Fables, Quotes, & Scriptures I Love About Strength

I was thinking about strength today, how sometimes it wears you down, and pondered, if one could exist in this place called life without it?  I came to one conclusion that if one has a heart which bleeds and pumps faith, then one cannot be weak.
I don’t think I answered my question, the mind is still wandering, but that’ll do for now.
Incoming fables, quotes & scriptures!

The Thrift of Strength

A weak man going down-hill met a strong man going up, and said:   “I take this direction because it requires less exertion, not from choice.  I pray you, sir, assist me to regain the summit.”

“Gladly,” said the Strong Man, his face illuminated with the glory of his thought.  “I have always considered my strength a sacred gift in trust for my fellow-men.  I will take you along with me. Just get behind me and push.”

The Belly and the Members 

ONE fine day it occurred   to the Members of the Body that they were doing all the work and the Belly was   having all the food. So they held a meeting, and after a long discussion, decided   to go on strike until the Belly consented to take its proper share of the work.   So for a day or two, the Hands refused to take the food, the Mouth refused to   receive it, and the Teeth had no work to do.

But after a day or two the   Members began to find that they themselves were not in a very active condition:   the Hands could hardly move, and the Mouth was all parched and dry, while the   Legs were unable to support the rest. So thus they found that even the Belly   in its dull quiet way was doing necessary work for the Body, and that all must   work together or the Body will go to pieces.

The moral of the story:   Unity is Strength.

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“Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing. Use the pain as fuel, as a reminder of your strength.”

August Wilson

• “It takes more   courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to   people than to dominate them, more ‘manhood’ to abide by thought-out   principles rather than blind reflex. Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature mind.”  –  Alex Karras
•  “There are  two ways of exerting one’s strength: one is pushing down, the other is pulling up.”  Booker T.Washington
• ” Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” –  Mahatma Gandhi
• “If God sends  us on strong paths, we are provided strong shoes.” –  Corrie TenBoom

•  “Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” –  Arnold Schwarzenegger
•  “For an impenetrable shield, stand inside yourself.” –  Henry D. Thoreau
•  “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” – Mahatma Gandhi
• “He who gains a victory over other men is strong; but he who gains a victory over himself is all powerful.”-
  Lao Tzu

• “My strength is as the strength of ten, because my heart is pure.”  Alfred Lord Tennyson
•  “A person is strong only when he stands upon his own truth, when he speaks and acts from his deepest convictions. Then, whatever the situation he may be in, he always knows what he must say and do. He may fall, but he cannot bring shame upon himself or his causes.”  Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin
• “The deeper we look, the more we shall be convinced that the one thing wanting, which we must strive to acquire before all others, is strength physical, strength mental, strength moral, but above all strength spiritual which is the one inexhaustible and imperishable source of all the others. If we have strength everything else will be added to us easily and naturally.”  Sri Aurobindo

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The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God.
– Exodus 15:2
God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.
– 2 Samuel 22:33
Glory and honor are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.
Give unto the LORD, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength.
– 1 Chronicles 16:27-28
The joy of the LORD is your strength.
– Nehemiah 8:10
The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust.
– Psalm 18:2
The LORD is my strength and my shield.
– Psalm 28:7
Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.
– Psalm 71:21
Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee.
– Psalm 84:5
I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.
– Philippians 4:13
..fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
– Isaiah 41:10

Psalm 23:4

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

A Simple Prayer

Heavenly Father, Give Us All Strength In the Name of Jesus

Amen

I LOVE YOU

LOVE COVERS A MULTITUDE OF SINS

Related articles

• Strength Comes From God Bible Verses (placeofthelord.wordpress.com)

A Place Called Life- A Place Called Death- My Thoughts

These past two months back to back, week to week, I’ve experienced once again on a personal level death among several close family members and friends. Allow me to refresh our memories with definitions.

 Life-(n)- (1)the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally. (2) a corresponding state, existence, or principle of existence conceived of as belonging to the soul: eternal life.
 Death-(n)-(1)the act of dying; the end of life; the total and permanent cessation of all the vital functions of an organism. (2) extinction; destruction

While practically living at the hospital and nursing home these past months, I was reminded of several things. There are lots of women, young and older bringing children into the world without the male parent present. Life is funny, they obviously where there during the seeding.  😦   There are lots of elderly or disabled people lying in hospital beds, nursing homes and even their homes, without family members being present or any family at all. While the birth of my two grand gifts (grandkids)in January and April brought joy, it also brought sadness because I know of the heartache and pain they will eventually experience right along with others who have been given a place in life.

