Monthly Archives: June 2011

Assurance - Promise, Christian Living, Forgiveness, Repentance, Salvation

The Sting

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It’s Tuesday night and I’m pretty well spent for the day but wanted to at least post a Wednesday morning hello.

Numbers 21:New International Version (NIV)
The Bronze Snake
4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way;
5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”
6 Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.
7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 The LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.”
9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.
via Numbers 21:4-9 – Passage Lookup – New International Version – BibleGateway.com.

First thing with these verses — but the people grew impatient on the way;

And their impatience was a springboard to murmuring, complaining and accusing their Leader and their God.

Impatience is a dangerous flesh fit.  In some cases it’s a real killer.

Isn’t it interesting that for the people of Israel to live they had to look upon the very image that was killing them?

Perhaps we would do well to look our impatience (or whatever sin that is so easily besetting us — Hebrews 12:1) in the face, see it for the fiery serpent it is and call out to JESUS, saying even as the Israelites did: “We sinned … “.

We can be sure He will forgive us and empower us to live.

I think I shall retire for the night on that, knowing that He is able to do even more than I can think or ask (Ephesians 3:20).  Perhaps these thoughts will lighten your Wednesday.  What a blessing that would be to both of us!!

Please click HERE to pray for our PFT list.

ABBA, thank You.  Thank You for promised rest to our weary frames and power to overcome our flesh, the world and Satan. I pray for our IDOKs each and every one at each of their whereabouts for each to abide in Your peace, comfort, wisdom, and an ever-increasing hunger and thirst to KNOW You. We are mindful of many needs and we entrust them to You in JESUS Name. Amen and amen.

Blessed to be a handmaiden of the LORD,
Kathie

Guests

A Quick Read

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Even if you are a slow reader like me, you can read this in less than 30 minutes.  And it is my recommendation that at your first opportunity, you do.

Click the picture to be connected with a web link to learn more.

You matter. What you do matters more than you have imagined.

And if the Butterfly Effect does not convince you, perhaps an even more reliable source will —

Psalm 103 21st Century King James Version (KJ21)
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits–
3 who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases,
4 who redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 who satisfieth thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
7 He made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel.
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy.
9 He will not always chide, neither will He keep His anger for ever.
10 He hath not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear Him.
14For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness unto children’s children,
18 to such as keep His covenant, and to those that remember His commandments to do them.
19 The LORD hath prepared His throne in the heavens, and His Kingdom ruleth over all.
20 Bless the LORD, ye His angels that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word.
21 Bless ye the LORD, all ye His hosts, ye ministers of His, that do His pleasure.
22 Bless the LORD, all His works, in all places of His dominion. Bless the LORD, O my soul!
via Psalm 103 – Passage Lookup – 21st Century King James Version – BibleGateway.com

The more we bless the LORD the more we KNOW we matter!!

Honored to be one of the LORD’s handmaidens,
Kathie

A YouTube from Verse 12 – click HERE

Assurance - Promise, Christian Living, Forgiveness, Repentance

Big and Bad or New Beginnings

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Oh this is hard.

Got the GRANDS settled in again; they had waited so patiently to do something fun as I worked to complete  this devotion. It was all but finished; only needed to tweak it for presentation.  I clicked all the right buttons for it to be saved, both in Word and on-line. But perhaps the thunderstorm had its way instead of mine – no words survived. Not one. Anywhere.  Other than my mind and what’s there, well that is questionable. So I am here to begin again, getting to practice what I “preached” so well just a little bit ago. :)

Isaiah 59: New International Version (NIV)
10 Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead.
via Is 59:10 – Passage Lookup – New International Version – BibleGateway.com.

I wrote earlier that this is a graphic picture for me this morning, depicting life lived by FEELINGS and not FAITH.  Or something like that – I need not insist that this new one be like the old one. Romans 8:28.

And right now I have feelings galore. Feelings vying for top position, and all of them detrimental to FAITH – so I prayed for help. And I’m still here; albeit jumpy.  The greater struggle in this moment is a desperate want to recreate what was. How many of you know that is not going to happen? Romans 8:28. So forgetting what is done, we press on. :)

Hebrews 10: 21st Century King James Version (KJ21)
38 Now the just shall live by faith; but if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him.”
via Hebrews 10:38 – Passage Lookup – 21st Century King James Version – BibleGateway.com.

Blind groping a wall, trying to get somewhere; trying to journey this life with all its decisions and responses and defenses that bumping up against others demands. Feelings scream to rule. FAITH waits quietly to empower.

At midday we stumble as if it were twilight. Feelings do that. They ignore the Ever Present, Voluminous, Abounding (redundant, I know – but you get it) LIGHT we have at our finger tips, as close as breath, that we could call upon by FAITH. But feelings don’t want to, so we don’t.

Even in this land, Strength and Might surround us; but feelings refuse to receive and we are paralyzed. We are like dead men moving about in chains as we push and shove to get to where we think we should be or else we just despair and roll over and play dead.

That’s Feeling Life – it keeps us blind and weak, stumbling, falling, crabby, complaining, negative, pessimistic, and moody.  Trust me, I know whereof I speak.

Just this morning as I sat to write (the first time), feelings came – big and bad.  Big and bad would have won and the first devotional message would not have been written (much less this second one in process now) had not Faith Life rescued me.  More than just breathe out a prayer, I had to write it.  It’s a legacy thing.

“I cannot do this – I cannot let this happen. I am praying now for help to release these adverse emotions that have come upon me to drive me to sin and frustration.”

And so Faith Life prevailed. Faith Life won’t always prevail. Not because it’s too feeble. No it is well able to succeed every time; yet Feeling Life will in all probability deceive us again, catch us off guard and we will plunge in again. But even so we have hope.

Let me share a picture in closing.  We had a gardenia bush (more like a tree) in our side yard. It was diseased to near death.  Black soot disease was choking out the sun, preventing photosynthesis; and you know that is certain death for vegetation. Yes. Had we not waited so long other treatment might have spared drastic measures; but we didn’t. (You are getting the analogy here, aren’t you?) I finally prayed over it.  And the clear word that came was prune to nubs and burn.

Yes. Deep, deep pruning and fire. Is the picture worth a thousand words? Shall we refuse Feeling Life to embrace Faith Life so that deep, deep pruning and fire (refining) be not necessary?

Even so – New Beginnings are possible.

Just one of the LORD’s handmaidens,
Kathie

Please pray. PFT Click HERE for names.

ABBA, I see with this piece there are many avenues You could highlight, many messages You could give to Readers as they come here; even so, ABBA, as You will in JESUS Name.  Amen and amen.