Thursday, September 30, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.” JOHN WESLEY
“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
JOHN 3:8 NIV
Nicodemus was a wise and influential man in the day of Jesus. He came to Jesus at night possibly to keep from being seen by others. He knew that Jesus was from God because of the miracles that were taking place through Him. Jesus told him that, “no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” Jesus then went on to tell him that to be born again meant to be born of the Spirit. Like Nicodemus I did not understand the idea of being born again either. But when I reached a point in my life where I could not continue to live the way I had been living, I turned to Jesus, the Bible, and other Christians for understanding. When I, deep down in my heart, believed that Jesus was real, something happened. Something changed, I received forgiveness for my life up to that point, and I became a new man with a new start in life. I became reborn, this time not of the flesh, but of the Spirit. Just like the wind that blows wherever it pleases, I became free inside. Before being born of the Spirit, I was not free. I was held captive by my own mind because of guilt, remorse, and all sorts of things that gave temporary pleasure to the flesh. In my walk with Jesus I have had times of great Spiritual experiences, and I have had low times when I have given in to the flesh. My flesh still speaks out even though I am now born of the Spirit, but now I can lay my burdens down at the Cross. I don’t have to drag all that stuff around with me everyday if I don’t want too. I am born of the Spirit, and I can step into the light and shake off the past. I still stumble, but every time I am ready to get up, the nail-scarred hand of Jesus is there to lift me up. I am grateful because God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………..JRE
********************
MORAL PURITY
“The foolishness of man ruins his way, and his heart rages against the LORD.”
PROVERBS 19:3
It is impossible to come to terms with moral purity without dealing with some practical facts related to the body, our flesh-and-blood appetites that crave satisfaction. Volumes are written about the mind, our emotional makeup, our “inner man,” the soul, the spirit, and the spiritual dimension. But by comparison, very little is being said by evangelicals today about the physical body.
We are to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God. (Romans 12:1)
We are instructed not to yield any part of our bodies as instruments of unrighteousness to sin. (Romans 6:12-13)
Our bodies are actually “members in Christ”; they belong to Him. (1 Cor. 6:15)
You see, these bodies of ours can easily lead us off course. It isn’t that the body itself is evil; it’s just that it posses any number of appetites that are ready to respond to the surrounding stimuli…..all of which are terribly appealing and temporarily satisfying.
CHALRLES SWINDOLL………..Strengthening Your Grip
********************
“The power of God goes deep!”…………..Alcoholics Anonymous page 114
The wind blows wherever it pleases
Thought for the day: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.” JOHN WESLEY
“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
JOHN 3:8 NIV
Nicodemus was a wise and influential man in the day of Jesus. He came to Jesus at night possibly to keep from being seen by others. He knew that Jesus was from God because of the miracles that were taking place through Him. Jesus told him that, “no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” Jesus then went on to tell him that to be born again meant to be born of the Spirit. Like Nicodemus I did not understand the idea of being born again either. But when I reached a point in my life where I could not continue to live the way I had been living, I turned to Jesus, the Bible, and other Christians for understanding. When I, deep down in my heart, believed that Jesus was real, something happened. Something changed, I received forgiveness for my life up to that point, and I became a new man with a new start in life. I became reborn, this time not of the flesh, but of the Spirit. Just like the wind that blows wherever it pleases, I became free inside. Before being born of the Spirit, I was not free. I was held captive by my own mind because of guilt, remorse, and all sorts of things that gave temporary pleasure to the flesh. In my walk with Jesus I have had times of great Spiritual experiences, and I have had low times when I have given in to the flesh. My flesh still speaks out even though I am now born of the Spirit, but now I can lay my burdens down at the Cross. I don’t have to drag all that stuff around with me everyday if I don’t want too. I am born of the Spirit, and I can step into the light and shake off the past. I still stumble, but every time I am ready to get up, the nail-scarred hand of Jesus is there to lift me up. I am grateful because God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………..JRE
********************
MORAL PURITY
“The foolishness of man ruins his way, and his heart rages against the LORD.”
PROVERBS 19:3
It is impossible to come to terms with moral purity without dealing with some practical facts related to the body, our flesh-and-blood appetites that crave satisfaction. Volumes are written about the mind, our emotional makeup, our “inner man,” the soul, the spirit, and the spiritual dimension. But by comparison, very little is being said by evangelicals today about the physical body.
We are to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God. (Romans 12:1)
We are instructed not to yield any part of our bodies as instruments of unrighteousness to sin. (Romans 6:12-13)
Our bodies are actually “members in Christ”; they belong to Him. (1 Cor. 6:15)
You see, these bodies of ours can easily lead us off course. It isn’t that the body itself is evil; it’s just that it posses any number of appetites that are ready to respond to the surrounding stimuli…..all of which are terribly appealing and temporarily satisfying.
CHALRLES SWINDOLL………..Strengthening Your Grip
********************
“The power of God goes deep!”…………..Alcoholics Anonymous page 114
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “The steps of faith fall on the seeming void, but find the rock beneath.” JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER
Paul in writing his letter to the Ephesians shares about grace, unity of believers, walking in love, wisdom, family responsibility, and the armor that we Christians must wear daily. But right in the middle of his letter he stops and takes the time to pray and records the prayer as part of the letter. I look at this and I ask myself when was the last time I wrote someone a letter or an email and actually prayed for them in the letter? I’m not talking about forwarding some prayer that’s been around the internet for years and years, I’m talking about using your own words and speaking to God on behalf of someone else, and making it a part of your letter. It was common for Paul to pray for those he loved in his letters. I know from personal experience that I like hearing someone pray for me, not just hearing them say they will pray for me. This prayer of Paul’s is really good, share this with me:
“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now unto Him who is able to do above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever, Amen.” EPHESIANS 3:14-21 NKJV
Isn’t that an awesome prayer? It is all one sentence until Paul is ready close the prayer. One continuous thought of communication between the apostle Paul and the Father. Paul’s request is for us to be “rooted and grounded in love.” Rooted in love we will never fail. Thanks for sharing with me today, this daily page is like a journal, and helps keep me clean and sober. My prayer for you today is from Paul’s, “May you be filled with all the fullness of God.” God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……JRE
********************
LIFE, LIGHT, AND LOVE
“With great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.” ACTS 4:33
The book of Acts shows us believers who invaded the impossible. They prayed, then commanded cripples to walk. They prayed, and then marched into a pagan world with truth.
Their prayers brought light that drove darkness away.
Their prayers brought love to a world broken in sin.
The great grace that was upon them now rests upon us….and our prayers, too, will bring life, light, and love into our world.
JACK HAYFORD………………Prayer Is Invading the Impossible
********************
“As we became conscious of His presence, we began to lose our fear of today, tomorrow or the hereafter. We were reborn.”
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS page 63
May you be filled.......
Thought for the day: “The steps of faith fall on the seeming void, but find the rock beneath.” JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER
Paul in writing his letter to the Ephesians shares about grace, unity of believers, walking in love, wisdom, family responsibility, and the armor that we Christians must wear daily. But right in the middle of his letter he stops and takes the time to pray and records the prayer as part of the letter. I look at this and I ask myself when was the last time I wrote someone a letter or an email and actually prayed for them in the letter? I’m not talking about forwarding some prayer that’s been around the internet for years and years, I’m talking about using your own words and speaking to God on behalf of someone else, and making it a part of your letter. It was common for Paul to pray for those he loved in his letters. I know from personal experience that I like hearing someone pray for me, not just hearing them say they will pray for me. This prayer of Paul’s is really good, share this with me:
“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now unto Him who is able to do above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever, Amen.” EPHESIANS 3:14-21 NKJV
Isn’t that an awesome prayer? It is all one sentence until Paul is ready close the prayer. One continuous thought of communication between the apostle Paul and the Father. Paul’s request is for us to be “rooted and grounded in love.” Rooted in love we will never fail. Thanks for sharing with me today, this daily page is like a journal, and helps keep me clean and sober. My prayer for you today is from Paul’s, “May you be filled with all the fullness of God.” God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……JRE
********************
LIFE, LIGHT, AND LOVE
“With great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.” ACTS 4:33
The book of Acts shows us believers who invaded the impossible. They prayed, then commanded cripples to walk. They prayed, and then marched into a pagan world with truth.
Their prayers brought light that drove darkness away.
Their prayers brought love to a world broken in sin.
The great grace that was upon them now rests upon us….and our prayers, too, will bring life, light, and love into our world.
JACK HAYFORD………………Prayer Is Invading the Impossible
********************
“As we became conscious of His presence, we began to lose our fear of today, tomorrow or the hereafter. We were reborn.”
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS page 63
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”
PROVERBS 24:3-4 NKJV
Wisdom, understanding and knowledge. As I came across this Scripture this morning, I reflect on my life and my own personal pursuit of knowledge, understanding and wisdom. If you notice how I worded that, I put knowledge first and wisdom last, that’s the way I thought is was. I thought that a person went to school, got understand through knowledge, and then later on in life wisdom would come. Solomon saw it just the opposite. It’s “through wisdom that the house is built,” and later “knowledge fills the rooms.” In my experiences I have met some very knowledgeable people, but who could not make decisions and demonstrated a shallow level of wisdom. On the other hand I have met some people who were limited in academic knowledge, but had a great amount of wisdom and understanding. Their house was built well and they were called successful.
The first time I ever drove a tractor was for a man they called Shorty. I was fourteen and we were working the hay fields. Shorty had a large dairy farm, some hogs, and many, many fields that he maintained to feed his many dairy cows. I never heard Shorty talk about attending an institution of higher learning, but he had the wisdom to run a large business and make it successful. I remember as we would walk through the fields that Shorty would take a stick and knock down weeds as we went. Even though the impact of the weeds that were knocked down was small compared to the size of the field, I guess he felt that if we were passing that way, to do something about them instead of just letting them go. I still remember this after forty-four years. This was wise, and was a small part of Shorty’s well built house and his success.