I think I cried for most of April because I just felt the sadness, disappointment, and pain of others. I cry when people do wrong even after I’ve spoken my peace.(not piece)  I cry when I am overblown with anger of wrongdoing to others. This is why sometimes I try hard to stay away from people because I get tuned into their spirit. It’s draining and it’s weird sometimes, because I can’t prevent them from experiencing heartaches and death and can’t make them heed advice. I can only give of self and time and pray for a healing for all, and even that at times becomes draining. Thank you Jesus! Thank you Holy Spirit!

When my aunt’s days in this place of life were dwindling down and she was hospitalized, family members started telling me a whole lot of things I was not prepared to hear and expected me to put people in their place. I made sure they knew it was not my job and that I was not God, and reminded them that God knows it all and He will take care of the issues. It was very saddening to hear a lot of those things. All I can say is this…if you have parent(s) that have been a true parent to you, don’t ever neglect them or show disrespect towards them while they have been given a place in life.

It was saddening to me to find out that there are elderly and disabled people that receive care and visits only from staffed members. I was in awe, to learn that even family members did not spend quality time visiting with their relatives in the hospital and nursing homes. Where oh where have we gone wrong in this world, in this place of Life, with compassion, respect, and love for others? Let me be honest, it actually made me more angry than sad.

How do I know this you may ask? I’m nosey when I see a need not being met or an absence of love being felt. Most of the times, I just feel the presence. Whenever I would walk down the halls of the hospital or nursing home, I’d see patients just lying there in their beds looking lifeless or their mind seems to be elsewhere and they were lying there or eating alone. I started praying as I walked the halls and peeping in rooms for the Holy Spirit to be with and help these people. I don’t know what wrong they may have done to others during their life and I don’t and didn’t care. What mattered each time I saw this, was that the individuals needed prayer and to be shown someone cared and to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives me great insight into the pain and need of others and boy did it hurt. The biggest thing I felt inside is that though these people are breathing, they are actually dead in a sense in the place of  life and most  are awaiting death without any hope or faith. It’s so sad. Some were under the delusion that somebody in their family was “coming to get me” and “coming to see me”.  😦  😦
These things reminded me of something I read in the Book of Isaiah 43: 7-13 and Ephesians 2: 7-13 about why we are given or have life. This is just my thought, you may think otherwise.

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Isaiah
 Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him. Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth. Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour. I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?

Ephesians
That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

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And now, with that being my scriptural documentation and belief, let me almost finish this up. We, even us who call ourselves Christians, have bouts of forgetfulness of what God requires of us. We either don’t have time or make time, we don’t know or don’t want to know about the lack of love and care given to others, we don’t want to take on the burdens of others when it is clear they have family available, we have lost the true meaning of compassion and what it means to truly and wholeheartedly give to others via the Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus and might I add, in the eyes of God in this place we call Life.

Since the Holy Spirit lives within us as Christians as our Helper and Comforter, whom the Father sent to us in Jesus’ place for a set time in this place called life,  should we not share and give of that help and comfort to others?

The church of today which is the Body of Christ that includes you and I as a Christian, place way too much focus on financial stewardship via financial giving so much so, that members are forgetting that giving of time and self to others is hiding and buried under the last row of pews in the church crying to be heard and done. We forget that giving of self, time, and helping others is also a form of stewardship. Wake Up! What did the verse above in Ephesians say?
WE ARE HIS WORKMANSHIP, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS UNTO GOOD WORKS, WHICH GOD HATH BEFORE ORDAINED THAT WE SHOULD WALK IN THEM.

I ask self and I ask you…Are we as Christians really walking in the way that God ordained that we should walk in this place called life? Jesus was given life by God to live on this earth for a set time. Per our bible studies, what is the one thing that stands out about Jesus’ life to you and God? We are also given a set time on this earth, what is the one thing that stands out to others, self and God about our being? If we call ourselves Christians, Followers of Christ Jesus, and/or Children of God…Folks we KNOW, without a doubt what should be or could be done to walk in His ways. We have been given a place in life to do such. We have been created for His glory. God said so. When we are in the place of death, we can do NOTHING in His ways.

