Monday, December 24, 2007
GOD REMEMBERS ME
(a purrsonal reminiscence)

I can't think of a more fitting time to post than now, as we remember the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. God did not forget us when we fell into sin. Instead, He remembered us when the angel said to Joseph (Matthew 1:21), "...you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

Many times in life we find that people are nice to people until they get what they want from them. For example, leasing agents are nice to prospects until they become tenants, then they go onto the next prospect and forget about the tenants, or, employers are nice to prospects until they hire them, and then they lower the ax.

But God remembers us, "[a]nd we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).

God remembered me and my husband when we both were out of work at various times during this year, and He gave us our daily bread (Psalm 37:25; Matthew 6:11; Luke 11:3), even giving to us beyond our expectations (Ephesians 3:20

God remembered me when He came from heaven to earth to be born of a Virgin, to save me from my sins--like idolatry, rebellion, self-centeredness, and others. He was born to die--for me--because of my sins He died in my place, but He lives, and in Him I have eternal life. All because He remembered, and because He loved me--and still does.

In fact, let me close this with an echo of the apostle Paul's praise to God from Ephesians 3:20-21: "Now to Him Who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

Thursday, September 13, 2007
GOD MAKES ME YOUNG AGAIN
(a purrsonal youth)

Again, it's been awhile. My life has been amazingly full! Vibrant! Exciting! Eventful! Educational! For instance, this:

Psalm 103 is packed full of good things about God, about ourselves, about how God relates to us and how He reigns over His creation, which includes us. My focus today is on verses 1, 2, and 5, which say:

1"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 5who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

When I learned that beginning in January a passport will be required in order to cross the river into Canada, I decided it was high time I get my passport renewed, because it is effective for 10 years, and mine was 10 years old already, so off I went to AAA to get my picture taken to be my passport photo (AAA had taken my picture 10 years ago so I know I could have it done there again), then went to the post office to send off my application for renewal. I had to send in my old passport as part of the process.

When I got them back (both the old passport with holes in it and the new passport in separate mailings), I noticed that the Passport Agency stapled my extra new photo to the top of the page that contained my old photo at the bottom. I could readily see a marked difference in my appearance.

Let me share here what I saw:

Not only do I no longer wear eye glasses, but also I have more color in my cheeks :)
Ten years ago I was not a very happy person. Now, I couldn't be happier.

Sunday, October 22, 2006
GOD IS WITH ME
(a purrsonal comfort)

Saturday, July 1, 2006
GOD IS OMNIPOTENT
(a purrsonal power-struck awe)

Saturday, January 28, 2006
GOD LOVES MY FEARS AWAY
(a purrsonal revelation)

Last month I said I had no idea what 2006 will bring me, but I do know Him, Who has everything, even me, in the palm of His Hand.

Well, interestingly enough, not many days thereafter, the Lord was pleased to reveal to me the man He wills to be my husband. My fears of growing old "alone" vanished with this revelation.

"Perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). Yes, God's perfect love for me drives out my fears :)

Saturday, December 31, 2005
GOD TEACHES ME
(a purrsonal education)

Jesus says to love our enemies. Certainly He loved me when I was at enmity with Him. I'd like to think I don't have any enemies now, because this year He turned my life upside down and showered many blessings on me, but the truth is I had someone I perceived to be an enemy. We tend to judge others according to how we would behave, and act accordingly; however, due to none other than Providence, I had an opportunity to do good to her, and I did so. After that, I learned what it means to love my enemies and do good to them that speak ill of me, and I was blessed by the lesson.

I'm reflecting on everything new in my life. New church, new friends, new job. New perspective on life. I'm pressing on, though, because I want to bless others as I have been blessed.

I'm looking forward to 2006 and beyond. I have no idea what the next year will bring me, but I do know Him, Who has everything, even me, in the palm of His Hand.

Yes. Life is worth living because God values me in Christ Jesus my Savior.

I'll leave you with this, from Philippians 3:13-15, the apostle Paul speaking: "Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Have a GREAT 2006!

Saturday, November 26, 2005
GOD IS WORTHY OF MY THANKS
(a purrsonal thanksgiving)

During the past week especially, I have been pondering the many ways I know that my Heavenly Father has been good to me. I know that I will miss many as I list some, as I'm sure there are ways He is good to me that are unknown to me and also my memory is less than purr-fect :)

That being said, I'm going to make a quick list of some ways I can remember that God blesses me.

