Hello my friends! Hope you all had a great Tuesday - full of God's blessings!! I know I'm really fortunate to have Lori living close by - what a blessing she is to us! Tonight we had our pictures taken for our Church Picture book, and Lori came over after work, had supper with us and did my hair! Another blessing was a call from my dear sister, Deil! She was worried about her car not starting right - just growled - but she did get it to the shop, and found out that it was the radio that was doing it, and when that was off - it's good to go!!! Praise God!! That sure made her happy!! God is good!!
Knowing about God and knowing God are very different things.
Lord, may I recognize Your workings in my life so that I may
really know You.
Scripture for the day:
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they
may have life, and have it abundantly." ~John 10:10
Meditation for the day:
We can have life and have it more abundantly--spiritual, mental,
physical, abundant life--joyous, powerful life. These we can have if we
follow the right way. Not all people will accept from God the gift of
an abundant life, a gift held out free to all. Not all people care to
stretch out a hand and take it. God's gift, the richest God has to
offer, is the precious gift of abundant life. People often turn away
from it, reject it, and will have none of it. We need not let this be
true of us.
Prayer for the day:
I pray that I may hasten to accept the gift of abundant spiritual life.
I pray that I may live the good life to the best of my ability.
JESUS IN THE HOUSE
Author Unknown
One day he decided to invite the Lord to come home and stay with him.
When the Lord arrived, this young man offered him the very best room
in the house. The room was upstairs and at the end of the hall. "This
room is yours, Jesus! Stay as long as you like and you can do whatever
you want to in this room, remember Jesus, its all yours."
That evening after he had retired for the night there came a loud
knocking at the front door. The young man pulled on his robe and made
his way downstairs. When he opened the door he found that the devil
had sent three of his demons to attack the man. He quickly tried to
close the door but one of the demons kept sticking his foot in.
Sometime later, after a great struggle, he managed to slam the door
shut and returned to his room totally exhausted.
Can you believe that," the man thought. Jesus is upstairs in my very
best room sleeping while I am down here battling demons. Oh, well,
maybe he just didn't hear. He slept fitfully that night. The next day
thing went along as normal and, being tired as he was, the young man
retired early that evening. Along about midnight, there came such a
terrible ruckus at the front door that the young man was sure that
whatever it was would tear the door down. He stumbled down the stairs
once again and opened the door to find that were dozens of demons now
trying to get into his beautiful home.
For more than three hours he fought and struggled against the demons
from h ell, and finally overtook them enough to shut the door against
their attack. All energy seemed to fail him. He really didn't
understand this at all. Why won't the Lord come to my rescue? Why does
he allow me to fight all by myself? I feel so alone. Troubled, he
found his way to the sofa and fell into a restless sleep.
The next morning he decided to inquire of the Lord about the
happenings of the last two evenings. Quietly he made his way to the
elegant bedroom where he had left Jesus. "Jesus," he called as he
tapped at the door. "Lord, I don't understand what is happening. For
the last two nights I have had to fight the demons away from my door
while you laid up here sleeping. Don't you care about me? Did I not
give you the very best room in the house?"
He could see the tears building in Jesus' eyes but continued on, "I
just don't understand, I really thought that once I invited you in to
live with me that you would take care of me and I gave you the best
room in my house and everything. What more can I do?"
"My precious child," Jesus spoke so softly. "I do love and care for
you. I protect all that you have released into my care. But, when you
invited me to come here and stay, you brought me to this lovely room
and you shut the door to the rest of your house. I am Lord of this
room but I am not Master of this house.
I have protected this room and no demon may enter here."
"Oh, Lord, please forgive me. Take all of my house -- it is yours. I
am so sorry that I never offered you all to begin with. I want you to
have control of everything." With this he flung open the bedroom door
and knelt at Jesus' feet. "Please forgive me Lord for being so
selfish."
Jesus smiled and told him that He had already forgiven him and that He
would take care of things from now on. That night as the young man
prepared for bed he thought, I wonder if those demons will return, I
am so tired of fighting them each and every night. But, he knew that
Jesus said that he would take care of things from now on.
Along about midnight the banging on the door was frightening. The
young man slipped out of his room in time to see Jesus going down the
stairs. He watched in awe as Jesus swung open the door, no need to be
afraid.
Satan stood at the door, this time demanding to be let in. "What do
you want, satan?" the Lord asked. The devil bowed low in the presence
of the Lord, "So sorry, I seem to have gotten the wrong address." And
with that, he and the demons all ran away.
There is a moral to this tale. Jesus wants all of you, not just a
part. He will take all that you give Him, but nothing more. How much
of your heart have you given to the Lord? Are you keeping a portion of
it away from Him?
Perhaps the attacks are coming more and more each day. Why not let the
Lord fight the battles for you? He is always victorious. I have found
that God made man simple, all of man's complexities are of his own
devising.
The Attitude of Three Hairs
There was once a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the
mirror and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.
"Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today," so she did
and she had a wonderful day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw she had
only two hairs on her head.
"HMM," she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle
today," and she did and she had a grand day.
The next morning she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw she
had only one hair left on her head.
"Well," she said, "Today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony
tail." So she did and it was a fun, fun day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that
there wasn't a single hair on her head.
"YEAH!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!"
Remember you may not be able to control what someone says or
does or some of the situations that life throws you, but you can
sure control the way you react.
~Author Unknown~
THE UNEXPECTED
Contributed be Kathleen Szmit
This evening I diverted from my regular walking route. There is a
gated path along the road on which I walk, and tonight I went behind
the gate. I wanted to see what was down the path behind that gate.
After winding my way through the soft, sandy terrain, I stumbled into
a large sand pit. Large rock outcroppings sat in the midst of soft,
sandy cliffs. It was stunning and a little daunting.
Like a child, I scrambled among the rocks and sand, loving the feel
of
freedom. Then I continued walking down a side path. What I found
baffles me still.
I live near the ocean, several miles from the beach. Where I was
walking was nowhere near the water; no shoreline in sight.
Nonetheless, as I ambled up a slight hill, I found myself looking
upon
thousands of seashells strewn across the landscape. Some were crushed
or broken, but many were whole and had only begun to become bleached
by the sun.
I looked intently at my surroundings, trying to discern exactly how
these objects of the sea had come to be in this random location so
far
from the sea. Where they came from wasn't the mystery. How they had
come to be there in such vast quantities completely stymied me.
To me, the seashells in the middle of nowhere symbolized the vast
power of God's Love. When you least expect to find it, there it is.
In
the end, it doesn't matter how it got there. What matters is that
it's
there.
PERSONAL PRAYER
Lord, open my eyes to see the needs of my neighbor. To see that charity is patient and kind. I must not allow my judgmental attitudes to kill sympathy and pity.
To see that charity is not arrogant or rude; I must recognize how much in need I am myself and dependent on others´ love.
To see that charity bears, believes, hopes and endures all things; I must be ready to bear the burdens of others with trust and perseverance.
Increase my faith, strengthen my hope, and deepen my love for you and neighbor. Amen.
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