Let us be reminded, we are God’s witnesses per Isaiah’s verse above. He and only He is our Deliverer. Satan has NO power over your place in life or in death. He is not the deliverer of your soul of the place in death, nor is he the one who has given you a place in life. See how weak he is? God is ALWAYS in control and in charge in the place of life and death.
Recognize and Remember..…GOD IS….He told Moses in the Book of Exodus 3:14, so Moses told us via the scriptures,

“I AM WHO I AM, tell them I AM sent you”. He also told Moses that “I AM” is his name to be “called from generation to generation.”
 So the next time somebody try to shut you down, do wrong against others or self, or speak ill will, you tell them – The God who is I AM is listening and watching everything you say and do.
He told John in the Book of Revelation to relay the message to us in the first chapter, after the introduction “I AM THE ALPHA AND OMEGA, SAYS THE LORD GOD, WHO IS, AND WHO WAS, AND WHO IS TO COME, THE ALMIGHTY.” And if that wasn’t enough as a reminder, He reminds us again in Revelation 22, the final chapter of the bible.

Lookie Here Folks!

 “I AM THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA, THE FIRST AND THE LAST, THE BEGINNING AND THE END.”

Doesn’t that prove He and only He is over the place of life and the place of death?
And then there is the place called Death. What can we do in the place called Death? We can’t reach out to others. We can’t cry for others. We can’t give to or love others. We can’t show good works in the place called Death. We can’t even gossip anymore in this place.  We can’t even go shopping.  🙂  Everything we need to do as children of God should be done in the place called Life. Jesus took care of and paid for our biggest burden through His place in death.  The least we can do is partake of this same act (easing a burden) for those who are in this place called life in His name before we are given over to the place called death.

I don’t recall who said “find a hurt and heal it”, but I beg of you all to find one and began the healing process for yourself and for others. Don’t fret over end times and signs, be watchful, believe in the Lord and have faith in His will as the Lord says, but do not fret. It is my opinion, that if you fret, you lose sight of His will and eventually lose faith in Him. We know the outcome. Those who are in Christ will overcome. Stay in Christ while in this place called Life. Do what needs to be done in the name of Jesus while we are in this place called Life before being given over to the place called Death.
His will shall be and will be done regardless. Be absolutely sure that you have done well for and with others in the name of Jesus in the place called Life before reaching the place called Death. Thank You Holy Spirit!

 

 

LOVE COVERS A MULTITUDE OF SINS

HE – GOD

After having a dream last night, I woke up this morning praising and thanking the Lord. I was thinking about a few of the attributes of God. He is AMAZING when He reminds us of who He is and what He can do. I realize I have not listed them all, only the ones shown to me in my dream to share with others.  I’ve pulled scripture from the Book of Psalms per the dream. Thank you Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit’s message to me………. “Be still, God Is in Control no matter which way you  turn. EVERYTHING is going as He planned.”  Wow! I’m guessing this was a reminder to me as the testimony of those who wrote various Psalms. This also is the testimony of those that realized HE is GOD, per Psalm 46:10- Be still, and know that I AM GOD; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

Voila, here we go folks. We are apprehensive at times when things are not going so well within our homes, our jobs, our churches, and in the world. For those of us who believe in Him, even in our feeblest and sturdiest moments, we still need to be reminded that HE is:

• Powerful- Psalm 19; Psalms 33:6-11
• Loving and Merciful- Psalm 136/36:5/63:3
• Wisdom and Omnipresence- Psalm 139
• Goodness- Psalm 138:3, 7-8
• Collaborative- Psalm 121
• Forgiving- Psalm 32/86:5
• Gracious- Psalm 78
• Salvation- Psalm 71
• Joy- Psalm 63
• Faithful- Psalm 105

 

So to my beloved ones who are reading this, as I was instructed by the Holy Spirit, I shall pass it on…”Be Still….” He-God is the beginning and He-God is the ending of all things. He-God is in control.  Have a blessed March 2013, Spring is a coming round the mountain, over the valleys, and through the woods.    🙂

Psalm 55:22 Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall NEVER permit the righteous to be moved.

