Happy Sunday!
"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."(1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV).I'm so very thankful! Thankful to God for Life, Health, and Strength. As the Deacons used to say in prayer, I'm thankful for the activity of my limbs, and I'm thankful that the bed I slept on last night was not a "cooling board", and the cover I covered my body with was not my "winding sheet". I'm thankful for Salvation through Jesus Christ and the confidence that I will never open my eyes in Hell. I'm also thankful that I don't have to live a life of hell here on earth. Like the psalmist I can say, "I believe that I will see the goodness of the Lord in this world of the living."(Psalm 27:13 GW). I'm thankful for the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, and thankful that He is with me and leads me and guides me into all truth.(John 16:13).I'm thankful for freedom, and happy to live in the United States of America. I'm thankful that God is merciful and doesn't give me what I deserve. I'm thankful that God, "is good even to people who are unthankful and cruel".(Luke 6:35 CEV). He always gives us, "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think".(Ephesians 3:20 KJV). I'm far beyond second chances, so I'm thankful for another chance to get it right. I'm thankful for my parents introducing me to the things of God early in life. Even through ups and downs, and ins and outs what I learned in the Word of God has sustained me. I'm thankful for my family, and friends. I'm even thankful for my enemies. Yes, I do have enemies. They teach me to be kind and give me standard to exceed. With each slight, I learn to be more loving, more giving, more transparent, and more like Jesus. I'm thankful for prosperity, and employment. I'm thankful that God is happy when I prosper, "As for those who desire my vindication, may they be joyful and glad. May they forever say, “The Eternal is indeed great! He takes pleasure when good things happen to His servant!”(Psalm 35:27 Voice).I'm thankful for YOU! Yes, YOU! Thank God for you allowing me to invade your inbox, and ramble on and on about how Magnificent God is!Happy Thanksgiving! Remember Everyday is a Day of Thanksgiving!Love and prayers, Cynthia
Happy Sunday!
"The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity."(2 Corinthians 10:3-5 Message).Years ago Joyce Meyer wrote a book entitled, "Battlefield of the Mind". This title is so true, appropriate, and relevant today. The Bible says it over and over again, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he."(Proverbs 23:7 Amplified). The Apostle James said, "Where do you think your fighting and endless conflict come from? Don’t you think that they originate in the constant pursuit of gratification that rages inside each of you like an uncontrolled militia?"(James 4:1 Voice). Even secular writers and mentors say, "Change you mind or thoughts, change your life".The Apostle Paul reminded the Corinthian believers that we are fighting a battle, and as soldiers we do have weapons. But our weapons are unconventional. Our weapons are used to change minds and tear down strongholds that have been constructed by ungodly thinking. In Ephesians 6:13-18 he encourages us to dress appropriately for combat, "So use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will still be standing up. But to do this, you will need the strong belt of TRUTH and the breastplate of God’s APPROVAL. Wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you preach the Good News of PEACE with God. In every battle you will need FAITH as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. And you will need the helmet of SALVATION and the sword of the Spirit—which is the WORD of God. Pray all the time. Ask God for anything in line with the Holy Spirit’s wishes. Plead with him, reminding him of your needs, and keep praying earnestly for all Christians everywhere."(Living Bible).We know where the fight is raging, and we have on the right uniform and equipment, but what can we do daily to ensure greater success? Great question. I'm so glad you asked! First remember your eyes and ears are gates or gateways to your soul. Proverbs 4:23 warns, "Above all, be careful what you think because your thoughts control your life."(Easy-to-Read Version). You don't have to listen and watch everything. Remember the Children of Israel when the spies came back with their news reports? 10 spies acknowledged that the land was everything God promised, BUT they denied His power to take them into the land. 2 spies tried to encourage the group that God is always faithful, and he promised them the land, and they were well able to take it now. The people let the evil message get into their minds. The scripture says they cried all night long. You know the story. They missed out on going into the land and everyone 20 years old and older was doomed to die in the wilderness. Numbers 14:29 says, "You will all die here in this wilderness! Not a single one of you twenty years old and older, who has complained against me, shall enter the Promised Land. Only Caleb (son of Jephunneh) and Joshua (son of Nun) are permitted to enter it."(Living Bible). OUCH!Second, decide to always put God's Word first place. It's not what I think, or you think but what God thinks that matters. Go to the Word to find out what God says about every issue. Jesus comforted the disciples when he informed them that he would be leaving them soon. He said, "But the Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place. The Spirit will TEACH you everything and will REMIND you of what I said while I was with you."(CEV).We have everything we need to WIN! Love and prayers, Cynthia
Happy Sunday!
