Category: October2017

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“The Present”

Are you thinking about “today”?

Living in the present can be a real struggle; the past is always calling us back – back to better times or trying to hold us in bondage to our failures. And then there’s the future and its promises and hopes but it too is filled with what if’s. What if I get a better job, what if we get a bigger house, what if the kids go to this college, what if, what if, what if…

Living in the present. I know you’ve heard it said before but it bears repeating. The”present” is a gift from God so we need to unwrap it and cherish it.

“My friends, watch out! Don’t let evil thoughts or doubts make any of you turn from the living God. 13 You must encourage one another each day. And you must keep on while there is still a time that can be called “today.” If you don’t, then sin may fool some of you and make you stubborn. 14 We were sure about Christ when we first became his people. So let’s hold tightly to our faith until the end. 15 The Scriptures say,

“If you hear his voice today, don’t be stubborn like those who rebelled.” Hebrews 3:12-15 CEV

We have so many opportunities in Today. We can help those around us; we can give a smile, a kind word, a hug, a prayer. If we are caught up in the past or in looking too far down the road we will miss the same things that are waiting for us today. Jesus promises to never leave us. Since He’s with us today, it’s going to be a great day.

“Jesus Christ never changes! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:7 CEV

Enjoy today – God’s grace and strength are yours!!

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Thankful for Shepherds

I don’t know how many cowboy movies I have viewed in my lifetime but there have been many, some of them I have watched over and over. And in nearly every one, if they refer to a Bible verse they generally use Psalm 23, the Lord is my Shepherd. Time and again the Scripture refers to the Lord as our Shepherd. Jesus even gave example that he was the good shepherd who gives his life for his sheep.

This morning’s verse on giving thanks refers to that relationship as well.

“Then we, your people, will always thank you.
We are like sheep with you as our shepherd,
and all generations will hear us praise you..” Psalm 79:13 CEV

A good shepherd provides food, rest, protection. He is constantly with his sheep and protects them from intruders and cares for them if they do get hurt. Our shepherd does the same – His death provides for our salvation or as one Bible translation calls it – soundness.

Those of you reading this that have a horse background know better than others what it means to be sound. That’s what Jesus has done for us – He has made us sound, whole, strong.

So do what this verse says – show your praise to all generations. Talk of the Lord’s goodness to those of your own generation and to those older and younger. Our younger generations need to know the reality of God’s goodness.

Sing it loud and long today. Let the children know the goodness of the Shepherd.

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Three Little Words

As many of you know, we just had our 2 year old grandson stay with us last week. Just the three of us. It was great! We had so much fun just enjoying life with him. He’s talking quite well but there were a few things that we couldn’t understand. However, that didn’t stop us in our adventures.

Periodically, throughout the day, Dave or I would pick Sam up and give him hugs, kisses and tickle time, better known as “baby getter” time. He would love and squeal and we would always say I love you, Sam and then put him down and off he’d go.

He has learned to say I love you and when we asked, “can you tell Pappy I love you” or “can you tell Besta I love you”, he would and it would make us smile. But more than that were the times when we would tell him I love you and without coaxing he would say I love you. Melted our hearts right down into our socks!

And I can specifically remember a special time when I heard each of our children say “Mamma, I love you”.

Oh, they’ve said many, many times but I remember particularly endearing times as if they happened just yesterday and it makes me smile and brings a tear to my eyes. It still brings me to tears my eyes when they call just to say they love me because I miss them when I don’t get to see them that often.

You know, I’m sure God feels the same. He misses us when we’re not there to talk with Him – His love for us is so great!

“The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Jeremiah 31:3 KJV

It is God’s love, that everlasting love, that draws us to Him. People weren’t drawn to Jesus because He was tyrannical or dictatorial. It was His love – it was the compassion He showed to people in everyday ways. It was His expressions of kindness and giving that made people want to be around Him. He was acting like his Father.

The Apostle John wrote that because God loved the world He sent His Son so that anyone who believed on Him wouldn’t perish but receive life eternal. The Father loved us and gave and Jesus loved us and died.