 

I Love You

Love Covers A Multitude Of Sins

Faith Seen? – My Thoughts

Luke 5: 20- And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”

I’m studying a 31 days of a healing and recovery plan. The lesson  for the day was Luke 5, day 20.  Yippee! Almost done!  First, after reading the verse above this morning I thought to self (ya know how that goes) and immediately I began this blog…Isn’t the eye sight and heart of Jesus amazing? Knowing that what He sees and what He feels from others is so powerfully amazing and that most put their faith and lives into His hands without giving it a second thought?

Then I jumped here: Hebrews 11:1- Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  With that being said, do you too find it amazing that Jesus sees faith? that He sees the things you hope for? You can’t see it. You can believe, feel and see its aftermath.  Thank you Holy Spirit!  (((Jesus))))

We all know the story beginning in Luke 5 beginning with verse 17. It’s about the man with palsy who was taken by friends on his bed to be healed by Jesus.  Can you imagine someone in this day and age carrying/walking a friend in his bed for miles to seek healing? You know most sick people are ornery and can get on ones nerves with their ramblings about what they want to do.  Any who…. per the story, the friends “sought means to bring him in.”  Those were some determined men. However they could not find a way to get close to Jesus because of the crowds. (perhaps like a crowd one would find at a KISS or Liberace concert or maybe a crowd of people waiting in line to get clean water after a disastrous storm) These friends put their brain power together and came up with an idea. There was a housetop nearby, of which they chose to take the sick man upon this housetop and lower him down via some type of pulley system bed and all by lowering him down through the tiling and set him “into the midst before Jesus.” And with Jesus seeing this, he uttered the words “Man your sins are forgiven you.”  It is my belief that the man with palsy was healed because of the faith Jesus saw in the friends first.  I cannot help but believe also that the friends were blessed due to their hearts condition.

Secondly, I want to expound briefly on friends who actually do things out of the greatness of their heart and because of their faith. It’s a rare phenomenon, a rare act, a magic act magicians cannot do and so on. Got it?  Here it goes, you may not agree. Ahem,  I’ve come to believe from experience that a true friend is one who is also a nosey friend that has the gift of seeing and feeling your pain; that puts your pain before the Lord in prayer and let you go on your way in your faith.  I don’t always need to have a hand holder right by me, nor do I like to be bothered with people all the time when I am sick. My thought is this…..that Jesus kept it moving, so simple. Aha! Thinking cap moment…..4 habits of Jesus that were obvious to me… He came, He saw, He healed and He kept moving…..Keep it moving folks! Where your work is done in His name, move on to help other’s from your heart and with your faith in Him. He sees you and what you’ve done in His name. Give them a lift to Jesus.  Now wasn’t that brief? 🙂

Now the rest of the story in Luke 5:21-26:

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”  Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?  Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?  But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”  Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had lain on and went home praising God.  Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

Another lesson I learned this morning….Let Jesus See Your Faith & See Some Remarkable Things!  Let’s get to it beloved ones!  Oh gracious that will be my new motto.  Let me get to the marketing and copyright board now. 

Here’s another “Remarkable” thing for you to see from me! I’m such a “granny”.  Go here——> http://youtu.be/uWuTrn7Kieg

I Love You

Love Covers A Multitude of Sins ( A Whole Crowd of Em)  😛

If You Knew-My Thoughts On Learning From Others In The Bible

Good Great Saturday Morning/Afternoon to you beloved.  I’ve been in deep study and thought again with the OT(Old Testament), which was one of my resolutions for this New Year, to complete a book for my grandkids about what grandma thinks and believes about God, as my papaw did for I without him knowing it. I inherited a lot of his books and writings after his death.  I hope to share with you a series about people of the OT and lessons I learned from their behavioral actions. I hope you enjoy it, and as I always say, you may not agree,and that is fine. I just ask that you keep in mind that these are my thoughts revealed to me by none other than the Holy Spirit, Himself, for my understanding of the Lord. Thank you Jesus!

If You Knew

If you knew the exact time you were going to die, what would you change in your life during that additional period(s) guaranteed to you? This is something I was thinking about concerning wasted time that we have all experienced and thoughts of how to somewhat correct past behaviors, thoughts, and actions thereof. I have learned these past three weeks and know from my experience that “silence is golden” when you put yourself in the Lord’s presence and see yourself through His eyes. Just sit quietly to self and He will reveal. There are some things you may not like or can’t believe about self.  Unveiling is a powerful thing!

