tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65109238873952682232024-03-06T03:30:22.255-05:00Another Perfect Day 365Each day is a gift. . .made perfect in ChristCathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.comBlogger1098125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-47889721084290825162017-12-31T07:17:00.001-05:002017-12-31T07:26:33.046-05:00Let Your Light Shine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." -Matthew 5:16</div>
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<a name='more'></a>Writing a daily devotional on living thanksgiving has been a daily exercise in showing up and trusting I'd find the right combination of scripture, photograph, and words to put on the page. It has also shown me the power of God's word and how writing a response to it unlocks its power. Many a day I needed to hear the truth I uncovered while writing. The photographs often served as a visual aid for me in getting at that truth. More than anything, though, the year showed me just how important living thanksgiving is to letting "my light shine before men."<br />
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As I write this early in the morning on the last day of 2017 I have no idea how I will use Another Perfect Day 365 in 2018. I would like to encourage you, though, to start a journal of your own in which you write down what you are grateful for. Even better, use a devotional like Our Daily Bread, or any of the thousands that are out there, to write your own response to scripture. Or use a photograph as a prompt. Or just look out your window, or wherever you happen to be, and write a response to what you see. We have much to praise God for and in doing so we are blessed even more. Letting your light shine in the darkness not only lights the way for others, but for yourself!<br />
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I'd love to hear what you have to say. Feel free to post it here!<br />
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May 2018 bring you memorable moments of Truth and Light and Love and Joy!<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-86043562310004477022017-12-30T09:21:00.001-05:002017-12-30T09:21:19.541-05:00Natural Virtues<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him." -Jeremiah 17:7</div>
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I took this photo of an abandoned car in the Arizona desert years ago. It looked like it had been there 40 years already. Eventually, it will rust away completely and become dust. Oswald Chambers writes on the subject of confidence and uses the imagery of withering and drying-up. . . .<br />
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Our Lord never patches up our natural virtues. He re-makes the whole man on the inside. "Put on the new man," i.e., see that your natural human life puts on the garb that is in keeping with the new life...Watch how God will wither up your confidence in natural virtues after sanctification, and in any power you have, until you learn to draw your life from the reservoir of the resurrection life of Jesus. Thank God if you are going through a drying-up experience!</blockquote>
I was not at all confident as a child or young adult. I found myself thinking, "If I could just have some confidence in myself, my life would be much better because I could then do anything I wanted!" Even after I came to realize that I had no power to change on my own, and that it was the Holy Spirit in me that would change me from the inside out, I still clung to the idea that if I just had a little more confidence in myself I could achieve my goals.<br />
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When I read Oswald Chambers's words this morning about a "drying-up experience" I realized that my quest for more confidence in myself was long overdue for this drying-up experience. I need to let it finish shriveling up and become dust to be blown away by the Spirit. Only them can I achieve what God has planned for me. Chambers continues. . . .<br />
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The sign that God is at work in us is that He corrupts confidence in the natural virtues, because they are not promises of what we are going to be, but remnants of what God created man to be.....It is the saddest thing to see people in the service of God depending on that which the grace of God never gave them, depending on what they have by the accident of heredity. God does not build up our natural virtues and transfigure them, because our natural virtues can never come anywhere near what Jesus Christ wants. No natural love, no natural patience, no natural purity can ever come up to His demands.</blockquote>
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Yes, it is time to let the last of the dust be blown away so that the life of Christ in me can shine through.<br />
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I am grateful that true confidence can be found in Christ.<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-67645346674584752432017-12-29T07:23:00.000-05:002017-12-29T07:23:17.949-05:00Memorable<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures." -Psalm 104:24</div>
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<a name='more'></a>In <a href="https://odb.org/2017/12/29/what-remains-in-the-eye/" target="_blank">today's Our Daily Bread</a> Keila Ochoa tells us that the Hummingbird gets its name from the sound its wings make as they beat up to 200 times a second. In the Mexican Zapotec language the Hummingbird is called "biulu" which means "what remains in the eye." Ochoa writes, "In other words, once you see a hummingbird, you'll never forget it." She quotes G. K. Chesterton. . . .<br />
