Thought for the Day

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Common sense and plain dealing

Thought for the day: “Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.
PSALM 62:1-2 NKJV

The Psalms that David wrote astonish me to no end. They are “common sense and plain dealing.” David tells it like it is, even through the many battles, family problems, personal problems of adultery and murder, and enemies that never ceased to come against him, he still knew where his strength came from. When you know that you know, way down deep inside your heart, that God is on your side. Then personal problems and trials will cease to be so important as we turn our will over to the Rock. David can silently wait for God because God cannot be defeated. I get a picture of a large rock or a mountain with a fortress on top, and there, God has placed me. Nothing can penetrate the fortress because of the awesome size of the Rock. I am safe, and I shall not be moved by any enemy force. Only if I step out of the security of my salvation am I able to be defeated. I choose to wait in my fortress knowing that the finished work of the Cross has given me the weapons to win the battles. The war has been won, but many battles are still to be fought. Common sense and plain dealing will keep my feet in the Fortress on the Rock. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………JRE

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
ROMANS 8:31 NKJV

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A NOBLE MOTIVATION
“At dawn on the first day, Mary Magdalene and another woman named Mary went to look at the tomb.” MATTHEW 28:1

It isn’t hope that leads [Mary and Mary Magdalene] up the mountain to the tomb. It is duty. Naked devotion. They expect nothing in return. What could Jesus give? What could a dead man offer? The tow women are not climbing the mountain to receive, they are going to the tomb to give. Period.
There is no motivation more noble……..
Service prompted by duty. This is the call of discipleship.
MAX LUCADO…………..He Still Moves Stones

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“We share comfort and encouragement with others.”
Narcotics Anonymous basic text page 95

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Spending your life

Thought for the day: “The best way to spend your life is to spend it for something that outlasts it.” William James, 1842-1910, U.S. Psychologist and Philosopher

What outlasts life? Even the rocks crumble and become sand. The oceans and seas continue to change with evaporation and precipitation, nothing stays the same in the physical realm. So, what outlasts life? William James the brilliant philosopher came to the conclusion that “life is best spent for something that outlasts it.” So he believes that there is something beyond life, and there is. It is eternal life. Each one of us has this eternal life in us, it is not the physical flesh and bones that we use to get around with, it is the spirit or spiritual part of our being. To invest our earthly time in eternal time seems practical, since we will experience it eternally. We believers who accept and understand eternal life, heaven, the hereafter, and life after death, should invest our earthly time in helping others accept and understand eternal time. This is “the best way to spend your life.” What outlasts life? Jesus Christ and the gift given to us by the finished work of the Cross, that we may spend eternity with our Father in heaven. We will never receive a greater gift, and we can never give a greater gift than to share the love of God with others. Thanks for letting me share today, God continues to do for me what I could not do for myself…………….JRE

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried about by various and strange doctrines.” HEBREWS 13:8-9a NKJV

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“God has ventured all in Jesus Christ to save us, now He wants us to venture our all in abandoned confidence in Him. There are spots where that faith has not worked in us as yet, places untouched by the life of God. There were none of those spots in Jesus Christ’s life, and there are to be none in ours. “This is eternal life that they might know Thee.” The real meaning of eternal life, is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering. If we take this view, life becomes one great romance, a glorious opportunity for seeing marvelous things all the time. God is disciplining us to get us into this central place of power.” OSWALD CHAMBERS

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In the fall of 2001 I started sending by email this small page to family and friends from church and AA. Since then I have sent around 500. I have used many Scriptures as a basis for thought. I have never used John 3:16. No reason other than I wanted to use the more hidden Scriptures that spoke to my heart, and the fact that everyone is so familiar with John 3:16. Today the Spirit speaks to me and lets me know it is time.
Share this with me:

“For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
JOHN 3:16-17 NKJV

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“We are sure God wants us to be happy, joyous, and free.” Alcoholics Anonymous page 133

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Emptying myself of me

Thought for the day: “The heart of worship is worship from the heart.”
Our Daily Bread 10-17-04

