To Dust We Shall Return

Ash Wednesday: Genesis 3:17-19; Ecclesiastes 3:16-20; From dust we have come; to dust we shall return.

Help Us To Know Your Good Will

Isaiah 53:6-9 KJV: 17th Sunday after Pentecost. Your thoughts are not our thoughts; your ways are not our ways; help us to know your way, your will for us.

The Lord Provides

Matthew 10:9-20 KJV; The Lord provides for his servants. Bless those you encounter with peace and if they reject that peace it will return to you. Then it is time to shake the dust off of your feet and leave.

Water And The Word

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

                                                                               (Isa 55:9-11 KJV)

Finally, a good storm! This spring has seen very little rain. The pond in my yard is looking pretty low. The little minnows have not had much chance to grow in such little space. The trees also have been looking pretty thirsty. Way too many of the Palm trees' fronds have turned brown. But; finally, we have a good rain!

Even as the waters come down encouraging growth and life so does the word that comes from the Lord. Listen to Him and grow in your life, living each day more fully in Christ.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Straying From The Path

For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.

What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness? 

                                               (1 Cor 4:20-21 KJV)

Rod of discipline or love and gentle spirit; which would you prefer? Actually, the only thing I can think of this morning is that if we don't like the rod of discipline then maybe we ought to straighten out our lives and walk in the way that has been set before us. There are not many ways. There is one way. That way has been testified to us by the witnesses of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. Let us listen to them. Let us learn the way in which we are to go and follow Him.

Beginning with those first disciples the church has come a long way. We have strayed often. We have suffered many unwelcome consequences from falling off the path. We have been disciplined often. Yet, there is always love and a gentle spirit to greet us when we return to the way in which we are to go. There is forgiveness.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Seek The Lord

Seek the Lord while he may be found,
    call upon him while he is near;

let the wicked forsake their way,
    and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,
    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.

Isaiah 55:6-8

 

God's Peace be with you all. Pr. J

Be Careful; Vengeance Is God's

He loved to pronounce a curse—
may it come back on him.
He found no pleasure in blessing—
may it be far from him.
He wore cursing as his garment;
it entered into his body like water,
into his bones like oil.
May it be like a cloak wrapped about him,
like a belt tied forever around him.
May this be the Lord’s payment to my accusers,
to those who speak evil of me.
                                          (Psalm109:17-20 NIV)

Vengeance is the LORD's.  I have learned over the years that it is not my place to take vengeance on those who accuse me.  God will take care of me. He will take care of those who are falsely accused or accosted. He will take care of those who falsely accuse or unjustly attack others. No, I am not a pacifist. I definitely will defend others when they are attacked. There are times when we need to defend ourselves. There are times when we need to seek assistance from the law. However, there are also times, I think, that we should step back when it is we who are being attacked and let go and let God, as the saying goes.

Years ago when I was very young, I was selling insurance door to door.  At one home, a man, arrogant and full of deceit attempted to assault me.  I was pretty shaken, but I got away unharmed.  I wanted to press charges.  A co-worker, an older Christian man, talked me into not doing that. The man who had attempted to harm me was pretty wealthy and well known in the community.  I was a stranger.  He was a local politician. I was an insurance salesman. "Do nothing, he said. Who are the authorities going to believe? Let us pray together and leave the vengeance to God.  Let us pray that the evil he intended upon you return to him." So we did.

Did God answer our prayers?  You tell me.  The following week, while the man was at work, his  wife left him. With his new convertible filled with his precious electronics in the trunk, she and her boyfriend sped away from the house and wrecked his vehicle. It hit the newspapers. The car and the contents were totaled. His wife and her boyfriend were unharmed, but his ego was definitely done in. He was no longer the prideful man he had been the week before.

Sure, there are still days when I would like to take vengeance.  But, I learned that day, almost forty years ago, to leave vengeance to God. He will take care of me. He always has. Why would He not continue?

Remember, your curses against others are prayers. Prayers that just might return and turn upon you. Watch what comes out of your lips - prefer blessings to curses - as what you do to others may be done to you.

"He loved to pronounce a curse—may it come back on him." (vs 17)

God's blessings and peace - Pr. J

Turn Around The Kingdom of God Is Near You!

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives. 2 Peter: 3:10-11 NIV

Know ones knows the day that our Lord will return in full glory. Know one knows when our final day on earth will come. There is no time to delay. It could be years from now. It could be today or tomorrow. Do not delude yourself into thinking that there will be time to get to know him when that day comes. Today is the day to turn to the Lord and receive the Kingdom of God!

If your desire is not for a genuine relationship with God then what is your hope in eternal life for? Is it out of love for the One who loves you so much? Or, is it merely the fear of death that motivates you? If it is, indeed, a desire for a relationship with God; to be reconciled to Him, then today is the day! The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe!

God's Peace - Pr. J