Friday, February 27, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “If you want to continue getting what you are getting, just keep doing what you've been doing.” Anonymous
“Be very careful, then how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:15-20 NIV
The apostle Paul gives us some good advice on how to live in peace and harmony with our fellow man. In AA we hear a lot about “living life on life’s terms.” When things don’t go our way, we learn to accept the situation and not necessarily push against it, which causes strife. When we accept the situation as being the way it is. We are then able to make changes, many of which are made within ourselves. We are able to change our attitude and how we perceive the situation. Many times this is the only change that can be made. In my life I have found prayer to be a tool for bringing about change in situations. Many times I ask God to remove some burden from my life, and many times the burden is removed. The situation might not change, but a change in my thinking lifts the burden. I am new at this way of thinking, and I continue to learn and grow everyday. “Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.” This is another method I use to take away burdens. Whistle while you work. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…….JRE
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There is a time for everything. We should learn to wait patiently until the right time comes. Easy does it. We waste our energies in trying to get things before we are ready to receive them. A great lesson we have to learn is how to wait with patience. We can believe that all our life is a preparation for something better to come when we have earned the right to it. We can believe that God has a plan for our lives and that this plan will work out in the fullness of time.
HAZELDEN…………Twenty-Four Hours A Day
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Step 11: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
The other Steps can keep most of us sober and somewhat functioning. But Step Eleven can keep us growing………….BILL W.
Whistle while you work
Thought for the day: “If you want to continue getting what you are getting, just keep doing what you've been doing.” Anonymous
“Be very careful, then how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:15-20 NIV
The apostle Paul gives us some good advice on how to live in peace and harmony with our fellow man. In AA we hear a lot about “living life on life’s terms.” When things don’t go our way, we learn to accept the situation and not necessarily push against it, which causes strife. When we accept the situation as being the way it is. We are then able to make changes, many of which are made within ourselves. We are able to change our attitude and how we perceive the situation. Many times this is the only change that can be made. In my life I have found prayer to be a tool for bringing about change in situations. Many times I ask God to remove some burden from my life, and many times the burden is removed. The situation might not change, but a change in my thinking lifts the burden. I am new at this way of thinking, and I continue to learn and grow everyday. “Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.” This is another method I use to take away burdens. Whistle while you work. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…….JRE
******************************
There is a time for everything. We should learn to wait patiently until the right time comes. Easy does it. We waste our energies in trying to get things before we are ready to receive them. A great lesson we have to learn is how to wait with patience. We can believe that all our life is a preparation for something better to come when we have earned the right to it. We can believe that God has a plan for our lives and that this plan will work out in the fullness of time.
HAZELDEN…………Twenty-Four Hours A Day
******************************
Step 11: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
The other Steps can keep most of us sober and somewhat functioning. But Step Eleven can keep us growing………….BILL W.
Thursday, February 26, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “There are two kinds of people: those who say to God ‘Thy will be done’ and those to whom God says, ‘All right then, have it your way.’” C. S. Lewis
“Watch out for the false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” JESUS CHRIST, Matthew 7:15-20 NIV
“By their fruit you will recognize them.” By what they do not how they look. Many are called to speak the Word of God when it is given to them by revelation, and many speak the word of God without being called or having any revelation. How do we separate the sheep from the wolves, when they all look like sheep? Jesus said it would be by the results that become manifest by what they do or say. Country folk say, “the proof is in the puddin’.” Keep an open mind about what other people say and do. Be careful not to judge too soon. Take everything back to the Word of God, and see how it lines up. And don’t forget to taste the puddin’ when it is time. It may look real pretty, but have way too much sugar. This paragraph is for me this morning, thank for letting me share. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………..JRE
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A FRIEND FOR THE JOURNEY
Behold, I stand at the door and knock, If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
REVELATION 3:20
Wherever you may be, in whatever situation you may find yourself today, Jesus will step right in as you open the door to Him. He will enter with salvation. He will enter with healing. He will enter with strength, and counsel, and matchless wisdom. Whether you realize it or not, whether you recognize Him or not, He has been traveling with you on your long and winding journey.
It’s time to invite Him in.
JACK HAYFORD…………..Glorious Morning!
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“It’s not what you quit, but what you start that counts.” I heard Kenneth Copeland say this on a tape that I have. It was said in reference to cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, and overeating. How true this has been for me. I didn’t just quit using drugs and alcohol. I started doing something different. I had quit many time before with no success, the difference this time was that I surrendered to myself, and I started asking God on a daily basis to help me. I started something new by asking for help. I continue to seek God’s help, may I never forget that this is where I get my strength. I thank God…………………JRE
The proof is in the puddin'
Thought for the day: “There are two kinds of people: those who say to God ‘Thy will be done’ and those to whom God says, ‘All right then, have it your way.’” C. S. Lewis
“Watch out for the false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” JESUS CHRIST, Matthew 7:15-20 NIV
“By their fruit you will recognize them.” By what they do not how they look. Many are called to speak the Word of God when it is given to them by revelation, and many speak the word of God without being called or having any revelation. How do we separate the sheep from the wolves, when they all look like sheep? Jesus said it would be by the results that become manifest by what they do or say. Country folk say, “the proof is in the puddin’.” Keep an open mind about what other people say and do. Be careful not to judge too soon. Take everything back to the Word of God, and see how it lines up. And don’t forget to taste the puddin’ when it is time. It may look real pretty, but have way too much sugar. This paragraph is for me this morning, thank for letting me share. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………..JRE
***********************
A FRIEND FOR THE JOURNEY
Behold, I stand at the door and knock, If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
REVELATION 3:20
Wherever you may be, in whatever situation you may find yourself today, Jesus will step right in as you open the door to Him. He will enter with salvation. He will enter with healing. He will enter with strength, and counsel, and matchless wisdom. Whether you realize it or not, whether you recognize Him or not, He has been traveling with you on your long and winding journey.
It’s time to invite Him in.
JACK HAYFORD…………..Glorious Morning!
***********************
“It’s not what you quit, but what you start that counts.” I heard Kenneth Copeland say this on a tape that I have. It was said in reference to cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, and overeating. How true this has been for me. I didn’t just quit using drugs and alcohol. I started doing something different. I had quit many time before with no success, the difference this time was that I surrendered to myself, and I started asking God on a daily basis to help me. I started something new by asking for help. I continue to seek God’s help, may I never forget that this is where I get my strength. I thank God…………………JRE
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
jralphengland@Yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go. - William Feather
“Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
PSALM 23:4 NKJV
Have you ever had a shadow or a reflection scare you? I have. I was eight years old and we lived in a small village outside the city of Paris, France. My father was in the military and I remember how different and strange it was to have all your neighbors speak a different language. Because of this I assume there was some fear not really knowing what others were thinking or saying. The house we lived in was a small two bedroom, with one of the bedrooms upstairs. There was a nice fenced in yard with a tall wall on two sides and a large hedge on two sides. There was a garage, greenhouse, and an orchard. A wonderful place for an eight year old boy to play. I slept in the upstairs bedroom. I remember I had some sort of a nightlight, and one night after having been asleep for a while, I woke up. I sat up in bed and looked out the window that was by my bed. Fear gripped me as I saw someone on the roof outside my window. For many minutes I sat there afraid to move thinking they might see me. When I finally did move, I noticed that they moved also. I had been scared by my own reflection. I remember feeling foolish. I have never forgot this experience, and have drawn from it many times in my life. The valley that David talks about in the Psalm is not the valley of death, but the valley of the “shadow of death.” When I became a Christian, I remember that the fear of death, was one of the first burdens I had to be lightened. And the “shadow of death,” how could this harm me? Thanks for letting me share. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………..JRE
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A.A. Step 3: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Throughout the Bible God uses the metaphor of the sheep and the shepherd. In John 10:14, Jesus calls Himself “the good shepherd” who gives His life for His sheep. David knew what it felt like to be the beloved sheep of the Good Shepherd. We can know the same restoration and protection and abundance because the Good Shepherd gave His life for us. As we make the commitment to turn our lives over to Him, we become His sheep. As we relinquish our self-will, our dependencies, and our excessive ambitions, we will find peace and restoration.
Becoming the sheep of the Good Shepherd offers a security that nothing else on earth can match. Not only is our Shepherd good to us in the best sense of the word, but He is also totally wise and all-powerful. This is why David feared no evil. He knew that even on the roughest path, the Good Shepherd was leading to comfort and protect him.