“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8 KJV

These words were spoken by Jesus as He went upon the mountain to speak to the multitude of people that followed Him. Today I find it easy to forget the meaning of this statement by Jesus, and must remind myself. Last night I was speaking to a couple of friends and I mentioned this verse and I found that I had lost sight of what Jesus meant. How can my heart be pure? I am still subject to sin, and must work daily to overcome, so how can my heart be pure? What I lost sight of was the fact that I can’t make my own heart pure by what I do, think, or say. What I believe is the starting point for a pure heart. That small spark of faith that says, “I can’t do this myself, God will you help me?” is where the pure heart begins. When I had done all I could do to save myself and to make my life right, and had failed. And having reached a point where as I turned to God I emptied my heart of myself, at that point something came into my heart that was pure, the Pure Love of God. My heart became pure not because of me, but because I emptied myself of me and provided a willing vessel that could receive Pure Love. Last night when I lost sight of “the pure in heart,” possibly, it was because I needed to empty my vessel of me. I am truly grateful that I can’t make my own heart pure, it would end up a pure mess. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself………….JRE

“Those who are truly saved shall see God. These are the pure in heart. Their lives have been transformed by the grace of God. They are not yet sinless but their position before God has been changed. They have the New Birth, saving faith, and holiness. The process of sanctification is ever conforming them to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), which image consists in “righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24).
NELSON KING JAMES STUDY BIBLE page 1416
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Build your life on the firm foundation of true gratitude to God for all His blessings and true humility because of your unworthiness of these blessings. Build the frame of your life out of self-discipline; never let yourself get selfish or lazy or contented with yourself. Build the walls of your life out of service to others, helping them find the way to live. Build the roof of your life out of prayer and quiet times, waiting for God’s guidance from above. Build a garden around your life of peace of mind and serenity and a sure faith.
HAZELDEN…………Twenty-Four Hours A Day
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I CHOOSE GENTLENESS……

Nothing is won by force, I choose to be gentle.
If I raise my voice may it be only in praise.
If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer.
If I make a demand, may it only be of myself.
Max Lucado

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a new thing

Thought for the day: “All rising to great place is by a winding stair.”
FRANCIS BACON

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past, see I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” ISAIAH 43:18-19 NIV

The prophet Isaiah in speaking to the people by the Holy Spirit of God, told them that God would bring them back from captivity in Babylon, and that He would do a “new thing.” That He would make a “way in the desert.” Out of the remnant that were brought back to their homeland were the descendents of Mary and Joseph who were the earthly parents of Jesus the Christ. Jesus also did for all mankind what the Father had done for the nation of Israel, He brought about a “new thing,” a “way in the desert.” Until I accepted Jesus in my life, I was living in a spiritual desert and I had no way. I was going around and around always covering the same ground with the same old problems over and over. Nothing new was going on. At first I did not understand this “new thing” called forgiveness. After all I had done to others and myself, why should I be forgiven with out paying for something. This was a new thing, a new way of living and thinking. I could not understand it. It started working in my life when allowed a small ray of the light of forgiveness to shine all the way through my dark heart. Always before when I messed things up I had to pay for it. I will never forget the freedom I experienced in 1983 when I was sitting in jail, and I let Jesus come into my life. My whole past was forgiven, the black board of my life had not only been erased, but washed clean, and it was free. All I had to do was believe that it was possible through the blood that Jesus shed on the Cross. At that moment in my life I knew that I was still accountable for the wrongs that I had done to others, but between God and myself, we were doing a “new thing.” A living stream was giving me refreshment in the wasteland that I knew as my life. Today I must daily turn to God’s forgiveness and mercy to keep the light of love shinning. I am grateful. God is doing a “new thing” in my life, I could not do this for myself……JRE
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THE REACHABLE JESUS
“He remembered us when we were in trouble. His love continues forever.”
PSALM 136:23

