Knowing and Accepting Your Lot – Ecclesiastes 5:8-20

 

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Lot-(n)- an object used as a counter in determining a question by chance : the use of lots as a means of deciding something: the resulting choice : something that comes to one upon whom a lot has fallen : (share): one’s way of life or worldly fate : (fortune)

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We as God’s children often times forget the many gifts He gives to us. I personally had never thought much of a LOT being a gift of God. Solomon confirmed it by his observations. The Holy Spirit stamped it in my heart just now on this great blessed New Years Eve. Wow! I am becoming wiser. 😛

It is a fact that “Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb,and as everyone comes, so they depart.They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands.” (vs 15)

On a serious note, I wish that those who are hoarders of their riches (LOT) given to them by God, would stop thinking that they are going to take their riches with them when they die. I also wish that they would realize, whatever they have is a gift from God. God is a giving God that supply all of our needs. (Philippians 4:19-And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.)

Since we are made in His image, aren’t we suppose to be giving beings that do the same? After all, it is through some of us that the Spirit of God works in our heart to give to the less fortunate so that their needs are met. We are NOT taking anything with us in death. God even takes our soul from our bodies that He breathed into us. It belongs to Him when we die. All things belong to Him. This too is something we need to know and accept. It’s a – (dash ) period.

When death occurs it seems to be customary to put the date of birth – (dash) date of death on the marker for the deceased and/or to list it in an obituary. I’ve never heard an explanation for the -(dash) but what would you think if I said that -(dash) represented ‘one’s way of life or worldly fate’…the things that took place in between life and death? Yeah, their LOT. Hmmm, thinking too much again, I am. (TYHS)

“To eat, drink, and to find satisfaction” in our labor under the sun during our life is a LOT that God has given to all. We all share in that LOT… the -(dash) That is now one of my New Years resolutions after reading the scriptures…Knowing and Accepting My Lot for it is a gift from God. That will be my – (dash). I will choose to “seldom reflect on my life” because I will trust in what God gives me and be totally “occupied with gladness of heart.” Amen (TYHS)

And I close with verses 18-20:

This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.

I pray that all get to work in Knowing and Accepting Your Lot.

JOYFUL NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL

I LOVE YOU

Fishing for the Kingdom of Heaven and Serving the Lord

Matthew 13:47-52(AKJV) The Parable of the Net

 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:  which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.  So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

Quote Time- There is certainly something in angling that tends to produce a serenity of the mind. ~ Washington Irving

The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope.  ~John Buchan Fishing is a… discipline in the equality of men – for all men are equal before fish.    ~Herbert Hoover Even if you’ve been fishing for three hours and haven’t gotten anything except poison ivy and sunburn, you’re still better off than the worm.  ~Author Unknown Three-fourths of the Earth’s surface is water, and one-fourth is land.  It is quite clear that the good Lord intended us to spend triple the amount of time fishing as  taking care of the lawn.  ~Chuck Clark There will be days when the fishing is better than one’s most optimistic forecast, others when it is far worse.  Either is a gain over just staying home.  ~Roderick Haig-Brown,   Fisherman’s Spring, 1951

After reading a few articles on fishing, I have determined that there are three basic rules for fishing. One must be (1)prepared (use the right bait or net), (2)be patient (focus and plan nothing else for the day), and (3)be thankful (if nothing is caught, you have the opportunity to fish another day). Even though it is hard work for those who make a living out of fishing, I’ve also come to the conclusion that at the end of the day, a fisherman’s blood pressure must be normal and he or she is at peace when sleeping, therefore out of habit, is ready for what the next day my bring or not.   How does one explain arising so early when going to bed so late after a 12-18 hour work day? It has been said that water has a calming effect on us all. We love to look at water or hear flowing waters. Water is a basic sustenance for the human life. Some of us fear water, but are still drawn to its natural ability to charm the senses. Then I began to ponder why??? It hit me, we live in a water sac for nine months (some shorter) without drowning before being presented to the world. Voila, we are in so many ways a “fish out of water” once birthed. Whoever believes and say that God doesn’t exist, should think again about how they came into existence.  Ok, back to subject. I had never heard the term of endearment aka idiom… “fish or cut bait” until I heard a pastor voice the words. It means to stop vacillating (being hesitant) and decide to act on (do) or disengage (undo) from something. Let’s fish, no bait cutting allowed. Mounting: The line, bait, or net used for fishing is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The net must be cast in order to bring those to the knowledge of Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven. This is not just “a job for Superman”, but for all who call themselves Christians per Jesus in Matthew 4:19– “And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  If you are a follower of Jesus, the scripture is clearly telling us it is our job to be “fishers of men.” Amen?   As in Jesus’ time and still today, many will be attracted to the net, many will wander off and return to the Word of God,  many will be false feeders and net throwers of the Word. Though many think so, not all will enter the kingdom of heaven. This parable clearly states there will be a separation of the good and bad and the old will be replaced  with the new.  Also look here…Matthew 7:21-23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father   which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. May I suggest when fishing, do not be deceitful in words and actions so that you will not be judged as a worker of iniquity. Don’t even take on the task or be forced by others in or out of the church to serve in some form, just because they believe you have the ability to do so. That is one sure fire way to avoid being a worker of iniquity. Give little heed to a spiritual gifts inventory list until the Holy Spirit moves you to do. It’s a fun and interesting list to complete, however, your task is not to please others, but to please God with the gifts the Holy Spirit has given unto you. I don’t recall anywhere in the bible where disciples were asked to complete a spiritual gifts inventory list. I’m just sayin!  Don’t be the fish to fall for the hook, line, and sinker and work outside of what the Lord has called and/are chosen for you to do.  Reminder- Do your best in the name of Jesus  when led by the Holy Spirit. We as Christians are all called to serve and just like the fisherman we will need to be prepared, be patient, and be thankful for another day to fish and serve, Lord willing.  It is a hard (heart) job and your heart must be in it. Put your trust in the guiding of the Holy Spirit for He knows which gifts are 100% given to you to fulfill/do in fishing for and serving the Lord. Others may get mad because you are not doing what they ask of you  or think you should be doing in the organized church realm…keep it moving, follow the Holy Spirit and be in line with the will of God. The fish will know the true bait of the fisherman to nibble on to be bound for glory. It is the Holy Spirit filled work done outside of the church that is beneficial for fishing for the kingdom of heaven. We are to bring those outside (off-shore swimming), IN to the knowledge and benefits of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (on-shore). Sometimes there are many fish swimming in the Christian church without fins (unnatural to be a finless fish). There is an urgent need for those finless fish to be thrown back off-shore, to grow new fins and be re-baited with the Gospel of Jesus Christ before the angels come forth and “sever the wicked from among the just…” Have ye understood these things on Fishing for the Kingdom of Heaven and Serving the Lord?   Dismounting…. Choose Switch Off   LOVE COVERS A MULTITUDE OF SINS

