Lord says GO!
But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." Acts 9:15-16
Gross!
11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. Proverbs 26:11Just picturing this is gross and seems so stupid. Have you ever watched a dog go back to his own vomit and think...gosh this animal is stupid. Well going back to the same sin or back to old habits is the same thing. Without taking ownership of our sin and actively changing our behavior we will be no more intelligent than a dog eating his own vomit. That is just disgusting.
What ch'ya got
For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
2 Corinthians 8:12
God is using the gifts He has given us, not the ones we think He needs us to have.
The LORD is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him.
Nahum 1:7 NLT
Even in times of peace it is so comforting to know that the Lord is our refuge. He will be there in good times and in bad. He cares for those who trust in him, just like he took care of the Israelities when they were being lead through the desert. He just wants us to turn to him first because he has our lives in the palm of his hand.
Faith all powerful
Ephesians 6:16
NIV...take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Faith has amazing power and far too often I fail to realize and rely on that. It is by not using my faith in Christ Jesus that allows the devil to get into my life and under my skin. As children of God we have been given power over the enemy, here we are reminded of such.
This verse is my "
birthverse". To see your
birthverse go to
http://www.mybirthverse.com/
8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8We can trust in God at all times because as the psalmist says, he is our refuge. He is our safe place when things are crazy and he is a trustworthy friend. I mean he knows all my dirt, shame, and secrets...yet loves me the same.
Mercy Triumphant!
Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment
without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgement.
James 2:12-13
I love the end of this verse, "Mercy
triumphs over judgement". I think this verse is trying to teach us how to be just in our judgments. To be just, there has to be some compassion and mercy. Allowing these to be relevant in the law allows freedom. Honestly when you think of laws to you think freedom? I don't. To me laws tend to bind, but a law that has
allowance for mercy, now this is a different kind of law...one that is
circumstantial, not ever clear cut. As I read this again, the clearer and more true message is that
we shouldn't live as though we are judged, because His mercy has allowed us to be free.
A chosen generation
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.Ephesians 1:4 NIVWhenever I doubt who I am or where I am going I know I can look at this verse and see what God has in store. I am chosen, we are chosen, hand selected by Him to be on his team. Me, a jv, B-team, anybody, is chosen by the Creator to be holy and blameless. To go into the world proclaiming His name. Together we are all such a beautiful sight. His glory streaming down on us, covering our sin, and making us right with him again. For we all fall short of the glory of God, but he is a God of abounding love and grace. We are chosen because he wants us...all of us. Every thought, every sin, strength, and weakness. All of us, and he is more than enough for us.
Romans 7:15-21
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
Stacy Pishko
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-
3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, Psalm 103:2-4This verse is a reminder of God's redeeming grace in my life. My sins are forgiven and he rescued me from the pit of sin I was trapped in. I am so thankful for him and all he has to offer.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,Ephesians 3:18 NIVMay you dive into the ocean of God's love. Cause there ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough, ain't no river wide enough...to keep Him from getting to us!
Thirsty?
On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink." John 7:37
I couldn't sleep last night, so I ended up staying awake till 3am working on this little prayer card/bookmark. It's all electronic right now, but when I send out my support letters I hope to include this in each one. Feel free to check out the World Race (see link section of blog).
To me this prayer card is quite reflective of where I feel I'm at and can be used right now in my faith. I hunger and thirst to know more about my Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ. In the same meaning I hope/trust that He'll use me to be a light to others who are thirsty and haven't quite yet realized what they thirst for.
Comfort
The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."
Zephaniah 3:17
Fear Not
You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
Psalm 91:5-7
These verses have come to my attention latley...how often do we let fear consume us from seeing the blessings and provisions surrounding us?
VOD: Children of God
1How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.1 John 3:1The love of God truly is the greatest love of all because we were once enemies of God, but now we are considered his children. He loves us as sons and daughters. He has our pictures on his refrigerator and loves when we are happy, cries when we are sad, but also disciplines us so we can live up to the potential he knows we have.
VOD:
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. - Matthew 16:19 NIV
Did you know that this verse is repeated again in Matthew 18:18, and then a reference is made to Isaiah 22:22 which says "I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open". Then this verse is repeated in Revelation 3:7. So clearly, Jesus is trying to get a point across. What that point is I am still wrestling with myself. What I have come up with is that God is calling us to be faithful to him now. Not a year from now or tomorrow. He has called us to do his work here on earth, and our reward will be in eternity. It is in the promise of standing in the heavenly gate on the side of Jesus.
life extension
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
Matthew 6:27
It seems that as of late there hasn't been one thing that I have not worried about. SERIOUSLY. This needs to stop...i don't need all the answers...just a couple big ones : P
God is love
7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
1 John 4:7-10 (
NLT)via Stacy :P
(we're figuring out this blogger "update" change)
Yearn
O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
Psalm 63:1
I pray that we always find and make the time to drink from God's Word. That our hunger and desires for it continue till our Father in Heaven himself can explain it to us.
Provider
May God, who puts all things together,
makes all things whole,
Who made a lasting mark through the sacrifice of Jesus,
the sacrifice of blood that sealed the eternal covenant,
Who led Jesus, our Great Shepherd,
up and alive from the dead,
Now put you together, provide you
with everything you need to please him,
Make us into what gives him most pleasure,
by means of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah.
All glory to Jesus forever and always!
Oh, yes, yes, yes.
Hebrews 13:20 (MSG)
Why?
Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.
2 Corinthians 2:17
VOD: verse of the day
VOD: verse of the day 7 My heart is steadfast, O God,my heart is steadfast;I will sing and make music.
8 Awake, my soul!Awake, harp and lyre!I will awaken the dawn.
9 I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations;I will sing of you among the peoples.
10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.
Psalm 57:7-11
VOD: verse of the day
VOD: verse of the day11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11
I think it is so comforting to know that as we enter the new year God does have a plan for us. He knows what they are and what will come, and they are not to harm us. Although we may have to endure suffering for a little while, it will all end in glory when we see his face in heaven. Until then there is a reason to stay focused, and to not get caught up in the could have/should have game. We can know there is hope and a future if we just trust in his plan.
