Sunday, November 28, 2010

Perfect in weakness...

Whatever God requires of us He provides.

You think?

"My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh...casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:3,5).

Hard when you're hurting.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Thoughts on Thanksgiving

Thoughts on Thanksgiving | The Doctor Is In

Thanksgiving tells us that we have a higher purpose, a calling which draws us toward the divine, in order that His highest purposes are fully served. It tells us we are hopelessly handicapped in our pursuit of this noble calling, waylaid in wanton selfishness and frivolous foolishness, distracted from our goal by baubles and the banal. Indeed there is little hope of restoring our vision but by grace, by the gracious hand of God to guide, empower, and correct us. It is in this extraordinary reality that true gratitude is found, that we who have hated the good have, in spite of ourselves, been called back home, in forgiveness and with vision restored, to be made useful and purposeful again, to be made new.

This grace empowers gratitude, for it opens all things, both good and bad, to the possibility of redemption. For the good we may be grateful, not merely that it blesses us, but that it enables and empowers us to serve and give to others. Our trials and liabilities, too, become tools by which we may reassess and redirect our lives, growing in empathy for the suffering of others, and in trust in the inscrutable goodness and wisdom of God, who uses evil for good. Our thanksgiving is a celebration of freedom — the freedom to transform all things, whether good or evil, to the higher purposes of God.


Let us, then, be truly grateful this Thanksgiving, for the grace of redemption, the hope of transformation, and the mercy shown to us through Him who is most gracious.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

The small c . . .

Keep experimenting, and don't be afraid to combine the verbal with the visual. Don’t capitalize your I’s all over the place (or, at the very least, don’t let it swell your ego when you do.) -e.e. cummings, 1894 - 1962

So, let's not give c the capitalization it usually garners from its prey. It's serious, but it's not all.

Day by Day

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for fear. - Lina Sandell Berg, Swedish

Not sure my Father's wise bestowment is the cancer I am now taking chemo for...just getting me more ready to leave this body or hope for the redemption of my body 'cause we all live in a ruined world where sickness happens.

You think?

I read your book....

[General Patton outmaneuvering Rommel whose campaign in North Africa earned Rommel the nickname "The Desert Fox.")

Patton: [referring to Rommel's book, Infantry Attack)

"Rommel... you magnificent ******d, I read your book!"

General Patton beat Rommel by understanding his methods, by reading his book.
Infantry Attacks

We too have a foe to defeat. We also have a Book on how to deal with him, and an understanding that he lost the war by the cross of Jesus Christ.

For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great,
And, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us;
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us:
The prince of darkness grim,
We tremble not for him;
He rage we can endure,
For lo! his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him. - Martin Luther, A Mighty Fortress

The little word is TRUTH. Where do you find the truth? In the Bible where Jesus says He is the Truth. Alleluia!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

RESURRECTED BODIES

[In] the Millennium, our resurrected, glorified bodies, like Christ's, will no longer be part of the physical universe and will thus be changeless and timeless, able to be seen, then vanish, and to pass through closed doors and walls. "Jesus himself stood in the midst of them...but they were terrified ...[thinking] they had seen a spirit....[H]andle me, and see," said Christ, "for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have" (Lk 24:36-43).

Paul informs us, "There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body" (1 Cor 15:44). We don't know what that means except as it was demonstrated in Christ's resurrection. --Dave Hunt

Monday, November 15, 2010

The religion of man...

The Bahá'ís: What is the Bahá’í Faith?


Posted by: Van Grungy Nov 15, 06:31 AM:
Esperanto speaking* 'new world order' believing. Do your own homework...you will see why you should worry about the Baha'i influence on world events...especially the UN connection.

*Esperanto - An easy-to-learn and politically neutral language that would serve as a universal second language to foster peace and international understanding.

(Well, we do know from the Bible that a return to Babel(Genesis 11) is coming on the earth under the influence of the "evil one". It is the coming of the one-man, the anti-christ, who will control the whole world. Amazing how the events of the world are pointing to this time, isn't it?)

Babylon rebuilt?

Quote from Christopher Hitchens: "...the discovery of oil around Baghdad has transformed the material basis for political control. "There's a petro-chemical reason for federalism now. If the oil laws were enforced properly by province, it could be as rich as Kuwait. The Saudis and the Iranians don't want a revived Iraqi oil industry because it will undercut them. You could have a modern Middle Eastern country or a parties-of-God failed state."

The Bible prophecies seem to clearly indicate that a literal city of Babylon will be the center of the Middle East world. Yes, Babylon, the spiritual head of a false religious system, but also a literal city.

Maybe the catalyst will be oil. We all need it, and it seems that Iraq (Babylon) has it. You think?

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Depths. . .

"Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O LORD" (Psalm 130:l).

Depths = Strong's, Hebrew 4615, ma'amaq, a deep.

A pastor likened the word depths to the sound a mama camel emits when seeking its young in the wilds of the desert. That low, lowing gut bellow. Growing up on a farm perhaps it is a bit like the lowing given out when the cows come into the barn for the warmth of the hay and community of each other.

A cry of "help"...shelter me.

The cattle are lowing the Baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes;

The world was sitting in the depths of darkness, when He was born...out of the depths of despair, He came.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Titles of Jesus in John chapter 1. . .

Word (v. 1);
God (v. 1);
Creator (v. 3);
Light (v. 7);
only begotten Son (v. 18);
Lamb of God (v. 29, 36);
Son of God (v. 39, 49);
Messiah (v. 41);
King of Israel (v. 49);
and Son of Man (v. 51).

Wow!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

The will of God in Jesus's day . . .

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24).

"And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:40).

Praise to the Lord, the God of everlasting life!

Monday, November 8, 2010

I am He. . .

"God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

The woman saith unto Him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called

Christ: when He is come, He will tell us all things.

Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am He"
(John 4:24-26).

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

The Farm



Ma would have loved this.

(Ensign, Michigan - August 2010)

Monday, November 1, 2010

Marion Visser


VISSER - Mrs. Marion L. Visser, aged 90, is now in the presence of her Lord and Savior and was joyfully reunited with her beloved husband Andy in Heaven on Saturday, October 30, 2010. Marion had a sweet, gentle spirit and was a loving, generous and selfless woman. - GR Press obituary

Pastor Andy loved Marion and always called her his "sweetheart". She was a warm and wonderful woman.