Saturday, October 15, 2005
GOD BLESSES ME
(a purrsonal testimony)

Sunday, September 11, 2005
GOD IS WISDOM
(a purrsonal fear)

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom"--Proverbs 9:10a (ESV), "and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil"--Proverbs 16:6b (ESV).

"It is only the fear of God that can deliver us from the fear of man."
--John Witherspoon

I heard the above quote from Witherspoon and the passage from Proverbs 16 in a radio broadcast on my way home from church this afternoon. I immediately thought of the passage from Proverbs 9 and had to take a look at not only Dr. Witherspoon but also the context of these Proverbs.

Proverbs 9:7-12 (ESV):
7 Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
8 Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
11 For by me your days will be multiplied,
and years will be added to your life.
12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself;
if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

Saturday, August 13, 2005
GOD'S TIMING IS JUST RIGHT
(a purrsonal time)

Sunday, July 24, 2005
GOD IN HUMAN FLESH
(a purrsonal follow-up)

Following up from last month, a couple weeks ago I did a second paper focusing on the Incarnation of God in Jesus Christ, because after giving the blasphemers the truth and the warning, it became clear to me that unles they understand that Jesus is God, they won't understand the triune nature of God, so I set out to explain this, coming out from 2 Timothy 3:16.

Since that Bible study group uses the King James Version of the Bible, I used that version too, as in this case the truth cannot be any clearer than as expressed therein. Here's what it says:

"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."

Amen! As a result of presenting this and the other to them, the hostess called me a week or so later. She wants to meet with me one on one to study the Scriptures, so we hope to get together late summer or early fall to begin this study. Her best friend is the woman the Lord laid on my heart, which woman has great respect for this hostess, so may the Lord use His Word to reveal Himself to both women, is my prayer

Sunday, July 3, 2005
GOD IS MY REDEEMER
(a purrsonal adoption)

Sunday, June 26, 2005
GOD IS BEAUTIFUL
(a purrsonal adoration)

Today is the Lord's day. I went to church and was greatly blessed as a member sang and my heart worshipped my beautiful Lord God. The words of the song by Keith Green are:

O LORD YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL

O Lord, you're beautiful,
Your face is all I seek;
for when Your eyes are on this child,
Your grace abounds to me.

O Lord, please light the fire
that once burned bright and clear;
replace the lamp of my first love
that burns with holy fear!

I want to take Your word and shine it all around,
but first help me just to live it Lord!
And when I'm doing well,
help me to never seek a crown,
for my reward is giving glory to You.

O Lord, you're beautiful,
Your face is all I seek;
for when Your eyes are on this child,
Your grace abounds to me.

Sunday, June 19, 2005
GOD COMPELS ME TO SPEAK OF HIM
(a purrsonal fire)

I'm reading through Dr. Robert Reymond's book "A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith", just started reading, I'm in Chapter One. It's chock full of Scripture quotes and cites, and one of them is Jeremiah 20:9. In the English Standard Version (ESV) this verse reads as follows:

Saturday, June 18, 2005
GOD IS MY FATHER BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST
(a purrsonal connection)

How many times have we heard it said, even said it ourselves, while in church or just chatting with another Christian, that our relation to one another is oftentimes closer than our relation to our blood relatives?

Well, peoples, here's the reality--Christians ARE BLOOD RELATIVES!! That's RIGHT!! Ya can't get any closer than that!! I am united to Christ AND to other Christians by/in/with HIS OWN BLOOD.

Ephesians 2:13 says "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." Colossians 1:19-20 says "For in Him [Christ] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross." Hebrews 13:12 says "So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood."

There's a whole lot more where that came from, but you get the idea. WOW!! What a God! What a family!