"The wicked become angry when they see this. They grind their teeth in anger, but then they disappear. They will NEVER get what they want most."(Psalm 112:10 Easy-to-Read Version).What is making the wicked people angry? Good question. I'm so glad you asked. Reading the entire 112 Psalm will explain why the wicked are so angry. Psalm 112 describes a Godly, God-fearing, God-respecting person and the wonderful life God provides for him. Verse 1 says, "Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!) Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who fears the Lord [with awe-inspired reverence and worships Him with obedience], Who delights greatly in His commandments."(Amplified). Why would the wicked hate the good? Well, the Apostle James described it like this, "What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn’t it because there is a whole army of EVIL desires within you? You want what you don’t have, so you kill to get it. You long for what others have, and can’t afford it, so you start a fight to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it. And even when you do ask you don’t get it because your whole aim is wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure."(James 4:1-3 Living Bible).Psalm 37:4 says, "Do what the Lord wants, and he will give you your heart’s desire."(CEV). You and I are probably more familiar with the King James Version of this scripture, "Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart". We never have to worry about the wicked, we just want to live our lives in a way that makes it clear that we are not the wicked ones. Jesus said, "A good tree does not produce bad fruit. And a bad tree does not produce good fruit. Every tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces. You won’t find figs on thorny weeds. And you can’t pick grapes from thorn bushes! GOOD people have good things saved in their hearts. That’s why they say good things. But those who are EVIL have hearts full of evil, and that’s why they say things that are evil. What people say with their mouths comes from what fills their hearts."(Luke 6:43-45 Easy-to-Read Version)."If you want a happy, good life, keep control of your tongue, and guard your lips from telling lies."(1 Peter 3:10 Living Bible).Love and prayers, Cynthia
Happy Sunday!
We are living in exciting times! Of course the Word always has something to say. Psalm 103 comes to mind. Read it for yourself in different translations when you get a chance. It's beautiful! This is what we should be doing everyday! Blessing the Lord! Remembering how great He is, and how much He loves us. Not forgetting, but taking advantage of every benefit He has provided."O my soul, come, praise the Eternal with all that is in me—body, emotions, mind, and will—every part of who I am— praise His holy name.2 O my soul, come, praise the Eternal; sing a song from a grateful heart; sing and never forget all the good He has done.3 Despite all your many offenses, He forgives and releases you. More than any doctor, He heals your diseases.4 He reaches deep into the pit to deliver you from death. He crowns you with unfailing love and compassion like a king.5 When your soul is famished and withering, He fills you with good and beautiful things, satisfying you as long as you live. He makes you strong like an eagle, restoring your youth.6 When people are crushed, wronged, enslaved, raped, murdered, the Eternal is just; He makes the wrongs right.7 He showed Moses His ways; He allowed His people Israel to see His wonders and acts of power.8 The Eternal is compassionate and merciful. When we cross all the lines, He is patient with us. When we struggle against Him, He lovingly stays with us—changing, convicting, prodding;9 He will not constantly criticize, nor will He hold a grudge forever.10 Thankfully, God does not punish us for our sins and depravity as we deserve. In His mercy, He tempers justice with peace.11 Measure how high heaven is above the earth; God’s wide, loving, kind heart is greater for those who revere Him.12 You see, God takes all our crimes—our seemingly inexhaustible sins—and removes them. As far as east is from the west, He removes them from us.13 An earthly father expresses love for his children; it is no different with our heavenly Father; The Eternal shows His love for those who revere Him.14 For He knows what we are made of; He knows our frame is frail, and He remembers we came from dust."(Psalm 103:1-14 Voice).Love and prayers, Cynthia
Happy Sunday!
Ecclesiastes 9:16 says, "Then I realized that though wisdom is better than strength, nevertheless, if the wise man is poor, he will be despised, and what he says will not be appreciated."(Living Bible).Deuteronomy 8:17-18 says, "If you start thinking to yourselves, “I did all this. And all by myself. I’m rich. It’s all mine!”—well, think again. Remember that God, your God, gave you the strength to produce all this wealth so as to confirm the covenant that he promised to your ancestors—as it is today."(Message).Matthew 6:16 says, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven."(Amplified).Don't you just love how the Word of God flows? I do. Don't miss this. God wants you to have influence in the world. He knows that a poor wise man is not appreciated so he gives you power to get wealth. Not just so you can be rich, but also because he keeps his promises to the ancestors. When you get the wealth, the people in the world should see you doing good things with it. When they see you doing great things for others they will glorify God. Remember when Jesus told the disciples about the King separating the sheep from the goats? Matthew 25:34-36 says, “Then the king will say to the godly people on his right, "Come, my Father has great blessings for you. The kingdom he promised is now yours. It has been prepared for you since the world was made. It is yours BECAUSE when I was hungry, you gave me food to eat. When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I had no place to stay, you welcomed me into your home. When I was without clothes, you gave me something to wear. When I was sick, you cared for me. When I was in prison, you came to visit me."(Easy-to-Read Version). These godly people got it right! They even had to ask the King, "When did we see you hungry, thirsty, homeless, sick, and in prison?" The King responded, "I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me."(Message).Love and prayers, Cynthia