The Gift Jesus Left – My Thoughts

Oh my word! I could just be kicked twice over. I was reading the book of John after meditating on some Psalms earlier. I came across something I boldly admit to you all, that I’ve NEVER paid attention to in all these years of spending time in His word. Many thanks to my Comforter for bringing this to my attention!
Aren’t you just dying to find out what it is? In previous readings of John, my focus has always been on verses 1-20. Ok, ok… John 14:27. My heart when troubled recites the end of His statement He made to His disciples. Lord I don’t know how I overlooked the beginning of that verse. I’ll include verse 26 just for the JOY of it.
Jesus said….
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

***“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”***

Peace aka Ceasefire; Reconciliation; Harmony; Amity (not Amityville Horror); Goodwill; etc. etc.

I suppose we all get lost in scripture sometimes, and it truly takes the Holy Spirit to reveal its secrets and understanding to us individually in God’s time.  The Lord has been telling me for a while now, that I can have peace within by saying no to things that He Himself showed me was not His will for me to do. Sometimes we get caught up in the problems of others and their attitudinal behaviors which make us lack peace within. We all need to be aware of the differentiation between a learned talent and a spiritual gift. Sometimes we get caught up in doing things we think are our gift to share with others. Sometimes He will put up a roadblock sign for us NOT to ignore “one last time” even if it’s doing something within the church and workplace.  PEACE!

It’s ok that people get upset with us for not doing things that they want us to do. We too can give the gift of peace to others by saying either I’m sorry or I forgive you when there is tension flying around like fog with wings.  😛  We are all called to serve temporarily  and differently in some stages of service for the Lord both inside and outside of the church. It was brought to my remembrance while reading John 14, Jesus didn’t stay in one place teaching, performing miracles, feeding others, and sharing the word of God. 

Reading this verse before bedtime was no accident… that I’m sure of. God has given us so many things (gifts) and have placed so many people in our lives, of which we are thankful and some of us are not so thankful and should be thankful. Jesus suffered and was thankful. Jesus was a gift from God. The gift that Jesus left us is HIS PEACE. Allow me to repeat what Jesus said:

“Peace I leave with you, MY PEACE I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto YOU…”

It appears the world has not accepted His gift he left. It is my opinion that this is why the world as a whole cannot and will not have peace until Jesus’ return to clean up this mess. BUT, as an individual you can accept His gift of peace given unto you.  You’ll just have to decide in your heart to accept His gift of peace given unto you. Anything not accepted from God, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit leaves the human race living in chaos. As for me and being made aware via my Comforter, I accept His gift of “Peace” left with and given unto me.

It is as clear as the River of Life aka Rio de Vida to me now; the world cannot give me peace like Jesus can. Still growing in His Word and in the name of Jesus! May you be blessed by this blog and let no one person on this earth, take His gift of peace away from you. It is my prayer that you REALIZE who the gift of peace comes from when your heart is troubled and afraid. To be left with and given peace from the Lord, oh what a blessed gift! TYHS!  🙂

 

Love Covers A Multitude of Sins

An Act of Humility- Helping Others

 

The bible gives us many examples and instructions on helping others in need.  This was an uplifting act of love and humility I found this morning while browsing the ether.   It made me remember the following portion of the letter Paul wrote to the Philippians reminding them that they could do great things through and in the name of Jesus.

Philippians 2 (NKJV)

2 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, ² fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. ³ Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. ⁴ Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

 

 

http://www.takepart.com/video/changemakers-mama-hills-help?cmpid=tp-ad-outbrain-general

We CAN do ALL things  through Christ who strengthens us.

 

I Love YOU

Love Covers A Multitude of Sins