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The world will never starve for want of wonders, but only for want of wonder.</blockquote>
I think most of us have given of ourselves to others only to feel unappreciated because our gift was never acknowledged or seemingly appreciated by the receiver. We should remember this when we take God's many gifts to us for granted. Every day is an opportunity for us to be in awe of God's creation and the many "extras" He provides in addition to our basic needs. Let us have eyes that notice the wonders and hearts that praise God.<br />
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I am grateful that the world is full of many wonders to enjoy!<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-62877102834859189582017-12-28T06:50:00.002-05:002017-12-28T06:50:49.981-05:00A Happy Heart<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit." -Proverbs 15:13</div>
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<a name='more'></a>A child's face expresses very easily the condition of his heart. In <a href="https://odb.org/2017/12/28/smile-2/" target="_blank">today's Our Daily Bread</a> Elisa Morgan writes about today's verse, "Perhaps the point of the proverb is that a smile naturally results from the condition of our inner beings. A 'happy heart' is at peace, content, and yielded to God's best. With such a heart, happy from the inside out, we can respond to surprising circumstances with a genuine smile, inviting others to embrace the hope and peace they too can experience with God."<br />
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The proverb concludes, "but the cheerful heart has a continual feast," reminding us that yielding to God brings us a continual feast of joy!<br />
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I am grateful that I can achieve a happy heart through Christ Jesus.<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-71305547556181590012017-12-27T09:34:00.002-05:002020-12-27T06:10:01.302-05:00God is With Us<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples." -Psalm 117:1</div>
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<a name='more'></a>This photo was taken many years ago using a film camera. It had a tendency from time to time to not wind the film forward--hence, the double exposure. For me this photo captures what was to come a few years later--a ghostly image of the New York skyline. I feel the Statue of Liberty represents America more than the Stars and Stripes because it tells our story of welcoming refugees--people looking for freedom from religious persecution, war, or less than subsistent living conditions. Unfortunately, the attack on America on 9-11 seems to have brought us to today where people are afraid of what the Statue of Liberty stands for--liberty for all. <br />
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In <a href="https://odb.org/2017/12/27/thanks-journal/" target="_blank">today's Our Daily Bread</a> Poh Fang Chia writes about keeping a journal in which to note the things we are thankful for as a way "to be mindful of God's presence and grateful for His provision and care." In the Insight comments Mart DeHaan writes, "Together we are all still learning to thank God--not for everything that has happened to us--but rather that, in everything, our good God is with us." <br />
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If we truly believe that our good God is with us in all things, we would not let the events of 9-11 cause us to live in fear. Our fear is preventing refugees from living in a safe haven where they have a chance to come to know God through Jesus Christ. I believe God intended America to be a nation of all nations where we could all come together to praise and worship Him. Instead, America is causing people to question His love and to turn away from Him.<br />
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I am grateful for those who refuse to live in fear, believing our God is good and is always with us.<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-67284207290077583162017-12-26T16:00:00.000-05:002017-12-26T16:00:27.447-05:00Placed in the Light<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"Then Jesus told them, 'You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark knows not where they are going. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light'...." </div>
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-John 12:35-36a</div>
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<a name='more'></a>Oswald Chambers:<br />
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No man knows what sin is until he is born again....The evidence that I am delivered from sin is that I know the real nature of sin in me....The love of God at work in me makes me hate with the hatred of the Holy Ghost all that is not in keeping with God's holiness. To walk in the light means that everything that is of the darkness drives me closer into the centre of the light.</blockquote>
While Jesus walked on the earth his followers had the Light with them, but once he was crucified, they would not--unless they believed who He said He was and thereby became sons of Light. Chambers points out that once you walk in the Light you will be drawn out of the darkness. Sin will have no hold on you because you will want only what God wants.<br />
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I am grateful that God has a "fix" for my sinful nature.<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-70053873091395429382017-12-25T07:00:00.000-05:002017-12-25T07:00:44.217-05:00Treasure and Ponder<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." -Luke 2:19</div>