Saturday, June 11, 2005
GOD IS THE HOLY ONE
(a purrsonal reverence)

Here are my notes from a set of Sproul videotapes I watched concerning "The Holiness of God." While my notes don't do justice to the subject, here's hoping they will nonetheless benefit the reader :)

4 years after King Uzziah died, the city of Rome was founded.
Isaiah 6:1ff: Isaiah was called by God to be a prophet in the year that King Uzziah died.
God let Isaiah see into heaven, as did John for Revelation.
Lord = Hebrew "Adon Adonai"
LORD = Hebrew "YHVH" ("I AM")
Psalm 8, Psalm 110
Jesus is given the title "Adonai"
"Adonai" means "The Sovereign One".
Even the 6-winged angels had to cover their faces in the presence of God.
English speaking people emphasize with underlining or italics or bold print or quotations, brackets or parentheses.
Hebrews emphasize with verbal repetition.
Jesus used the Hebrew style of verbal repetition.
"Truly, truly" or "Verily, verily" were His frequent words of introduction when He wanted to underscore an important teaching.
The only attribute, characteristic, of God that is repeated thrice is "Holy".
God's holiness consumes His very essence.
God alone is holy.
What does this mean? How did the saints historically react?
Many have a tendency to soft-pedal the character of God, because His holiness is traumatic.
Calvin in his Institutes spoke of the terror experienced by holy men of God in the Scriptures.
People who catch a glimpse of the true character of God become unglued.
Our natural tendency is to hide ourselves from Him because His holiness exposes our sin.
We're comfortable with our imperfections, judging ourselves by each other.
We fail to compare ourselves to God.
Isaiah saw pure holiness and was "undone" (KJV).
Isaiah saw the sin of his speech.
Jesus repeatedly taught that every idle word we have spoken, etc. will be brought before the tribunal of God.
Jesus said what goes in doesn't defile, but what comes out, of a man, i.e. our words.
God's response to Isaiah was not patronizing or cursing or "cheap grace", but rather, He had His messenger place hot coals on Isaiah's lips.
Our lips are the most sensitive part of our bodies.
The coal was applied to cauterize, purify and heal Isaiah's lips, to prepare Isaiah to be His prophet, to speak for Him.
By this, Isaiah's guilt was removed and his sin was atoned for.
Then God asked, "Who shall go for us?"
Isaiah, having been justified freely by the grace of God, responded "Here am I, send me."
In the 18th century the preachers said "man is very very very bad and God is very very very mad".
In the 19th century the preachers taught the love of God.
In the 20th century the preachers responded to the love of God with the justice of God and His wrath.
Some even called Him irrational and defective, citing Leviticus 10.
Uzzah died for touching the throne of God. He assumed God would be happy that he tried to prevent the tabernacle from falling to the ground and be ruined, but God killed Uzzah because it was not the dirt of the earth that wasn't supposed to touch His throne but rather the hand of man.
History of the Bible's canon:
Marcion produced the first canon, which contained just a few words from the apostle Paul.
When we compare the OT to the NT the OT seems severe.
The mystery of iniquity is not that a holy and righteous God should exercise justice, but rather why God tolerates rebellious creatures who commit treason against His authority.
Remember the rules set forth at creation, especially of man and woman--the gift of life, wherein the first rule was "the soul that sins shall die." The fact that Adam did NOT die physically THAT day was due to the gracious mercy of God.
Anyone who lives after sinning is living by the gracious mercy of God.
In the slightest sin I am saying that my will has a right that is higher than the rights of God.
We have become recalcitrant in our relationship to God and commit cosmic treason against His authority. We justify our own sin.
Thus, the history of the OT is the manifestation of the gracious mercy of God in the face of repeated disobedience.
The purpose of God's forbearing mercy is to give us time to repent.
We have become so accustomed to God's grace and mercy that we assume it, we demand it, and are angry with God when we don't receive it.
We need to understand the difference between justice and mercy. God does NOT OWE us mercy.
By definition mercy is voluntary and God is NEVER obligated to be merciful to a rebellious human race; He alone choose the vessels of mercy.
God will NEVER punish an innocent person; He is just.
Mercy is non-justice but is NOT IN-justice.
When you say your prayers, don't ever ask God to give you justice--He may just do it.
We live by God's grace and mercy; let's never forget it. May God forgive us for presuming upon His kindness and being angry when we don't receive it.
His grace is amazing.
Pope Leo called Martin Luther a wild pig and excommunicated him. He said Luther was a drunken German and would be okay when he's sober.
