Month: November 2015

Wisdom: Fear the Lord and Depart from Evil

November 18, 2015

Job 28New King James Version (NKJV)

Job’s Discourse on Wisdom

28 “Surely there is a mine for silver,
And a place where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the earth,
And copper is smelted from ore.
3 Man puts an end to darkness,
And searches every recess
For ore in the darkness and the shadow of death.
4 He breaks open a shaft away from people;
In places forgotten by feet
They hang far away from men;
They swing to and fro.
5 As for the earth, from it comes bread,
But underneath it is turned up as by fire;
6 Its stones are the source of sapphires,
And it contains gold dust.
7 That path no bird knows,
Nor has the falcon’s eye seen it.
8 The proud lions[a] have not trodden it,
Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.
9 He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the roots.
10 He cuts out channels in the rocks,
And his eye sees every precious thing.
11 He dams up the streams from trickling;
What is hidden he brings forth to light.

12 “But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 Man does not know its value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 It cannot be purchased for gold,
Nor can silver be weighed for its price.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx or sapphire.
17 Neither gold nor crystal can equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral or quartz,
For the price of wisdom is above rubies.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in pure gold.

20 “From where then does wisdom come?
And where is the place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living,
And concealed from the birds of the air.
22 Destruction and Death say,
‘We have heard a report about it with our ears.’
23 God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
24 For He looks to the ends of the earth,
And sees under the whole heavens,
25 To establish a weight for the wind,
And apportion the waters by measure.
26 When He made a law for the rain,
And a path for the thunderbolt,
27 Then He saw wisdom[b] and declared it;
He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.
28 And to man He said,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
And to depart from evil is understanding.’”

In Everything…

November 18, 2015

A beautifully written message that describes the heart of joy. Read, apply and be strengthened.

a cooking pot and twisted tales

Gratitude 4

It is often too easy to express gratitude and thanksgiving when everything seems to be in the right place in our lives and around us, and such a hard task to have a grateful heart when everything seems to be falling apart.

No doubt, it is not an easy task to remain on the upbeat and positive, but we should not tarry too long in the doldrums.

Nature abhors vacuum and if at the point in time when our spirits are very low and we fail to fill that gap made with edifying and uplifting emotions, habits, thoughts, reactions etc, the vacuum will be filled with defeatist spirits, with oppressive moods that will suck us down into a pit that requires so much energy to climb out of.

Sometimes, some are never able to regain their sense of self and things spiral out of control.

When things are falling…

View original post 280 more words

Pure Religion Promotes Life, Love, Joy, and Peace

November 17, 2015

There’s a sad, shivery rain beating against my window, blurring my view of the world outside. I draw close to peer more intently, in order to estimate the severity and duration of the storm. My cheek brushes the glass and I recoil in shock when I receive a cold, Judas kiss of winter. I feel a dull ache enter my muscles, joints, and bones. It is the ache of life under the rule of death that leaves every older person wondering if this will be another winter added to the list of winters weathered and survived or the last one. I’m not afraid to let this old body go; I know there is a better one waiting for me, because God’s Word says it is so. In the nearly, forty years I’ve known Jesus and been known by Him, my Heavenly Father has never broken His promise. However, there are those who love me and depend on me so, I pray that my Father will give me the strength to remain and I leave no widow or orphans in this dying world to suffer until, they are strong enough to survive and thrive here without me.