“God our Father loves us. He is kind and has given us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope. We pray that our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father 17 will encourage you and help you always to do and say the right thing.” II Thessalonians 2:16-17 CEV

I know God still remembers the first time I told Him “I love you” and since His memory is so much greater than mine, He remembers every time after too. I also know that if my heart swells with emotion when I hear my kids say I love you, His heart response is greater than mine.

Be thankful today for His love. Take time to tell Him today how much you love Him. It’ll make His day.

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Thankful for Invitations

Not long ago we returned from a vacation to Texas. Dave and I went last year and made plans to return again this year. We had been invited by my brother and his wife to come for a visit. So we loaded up the truck and headed to Texas.

We made a few stops along the way but our main objective was to get to their home. Several times before our trip my brother and I would talk and he would ask me what we wanted to do while we were there. My answer was the same – we just want to spend time with you and Monte. It was so enjoyable to sit on their patio and talk. We didn’t need anything any more special than that.

Spending time with people you love! What could be better?

As people we really have nothing more valuable to give than our time. It’s the only commodity we possess that we can’t gain more of. When we invite folks to our home we are honored that they give us their time. It’s a true sign of love! And when we are invited to spend time with our family and friends, we recognize it to be the same.

So, do you think the Lord is any less honored when we spend time with Him? He asks us to come – come for a visit. He has a universe to run but when we come He drops everything to spend time with us.

“If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. 29 Take the yoke[ I give you. Put it on your shoulders and learn from me. I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest. 30 This yoke is easy to bear, and this burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 CEV

The Lord issues the invitation freely and He isn’t going to withdraw it because of other commitments or obligations.

“Everything and everyone that the Father has given me will come to me, and I won’t turn any of them away.

38 I didn’t come from heaven to do what I want! I came to do what the Father wants me to do. He sent me, 39 and he wants to make certain that none of the ones he has given me will be lost.” John 6:37-39 CEV

The invitation isn’t for a select few but the invitation from the Lord is for everyone – everyone!

“All you people who are thirsty, come! Here is water for you to drink.
Don’t worry if you have no money. Come, eat and drink until you are full!
You don’t need money. The milk and wine are free.
2 Why waste your money on something that is not real food? Why should you work for something that does not really satisfy you? Listen closely to me and you will eat what is good.
You will enjoy the food that satisfies your soul.
3 Listen closely to what I say. Listen to me so that you will live. I will make an agreement with you that will last forever. It will be an agreement you can trust, like the one I made with David—
a promise to love him and be loyal to him forever.” Isaiah 55:1-3 ERV

The invitation the Lord sends out to us is for everyone and it’s a promise that His love will last forever! Here the Lord is saying, Come to Me, return to Me and I will forgive all. My ways are differ than your ways. I don’t hold grudges. My love is unconditional. My word has power; it is precise. It is like a seed planted My word brings forth fruit.

Yes, I’m truly grateful for heaven sent invitations!

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Grateful for Grace

Heard an old Ray Stevens song on the radio, God’s Gonna Git Ya for That.

Lots of folks have the impression that God is waiting in heaven to throw down thunder bolts when we screw up – so glad that’s not true or we’d all be toast!

Jesus own words say it best “For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” Luke 9:56

So much of religion has preached a message of judgment and condemnation. But true relationship with the Lord focused on His unconditional love and goodness. God sent us His most precious gift, His Son. The reason Jesus came was so to keep us from death and judgment, not give us over to condemnation.

“If you belong to Christ Jesus, you won’t be punished. 2 The Holy Spirit will give you life that comes from Christ Jesus and will set you free from sin and death. 3 The Law of Moses cannot do this, because our selfish desires make the Law weak. But God set you free when he sent his own Son to be like us sinners and to be a sacrifice for our sin. God used Christ’s body to condemn sin.” Romans 8:1-3 CEV

Justice requires that a price be paid for our sin but GRACE paid the price for us.

“I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. 9 You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about. 10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.” Ephesians 2:8-10 ERV

Imagine for a moment that God’s love is a two-sided coin. On one side is mercy; mercy is not getting the punishment we deserve. Like a man who throws himself on the mercy of the court – begging the judge for a lighter sentence. Now on the other side of the coin is grace; grace is receiving something wonderful that we don’t deserve. Go back to our man begging for mercy, if he received a full pardon because someone else paid his penalty that would be grace.

That’s exactly what Jesus did for us. Yes, Grace – Amazing Grace!