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<a name='more'></a>After the shepherds had seen Jesus they hurried off to tell others about the child...."and all that heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them." (verse 18) But Mary "pondered them in her heart" (verse 19). <br />
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Mary had been given a great honor to birth the Messiah. Now she was to raise Him. This must have felt daunting to her. Anyone who has had a child will understand the feeling, but not to the extent Mary must have felt knowing this child was born to save the world! <br />
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Yet, each of us in a sense births the Saviour in our hearts when we receive the Holy Spirit. We are charged with nurturing our newfound faith and trusting God to help us every step of the way. For us Christmas represents each of us. We must treasure and ponder what we have heard in our hearts so that the Holy Spirit life in us might be fulfilled.<br />
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I am grateful that the new life born within me is nurtured every time I trust God.<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-75285988996551104392017-12-24T09:45:00.005-05:002020-12-24T09:32:56.968-05:00Hope**Joy**Peace<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.'" </div>
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<a name='more'></a>It was rather frightening for the shepherds to see the glory of the Lord fill the dark skies above them. The fact that they, lowly shepherds, were told about the birth of the Messiah, was amazing in itself. Verse 13 tells us a multitude of angels then appeared praising God saying, "Glory to God in the Highest."<br />
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How would you react if you experienced such a thing? Oswald Chamber says,<br />
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When you really see Jesus, I defy you to doubt Him. When He says, "Let not your heart be troubled," if you see Him I defy you to trouble your mind, it is a moral impossibility to doubt when He is there. Every time you get into personal contact with Jesus, His words are real. "My peace I give unto you," it is a peace all over from the crown of the head to the sole of the feet, an irrepressible confidence.</blockquote>
After the angels departed the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Betlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." Do you have this kind of irrepressible confidence?<br />
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I am grateful to experience the peace that only God can give.<br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div>
Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-90732315431172316272017-12-23T06:53:00.001-05:002017-12-23T06:53:50.138-05:00True Light<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world." -John 1:9</div>
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<a name='more'></a>There was a time when the only light in the darkness was the sun reflecting off the stars and the moon. Then man discovered fire and he was able to make his own light in the darkness. Unfortunately, he began to take credit for this and he forgot where the real source of light was to be found. Jesus came to enable us to see the True Light and to live by it.<br />
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I am grateful that even as I was blinded by the world's light Jesus came to show me the True Light.<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-31937982198518984882017-12-22T07:20:00.001-05:002017-12-22T07:20:58.803-05:00Silent Night<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"Jesus answered, 'Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.'" -John 3:5</div>
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<a name='more'></a>In <a href="https://odb.org/2017/12/22/silent-night-of-the-soul/" target="_blank">today's Our Daily Bread</a> David McCasland shares a poem published in 1657 written by a Polish monk named Silesius...<br />
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Lo! in the silent night a child to God is born,<br />
And all is brought again that ere was lost or lorn,<br />
Could but thy soul, O man, become a silent night<br />
God would be born in thee and set all things aright.<br />
Ah, would thy heart but be a manger for the birth,<br />
God would once more become a child on earth.<br />
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We bought the lighted figures of Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus in the 1980s for our children. When our grandchildren started coming along we got it out of the attic and set it up once again at Christmas. Our new tradition is to walk out into the woods carrying candles (battery-operated one for the little ones) singing carols as we go. When we get to the creche we sing Silent Night. I love the original poem above because it asks the question. . . .<br />
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Ah, would thy heart but be a manger for the birth</blockquote>
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This is why Jesus was born and why He died and rose again. As each of us lets Him into our heart God once more becomes a "child on earth."<br />
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I am grateful that as I silence the competing voices, my heart can become a manger for the Holy Spirit.<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-52668490556119114382017-12-21T08:01:00.002-05:002017-12-21T08:01:24.000-05:00Let His Light Shine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." </div>
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-John 9:5</div>