In my life I have come to many crossroads. I have made many wrong decisions and turned the wrong way. But by making these bad choices the next time I came to that crossroad, I gained some wisdom and was able to head the right direction. I see wisdom in my life as learning to come to a crossroad and think all directions through, before stepping out, and not acting on impulse or thinking only of myself. I am grateful that God has given me a chance to learn some of the principles that I foolishly passed up as a young man. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……….JRE
“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened as he sowed , that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth; but when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
MARK 4:3-8 NKJV
********************
“As long as we placed self-reliance first, a genuine reliance upon a Higher Power was out of the question. That basic ingredient of all humility, a desire to seek and do God’s will, was missing.”
Alcoholics Anonymous, 12X12 page 72
Wisdom Understand Knowledge
Thought for the day: “Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”
PROVERBS 24:3-4 NKJV
Wisdom, understanding and knowledge. As I came across this Scripture this morning, I reflect on my life and my own personal pursuit of knowledge, understanding and wisdom. If you notice how I worded that, I put knowledge first and wisdom last, that’s the way I thought is was. I thought that a person went to school, got understand through knowledge, and then later on in life wisdom would come. Solomon saw it just the opposite. It’s “through wisdom that the house is built,” and later “knowledge fills the rooms.” In my experiences I have met some very knowledgeable people, but who could not make decisions and demonstrated a shallow level of wisdom. On the other hand I have met some people who were limited in academic knowledge, but had a great amount of wisdom and understanding. Their house was built well and they were called successful.
The first time I ever drove a tractor was for a man they called Shorty. I was fourteen and we were working the hay fields. Shorty had a large dairy farm, some hogs, and many, many fields that he maintained to feed his many dairy cows. I never heard Shorty talk about attending an institution of higher learning, but he had the wisdom to run a large business and make it successful. I remember as we would walk through the fields that Shorty would take a stick and knock down weeds as we went. Even though the impact of the weeds that were knocked down was small compared to the size of the field, I guess he felt that if we were passing that way, to do something about them instead of just letting them go. I still remember this after forty-four years. This was wise, and was a small part of Shorty’s well built house and his success.
In my life I have come to many crossroads. I have made many wrong decisions and turned the wrong way. But by making these bad choices the next time I came to that crossroad, I gained some wisdom and was able to head the right direction. I see wisdom in my life as learning to come to a crossroad and think all directions through, before stepping out, and not acting on impulse or thinking only of myself. I am grateful that God has given me a chance to learn some of the principles that I foolishly passed up as a young man. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……….JRE
“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened as he sowed , that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth; but when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
MARK 4:3-8 NKJV
********************
“As long as we placed self-reliance first, a genuine reliance upon a Higher Power was out of the question. That basic ingredient of all humility, a desire to seek and do God’s will, was missing.”
Alcoholics Anonymous, 12X12 page 72
Monday, September 27, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “The opportunity of a life time must be seized in the life time of the opportunity.” STEVE HILL
“But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.
Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Therefore do not be unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
EPHESIANS 5:13-17 NKJV
Paul quoted the phrase that starts “Awake, you who sleep.” We are not sure where it came from other that the fact that it was inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Charles Ryrie Study Bible says that it might have been an early Christian hymn. Wherever it came from it is sound advice to become aware as to what is going on and Paul continues to encourage us to redeem the time, or to seize the day and to use it wisely. Over the last three days I have been made acutely aware of the presence of God. The Presence is everywhere and can be known if we just redeem the time, die out to self-centeredness and seek. I spent the last three days with around seven hundred other men who all came together for the same purpose, to worship. It was awesome, we sang to God, we worshiped, we studied and learned together, we prayed for each other, we cried and laughed together, we saw old friends and met new friends, we shared meals, we walked and talked, we played games, all in the presence of a loving God who gave so much so that we could come together in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and to experience His Holy Spirit. I have come away sharper, may I keep my edge. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………………JRE
“As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”
PROVERBS 27:17 NKJV
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AN ENDLESS LIFE
“There arises another priest who has come, according to the power of an endless life.”
HEBREWS 7:15-16
I vote for life. I say, LIVE!
But live in the “power of and endless life.” What magnificent words! They express the dynamic that Jesus can work in the life of anyone who will let Him.
And He keeps making life bigger!
His vastness dispels small-mindedness, non-expectancy, and fear. He brings wisdom, discernment, and sure footing to the marketplace of daily living. His endless Life in us brings powerful peace.
JACK HAYFORD……….Moments with Majesty
********************
“Self-searching is the means by which we bring new vision, action, and grace to bear upon the dark and negative side of our natures. With it comes the development of that kind of humility that makes it possible for us to receive God’s help…..we find that bit by bit we can discard the old life , the one that did not work, for a new life that can and does work under any conditions whatever.”
BILL W…………………12X12 page 98, Grapevine December 1957
Seize the day
Thought for the day: “The opportunity of a life time must be seized in the life time of the opportunity.” STEVE HILL
“But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.
Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Therefore do not be unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
EPHESIANS 5:13-17 NKJV
Paul quoted the phrase that starts “Awake, you who sleep.” We are not sure where it came from other that the fact that it was inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Charles Ryrie Study Bible says that it might have been an early Christian hymn. Wherever it came from it is sound advice to become aware as to what is going on and Paul continues to encourage us to redeem the time, or to seize the day and to use it wisely. Over the last three days I have been made acutely aware of the presence of God. The Presence is everywhere and can be known if we just redeem the time, die out to self-centeredness and seek. I spent the last three days with around seven hundred other men who all came together for the same purpose, to worship. It was awesome, we sang to God, we worshiped, we studied and learned together, we prayed for each other, we cried and laughed together, we saw old friends and met new friends, we shared meals, we walked and talked, we played games, all in the presence of a loving God who gave so much so that we could come together in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and to experience His Holy Spirit. I have come away sharper, may I keep my edge. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………………JRE
“As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”
PROVERBS 27:17 NKJV
********************
AN ENDLESS LIFE
“There arises another priest who has come, according to the power of an endless life.”
HEBREWS 7:15-16
I vote for life. I say, LIVE!
But live in the “power of and endless life.” What magnificent words! They express the dynamic that Jesus can work in the life of anyone who will let Him.
And He keeps making life bigger!
His vastness dispels small-mindedness, non-expectancy, and fear. He brings wisdom, discernment, and sure footing to the marketplace of daily living. His endless Life in us brings powerful peace.
JACK HAYFORD……….Moments with Majesty
********************
“Self-searching is the means by which we bring new vision, action, and grace to bear upon the dark and negative side of our natures. With it comes the development of that kind of humility that makes it possible for us to receive God’s help…..we find that bit by bit we can discard the old life , the one that did not work, for a new life that can and does work under any conditions whatever.”
BILL W…………………12X12 page 98, Grapevine December 1957
Thursday, September 23, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “If my life is fruitless, it doesn’t matter who praises me, and if my life is fruitful, it doesn’t matter who criticizes me.” JOHN BUNYAN
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law……….If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
GALATIANS 5:22, 23, and 25
I like to read the fruit of the Spirit backwards. If you have self-control you will be gentle. If you have gentleness to others your heart is open and develops faith. If you have faithfulness in Jesus and the finished work of the cross you develop in goodness. If you have goodness, kindness will show up in how you treat others. If you are kind toward one another you will want to be patient and have longsuffering toward each other. To have longsuffering you must have some peace. If you have peace you know joy. And if you have the joy of the Lord in your heart……you love! It is the Holy Spirit in you that produces the love. “So if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
This weekend I will be at a retreat for men. My goal is to start a new weave with the Holy Spirit, and to trim up some of the frayed ends in the weave of my present life. I pray also to draw closer to the Father and to have a closer fellowship with my brothers.
My thoughts today are on a life pleasing to God, and allowing the Spirit to mature the fruit. Thanks for letting me share. God does for me what I could not do for myself………………..JRE
********************
A CUT ABOVE
“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
The word holy means “to separate.” The ancestry of the term can be traced back to the ancient word which means “to cut.” To be holy, then is to be a cut above the norm, superior, extraordinary….The Holy One dwells on a different level from the rest of us. What frightens us does not frighten him. What troubles us does not trouble him.
I’m more a landlubber than a sailor, but I’ve puttered around in a bass boat enough to know the secret for finding land in a storm….You don’t aim at another boat. You certainly don’t stare at the waves. You set your sights on an object unaffected by the wind, a light on the shore, and go straight toward it.
When you set your sights on our God, you focus on one “a cut above” any storm life may bring…..you find peace.
MAX LUCADO……………The Great House of God
********************
“When we look back, we realize that the things which came to us when we put ourselves in God’s hands were better than anything we could have planned. Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in a new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstances!” Alcoholics Anonymous page 99
new weave
Thought for the day: “If my life is fruitless, it doesn’t matter who praises me, and if my life is fruitful, it doesn’t matter who criticizes me.” JOHN BUNYAN
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law……….If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
GALATIANS 5:22, 23, and 25
I like to read the fruit of the Spirit backwards. If you have self-control you will be gentle. If you have gentleness to others your heart is open and develops faith. If you have faithfulness in Jesus and the finished work of the cross you develop in goodness. If you have goodness, kindness will show up in how you treat others. If you are kind toward one another you will want to be patient and have longsuffering toward each other. To have longsuffering you must have some peace. If you have peace you know joy. And if you have the joy of the Lord in your heart……you love! It is the Holy Spirit in you that produces the love. “So if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
This weekend I will be at a retreat for men. My goal is to start a new weave with the Holy Spirit, and to trim up some of the frayed ends in the weave of my present life. I pray also to draw closer to the Father and to have a closer fellowship with my brothers.
