I Saw The Light

2-15-2009

I Saw The Light

Wow! What a testimony I heard this morning, thank you Mr. Paul Flowers. You are an inspiration to me. Yes, you are right it is hard to believe that Jesus Loves us so. He loves us in spite of all the things we do (good or bad)! As you and Mrs. Gale and Mr. One Man Band aka Donald sang, "No more darkness; no more night. Praise the Lord I saw the light". You guys sound just wonderful together! I hope to hear more songs by you guys in the near future! Paul I am thankful you shared your life story with us, a brave Christian leader you are indeed. Thank you.

Again, thank you visitors for choosing to fellowship, worship with us, and sing praises to our magnificent Lord, Jesus Christ! Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! I hope you all had a pleasant experience today. I am just excited about you all being here!

I Marvel At Your Creation!

"O Lord, our Lord,

How excellent is Your name in all the earth,

Who have set Your glory above the heavens!
Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have ordained strength,
because of Your enemies,
That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
For you have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen-
Even the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!"
Psalms 8

What is man that you are so mindful of me?

How wonderful it feels to sing of his praise. To read scripture and understand and to just be in awe of God and all he has done / does/ and will do! The book of Psalms is beautiful, and even so God is worthy of so much more! With this statement being made and acknowledged as fact, how then can I even begin to explain the question that Brother Larry presented to us today! How can a marvelous, miraculous, wonderful God, think so much of me. Think so much of me that he is mindful of me. A me of over billions of individuals? Yes, it is true every single person he knows. We are all His creation! And you know what he knows us. Not just kind knows us like a passing friend or close sister, He really knows us! God Loves Us, Each and Every one of Us!!!

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nation."

Jeremiah 1:5

How Precious Every Individual is to God!

Really, there is just no way I could ever sing the praise of my Lord any more wonderfully than David, so just read on and let his words be an inspiration to you. The words need no paraphrasing, the message is clear!

God Knows Me!

"O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high I cannot attain it.
Psalms 139:1-6

I am Captured By God's Hand!

"Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in sheol, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall on me",
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed the darkness shall not hid from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
Psalms 139:7-12

I am Fearfully and Wonderfully made

"For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
Psalms 139:13-16

God Loves me and you and you and you... all of us he thinks of individually more than the sands of the earth! WOW!

"How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.
Psalms 139:17 & 18

Our God is and awesome God! For sure, he not only created everything upon the earth, He created us from mere substances. And He knows us better than we know ourselves. He is never surprised by our actions or words because he knows what we are going to say and do before we say or do it! He knows our thoughts. He knows our inner most desires. He knows! And guess what? He still LOVES US!!! He loves us so much that when we make a poor decision or bad choice, that He knew we would make, He waits. Yes, waits for us to ask him for forgiveness. Then he forgives, if we ask. Oh my, how He Loves us! I saw the light…

God Loves You!

Thank you Lord for all you have given me.
Thank you Lord for loving Me.
Thank you Lord!

"Thy word, have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou O Lord: teach me thy statutes."
Psalms 119:11 & 12

Just Serving Jesus by growing stronger through praising my Awesome Lord!

Thanks Brother Larry.

Put Off the Old Put On the New

2-8-2009

Today I faced a Mountain

I just felt so loved this morning walking into our little church! I really missed you guys this week! Thank you Mrs. Mary Jeffreys that song "Today I Faced a Mountain" was absolutely beautiful! It is comforting to know that yes, there are mountains that will be in our way, however with God they are mere hills!

Welcome visitors! I am truly glad that you all have been coming and you guys are just so welcome here! I am glad to get to know you all. If there is anything we can do for you all please just ask. Honestly, it is just a pleasure to do God's work! A servant I wish to be. There are just so many mountains here on earth, and it seems like you get over one and there is another on the horizon. We are all on this journey with Jesus, just at different stages. Thanks be to God for seeing us through and enabling us to use our abilities he has blessed us with to help one another, even if it is just the simple knack for loving to talk, of which I will gladly claim as a blessing the Lord bestowed upon me!

Put Off the Old Put On the New

This morning there was a bit of excitement going on prior to service. We got a phone call from a member of the church to inform another member that the field behind their house was on fire! Yikes! It was heart warming to see a couple of our willing and able young men follow and assist with the putting out of the fire. This is exactly what I am talking about the abilities that God gives us are amazing even if they are seemingly small and simple! I am thankful that Brother Larry is blessed with the ability to preach. I am grateful to sit, listen, and learn from his message.

The whole sermon was educational to my Spirit, thanks! The hole in the t-shirt was a wonderfully comically analogy. We all have a couple of holes in our lives that lend to imperfection! Yes, we do and well some of us, me included our t-shirts are barely threaded together, with holes consuming the majority of the shirt! Nevertheless, through Jesus, even though we know those holes are there and He does too, we are still considered whole, and not full of holes.

Through this realization, I see now that I should just let go of all those old raggedy t-shirts with all the holes and put on and wear my new clothes that is as white as snow lacking holes of any size.

It is only through Him that we are able to live with a risen attitude. Through our rebirth in Jesus Christ, even when we sin he does not look at me and see my flesh and human nature but instead He sees my spirit, which is Him in me! I am so thankful He loves me so much that he allows His Grace to cover all my sin, fill in all my holes

" If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting on the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory."
Colossians 3:1-4

Simply, we just need to let go of all these old ragged clothes that we just cannot ever make whole again, and adorn ourselves with His glory. Put on our new clothes that He has given us. Wear the shirt that is white as snow and lacking any and all holes! We need to change to the point that our old self is unrecognizable. Change all our old habits and selfish reasoning that lead to all the holes in the first place. Let Jesus be our example!

“Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
Colossians 3:5-7

How Do We Put All This Behind Us? Take Off the Old T-shirt With Holes?

It is hard to let go of all the earthy selfish things that we like to hold onto. It is a struggle to let go of this control we think we have over our lives. As we have talked of before it is really difficult to come to that place in our lives when we just walk blindly by faith; however, in the knowledge of the person of Jesus Christ all this is possible. If we keep learning and wanting to hear the word of God and we continue to grow and mature personally through our own relationship with Christ, it is possible to shed those ragged clothes of the flesh!

“But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
Colossians 3:8-11

New White T-shirt, No Holes!

Let the Holy Spirit live through us! Just Serve Jesus! Yes, that is what we are to do.
We are always to be of a forgiving nature! Always have a forgiving heart! That is the one thing I really got out of this last part of the message, and the hardest!

“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him!”
Colossians 3:12-17

Just Serving Jesus by growing in knowledge, strengthening our relationship with Him!

Thanks Brother Larry for your service.

Hope you all have a blessed week!

Lord, thank You for all your grace, love and forgiveness!

Who Will Go? Who Will Choose the LORD?

2-1-2009

Choosing To Have Faith In GOD

Thank you dear Lord, this morning was a great time of fellowship, sharing, and learning in Your house. I had a wonderful time; I hope you all did as well! Welcome all you visitors, I am happy you guys chose to come back and share with us! I was so so glad to see my sister and her family in attendance! I love you.

Thank you Donald, our one-man band, the song "Who Will Go Who'll Choose The Lord" was such a Joy to hear! (Not leaving Sarah or Mrs. Hess out, we love you girls and your talents are much appreciated by all!) I cannot wait to put a couple of your songs on here to share with everyone else! In addition, you might have noticed that the title of this song is the title of this weeks blog entry, how fitting and divinely choreographed! Who knew the sermon would be on this exact point? Who knew Donald would write a song this week on this same topic? God did!!!

You cannot serve 2 masters!

"No one can serve 2 masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other, you cannot serve God and mammon."
Matthew 6:24

Now what is mammon you ask? Mammon is money or wealth! Therefore, you cannot serve God and money. Well really, I never thought about anyone as serving money. However, I get it now! Not is it just saying that you are serving money, but that you are putting your faith in money, and faith in your own ability to make money. Instead what we should do as servant of Christ, put our faith in Him and His ability to provide for us! Now this makes it so much clearer!

Who will provide!

Oh my, during these times of economic downturns it is hard to be still, listen, and trust and have faith that all will be ok. Believe me, when I say that I am there with you. How after a job has been lost are we to just have faith that God will provide food, shelter and clothing for us as well as our children? How after the steady flow of money that was already so tight to begin with stops abruptly with really no foresight, are we to just have Faith that God is going to provide all the health care, medication and transportation that we need? It really seems like a seemingly crazy thing to think about, but do think about it!

God tells us to not worry! He will provide!!! Really if He says He is going to then well, He is going to. If God says for us not to worry about things of this nature, then really we should not! He gives us His word and He always fallows through! ALWAYS!!! Choose to have Faith In GOD! Choose to serve The One and Only Master! Make the conscious decision to not let worry consume you, and be a servant to the world. Choose to be a servant of JESUS CHRIST!!

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet you heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add on cubit to his stature?"
Matthew 6:25-27

Cliff Hanger!

A couple of weeks back Brother Larry described an event that I thought gave a startling look at a mans life in today’s times. A man whose master is mammon, clinging to everything he has built, a home, a career, a family, his own sense of his place in the world. Literally clinging, hanging on by white knuckles. his arms beginning to tremble and shake from the weight of his body. Sweat dripping from his brow, eyes darting to and fro looking for a way to hold on. His mind reeling at his astonished realization, that his faith in money has lead him to ruins. He is unable to let go and reach out for any assistance, no one waiting on the edge to pull him to safety. Crying, screaming in utter helplessness the man has no choice, he lets go. Lets go of all that he thought sustained him, all the prideful things that he thought fulfilled him and he fell. Fell in to God's Grace! He put his faith in the Lord! Can you not just envision this, with so many men and women losing their jobs, over 100,000 just last week alone! Their downward spiral is happening as we sit here. Pray for them, their families, and their hearts, to come to peace in the Lord and let them feel the joy that can only come from Jesus!

GOD your Master Will Provide!

"So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you the even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, oh you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear? For after all these things the gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

Matthew 6:28-34

Behold and Consider what you have.

Yes, no matter it seems the amount of faith and trust I think I have I still worry. I am still growing, my faith still growing, my trust still growing. I pray that one day I can just wake up with no worries. How can I do this? How can I accomplish this goal of leading a worry free life? Really it is very simple, Just place faith and trust in Jesus, let the Spirit indwell in us, listen and obey what He says! So, I will continue to behold, or look intensely at what Gods word says and what he is saying to me. I will consider what I have been given, my abilities my talents that he blessed me with. I will overcome trials and hardships through Christ Jesus, and be thankful in all that he gives. There will always be trials! I will take up roots where I have been placed. I will continue to strive to put my relationship with Jesus 1st in all that I do! I will acknowledge that I cannot handle anything without Him. I will continue to believe that I am not alone in my struggle; Jesus walks with me hand in hand. For God our Heavenly Father cares for all of us Much More! He cares for us more than for the birds and more than for the lilies for through no effort of their own, but by the Grace of God they are still alive and as a beautiful as ever!

"Who will Go? Who'll Choose The Lord"? Me! I will choose the Lord, my God! He is my Master!

I choose to JUST SERVE JESUS!