So now it’s time to express our thankfulness for the grace that God has given us in Jesus.

These are Jesus words: “A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came to give life—life that is full and good.” John 10:10 ERV

Thank God for His grace and mercy. Take time to thank Him for the good in your life today and for His protection from the evil one!

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Grateful for Age

This week I have had the opportunity to be with one of the youngest members of our family, Sam, and the oldest, my mother. What a joy to spend time with them both. Sam was depend upon us for most everything he needed; meals, help getting dressed, supervising his activities, bath time, bed time – you get the picture.

Mom, too, is at a point in her life where she is more dependent. She doesn’t drive anymore and she walks slower and needs help getting around but her mind is still sharp and her memories bring her great joy.

I had fun telling Sam stories about Jesus, singing little choruses and praying with him. Praying for him to grow into a man that loves the Lord, honors his parents and impacts his world. And then I also had the opportunity to listen as Mom told me of her love for the Lord, her prayers for her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Her desire is to live her days as an example of God’s love and goodness. She said she can’t be burdened down with worry but instead has to trust the Lord to reach her family with His love so that each one is with her one day in heaven.

Both the youngest and the oldest have a quiet trust in the Lord, for that I am truly grateful!

“Praise him, young men and women, old people and children.
13 Praise the Lord’s name! Honor his name forever!
His name is greater than any other.
He is more glorious than heaven and earth.” Psalm 148:12-13 ERV

All through the Bible we find the older teaching the younger. There is a constant instruction to remind the younger ones of the milestones in life. Moses taught the people that they should be talking of the things of the Lord when they came in and when they went out; when they got up in the morning and when they went to bed at night.

“Always remember these commands that I give you today. 7 Be sure to teach them to your children. Talk about these commands when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road. Talk about them when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them on your hands and wear them on your foreheads to help you remember my teachings.” Deuteronomy 6:6-9 ERV

I’m thankful that my parents and grandparents taught me to love the Lord and I’m grateful for the opportunity and the responsibility to teach my children and grandchildren of God’s goodness!

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Attitude of Gratitude

About 5 years ago I focused on giving thanks for the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. It’s very important that we have a right heart in the things we do each day. So for the next 6 to 7 weeks I will be centering in on our ability to give thanks.

I encourage you to start now. Make a list of people and opportunities you are thankful for. Not just a mental list but a down-on-paper list! Then stop by the store and pick up a box of thank you notes and send them off to those names you have on your list. Tell them how they have affected your life and how grateful you are for them.

Yes, you might do this from time to time on FB, through a text or email but it will mean a whole lot more when they realize you took the time to get the card, write the note and put it in the mail. Time = love!

It might be old fashioned but gratitude never goes out of style.

We can never be too thankful. A lot of folks these days have forgotten how to say “thank you” or to properly appreciate the things that are done for them.

We tend to take so many things for granted or worse yet feel that “well I deserve it”. Nothing could be farther from the truth – if we all got what we deserved we would go straight to hell – do not pass go, do not collect $200. We might be better than someone else but when compared to God’s standard we have all failed and are deserving of death but He gives us grace freely.

So today take on an attitude of gratitude and look for a way to tell someone thank you – maybe it’s your kids just because they hold your heart, or your husband, thank him for going to work everyday and then coming home, or your wife – have you thanked her for all the things she does each day that no one seems to notice(but have the smelling salts ready, she may faint).

I use a phrase constantly in expressing gratitude and the thing is, I really mean it. I will say, “Thank you, I really appreciate that” and sometimes I hear, “sure you do” but you know I do! I want people to know they are truly appreciated.

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. ”
1 Thessalonians 5:18

You don’t have to be thankful “for” everything but “in” everything. Thanksgiving is the will of God for our lives!

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Always the Same

I took Glory out this morning and there it was, that big full moon. Yesterday morning I saw it from Rio Rico, this morning I see it in Yuma. Wherever you are I’m know you are seeing it too unless there are too many clouds or your view is obstructed for some reason.

That full moon will rotate in cycle and although it will be gone for a few days, there is no worry but that it will be back again. Same with the sunrise, very shortly the sun will start to crest the horizon and the process of daylight will start again.