NELSON SERENITY BIBLE page 395
“The LORD is my shepherd: I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1
Reflection
Thought for the day: “Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go. - William Feather
“Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
PSALM 23:4 NKJV
Have you ever had a shadow or a reflection scare you? I have. I was eight years old and we lived in a small village outside the city of Paris, France. My father was in the military and I remember how different and strange it was to have all your neighbors speak a different language. Because of this I assume there was some fear not really knowing what others were thinking or saying. The house we lived in was a small two bedroom, with one of the bedrooms upstairs. There was a nice fenced in yard with a tall wall on two sides and a large hedge on two sides. There was a garage, greenhouse, and an orchard. A wonderful place for an eight year old boy to play. I slept in the upstairs bedroom. I remember I had some sort of a nightlight, and one night after having been asleep for a while, I woke up. I sat up in bed and looked out the window that was by my bed. Fear gripped me as I saw someone on the roof outside my window. For many minutes I sat there afraid to move thinking they might see me. When I finally did move, I noticed that they moved also. I had been scared by my own reflection. I remember feeling foolish. I have never forgot this experience, and have drawn from it many times in my life. The valley that David talks about in the Psalm is not the valley of death, but the valley of the “shadow of death.” When I became a Christian, I remember that the fear of death, was one of the first burdens I had to be lightened. And the “shadow of death,” how could this harm me? Thanks for letting me share. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………..JRE
***********************
A.A. Step 3: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Throughout the Bible God uses the metaphor of the sheep and the shepherd. In John 10:14, Jesus calls Himself “the good shepherd” who gives His life for His sheep. David knew what it felt like to be the beloved sheep of the Good Shepherd. We can know the same restoration and protection and abundance because the Good Shepherd gave His life for us. As we make the commitment to turn our lives over to Him, we become His sheep. As we relinquish our self-will, our dependencies, and our excessive ambitions, we will find peace and restoration.
Becoming the sheep of the Good Shepherd offers a security that nothing else on earth can match. Not only is our Shepherd good to us in the best sense of the word, but He is also totally wise and all-powerful. This is why David feared no evil. He knew that even on the roughest path, the Good Shepherd was leading to comfort and protect him.
NELSON SERENITY BIBLE page 395
“The LORD is my shepherd: I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Take heed that no one deceives you.”
JESUS CHRIST (Matthew 24:4)
Once again I stand in awe at where my daily Bible study has taken me. With the release of the motion picture The Passion of Christ, taking place tomorrow, my daily reading today has been the 52nd and 53rd chapters of Isaiah where the crucifixion was described in detail in prophecy. Also my study took me to the 24th chapter of Matthew. I found this morning in the Dake Bible, a description of Jesus before His suffering on the cross. The late Finis Dake says the writing is spurious. I find it to be a good read anyway. Webster defines the word “spurious” as: illegitimate; bastard; not true or genuine; false; counterfeit. Bare this in mind when reading. Share this with me……………..JRE
“He grew up before him like a tender shoot, like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
ISAIAH 53:2-3 NIV
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THE DAKE BIBLE page 743
Christ was no doubt the most handsome and attractive man who ever lived; but the suffering described here would cause anyone to think there was no beauty about Him. The following description of Him supposed to have been written during His life on earth before His suffering, is probably spurious, but it certainly is a wonderful word picture of a wonderful man:
“There lives at this time in Judea a man of singular virtue, whose name is Jesus Christ, whom the barbarians esteem as a prophet, but his followers love and adore him as the offspring of the immortal God. He calls back the dead from the grave and heals all sorts of diseases with a word or touch. He is a tall man, well shaped, and of an amiable and reverend aspect; his hair of a color that can hardly be matched, falling in gracious curls, waving about and very agreeably couching upon his shoulders, parted on the crown of the head, running like a stream to the front after the fashion of the Nazarites; his forehead high, large and imposing; his cheeks without spot or wrinkle, beautiful with a lovely red; his nose and mouth formed with exquisite symmetry; his beard the color of new wine suitable to his hair, reaching below his chin and parted in the middle like a fork; his eyes bright blue, clear and serene, look innocent, dignified, manly, and mature. In proportion of body most perfect and captivating; his arms and hands delectable to behold. He rebukes with majesty, counsels with mildness; his whole address, whether in word or deed, being eloquent and grave. No man has seen him laugh, yet his manners are exceedingly pleasant, but he has wept frequently in the presence of men. He is temperate, modest, and wise. A man of extraordinary beauty and divine perfections, surpassing the children of men in every sense.”
***********************
Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…..JRE
A Tender Shoot
Thought for the day: “Take heed that no one deceives you.”
JESUS CHRIST (Matthew 24:4)
Once again I stand in awe at where my daily Bible study has taken me. With the release of the motion picture The Passion of Christ, taking place tomorrow, my daily reading today has been the 52nd and 53rd chapters of Isaiah where the crucifixion was described in detail in prophecy. Also my study took me to the 24th chapter of Matthew. I found this morning in the Dake Bible, a description of Jesus before His suffering on the cross. The late Finis Dake says the writing is spurious. I find it to be a good read anyway. Webster defines the word “spurious” as: illegitimate; bastard; not true or genuine; false; counterfeit. Bare this in mind when reading. Share this with me……………..JRE
“He grew up before him like a tender shoot, like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
ISAIAH 53:2-3 NIV
***********************
THE DAKE BIBLE page 743
Christ was no doubt the most handsome and attractive man who ever lived; but the suffering described here would cause anyone to think there was no beauty about Him. The following description of Him supposed to have been written during His life on earth before His suffering, is probably spurious, but it certainly is a wonderful word picture of a wonderful man:
“There lives at this time in Judea a man of singular virtue, whose name is Jesus Christ, whom the barbarians esteem as a prophet, but his followers love and adore him as the offspring of the immortal God. He calls back the dead from the grave and heals all sorts of diseases with a word or touch. He is a tall man, well shaped, and of an amiable and reverend aspect; his hair of a color that can hardly be matched, falling in gracious curls, waving about and very agreeably couching upon his shoulders, parted on the crown of the head, running like a stream to the front after the fashion of the Nazarites; his forehead high, large and imposing; his cheeks without spot or wrinkle, beautiful with a lovely red; his nose and mouth formed with exquisite symmetry; his beard the color of new wine suitable to his hair, reaching below his chin and parted in the middle like a fork; his eyes bright blue, clear and serene, look innocent, dignified, manly, and mature. In proportion of body most perfect and captivating; his arms and hands delectable to behold. He rebukes with majesty, counsels with mildness; his whole address, whether in word or deed, being eloquent and grave. No man has seen him laugh, yet his manners are exceedingly pleasant, but he has wept frequently in the presence of men. He is temperate, modest, and wise. A man of extraordinary beauty and divine perfections, surpassing the children of men in every sense.”
***********************
Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…..JRE
Monday, February 23, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “I believe in the sun, even when it does not shine; I believe in love, even when it is not shown; I believe in God, even when He does not speak.” Anonymous
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:3 NIV
These words are the first that Jesus spoke in what is called, The Sermon on the Mount. Jesus saw the crowds and went on the mountain, sat down, and taught them. The sermon on the mount, to me is by far, the best teaching I have ever read. Most of it is simple and can be understood easily. It contains the keys to living a life of joy, a life of peace, and a life of spiritual wealth. The first statement that Jesus made had me confused for the first years of my Christian life. I thought we must be rich in spirit. Not until I understood the difference in the word Spirit with a capital “S” and with the small “s” did I understand the meaning. The word “spirit” refers to a part of myself that is made up of my mind, my emotions, my memory, and my will. Also known as the soul. Only by surrendering these parts of my self to God, is God able to move me into what I would call, “kingdom living.” My ego carries around a lot of luggage, and by taking a daily inventory, I am able to discard some of the unnecessary weight. I am grateful, thanks for letting me share. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……..JRE
***********************
The study of the Bible is not unlike the search for diamonds in South Africa. At first people found a few diamonds in the yellow clay, and they were delighted with their good fortune, even while they supposed that this was to be the full extent of their find.
Then, upon digging deeper, they came upon the blue clay, and to their amazement, they then found as many precious stones in a day as they had previously found in a year, and what had formerly seemed like wealth faded into insignificance beside the new riches.
In your exploration of bible Truth, see to it that you do not rest satisfied in the yellow clay of a few spiritual discoveries, but press on to the rich blue clay underneath. The Bible, however, differs from the diamond field in the sublime fact that beneath the blue clay there are more and still more and richer strata, awaiting the touch of spiritual perception, on and on to Infinity.
As you read the Bible, you should constantly affirm that Divine Wisdom is enlightening you. That is the way to get direct inspiration.
