry for Israel

Ezekiel, He’s the call from sin

In Daniel, the stranger in the fire

In Hosea, He is the forever faithful

In Joel, He’s the spirit’s power

In Amos, the arms that carry us

In Obadiah, He’s the Lord our Savior

In Jonah, He’s the great missionary

In Micah, the promise of peace

In Nahum, He is our strength and our shield

In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He’s pleading for revival

In Haggai, He restores a lost heritage

In Zachariah, our fountain

In Malachi, He is the son of righteousness rising with healing in his wings

In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, He is God, Man, Messiah

In the book of Acts, He is fire from heaven

In Romans, He’s the grace of God

In Corinthians, the power of love

In Galatians, He is the freedom from the curse of sin

Ephesians, our glorious treasure

Philippians, the servant’s heart

In Colossians, He’s the godhead trinity

Thessalonians, our coming King

In Timothy, Titus, Philemon He’s our Mediator and faithful pastor

In Hebrews, the everlasting covenant

In James, the one who heals the sick

In First and Second Peter, He is our shepherd

In John and Jude, He’s the lover coming for His bride

In the Revelation, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords

(Song by Aaron and Jeoffrey - He Is )

Who are you following today

The question was posed: Who are you following today? Are you playing ‘Follow the Leader’ with your life? If you are, are you going down the right path.

When you read Matthew 2:1-12 we are told about the Magi who come to visit King Herod inquiring about the birth of Jesus. They asked the following questions. “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw is star in the east and have come to worship him.” As you might imagine King Herod believe that he himself to be the king of the Jews and was none to please to hear this announcement. King Herod thought of himself to be the leader that needed to be followed and many did follow him. The Magi, which translates to wisdom, or more commonly referred to as “Wisemen”, did not see King Herod as the true king of the Jews. The Magi followed the star to where Jesus was born and upon seeing Him they were overjoyed and bowed down to worship Him.

There are three attitudes towards Christ: Hostility – Indifference – Worship

1) King Herod was hostile towards Jesus. He feared for his position and status amongst the people.

2) The Chief Priests were indifferent towards Jesus. They either didn’t understand the scripture they had learned or they thought of themselves too righteous to worry about anyone or anything

3) The Magi worshiped Jesus. They knew in their hearts before even setting eyes upon the newborn child that He was the Son of God. That He had been prophesied about and they had been looking for Him expectantly knowing God is a God of Truth.

Further into the Book of Matthew we come to chapter 4 where we read of Jesus being tempted by Satan. We also see that for every temptation put forth to Jesus he responds with the Word of God.

The three temptations of Christ Jesus

Satan: If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.

Jesus: It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Satan: If you are the Son of God throw yourself down from this temple for it is written he will command his angels concerning you and they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

Jesus: It is also written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.

Satan: All this, for as far as you can see I will give you if only you will bow down and worship me.

Jesus: Away from me Satan for it is written: Worship the Lord you God and serve him only.

Don’t be indifferent in your walk with Christ. Get into the His Word and walk in His light. We need to make sure we are following the Truth and not the lie that is offered by the enemy Satan. Submit to Jesus. Give Him your all, and your everything. If we don’t change our direction we will end up right where we are headed. Unless you are following the true leader your path is heading the wrong direction. It is the path to destruction and eternal damnation. The path you follow with Jesus will lead you to eternity in Heaven with Him. The only path to Heaven is through Christ Jesus. His is the only way, He is the Truth and the Light.

My Testimony

Before we start on our journey together through God’s Word I think I should share my Testimony and how God as not only changed my life but has unimaginably improved it through his love for me.

My journey began in October of 2001. I had become disabled two years previous through some creative doctoring I had received which left me in a life or death struggle. I know I needed something but was totally unaware of what that something was.

While working at my children’s elementary school I got to know a godly woman who ultimately changed my life forever. I had been searching for answers to my frustrations and pains from the multiple surgeries I had undergone because of, we’ll call it bad medicine. I don’t know who I was mad at or if I even thought I was looking for answers. As they say hindsight is 20-20. One afternoon in October I was on lunchroom duty with my girlfriend Cathy. She was a mother of four boys ages ranging from sixth grade to preschool. What attracted me to her was something I couldn’t put into words at that time. Looking back nine years I know she at “IT”. It you might ask, what’s this “IT” you talk about. When I describe to people what IT is I now know that the IT she had was Jesus. Not knowing that at the time and with my worldly eyes I just knew I wanted to be like her. It was like she knew a secret and I wanted in on that secret. Like when you are in school and the “Popular” kids shared stories and knowledge of things that the not so or not at all popular kids could just guess about. She had the “Popular” kid knowledge and I wanted into that circle for once in my life. I thought to myself maybe she was the key to unlocking the door to that thing, that missing something in my life. the empty hole that I kept trying to fill with worldly substitutes. I was buying into the world’s view of what could fill the hole, big house, fancy car, parties, and even other people. I bought into the enemies lie.