Luther was rude and bombastic, in a class by himself, and some said he was insane.
Why was he this way? What provoked people to see him like this? His intemperance (lack of self control) was extraordinary.
Luther feared God extremely.
Luther was a lawyer.
In the midst of a terrible storm at an uncomfortably close encounter with lightening, Luther promised God that he would give up his law career and become a monk.
In the Roman Catholic church mass, during the prayer of consecration by the priest the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ (transubstantiation).
Luther went to do his first mass, and froze. He trembled and his lips moved but no words came out. He didn't forget the lines. Finally he mumbled the lines and quickly completed the mass in embarrassment, but at that time he began to contemplate how one so sinful as he could hold in his hands the very body and blood of Christ according to the church.
Ultimately at the Diet of Worms where Martin Luther was tried and given a chance to recant his protests, Luther said he needed 24 hours to think it over. He was granted the additional time and retired to his private cell for prayer and meditation.
His prayer: O God, Almighty God Everlasting, the earth opens its mouth to swallow me. My God, help me against this, for the work is not mine but Yours. Don't hide from me. I know You chose me for this work. Your will be done.
Next day, same question. Answer of Luther: Unless I'm convinced by Scripture and reason, I cannot recant. My conscience is held captive by the Word of God, so here I stand, God help me.
Luther was overtly conscious of his sinfulness and spent hours in the confessional, driving the confessors nuts.
Many of us, most of us, have built-in guilt defense mechanisms that seemed to be lacking in Luther.
Luther was constantly comparing himself to God instead of to other people as we so often do.
Luther was captivated by Romans 1, and the truth that "the just shall live by faith" consumed him.
He finally understood the gospel of the grace of God.
May we all be insane as this, that the gospel may not be eclipsed.
The Holy God has offered His Holy Son Jesus as a covering for our sin; for this gospel Luther was prepared to die.
Our righteousness is only in Christ.
What is the meaning of holiness? What does "holy" mean?
Commonly used as a synonym for moral purity, but this is somewhat misleading.
The secondary meaning is moral purity but the primary meaning is "separate".
i.e. Theologial Apartate. Other. Different. God's transcendence. God's majesty.
i.e. holy ground, holy moments, holy prophets, holy men of God, etc.
"Holidays" are "holy days"--different than ordinary days.
What is it that makes the bread and wine "holy"?
What makes certain real estate "holy ground"?
Not because of their intrinsic value, but rather the touch of God upon these things.
When the "other" God touches the "ordinary" the "ordinary" is made "extraordinary".
When God touches you, He makes you holy.
"Xenophobia" is the fear of strangers or foreigners. We tend to be afraid of those whose customs are different from ours.
God is high and exalted; He is different from us, thus we fear Him.
"The holy" is the "mysterium tremendum" (Latin). Our experience of the "holy" is mysterious, strange, powerful and thus fearful.
All believers have had such pregnant experiences of God. Reactions vary from silence to ecstacy; but all are ambivalence, conflict.
Something about God's holiness attracts us while repelling us, fascinates while terrifying us.
"Enter sanctum" means "within the holy".
Note that Jesus said the first petition in the prayer He taught us to pray is "hallowed be Thy name."
Our first petition in prayer should always be that God's name be hallowed, holy.
If it was part of the divine address, the words would have been "hallowed IS Thy name."
No wonder that when God wrote a constitution for a national government, the prohibition against profaning God's name made the top 10.
Next petition is for God's will to be done on earth as it is done in heaven.
Dr. Sproul believes that the kingdom of God will never appear on this earth until God's people hallow His name.
If you use the name of God as a common curse word, you are at root a profane person.
When we are called to be holy, we are called to be different, to be a witness to the difference of God.
The task of the Christian is to mirror the character of God to a dying world.
May God give us a holy respect for His name.
Many will publicly criticize theologians but few will publicly criticize Jesus.
Jesus alone has been given universal respect--by believer and non-believer alike. Given this, why was He killed? What was it about Jesus of Nazarus that inflamed people either for Him or against Him? Mark 4:35ff.
Picture Jesus sleeping on a cushion in a boat, and here comes a storm. The disciples on the boat with Him feared for their lives, and Jesus is calmly sleeping!