EMMET FOX……………..The Sermon On the Mount
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Selfishness, self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS page 62
Blue clay and deeper
Thought for the day: “I believe in the sun, even when it does not shine; I believe in love, even when it is not shown; I believe in God, even when He does not speak.” Anonymous
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:3 NIV
These words are the first that Jesus spoke in what is called, The Sermon on the Mount. Jesus saw the crowds and went on the mountain, sat down, and taught them. The sermon on the mount, to me is by far, the best teaching I have ever read. Most of it is simple and can be understood easily. It contains the keys to living a life of joy, a life of peace, and a life of spiritual wealth. The first statement that Jesus made had me confused for the first years of my Christian life. I thought we must be rich in spirit. Not until I understood the difference in the word Spirit with a capital “S” and with the small “s” did I understand the meaning. The word “spirit” refers to a part of myself that is made up of my mind, my emotions, my memory, and my will. Also known as the soul. Only by surrendering these parts of my self to God, is God able to move me into what I would call, “kingdom living.” My ego carries around a lot of luggage, and by taking a daily inventory, I am able to discard some of the unnecessary weight. I am grateful, thanks for letting me share. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……..JRE
***********************
The study of the Bible is not unlike the search for diamonds in South Africa. At first people found a few diamonds in the yellow clay, and they were delighted with their good fortune, even while they supposed that this was to be the full extent of their find.
Then, upon digging deeper, they came upon the blue clay, and to their amazement, they then found as many precious stones in a day as they had previously found in a year, and what had formerly seemed like wealth faded into insignificance beside the new riches.
In your exploration of bible Truth, see to it that you do not rest satisfied in the yellow clay of a few spiritual discoveries, but press on to the rich blue clay underneath. The Bible, however, differs from the diamond field in the sublime fact that beneath the blue clay there are more and still more and richer strata, awaiting the touch of spiritual perception, on and on to Infinity.
As you read the Bible, you should constantly affirm that Divine Wisdom is enlightening you. That is the way to get direct inspiration.
EMMET FOX……………..The Sermon On the Mount
***********************
Selfishness, self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS page 62
Thursday, February 19, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Reflect on your present blessings of which every man has many, not on your past misfortunes of which all men have some.”
CHARLES DICKENS
This evening I have plans to go to Sigma House, a treatment center in Springfield. We attend the AA meeting as outsiders, just to let the people in recovery know that there is help after being released from the center. What a joy it is to carry a message of hope to those who are still suffering. Some are fresh off the street and are still in a fog. Others have been there for several days, someone is home and the lights are starting to come back on, their elevator is going to the top again, their cheese is starting to slide back on the cracker. And then there are those who are getting ready to go home, they have a hunger for spirituality, mixed with feelings of uncertainty about going back to where they came from. We try and inform them that they are not alone. There are many of us, who on a daily basis overcome alcohol and other addictions by maintaining a network of love and support. We spiritually hold hands and become one. There is room for all who have a desire to not drink or use. There are those who also join us for a while and then go back out, I personally have been there. And then there are some who go back out never return. We remember them. I would be lost without a network based on faith, hope and love. Thanks for letting me share. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………………….JRE
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” ECCLESIASTES 4:9-12 NIV
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WITNESS TO THE WORLD
“Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”
ROMANS 12:15
Jesus ate with publicans and sinners. Nearly everyone He associated with was an outcast. But His relationship with them was not purely social; it was redemptive.
We must not get our words mixed up at this point. God meant that we are not to mingle with the world and be polluted by the world, but we are to witness to the world. We are to “weep with those who weep,” suffer with those who suffer, and identify ourselves with the poor, the sick, and the needy in body, mind, and spirit. How else can we reach them for Christ?
We are to love those who are involved in the world without being contaminated, influenced, or swayed by them. We achieve this distinction only by a close walk with Christ. Like Him, we are to be in the world, but not of the world.
It is good for a ship to be in the sea, but bad when the sea gets into the ship.
BILLY GRAHAM
Faith, Hope and Love
Thought for the day: “Reflect on your present blessings of which every man has many, not on your past misfortunes of which all men have some.”
CHARLES DICKENS
This evening I have plans to go to Sigma House, a treatment center in Springfield. We attend the AA meeting as outsiders, just to let the people in recovery know that there is help after being released from the center. What a joy it is to carry a message of hope to those who are still suffering. Some are fresh off the street and are still in a fog. Others have been there for several days, someone is home and the lights are starting to come back on, their elevator is going to the top again, their cheese is starting to slide back on the cracker. And then there are those who are getting ready to go home, they have a hunger for spirituality, mixed with feelings of uncertainty about going back to where they came from. We try and inform them that they are not alone. There are many of us, who on a daily basis overcome alcohol and other addictions by maintaining a network of love and support. We spiritually hold hands and become one. There is room for all who have a desire to not drink or use. There are those who also join us for a while and then go back out, I personally have been there. And then there are some who go back out never return. We remember them. I would be lost without a network based on faith, hope and love. Thanks for letting me share. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………………….JRE
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” ECCLESIASTES 4:9-12 NIV
***********************
WITNESS TO THE WORLD
“Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”
ROMANS 12:15
Jesus ate with publicans and sinners. Nearly everyone He associated with was an outcast. But His relationship with them was not purely social; it was redemptive.
We must not get our words mixed up at this point. God meant that we are not to mingle with the world and be polluted by the world, but we are to witness to the world. We are to “weep with those who weep,” suffer with those who suffer, and identify ourselves with the poor, the sick, and the needy in body, mind, and spirit. How else can we reach them for Christ?
We are to love those who are involved in the world without being contaminated, influenced, or swayed by them. We achieve this distinction only by a close walk with Christ. Like Him, we are to be in the world, but not of the world.
It is good for a ship to be in the sea, but bad when the sea gets into the ship.
BILLY GRAHAM
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Not knowing when the dawn will come I open every door.” EMILY DICKINSON
Today I use all resources available to obtain and maintain a certain amount of serenity. As I grow older I realize what is of most importance, is what I have on the inside, not what I have on the outside. Once some bit of serenity has been obtained, it can be nourished and fed so that it grows and develops into a lasting part of the individual. I have found that my serenity does not come about by books that I have read, or songs that I have heard, by what other people tell me or by what I think. My serenity comes about by living a life that is pleasing to God, others and myself. Any time I do something that is not pleasing to others, I suffer a bit of ill feeling inside. To me this is a loss of being serene. For years I wanted to have this tuff guy image and when it offended others I was the one who suffered. It took me many years to understand that I needed to live peacefully with others around me. As I study the life of Jesus and the ones that were closest to him, I see forgiveness and a love that does not have expectations. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself. Thanks for letting me share………………..JRE
***********************
“Perhaps the best thing of all for me is to remember that my serenity is inversely proportional to my expectations. The higher my expectations of Max and other people are. the lower is my serenity. I can watch my serenity level rise when I discard my expectations. But then my “rights” try to move in, and they too can force my serenity level down. I have to discard my “rights,” as well as my expectations, by asking myself, How important is it, really? How important is it compared to my serenity, my emotional sobriety? And when I place more value on my serenity and sobriety than on anything else, I can maintain them at a higher level, at least for the time being.”
DR. PAUL, ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS page 420
***********************
ABSOLUTE SILENCE
“He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His Love.”
ZEPHANIAH 3:17
I am more convinced than ever that there is no way you and I can move toward a deeper, intimate relationship with our God without protracted times of stillness, which includes one of the rarest of all experiences: absolute silence.
Am I sounding more like a mystical dreamer? If so, so was the psalmist who wrote those familiar words we often quote but seldom obey, “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10, NIV)……
We are commanded to stop (literally)…rest, relax, let go, and make time for Him. The scene is one of stillness and quietness, listening and waiting before Him. Such foreign experiences in these busy times! Nevertheless, knowing God deeply and intimately requires such discipline. Silence is indispensable if we hope to add depth to our spiritual life.
