Deuteronomy 27:11-26--When “Maybe” isn't the answer.

Deuteronomy 27:11-26 (NKJV) Curses Pronounced from Mount Ebal 11 And Moses commanded the people on the same day, saying, 12 “These shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people, when you have crossed over the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin; 13 and these shall stand on Mount Ebal to curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14 “And the Levites shall speak with a loud voice and say to all the men of Israel: 15 ‘Cursed is the one who makes a carved or molded image, an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ “And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen!’ 16 ‘Cursed is the one who treats his father or his mother with contempt.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 17 ‘Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor’s landmark.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 18 ‘Cursed is the one who makes the blind to wander off the road.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 19 ‘Cursed is the one who perverts the justice due the stranger, the fatherless, and widow.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 20 ‘Cursed is the one who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s bed.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 21 ‘Cursed is the one who lies with any kind of animal.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 22 ‘Cursed is the one who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 23 ‘Cursed is the one who lies with his mother-in-law.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 24 ‘Cursed is the one who attacks his neighbor secretly.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 25 ‘Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 26 ‘Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law by observing them.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’     When “Maybe” isn't the answer. Some parents have their children repeat instructions after them to assure that there is no misunderstanding. It is difficult to say “I thought you meant...” when you have confirmed and agreed. Some parents have different levels of agreement, such as “yes”, “no” and “maybe”. Whenever my earthly father wasn't ready to say “yes”, I prayed he would say “maybe” because there was still room to negotiate. When he said “yes” he always kept his promise, but when he said “no”, that was the end of that. He also liked to have me repeat instructions to make sure that we had clarity. He wasn't always easy, but he was always fair. When God gave His people these instructions He had them to affirm both understanding and agreement of each point before they moved on to the next. There was no room to say “I thought you meant...”   Father, God, there are so many wonderful promises in Your Word, but there are also instructions for living. I pray wisdom to heed Your instructions with the same zeal that I hold on to Your promises.   I thank you in all things. May God Forever Be a Blessing in Your Life!!!

Psalm 37:1-4 Praise Him, Just Because...

Praise God for the great things He has done. Praise Him for the smallest things He does every day.
Fill your mind with praise and thanksgiving and find how little time you will have to worry about anything.

There is so much comfort in God's Word. He encourages us to avoid getting distracted with things that matter not at all and to concentrate on what matters most, His love, His plans for us, His grace, His mercy, His salvation.

We can get lost when we waste time wondering how in the world do the wicked have so much.

Think about it. We can only hold one thought in our mind at a time, so, if we are being jealous, even           in the smallest way, of the fortune of the wicked, we might miss a blessing that God would be revealing   just at that moment. What a waste!

Spend time in His Word. The promises abound. Spend time in prayer. The comfort is endless.      Spend time in praise. The rewards are limitless.

Psalm 37:1-4 Contemporary English Version (CEV)

37 Don’t be annoyed by anyone who does wrong,
    and don’t envy them.
2 They will soon disappear like grass without rain.

3 Trust the Lord and live right!
    The land will be yours, and you will be safe.
4 Do what the Lord wants,
    and he will give you  your heart’s desire.

  God always gives his best to those who leave the choice with him.
Be ready and worthy of the life of peace and bounty our precious Lord has for us.



May God Forever Be a Blessing in Your Life!!!

1 Thessalonians 1:4-8  Contemporary English Version (CEV)4 My dear friends, God loves you, and we know he has chosen you to be his people.                                                                                                                                  5 When we told you the good news, it was with the power and assurance that come from the Holy Spirit, and not simply with words. You knew what kind of people we were and how we helped you.                                                                                                              6 So, when you accepted the message, you followed our example and the example of the Lord. You suffered, but the Holy Spirit made you glad.
7 You became an example for all the Lord’s followers in Macedonia and Achaia.                                                                                                                                 8 And because of you, the Lord’s message has spread everywhere in those regions. Now the news of your faith in God is known all over the world, and we don’t have to say a thing about it.

“work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” Paul wrote these words of praise and encouragement to the Church at Thessalonica to describe not only their work, but the attitude of faith, love and hope that was the character of their work.

It does not sound as if the Church at Thessalonica was filled with people who begrudgingly or with a sense of duty only did the work of God. It sounds as if this was a church that approached the work of God with joy.

How meaningful it had to be to hear your mentor speak of your work with praise. How joyful it had to be to hear that, because of your efforts, the Word was spreading over the world!

The miracle of the Body of Christ is that He has equipped every one of us with a gift to bring to the table. We can all be a part of the joy of service if we but open our eyes and hearts to opportunities.

Acts 8:29-31 Contemporary English Version (CEV)
29 The Spirit told Philip to catch up with the chariot. 30 Philip ran up close and heard the man reading aloud from the book of Isaiah. Philip asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 The official answered, “How can I understand unless someone helps me?” He then invited Philip to come up and sit beside him.

Some of us work best within a group. Some of us serve as missionaries at home and abroad. Some of us, like Phillip, seize any opportunity to tell the Good News where ever a chance presents.

Our job is to seek His will and serve as He guides us.


Paul's writting in 1 Thessalonians 1, gives a glimpse of a church doing the work of God.  
Luke in Acts 8 gives an example of an individual doing this same work. What is interesting is that both the church and the individual took their lead from the Holy Spirit and this is where we must go for support and guidance.

We find faith in His Word: Romans 10:17 (KJV)
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
We find love in His Word: 1 John 2:5 (KJV)
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
We find hope in His Word: Romans 15:13 (KJV)
13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Then we go about the business of doing His work for this is the Great Commission.

May God Forever Be a Blessing in Your Life!!!

Mark 2:1-5 The Blessing of Faithful Friends

Mark 2:1-5 Contemporary English Version (CEV)


Jesus Heals a Crippled Man

2 Jesus went back to Capernaum, and a few days later people heard that he was at home.

2 Then so many of them came to the house that there wasn’t even standing room left in front of the door.

Jesus was still teaching  3 when four people came up, carrying a crippled man on a mat.

4 But because of the crowd, they could not get him to Jesus. So they made a hole in the roof above him and let the man down in front of everyone.

5 When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the crippled man, “My friend, your sins are forgiven.”



Mark 2:1-5 The Blessing of Faithful Friends

Mark 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

We are taught to pay attention to our circle of friends, and for good reason. Your friends can be a source of encouragement. Your friends can be magnets that attempt to pull you away from the path. Or you may be blessed with friends who believe so strongly that they will remove all obstacles between you and your blessings.

These friends not only believed enough that they carried the paralyzed man through the streets to get to Jesus, they would not be deterred when the crowd was too thick to get their friend close!

“We believe this man has the power to heal and we will make sure you get there” seems to be their stance.

Note that scripture does not focus on the faith of the paralyzed man alone, but on the strength of the faith of him and his friends...”When Jesus saw their faith (emphasis mine).

Dear Heavenly Father, please help me to not only have friends with uncompromising faith, but to be such  a friend. Amen

May God Forever Be a Blessing in Your Life!!!

Luke 6:27-38 A Lesson in True Giving

Luke 6:27-38 A Lesson in True Giving 

 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

We almost always skip right to the easiest part of this powerful message. It is probably easier for even the stingiest person to part with his hard earned cash than it is to truly love the “unloveable” and forgive the “unforgiveable” but that is the essence of this message.

27 This is what I say to all who will listen to me:

He didn't say forgive when it's easy. He didn't say love when it's convenient. He left us with a goal to strive for which would be undeniable evidence that we are “a son of the Most High”. And He made it plain that He was talking about loving through some difficult circumstances. 

When we finally reach the ability to “love those who spitefully use you” there will be no need to TELL anyone that we are Christians.

I ask, How can I possibly forgive those who have done me wrong?

I look to the cross. I look to the powerful message of my Lord and Savior who asked forgiveness for those exacting a cruelty beyond my ability to imagine.

Matthew 22:37-40 New King James Version (NKJV) 37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’                       38 This is the first and great commandment.                                                                             39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’                                   40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

I look in His Word and remember that He left me the Comforter to help me with this and all difficult tasks. I thank Him for the Comforter because I know, without a doubt, that I don't have a chance of fulfilling this commandment without His help.

Heavenly Father, every week we sing “And they will know we are Christians by our love, by our love—And they'll know we are Christians by our love.” Please help me to reach that point where this will be a whole truth for me. Please let Your love shine through in my every contact with others. Amen.

May God Forever Be a Blessing in Your Life!!!

Joy of Forgiveness

Psalm 32:1-11 Contemporary English Version (CEV) (A special psalm by David.) The Joy of Forgiveness

32 Our God, you bless everyone
    whose sins you forgive and wipe away.

2 You bless them by saying,     “You told me your sins,
without trying to hide them, and now I forgive you.”

3 Before I confessed my sins, my bones felt limp,
    and I groaned all day long.

4 Night and day your hand weighed heavily on me,
    and my strength was gone as in the summer heat.

5 So I confessed my sins and told them all to you.
    I said, “I’ll tell the Lord each one of my sins.”
Then you forgave me and took away my guilt.

6 We worship you, Lord, and we should always pray
whenever we find out that we have sinned.
    Then we won’t be swept away by a raging flood.

7 You are my hiding place! You protect me from trouble,
and you put songs in my heart  because you have saved me.

8 You said to me, “I will point out the road that you should follow.
I will be your teacher and watch over you.

9 Don’t be stupid like horses and mules
    that must be led with ropes to make them obey.”

10 All kinds of troubles will strike the wicked,
    but your kindness shields those who trust you, Lord.

11 And so your good people should celebrate and shout.

Imagine David, known as “a man after God's Own Heart”, crying out for forgiveness to a God whom he was certain loved him.

We must know in our own hearts the wonder of the love of God. It is in this knowledge that we have faith in our salvation and we have faith in His unmatchable capacity for love.

We teach our children to pray “Our Father, which art in heaven”. It is important for them to see in us the knowledge that God is truly supreme father of us all. It is important for them to witness our dependence on his grace and mercy.

Like any father, he wants the best for us and the best from us. Like any father he is often disappointed in our behavior. Like any father, he stands ready to forgive us when we come to our senses.

Our teacher and Moderator reminds us that repetition, repetition, repetition helps us to hold on to the promises.

We repeat here Micah's reminder of God's Covenant promise...

Micah 7:18-19 New International Version (NIV)

18 Who is a God like you,
    who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
    of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
    but delight to show mercy.
19 You will again have compassion on us;
    you will tread our sins underfoot
    and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

Remember that God “delights to show mercy”. Remember that he left his Word as the road that we should follow.

I choose, like David, t go quickly to God and confess my sins. I am grateful to be a child of a living God who loves me and delights to show mercy. I thank him for being my shield who hides me from the troubles of this world.

I pray that you, too, know the Joy of Forgiveness.

May God Forever Be a Blessing in Your Life!!!

Trying to Hear

Trying to Hear

Mark 8:21 New King James Version (NKJV)

21 So He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?”

Sometimes we just “don't get it”. Sometimes we just plain forget the many times He has manifested Himself in our lives. Here comes a time of trouble and, once again, we are struggling as if we need to solve our problems all by ourselves.

These men walked with God, Himself. They saw first hand the miracles He performed. They were taught from the lips of God. Yet, they worried about their next meal.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 New International Version (NIV)

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,  rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Sometimes we may wonder why God bothered to give us so many reminders of the many times his people, in both the old and new testaments, just seemed to forget.



Yet, throughout the scriptures, we are reminded of His eternal love and His great patience with them. This is our hope and promise, that He loves us and is patient with us as we struggle to grow and understand.

We return to the scriptures over and over so that we may be taught, chastised when needed, and corrected so that we can get on with the business of doing Our Father's work and spend less time fretting over nothing. “Give us this day, our daily bread”, and I chose to trust that You will.

May God Forever Be a Blessing in Your Life!!!