God chose to reveal himself through a human body.
The tongue that called for the dead was a human one. The hand that touched the leper had dirt under its nails. The feet upon which the woman wept were calloused and dusty. And his tears…….oh, don’t miss the tears……they came from a heart as broken as yours or mine ever has been.
So, people came to him. My, how they came to him! They came at night; they touched him as he walked down the street; they followed him around the sea; they invited him into their homes and placed their children at his feet. Why? Because he refused to be a statue in a cathedral or a priest in an elevated pulpit. He chose instead to be a touchable, approachable, reachable Jesus.
MAX LUCADO……………God Came Near
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“We have entered the world of the Spirit. Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime.” Alcoholics Anonymous page 84

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A "friend of sinners"

Thought for the day: “The highest wisdom is continual cheerfulness; such a state like the region above the moon, is always clear and serene.”
Michel Eyquem de Montaigne

In my reading this morning I came across some words of Jesus that pointed out to me that you can’t please all the people all the time. Share this with me:

“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”
MATTHEW 11:18-19 NAS

John the Baptist came to the people fasting and doing things the right way. He brought a message of the coming Messiah, and asked the people to prepare the way by turning from the ways they had been living. Many understood and accepted what John was preaching, but still the “powers that be” had him arrested and executed. Jesus on the other hand came eating, drinking, and going to parties where the message of “new life” was gladly received. Jesus was called a drunk and a friend of sinners, and also was rejected by the “powers that be,” arrested and executed. Two men with different approaches to the same people and both rejected. The truth in the whole matter comes by the words spoken by Jesus, “Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” They both pointed to the Cross, and the way of forgiveness for all peoples. Their approaches were different but the result was the same, we were given a starting place to begin a new life. I am grateful for those who came and took the time to share with me when I was a drunkard, I too received the message of “new life.” God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……JRE

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
MATTHEW 11:28-30 NAS
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“Draw nigh unto God and He will draw nigh unto you.” When you are faced with a problem beyond your strength, you must turn to God by an act of faith. It is that turning to God in each trying situation that you must cultivate. The turning may be one of glad thankfulness for God’s grace in your life. Or your appeal to God may be a prayerful claiming of His strength to face a situation and finding that you have it when the time comes. Not only the power to face trails, but also the comfort and joy of God’s nearness and companionship are yours for the asking.
HAZELDEN………..Twenty-Four Hours A Day
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“We cannot be helpful to all people, but at least God will show us how to take a kindly and tolerant view of each and every one.” Alcoholics Anonymous page 67

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Never Stumble

Thought for the day: “A person may go wrong in many different directions, but right in only one.” Our Daily Bread 10-14-04

“But for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble.”
2 PETER 1:5-10 NKJV

Peter wrote this over thirty years after Jesus was taken to the cross. Peter had seen much persecution and was living in Rome at the time of writing the letter. Thirty years of trouble and hard times had only strengthened Peter. What a change I see in Peter’s life from the time Jesus first called him to his execution by the Roman Emperor Nero. Peter was a blue-collar fisherman who worked with his hands and his strength to make a living. He was outspoken, and at times said things that disagreed with Jesus. He carried a sword and used it. At the trial of Jesus he denied ever knowing Him. Peter told Jesus that “I will never be made to stumble” (Matt. 26:33), but the same night that he said that he fell hard. When I read where thirty years later Peter said, “if you do these things you will not stumble,” I take note. Here is a man who is speaking from experience when he writes of stumbling, he knows what it’s like to fall and get hurt. What made the difference in Peter’s life was when he not only knew God, but received the Presence of the Holy Spirit into his inner most being, that made all the difference. It happened just as Jesus had said it would, He told them to wait for the Promise of the Father. Peter never did stumble and fall again. I’m sure he stubbed his toe a time or two, but he never fell. I am so grateful for Peter’s example, I did not have to be perfect to come to Jesus. Thanks for letting me share, God still does for me what I could not do for myself………….JRE
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A PRESENT HELP