Academic atheists in word say there is no God but yet the masses are attracted to religion. Religion emerges from human frailty. The one thing we all share is our mortality. We all have a built-in fear of natural forces that threaten our very lives.
Freud said we personalize nature, and we learn how to respond to natural disasters and short-circuit personal attacks against us--but how does one respond to an earthquake or a storm? We talk to the storm, etc.
He says out of our fear of nature we create God.

Back to the boat--The disciples were petrified! They shook Jesus and said "Master, do something or we perish!" Jesus analyzed the situation and then He commanded the sea and the wind to "Peace! Be still!!" They obeyed Him. How did the disciples respond to this? At that moment, they became very much afraid!! Their fears, rather than being diminished, were aggravated!! They trembled in the presence of the holy Jesus and asked each other "What manner of man is this, that even the winds and seas obey Him?"
The reason we are so closed-mouthed about ourselves is we've all been betrayed by others. We don't want to be vunerable and open, so we program our responses to strangers depending on how they appear to us. The disciples did not have a programmed response to Jesus, because He was so different!! The disciples recognized then that they were in the presence of "the holy" and they were afraid.
In another fishing incident, Jesus caused Peter to say "Depart from me for I am a sinful man" because he recognized Jesus as holy, different, after the fishing miracle.
The Bible says the wicked flee when no one pursues them.
Many times non-believers are uncomfortable just being in the presence of a Christian, without the Christian uttering a word. People are uncomfortable, not because we are holy, but because we represent the One Who is holy.
The outcasts and sinners were more comfortable around Jesus than the self-righteous hypocrites, because the outcasts had no false airs.
The worst-kept secret in the whole world is that we are invited into the presence of the Holy God.
The one place we can be naked and vulnerable without fear is in the presence of Christ, Who said "come unto Me and I will give you peace."
Remember:
1. There is no possible escape from the holiness of God. If not dealt with now, we all will deal with it later. Better it be now.
2. The essence of the Christian faith is grace, gratitude, faith. None of us is righteous in and of ourselves; only in Christ. May God forgive us for being hostile and self-righteous in the midst of unbelievers.

Monday, June 6, 2005
GOD ALONE IS GOOD
(a purrsonal rags-to-riches lesson)

On my way to work this morning the Isaiah 64:6 passage came to mind, for indeed all of my good deeds, etc. were as filthy rags in God's sight. The reason HIT me this morning as to why good people die and go to hell.

There is none good but God, the Bible says (Mark 10:18) no one is good but God.

What this tells me is that what we see as good and what God sees as good are two very different things! Let me explain.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God, because whoever comes to God must believe that God exists and rewards those who seek Him.

Romans 14:23 reminds us that whatever is done not in faith is sin; thus the cliche' "When in doubt don't."

Clearly God is pleased with works done in faith and actually works in us both to will and to do what gives Him pleasure (Philippians 2:13).

Bottom line: Only those deeds done by virtue of faith in God can properly be called "good" in God's sight.

WOW!

Sunday, May 29, 2005
GOD OWES ME NOTHING
(a purrsonal response)

That's right! God owes me NOTHING!!

He has given me everything I need for life and godliness--and He didn't owe me THAT!!

He gave me saving faith in Jesus His Son--and He did NOT owe me THAT!!

Therefore, I need to learn, from the apostle Paul as he has learned, "in whatever situation I am to be content" (Philippians 4:11).

The above is what GOT me during and following the sermon preached by an elder in this morning's worship service, from Luke 17:1-19. In context, Jesus is speaking with His disciples, and He makes a few points with them, not the least of which is that they, like we, are not worthy of ANYTHING.

Okay, from the beginning, I'll share my sermon notes here :) He titled his sermon with the question "Are You God's Servant?"

1. God's servant does not lead others to sin (vss 1-4).
    a. Temptations will surely come.
    b. Don't be the doorway through which temptation enters the church.
    c. Don't take offense; be ready always to forgive a repentant brother, even repeatedly.
2. God's servant does not shift blame (vss 5-6).
    a. Faith as miniscule as a mustard seed is enough to trust and obey Him.
3. God's servant understands that the Master owes him nothing (vss 7-10).
    a. He created us; therefore, we owe Him everything.
    b. He sustains us.
4. God's servant obeys without hesitation, without reservation and without conditions (vss 11-14).
    a. Lepers prayed for cure.
    b. Jesus did NOT say they would be healed, but rather, He said "Go show yourselves to the priests".
    c. They left to go to the priests, and as they went on their way, they were cleansed (healed).
NOTE: THIS is where the mustard-seed faith comes in--they OBEYED Him. Faith, even miniscule faith, trusts and obeys without hesitation, without reservation, without conditions.
5. God's servant praises God and falls down at His feet to worship Him, giving thanks (vss 15-19).
    a. We owe Him our love and worship and praise.
    b. We owe Him gratitude and thanksgiving.
    c. We owe Him obedience; the faith He gave us obeys Him.