My thoughts today are on a life pleasing to God, and allowing the Spirit to mature the fruit. Thanks for letting me share. God does for me what I could not do for myself………………..JRE
********************
A CUT ABOVE
“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
The word holy means “to separate.” The ancestry of the term can be traced back to the ancient word which means “to cut.” To be holy, then is to be a cut above the norm, superior, extraordinary….The Holy One dwells on a different level from the rest of us. What frightens us does not frighten him. What troubles us does not trouble him.
I’m more a landlubber than a sailor, but I’ve puttered around in a bass boat enough to know the secret for finding land in a storm….You don’t aim at another boat. You certainly don’t stare at the waves. You set your sights on an object unaffected by the wind, a light on the shore, and go straight toward it.
When you set your sights on our God, you focus on one “a cut above” any storm life may bring…..you find peace.
MAX LUCADO……………The Great House of God
********************
“When we look back, we realize that the things which came to us when we put ourselves in God’s hands were better than anything we could have planned. Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in a new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstances!” Alcoholics Anonymous page 99
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Deep down in every man, woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God.” Alcoholics Anonymous page 55
“Most assuredly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” JOHN 12:24 NKJV
What was Jesus talking about in this Scripture? Like many words that Jesus spoke, this verse can be applied more than one way to my life. The disciples had come to Jesus to tell Him that there were some Greeks who had come to worship at the feast, and they wanted to see Jesus. Jesus went on to tell His disciples that the hour had come for Him to be glorified, so in His statement He was speaking of His death and resurrection. To me the Scripture also speaks of coming to God, being changed and being able to help others. If I think of myself as a grain of wheat, I am of absolutely no use to anyone by myself. But when I surrender and allow myself to be changed from the inside, I grow. The grain of wheat when it enters the ground begins to decay and break down its outer shell. Then moisture is allowed to enter into the germ that sprouts a root. Soon nutrition enters and a shoot emerges and heads for the sunlight. With a season of growth the wheat plant produces many grains just like the first, but only after surrender and a breaking down of the outer shell. In my active addiction to drugs and alcohol I surrendered many times, but I never stayed surrendered long enough to break down the outer shell. Only by finding a quite time each day to be with God, has God been able to break down the outer shell of self and to start the growth process. I must daily draw nutrition from the Word of God to keep growing. May I always stay green and growing toward maturity, and God will do for me what I can not do for myself…………………..JRE
********************
GOD’S APPLAUSE
“I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.”
3 JOHN 1:4
Great word, enthusiasm. Its Greek origin is entheos, “God in.” It is the ability to see God in a situation that makes it exciting. Do you know that God is watching your life? Do you realize that? Something happens to us when we become convinced that god our heavenly Father is aware of and involved in our activities and is, in fact, applauding our lives.
Think of all you have accomplished to this point. Try to imagine the horizons and challenges of your future. As you mentally travel from the vanishing point of yesterday to the vanishing point of tomorrow you will find that God has been and always will be present. There is not a place in the entire scope of your existence where God is not there.
CHARLES SWINDOLL…………..Living Above the Level of Mediocrity
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“Even so has God restored us all to our right minds…He has come to all who have honestly sought Him. When we drew near to Him He disclosed Himself to us.” Alcoholics Anonymous page 57
entheos
Thought for the day: “Deep down in every man, woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God.” Alcoholics Anonymous page 55
“Most assuredly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” JOHN 12:24 NKJV
What was Jesus talking about in this Scripture? Like many words that Jesus spoke, this verse can be applied more than one way to my life. The disciples had come to Jesus to tell Him that there were some Greeks who had come to worship at the feast, and they wanted to see Jesus. Jesus went on to tell His disciples that the hour had come for Him to be glorified, so in His statement He was speaking of His death and resurrection. To me the Scripture also speaks of coming to God, being changed and being able to help others. If I think of myself as a grain of wheat, I am of absolutely no use to anyone by myself. But when I surrender and allow myself to be changed from the inside, I grow. The grain of wheat when it enters the ground begins to decay and break down its outer shell. Then moisture is allowed to enter into the germ that sprouts a root. Soon nutrition enters and a shoot emerges and heads for the sunlight. With a season of growth the wheat plant produces many grains just like the first, but only after surrender and a breaking down of the outer shell. In my active addiction to drugs and alcohol I surrendered many times, but I never stayed surrendered long enough to break down the outer shell. Only by finding a quite time each day to be with God, has God been able to break down the outer shell of self and to start the growth process. I must daily draw nutrition from the Word of God to keep growing. May I always stay green and growing toward maturity, and God will do for me what I can not do for myself…………………..JRE
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GOD’S APPLAUSE
“I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.”
3 JOHN 1:4
Great word, enthusiasm. Its Greek origin is entheos, “God in.” It is the ability to see God in a situation that makes it exciting. Do you know that God is watching your life? Do you realize that? Something happens to us when we become convinced that god our heavenly Father is aware of and involved in our activities and is, in fact, applauding our lives.
Think of all you have accomplished to this point. Try to imagine the horizons and challenges of your future. As you mentally travel from the vanishing point of yesterday to the vanishing point of tomorrow you will find that God has been and always will be present. There is not a place in the entire scope of your existence where God is not there.
CHARLES SWINDOLL…………..Living Above the Level of Mediocrity
********************
“Even so has God restored us all to our right minds…He has come to all who have honestly sought Him. When we drew near to Him He disclosed Himself to us.” Alcoholics Anonymous page 57
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Walk in love.”
“Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, withal malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” EPHESIANS 4:31-32 NKJV
“Walk in love.” These words can be found in Ephesians 5:2. Paul did not say to dilly dally around, shuffling our feet, maybe crawl a little bit, maybe skip around or run. No, Paul said to walk, pick them up and lay them down. One foot in front of the other over and over again. I remember when I was in the Army and we would go to the field. Some times we would march out of the company area and walk for hours, two lines down either side of the road. We carried all our equipment with us and the farther we walked the heavier the load seemed to get. As we walked our leaders always gave us encouraging words, many of which I would be ashamed to write here on this page. But we continued on and on. At some point we would all stop and take a short rest. We would then all be called to our feet and told to start walking again. I can remember how hard it was to get back on my feet, and how my body ached after the short rest. To continue to walk might have been the best thing to do instead of stopping to rest. So it is with our walk of love, when we get self-centered and think only of ourselves, we are taking a break from our walk of love. It then becomes difficult to get back on the road and pick them up and lay them down again. We seem to have aches and pain for a while, as long as we are thinking of ourselves. When we begin to consider others in love, our healing begins to take place. The anointing oil of love takes away our soreness. Thanks for letting me share, God continues to do for me what I could not do for myself…………….JRE
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I must prepare myself by doing each day what I can to develop spiritually and to help others to do so. God tests me and trains me and bends me to His will. If I am not properly trained, I cannot meet the test when it comes. I must want God’s will for me above all else, I must not expect to have what I am not prepared for. This preparation consists of quiet communion with god every day and gradually gaining the strength I need.
HAZELDEN…………….Twenty-Four Hours A Day
********************
Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny.
May god bless you and keep you, until then.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS page 164
Road of Happy Destiny
Thought for the day: “Walk in love.”
“Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, withal malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” EPHESIANS 4:31-32 NKJV
“Walk in love.” These words can be found in Ephesians 5:2. Paul did not say to dilly dally around, shuffling our feet, maybe crawl a little bit, maybe skip around or run. No, Paul said to walk, pick them up and lay them down. One foot in front of the other over and over again. I remember when I was in the Army and we would go to the field. Some times we would march out of the company area and walk for hours, two lines down either side of the road. We carried all our equipment with us and the farther we walked the heavier the load seemed to get. As we walked our leaders always gave us encouraging words, many of which I would be ashamed to write here on this page. But we continued on and on. At some point we would all stop and take a short rest. We would then all be called to our feet and told to start walking again. I can remember how hard it was to get back on my feet, and how my body ached after the short rest. To continue to walk might have been the best thing to do instead of stopping to rest. So it is with our walk of love, when we get self-centered and think only of ourselves, we are taking a break from our walk of love. It then becomes difficult to get back on the road and pick them up and lay them down again. We seem to have aches and pain for a while, as long as we are thinking of ourselves. When we begin to consider others in love, our healing begins to take place. The anointing oil of love takes away our soreness. Thanks for letting me share, God continues to do for me what I could not do for myself…………….JRE
********************
I must prepare myself by doing each day what I can to develop spiritually and to help others to do so. God tests me and trains me and bends me to His will. If I am not properly trained, I cannot meet the test when it comes. I must want God’s will for me above all else, I must not expect to have what I am not prepared for. This preparation consists of quiet communion with god every day and gradually gaining the strength I need.
HAZELDEN…………….Twenty-Four Hours A Day
********************
Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny.
May god bless you and keep you, until then.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS page 164
Monday, September 20, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.” PROVERBS 13:14 NIV
We never out grow growing up spiritually. If I ever think that I have studied enough, and have reached a point where I can just kick back and coast on some spiritual knowledge, I soon find myself slipping back into my old life and old ways of thinking. Not only that, God will send someone my way to point out an area of my life where too much self-confidence or pride has become rooted and blooming. In my life pride always stops spiritual growth, only by love and honesty from others do I become able to clearly see myself. And then I am able to take the humble steps back to growth and learning. This requires some self-examination. Last Thursday was the Jewish New Year called Rosh Hashanah. There are ten days between the start of the New Year and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Yom Kippur was a day when the sins of the nation were brought before the mercy of God. This is why the people had ten days to look inside and really take a personal inventory.
Webster defines atonement as:
1) Satisfaction given for wrong doing, injury, etc.; amends; expiation.
2) The effect of Jesus’ suffering and death in redeeming mankind and bringing about the reconciliation of God to man.