“The LORD of hosts is with us; the god of Jacob is our stronghold.”
PSALM 46:7

We deny it. We fake it. We mask it. We try to ignore it. But the truth, stubbornly persists, we are weak creatures! Being sinful, we fail. Being prone to sickness, we hurt. Being mortal, we ultimately die. Pressure wears on us. Anxiety gives us ulcers. People intimidate us. Criticism offends us. Disease scares us. Death haunts us…..
How can we continue to grow in this bag of bones covered with weakness to numerous to mention? We need a big dose of Psalm 46: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” What hope for those struggling through the grind of personal weaknesses!
CHARLES SWINDOLL……………Living Beyond the Daily Grind
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“Quieting the mind through meditation brings a inner peace that brings us into contact with the God within us.” Narcotics Anonymous, basic text page 45

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Hee Haw

Thought for the day: Praise the Lord.

Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all you sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
PSALM 103:1-5 NIV

“Forget not all his benefits.” This is the key to walking daily with the Lord. At least in my life, I realize that I must maintain an attitude of gratitude by remembering all His benefits, and by always remembering that I have been redeemed from the pit. I don’t know exactly what kind of pit David was referring to, but I know the pit that I was in. In this affluent country it is difficult to be in a real physical pit. There are many safety nets out there to keep people fed and clothed and housed. The pit that I was redeemed from was one of “Gloom, despair, and agony on me. Deep dark depression, excessive misery. If it weren’t for bad luck I’d have no luck at all. Gloom, despair, and agony on me.” Many of us have heard that song on the TV program Hee Haw, and we laugh at it. I don’t believe in luck, there was no luck involved in my gloom and despair. I did it all myself. The pit that I have been redeemed from was one that I dug myself by self-indulgence in alcohol and drugs. Praise be to God who pulled me out of my pit and “satisfies my desires with good things.” My desires today are so much different than they used to be, they don’t pull me down and down, and keep me blinded by the walls of my own prison. My desires today look up, out, and around. I see true friends and mentors with outstretched hands. I have been crowned with love and compassion, and see others wearing the same crown. The crown cannot be prideful and must be humbly worn. It must be invisible to me. If I can see it, it is not real. “Praise the LORD, O my soul,” God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………….JRE
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WHO DO I SERVE?
As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. JOSHUA 24:15

What I am at home is what I really am: The way I speak and act in private. The material I read when I am alone. The music that fills my dwelling. The table talk my family shares, or doesn’t.
The moods I invite or tolerate. The entertainment I seek and foster. The media input I welcome.
The Savior I praise and worship…….
That’s the bottom line: Who am I serving, Him or me? As for me and everything in and about my house, Jesus will be central. We will worship Him; we will serve Him!
JACK HAYFORD………..Taking Hold of Tomorrow
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“What seemed at first a flimsy reed, has proven to be the loving and powerful hand of God. A new life has been given us or , if you prefer, ‘a design for living’ that really works. Alcoholics Anonymous page 28

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Wreckage of the past

Thought for the day: “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plan will succeed.” PROVERBS 16:3 NIV

I have never seen this fail, when I turn things over, when I “Let go and let God,” the outcome is successful. For years I tried to build a small cabin in the woods. It started out as a log cabin and I cut the trees, skidded them up, had them squared up and started laying them on a block foundation. I started this project for all the wrong reasons. First I was drunk, and second I was doing it for me and me alone. I got the logs about three-fourths the way up and over the next seven years everything rotted. I had to tear everything down and start over. The difference the second time was that I committed my sobriety to the Lord on a daily basis. This was the starting point. Then I started cleaning up the wreckage of my past which included taking a personal inventory, making amends, and committing my everyday to God to do for me what I could not do myself. It wasn’t long before the wreckage of the cabin needed to be dealt with. I started over by anointing the site with oil in the name of Jesus. As materials came to the site I also anointed them with oil in the name of Jesus. As the walls went up I wrote Scripture on the studs. I committed the whole project to the Lord and built it around a small Bible and a bottle of oil. They still sit in one of the windows. We meet every Wednesday in the cabin for prayer and study, what a blessing it has been to experience committing something to the Lord and to see a plan succeed. To top it off, I’m still clean and sober, I don’t say this without realizing that on a daily basis I must commit my life, and my plan for sobriety to the Lord. I need to stay successful in the area of my sobriety, otherwise all my plans end up rotting. God is still doing for me what I could not do for myself…………..JRE