CHARLES SWINDOLL……..Intimacy with the Almighty
Inside outside
Thought for the day: “Not knowing when the dawn will come I open every door.” EMILY DICKINSON
Today I use all resources available to obtain and maintain a certain amount of serenity. As I grow older I realize what is of most importance, is what I have on the inside, not what I have on the outside. Once some bit of serenity has been obtained, it can be nourished and fed so that it grows and develops into a lasting part of the individual. I have found that my serenity does not come about by books that I have read, or songs that I have heard, by what other people tell me or by what I think. My serenity comes about by living a life that is pleasing to God, others and myself. Any time I do something that is not pleasing to others, I suffer a bit of ill feeling inside. To me this is a loss of being serene. For years I wanted to have this tuff guy image and when it offended others I was the one who suffered. It took me many years to understand that I needed to live peacefully with others around me. As I study the life of Jesus and the ones that were closest to him, I see forgiveness and a love that does not have expectations. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself. Thanks for letting me share………………..JRE
***********************
“Perhaps the best thing of all for me is to remember that my serenity is inversely proportional to my expectations. The higher my expectations of Max and other people are. the lower is my serenity. I can watch my serenity level rise when I discard my expectations. But then my “rights” try to move in, and they too can force my serenity level down. I have to discard my “rights,” as well as my expectations, by asking myself, How important is it, really? How important is it compared to my serenity, my emotional sobriety? And when I place more value on my serenity and sobriety than on anything else, I can maintain them at a higher level, at least for the time being.”
DR. PAUL, ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS page 420
***********************
ABSOLUTE SILENCE
“He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His Love.”
ZEPHANIAH 3:17
I am more convinced than ever that there is no way you and I can move toward a deeper, intimate relationship with our God without protracted times of stillness, which includes one of the rarest of all experiences: absolute silence.
Am I sounding more like a mystical dreamer? If so, so was the psalmist who wrote those familiar words we often quote but seldom obey, “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10, NIV)……
We are commanded to stop (literally)…rest, relax, let go, and make time for Him. The scene is one of stillness and quietness, listening and waiting before Him. Such foreign experiences in these busy times! Nevertheless, knowing God deeply and intimately requires such discipline. Silence is indispensable if we hope to add depth to our spiritual life.
CHARLES SWINDOLL……..Intimacy with the Almighty
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” PROVERBS 27:17 NIV
I really like this Scripture. I like being sharp, not necessarily looking sharp, but being sharp. Having an edge in my mind and spirit that is able to cut through some of the thickness of everyday living. Six years ago would have found me in a state of isolation. I only wanted people around me when it was convenient for me. I would not listen to any criticism or advice that was given to me. Times were rough for me and I found friendship in the bottle and the needle. There was a thick bubble of denial surrounding me and I was so dull that I couldn’t even poke a small hole in this bubble to let in fresh air and light. Then my cousin Margaret, showed up with unconditional love. She said was taught to us all by our Granny. She told me that I needed to get always from this place and took me to her home in Independence. We fussed and fought for several months and I finally got sharp enough to prick through the bubble of denial and realized that I needed help to overcome my addictions. Today by the grace of God, a loving family, many friends, my church, and last but not least, the fellowship of AA and NA, I am able to remain sharp. When a true friend gets honest with you, it sometimes hurts, but it takes the burr off an old dull edge. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………………….JRE
***********************
OUR REDEEMER RESTORES
“He who has begun a good work in you will complete it.”
PHILIPPIANS 1:6
All of us know what it means to lose. In one form or another, we’ve all tasted the bitterness of loss. We’ve all held the ashes of once-lovely dreams and felt them slip through our fingers.
But it is a constant in God’s economy: What is lost may be reinstated, what is wasted may be recovered, and what is broken may be restored!
Above all expressions of His love, God, at heart, is a Redeemer, a Restorer!
JACK HAYFORD……………A New Time and Place
***********************
“The central characteristic of the spiritual experience is that it gives the recipient a new and better motivation out of all proportion to any process of discipline, belief, or faith.”
“These experiences cannot make us whole at once; they are a rebirth to a fresh and certain opportunity.”
BILL W. A letter dated 1965
Independence
Thought for the day: “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” PROVERBS 27:17 NIV
I really like this Scripture. I like being sharp, not necessarily looking sharp, but being sharp. Having an edge in my mind and spirit that is able to cut through some of the thickness of everyday living. Six years ago would have found me in a state of isolation. I only wanted people around me when it was convenient for me. I would not listen to any criticism or advice that was given to me. Times were rough for me and I found friendship in the bottle and the needle. There was a thick bubble of denial surrounding me and I was so dull that I couldn’t even poke a small hole in this bubble to let in fresh air and light. Then my cousin Margaret, showed up with unconditional love. She said was taught to us all by our Granny. She told me that I needed to get always from this place and took me to her home in Independence. We fussed and fought for several months and I finally got sharp enough to prick through the bubble of denial and realized that I needed help to overcome my addictions. Today by the grace of God, a loving family, many friends, my church, and last but not least, the fellowship of AA and NA, I am able to remain sharp. When a true friend gets honest with you, it sometimes hurts, but it takes the burr off an old dull edge. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………………….JRE
***********************
OUR REDEEMER RESTORES
“He who has begun a good work in you will complete it.”
PHILIPPIANS 1:6
All of us know what it means to lose. In one form or another, we’ve all tasted the bitterness of loss. We’ve all held the ashes of once-lovely dreams and felt them slip through our fingers.
But it is a constant in God’s economy: What is lost may be reinstated, what is wasted may be recovered, and what is broken may be restored!
Above all expressions of His love, God, at heart, is a Redeemer, a Restorer!
JACK HAYFORD……………A New Time and Place
***********************
“The central characteristic of the spiritual experience is that it gives the recipient a new and better motivation out of all proportion to any process of discipline, belief, or faith.”
“These experiences cannot make us whole at once; they are a rebirth to a fresh and certain opportunity.”
BILL W. A letter dated 1965
Monday, February 16, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.”
CHARLES MINGUS
Paul writing to the church at Corinth quoted Isaiah. He and Isaiah said that we are not able to conceive what God has in store for those who love Him. Only by God’s Spirit is this revealed to us.
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NIV
However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
A good teacher teaches so that understanding is attainable. By asking too many questions, I sometimes become confused. Sometimes the answer to our problems just needs to be accepted, and then the solutions can be worked on. Sometimes I want to know why something is the way it is, or why not. Knowing why something is the way it is, does not always give me the answer of what to do about it. I need to trust God, and know that I don’t have all the answers. I need to strengthen my love for God by praise and prayer, and an attitude of gratitude. More will be revealed by the Holy Spirit when the time is right. I often confuse something that is simple with being easy. This is not always the case. Loving God first is simple, but the pull of the world at times makes it very hard. I must accept that if I put God first everything else lines up in the proper order. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………….JRE
***********************
How do I get strength to be effective and to accept responsibility? By asking the Higher Power for the strength I need each day. It has been proved in countless lives that for every day I live, the necessary power shall be given me. I must face each challenge that comes to me during the day, sure that God will give me strength to face it. For every task that is given me, there is also given me all the power necessary for the performance of that task. I do not need to hold back.
HAZELDEN…….Twenty-Four Hours A Day
***********************
Where humility had formerly stood for a forced feeding on humble pie, it now begins to mean the nourishing ingredient which can give us serenity.
BILL W. A.A. 12X12 page 74
attitude of gratitude
Thought for the day: “Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.”
CHARLES MINGUS
Paul writing to the church at Corinth quoted Isaiah. He and Isaiah said that we are not able to conceive what God has in store for those who love Him. Only by God’s Spirit is this revealed to us.
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NIV
However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
A good teacher teaches so that understanding is attainable. By asking too many questions, I sometimes become confused. Sometimes the answer to our problems just needs to be accepted, and then the solutions can be worked on. Sometimes I want to know why something is the way it is, or why not. Knowing why something is the way it is, does not always give me the answer of what to do about it. I need to trust God, and know that I don’t have all the answers. I need to strengthen my love for God by praise and prayer, and an attitude of gratitude. More will be revealed by the Holy Spirit when the time is right. I often confuse something that is simple with being easy. This is not always the case. Loving God first is simple, but the pull of the world at times makes it very hard. I must accept that if I put God first everything else lines up in the proper order. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………….JRE
***********************
How do I get strength to be effective and to accept responsibility? By asking the Higher Power for the strength I need each day. It has been proved in countless lives that for every day I live, the necessary power shall be given me. I must face each challenge that comes to me during the day, sure that God will give me strength to face it. For every task that is given me, there is also given me all the power necessary for the performance of that task. I do not need to hold back.
HAZELDEN…….Twenty-Four Hours A Day
***********************
Where humility had formerly stood for a forced feeding on humble pie, it now begins to mean the nourishing ingredient which can give us serenity.
BILL W. A.A. 12X12 page 74
Friday, February 13, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Your attitude determines your altitude.”
Anonymous
Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth. And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. ISAIAH 40:21-22 NKJV
CIRCLE OF THE EARTH
Literally, He that sitteth above the circle of the earth; or, Who sits so far above the round earth that its inhabitants seem as mere grasshoppers or locusts. God looks upon man, from above, as a busy, agitated, moving, impatient, and raging multitude spread over the earth like locusts in bands over the plains of the East. This is a very striking illustration of the insignificance of man as viewed by God in the heavens.
