“They went to the entrance of Gedor, even to the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks. They found rich and good pasture, and the land was broad and quiet and peaceful (1 Chronicles 4:39-40a NASB).”
Green, green…
As a child I ran through the green grass of home; I did somersaults and stood on my head. When tired, I laid down to rest on the green grass of ‘my home.’
“The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures (Psalm 23:1-2a NASB).”
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
photo credit: Monkey Mash Button <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/62698615@N08/13952198424″>Waiting Hoping Praying</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/”>(license)</a>
“The family that prays together stays together, and if they stay together they will love one another as God has loved each one of them. And works of love are always works of peace.” [Quote by Mother Teresa]
LORD, heal our families.
Let us pray…
“In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
(Matthew 6:9-13 NKJV)
“Man goes out to his work
And to his labor until the evening (Psalm 104:23 NKJV).”
Remember this ditty?
I’ve Been Working on the Railroad (author unknown)
“I’ve been workin’ on the railroad,
All the live long day.
I’ve been workin’ on the railroad,
Just to pass the time away.
Don’t you hear the whistle blowing?
Rise up so early in the morn.
Don’t you hear the captain shouting
‘Dinah, blow your horn?’
Dinah, won’t you blow, Dinah, won’t you blow,
Dinah, won’t you blow your horn?
Dinah, won’t you blow, Dinah, won’t you blow,
Dinah, won’t you blow your horn?
Someone’s in the kitchen with Dinah.
Someone’s in the kitchen, I know.
Someone’s in the kitchen with Dinah
Strumming on the old banjo.
Fee, fie, fiddle-e-i-o.
Fee, fie, fiddle-e-i-o-o-o-o.
Fee, fie, fiddle-e-i-o.
Strumming on the old banjo.”
Happy Labor Day!
Wishing CALGON TM, could take you away?
From time to time, we can all feel overwhelmed.
“Hear my cry, O God;
Attend to my prayer.
From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For You have been a shelter for me,
A strong tower from the enemy.
I will abide in Your tabernacle forever;
I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah (Psalm 61:1-4 NKJV).”
photo credit: Thomas Hawk <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/51035555243@N01/15301176742″>judas Kiss</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/”>(license)</a>
Ever been betrayed by a friend?
“While He was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, suddenly arrived. A large mob, with swords and clubs, was with him from the chief priests and elders of the people. His betrayer had given them a sign: ‘The One I kiss, He’s the One; arrest Him!’ So he went right up to Jesus and said, ‘Greetings, Rabbi!’ and kissed Him.
‘Friend,’ Jesus asked him, ‘why have you come?’
Then they came up, took hold of Jesus, and arrested Him (Matthew 26:45-50 HCSB).”
Jesus knew who His betrayer would be. He knew what was in Judas’ heart. Yes, the Master knew very well. Yet, He called Judas friend.
‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus’ [Joseph Scriven/Public Domain]
1 What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Ev’rything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit;
Oh, what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Ev’rything to God in prayer!
2 Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
Who with all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our ev’ry weakness
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
3 Are we weak and heavy-laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you?
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
In his arms he’ll take and shield you;
You will find a solace there.
Thinking that you need to go on a diet?
My clothes have confirmed what I’ve been reading on the bathroom scales. I could ignore the scales; I have daily reminders when putting on my clothes. The first 5-7 pounds I gained showed minimal change; the last 5 pounds reveal a noticeable difference.
The signal light turned from caution to stop!
It’s time to put the brakes on. I don’t count calories; instead, I watch my portion sizes and cut down on sweets. This is not the first time I’ve gone this route; it takes patience and determination.
I’m tempted to overindulge. Jesus was tempted to turn stones into bread.
“Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’
But He answered and said, ‘It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:3-4 NKJV).”
Christ hungered for a far greater food.
“Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest (John 4:34-35 NKJV)!”
LORD, I want You to control my hunger…
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled (Matthew 5:6 NKJV).”
photo credit: Nicholas Erwin <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/58210871@N06/40271118500″>Happy Mothers Day!</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/”>(license)</a>
I was naturally blonde until my early teens.
For the next several years I cheated; I dyed my hair. I hope I wasn’t the brunt of dumb blonde jokes.
Some blondes are beautiful.
“A beautiful woman who rejects good sense
is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout (Proverbs 11:22 HCSB).”
Pity the dumb blonde. She lacks common sense.
“… develop common sense, you who are foolish (Proverbs 8:5b HCSB).”
Some blondes are foolish.
“The fool says in his heart, ‘God does not exist (Psalm 14:1a HCSB).”
He does exist; He lives.
He loves.
He knows the number of hairs on a beautiful blonde’s head!
“Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted (Luke 12:7a HCSB).”
Conversations about death and dying make many people uncomfortable.
Trying to relieve tension, they crack jokes about the afterlife. If unsure about where they will spend eternity, scoffers laugh off the truth about a literal heaven and hell. Living only for today (and what money can buy) the foolish forget you can’t take it with you.
Maybe you’ve heard what was sent with famed Frank Sinatra. I read interesting trivia in urbo.com. Sinatra’s friends tucked rolls of his favorite candy inside his casket. Someone put in dog biscuits for man’s best friend. I found one item very interesting; a roll of dimes was placed inside. Dimes? He made millions.
There was a time when dimes paid a crucial role in Sinatra’s life. His son, Frank Sinatra, Jr. had been abducted and held for ransom. The kidnappers feared phone tapping and said they’d only communicate through pay telephones. Frank Sinatra ran out of change during a conversation and panicked. Fortunately, he was able to get back in contact with the men holding his son.
To make a long story short, Frank Sinatra, Jr. escaped. The kidnappers were nabbed by the police and justice was served. It’s said that Ole’ Blue Eyes carried rolls of coins with him till his death. That explains the send off with rolled coins. So, some might say that he lived and died doing it ‘his way.’
Did he?
“But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content (1 Timothy 6:6-8 NASB).”
Are you familiar with the concept of Pastor Appreciation Month?
The month of October has been designated as pastor appreciation month. Pastor Appreciation Day falls on the 2nd Sunday of October. Our pastors deserve special recognition. They need our prayers, support and encouragement.
“And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 NKJV).”
Why not make every day a pastor appreciation day?
photo credit: Lars Plougmann <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/75062596@N00/36425009134″>Leonora Christina’s final resting place</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/”>(license)</a>
“A good name is better than precious ointment,
And the day of death than the day of one’s birth;
Better to go to the house of mourning
Than to go to the house of feasting,
For that is the end of all men;
And the living will take it to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter,
For by a sad countenance the heart is made better.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth (Ecclesiastes 7:1-4 NKJV).”
It may take a few readings before the scripture passage above sinks in. At first, it just doesn’t seem logical.
The day a person dies is better than the day he is born?
Families rejoice when a baby is born; they mourn when a family member dies.
You find a key phrase in the words ‘For that is the end of all men; and then the living will take it to heart.’
When grieving the loss of loved ones and friends we reflect on our own lives. Are we prepared to die?
If not, it is time to set our house in order.
Have you surrendered your life to Christ Jesus.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16 NKJV).”
photo credit: Leap Kye <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/10581663@N08/5883964562″>Matchbox – ’63 Cadillac Hearse</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/”>(license)</a> 
photo credit: hoyasmeg <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/62126383@N00/512265649″>Keith Hill @ last 9:30 service_2456</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/”>(license)</a> 
Pam Ford Davis 