Words of Jesus found in Matthew 7:24-27 NIV, share this with me:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who builds his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house , and it fell wit a great crash.”
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“Beware of allowing yourself to think that the shallow concerns of life are not ordained of God; they are as much of God as the profound. It is not your devotion to God that makes you refuse to be shallow, but your wish to impress other people with the fact that you are a spiritual prig. Be careful of the production of contempt in yourself, it always comes along this line, and causes you to go about as a walking rebuke to other people because they are more shallow than you are. Beware of posing as a profound person; God became a baby.” OSWALD CHAMBERS
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“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

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Powerful Love

Thought for the day: “Where Love rules there is no will to power, and where power predominates, Love is lacking. The one is the shadow of the other."
Carl Jung, Swiss psychologist (1875 - 1961)

Words of Jesus as He spoke to the believers. This was said after the resurrection while He was eating with them, and just before he ascended. Share this with me:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
ACTS 1:8 NIV

The power that Jesus was talking about is power filled with love, different than the power that Carl Jung spoke of. Carl Jung I think was referring to power such as political power, military power, or power that comes with authority in the workplace or the home. The power that comes through the Holy Spirit is not a power that shadows over someone else, but a power that comes from within our spirit as we commune spirit to Spirit with God. We are given strength and endurance to continue on in the face of adversity, not to lord over others. We are given the Power of Love, there is no greater power. In recording the words of Jesus, Luke uses the Greek word “dunamis.” The definition of this Greek word is “an inherent power capable of reproducing itself like a dynamo” (Dake Bible). Like a generator, a power that just keeps going on and on and on and on. As long as we keep in touch with the Holy Spirit of God this power will strengthen us. The Power of Love, I know of nothing that can come against it and over power it. God does for us what we can not do for ourselves………………JRE

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”
1 CORINTHIANS 13:4 NIV
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ENDURANCE IS THE SECRET
“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” MATTHEW 5:10

Where did Christians get the idea that we’d be appreciated, affirmed, and admired? The Savior Himself taught that blessings are reserved for the persecuted, for those who are reserved for the persecuted, for those who are reviled, for those against whom folks say all kind of evil……falsely………(Matt. 5:10-11). It sure is easy to forget those words and get soft, becoming too tender, too sensitive. Fragility is not a virtue extolled in Scripture. Saints with thin skin get distracted and, shortly thereafter, discouraged. There is a long, demanding course to be run, most of which takes place in the trenches and with out applause. I suggest we lower our expectations as we intensify our determination and head for the goal.
Endurance is the secret, not popularity.
CHARLES SWINDOLL………….The Finishing Touch
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“We let Him demonstrate, through us, what He can do. We ask Him to remove our fear and direct our attention to what He would have us be. At once, we commence to outgrow fear.” Alcoholics Anonymous page 68

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improving a dim view

Thought for the day: “Men become bad and guilty because they speak and act without foreseeing the results of their words and their deeds.” FRANZ KAFKA

Words of Jesus found in Matthew 7:3-5 NAS, share this with me:
“Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brothers eye.”

Jesus starts this section of His Sermon on the Mount with the statement “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.” When I read this I can apply it to myself in everyday life. I have heard it preached and knew that it could be applied to my life, I have had people get in my face and say the same words, and I knew that they could be applied to that situation. I find it so difficult to be involved in everyday living and to not take some view, opinion, or if you will “judgment” about others. Jesus didn’t say that we couldn’t look at others from a certain view point, or because of our experiences have an opinion about how we see things. But Jesus did say that we must first have some self-examination and maybe wipe the sleep out of our eyes before taking a dim view of others. Why is it that the things I don’t like most in other people are sometimes the character defects I find in myself? When I work on cleaning up my own short comings, I seem to be more tolerant of those with the same problems. It all starts in the heart, the “log” may be in our eyes, but the work in improving our vision of others takes place in our heart. Today may I look inside to improve what I see outside. Thanks for letting me share, God is doing for me what I could not do for myself……………….JRE
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GOD GIVEN OPPORTUNITIES