I went many years without ever taking a look inside at the real person who took up residence in this body. When I got around to doing a personal inventory there was so much stuff backed up from self-will and egotistical pride that I did not want to look too closely. Only by being reminded by others of what was happening on the outside, my behavior in other words, was I able to look inside on a regular basis. This job will never be finished if I wish to continue to grow spiritually. Thanks for letting me share this, and for reminding myself to take a look inside this week. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………….JRE
The author of Hebrews writing about Jesus.
“For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” HEBREWS 2:17-18 NIV
********************
PURSUING GOD’S WAY
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”
ROMANS 8:1
That verse deserves a loud “Hallelujah!” because this is the bright truth about our new god-given inheritance! But of equal certainty is the continuing presence of personal problems bequeathed to us from our pasts, things that impact our lives with drastic consequence.
YES! Our salvation does solve the problem of our relationship with god. NO! It does not dissolve all the problems in our lives. New life in Christ opens the doorway to solutions but only by walking through that door and patiently pursuing God’s way will those problems finally reach resolution.
JACK HAYFORD…………Rebuilding the Real You
********************
A.A. Step Four: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves
Never out grow growing
Thought for the day: “The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.” PROVERBS 13:14 NIV
We never out grow growing up spiritually. If I ever think that I have studied enough, and have reached a point where I can just kick back and coast on some spiritual knowledge, I soon find myself slipping back into my old life and old ways of thinking. Not only that, God will send someone my way to point out an area of my life where too much self-confidence or pride has become rooted and blooming. In my life pride always stops spiritual growth, only by love and honesty from others do I become able to clearly see myself. And then I am able to take the humble steps back to growth and learning. This requires some self-examination. Last Thursday was the Jewish New Year called Rosh Hashanah. There are ten days between the start of the New Year and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Yom Kippur was a day when the sins of the nation were brought before the mercy of God. This is why the people had ten days to look inside and really take a personal inventory.
Webster defines atonement as:
1) Satisfaction given for wrong doing, injury, etc.; amends; expiation.
2) The effect of Jesus’ suffering and death in redeeming mankind and bringing about the reconciliation of God to man.
I went many years without ever taking a look inside at the real person who took up residence in this body. When I got around to doing a personal inventory there was so much stuff backed up from self-will and egotistical pride that I did not want to look too closely. Only by being reminded by others of what was happening on the outside, my behavior in other words, was I able to look inside on a regular basis. This job will never be finished if I wish to continue to grow spiritually. Thanks for letting me share this, and for reminding myself to take a look inside this week. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………….JRE
The author of Hebrews writing about Jesus.
“For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” HEBREWS 2:17-18 NIV
********************
PURSUING GOD’S WAY
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”
ROMANS 8:1
That verse deserves a loud “Hallelujah!” because this is the bright truth about our new god-given inheritance! But of equal certainty is the continuing presence of personal problems bequeathed to us from our pasts, things that impact our lives with drastic consequence.
YES! Our salvation does solve the problem of our relationship with god. NO! It does not dissolve all the problems in our lives. New life in Christ opens the doorway to solutions but only by walking through that door and patiently pursuing God’s way will those problems finally reach resolution.
JACK HAYFORD…………Rebuilding the Real You
********************
A.A. Step Four: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves
Friday, September 17, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Love your enemies because they bring out the best in you.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” MATTHEW 6:14 NIV
Words don’t get any better than what Jesus had to say. I have found that in the last few years the greatest peace and serenity in my life has come after I have released some resentment I’ve had through forgiveness. Those old knotted up feelings that come about when we store up anger, dislike, and jealousy; they seem to loosen up and relax when we take the time to let go of them, and forgive. That old knotted up, soured stomach of resentment will make you sick. I remember in high school if I had a disagreement going on with someone, and there was the possibility of having a fight, that I would have jitters in my stomach and my whole body and mind would ache. Oh, but when we shook hands, my how all the knots untangled and the troubled waters of my mind became smooth. Today as I continue to work my AA program I have discovered that peace and serenity most assuredly come as a result of forgiving others, and most importantly forgiving myself for the harm that I’ve done to my body, mind and spirit. I find forgiveness to be a daily maintenance, otherwise some old grudge will slip back into focus. Only by turning it over to God am I able to free myself up. I must say “God I can’t handle this anymore, please take it from me,” and it goes. I have faith and it works every time. God does for me what I could not do for myself…………………JRE
********************
COMMITTED TO YOUR SUCCESS
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
Romans 11:33
Have you ever hesitated to obey or surrender to god’s will on this unspoken-but-felt suspicion, “If I let God take full control of my life, He’ll deny my dreams and block my goals?”
Dear friend, god is totally committed to your success. He also has sufficient wisdom and power to see you brought to your fullest potential. He is El Shaddai, the Lord God Sufficient-and-Almighty, our living, loving God! He’s the God of true opportunities, not lost ones.
JACK HAYFORD………….Taking Hold of Tomorrow
********************
“Believe more deeply. Hold your face up to the Light, even though for the moment you do not see.” BILL W. ……………..a letter dated 1950
Loosening knots
Thought for the day: “Love your enemies because they bring out the best in you.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” MATTHEW 6:14 NIV
Words don’t get any better than what Jesus had to say. I have found that in the last few years the greatest peace and serenity in my life has come after I have released some resentment I’ve had through forgiveness. Those old knotted up feelings that come about when we store up anger, dislike, and jealousy; they seem to loosen up and relax when we take the time to let go of them, and forgive. That old knotted up, soured stomach of resentment will make you sick. I remember in high school if I had a disagreement going on with someone, and there was the possibility of having a fight, that I would have jitters in my stomach and my whole body and mind would ache. Oh, but when we shook hands, my how all the knots untangled and the troubled waters of my mind became smooth. Today as I continue to work my AA program I have discovered that peace and serenity most assuredly come as a result of forgiving others, and most importantly forgiving myself for the harm that I’ve done to my body, mind and spirit. I find forgiveness to be a daily maintenance, otherwise some old grudge will slip back into focus. Only by turning it over to God am I able to free myself up. I must say “God I can’t handle this anymore, please take it from me,” and it goes. I have faith and it works every time. God does for me what I could not do for myself…………………JRE
********************
COMMITTED TO YOUR SUCCESS
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
Romans 11:33
Have you ever hesitated to obey or surrender to god’s will on this unspoken-but-felt suspicion, “If I let God take full control of my life, He’ll deny my dreams and block my goals?”
Dear friend, god is totally committed to your success. He also has sufficient wisdom and power to see you brought to your fullest potential. He is El Shaddai, the Lord God Sufficient-and-Almighty, our living, loving God! He’s the God of true opportunities, not lost ones.
JACK HAYFORD………….Taking Hold of Tomorrow
********************
“Believe more deeply. Hold your face up to the Light, even though for the moment you do not see.” BILL W. ……………..a letter dated 1950
Thursday, September 16, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what happens to you.” Aldous Huxley
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youth grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” ISAIAH 40:31 NIV
Last night in a study group that I attend we read a chapter from the book The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren. The chapter dealt with how God has shaped each one of us differently, so that we can each have our own ministry in helping others. Each one of us is totally different but we may experience similar situations. So how we help others with the same problems differs. The way I look at it is as if three people have the same problem, and two of them are over-comers. The over-comers will reach out to help the one still suffering in totally different ways, even though both of the over-comers had the same problem. This is one reason why we are all made so wonderfully different, so that all can minister to each other. In AA I am so grateful for the different sponsors I have had over the years and for all the different people who have helped me with our common problem, alcoholism. A million to one…..with those odds it’s hard not to become one of the million. Thanks for letting me share. God is still doing for me what I could not do for myself………………….JRE
Share this with me, it is from the book The Purpose Driven Life.
It is “Painful experiences, that God uses the most to prepare you for ministry. God never wastes a hurt! In fact, your greatest ministry will most likely come out of your greatest hurt. Who could better minister to the parents of a Down syndrome child that another couple who had a child afflicted in the same way? Who could better help an alcoholic recover than someone who fought that demon and found freedom? Who could better comfort a wife whose husband has left her for an affair that a woman who went through that agony herself?
God intentionally allows you to go through painful experiences to equip you for ministry to others. The Bible says, ‘He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.’ (2 Cor. 1:12)
If you really desire to be used by God, you must understand a powerful truth: The very experiences you have resented or regretted the most in life, the ones you wanted to hide and forget, are the experiences God wants to use to help others. They are your ministry!
RICK WARREN
********************
“God helps us as we help each other.”
Narcotics Anonymous, basic text page 51
One in a million
Thought for the day: “Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what happens to you.” Aldous Huxley
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youth grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” ISAIAH 40:31 NIV
Last night in a study group that I attend we read a chapter from the book The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren. The chapter dealt with how God has shaped each one of us differently, so that we can each have our own ministry in helping others. Each one of us is totally different but we may experience similar situations. So how we help others with the same problems differs. The way I look at it is as if three people have the same problem, and two of them are over-comers. The over-comers will reach out to help the one still suffering in totally different ways, even though both of the over-comers had the same problem. This is one reason why we are all made so wonderfully different, so that all can minister to each other. In AA I am so grateful for the different sponsors I have had over the years and for all the different people who have helped me with our common problem, alcoholism. A million to one…..with those odds it’s hard not to become one of the million. Thanks for letting me share. God is still doing for me what I could not do for myself………………….JRE
Share this with me, it is from the book The Purpose Driven Life.
It is “Painful experiences, that God uses the most to prepare you for ministry. God never wastes a hurt! In fact, your greatest ministry will most likely come out of your greatest hurt. Who could better minister to the parents of a Down syndrome child that another couple who had a child afflicted in the same way? Who could better help an alcoholic recover than someone who fought that demon and found freedom? Who could better comfort a wife whose husband has left her for an affair that a woman who went through that agony herself?