So anywho! I was reading in the OT again searching for something really deep about being given a 2^nd chance to live life differently up to a certain day of guaranteed death told to you.  Here is where the remembrance of King Hezekiah kicked in.  After reading about him again, I also pondered, why was it that Adam was not given another chance to live perfectly again? That’s another blog and thought I suppose.

First I’ll share what I took from my Comprehensive Analysis of the Bible by Montgomery F. Essig, 1922 Edition about Hezekiah. Lord, I wish this edition was online so I could have just copied and pasted. Here we go!

Hezekiah – a form of a Hebrew word meaning “strength of Jehovah.”  Hezekiah was the twelfth king of Judah and one of the best of Judah’s kingly line, although he was the son of the idolater Ahaz.  He was born about 726 B.C., ascended the throne when about twenty-five years old, and reigned twenty-nine years.  One of the first acts of his reign was to do away with the idol-worship that had grown under his father and restore the true faith. He then turned his attention to win back the cities captured by the Philistines.  His success in these military operations led him to refuse tribute to Assyria, which nation had already destroyed the kingdom of Israel and led away the ten tribes captive.  This act brought to his doors an Assyrian army, and Hezekiah was forced to make terms by despoiling the Temple of gold to give to the Assyrians, who promptly broke faith, and were just as promptly punished by God, who in a night destroyed 180,000 of them by plague.  Hezekiah fell ill, and, after earnest prayer, was told by the prophet Isaiah that God would spare his life for fifteen years.  The remainder of his reign appears to have been peaceful and prosperous. References 2 Kings 16;18;19;20.

I shall add a bit more here about Hezekiah.  His mother, Abijah, was the daughter of King Zechariah. You do know that King David was Hezekiah’s grandfather, right?  And that because of Ahaz’s reign of not doing right in the eyes of the Lord, Israel was once again exiled because of Sin to Assyria?  In 2 Kings 17:18-19 the bible tells us that –So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from His presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left, and even Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel has introduced. 

His wife’s name was Hephzibah of which Manasseh was seeded.  It occurred to me that during the reign of kings throughout the families, that one generation would do good; then the next generation would do bad in the eyes of the Lord, and so on and so on. In other words, it seemed generations took turns between doing good and bad in the eyes of the Lord. I see that happening in my family and many others of which I am aware of their family history. There appears to be some type of skip a generational curse existing thingy. (Read the books of Judges – 2 Chronicles for specifics)

In 2 Kings 18:5-8, it tells us that- Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses.  And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.  From watchtower to fortified city, he defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory.

Did you know that it was Hezekiah who broke “into pieces” the bronze snake Moses made that was used to cure the Israelites from snake bites back in Moses’ day? Here’s the story about Moses’ snake.

Numbers 21:4-9 (NIV) The Bronze Snake

 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way;they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”  Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.  The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.”  So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.

So now back to Hezekiah….please open your bible or do a net search and read 2 Kings 20. It is a powerful chapter and a lesson in there to be learned for all. I am to close this out some time soon.

If the Lord sent a messenger, or told you Himself, “Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”…. I ask again….If you knew….what would you change in your life? At that given moment Hezekiah only had a moment’s notice.  To most, if given that message, there would be nothing they could think of to do, but to lie there and die, call an ambulance, or try to write out a quick will via a phone call to a lawyer.  😛   But ah ha! here lies the strongest link in a weakest moment encountered….Watch out! Here it comes! When Hezekiah was told this, he did WHAT?  He prayed to the Lord, and this my loves, is how the 15 years was added to his life. Ask Him in faith and ye shall receive according to His will, huh? I think he was about 54 or close to it when he died.

Hezekiah really did prove to those of us, me included, in reading this; that the verses above (2 Kings 18:5-8) were kept until his death. Not only that, whatever the Lord said to Hezekiah, he accepted, whether good or bad. It made me think again about the simplicity of trusting in the Lord. We don’t have a quarter of the incidents happen in our lives that Hez had and most can’t find it in ourselves to put and keep that trust in to him until our death. We surely don’t want bad news from the Lord and we would not be as accepting of it as Hezekiah was. It is hard for us to come to grips with accepting our fate. Right? What I find even more amazing is that the bible tells us there was never another king like Hezekiah, neither before him nor after him. Thank you Holy Spirit! Brain power kick……There was never one like Jesus before Him or after Him either, nor to come.

