Tag Archives: NLT

Christian Living, Prayer Requests

Naked and Crazy

Gallery Leave a comment

I listened this morning as my beloved read the Text. A familiar passage. We in Christendom often refer to the account as the man in the tombs. Perhaps you know just where to find the story. The Gospels of Mark and Luke.  And as my hubby read this morning I watched the scene on the screen of my mind. And then he read the following and I was off and running with thoughts to share with you:

15 . . . He was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane,
via Mark 5 NLT;CJB - Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Man - So - Bible Gateway.

Fully clothed and perfectly sane!

Oh I would that people in this naked crazy world would go to JESUS to be fully clothed and made perfectly sane!

I encourage you to read the account afresh today. Click HERE for a link to two translations: The New Living Translation, from which my beloved read this morning; and a newer favorite of mine: The Complete Jewish Bible.

This is what the man was like before he surrendered to JESUS:

4 Whenever he was put into chains and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones.
via Mark 5 NLT;CJB - Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Man - So - Bible Gateway.

Vivid description. Isn’t it?
Sad and frightening, wouldn’t you say?
Sad to be in such a state and frightening to those watching. Spiritually this scene is played out day after day, night after night all around us; people we love and care about. They scream and howl and mutilate themselves with sin and the darkness gets darker and darker. And we think: if only, if only they would surrender to JESUS they would be healed. They would be fully clothed and perfectly sane.

Why don’t they?

ABBA, my heart is heavy with this; I could name names and within the privacy of my heart, I am; and I am weary. Weary with watching the destruction, knowing You would heal and forgive and restore but so far they have refused to come out of their tombs. Thank You for Your mercy and long-suffering with us all. I pray for the clothed and the sane to keep sharing Your Message of deliverance and freedom. I pray we will guard our garments to keep them un-spotted by the world and our minds stayed on You so we can yet be a conduit of hope to them. Thank You, ABBA. Do a mighty work in Your CHURCH I pray.
We continue to bring our sick and afflicted with illness, disease and we ask You to heal them. We continue to give You praise for good reports for Terri and we unashamedly as You for more for her and her family. Kerri too. Leslie. Linda. Alyssa. David. Henry. And our much loved Jamie, please reveal the cause and a remedy for this condition, ABBA. Joyce as she grieves the death of her mother. Irene and these medical uncertainties. And there are Others. Thank You, for seeing their faces and their needs; for loving them and hearing and answering our prayers for them. And Israel: peace and protection. America: repentance and revival. And our Readers here: whatever the need, I pray for Your Provision to be received by them in YESHUA’s complete and worthy name.

Christian Living, Guests

Fire Ants

Gallery 1 Comment

We were a bit off kilter this weekend and on Saturday my beloved omitted the reading of Our Daily Bread at breakfast. So he had some additional reading this morning.

The writer of Saturday’s ODB was David McCasaland and it was entitled Stick Together.  He talked about fire ants. You know those pesky creatures that hurt like the mischief when they sting you? This is what Mr. McCasaland reported about them:

“For years, scientists have wondered how fire ants, whose bodies are denser than water, can survive floods that should destroy them. How do entire colonies form themselves into life rafts that can float for weeks? A Los Angeles Times article explained that engineers from the Georgia Institute of Technology discovered that tiny hairs on the ants’ bodies trap air bubbles. This enables thousands of the insects, “which flounder and struggle in the water as individuals,” to ride out the flood when they cling together.”

And if you will click HERE and read the devotion you will see a spiritual correlation of ‘sticking together’ in the Body of CHRIST for the good of us all. And I believe Scripture bears that out.

However, what I was reminded of this morning as my beloved read was this:

Psalm 19:1-3 The Message (MSG)

1-2 God’s glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon. Madame Day holds classes every morning, Professor Night lectures each evening.
3-4 Their words aren’t heard, their voices aren’t recorded, But their silence fills the earth: unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.
via Psalm 19:1-3 MSG – A David Psalm – God’s glory is on tour – Bible Gateway.

And from there, here:

Romans 1:20 New Living Translation (NLT)

20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
via Rom 1:20 NLT – For ever since the world was created, – Bible Gateway.

And how about this translation:

Romans 1:20 New Century Version (NCV)

20 There are things about him that people cannot see—his eternal power and all the things that make him God. But since the beginning of the world those things have been easy to understand by what God has made. So people have no excuse for the bad things they do.
via Romans 1:20 NCV – There are things about him that people – Bible Gateway.

And from there, here:

Psalm 14:1 King James Version (KJV)
1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.   . . .  

via Psalm 14:1 KJV – The fool hath said in his heart, There – Bible Gateway.

There are a few of ABBA’s creatures that I am not wild about but I can learn something about HIM from each of them and when those creatures I am not wild about invade my space I learn something about me!