God intentionally allows you to go through painful experiences to equip you for ministry to others. The Bible says, ‘He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.’ (2 Cor. 1:12)
If you really desire to be used by God, you must understand a powerful truth: The very experiences you have resented or regretted the most in life, the ones you wanted to hide and forget, are the experiences God wants to use to help others. They are your ministry!
RICK WARREN
********************
“God helps us as we help each other.”
Narcotics Anonymous, basic text page 51
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “And if your friend does evil to you, say to him, ‘I forgive you for what you did to me, but how can I forgive you for what you did to yourself?’”
NIETZSCHE
“Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.”
PROVERBS 16:24 NKJV
I remember when I was a kid how my mom would give me a little piece of the honeycomb from the jar of honey. It was beeswax and I would chew and chew on it until all the sweetness was gone. It took a little time. At first I would just let it sit there in my mouth, and then squash it as the honey came out. Later I would chew on it, and get all of the honey. Pleasant words are the same way, they linger in a good and enjoyable way. Yesterday I attended two meetings, AA and NA and I celebrated with my friends six years of being clean and sober. I enjoyed many pleasant words. They humbled me and reminded me that I do nothing on my own and it is only by the love and power of God that today I have a life worth living with faith and sanity. I tried for years to quit drugs and alcohol, and it was only when I allowed God to enter my life on a daily basis that I was given the strength to go one day sober. Each day through God’s mercy and grace I again get the strength to go one day. I can only live one day at a time, so therefore I only need to stay sober one day at a time. My how the days have accumulated. My sponsor told me Sunday morning in church that the number was two thousand one hundred and ninety. I cannot afford to let this number swell my mind. I must humble myself and look to God for the strength just for today. I must also keep humbled by the honeycomb I tasted yesterday. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself. Thanks for letting me share…………….JRE
********************
“He who heeds the word wisely will find good, and whoever trusts in the LORD, happy is he. The wise in heart will be called prudent, and sweetness of the lips increases learning. Understand is a wellspring of life to him who has it, but the correction of fools is folly” PROVERBS 16:20-22 NKJV
AA Step 9: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
One of the great encouragements of recovery is that each day as we conscientiously work through the steps in our recovery program, we are becoming wiser. Our increasing wisdom will begin to show itself in everything we do and say. The way we respond to situations, to other people, and even to our own shortcomings will be healthier and more positive.
Our main desire in Step 9, as Proverbs 16:20 says, is to “[heed] the word wisely” and “find good.” When we trust God to give us His wisdom and direction for exactly the right words at the right time, we will find the courage we need to reconcile with others, to ask for, as well as to extend, forgiveness. Verses 22-24 reveal that such understanding is a “well spring of life” and that the pleasant words we speak will be sweet to our soul and health to our bones. Perhaps that sweetness and health will be extended to those with whom we reconcile as well. NELSON SERENITY BIBLE page 530
Honeycomb
Thought for the day: “And if your friend does evil to you, say to him, ‘I forgive you for what you did to me, but how can I forgive you for what you did to yourself?’”
NIETZSCHE
“Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.”
PROVERBS 16:24 NKJV
I remember when I was a kid how my mom would give me a little piece of the honeycomb from the jar of honey. It was beeswax and I would chew and chew on it until all the sweetness was gone. It took a little time. At first I would just let it sit there in my mouth, and then squash it as the honey came out. Later I would chew on it, and get all of the honey. Pleasant words are the same way, they linger in a good and enjoyable way. Yesterday I attended two meetings, AA and NA and I celebrated with my friends six years of being clean and sober. I enjoyed many pleasant words. They humbled me and reminded me that I do nothing on my own and it is only by the love and power of God that today I have a life worth living with faith and sanity. I tried for years to quit drugs and alcohol, and it was only when I allowed God to enter my life on a daily basis that I was given the strength to go one day sober. Each day through God’s mercy and grace I again get the strength to go one day. I can only live one day at a time, so therefore I only need to stay sober one day at a time. My how the days have accumulated. My sponsor told me Sunday morning in church that the number was two thousand one hundred and ninety. I cannot afford to let this number swell my mind. I must humble myself and look to God for the strength just for today. I must also keep humbled by the honeycomb I tasted yesterday. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself. Thanks for letting me share…………….JRE
********************
“He who heeds the word wisely will find good, and whoever trusts in the LORD, happy is he. The wise in heart will be called prudent, and sweetness of the lips increases learning. Understand is a wellspring of life to him who has it, but the correction of fools is folly” PROVERBS 16:20-22 NKJV
AA Step 9: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
One of the great encouragements of recovery is that each day as we conscientiously work through the steps in our recovery program, we are becoming wiser. Our increasing wisdom will begin to show itself in everything we do and say. The way we respond to situations, to other people, and even to our own shortcomings will be healthier and more positive.
Our main desire in Step 9, as Proverbs 16:20 says, is to “[heed] the word wisely” and “find good.” When we trust God to give us His wisdom and direction for exactly the right words at the right time, we will find the courage we need to reconcile with others, to ask for, as well as to extend, forgiveness. Verses 22-24 reveal that such understanding is a “well spring of life” and that the pleasant words we speak will be sweet to our soul and health to our bones. Perhaps that sweetness and health will be extended to those with whom we reconcile as well. NELSON SERENITY BIBLE page 530
Monday, September 13, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.” HEBREWS 13:2 NAS
I was never very good at panhandling, but I have known others who could do it with success. Back in the 1960’s I though it to be cool to run around barefooted, wearing bellbottom jeans and no shirt. I considered myself to be totally free, running on a full tank of self-will. One of the many problems with that lifestyle, was that I was broke most of the time. In order to get a good job people wanted me to shave, get a haircut, and wear shoes. At one point I had to conform because I just wasn’t very good at begging. But like I said, I knew others who could survive on the streets by using their talents of panhandling. Today in this day and age, there are many who still work the streets. How do we know when to offer help and when we are being conned? All I can really do is speak for myself, and the answer for me is that I just don’t know at times. The answer must come from inside through the gift of the Holy Spirit called discernment. If we learn to use the gift of discernment we will know when there is a true need or a false greed. God has made us all wonderfully different, and as we grow in life we develop more in certain social areas. As I ran through life on a full tank of self-will I developed in the areas of alcoholism and drug addiction. Today as a “delivered, set free, overcoming survivor,” I am able to use my gift of “showing hospitality to strangers” in the areas of substance abuse and addictions. I must share in this area otherwise I become stagnant. I must be like a clear lake with a clean source of water from God, and a good outlet to keep my life flowing clearly. I am learning to rejoice “in” all things. God does for me what I could not do for myself……JRE
“Let love of the brethren continue……………Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.” HEBREWS 13:1,3 NAS
********************
“And this is life eternal, that they may know Thee.” It is the flow of the life eternal through spirit, mind, and body that cleanses, heals, restores, and renews. Seek conscious contact with God more and more each day. Make God an abiding presence during the day. Be conscious of His Spirit helping you. All that is done without God’s Spirit is passing. All that is done with God’s Spirit is life eternal.”
HAZELDEN………..Twenty-Four Hours A Day
********************
“We think cheerfulness and laughter make for usefulness. Outsiders are sometimes shocked when we burst into merriment over a seemingly tragic experience out of the past. But why shouldn’t we laugh? We have recovered, and have helped others to recover. What greater cause could there be for rejoicing than this? Alcoholics Anonymous, page 132
flowing clearly
Thought for the day: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.” HEBREWS 13:2 NAS
I was never very good at panhandling, but I have known others who could do it with success. Back in the 1960’s I though it to be cool to run around barefooted, wearing bellbottom jeans and no shirt. I considered myself to be totally free, running on a full tank of self-will. One of the many problems with that lifestyle, was that I was broke most of the time. In order to get a good job people wanted me to shave, get a haircut, and wear shoes. At one point I had to conform because I just wasn’t very good at begging. But like I said, I knew others who could survive on the streets by using their talents of panhandling. Today in this day and age, there are many who still work the streets. How do we know when to offer help and when we are being conned? All I can really do is speak for myself, and the answer for me is that I just don’t know at times. The answer must come from inside through the gift of the Holy Spirit called discernment. If we learn to use the gift of discernment we will know when there is a true need or a false greed. God has made us all wonderfully different, and as we grow in life we develop more in certain social areas. As I ran through life on a full tank of self-will I developed in the areas of alcoholism and drug addiction. Today as a “delivered, set free, overcoming survivor,” I am able to use my gift of “showing hospitality to strangers” in the areas of substance abuse and addictions. I must share in this area otherwise I become stagnant. I must be like a clear lake with a clean source of water from God, and a good outlet to keep my life flowing clearly. I am learning to rejoice “in” all things. God does for me what I could not do for myself……JRE
“Let love of the brethren continue……………Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.” HEBREWS 13:1,3 NAS
********************
“And this is life eternal, that they may know Thee.” It is the flow of the life eternal through spirit, mind, and body that cleanses, heals, restores, and renews. Seek conscious contact with God more and more each day. Make God an abiding presence during the day. Be conscious of His Spirit helping you. All that is done without God’s Spirit is passing. All that is done with God’s Spirit is life eternal.”