THE DAKE BIBLE page 544
At the present time my Scripture studies are with the Dake Bible and the New King James. I don’t always agree with all the wording in the commentaries of the Dake. This last sentence about the “insignificance of man as viewed by God” does not digest well in my spiritual stomach. I know that man is significant to God. The Father has given us the very best He had to offer. He sent His Son to show the way home. As a whole, mankind is a raging multitude. If you think different, go to a major city and spend a little time out there in rush hour. Even though we are a multitude, God still knows and has time for each and every soul, from the instant of conception, to everlasting eternity.
What strikes me as interesting in this Scripture is the fact that God told Isaiah that the earth was a circle or round. This was written around 792 B.C.. I can’t help but feel that today we still have a “flat earth” mentality about many of our beliefs. The Scriptures hold many answers to our problems today if we only believe, seek, ask, and knock…… it shall be open to us. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself. Thanks for letting me share……………..JRE
***********************
HONESTY IN PRAYER
Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry.
Psalm 88:2
Most of us don’t pray on a regular basis because we’re deeply aware it will cost us something.
More than time.
More than money.
More than faith.
To lay hold of prayer as my own available resource for effective, practical, daily use, as an abiding certainty in an unpredictable world, will cost me one thing.
Honesty
JACK HAYFORD…….Prayer Is Invading the Impossible
***********************
…..when making specific requests, it will be well to add to each one of them this qualification. “…..if it be Thy will.”
BILL W. A.A. 12X12 page 102
The circle of the earth
Thought for the day: “Your attitude determines your altitude.”
Anonymous
Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth. And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. ISAIAH 40:21-22 NKJV
CIRCLE OF THE EARTH
Literally, He that sitteth above the circle of the earth; or, Who sits so far above the round earth that its inhabitants seem as mere grasshoppers or locusts. God looks upon man, from above, as a busy, agitated, moving, impatient, and raging multitude spread over the earth like locusts in bands over the plains of the East. This is a very striking illustration of the insignificance of man as viewed by God in the heavens.
THE DAKE BIBLE page 544
At the present time my Scripture studies are with the Dake Bible and the New King James. I don’t always agree with all the wording in the commentaries of the Dake. This last sentence about the “insignificance of man as viewed by God” does not digest well in my spiritual stomach. I know that man is significant to God. The Father has given us the very best He had to offer. He sent His Son to show the way home. As a whole, mankind is a raging multitude. If you think different, go to a major city and spend a little time out there in rush hour. Even though we are a multitude, God still knows and has time for each and every soul, from the instant of conception, to everlasting eternity.
What strikes me as interesting in this Scripture is the fact that God told Isaiah that the earth was a circle or round. This was written around 792 B.C.. I can’t help but feel that today we still have a “flat earth” mentality about many of our beliefs. The Scriptures hold many answers to our problems today if we only believe, seek, ask, and knock…… it shall be open to us. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself. Thanks for letting me share……………..JRE
***********************
HONESTY IN PRAYER
Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry.
Psalm 88:2
Most of us don’t pray on a regular basis because we’re deeply aware it will cost us something.
More than time.
More than money.
More than faith.
To lay hold of prayer as my own available resource for effective, practical, daily use, as an abiding certainty in an unpredictable world, will cost me one thing.
Honesty
JACK HAYFORD…….Prayer Is Invading the Impossible
***********************
…..when making specific requests, it will be well to add to each one of them this qualification. “…..if it be Thy will.”
BILL W. A.A. 12X12 page 102
Thursday, February 12, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Faith makes the discords of the present the harmonies of the future.” ROBERT COLLYER
The last few days I feel like writers block is setting in. I sit here after having prayed, and having read up lifting words, and find my mind a blank. As I sit in front of my window watching the birds feed and looking at what is left of the last snowstorm, my mind just wanders. When I close my eyes, the light reflecting off the snow fills my mind with whiteness. When I sit in the peace of this reflected glare, I realize that this thing that feels like writers block can really be found in other aspects of my life at different times. Sometimes I just don’t feel like doing what I usually do!
Sometimes it feels like, “there just ain’t much new around here.” As I take time to pray and reflect, I realize that this block is an attitude of looking in more than looking out. As I look in I see the need to be grateful that I am where I am, and for the love that has been shown to me by God, family and friends. As I look out I see the needs of others who are traveling some of the roads that I have traveled. To keep my serenity I must try and help them not to make some of the wrong turns that I made. Even though I feel some kind of block in my creative thoughts, I must hold on to my serenity, and share with others the benefits of sobriety, and of taking life one day at a time. I don’t know where this went, but thanks for letting me share. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…….JRE
“Do not be deceived: God can not be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” GALATIANS 6:7-10 NIV
***********************
GET OUT OF THE RUT
“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.”
PROBERBS 17:22
Even though our work-week is decreasing and our weekend time is increasing, our country lacks inner peace. External leisure does not guarantee internal rest, does it? Time on our hands, we have. But we don’t have meaningful “rest” in the biblical sense of the term….
The answer is [to make] a radical break with the rut of normal living. My good friend Tim Hansel suggests taking different kinds of vacations: midget vacations or mini-vacations (two minutes or more!). Change your routine, my friend. Blow the dust of boredom off your schedule. Shake yourself loose and get a taste of fresh life. Here are several suggestions for adding “zip” to your leisure:
Begin jogging and/or an exercise program….
Buy a bicycle and start pedaling….
Take up a new hobby……
Dig around in the soil, plant a small garden.
CHARLES SWINDOLL…………Strengthening Your Grip
Working through a block
Thought for the day: “Faith makes the discords of the present the harmonies of the future.” ROBERT COLLYER
The last few days I feel like writers block is setting in. I sit here after having prayed, and having read up lifting words, and find my mind a blank. As I sit in front of my window watching the birds feed and looking at what is left of the last snowstorm, my mind just wanders. When I close my eyes, the light reflecting off the snow fills my mind with whiteness. When I sit in the peace of this reflected glare, I realize that this thing that feels like writers block can really be found in other aspects of my life at different times. Sometimes I just don’t feel like doing what I usually do!
Sometimes it feels like, “there just ain’t much new around here.” As I take time to pray and reflect, I realize that this block is an attitude of looking in more than looking out. As I look in I see the need to be grateful that I am where I am, and for the love that has been shown to me by God, family and friends. As I look out I see the needs of others who are traveling some of the roads that I have traveled. To keep my serenity I must try and help them not to make some of the wrong turns that I made. Even though I feel some kind of block in my creative thoughts, I must hold on to my serenity, and share with others the benefits of sobriety, and of taking life one day at a time. I don’t know where this went, but thanks for letting me share. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…….JRE
“Do not be deceived: God can not be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” GALATIANS 6:7-10 NIV
***********************
GET OUT OF THE RUT
“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.”
PROBERBS 17:22
Even though our work-week is decreasing and our weekend time is increasing, our country lacks inner peace. External leisure does not guarantee internal rest, does it? Time on our hands, we have. But we don’t have meaningful “rest” in the biblical sense of the term….
The answer is [to make] a radical break with the rut of normal living. My good friend Tim Hansel suggests taking different kinds of vacations: midget vacations or mini-vacations (two minutes or more!). Change your routine, my friend. Blow the dust of boredom off your schedule. Shake yourself loose and get a taste of fresh life. Here are several suggestions for adding “zip” to your leisure:
Begin jogging and/or an exercise program….
Buy a bicycle and start pedaling….
Take up a new hobby……
Dig around in the soil, plant a small garden.
CHARLES SWINDOLL…………Strengthening Your Grip
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.” PROVERBS 12:16
***********************
HONEST HEARTS
“It is God…who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:6
Are you ready for God to do something new in your life? I believe He desires to help us discern those things that could keep us from finding the new time and place He has for each of us. He seeks honest hearts, open to His call.
Who says you know what’s next for your life?
Who says God can’t use you in a dramatic, wholly unexpected way?
Who says He can’t lead you into a season of life and ministry beyond anything you’ve ever experienced, or even dreamed?