HE IS AWESOME! ALL WISE and ALL KNOWING. We act like fools when we don’t trust Him. Would you agree?

ABBA, thank You for this morning’s thoughts; I pray we will all ponder them until they have a niche in our hearts that will control how we think, what we say and how we respond to Your Creation, those we like and those we don’t. I know You understand. Thank You for the smile.  Thank You for the privilege of communication and thank You for each one who comes here to read and pray and for them and for myself I pray we will have ears to hear and eyes to see the things You desire to individually show us today. I pray for peace and safety in each life and for each burden and care that they bring here, shared with this ministry and not shared, I ask for strength to trust You and for You to heal our sick and wounded and comfort those grieving. I pray for wisdom and practical helps for families and for prodigal sons and daughters to soon find themselves in their respective pig pens and come home to You and to their families. No person in my ‘world’, ABBA, is without conflicts; thank You that You are more than sufficient for all our troubles; help us lean on You, rest our whole selves upon You in JESUS name and for His sake. Amen and . . . .    .

We have the God-given Right to do right in this wrong World,
Praying (PFT)!

Assurance - Promise, Guests

The Great Romancer

Leave a comment

I am stunned with delight at a phrase written by Lisa Harper: “We should rejoice with wonder at being romanced by the Lord of the Universe!”  It is my understanding Lisa wrote of this in her book

I think I should like to get it; yes, I think I do!

Being romanced by the Lord of the Universe. 

I’d really like to hear/read what comes to your mind as you allow those words to rest easy upon you.

Isaiah 62:5
New Living Translation (NLT)
5      . . .     just as a young man commits himself to his bride. Then God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.
via Is 62:5;ro 15:4;zeph 3:17 NLT – Your children will commit themselves to – Bible Gateway.

Lisa said it this way: God’s perfect countenance splits into a grin, like a young bridegroom when He sees us coming.

Don’t you love that? Oh, I do!!

Romans 15:4
New Living Translation (NLT)
4 Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.
via Is 62:5;ro 15:4;zeph 3:17 NLT – Your children will commit themselves to – Bible Gateway.

Zephaniah 3:17 New Living Translation (NLT)
17 For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
via Is 62:5;ro 15:4;zeph 3:17 NLT – Your children will commit themselves to – Bible Gateway.

Again, Lisa’s paraphrase is — He courts us with living letters describing His great love for us and He serenades us with songs of delight and deliverance.

My goodness! that is good.  Hope it blesses you today and gives you cause to love JESUS more and cause you to read The Bible more and more.  Me too!

There are prayers to pray! Praying (PFT)!

Assurance - Promise, KWT Paraphrasing

Oh, Oh!!

Leave a comment

Psalm 139 New Living Translation (NLT)

1 O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.

2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.

3 You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.  You know everything I do.

4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.

5 You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!

7 I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!

8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there.

9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,

10 even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.

11 I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—

12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!

18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!  And when I wake up, you are still with me!

19 O God, if only you would destroy the wicked! Get out of my life, you murderers!

20 They blaspheme you; your enemies misuse your name.

21 O LORD, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?  Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?

22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred, for your enemies are my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

via Ps 139 NLT – Psalm 139 – For the choir director A – Bible Gateway.

How comfortable are you with verse 1?  He knows EVERYTHING about you?

Verily verily (don’t you like that? Reminds me of JESUS. There are 25 verses in the KJV wherein He said it.) knowing He knows ALL about me means more to me than my frail vocabulary can tell. This Truth gives me comfort, peace, a reality of security that is unequaled.  I met a young woman once who said she did not like it that He knew it all and saw it all concerning her. I thought that was sad. What do you think?

And how about verse 10? Wherever I am, wherever you are, if we are His, He will guide us AND His strength will support us.  That just flat-out feels good, doesn’t it?

Verse 16 — how sad do you think He is when He records the brevity of lifespan for every aborted baby?

Oh, oh and verses 17 and 18 — He thinks about you and me so much that His thoughts of us cannot be numbered! They outnumber the grains of sand on all the world’s beaches and under all the world’s seas. You know if we would just allow the Holy Spirit to give life to this Scripture within us it would cure our insecurities and inferiority complexes. Don’t you think?

I’ll finish with verse 24 – Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.  YES! Bring on the Search Light, ABBA.  Look in every corner, crevice, every minute place and cause me to see and be offended at every thing You find that offends You.  Amen and amen.

And it occurs to me as I am about to put this to post that His Word is the Search Light and if I am really serious about wanting Him to point out my offenses, I will open myself and apply myself to searching His Word, reading it, meditating upon it, praying it back to Him, for myself and for you.

So! Which of these verses speak to you today?

There are prayers to pray! Praying (PFT) is breathing for Christians. Breathe RED!

There is LIGHT for the Darkness + + +