Astronomers count on things being the same. We have a calendar built on the sameness of the stars, planets, sun and moon.

Shouldn’t we trust the sameness of our God?

Life brings us changes. It may be leaving an old job and taking a new one; children becoming more independent; neighbors and friends moving on or maybe you are moving; school changes; weddings; funerals. So much can change and our lives always seem to be in a state of flux. However…

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” Hebrews 13:8

Amen!! Have you seen what Jesus did when he walked the earth – He is the same now and He will be the same in our future. Our responsibility is to put our faith in His faithfulness.

The Lord tells us we can put our trust in Him. He is the one who brings good to our lives.

“Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same. 18 God decided to give us life through the true message he sent to us. He wanted us to be the most important of all that he created.” James 1:17-18 ERV

Look at what Jesus said about His purpose on earth.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18-19

Let His faithfulness meet you where you are & make things right.

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Can You Hear the Music

A few days back I reminded you of how the Lord protected the three young men in the firery furnance. God took them through and brought them out victorious. The same was true for another young man named Daniel. He was friends with those three.

Jealousy caused the palace rulers to look for a way to trap the King into relieving Daniel of his position and his life. They got the King to pass a law that anyone who prayed to the Lord and not to the King should be thrown into the lions den.

Sure death!

Daniel remained loyal to the Lord and he was taken to the lions den and thrown in. The King regretted his decision because he trusted Daniel and knew him to be a man of integrity but the law was the law. The next morning the King came to check on Daniel.

He was alive.

Then the King had the men who had deceived him into making such a law thrown into the same lions den and they were destroyed. Lest you think I’m completely off point for my title, look at this verse.

“The Lord your God wins victory after victory and is always with you.
He celebrates and sings because of you, and he will refresh your life with his love.”

18 The Lord has promised: Your sorrow has ended, and you can celebrate.Zephaniah 3:17-18 ERV

Life’s battle will seem overwhelming and exhaust us if we try to fight them on our own. How much better it is when we trust God – He fights with us and for us. He takes joy in us and showers us with His love. The Lord sings and celebrates when we win.

Now, do you hear the music?

Remember a young boy by the name of David who faced a giant of a problem. If God protected David in his fight, we can trust Him to do the same for us.

“Today the Lord will let me defeat you. I will kill you. I will cut off your head and feed your body to the birds and wild animals. And we will do the same thing to all the other Philistines too. Then all the world will know there is a God in Israel. 47 All the people gathered here will know that the Lord doesn’t need swords or spears to save people. The battle belongs to the Lord, and he will help us defeat all of you.”

48 Goliath the Philistine started to attack David. He slowly walked closer and closer toward David, but David ran out to meet Goliath.” I Samuel 17:46-48

Give your battle, whatever it is, to the Lord. Let Him defeat the enemy and get invited to the celebration when it over!

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Comfort in Troubling Times

Do you ever have thoughts come to you out of the clear blue? You know, you’re thinking about one thing and then something else just invades you thinking process. That’s the way it was for me this morning.

I wasn’t even really awake when a song I had heard on the radio on Sunday arrived in my heart and head bringing me to a place of conscious thought. Here are just a few of the lyrics that were written by Hillsong.

“What a wonderful Name it is
Nothing compares to this
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus”

And as I kept repeating that refrain my mind went to what Solomon wrote in Proverbs 18:9

“The Lord is a mighty tower where his people can run for safety—”

And then I began to pray for those who lost loved ones yesterday in Las Vegas and those who were injured and those who were called to care for the injured and the dying. How do we cope with such senseless acts of violence and destruction?

I run to the Lord and find comfort in His loving arms.

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
4 I trust God, so I am not afraid of what people can do to me!
I praise God for his promise to me.” Psalm 56:3-4 ERV

God wants to use us to bring comfort and consolation to those around us. It’s important that we aren’t overwhelmed but that we stay anchored in His love.

“Don’t let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with good.” Romans 12:21 CEV

So even as I am writing this the chorus above keeps going through my mind. What a wonderful name it is, The name of Jesus! I will continue to trust in Him, to lean on Him for strength and will praise Him because He is greater than all my fears.

“Stand and shout praises to your Lord, the eternal God!
Praise his wonderful name, though he is greater than words can express.” Nehemiah 9:5 CEV

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