This is true.

"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or God? Or am I still trying to please men?

If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ."

Galatians 1:10 (NIV)



Hi Debs. - Happy Friday!

for my dear friends in the religion threads.

{{{huggies}}} for you too LTW.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

I like these little devotionals from Our Daily Bread...they make you think... I like this one...it reminds me of the passage that says... And when the enemy came to visit, he found nothing in me.


His Temptation and Ours

READ:
We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin —Hebrews 4:15

Until we are born again, the only kind of temptation we understand is the kind mentioned in James 1:14, "Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed." But through regeneration we are lifted into another realm where there are other temptations to face, namely, the kind of temptations our Lord faced. The temptations of Jesus had no appeal to us as unbelievers because they were not at home in our human nature. Our Lord’s temptations and ours are in different realms until we are born again and become His brothers. The temptations of Jesus are not those of a mere man, but the temptations of God as Man. Through regeneration, the Son of God is formed in us (see Galatians 4:19 ), and in our physical life He has the same setting that He had on earth. Satan does not tempt us just to make us do wrong things— he tempts us to make us lose what God has put into us through regeneration, namely, the possibility of being of value to God. He does not come to us on the premise of tempting us to sin, but on the premise of shifting our point of view, and only the Spirit of God can detect this as a temptation of the devil.

Temptation means a test of the possessions held within the inner, spiritual part of our being by a power outside us and foreign to us. This makes the temptation of our Lord explainable. After Jesus’ baptism, having accepted His mission of being the One "who takes away the sin of the world" ( John 1:29 ) He "was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness" ( Matthew 4:1 ) and into the testing devices of the devil. Yet He did not become weary or exhausted. He went through the temptation "without sin," and He retained all the possessions of His spiritual nature completely intact.


From Our Daily Bread.... http://www.rbc.org/index.aspx

"Kindness is a language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see."

Mahjonng Magic

It certainly is Rainbow.


QS - I enjoy those devotionals from Daily Bread
also. They give us food for thought.


I hope everyone has a pleasant weekend.

Good Morning to all the brothers and sisters of Christ....I hope each and everyone of you are enjoying your coffee and the peace of this thread.


Also if you get a chance I would love for you all to go to thread vote,for feral and come back for the big celebration when I become the first woman President of the United States. Thanks voil for the idea...lol

http://mingle2.com/topic/show/163928


Would love anyone of you in the cabinet...a few positions available.....

Deb

hugs for my dear friends of the coffee shop

Hugs for you too Tiffa.

Hi Debs, I hope you are enjoying your weekend.


George Herbert

Love

LOVE bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,
Guiltie of dust and sinne.
But quick-ey'd Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,
If I lack'd any thing.

A guest, I answer'd, worthy to be here:
Love said, you shall be he.
I the unkinde, ungratefull? Ah my deare,
I cannot look on thee.
Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,
Who made the eyes but I?

Truth Lord, but I have marr'd them: let my shame
Go where it doth deserve.
And know you not, sayes Love, who bore the blame?
My deare, then I will serve.
You must sit down, sayes Love, and taste my meat:
So I did sit and eat.

May your blessings be many and your sorrows few.

Thank you Tom for stopping by with such sweet
word. May you also be richly blessed.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Matthew 28:18 (NIV)




In the book of Luke, we find a woman who knew the importance of agreeing with Christ. During Christ’s absence, his beloved friend Lazarus took ill and died. When Jesus returned, He found Lazarus’ two sisters, Mary and Martha, in deep grief because of their loss. Martha ran out to meet Him. “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you” (11:21-22).

Martha understood that God had given Jesus all authority over heaven and earth, and wouldn’t deny the requests of His Son. In other words, Martha agreed—by her expression of faith—that Jesus had the authority to change her present situation.

Martha was certain of who Jesus was—who God was—and the importance of their relationship with one another.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Matthew 28:18 (NIV)




In the book of Luke, we find a woman who knew the importance of agreeing with Christ. During Christ’s absence, his beloved friend Lazarus took ill and died. When Jesus returned, He found Lazarus’ two sisters, Mary and Martha, in deep grief because of their loss. Martha ran out to meet Him. “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you” (11:21-22).

Martha understood that God had given Jesus all authority over heaven and earth, and wouldn’t deny the requests of His Son. In other words, Martha agreed—by her expression of faith—that Jesus had the authority to change her present situation.

Martha was certain of who Jesus was—who God was—and the importance of their relationship with one another.

Job 1:21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

Its a wonderful day to be alive.

maybe no one will mess with these words. LOL

Good morning everyone, hope you have a wonderful day.

Here is a song I have recently heard and liked.

Artist: Brandon Heath
Song: Give Me Your Eyes


Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black tile
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos
Are those people going somewhere?
Why have I never cared?

Chorus:
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Wasnt it far beyond my reach?
Give me your heart for the once forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
again
again
yeah
yeah

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide whats underneath
Theres a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
To ashamed to tell his wife
Hes out of work
Hes buying time
Are those people going somewhere?
Why have I never cared?

Chorus

Ive Been there a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just moving past me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way you see the people all aloneChorus (x2)

Bertrand Russell:

Three passions have governed my life:
The longings for love, the search for knowledge,
And unbearable pity for the suffering of [humankind].

Love brings ecstasy and relieves loneliness.
In the union of love I have seen
In a mystic miniature the prefiguring vision
Of the heavens that saints and poets have imagined.

With equal passion I have sought knowledge.
I have wished to understand the hearts of [people]. I have wished to know why the stars shine.

Love and knowledge led upwards to the heavens,
But always pity brought me back to earth;
Cries of pain reverberated in my heart
Of children in famine, of victims tortured
And of old people left helpless.
I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot,
And I too suffer.
This has been my life; I found it worth living.

adapted

This is a devotion from proverbs31 ministries.

September 17, 2008
Longing To Be a Lily
Luann Prater



“See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.”

Matthew 6:27-28 (NIV)



Devotion:

“They are simply stunning,” she raved, referring to the massive clump of lily blooms. Two years ago we moved that batch of flowers with us to this house, even though they had never produced one single blossom. We had hopes that given enough sun, space and care, they might just surprise us. And they did – just like my daughter, Tiffany.
We celebrated our youngest daughter’s college graduation recently, followed immediately by her engagement. It was during this gala event that our friend noticed the striking array of blooms leading up to our door. The lilies captured her attention.

The day after my visitors left, I sat at work pondering my daughter’s life. I had been thinking that day about how close I came to aborting my Tiffany, how incredibly hopeless I felt 22 years ago. But in the midst of it all, God had sent a 96 year-old angel by the name of Mrs. Metcalf to gently pat my hand and proclaim, "This baby will be a blessing." Soon after, those 6 words echoed in my mind as I sat in the waiting room at Planned Parenthood. When they called my name, I cried and ran for the door. I did not abort my baby.

While I was thanking God for Tiffany’s life, the phone rang. It was my counseling minister at church calling to ask for help. He’d just hung up from talking with a distraught mother who discovered she was pregnant...again. Her life was in turmoil and she had an appointment the next day for an abortion. He knew my story and asked if I would consider calling her. Isn't God amazing?

Please know that my life was not without many challenges after I made the decision to have my child. But this particular week I rejoiced that God urged a neighbor to come along side me and whisper words of hope.

So here I was with the opportunity to share my story with someone so close to the same decision. I called her. I didn't preach, but simply told her my story. I told her how much I understood her panic, her fear, and her doubt, and it brought us together. Then I shared that 22 years ago I could never have imagined standing and applauding my daughter at her college graduation. Tiffany in turn has touched many others by her joyful, bubbly life. How could I have known the plans that God had in store for that precious baby in my womb? I didn’t, but God did. And He used Mrs. Metcalf to speak to me.

Mrs. Metcalf was my lily – my attention getter. She didn’t toil or spin trying to figure out what to say to me, or force her influence on my decision. Instead, she simply glowed with God’s beauty.

Is there a life near you that needs a lily – a display of God’s love, a place to feel His care? Are you willing to just simply be there for someone today and let God love him or her through you?

Chris Sligh - Empty Me
From the album Running Back To You

I’ve had just enough
Of the spotlight when it burns bright
To see how it gets in the blood
I’ve tasted my share
Of the sweet life and the wild ride
And found a little is not quite enough
I know how I can stray
And how fast my heart could change

Chorus:
Empty me of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition and the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds onto
Lord, empty me of me so I can be filled with You

I’ve seen just enough
Of the quick buys of the best lies
To know how prodigals can be drawn away
I know how I can stray
And how fast my heart could change

Chorus:

‘Cause everything is a lesser thing
Compared to You, compared to You
‘Cause everything is a lesser thing
Compared to You, so I surrender all

Chorus