Never Give Up!

 Happy Sunday!

"It is God himself, in his mercy, who has given us this wonderful work of telling his Good News to others, and so we NEVER GIVE UP. We do not try to trick people into believing—we are not interested in fooling anyone. We never try to get anyone to believe that the Bible teaches what it doesn’t. All such shameful methods we forego. We stand in the presence of God as we speak and so we TELL THE TRUTH, as all who know us will agree.

If the Good News we preach is hidden to anyone, it is hidden from the one who is on the road to eternal death. Satan, who is the god of this evil world, has made him BLIND, unable to see the glorious light of the Gospel that is shining upon him or to understand the AMAZING MESSAGE we preach about the glory of Christ, who is God. We don’t go around preaching about ourselves but about Christ Jesus as Lord. All we say of ourselves is that we are your slaves because of what Jesus has done for us. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made us understand that it is the brightness of his glory that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

But this precious treasure—this light and power that now shine within us[c]—is held in a perishable container, that is, in our weak bodies. Everyone can see that the glorious power within must be from God and is not our own.

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but NOT CRUSHED and broken. We are perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we DON'T GIVE UP AND QUIT. We are hunted down, but God never ABANDONS us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and KEEP GOING. These bodies of ours are constantly facing death just as Jesus did; so it is clear to all that it is only the living Christ within who KEEPS US SAFE."(2 Corinthians 4:1-10 Living Bible).

Love and prayers, Cynthia

NO Filter Needed!

 Happy Sunday!

"One day King Abimelech came from Gerar with his adviser, Ahuzzath, and also Phicol, his army commander. “Why have you come here?” Isaac asked. “You obviously hate me, since you kicked me off your land.”

They replied, “We can PLAINLY SEE that the Lord is with you. So we want to enter into a sworn treaty with you. Let’s make a covenant.  Swear that you will not harm us, just as we have never troubled you. We have always treated you well, and we sent you away from us in peace. And now look how the Lord has blessed you!”(Genesis 26:26-29 NLT).

In the age of Social Media, with filters and digital backgrounds what we see may not be genuine.  I've taken selfies and noticed how different lighting can make me look more youthful.  Eventually, we will see things as they really are.  Isaac had been mistreated by the Philistines.  They had fought with him over his wells, filled many of them in with dirt, and commanded him to leave the area.  Wells were a necessity for a herdsman.  The flocks and herds had to have water.  These struggles may have made Isaac sad, but he kept moving forward.

Finally, even the evil King Abimelech had to admit that it was plain to see God was blessing Isaac.  No matter what we face when God is with us even our enemies will have to recognize!  Proverbs 16:7 says, "When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh EVEN his enemies to be at peace with him."(KJV).  Malachi 3:16-19 says, "All those who truly RESPECTED the Lord and HONORED his name started discussing these things, and when God saw what was happening, he had their names written as a reminder in his book.  Then the Lord All-Powerful said: You people are PRECIOUS to me, and when I come to bring justice, I will PROTECT you, just as parents protect an obedient child. Then everyone will once again SEE the DIFFERENCE between those who obey me by doing right and those who reject me by doing wrong."(CEV).

"Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! BUT the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life."(Galatians 6:7-8 Message).

Love and prayers, Cynthia

DESIRABLE and BENEFICIAL

 Happy Sunday!

"So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every DESIRABLE and BENEFICIAL gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is NOTHING DECEITFUL in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to LIFE using the True WORD, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures."(James 1:17 Message).

The King James Version of James 1:7 uses the words, good and perfect to describe the Gifts that God gives.  I love the Word of God! The Message Version uses the words, desirable and beneficial.  Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the DESIRES of thine heart."(KJV).  Don't miss this!  God is OK with us having desires.  He just wants us to, "seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these THINGS shall be added unto you."(Matthew 6:33 KJV).

The Message Version says, "There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle."  That's GOOD NEWS!  That's what  the Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about!  We never have to worry about what we will get when we come to Him!  Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."(KJV). 

God gave us the Best Gift!  Jesus is the Most Desirable and Beneficial Gift we will ever receive!  John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."(KJV).

Love and prayers, Cynthia

He Helped Me

 Happy Sunday!

"I WAITED patiently for the Lord to HELP me,

    and he turned to me and HEARD my cry.

He LIFTED me out of the pit of despair,

    out of the mud and the mire.

He SET my feet on solid ground

    and STEADIED me as I walked along.

He has given me a NEW SONG to sing,

    a hymn of PRAISE to our God.

Many will SEE what he has done and be amazed.

    They will put their trust in the Lord.

Oh, the JOYS of those who trust the Lord,

    who have no confidence in the proud

    or in those who worship idols.

O Lord my God, you have performed MANY wonders for us.

    Your PLANS for us are too numerous to list.

    You have no equal.

If I tried to recite all your WONDERFUL deeds,

    I would never come to the end of them."(Psalm 40:1-5 NLT).

Love and prayers, Cynthia

L.O.V.E.

 Happy Sunday!

"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 

He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us."(1John 4:7-12 KJV).

"We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also."(1 John 4:19-21KJV).

Love and prayers, Cynthia