My thoughts turn to the violent acts in Paris that left so many widows and orphans. The rain intensifies as Heaven weeps over the insanity of murder in God’s Name. It seems there are so many people now, dividing into groups, and preparing for war. Fear is everywhere and the powerless, crushed beneath the boot of earthly power have had enough and want vengeance! One man’s fight for freedom is another man’s terror and all are fighting the same enemy that they see in one another. If it continues, everyone that manages to survive will be a widow, an orphan, and most, likely both. War, no matter what banner it is fought under isn’t holy; it is man putting himself in the seat of God in practicing vengeance that belongs to God and not to man. Terrorism won’t bring freedom but only, God-less anarchy and the prison of living in constant fear of others. The only righteous One, who frees the oppressed and those who seek freedom by becoming like the oppressor, is Jesus. The only war guaranteed to end all wars, is the war against sin within that can only be fought with success in hearts where Jesus lives by faith. The only pure religion is the religion that promotes Love, Life, Joy, and Peace through the practice of visiting widows and orphans in their affliction and living a moral life as defined by God. Jesus is the only sane answer in a world made insane by the fear and pride of mankind. Jesus is the only One able to quell our fear of the rising evil without and have victory over the evil within.

The rain is freezing now, turning to cold ice, and Winter is busy blanketing the world with snow. The specter of uncertainty and fear vaunts itself with threats of leaving all who won’t bow to it, with the loss of loved ones and personal destruction. The enemy knows its season is short and is wasting no time in establishing its ownership of this Season of Death. The natural response is fear but the right response is trust in God, the One who limits the power of death. No matter how thick the blanket of snow, or how deadly cold the winter becomes, the seed of life waits safely, beneath the ground; awaiting its new day with the hope that this will be the final season appointed to death. The sure hope promised by God that comes by His intervention, when Death will meet his own end and Die.

The snow is sticking now, beginning to pile up, and my window is so fogged and iced that I can see nothing with any certainty. I have no idea how long this storm will last or how devastating this winter will be. I am only a woman who can’t predict the future, or use the signs of the times to predict my destiny. I belong to Jesus and I must walk by faith and not by sight. I fight fear by putting my trust in God and continuing to fight the battle He assigned me to; the battle against my sin. This I do in preparation to practice the Biblically pure religion of visiting the great number of widows and orphans that this season’s devotees promise to create. I am humbled to know that if it weren’t for the grace of God, I would be a terrorist too because the enemy they wish to destroy does live in me; as it also, lives in them. Sin is the enemy that threatens all of us and is insidious in its ability to create unawareness of its presence in its hosts but to be readily seen, feared, and hated in others. Sin is a deadly disease, seeking the annihilation of the human race. There is one antidote, Jesus Christ. Those who have received Him by faith and make Him the ruler of their life are given powerful antibodies that ensure ultimate survival while fighting continuing infection. In Jesus, we have what we need to endure and save others from Death. The threat appears fierce but when we employ the powerful weapons of repentance, obedience, and prayer, we are promised certain victory.

Prepare for Death’s season and its uncertainty by drawing close to God; trust in His promises and providence. In such evil days, He is the only One in whom we can safely, put our trust. In the face of Death, we must reach for Life, by reaching for Jesus. “Greater is He who is living in us, than he who is living in the world.”

James 1:27, John 16:33, 1 John 4:4, 1 John 5:4, 1 John 5:5

 

 

 

 

Fight Evil, Exalt Jesus!

November 15, 2015

12 Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases!
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
2 They speak idly everyone with his neighbor;
With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
And the tongue that speaks proud things,
4 Who have said,
“With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own;
Who is lord over us?”

5 “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the Lord;
“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”

6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.
7 You shall keep them, O Lord,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever.

8 The wicked prowl on every side,
When vileness is exalted among the sons of men

And I will sing!

November 15, 2015

Courage is speaking truth to power.

Song Bird Songs

hate

My defiance takes a different note,

“They” want me to fear

So I will choose love not hate,

For only love casts out fear.

“They” want to manipulate my mind just as they manipulated the killers.

No go! I have free choice, I choose good, not evil.

“They” want me to cower, to become afraid to voice my own faith,

I choose instead to confirm my faith in a God of love,

The only one able to deal with “them”.

“They” cannot be “bombed out of existence”

Like the hydra “they” will only grow more heads.

Like chemo or radiation, that may give temporary reprieve, (while creating devastation) but it will not destroy the “stem cells”.