“With God all things are possible.” MATTHEW 19:26

Opportunity is never a matter of pressure with God.
When God opens a door it stays open long enough for us to enter decisively and wisely. His Spirit brings peace to every action, movement, choice, or change that is ordered by Him. The way we abide under the government of His given opportunities is by giving time to prayer.
Bring every opportunity to God, ask His will, wait on Him, and be honest in acknowledging any inner disturbance that may signal His Spirit’s cautioning. His doors of opportunity always stay open to His will.
JACK HAYFORD…………Taking Hold of Tomorrow
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“…………we have found a loving, personal God to whom we can turn.” Narcotics Anonymous, basic text page 27

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Keep on the firing line

Thought for the day: “The man who says it can’t be done, should not interrupt the man who is doing it.” CHINEESE PROVERB

Words of Jesus found in Matthew 6:26:
“Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?”

As I sit and look out my window this morning I watch the birds around the feeders. There is a light rain and the temperature is in the lower forties. This is the first really cool morning we’ve had this fall, and the birds who in the last couple of months have not paid much attention to the feeders, are busy eating seeds. Also this morning as I read this Scripture in my morning study, my thoughts are upon the birds and other animals, myself and other believers, Jesus who spoke, and Father God. I often thought of this Scripture as meaning that I didn’t have to worry about things that God would take care of the essential things of life. As I study the Sermon on the Mount I see that Jesus was speaking to believers, these were not pagans. The sermon is not about salvation, but about living a righteous life. The part of the sermon about the birds is about worry and anxiety in life. I like what the Ryrie Study Bible says about this verse, share this with me:
“your heavenly Father feeds them. God feeds the birds not by miraculous supply of food but through natural processes involving the earth and the birds’ use of their faculties. Like wise, the child of God, though sometimes the recipient of a miracle, is usually cared for by normal means.”
We care for each other, that’s how it works! It’s not like some big bread basket is going to fall from heaven and take care of all our needs, we share and help each other. Just a little before Jesus spoke about the birds, He mentioned giving to the poor. Jesus did not say “if” or “maybe when,” He said “WHEN you give to the poor,” do it in secret. Like the Nike slogan, “Just Do It.” We all receive and we all give….that’s how it works by love. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself………….JRE

“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” MATTHEW 6:34 NAS
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“’Ask and ye shall receive.’ Never let yourself think that you cannot do something useful or that you never will be able to accomplish a useful task. The fact is that you can do practically anything in the field of human relationships, if you are willing to call on God’s supply of strength. The supply may not be immediately available, because you may not be entirely ready to receive it. But it will surely come when you are properly prepared for it. As you grow spiritually, a feeling of being plentifully supplied by God’s strength will possess you and you will be able to accomplish many useful things.”
HAZELDEN…………..Twenty-Four Hours A Day
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“Your job now is to be at the place where you may be of maximum helpfulness to others, so never hesitate to go anywhere if you can be helpful. You should not hesitate to visit the most sordid spot on earth on such an errand. Keep on the firing line of life with these motives and god will keep you unharmed.”
Alcoholics Anonymous page 102

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Shipping and handling costs of love

Thought for the day: “Above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”
PROVERBS 4:23 NIV