Just who is the limiting factor here? Is it God? Or are we capable of closing our hearts to what He wants to do in and through our lives
JACK HAYFORD………A New Time and Place
***********************
I’m not doing this in the morning. It is the evening before the morning. I have to be at the Christian School at 8:30 am, so I am getting this ready tonight, but will send in the morning. I have done this twice in the evening over the last 2 ½ years. My spirituality seems so different at the end of the day, and rightly it should. My conscious mind has experienced the whole day and is not as refreshed as at the start of the day. Don’t get me wrong, my spirituality is still working for me, it’s just different. In the morning my relationship with God is more of a “please” thing. Please help me stay sober, please let me be of help to others, please help me think before I speak, please keep me from having an unforgiving spirit, please God, let the unconditional love you have shown to me be reflected to others. In the evening my spiritually speaks more of “thank you.” Thank you God for helping me to stay sober, and walking with me through the ups and downs of the day. Thank you for this one day, and for helping me to live one day at a time. This evening, God is still doing for me what I could not do for myself………..JRE
***********************
When we developed still more, we discover the best possible source of emotional stability to be God Himself. We found that dependence upon His perfect justice, forgiveness, and love was healthy, and that it would work where nothing else would. If we really depended upon God, we couldn’t very well play God to our fellows nor would we feel the urge wholly to rely on human protection and care.
BILL W. A.A. 12X12 page 116
Evening spirituality
Thought for the day: “A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.” PROVERBS 12:16
***********************
HONEST HEARTS
“It is God…who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:6
Are you ready for God to do something new in your life? I believe He desires to help us discern those things that could keep us from finding the new time and place He has for each of us. He seeks honest hearts, open to His call.
Who says you know what’s next for your life?
Who says God can’t use you in a dramatic, wholly unexpected way?
Who says He can’t lead you into a season of life and ministry beyond anything you’ve ever experienced, or even dreamed?
Just who is the limiting factor here? Is it God? Or are we capable of closing our hearts to what He wants to do in and through our lives
JACK HAYFORD………A New Time and Place
***********************
I’m not doing this in the morning. It is the evening before the morning. I have to be at the Christian School at 8:30 am, so I am getting this ready tonight, but will send in the morning. I have done this twice in the evening over the last 2 ½ years. My spirituality seems so different at the end of the day, and rightly it should. My conscious mind has experienced the whole day and is not as refreshed as at the start of the day. Don’t get me wrong, my spirituality is still working for me, it’s just different. In the morning my relationship with God is more of a “please” thing. Please help me stay sober, please let me be of help to others, please help me think before I speak, please keep me from having an unforgiving spirit, please God, let the unconditional love you have shown to me be reflected to others. In the evening my spiritually speaks more of “thank you.” Thank you God for helping me to stay sober, and walking with me through the ups and downs of the day. Thank you for this one day, and for helping me to live one day at a time. This evening, God is still doing for me what I could not do for myself………..JRE
***********************
When we developed still more, we discover the best possible source of emotional stability to be God Himself. We found that dependence upon His perfect justice, forgiveness, and love was healthy, and that it would work where nothing else would. If we really depended upon God, we couldn’t very well play God to our fellows nor would we feel the urge wholly to rely on human protection and care.
BILL W. A.A. 12X12 page 116
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Though for the day: “Sorrows remembered sweeten present joy.”
ROBERT POLLOK
Today my life has its ups and downs, which I have accepted. If I catch myself and don’t allow my emotions to go to extremes in one way or another, I am able to stay in contact with “present joy.” This statement from Robert Pollok spoke to my heart, it brought thoughts of gratitude to my life this morning. As I look back on my life I do remember sorrows. I remember times of loneliness, times of depression, times of insecurity and fear. Times of dependence on the ignorant oil of life, that liquid form of joy, alcohol! This may sound like I am opposed to alcohol. I am not! My problem is myself, the depression, the loneliness, the fears. Alcohol brought all this to the surface and they became manifested in the form of my character defects, which most people did not like, and therefore stayed away. Today I have strength and joy in knowing that God is with me every minute of the day, and is my armor and my shield. The battle is fought, and the victory won on the inside of my heart. Joy is the medal I receive after having fought the battle. Not happiness, but joy! Joy cannot be taken from me. I received it by exercising my faith that God could and would restore me to sanity.
“Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet. And He will make me walk on my high hills.”
HABAKKUK 3:18-19 NKJV
Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself….JRE
***********************
THE ONE THING WE CAN CHANGE
A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge increases power.
PROVERBS 24:5
This may shock you, but I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude. It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my successes or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me, or say about me, my circumstances, or my position. The attitude I choose keeps me going or cripples my progress. It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hope. When my attitudes are right, there’s no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me.
Yet we must admit that we spend more of our time concentrating and fretting over the things that can’t be changed than we do giving attention to the one that we can change, our choice of attitude.
Day by Day with Charles Swindoll
Joyous attitude
Though for the day: “Sorrows remembered sweeten present joy.”
ROBERT POLLOK
Today my life has its ups and downs, which I have accepted. If I catch myself and don’t allow my emotions to go to extremes in one way or another, I am able to stay in contact with “present joy.” This statement from Robert Pollok spoke to my heart, it brought thoughts of gratitude to my life this morning. As I look back on my life I do remember sorrows. I remember times of loneliness, times of depression, times of insecurity and fear. Times of dependence on the ignorant oil of life, that liquid form of joy, alcohol! This may sound like I am opposed to alcohol. I am not! My problem is myself, the depression, the loneliness, the fears. Alcohol brought all this to the surface and they became manifested in the form of my character defects, which most people did not like, and therefore stayed away. Today I have strength and joy in knowing that God is with me every minute of the day, and is my armor and my shield. The battle is fought, and the victory won on the inside of my heart. Joy is the medal I receive after having fought the battle. Not happiness, but joy! Joy cannot be taken from me. I received it by exercising my faith that God could and would restore me to sanity.
“Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet. And He will make me walk on my high hills.”
HABAKKUK 3:18-19 NKJV
Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself….JRE
***********************
THE ONE THING WE CAN CHANGE
A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge increases power.
PROVERBS 24:5
This may shock you, but I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude. It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my successes or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me, or say about me, my circumstances, or my position. The attitude I choose keeps me going or cripples my progress. It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hope. When my attitudes are right, there’s no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me.
Yet we must admit that we spend more of our time concentrating and fretting over the things that can’t be changed than we do giving attention to the one that we can change, our choice of attitude.
Day by Day with Charles Swindoll
Monday, February 09, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “The better part of valor is discretion.”
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
THINK!……….that’s what discretion is, thinking things through before we get into action. How easy it is to be led and not have to use my own mind. How easy it is to head in a direction blindly, and just wish that things would work out. If I kept my eyes on the path right in front of me, I would not see my destination. Some times the cares of this world cause me to keep my focus on the spot where I am standing, and I lose sight of the destination. So I raise my head up and look for the Light, I gain strength in my walk when I look more to the destination and less at the next step. I thank you for allowing me to work this through. I just didn’t feel like being stuck in one spot this morning. Today God truly is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………..JRE
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
2 CORINTHIANS 4:16-17 NIV
***********************
While it is true there may be times when impulsive actions can pay off, few will disagree that it’s usually far wiser to think things through. We take the time to review the possible consequences of our actions and decisions, evening the face of outside pressures such as the impatience of others.
We also try to stay in touch with our intuition, paying special attention when our inner voice says, “No, don’t.” And when we find that we’ve already begun to act impulsively, we try to pull back before we get carried away too far.
A NEW DAY page 59
***********************
“There is a direct linkage among self-examination, meditation, and prayer. Taken separately, these practices can bring much relief and benefit.” BILL W. A.A.12X12 page 98
***********************
Prayer is needed for Jack Swall, Patsy King, and Scott McCollom. Thanks for sharing in this need…………..JRE
Discretion
Thought for the day: “The better part of valor is discretion.”
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
THINK!……….that’s what discretion is, thinking things through before we get into action. How easy it is to be led and not have to use my own mind. How easy it is to head in a direction blindly, and just wish that things would work out. If I kept my eyes on the path right in front of me, I would not see my destination. Some times the cares of this world cause me to keep my focus on the spot where I am standing, and I lose sight of the destination. So I raise my head up and look for the Light, I gain strength in my walk when I look more to the destination and less at the next step. I thank you for allowing me to work this through. I just didn’t feel like being stuck in one spot this morning. Today God truly is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………..JRE
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
2 CORINTHIANS 4:16-17 NIV
***********************
While it is true there may be times when impulsive actions can pay off, few will disagree that it’s usually far wiser to think things through. We take the time to review the possible consequences of our actions and decisions, evening the face of outside pressures such as the impatience of others.
We also try to stay in touch with our intuition, paying special attention when our inner voice says, “No, don’t.” And when we find that we’ve already begun to act impulsively, we try to pull back before we get carried away too far.