HAZELDEN………..Twenty-Four Hours A Day
********************
“We think cheerfulness and laughter make for usefulness. Outsiders are sometimes shocked when we burst into merriment over a seemingly tragic experience out of the past. But why shouldn’t we laugh? We have recovered, and have helped others to recover. What greater cause could there be for rejoicing than this? Alcoholics Anonymous, page 132
Thursday, September 09, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “It is good for us to think no grace or blessing truly ours, till we are aware that God has blessed someone else with it through us.” PHILLIPS BROOKS
Words of Jesus:
“Be careful do not your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
MATTHEW 6:1-4 NIV
We come into this world with our fists clinched, we leave with our hands open. We take nothing with us except what we’ve done for others. The material things we leave behind will someday decay, but what we leave behind that lasts, once again is the good that we’ve done for others. The great rewards in life are not self-serving ones, but the selfless serving of others. It didn’t take me too long in my recovery from alcohol and drugs to realize that if I was going to stay sober, I needed to share with others what was working for me. Even with only sixty days clean I needed to share with compassion to those with less time, and with gratitude to those with more time. As I began to open up and share on a regular basis, I began to see that it really wasn’t the amount of time a person had sober that counted, but the quality of the sobriety we have. Many days when my self-centered thinking determines what I do for that day, my serenity level seems to be less. Other days even if I don’t feel like it, but reach out to help someone, my personal peace is noticeable. As I am learning to understand it, the quality of my sobriety, and my serenity level are directly related to my service to others. Could it be that what I do in secret (selfless attitude), God rewards me for with serenity? I’ll take serenity over money any day. Thanks for letting me share. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself….JRE
********************
GLORIOUS GIVING
“Give and it will be given to you.” LUKE 6:38
“Give,” Christ commanded. Yet it was more than a command. It was an invitation to glorious and abundant living. If a person gets his attitude toward money right, it will help straighten out almost every other area of his life.
Have you ever realized just how cruel and deceptive a master money can be? Some people spend their entire lives slavishly serving it, often without even realizing it. No wonder Jesus warned, “You cannot serve both god and Money” (Matt. 6:24 NIV).
The chief motive of the selfish, unregenerate person is “get.” The chief motive of the dedicated Christian should be “give.” Jesus said, “Give and it will be given to you.” It’s a promise, and we know Jesus never breaks His promises.
Getting……..or giving? Which is true of you?
BILLY GRAHAM
********************
“Being involved in service makes me feel worthwhile.” Narcotics Anonymous, basic text page 212
Open up and share
Thought for the day: “It is good for us to think no grace or blessing truly ours, till we are aware that God has blessed someone else with it through us.” PHILLIPS BROOKS
Words of Jesus:
“Be careful do not your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
MATTHEW 6:1-4 NIV
We come into this world with our fists clinched, we leave with our hands open. We take nothing with us except what we’ve done for others. The material things we leave behind will someday decay, but what we leave behind that lasts, once again is the good that we’ve done for others. The great rewards in life are not self-serving ones, but the selfless serving of others. It didn’t take me too long in my recovery from alcohol and drugs to realize that if I was going to stay sober, I needed to share with others what was working for me. Even with only sixty days clean I needed to share with compassion to those with less time, and with gratitude to those with more time. As I began to open up and share on a regular basis, I began to see that it really wasn’t the amount of time a person had sober that counted, but the quality of the sobriety we have. Many days when my self-centered thinking determines what I do for that day, my serenity level seems to be less. Other days even if I don’t feel like it, but reach out to help someone, my personal peace is noticeable. As I am learning to understand it, the quality of my sobriety, and my serenity level are directly related to my service to others. Could it be that what I do in secret (selfless attitude), God rewards me for with serenity? I’ll take serenity over money any day. Thanks for letting me share. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself….JRE
********************
GLORIOUS GIVING
“Give and it will be given to you.” LUKE 6:38
“Give,” Christ commanded. Yet it was more than a command. It was an invitation to glorious and abundant living. If a person gets his attitude toward money right, it will help straighten out almost every other area of his life.
Have you ever realized just how cruel and deceptive a master money can be? Some people spend their entire lives slavishly serving it, often without even realizing it. No wonder Jesus warned, “You cannot serve both god and Money” (Matt. 6:24 NIV).
The chief motive of the selfish, unregenerate person is “get.” The chief motive of the dedicated Christian should be “give.” Jesus said, “Give and it will be given to you.” It’s a promise, and we know Jesus never breaks His promises.
Getting……..or giving? Which is true of you?
BILLY GRAHAM
********************
“Being involved in service makes me feel worthwhile.” Narcotics Anonymous, basic text page 212
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “"Until he extends the circle of his Love to all living things,Man will not himself find peace."Albert Schweitzer, 1875-1965, German Born Medical Missionary, Theologian, Musician, Philosopher.
********************
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7 NIV
Ronnie Turner pastors a church near my home. He also lives just up the road. Many times as I leave the house and head for town I meet Ronnie on the road. Often I know that he is preparing a sermon as he walks and communes with God. We always share Scripture and talk about the Lord. Ronnie has more Scripture memorized than any person I know. One time as I was talking to him he said to me, “Did you know that I have beautiful feet?” He then went on to recite the Scripture from Isaiah. “How beautiful….. are the feet of those who bring good news.” This is so true, when a person is hurting, and someone who cares comes along and shares with them the hope of a new life, their feet are very beautiful indeed. I remember the summer of 1996, my drug addiction was in its last stages and I was considering ending my life. The VA hospital said that they would come and get me and help me if I could get to a local hospital that was fifty miles away. I went to my grandmothers and called several people and no one could take me. Hopelessly I started walking up the road not knowing where I was headed. When I got to the top of the hill there was Pastor Ronnie’s home, I knocked. Without even taking the time to think about it, he said, “Let’s go.” As we traveled I remember Scripture being shared, but most of what I remember was the unconditional love demonstrated from one man to another. His feet were truly beautiful. I did not get clean and sober that year, but seeds of recovery were sown that day. This Sunday I will celebrate six years clean and sober. I am truly grateful for all who helped by sharing their love. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………………JRE
********************
“God always educates us down to the scruple. Is my ear so keen to hear the tiniest whisper of the Spirit that I know what I should do? “Grieve not the Holy Spirit.” He does not come with a voice like thunder; His voice is so gentle that it is easy to ignore it. The only thing that keeps the conscience sensitive to Him is the continual habit of being open to God on the inside.” OSWALD CHAMBERS
********************
GOD’S FAVORITE WORD
“Jesus said, ‘Com follow me.’” Matthew 4:19
God is an inviting God. He invited Mary to birth his Son, the disciples to fish for men, the adulteress woman to start over, and Thomas to touch His wounds. God is the King who prepares the palace, sets the table, and invites his subjects to come in.
In fact, it seems his favorite word is come.
“Come, let us talk about these things. Though your sins are like scarlet, they can be white as snow.”
“All you who are thirsty, come and drink.”
“Come to me all, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest………..
God is a god who invites. God is a God who calls.
MAX LUCADO………………And the Angels Were Silent
Beautiful feet
Thought for the day: “"Until he extends the circle of his Love to all living things,Man will not himself find peace."Albert Schweitzer, 1875-1965, German Born Medical Missionary, Theologian, Musician, Philosopher.
********************
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7 NIV
Ronnie Turner pastors a church near my home. He also lives just up the road. Many times as I leave the house and head for town I meet Ronnie on the road. Often I know that he is preparing a sermon as he walks and communes with God. We always share Scripture and talk about the Lord. Ronnie has more Scripture memorized than any person I know. One time as I was talking to him he said to me, “Did you know that I have beautiful feet?” He then went on to recite the Scripture from Isaiah. “How beautiful….. are the feet of those who bring good news.” This is so true, when a person is hurting, and someone who cares comes along and shares with them the hope of a new life, their feet are very beautiful indeed. I remember the summer of 1996, my drug addiction was in its last stages and I was considering ending my life. The VA hospital said that they would come and get me and help me if I could get to a local hospital that was fifty miles away. I went to my grandmothers and called several people and no one could take me. Hopelessly I started walking up the road not knowing where I was headed. When I got to the top of the hill there was Pastor Ronnie’s home, I knocked. Without even taking the time to think about it, he said, “Let’s go.” As we traveled I remember Scripture being shared, but most of what I remember was the unconditional love demonstrated from one man to another. His feet were truly beautiful. I did not get clean and sober that year, but seeds of recovery were sown that day. This Sunday I will celebrate six years clean and sober. I am truly grateful for all who helped by sharing their love. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………………JRE
********************
“God always educates us down to the scruple. Is my ear so keen to hear the tiniest whisper of the Spirit that I know what I should do? “Grieve not the Holy Spirit.” He does not come with a voice like thunder; His voice is so gentle that it is easy to ignore it. The only thing that keeps the conscience sensitive to Him is the continual habit of being open to God on the inside.” OSWALD CHAMBERS
********************
GOD’S FAVORITE WORD
“Jesus said, ‘Com follow me.’” Matthew 4:19
God is an inviting God. He invited Mary to birth his Son, the disciples to fish for men, the adulteress woman to start over, and Thomas to touch His wounds. God is the King who prepares the palace, sets the table, and invites his subjects to come in.
In fact, it seems his favorite word is come.
“Come, let us talk about these things. Though your sins are like scarlet, they can be white as snow.”
“All you who are thirsty, come and drink.”
“Come to me all, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest………..
God is a god who invites. God is a God who calls.
MAX LUCADO………………And the Angels Were Silent
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “More dangers have deceived men than forced them.”
Francis Bacon
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
Webster’s Dictionary defines a reciprocal as something that is “corresponding but reversed or inverted.” An example would be hot and cold. Both are temperatures but opposite. North and South are both directions, but opposite. The same holds true of many spiritual principles that we know, they are reciprocals also. I have heard people say that Love and Hate are the same thing only opposite. I disagree with this. I see the reciprocal of love as being apathy or not caring at all. I see the opposite of joy as being discouragement. The opposite of kindness, cruelty or hate. The opposite of faith, fear. Scripture says that “God did not give us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Scripture also says, that “God has dealt each man the measure of faith.” (Romans 12:3) So we have the tools available to pry out the fear that may lodge itself in our mind. An unsound mind does not recognize the tools given us by God for a healthy mental attitude. As we study Scripture we learn of the faith that others have had, and we learn to recognize our own. Through practice we learn to exercise our faith, and through exercise it becomes stronger. As our faith increased we develop a sound mind that is always ready to see the spiritual reciprocals of life. We know that reciprocals cannot occupy the same place at the same time. Hot and cold cannot be together. North and South cannot be the same place without changing direction. And faith and fear cannot work in the same mind together. A small amount of faith can pry out the greatest fear. Practice and exercise, find out for yourselves. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself………………..JRE
“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Romans 12:3 NKJV
********************
REBUILDING THE BROKEN
“Neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come….shall be able to separate us from the love of God.” Romans 8:38-39
Only God can so graciously yet wondrously reverse circumstances caused by our own failures.