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<a name='more'></a>I think the tradition of putting lights on trees to celebrate Christmas is a wonderful idea especially in the northern hemisphere where it gets dark so early during the winter months. I also put lights on my fireplace mantles and over the windows which I leave up all winter. Even a little bit of added light to the dark is cheering because it reminds us that after the winter solstice daylight will last a little longer each day.<br />
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How much better then to have the Light of the World living in us. Jesus said that while He was in the world He was the Light of the world. When He left the world He sent His Holy Spirit to live in us. Each of us who receives Him now lights the world with His Light. Let His Light shine because it is the only True Light to be found in this darkened world.<br />
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I am grateful to carry the Light of the World for God.<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-24297513798427936162017-12-20T07:41:00.002-05:002017-12-20T07:41:43.878-05:00Children are a Gift<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"Children are a gift from the LORD, offspring a reward from him." -Psalm 127:3</div>
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<a name='more'></a>This photo was taken one Mother's Day many years ago--before all my sons had all left home and established their own homes. There had been a few years I wondered if I'd ever have children, so once I did they truly felt like gifts from God. Now that they have all married and two have children of their own, our family is growing rather than decreasing--as it had felt when they started leaving home. What seemed like a loss then has become the means of gaining more "gifts from the LORD." <br />
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God works in mysterious ways that we cannot always understand at the time. When Jesus was born not many understood what it meant, how his life would play out, and eventually how his death would save us all. We must remember, always, that God has a plan and because He wants what is best for us, we can trust Him.<br />
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I am grateful to be able to put my life in God's Hands and know all things will work out for the best.<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-23404586141099530412017-12-19T08:07:00.001-05:002017-12-19T08:07:18.854-05:00Cutting to the Quick<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"I came not to send peace, but a sword." -Matthew 10:34</div>
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<a name='more'></a>Oswald Chambers writes. . . .<br />
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If a man cannot get through to God it is because there is a secret thing he does not intend to give up.....People want the blessing of God, but they will not stand the thing that goes straight to the quick. If God has had His way with you, your message as His servant is merciless insistence on the one line, cut down to the very root, otherwise there will be no healing....Begin to get at people where they are until you get them to realize what they lack, and then erect the standard of Jesus Christ for their lives--"We never can be that." Then drive it home--"Jesus Christ says you must." "But how can we be?" "You cannot, unless you have a new Spirit." (Luke 11:13)</blockquote>
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Chambers concludes. . . .<br />
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Thousands of people are happy without God in this world. If I was happy and moral till Jesus came, why did He come? Because that kind of happiness and peace is on a wrong level; Jesus Christ came to send a sword through every peace that is not based on a personal relationship to Himself.</blockquote>
I am grateful that peace <b>can</b> be found in Christ Jesus!<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-55257852570226137152017-12-18T08:07:00.002-05:002017-12-18T08:07:20.039-05:00Test of Loyalty<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." -Genesis 50:20</div>
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<a name='more'></a>In today's scripture Joseph is telling his brothers that God had intended his sojourn in Egypt for the purpose of saving them now from the famine back home. In my photograph the gentleman on the left was born in January 1864. His father had been married before but was a widower with no children when he went off to fight in the Civil War in 1862. He was given a medical discharge from the Confederate Army the next year, came home and married again. He died a few months before his only child was born--my greatgrandfather--the fellow in the photograph. When I did my genealogy I found other instances in my family tree where circumstances decided whether I was to be born or not. <br />
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Oswald Chambers has this to say about circumstances. . . .<br />
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It is only the loyal soul who believes that God engineers circumstances. We take such liberty with our circumstances, we do not believe God engineers them, although we say we do; we treat the things that happen as if they were engineered by men. To be faithful in every circumstance means that we have only one loyalty, and that is to our Lord...If we learn to worship God in the trying circumstances, He will alter them in two seconds when He chooses....The idea is not that we do work for God, but that we are so loyal to Him that He can do His work through us.</blockquote>
I am grateful that God is in control--otherwise, this world would have no meaning and be unbearable.<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-1562226965856231582017-12-17T10:30:00.000-05:002017-12-17T10:30:27.678-05:00Lift Him Up<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." -John 12:32</div>