A NEW DAY page 59
***********************
“There is a direct linkage among self-examination, meditation, and prayer. Taken separately, these practices can bring much relief and benefit.” BILL W. A.A.12X12 page 98
***********************
Prayer is needed for Jack Swall, Patsy King, and Scott McCollom. Thanks for sharing in this need…………..JRE
Friday, February 06, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “The worst prison would be… a closed heart.”
Anonymous
“At one time we were foolish, disobedient and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” TITUS 3:3-5 NIV
Titus was a Greek friend of the apostle Paul and a fellow worker in the ministry of telling the world of Jesus. In Scripture where Paul mentions Titus, it is many times associated with the comfort that he brought to Paul. Paul was a zealous Jew who probably grew up not caring much for gentiles, and who persecuted the early church. I find it awesome how God can turn someone like Paul around and use him to carry the message to the gentiles. When Paul first went to visit the church in Jerusalem, which he had persecuted in times past, he took Titus with him. Titus must have been a source of strength to Paul. Today I find strength like this in knowing that I have a friend and sponsor. I also find strength in knowing the Holy Spirit is at my side and in my heart. I make mistakes, but with a heart open to the Spirit of God, corrections can be made. Healing flows when the Spirit is allowed to enter. I am grateful for the Word of God which shows me how two people from different backgrounds and cultures could have a common bond in Jesus, and strengthen each other in time of need. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………JRE
***********************
The power of God’s Spirit is the greatest power in the universe. Our conquest of each other, the great kings and conquerors, the conquest of wealth, the leaders of the money society, all amount to very little in the end. But he who conquers himself is greater than he who conquers a city. Material things have no permanence. But God’s Spirit is eternal. Everything really worthwhile in the world is the result of the power of God’s Spirit.
HAZELDEN……………Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A friend like Titus
Thought for the day: “The worst prison would be… a closed heart.”
Anonymous
“At one time we were foolish, disobedient and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” TITUS 3:3-5 NIV
Titus was a Greek friend of the apostle Paul and a fellow worker in the ministry of telling the world of Jesus. In Scripture where Paul mentions Titus, it is many times associated with the comfort that he brought to Paul. Paul was a zealous Jew who probably grew up not caring much for gentiles, and who persecuted the early church. I find it awesome how God can turn someone like Paul around and use him to carry the message to the gentiles. When Paul first went to visit the church in Jerusalem, which he had persecuted in times past, he took Titus with him. Titus must have been a source of strength to Paul. Today I find strength like this in knowing that I have a friend and sponsor. I also find strength in knowing the Holy Spirit is at my side and in my heart. I make mistakes, but with a heart open to the Spirit of God, corrections can be made. Healing flows when the Spirit is allowed to enter. I am grateful for the Word of God which shows me how two people from different backgrounds and cultures could have a common bond in Jesus, and strengthen each other in time of need. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………JRE
***********************
The power of God’s Spirit is the greatest power in the universe. Our conquest of each other, the great kings and conquerors, the conquest of wealth, the leaders of the money society, all amount to very little in the end. But he who conquers himself is greater than he who conquers a city. Material things have no permanence. But God’s Spirit is eternal. Everything really worthwhile in the world is the result of the power of God’s Spirit.
HAZELDEN……………Twenty-Four Hours A Day
Thursday, February 05, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Two paths diverged in a woods, I took the one less traveled.” ROBERT LEE FROST
Jesus said that “we are the salt of the earth, and the light of the world.” As I understand it, in Scripture, the earth and the world are not the same thing. The earth refers to the natural, and the world refers to the spiritual. Our physical bodies through nutrition come from the earth, and when we are through with them they go back to the earth. The world refers to our man made systems, governments, traditions, culture, fashion, fads and so on. I find that worldly stuff comes to me through my senses, my eyes, ears, smell and touch. As Christians we need to light the path for others who are lost. Where the paths diverge in the world, we must light the one that leads home, the one less traveled. The world says, “let’s go this way.” But deep inside my heart there is a still small voice that says, “deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him.” If you look down the path that leads home, you can see the light of others who have traveled on before us, to show the way…………………….JRE
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” MATTHEW 16:24-26 NIV
Today I think of Jean Nava and I am grateful for her light on the path. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……….JRE
***********************
THE LIGHT OF LIFE
“Your faith and hope are in God.” 1 PETER 1:21 NIV
We get so used to this world that we lose sight of the next. We get so used to the darkness and chaos of this world’s suffering and violence that we lose sight of the brightness of Him who alone could say, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12).
He alone is the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). He alone is the Hope of the hopeless, the Savior of the lost, the Guide of the wandering. He alone is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3 NIV).
Today world leaders struggle with almost insurmountable problems, and they always will. But in the midst of this world’s persistent darkness, never lose sight of Jesus. He alone is the hope of the world, and He is your hope as well.
BILLY GRAHAM
***********************
We are going to know a new freedom…….
Alcoholics Anonymous, page 83
The one less traveled
Thought for the day: “Two paths diverged in a woods, I took the one less traveled.” ROBERT LEE FROST
Jesus said that “we are the salt of the earth, and the light of the world.” As I understand it, in Scripture, the earth and the world are not the same thing. The earth refers to the natural, and the world refers to the spiritual. Our physical bodies through nutrition come from the earth, and when we are through with them they go back to the earth. The world refers to our man made systems, governments, traditions, culture, fashion, fads and so on. I find that worldly stuff comes to me through my senses, my eyes, ears, smell and touch. As Christians we need to light the path for others who are lost. Where the paths diverge in the world, we must light the one that leads home, the one less traveled. The world says, “let’s go this way.” But deep inside my heart there is a still small voice that says, “deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him.” If you look down the path that leads home, you can see the light of others who have traveled on before us, to show the way…………………….JRE
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” MATTHEW 16:24-26 NIV
Today I think of Jean Nava and I am grateful for her light on the path. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……….JRE
***********************
THE LIGHT OF LIFE
“Your faith and hope are in God.” 1 PETER 1:21 NIV
We get so used to this world that we lose sight of the next. We get so used to the darkness and chaos of this world’s suffering and violence that we lose sight of the brightness of Him who alone could say, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12).
He alone is the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). He alone is the Hope of the hopeless, the Savior of the lost, the Guide of the wandering. He alone is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3 NIV).
Today world leaders struggle with almost insurmountable problems, and they always will. But in the midst of this world’s persistent darkness, never lose sight of Jesus. He alone is the hope of the world, and He is your hope as well.
BILLY GRAHAM
***********************
We are going to know a new freedom…….
Alcoholics Anonymous, page 83
Wednesday, February 04, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.”
Anonymous
***********************
I don’t have much to say this morning, just grateful to be clean and sober. I am so grateful that God has broken the chains of bondage that kept me locked up in a room full of self. Today I am free, but I must keep my thoughts in control. Freedom does not allow me to do and think anything I want. Otherwise I wind up locked up in this little room called self, anointing myself with the ignorant oil of life, booze. Set free, but held in check by a loving God. I don’t need any more freedom than that. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………..JRE
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 NIV
***********************
If your heart is right, your world will be right. The beginning of all reform must be in your self. It’s not what happens to you, it’s how you take it. However restricted your circumstances, however little you may be able to remedy financial affairs, you can always turn to your inward self and, seeing something not in order there, seek to right it. And as all reform is from within outward, you will always find that the outward is improved as the inward is improved. As you improve yourself, your outward circumstances will change for the better. The power released from within yourself will change your outward life.
HAZELDEN………..Twenty-Four Hours A Day
***********************
“We will want the good that is in us all, even in the worst of us, to flower and to grow.” BILL W. A.A. 12X12 page 98
Ignorant oil
Thought for the day: “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.”
Anonymous
***********************
I don’t have much to say this morning, just grateful to be clean and sober. I am so grateful that God has broken the chains of bondage that kept me locked up in a room full of self. Today I am free, but I must keep my thoughts in control. Freedom does not allow me to do and think anything I want. Otherwise I wind up locked up in this little room called self, anointing myself with the ignorant oil of life, booze. Set free, but held in check by a loving God. I don’t need any more freedom than that. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………..JRE
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 NIV
***********************
If your heart is right, your world will be right. The beginning of all reform must be in your self. It’s not what happens to you, it’s how you take it. However restricted your circumstances, however little you may be able to remedy financial affairs, you can always turn to your inward self and, seeing something not in order there, seek to right it. And as all reform is from within outward, you will always find that the outward is improved as the inward is improved. As you improve yourself, your outward circumstances will change for the better. The power released from within yourself will change your outward life.