The real perpetrators lurk unseen in the shadows and the “cancer” will spread and grow again,

We see only the pawns in their diabolical power game.

Yet I will sing,

For God himself plays…

View original post 174 more words

Jesus Shepherds My Heart

November 15, 2015

Many things I hoped for; things I thought would be,

And still longed for; settled deep into the sediment,

On the bottom of my “River of Forgotten Dreams” .

Days rolling, pounding youthful aspirations of glee,

Into haunting memories; lost in regretful rudiment;

Hazy days in deep flowing purple ambition streams;

New rain! Emotions flood-rush! Setting sludge free…

Temptation calling revived desire; plots defilement;

Set to trap settled content in heavy guilt schemes;

My Merciful Master designed a better plan for me;

Grace intervened! Rescued from sin’s impediment!

Not abandoned in my “River of Forgotten Dreams”.

Jesus shepherds my heart so sin won’t destroy me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make a Joyful Shout!

November 13, 2015

To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm.

66 Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!
2 Sing out the honor of His name;
Make His praise glorious.
3 Say to God,
“How awesome are Your works!
Through the greatness of Your power
Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.
4 All the earth shall worship You
And sing praises to You;
They shall sing praises to Your name.” Selah

5 Come and see the works of God;
He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.
6 He turned the sea into dry land;
They went through the river on foot.
There we will rejoice in Him.
7 He rules by His power forever;
His eyes observe the nations;
Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah

8 Oh, bless our God, you peoples!
And make the voice of His praise to be heard,
9 Who keeps our soul among the living,
And does not allow our feet to be moved.
10 For You, O God, have tested us;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 You brought us into the net;
You laid affliction on our backs.
12 You have caused men to ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.

13 I will go into Your house with burnt offerings;
I will pay You my vows,
14 Which my lips have uttered
And my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals,
With the sweet aroma of rams;
I will offer bulls with goats. Selah

16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,
And I will declare what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And He was extolled with my tongue.
18 If I regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord will not hear.
19 But certainly God has heard me;
He has attended to the voice of my prayer.

20 Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer,
Nor His mercy from me!

 

 

 

 

Dusty Joy

November 12, 2015

Every day believers are exposed to a plethora of information, an overwhelming amount of data to process. It is becoming harder to decipher truth from fiction and genuine faith from deception. Christianity is rapidly changing due to the internet and many who name Jesus aren’t known by Him. His name is used to disguise ideas opposed to Biblical teaching and unbiblical agendas. The digital age makes it easy to package any counterfeit in an eye-pleasing manner to lure in unwary consumers. Beautiful memes containing a veneer of truth conceal subtle lies that subliminally entice believers’ away from the narrow path and rob non-believers of true saving faith in Jesus Christ. Bible verses pulled out of context and used as toothpicks to support man-made theologies is an old trick of deception that is highly effective in this era of too much information and too little wisdom. Even born-again believers, considered to be spiritually mature can be temporarily deceived when they neglect daily washing in the Word and spiritually collect the dust of human words and wisdom. The joy of Jesus is diminished when not properly nourished and no other diet suffices for spiritual health and a right spiritual attitude of joy than daily feeding on God’s Word. Even digital Bibles get dusty when set aside and ignored and no matter the advances of technology, the true source of wisdom hasn’t changed. Don’t settle for substandard spiritual truth; test the spirits by comparing every word written about Jesus (including mine) to the divine truth of the Bible.

Dear believer, if your joy seems distant and you are discouraged, confused; click the link that takes you to divine truth and away from the digital dust-storm of deception. Align your heart, mind, and actions with the Words of the Bible, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and bathe in the pure light of Jesus. Rejoice as the dust and dirt of human wisdom is filtered away; and find strength to endure this deceptive, abusive age, in the sure, future promises of God. Give your joy a daily dusting. Cling to Jesus! Hold on! He is returning soon!

Test the spirits by The Spirit

November 12, 2015

4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that[a] Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.