The Holy Spirit is able to recover, reclaim, restore, renew, and rebuild whatever has been broken. He will bring full restoration to your life, your personality, your character, your mind, to whatever part of you has been crushed, bruised, broken, strained, tarnished, or ruined.
He can do that and He will. He will do that even when some of the material is the broken pieces of the life you bring.
JACK HAYFORD………….Rebuilding the Real You
********************
“We know that if we pray for God’s will we will receive what is best for us, regardless of what we think.” Narcotics Anonymous, basic text page 44
Spiritual exercise
Thought for the day: “More dangers have deceived men than forced them.”
Francis Bacon
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
Webster’s Dictionary defines a reciprocal as something that is “corresponding but reversed or inverted.” An example would be hot and cold. Both are temperatures but opposite. North and South are both directions, but opposite. The same holds true of many spiritual principles that we know, they are reciprocals also. I have heard people say that Love and Hate are the same thing only opposite. I disagree with this. I see the reciprocal of love as being apathy or not caring at all. I see the opposite of joy as being discouragement. The opposite of kindness, cruelty or hate. The opposite of faith, fear. Scripture says that “God did not give us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Scripture also says, that “God has dealt each man the measure of faith.” (Romans 12:3) So we have the tools available to pry out the fear that may lodge itself in our mind. An unsound mind does not recognize the tools given us by God for a healthy mental attitude. As we study Scripture we learn of the faith that others have had, and we learn to recognize our own. Through practice we learn to exercise our faith, and through exercise it becomes stronger. As our faith increased we develop a sound mind that is always ready to see the spiritual reciprocals of life. We know that reciprocals cannot occupy the same place at the same time. Hot and cold cannot be together. North and South cannot be the same place without changing direction. And faith and fear cannot work in the same mind together. A small amount of faith can pry out the greatest fear. Practice and exercise, find out for yourselves. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself………………..JRE
“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Romans 12:3 NKJV
********************
REBUILDING THE BROKEN
“Neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come….shall be able to separate us from the love of God.” Romans 8:38-39
Only God can so graciously yet wondrously reverse circumstances caused by our own failures.
The Holy Spirit is able to recover, reclaim, restore, renew, and rebuild whatever has been broken. He will bring full restoration to your life, your personality, your character, your mind, to whatever part of you has been crushed, bruised, broken, strained, tarnished, or ruined.
He can do that and He will. He will do that even when some of the material is the broken pieces of the life you bring.
JACK HAYFORD………….Rebuilding the Real You
********************
“We know that if we pray for God’s will we will receive what is best for us, regardless of what we think.” Narcotics Anonymous, basic text page 44
Monday, September 06, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.” Proverbs 16:19
When I think of others who have given all they had to give for their friends. I am humbled. I think of what I have offered up, and have to offer up, and I come short of the great sacrifice that many made. I am thinking of missionaries, military personal, teachers, ministers, politicians, and any who stand up for what is right in the face of opposition. There have been times in my life when to be on the winning side, and to go with the flow of the majority, I have compromised principles that I knew were right. I did the wrong thing just to be accepted in the bunch. For me to sit and do nothing is better than to do something that is wrong. Many times in the calm of not acting, discernment will come from God, and I am given the right attitude, direction, and action to take. I am learning to also use this in my speech. To think before I speak. For years I spoke what was on my mind. Today just a few seconds of thought before speaking many times can prevent pain for both the speaker and the listener. At fifty-eight years of age I am starting to grow up. I have learned that growing up takes place from the cradle to the grave. We never arrive until we are through traveling. Thanks for letting me share, God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………JRE
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:3 NAS
********************
God can work through you better when you are not hurrying. Go very slowly, very quietly, from one duty to the next, taking time to rest and pray between. Do not be too busy. Take everything in order. Venture often into the rest of God and you will find peace. All work that results from resting with god is good work. Claim the power to work miracles in human lives. Know that you can do many things through the Higher Power. Know that you can do good things through God who rests you and gives you strength. Partake regularly of rest and prayer.
HAZELDEN………………Twenty-Four Hours A Day
********************
“True humility and an open mind can lead us to faith, and every AA meeting is an assurance that God will restore us to sanity if we rightly relate ourselves to Him.”
A.A. 12X12 page 33
Rightly relate ourselves to Him
Thought for the day: “It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.” Proverbs 16:19
When I think of others who have given all they had to give for their friends. I am humbled. I think of what I have offered up, and have to offer up, and I come short of the great sacrifice that many made. I am thinking of missionaries, military personal, teachers, ministers, politicians, and any who stand up for what is right in the face of opposition. There have been times in my life when to be on the winning side, and to go with the flow of the majority, I have compromised principles that I knew were right. I did the wrong thing just to be accepted in the bunch. For me to sit and do nothing is better than to do something that is wrong. Many times in the calm of not acting, discernment will come from God, and I am given the right attitude, direction, and action to take. I am learning to also use this in my speech. To think before I speak. For years I spoke what was on my mind. Today just a few seconds of thought before speaking many times can prevent pain for both the speaker and the listener. At fifty-eight years of age I am starting to grow up. I have learned that growing up takes place from the cradle to the grave. We never arrive until we are through traveling. Thanks for letting me share, God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………JRE
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:3 NAS
********************
God can work through you better when you are not hurrying. Go very slowly, very quietly, from one duty to the next, taking time to rest and pray between. Do not be too busy. Take everything in order. Venture often into the rest of God and you will find peace. All work that results from resting with god is good work. Claim the power to work miracles in human lives. Know that you can do many things through the Higher Power. Know that you can do good things through God who rests you and gives you strength. Partake regularly of rest and prayer.
HAZELDEN………………Twenty-Four Hours A Day
********************
“True humility and an open mind can lead us to faith, and every AA meeting is an assurance that God will restore us to sanity if we rightly relate ourselves to Him.”
A.A. 12X12 page 33
Friday, September 03, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.”
Genesis 6:8 NAS
Noah found favor or grace, as we would think of it today, in the sight of Father God. The Hebrew word used for favor is chen, and it comes from a root meaning “to bend or stoop.” The Father bent down and bestowed grace upon someone who “walked with Him,” as the next verse tells us. How true this also is for me today. When I “walk with God,” and I fall down, God bends down, and by His loving grace helps me back on my feet. There is an old gospel song that says, “I can’t even walk without holding His hand.” I feel like this song applies to me. There have been times when I have decided to walk to a different drummer, or to find a new way just for myself, and blaze a trail in uncharted territory. I always find myself in the dark stumbling, with no one to help me up when I fall. The dark is not always a place where I am alone, often there are others with me who say, “come and join us down here.” Today I prefer taking life “one day at a time,” and walking with Father God in the light of His love. I still stumble and just as thousands of years ago the Father bends down and applies chen. I can’t do it alone, God does for me what I could not do for myself…………….JRE
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions, it is by grace you have been saved.”
Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV
********************
“All of us have our own battle to win, the battle between the material view of life and the spiritual view. Something must guide our lives. Will it be wealth, pride, selfishness, greed or will it be faith, honesty, purity, unselfishness, love, and service? Each one has a choice. We can choose good or evil. We cannot choose both. Are we going to keep striving until we win the battle? If we win the victory, we can believe that even God in His heaven will rejoice.”
HAZELDEN……………Twenty-Four Hours A Day
********************
THE GIFT OF GRACE
“Those who find me find life, and the LORD will be pleased with them.”
Proverbs 8:35
Grace is created by God and given to man……On the basis of this point alone, Christianity, is set apart from any other religion in the world…..Every other approach to God is a bartering system; if I do this, god will do that. I’m either saved by works (what I do), emotions (what I experience), or knowledge (what I know).
By contrast, Christianity has no whiff of negotiation at all. Man is not the negotiator; indeed, man has no grounds from which to negotiate.
MAX LUCADO……………..In the Grip of Grace
Chen
Thought for the day: “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.”
Genesis 6:8 NAS
Noah found favor or grace, as we would think of it today, in the sight of Father God. The Hebrew word used for favor is chen, and it comes from a root meaning “to bend or stoop.” The Father bent down and bestowed grace upon someone who “walked with Him,” as the next verse tells us. How true this also is for me today. When I “walk with God,” and I fall down, God bends down, and by His loving grace helps me back on my feet. There is an old gospel song that says, “I can’t even walk without holding His hand.” I feel like this song applies to me. There have been times when I have decided to walk to a different drummer, or to find a new way just for myself, and blaze a trail in uncharted territory. I always find myself in the dark stumbling, with no one to help me up when I fall. The dark is not always a place where I am alone, often there are others with me who say, “come and join us down here.” Today I prefer taking life “one day at a time,” and walking with Father God in the light of His love. I still stumble and just as thousands of years ago the Father bends down and applies chen. I can’t do it alone, God does for me what I could not do for myself…………….JRE
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions, it is by grace you have been saved.”
Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV
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“All of us have our own battle to win, the battle between the material view of life and the spiritual view. Something must guide our lives. Will it be wealth, pride, selfishness, greed or will it be faith, honesty, purity, unselfishness, love, and service? Each one has a choice. We can choose good or evil. We cannot choose both. Are we going to keep striving until we win the battle? If we win the victory, we can believe that even God in His heaven will rejoice.”