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When we had our woods cleared of fallen trees a few years ago we found piles of rocks leftover from when the property had been a farm in the early 1900s. When the Pharisees called out for Jesus to rebuke those who were praising him as he entered Jerusalem the week before he was to be crucified he responded, "I tell you, if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out." (Luke 19:40) I always think of this verse when I see our stones. Oswald Chambers says about this verse . . .<br />
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We preach our own experiences and people are interested, but no sense of need is awakened by it. If once Jesus Christ is lifted up, the Spirit of God will create a conscious need of Him.</blockquote>
When Jesus entered Jerusalem his followers lifted Him up in praise. By glorifying God man is made aware of his need for Him. Jesus said, "<a href="http://biblehub.com/john/6-63.htm" target="_blank">The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life</a>."<br />
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I am grateful that I have a voice with which to praise God.<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-16071626910976840882017-12-16T10:04:00.001-05:002023-01-28T12:41:35.555-05:00Wrestling Before God<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /><div style="text-align: center;">"And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose." -Romans 8:28</div>
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My grandchildren like to wrestle. The little one is sturdy and strong, but he's 2 years younger and smaller. I standby watching for the right moment to intervene before someone gets hurt. Oswald Chambers has something to say about wrestling with God: "Don't!" You'll always get hurt. . . .<br />
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You have to wrestle <i>against</i> the things that prevent you from getting to God, and you wrestle in prayer <i>for</i> other souls; but never say that you wrestle <i>with</i> God in prayer, it is scripturally untrue. If you do wrestle with God, you will be crippled all the rest of your life. If, when God comes in some way you do not want, you take hold of Him as Jacob did and wrestle with Him, you compel Him to put you out of joint. Don't be a hirpler in God's ways, but be one who wrestles before God with things, becoming more than conqueror through Him.</blockquote>
Chambers says we are not to be like a jelly-fish saying, "It's the Lord's will." Instead we must wrestle <i>before </i>God <i>with</i> the things we do not understand so that we can lay hold of His strength in order to meet the challenge.<br />
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I am grateful that I can trust God to give me what I need to meet life's challenges.<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-47357054190881020472017-12-15T08:30:00.003-05:002017-12-15T08:30:41.111-05:00Approved Unto God<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, right dividing the word of truth." -2 Timothy 2:15</div>
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The photo was taken at a museum for children in Lancaster County, PA about the Amish. Today's verse is very important to them because they make a point of seeking God's approval and not man's. The only way to do that is to study God's word. <br />
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Studying God's word should be a lifelong habit, but then, as Oswald Chamber writes, we must find a way "re-express" these truths before we can actually claim them as our own Truth. . . .<br />
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Struggle to re-express some truth of God to yourself, and God will use that expression to someone else.....Our position is not ours until we make it ours by suffering [i.e. applying it in our own lives]. The author who benefits you most is not the one who tells you something you did not know before, but the one who gives expression to the truth that has been dumbly struggling in you for utterance."</blockquote>
This is why Christians are judged so harshly by the unsaved world, and rightly so. Who are we to tell others how to live if we ourselves aren't living that way? We must study God's word (and apply) to show that our lives are approved by God. It is only as we obey His Word in us, that He is able to work out our salvation so that we can be in a close relationship with Him. It is this relationship that others will see and desire for themselves.<br />
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I am grateful that God's word is a living entity that brings me into a close relationship with Him.<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-26785843463935323432017-12-14T08:42:00.003-05:002017-12-14T08:42:55.879-05:00Do Not Lose Heart<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." -Galatians 6:9</div>
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<a name='more'></a>In the Bible Christians are told not to neglect meeting together. That is because God recognized our need to encourage one another to hang in there. Doing good can be very wearying in the midst of so many discouraging events. And have you ever tried to keep your spirits up amongst naysayers and critical people? <br />
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To have a friend such as described in this sampler is a true blessing. But if you don't, all is not lost. Jesus has offered to be our Friend. He prays for us continually and is there to comfort us and lead us into understanding, if we do not give up.<br />