Note, in summary, the progression here:
A. It all begins with God. He made us. He alone has the rights TO us.
B. We therefore should forgive our debtors repeatedly upon repeated repentances.
C. We, like the apostles, say this is overwhelming, "Lord, increase our faith!"
D. Jesus says in essence we have all the faith we need to trust and obey Him, so just obey.

What I get out of this is that I need to learn to trust Him and be content in my circumstances. He does not owe me a better life. He doesn't even owe me eternal life. That is a gift of His grace, given solely because of His good pleasure, so my challenge is to (1) trust my Lord and (2) obey His Word.

This Word of the Lord directly confronted my depression and my discontentment, so when we sang the old hymn "I Surrender All", I couldn't sing it though I tried, because I was extremely pricked and blubbering through tears of sorrow. My response was "Lord, I am sorry. Please forgive my discontentment." My challenge is to repent and trust and obey Him. This message affects every part of my life.

Yes, I owe Him my life, my thanksgiving, my gratitude, and daily worship, honor, and praise, for He is God, and He alone is worthy. I'm not worthy, but He has given me all that I am, all that I have, all that I ever will be or have. WOW!

Sunday, May 22, 2005
GOD REWARDS ME
(a purrsonal reward)

Hebrews 11:6 in the English Stand Verson (ESV) reads: "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."

In the King James Version (KJV) it reads: "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

I was on my way to church this morning when this verse came to my mind from the KJV.

Following this verse, the words of Jesus came to my mind as well (John 6:65), saying "no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father", and also the apostle Paul saying (Romans 3:11) that "no one seeks God".

Hmm, how could Moses have said in Deuteronomy 4:29 that "you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul" when in fact the apostle Paul said that (Romans 3:11) "no one seeks God"?

This is where Jesus comes in saying that "no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father" (John 6:65) and then (John 10:27-28) "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand."

Now, since Paul said (Ephesians 2:8) "by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God", it makes sense that (Hebrews 11:6) "whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."

God IS. He is the great "I AM". God said to Moses (Exodus 3:14), "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you."

He is my Rewarder, and He Himself is my Reward. How do I know this? By faith in His Word. Where did that faith come from? From God Himself.

God's Word is (Ezekiel 36:27) "I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." God gripped me, may God be pleased to grip my friend, is what I prayed on my way to church, and I still pray "God grip my friend".

I don't know about you, but I would rather live my life knowing God exists than live as if there isn't a God and die to find out there is. Amen?

God IS. He is the great "I AM".

Saturday, May 14, 2005
GOD IS MY REFUGE
(a purrsonal hiding place)

Continuing this comforting theme and knowing the Lord is my refuge, on the phone this week my pastor reminded me that God stores our tears in a bottle. That's in Psalm 56:8. I had heard that before but never really thought about it other than as comforting cliche'. Well, it's true, right there in Scripture, and yah, that is comforting.

Had a good week :) Not as much crying, but I do look forward to that day when my Lord will wipe away all of my tears from my eyes. That's in Revelation 7:17 and 21:4.

Sunday, May 8, 2005
GOD IS EXALTED
(a purrsonal praise to the Most High)

I woke up this morning with these words on my mind: "I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen" (1 Timothy 1:12-17) and "Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful--for he cannot deny himself." (2 Timothy 2:8-13).

One of my favorite hymns is this one, you can find it at

Saturday, May 7, 2005
GOD IS ON THE THRONE
(a purrsonal waiting time)

Monday, May 2, 2005
GOD CHANGES MY MIND
(a purrsonal renewal)

Romans 12:2 says: "Do not be conformed to this world,[a] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

Questions that have come to my mind concerning how to "do" this part of the Word are these: