We give thanks!

-

 


Let us thank the Lord for everything today!  He is worthy!  He deserves our gratitude!  For His love, His sacrifice, His blessings, His Kingdom - so much to thank Him for!




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts

Can you really let it go?

-
Image
I have been waiting for some email responses lately, some of which can potentially change my life.  It has been nerve wracking for me. I've prayed about it, gave it all to God, and yet it still weighs on my heart and mind - the uncertainty, the wondering, and the not knowing. It's hard to truly let go sometimes.  I believe I trust God with my whole heart.  And yet when there are some issues on the line that affect my life, affect my immediate future, and just plain can either make life harder or easier for me, I give in to anxiety. It is a miserable place to live!  But I do not need to stay in that miserable state of mind. Especially when I belong to omnipotent God who is for me, on my side, ever watching out for me, and doing all sorts of wonderful things on my behalf behind the scenes.   How do I know He does all of these and more?  He promises to do them.  And if you are a child of God, you too have the same promises from His infallible Word. We will still have to wait on so
Read more

Believing in God's love for you

-
Image
In the age of "unfriending" and "ghosting," divisiveness and polarizing, it is more crucial than ever that we be grounded in God's personal love for us. It is very easy to fall into the trap of comparing God's love for us to people's love for us. God's love is unlike human love in every possible, imaginable way.  The love we give and receive from others is but a taste, a tiny glimpse, of God's vast love for us.  They really cannot be compared at all, if we are honest with ourselves. People can be very fickle.  People change.  People have issues of their own that they are either dealing with or in denial of.  People can be looking more to get love than to give love.  Most wait to give love until they get it from another first.  It is the rare person who gives love freely without expectation. That is exactly how God loves us.  We love because He first loved us (see I John 4:19). While the world seems to be spinning out of control, resulting in a so
Read more

I can't, but He can

-
Image
The number one thing I want Christians to understand is this.  There is nothing in us, in and of ourselves, that can pull off the Christian life. Now let's pause right here.   If the "Christian life" means nothing more to you than attending church and trying to be a "good person," you haven't a clue as to what it is truly about. God calls us to be holy. God calls us to love each other. God calls us to live a life worthy of Himself, His calling for us. God calls us to forgive others. God calls us to put Him first above all else (including reputation, money, and family). The question we must face is this: are we able to accomplish any of these things on our own? The answer: no way, no how, not in a billion years.  Maybe outwardly, but not from our own inner selves. So why would Jesus tell us to do what we are not able to do?  We must be able to do these things or He wouldn't have commanded them, right? We truly can only do all of these, and more, through C
Read more

Nehemiah completes his work

-
Image
We learn in chapter 5 of Nehemiah that the government was overtaxing the Jews.  Nehemiah's response to this had various stages. First, he was angry.  Then he thought about it. Let's pause here.  How many of us give in to anger over injustice only to "live" there instead of regrouping and giving it thought?  Do we tend to let our emotions get the best of us?  Or do we move on into rational thought instead?  It's hard to do sometimes, but very possible! Nehemiah's response after he gave it some thought was to confront the powers that be over their misdeeds.  He told them flat out that they were taking advantage of his people.  He said directly, "The thing that you are doing is not good." (v 9)  That took guts! Then, Nehemiah told the governor to fear God and restore to the Jews everything they had stolen from them. It's like they needed to be told, like children, right from wrong, and how to rectify their wrongdoing.  And they listened and did what
Read more

Leap for joy

-
Image
Jesus tells me... Keep loving people no matter how they treat you. Love is not a feeling.  It is a choice.  It is action. I chose and loved Judas knowing from the start he would betray Me.  But he was a crucial part of the Father's plan. So when your enemies "send you to the cross," so to speak, since everything that comes your way must be approved by Me first, I am allowing it for your ultimate good. Though the cross is excruciatingly painful - dying to self, to "rights" - it births a resurrection always if you follow through. If you refuse to "go to the cross," then you forfeit the fruit, the rewards. Because it is the cross that eventually gives life.   " And  after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace,  who has called you to his  eternal glory in Christ, will himself  restore,  confirm, strengthen, and establish you."  I Peter 5:10 So don't be too quick to complain or grouse when you are mistreated for My sake.  They
Read more