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I am grateful that no matter what I will always have a friend in Jesus.<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-64821678285622410862017-12-13T10:49:00.000-05:002017-12-13T10:49:41.100-05:00Interceding<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail." -James 5:16</div>
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<a name='more'></a>Oswald Chambers writes. . . .<br />
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You cannot intercede if you do not believe in the reality of the Redemption; you will turn intercession into futile sympathy with human beings which will only increase their submissive content to being out of touch with God. In intercession you bring the person, or the circumstance that impinges on you before God until you are moved by His attitude towards that person or circumstance....The thing to watch in intercession is that no soul is patched up, a soul must get through into contact with the life of God.</blockquote>
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My nightgown is in need of being patched up. No one would argue that, I'm sure. It started out a small rip, but I did not attend to it, and look at it now! Chambers, however, contends that we shouldn't try to "patch up" a soul ourselves. Too often when we pray for another we ask God to take their trial away without giving thought to the possibility that He is doing a work in them that the trial necessitates. We must always keep in mind that God knows what is best for us, and the first order of prayer is for others to be saved. We must not let our sympathy for people's plight tempt us to pray away their troubles. Instead we must hold them up to God, then be prepared to be His agent in their lives. This is what true intercession is.<br />
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I am grateful for those who have interceded on my behalf.<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-90634116490561266112017-12-12T06:26:00.001-05:002023-01-28T12:36:18.063-05:00True Self<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"And now abide faith, hope, love, these three. But the greatest of these is love." -1 Corinthians 13:13</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpek_vJy4pIZ3S64c7-zvcfpyiRQop3hDKSrPClt9ob-zvI8ViHyWR8I_Nc0aDwLki4ixjzMV8-dr8y2RTjs0mQzHbGv72UIUFApn7bxDvAJ9Ze4aC0R6fqjYYX7tdS0xDvGk_0VHIFY/s1600/P7290001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1136" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpek_vJy4pIZ3S64c7-zvcfpyiRQop3hDKSrPClt9ob-zvI8ViHyWR8I_Nc0aDwLki4ixjzMV8-dr8y2RTjs0mQzHbGv72UIUFApn7bxDvAJ9Ze4aC0R6fqjYYX7tdS0xDvGk_0VHIFY/s640/P7290001.jpg" width="454" /></a></div>
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<a name='more'></a>Without love nothing really matters does it. It's the heart of what makes our lives matter--our reason for being. You might do a lot of good in this world, you may believe with believing faith, you may be the most optimistic person in the world, full of hope, but if you don't have love, it is all in vain. That's because we were created in God's image and God is Love. When we don't love we are stepping outside of our true selves. No wonder the world is such an unhappy place! But if we would each do our part of living the love that God fills us with, we will not only fulfill our purpose, but help bring about God's kingdom here on earth.<br />
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I am grateful that I can find purpose in being my true self.<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-83122148752891419372017-12-11T09:36:00.000-05:002017-12-11T09:36:38.267-05:00Washed<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" -Hebrews 9:14</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSZ81nb6WvuXeobwiFLlMrzA2U6BmqdQzSLHkEXJeFBgxdpPqMvInhUsfYqXquBvBpD6ICd5Aw8xX1gpdjXPuj9c-ndiYk0DnxAGurABTjBgb4THQhDZi4M0BnFynQ3gDZUcKhJmhDkHM/s1600/Cleansed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSZ81nb6WvuXeobwiFLlMrzA2U6BmqdQzSLHkEXJeFBgxdpPqMvInhUsfYqXquBvBpD6ICd5Aw8xX1gpdjXPuj9c-ndiYk0DnxAGurABTjBgb4THQhDZi4M0BnFynQ3gDZUcKhJmhDkHM/s1600/Cleansed.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a name='more'></a>I suspect the reason we love snow so much is that it covers up the drab brown. It clings to tree trunks and decorates the otherwise bare branches. Winter takes all the color out of the garden, but a layer of white snow makes up for it. When Jesus died for our sins, He covered all our missteps so that we could be freed from guilty consciences. And in doing so, freed us to be in a relationship with God.<br />
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I am grateful that my conscience has been washed white as snow so that I am free to serve and enjoy God's blessings.<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-9252324037397314282017-12-10T10:09:00.001-05:002017-12-10T10:09:30.311-05:00Restored<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down." -Psalm 145:14</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ-uOodTirVratdAXfCIKq0JbIC7fikNO0dCn3c0EzhphmX9CFJBPjBgf3DV2yX1yDIOpI5VFkp2p5pBUllfZ0QueJuGWt4YW1EKacJp-r3MT3NAcc6FVtP1WEhAaS_ZZeZEXhuT4Zx1o/s1600/Restored.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ-uOodTirVratdAXfCIKq0JbIC7fikNO0dCn3c0EzhphmX9CFJBPjBgf3DV2yX1yDIOpI5VFkp2p5pBUllfZ0QueJuGWt4YW1EKacJp-r3MT3NAcc6FVtP1WEhAaS_ZZeZEXhuT4Zx1o/s1600/Restored.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a name='more'></a>This is one of the log cabins in the 18th century Quaker village, Waterford, VA. It was restored from two cabins brought there from elsewhere. In <a href="https://odb.org/2017/12/10/restored-failures/" target="_blank">today's Our Daily Bread</a> Leslie Koh writes about how God can restore broken lives to people who seek Him. Koh asks, "Have you failed before? We all have. Have you been restored? All who have been redeemed are stories of God's grace.<br />
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I am grateful for the restoration God does in my life when I allow Him to do His work in me.<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-22744838109757327152017-12-09T09:20:00.000-05:002017-12-09T09:20:47.481-05:00What is Your Life?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." -James 4:14</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk-hUorE-zlSM0lDv-HoWgiFmyAG4YOScWP8Sg5Njgr-YGvaoD75gsFdoP7iTotnbfZQQ4xMav0XJ74Jsoz0GUENWixeg76DUUHGwCFgiFeJ6i4gt4G-yobZuPqHCm28kafL9WzcPei7I/s1600/What+is+Your+Life%253F.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk-hUorE-zlSM0lDv-HoWgiFmyAG4YOScWP8Sg5Njgr-YGvaoD75gsFdoP7iTotnbfZQQ4xMav0XJ74Jsoz0GUENWixeg76DUUHGwCFgiFeJ6i4gt4G-yobZuPqHCm28kafL9WzcPei7I/s1600/What+is+Your+Life%253F.jpg" /></a></div>
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James is reminding us not to worry about tomorrow. Instead he admonishes, "Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.'" The older one gets the easier it becomes to put one's life in perspective. When we are young we can get caught up in the minutiae of life. I still remember someone telling me to not worry that my son wasn't potty trained yet, and to make her point she added, "You can be sure he will be by college." When we worry about tomorrow we steal joy from today. But more importantly, God can only be found in the present moment. This is where we need to live.<br />
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I am grateful that God is always present, moment-by-moment.<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-41438726330986761522017-12-08T09:06:00.000-05:002017-12-08T09:06:09.026-05:00Joy of Salvation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit." Psalm 51:12</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc94Ke2CoyAibJnv-KJQEN3D4orRLgeZAViYkZS_dK548-jDdUUddvV-Gwq9F8ZhihRUrgHNvXCTs_RxYP8Jzwo9fGm6rApZjpix_-6_iVFPU-rR9XsI38l11LmtGbx9Wo3Ox918BhXYE/s1600/Joy+of+Salvation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1195" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc94Ke2CoyAibJnv-KJQEN3D4orRLgeZAViYkZS_dK548-jDdUUddvV-Gwq9F8ZhihRUrgHNvXCTs_RxYP8Jzwo9fGm6rApZjpix_-6_iVFPU-rR9XsI38l11LmtGbx9Wo3Ox918BhXYE/s640/Joy+of+Salvation.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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<a name='more'></a>Young children can experience moments of sheer joy as well as huge unhappiness, as evidenced by their tantrums. For adults we are just as dependent sometimes on circumstances in determining our moods. But if we would just remember what Oswald Chambers and Pastor Zahnd have to say, we needn't experience joylessness at any time.<br />
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Oswald Chambers writes. . . .<br />
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Our repentance is merely the outcome of our personal realization of the Atonement which He has worked out for us. "Christ Jesus . . .is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." When we realize that Christ is made all this to us, the boundless joy of God begins; wherever the joy of God is not present, the death sentence is at work.</blockquote>
This morning on Twitter I read this pastor's response to someone's questioning why God doesn't intervene in atrocities in our world. . . .<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #14171a; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 27px; letter-spacing: 0.27000001072883606px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because God allows all things. What atrocity does God not allow? The only Christian theodicy we can appeal to is that God is not exempt from the suffering of atrocity, but in Christ fully participates in it with us. Emmanuel. God with us. In Pain. In Death. In all things. --Brian Zahnd</span></blockquote>
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I am grateful that I can find joy in my salvation knowing that God is with me in all things.<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510923887395268223.post-56527990299667531602017-12-07T08:31:00.002-05:002017-12-07T08:31:16.045-05:00Sick in Bed<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"....I was sick and you looked after me...." --Matthew 25:36</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6eOM0Z5NR0meeldndJwDd6a8YlAjeLf6YRP2MhkF3ZonymYlJnh2KoazPcOQOW3jqNXs-h9FsJIA4Cw7uhLZiFznRwCqzrVnKoSXeoCyDk9NDoQpLpE956xvN0U7_4cN4VudptJqVihE/s1600/Sick+in+Bed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6eOM0Z5NR0meeldndJwDd6a8YlAjeLf6YRP2MhkF3ZonymYlJnh2KoazPcOQOW3jqNXs-h9FsJIA4Cw7uhLZiFznRwCqzrVnKoSXeoCyDk9NDoQpLpE956xvN0U7_4cN4VudptJqVihE/s640/Sick+in+Bed.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a name='more'></a>I am being kept company by my dog today because I am sick in bed with the "flu." We were supposed to take care of our grandchildren today, but instead my husband is taking care of me. It is difficult for me to let people down who are counting on me, but I know the importance of humbling myself and letting others help ME to know that not only will I be better for it but those who help me will be blessed because Jesus has told us when we care for the sick <a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/25-40.htm" target="_blank">we are doing it for Him</a>. <br />
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I am grateful that even in sickness God can use me.<br />
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Cathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17103364860587388726noreply@blogger.com2