What lesson(s) did you learn from reading about Hezekiah?

More on Hezekiah can be found in the Books of 2 Chronicles 29-32 and Isaiah 36-39. Another thing I found powerful in reading about Hezekiah is that he “thought” that……. “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.”  Is that a thought of yours? If you were seconds away from your death, would you be able to utter those words?

2 Kings 20:7-11 (NIV)

Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered.  Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the Lord on the third day from now?”  Isaiah answered, “This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?”  “It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.”  Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.

My prayer and wish for you and self….Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him,and he will make your paths straight.

I LOVE YOU

LOVE COVERS A MULTITUDE OF SINS

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Countenance-Your Appearance In God’s Eyes-My Thoughts

As I opened by bible today for a brief break earlier while at work, the pages fell open to Genesis 4. I began reading and boing! I was reading something I really had paid little attention to in the past.
Chapter 4 discusses the seeding of Cain and Abel, and momentous events in their lives. Later on in the chapter it mentions the seeding of Seth. We know the story, Abel became a keeper of flocks and Cain worked the soil. They both brought offerings to the Lord. Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil and Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The story goes on to state that the Lord looked with favor upon Abel and his offering, but had no favor upon Cain and his offering. Why? I asked self as I have done many times before when reading this chapter. I arrived at a conclusion  a while back, that my answer and God’s favor hid in the wording that I have bolded above.
Ages ago, I use to catch an attitude about God’s actions when reading this because I was thinking, how could God not show favor to Cain ?..…he gave an offering from things he grew in the soil, but most importantly he gave to God. We all know gardening is not a simple task and most of us put our heart into it. However……..Thank you Holy Spirit for providing the understanding through the years.

Cain just brought some and appeared to have given little thought about whether it was the FIRST fruit or last to give to God. Abel gave some of his FIRST born flock.  Non acceptance from God of Cain’s offering led Cain to become angry and his face became downcast. I thought his behavior normal, because as humans that is our behavioral  pattern when rejected, misled, disappointed and shown no favor when we think ,(not taking into account what the receiver may think )we’ve done well by our actions.
Before I go any further, let’s scan over the words below.

• Angry- cross, annoyed, irritated, irate, mad, livid
• Downcast- sad, depressed, disappointed, discouraged, disheartened
• Countenance-n- appearance, especially the look or expression of the face 
• Sin-n- transgression of divine law; any reprehensible or regrettable action, behavior, lapse, etc.; great fault or offense

The new lighting I found after removing the lamp shade is in the verses below:

Genesis 4:6-7
Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
There’s my “boing”!  Did you see it? I have always loved how God asks a question and then gives an answer. How did I ever miss that God said “sin is crouching at your door”? Pull out your bibles and read the rest of the story in Genesis 4. We will discover within this chapter that Cain eventually, did not rule over that “crouching” sin, he was cursed by God and became a “restless wanderer”.
The other thing I want to make note of is how our countenance gives away what is truly on the mind and heart. I’m a great expressions watcher. It’s almost like a natural second job to me, but doesn’t pay the bills, (but God) allows me to own that gracious gift. Some of us probably wish that we could walk around with a face eraser to erase most of the expressions that show. Not happening! even with a mask on.  The eyes can still be read along with body positioning.
How many times folks have we done something half-heartedly? How many times have we been shamed because we saw others giving someone else a gift, and we didn’t give…. then run out to buy a gift because you saw someone else give?

Besides, we are told in Ephesians 5:11- Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
So back to Cain’s countenance we go. The lessons I learned from verses 6-7 are:
1. Doing right in the eyes of God is acceptable and that we should give to God from the heart.
2. Doing wrong in the eyes of God is not acceptable and has consequences. (Have you ever watched the Truth or Consequences game show? For those who are younger than I, here’s a tidbit about the show- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_or_Consequences )
3. Sin is right at your door waiting for the right opening moment to jump in. The longer sin crouches, the more cramps it gets and can’t jump as quickly. This will allow you more time to practice taking control of the “crouching” sin.  🙂
4. Sin’s desire and Satan’s ultimate goal is to rule over the children of God.
5. We as children of God, heirs of His promise, “MUST rule over” sin in order to be in line with His will.
6. Sin is a thing. Don’t let THINGS rule over you that are not good for the Body of Christ.

Visualize This As Being Sin’s Position

Here’s one of my favorite reminders to self when sin tries to rule over me and change my countenance from being joyful in the Lord. I like sharing these verses with people whose countenance becomes downtrodden for whatever reason sometimes unbeknownst to me. It’s a great pick me upper and it pays to remember who you are in Christ.

Ephesians 5:8-10 – For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of the light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. 

Sticky Note—When you appear before the Lord while living on this earth, make sure you have your countenance in check. Remember that He is watching us at all times. Henceforth, whatever you do, make sure that it is from the heart, that it is right, and that it is pleasing to God, to recieve His favor.

 

Love Covers A Multitude of Sins

BECAUSE OF and BY FAITH- Our Reminders

My morning reading partner, the Holy Spirit, shared with me a reminder from the Book of Hebrews this morning Dec 8, 2012. Yep, you’ve guessed it! Hebrews 11, one of the biggest faith chapters in the bible. Don’t need a dictionary here, the writer makes sure we are aware of what FAITH is.

Hebrews 11:1- Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

A verse that really had the boomerang effect this morning. Let me share verse 13 with you: All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.

Do you realize that this verse is telling us who are Christians that because of faith, God‘s promise to us will never be void, even unto the grave? What a great reminder and eye opener! Lord have mercy Jesus!

Let’s take a look and read along in your bible the verses relating to each found throughout the bible, as to what happened because of and by faith. Ok, lovebirds, pull out the bible or read along online.

• The universe was formed
• Abel had a better offering for God, and by faith Abel still speaks even though he is dead.
• Enoch escaped the death experience. Because of his faith, he pleased God
• Noah by faith heeded God’s warning and lived with all kinds of animals on an ark.  😛
• Abraham by faith obeyed God without hesitation
• Sarah by faith, was able to bear children past the given childbearing age. (A reminder that  with faith , ANY and EVERYTHING is possible with God.)
• Abraham, because of faith offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God. Is this something you could ever bring yourself to do, offer up your child as a scarifice to God? Do you have that much faith?
• Isaac lived because of faith, and by faith he blessed his son’s Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

Note to self-  Noticed faith appears to be generational and a big concern for the future of their children.

• Jacob, by faith on his deathbed blessed each of his grandchildren born of Joseph, and  worshipped the Lord.
• Joseph “when his end was near” because of his faith spoke aforetime about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. (Hmmm, do you have this type of faith?)
• Moses‘ parents by faith hid him and was not afraid of the king’s ruling during that time.
• Moses by faith refused to be recognized as the son of a pharoah, chose to be treated as a  slave, left Egypt, kept the Passover, regarded disgrace in the name of and for God, and was able to give the commandments of God to God’s people.
• The walls of Jericho fell (Can you imagine tons of stones broken only because of faith and never touched?)
• Rahab the prostitute, because of faith, she helped people of God and I just know her name is written in the Book of Life.
• Because of faith, there were those who “conquered kingdoms, administered justice, gained what was promised, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, escaped the edge of a sword, weakness became strength,received back their dead ” and even survived being in the belly of a big fish, and it goes on and on folks.- Reference all books of the bible.

And I want to add, that by faith, Joseph stayed with Mary, knowing he wasn’t the “biological father” of our greatest Believer and Trustee of Faith, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Closing Verses

Hebrews 11:39-40 – These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Hebrews 11:6 –  And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

And now my beautiful people  in Jesus, may you all have a blessed and faith filled Saturday.  Off to shoe hunting I go.  By faith I shall find the perfect shoe within 30 minutes time that I can walk around in and praise the Lord while I’m living in the Holy City.  Faith prepares you.

The writer of Hebrews reminds us of two caveats (possibly caviar for you seafood lovers…wink wink) concerning faith;

“BE SURE” and “BE CERTAIN”.

Thank you for spending time with me and the Lord this morning on the great reminder of what happens Because of and By Faith.

Love Covers A Multitude of Sins