While Cathy and I were watching the kids eat their lunch she mentioned how she was getting ready to start a new Bible Study at her church. I was so desperate to be thought of as one of her friends, to be part of the in crowd, I asked if I could come. At the time I didn’t know what compelled me to be so bold and invite myself into her circle. I know now it was Jesus giving me the nudge that I needed in order to find the missing piece, the piece I was trying to fill with the world’s ideas. I was just as surprised by her response. She was genuinely excited I asked and gave me all the information I needed to be there the next day.

I showed up to class the next morning not knowing a soul except for Cathy. She introduced me to a lady named Diane who appeared to be one of the leaders. After asking her when her baby was due and being told that her “baby” was now seven then I was told she was the pastor’s wife. Strike one in the making new friends column. We then all sat around big tables and sang some praise songs. I had never heard any of the songs and felt very out of place. Strike two. When the discussion started and questions were being posed to the students the ladies, every one of them, sounded so intelligent. They knew the answers, they knew the language and I know I was totally out of my comfort zone and way over my head. I sat quietly through the rest of class and made a beeline for the door. Probably commenting about some important meeting I had to get to which was a total lie. When I got into my car I told myself that was not where I needed to be.

The next day I told Cathy the same thing I had told myself in the car the day before. She tried to convince me that my perception of the ladies and her was all in my head. Unfortunately that was where the enemy had taken up residency. One week later I still don’t understand why but I went back to that same class with those same women. As I walked through the door carrying my “Book of Mormon” with me Cathy began to cry. She told me that she had prayed all week that God would change my mind. I just smiled at her and gave one of those smart-alecky replies you give when you are nervous and scarred. As class proceeded through the morning I could feel something tugging at me. I didn’t know what it was but I know I needed to figure it out if for no other reason so I could get some rest.

We were doing the Beth Moore study “Breaking Free”. Looking back how appropriate a study for God to get me involved in. During and through that study someone had given me a card that had the Pray of Salvation on it. I stuck it into my pocket and went on my way. Two or three weeks later while doing one of my favorite chores (NOT) laundry I came across that card and it all fell into place. Everything I had read, studied and heard all made sense. Right there in my laundry room I gave my life to Jesus. I asked him to be my salvation, my Lord and my friend.

The next day I got to go to class but this time it was different. This time I was excited to learn not just be social. When I got to the church I saw Cathy the second I walked through the door. I couldn’t wait to tell her. I hadn’t told anyone yet. She was the first person that I told. She was so excited for me she cried which made me cry. She quickly got all the ladies attention and made the big announcement that I was part of God’s family and part of His plan. There were a lot of shouts of joy and hugs. When I finally made it to my table there was a gift box waiting for me. When I opened it I was totally speechless. Inside the box was a beautiful leather Bible with my name inscribed on the bottom corner. God’s timing is unbelievable. They had to have ordered the Bible weeks before to get the inscription and to present it to me the morning after I gave my life to Jesus was amazing. Up until that moment only God and I knew yet He made sure I would be able to study His word. Looking back this was the first miracle is witnessed in my own life.

Since that day I have grown stronger in my walk, my love for Jesus has become deeper. My husband and children have all found Jesus, making our family a like minded unit of Christ followers. We have left the comforts of our live on the West Coast and relocated across the country to Tennessee where I have been blessed again by a loving church family and the mentors that have allowed me to follow my passion for writing be blossom.

Please don’t misunderstand me, every day is a new day with new adventures and new obstacles to conquer. I have gone through 20 separate surgeries over the last ten years and have more to follow in my futures due to unforeseen medical malpractice. I had half of those before I knew Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior and the other half with. The surgeries and recoveries are still painful and long but the difference was the inner peace I felt going in as well as coming out. I know I was in God’s hands. He is the great physician and I was His little girl. It sounds strange to hear but if something had gone wrong and I had to die I knew where I was going. Now that is a peace you just can’t get anywhere else.

With God right next to me there is nothing that can get in my way but me, He knows where the bumps are. My prayer is that I would just stay out of my way and let God be in charge.