HAZELDEN………..Twenty-Four Hours A Day
***********************
“We will want the good that is in us all, even in the worst of us, to flower and to grow.” BILL W. A.A. 12X12 page 98
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.” PROVERBS 12:25 NIV
Praise has helped me this morning. I woke up feeling anxious. I had a dream that I couldn’t shake, not really such a bad dream, but one that just kept my mind preoccupied. This anxious feeling accompanied me on all my morning chores. After my morning readings I remembered something that I heard at a meeting last night. Singing praises is good for soothing anxious feelings. As I began to sing praises to God for my life today, it felt like the plug had been pulled and the dirty bath water drained out. As I continued to sing praises, in flowed the fresh clean water of my personal revival. The praise song that helped me this morning is, “Come just as you are to worship.” That is how I came, just as I was. I brought my anxious thoughts. I didn’t have to change them first, God changed them when I became willing to enter into praise and worship. My focus changed from inward to outward. Today I am grateful for the kind word I received last night, may I in turn pass it on………God is doing for me what I could not do for myself………………JRE
***********************
LET PEACE RULE
“Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.” Colossians 3:15
The only thing that ever hinders peace is when we refuse to surrender our troubles to God. So, when dismay, frustrations, or deep disappointments come, “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.” To surrender to God is never the same as surrendering to the situation, or to whatever works of hell may be afoot. It is an act of choice that overrules whatever of chance seems to be trying your soul, stretching your faith, or overthrowing your confidence.
Say, “Lord God almighty, I give this to You, completely!” Then with praise leave it there.
JACK HAYFORD…………Moments with Majesty
***********************
IS SOBRIETY ENOUGH?
The alcoholic is like a tornado roaring his way through the lives of others. Hearts are broken. Sweet relationships are dead. Affections have been uprooted. Selfish and inconsiderate habits have kept the home in turmoil.
We feel a man is unthinking when he says that sobriety is enough. He is like the farmer who came up out of his cyclone cellar to find his home ruined. To his wife, he remarked, “Don’t see anything the matter here, Ma. Ain’t it grand the wind stopped blowin’?”
Alcoholics Anonymous, page 82
This last thought always reminds me of “Ma and Pa Kettle.” Forty-six days till spring…..have a wonderful day…………JRE
Fresh clean water
Thought for the day: “An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.” PROVERBS 12:25 NIV
Praise has helped me this morning. I woke up feeling anxious. I had a dream that I couldn’t shake, not really such a bad dream, but one that just kept my mind preoccupied. This anxious feeling accompanied me on all my morning chores. After my morning readings I remembered something that I heard at a meeting last night. Singing praises is good for soothing anxious feelings. As I began to sing praises to God for my life today, it felt like the plug had been pulled and the dirty bath water drained out. As I continued to sing praises, in flowed the fresh clean water of my personal revival. The praise song that helped me this morning is, “Come just as you are to worship.” That is how I came, just as I was. I brought my anxious thoughts. I didn’t have to change them first, God changed them when I became willing to enter into praise and worship. My focus changed from inward to outward. Today I am grateful for the kind word I received last night, may I in turn pass it on………God is doing for me what I could not do for myself………………JRE
***********************
LET PEACE RULE
“Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.” Colossians 3:15
The only thing that ever hinders peace is when we refuse to surrender our troubles to God. So, when dismay, frustrations, or deep disappointments come, “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.” To surrender to God is never the same as surrendering to the situation, or to whatever works of hell may be afoot. It is an act of choice that overrules whatever of chance seems to be trying your soul, stretching your faith, or overthrowing your confidence.
Say, “Lord God almighty, I give this to You, completely!” Then with praise leave it there.
JACK HAYFORD…………Moments with Majesty
***********************
IS SOBRIETY ENOUGH?
The alcoholic is like a tornado roaring his way through the lives of others. Hearts are broken. Sweet relationships are dead. Affections have been uprooted. Selfish and inconsiderate habits have kept the home in turmoil.
We feel a man is unthinking when he says that sobriety is enough. He is like the farmer who came up out of his cyclone cellar to find his home ruined. To his wife, he remarked, “Don’t see anything the matter here, Ma. Ain’t it grand the wind stopped blowin’?”
Alcoholics Anonymous, page 82
This last thought always reminds me of “Ma and Pa Kettle.” Forty-six days till spring…..have a wonderful day…………JRE
Monday, February 02, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “The only thing that’s worse than being blind, is having sight but no vision.” HELEN KELLER
In the summer of 1979 I was in the grips of alcoholism and drug addiction. I lived in a small basement apartment in Kansas City and did odd jobs for the building owner, which went toward the rent. I had a few pieces of clothing and nothing else to my name. During this time many of my friends from high school and college had settled down and were raising families and building careers. I was in a dingy basement apartment with my dope and my bottle. I wanted something better, so I got a job at Trinity Lutheran Hospital as an orderly. This job lasted only a couple of months. While I was there I worked in the radiology section and made the acquaintance of a blind gentleman who developed the x-rays in a dark room. We used to go for walks at lunchtime outside the building. He would hold on to my arm as we walked and talked. I felt sorry for him because he could not see, but the truth was that I was the one who could not see. This was four years before I let Jesus Christ walk with me. This man had a good job, a family, and vision for his life. He had vision and I had only sight. After four more years of living in the gutter I surrendered, I defeated myself. I turned for help and found a loving God who had sent people my way for years, and was waiting with open arms. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………..JRE
Words of Jesus found in Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV.
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
***********************
LOUD AND CLEAR
The mystery……now has been revealed to His saints.
COLOSSIANS 1:26
Radio was just coming of age when I was a boy. We would gather around a crude homemade set and twist the tuning dials. Often the only sound was the squeak and squawk of static. It wasn’t very exciting, but we kept at it. We knew that somewhere out there was the unseen transmitter and if we established contact, we could hear a voice loud and clear.
Does God speak to us? Is He trying to reach us? Yes! The problem is not with Him, but with us. Like that crude radio, we aren’t attuned to Him.
We could only know God in one way: If He revealed Himself to us. And that is what He has done. He revealed Himself in the world He created, and in a fuller way He revealed Himself in His written Word, the Bible. Centuries ago He spoke to the prophets and the apostles, and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit they wrote down His Word for us.
God is trying to break through to us, but we must “tune in” to His Word. Are you listening?
BILLY GRAHAM
***********************
Understanding is the key to right principles and attitudes, and right action is the key to good living.
BILL W. A.A. 12X12 page 125
Vision
Thought for the day: “The only thing that’s worse than being blind, is having sight but no vision.” HELEN KELLER
In the summer of 1979 I was in the grips of alcoholism and drug addiction. I lived in a small basement apartment in Kansas City and did odd jobs for the building owner, which went toward the rent. I had a few pieces of clothing and nothing else to my name. During this time many of my friends from high school and college had settled down and were raising families and building careers. I was in a dingy basement apartment with my dope and my bottle. I wanted something better, so I got a job at Trinity Lutheran Hospital as an orderly. This job lasted only a couple of months. While I was there I worked in the radiology section and made the acquaintance of a blind gentleman who developed the x-rays in a dark room. We used to go for walks at lunchtime outside the building. He would hold on to my arm as we walked and talked. I felt sorry for him because he could not see, but the truth was that I was the one who could not see. This was four years before I let Jesus Christ walk with me. This man had a good job, a family, and vision for his life. He had vision and I had only sight. After four more years of living in the gutter I surrendered, I defeated myself. I turned for help and found a loving God who had sent people my way for years, and was waiting with open arms. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………..JRE
Words of Jesus found in Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV.
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
***********************
LOUD AND CLEAR
The mystery……now has been revealed to His saints.
COLOSSIANS 1:26
Radio was just coming of age when I was a boy. We would gather around a crude homemade set and twist the tuning dials. Often the only sound was the squeak and squawk of static. It wasn’t very exciting, but we kept at it. We knew that somewhere out there was the unseen transmitter and if we established contact, we could hear a voice loud and clear.
Does God speak to us? Is He trying to reach us? Yes! The problem is not with Him, but with us. Like that crude radio, we aren’t attuned to Him.
We could only know God in one way: If He revealed Himself to us. And that is what He has done. He revealed Himself in the world He created, and in a fuller way He revealed Himself in His written Word, the Bible. Centuries ago He spoke to the prophets and the apostles, and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit they wrote down His Word for us.
God is trying to break through to us, but we must “tune in” to His Word. Are you listening?
BILLY GRAHAM
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Understanding is the key to right principles and attitudes, and right action is the key to good living.
BILL W. A.A. 12X12 page 125
