Ice Cream, My Favorite

Psalm 119:103 "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

I love ice cream. My favorite dessert. But I don't especially like sauces and syrups on it. Rather just plain ice cream.

That's the way of God's Word, sweeter than honey. That's pretty sweet. Honey is pure with no additives. God's Word does not accept additives. Man has tried to attach myriads of traditional beliefs to it to make it work for them. We can gossip, tell little white lies, over-eat all we want, cheat on income taxes, but we can't steal, smoke or use alcohol. We choose the sins we think God will overlook.  Soon after we add enough things to God's Word, it is not pure to us any more, and it just doesn't work.

When we accept God's Word in its purity, and give up our will for His, then it slides right down into our heart, just like ice cream slides right down into the tummy. Mmmm! The exciting thing about God's Word is that I can't over indulge! It is a healthy thing to over indulge, but for ice cream...not even good for me to have it every day. 

Do I enjoy God's Word as much as ice cream? Do I find it sweet? Does its taste stay yummy in my life?

Do you want to know what bothers me, and has for a long time. If you want a crowd at a church event, then have food. People will come. For prayer meeting, not so much. Actually very few will show for it. Sad.

Lord, change our "taste buds."

God bless you

Exceeding Glad?

Matthew 5:11-12 "Happy are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely. Rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."

It is so painful when people insult us, make fun of us, and lie about us. When Pastor Mark spoke this morning, the words insult and exceeding glad pierced my heart. How do I react to others when this happens? I tend to back off and "hide" in my own emotions. But others will bite back. Fight it. Call out names. But the truth of the matter is, that Jesus commands us to rejoice and be exceeding glad. Really?

I've had physical pain, but also emotional pain. I think the insults and lies against me are more painful by far than physical pain. I have a responsibility in response to this. I can pretend happy, but that doesn't come close to what the command is...exceeding glad!

The message was ended with, "when our government makes being a Christian illegal, will there be enough evidence to convict me?"

To say the least I came away from the service being convicted and challenged. If I want to walk in the way Jesus walked, then I know what needs to be done. I do want to be happy, and this is the way to happiness...accept insults joyfully. Not easy!!

Have a good night
God bless you

Sticky Mess

Last night I mopped the family room and kitchen floor. The kids were in the tub playing, so I thought it an excellent time to clean things up. And it was. It was clean and looked good.

Now it is supper time, you know what is going to happen, right? Yes, Promise, who seldom makes a mess at the table, if ever, somehow dropped her little bowl, and it went splattering over the floor. She looked at me, with tears in her eyes, "Grandma, I didn't mean to break the bowl." Of course, she didn't mean to make such a mess. But it happened and it was a mess. It took a while to clean up the pieces and clean the floor. Why couldn't that have happened before I cleaned in the first place?

That's how we are. Jesus calls us children, and there is probably reasons for that. He cleans up our life, and immediately we make a mess. Then He starts over again, cleans our mess again. Hopefully with each cleansing we learn a little and become a bit more mature. But sometimes it takes many times with the "mop" before we realize God wants us clean.

Rather than wait until we get so messy and "sticky" that it is hard to walk, why not just let God do His work as He wants, and realize after all, God is in control. Why do I choose to walk around in the sticky mess, getting slivers of glass in my feet, crying for the pain, but not wanting God to work on me to get the sin out of my life!

What miserable creatures we are! But for the Grace of God! Praise the Lord for His Grace. His Love. His patience. He knows we are but dust...

God bless you

Suffering vs Glory

Psalm 119:71-72..not word for word, but it is saying, It is good for me to suffer so I can learn the laws of God.  So I thought maybe I don't know what suffering really is. The dictionary says suffering is to experience something painful or distress.

The value or advantage of my suffering should be to know God's Word better, to know who God is in a deeper way. The result of suffering should not be anger at God, complaints, or discouragement. As I see the scripture, suffering is a positive experience, at least should be. Ouch.

God loves us so much, He wants us closer to Him. Just as parents do not give children everything they want, but will discipline them to know the rules of the house, and hopefully those rules are also the statutes of God, the principals God has set forth for each of His children. The learning process may be painful, but the end is glory.

God's glory, not mine. Not the glory of the world. It goes beyond what we can imagine. Suffering...do we pray for it. No. But when it comes, we need to thank God, and go beyond the pain. Our suffering is but for a season, His glory is for eternity. In the meantime, my desire is to learn His precepts, His word through the suffering.

So today, look beyond the suffering. Glory is on its way.
Have a good day

God bless you.

The Gift

James 1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."


Yesterday I was shopping for my grandson's birthday gift. His mother suggested I get things to color, write, draw...educational art stuff. It was fun. I wish I could see his eyes when he receives the box in the mail. It is so fun giving gifts to grand kids. They don't expect much, and a little looks like a lot to their little eyes. So fun.


God always gives over and above what we ask. The problem comes when we ask for those things that are not good for us. Children do that sometimes too. Aren't we thankful God doesn't give what we want, but what is good for us? God is so faithful, and there is not even a slight variation from His faithfulness. He is always Good! He is the best gift! 


Oh for the Grace of God...Grace...He gives us what we don't deserve! 


Have a wonderful Lord's Day
God bless you

Speechless

Everywhere I look, I realize God is more than I can ever comprehend. 


Psalm 103:11-12 "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."


For a God who loves me as high as the heavens, and then forgives my sins and casts them as far as the east from the west, how are my prayers enough for Him to listen? YET, He does. He hears my cries and praises. He is my everything.


I do not have words to describe the overwhelming feeling I have at this moment. Do you ever wish you could talk to  one of your loved ones who are already in the presence of God, and hear their description of God? Or are they speechless as well?

"I Can Only Imagine." That's putting it in a nutshell.

God bless you

Me is Crabby

Today is one of those down days. And wouldn't you know, it comes after a great day of victory yesterday. When the Lord answers prayer, satan is right there to make sure I see the negative around me. Then, of course, flesh kicks in and the negative becomes very pronounced. Although I know a grateful heart and spirit is the victor, it is difficult. It isn't the big things that make it so hard, it is the small, gnawing things that keep nagging at the spirit.

What is even worse, after a bit, that negative is thrown at "someone." After all, it wouldn't be MY fault that I'm feeling crabby. Someone is making me crabby. I am an adult and I should have had victory over this ages ago. Wrong. Satan never gives up. He really wants us to live in the negative.

In the presence of the Lord, there is joy forever. Lord Jesus, come quickly.

God bless you