HAZELDEN……………Twenty-Four Hours A Day
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THE GIFT OF GRACE
“Those who find me find life, and the LORD will be pleased with them.”
Proverbs 8:35
Grace is created by God and given to man……On the basis of this point alone, Christianity, is set apart from any other religion in the world…..Every other approach to God is a bartering system; if I do this, god will do that. I’m either saved by works (what I do), emotions (what I experience), or knowledge (what I know).
By contrast, Christianity has no whiff of negotiation at all. Man is not the negotiator; indeed, man has no grounds from which to negotiate.
MAX LUCADO……………..In the Grip of Grace
Thursday, September 02, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “God loves every one of us as if there were but one of us to love.”
AUGUSTINE
About two hundred feet from the house I live in there sits an old barn. My great grandfather built it back in the twenties. It doesn’t get much use these days. When the highway came through it divided the farm, and on this side there isn’t much pasture. Mainly what I store in the barn today are memories. There is a post in the barn that my grandmother measured me on from the time I was three until I returned from Vietnam at the age of twenty-one. The ropes still hang in the barn. My grandfather used to cut hay and stack it loose in the middle section of the old barn. My uncle Jimmy and I have spent hours swinging on the ropes from one loft to the other and dropping into the loose hay. There is an old rim of a barrel nailed to the side of the barn, we used to shoot hoops there. There are two complete sets of tack for the workhorses that my grandfather used, hanging on a pole by the horse stables. There are six milking stalls for cows, four for goats, and a concrete trough for the manure. I remember helping run a scoop shovel down the trough to clean it out. I remember the first calves I raised in the barn. I had to bottle feed them and it was so cold that winter that the tips of their ears froze. I remember once my granny met me outside the door of the barn with a limb off the peach tree, and gave me a spanking. Today the barn doesn’t get used much but it is full. It’s full of my memories as a child when I visited my grandparents, and as an adult living here. Memories are a part of all our lives, and there was a time in my life when I could not enjoy looking back. There was a time when I was in the grips of alcohol and drug addiction and nothing was enjoyable in the present. The future looked bleak, and the only past I could draw from was painful. At my lowest point, the hand of a loving God helped me up so others could minister to me. Today taking it “one day at a time,” reading, praying, and meditating on God, I am able to enjoy life again, just like the times Jimmy and I used to swing on the ropes in the barn. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………JRE
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
PSALM 51:10 NIV
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RUINED FOR SIN
“Whoever abides in Him does not sin.” 1 JOHN 3:6
The original language of this verse actually says, “Whoever is born of God does not keep on sinning!” The words were not meant to say a new believer is never able to sin again, but that the life of God in you and me assures that we are on a path of growth that is relentlessly reducing our capability to sin as we did in the past!
In a very real sense, this passage of Scripture says, “Once I have been born again, I’m ruined for being that kind of sinner I was!” Hallelujah!
JACK HAYFORD……………..Rebuilding the Real You
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“The bottom line is staying clean and enjoying life.” Narcotics Anonymous, basic text
Loose hay
Thought for the day: “God loves every one of us as if there were but one of us to love.”
AUGUSTINE
About two hundred feet from the house I live in there sits an old barn. My great grandfather built it back in the twenties. It doesn’t get much use these days. When the highway came through it divided the farm, and on this side there isn’t much pasture. Mainly what I store in the barn today are memories. There is a post in the barn that my grandmother measured me on from the time I was three until I returned from Vietnam at the age of twenty-one. The ropes still hang in the barn. My grandfather used to cut hay and stack it loose in the middle section of the old barn. My uncle Jimmy and I have spent hours swinging on the ropes from one loft to the other and dropping into the loose hay. There is an old rim of a barrel nailed to the side of the barn, we used to shoot hoops there. There are two complete sets of tack for the workhorses that my grandfather used, hanging on a pole by the horse stables. There are six milking stalls for cows, four for goats, and a concrete trough for the manure. I remember helping run a scoop shovel down the trough to clean it out. I remember the first calves I raised in the barn. I had to bottle feed them and it was so cold that winter that the tips of their ears froze. I remember once my granny met me outside the door of the barn with a limb off the peach tree, and gave me a spanking. Today the barn doesn’t get used much but it is full. It’s full of my memories as a child when I visited my grandparents, and as an adult living here. Memories are a part of all our lives, and there was a time in my life when I could not enjoy looking back. There was a time when I was in the grips of alcohol and drug addiction and nothing was enjoyable in the present. The future looked bleak, and the only past I could draw from was painful. At my lowest point, the hand of a loving God helped me up so others could minister to me. Today taking it “one day at a time,” reading, praying, and meditating on God, I am able to enjoy life again, just like the times Jimmy and I used to swing on the ropes in the barn. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………JRE
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
PSALM 51:10 NIV
********************
RUINED FOR SIN
“Whoever abides in Him does not sin.” 1 JOHN 3:6
The original language of this verse actually says, “Whoever is born of God does not keep on sinning!” The words were not meant to say a new believer is never able to sin again, but that the life of God in you and me assures that we are on a path of growth that is relentlessly reducing our capability to sin as we did in the past!
In a very real sense, this passage of Scripture says, “Once I have been born again, I’m ruined for being that kind of sinner I was!” Hallelujah!
JACK HAYFORD……………..Rebuilding the Real You
********************
“The bottom line is staying clean and enjoying life.” Narcotics Anonymous, basic text
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
jralphengland@yahoo.com
Thought for the day: “They have only stepped back in order to leap farther.”
Michel Eyquem de Montaigne
“You my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”
Galatians 5:13-16 NIV
I dislike falling back. I do not like getting behind. But it happens. I am learning that if I don’t get up quickly, catch up, and move on, I may linger behind longer and longer, and it becomes a real strain just to get back to where I was. Setbacks happen in life, they will for sure happen with material things. They will happen to us physically and mentally, and they will happen to us spiritually. Like the old saying, “The problem is not falling down, but failing to get up,” we need to get up, dust ourselves off and move on. All of this is easy for me to say, but the truth is that sometimes when I stub my toe, my self-pity and my self-centeredness wants everybody to take a look at my throbbing toe. I have never stubbed my toe and turned around and immediately stubbed it again. I always learn for a little while to look for the little things that could trip me up, and then I leap over them. The stepping back turns out to be a springboard for leaping forward. The key for me to leap forward is to live by the Spirit. The problem is that the flesh screams very loud at times. I learn and grow, every now and then to “step back in order to leap farther.” Thanks for letting me share. God does for me what I could not do for myself…….JRE
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 NIV
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REFINED AND PURIFIED
“When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job 23:10
Affliction can be a means of refining and of purification. Just as ore must pass through the refiner’s furnace before it can yield up it’s gold, so our lives must sometimes pass through God’s furnace of affliction before they can bring forth something beautiful and useful to Him.
We might never have had the songs of Fanny Crosby had she not been afflicted with blindness. George Matheson would never have given the world his immortal song, “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go,” had it not been for the pain of personal tragedy and heartache. The “Hallelujah Chorus” was written by Handel when he was poverty-stricken and suffering from a paralyzed right side and right arm.
Affliction can also make us stronger in our faith and develop our confidence in God’s watch care over us. It may also drive us back to the right path when we have wandered. David said, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word” (Psalm 119:67).
Whatever the reason, if God sends affliction your way, take it in faith as a blessing not a curse.
BILLY GRAHAM
********************
“It will not make us better people to judge the faults of another. It will make us feel better to clean up our lives…….” Narcotics Anonymous, basic text page 37
Springboard
Thought for the day: “They have only stepped back in order to leap farther.”
Michel Eyquem de Montaigne
“You my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”
Galatians 5:13-16 NIV
I dislike falling back. I do not like getting behind. But it happens. I am learning that if I don’t get up quickly, catch up, and move on, I may linger behind longer and longer, and it becomes a real strain just to get back to where I was. Setbacks happen in life, they will for sure happen with material things. They will happen to us physically and mentally, and they will happen to us spiritually. Like the old saying, “The problem is not falling down, but failing to get up,” we need to get up, dust ourselves off and move on. All of this is easy for me to say, but the truth is that sometimes when I stub my toe, my self-pity and my self-centeredness wants everybody to take a look at my throbbing toe. I have never stubbed my toe and turned around and immediately stubbed it again. I always learn for a little while to look for the little things that could trip me up, and then I leap over them. The stepping back turns out to be a springboard for leaping forward. The key for me to leap forward is to live by the Spirit. The problem is that the flesh screams very loud at times. I learn and grow, every now and then to “step back in order to leap farther.” Thanks for letting me share. God does for me what I could not do for myself…….JRE
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 NIV
********************
REFINED AND PURIFIED
“When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job 23:10
Affliction can be a means of refining and of purification. Just as ore must pass through the refiner’s furnace before it can yield up it’s gold, so our lives must sometimes pass through God’s furnace of affliction before they can bring forth something beautiful and useful to Him.
We might never have had the songs of Fanny Crosby had she not been afflicted with blindness. George Matheson would never have given the world his immortal song, “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go,” had it not been for the pain of personal tragedy and heartache. The “Hallelujah Chorus” was written by Handel when he was poverty-stricken and suffering from a paralyzed right side and right arm.
Affliction can also make us stronger in our faith and develop our confidence in God’s watch care over us. It may also drive us back to the right path when we have wandered. David said, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word” (Psalm 119:67).
Whatever the reason, if God sends affliction your way, take it in faith as a blessing not a curse.
BILLY GRAHAM
********************
“It will not make us better people to judge the faults of another. It will make us feel better to clean up our lives…….” Narcotics Anonymous, basic text page 37