How do we guard our heart? Each one of us probably has a place in our heart that is unguarded, a place that can be accessed by those who would use us, or do us harm. So how do we keep that vulnerable place guarded? I must guard it by using a shield, just like the virus shield that protects our computers from those who would harm us, we as believers can use the shield of faith to protect our hearts. By putting our faith into action and receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit we can use the gift of discernment, which will give us insight into the motives of those we come in contact with. The way I picture my heart, or the inner part of my being, is a place where the grace and love of God flow into, and I in turn allow God’s love to flow out to others. The love of God does not always flow out of my heart, I don’t want to give the impression that I am always full of the love of God. At times when I have left my heart unprotected, and have been used by others I get hurt. I then guard my heart with a self-centered shield, which keeps love from flowing out. With the love of God flowing into my life and not sharing it with others I grow stale. I must surrender to self and open up the wellspring of life to keep my spirit fresh and refreshed. Only the Holy Spirit can effectively guard my heart so that it works two ways, receiving and giving. The shipping and handling costs of loving others is investing in the shield of faith. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………..JRE

“Stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all of this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” EPHESIANS 6:14-16 NIV
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The voice of the Spirit is a gentle as a zephyr, so gentle that unless you are living in perfect communion with God, you never hear it. The checks of the Spirit come in the most extraordinarily gentle ways, and if you are not sensitive enough to detect His voice you will quench it, and your personal spiritual life will be impaired. His checks always come as a still small voice, so small that no one but the saint notices them.
Beware if in personal testimony you have to hark back and say, “Once, so many years ago, I was saved.” If you are walking in the light, there is no harking back, the past is transfused into the present wonder of communion with God. If you get out of the light you become a sentimental Christian and live on memories, your testimony has a hard, metallic note. Beware of trying to patch up a present refusal to walk in the light by recalling past experiences when you did walk in the light. Whenever the Spirit checks, call a halt and get the thing right, or you will go on grieving Him without knowing it.
OSWALD CHAMBERS
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I know that I used this quote from Oswald Chambers within the last couple of years, but I needed to read it, hear it, and type it again…….thanks for letting me share….JRE

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perfect sweetness

Thought for the day: “It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion, it is easy in solitude to live after your own; but the great man is he who, in the midst of the world's opinion, keeps his own independence with Love's perfect sweetness.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, American writer and philosopher (1803-1882)

“For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” GALATIANS 5:13-14 NKJV

“Through love serve one another with Love’s perfect sweetness.” Emerson said that Love could have “perfect sweetness.” I have found this to be true with love that is of a greater kind, the kind that the Father bestows on us each morning as mercy is extended to us, fresh and new. I do not deserve this great love and there is nothing I could do to earn God’s mercy. It is a gift and each morning if I am willing to receive the gift of love the Father has offered all of us, I can wear it like a warm coat on a cool fall day. I can walk in the shelter of His Great Love, and know perfect sweetness. Not too sweet which leaves an after taste, not too bitter which leaves a dry feeling. Perfect sweetness, just the right amount. Sometimes love expressed without genuine concern, can be too sweet. Sometimes where there is genuine concern and no expression of love, it can seem too bitter. Perfect sweetness, a love as only we can learn from the Father. Thanks for letting me share. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself………..JRE

“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
GALATIANS 5:16 NKJV
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DISCOVER GOD’S GRACE
“We conduct ourselves in the world…..by the grace of God.” 2 Corinthians 1:12

Is God’s grace really sufficient I times of trouble? Can it sustain us in the midst of life’s storms?
Yes, but to be honest, sometimes it’s hard for us to rely on God’s grace instead of ourselves. We think we have to grab control of our lives, and believe the responsibility for shaping our future must be in our hands.
When troubles come, therefore, we resist them instead of depending on God to see us through. Alexander Maclaren, the distinguished British preacher of another generation, once wrote, “What disturbs us in this world in not trouble, but our opposition to trouble.”
Put God to the test when troubles come. He won’t let you down. In the midst of a painful illness Paul begged God to intervene and take it away. But God replied “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor. 12:9). It was for Paul and it will be for you.
BILLY GRAHAM
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“In meditation, we ask God what we should do about each specific matter. The right answer will come, if we want it.”
Alcoholics Anonymous page 69

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Arrows

Thought for the day: “Morality is not properly the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but how we may make ourselves worthy of happiness."
Immanuel Kant

“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has a quiver full of them.” PSALM 127:3-5 NKJV

I was fifty-three years old before I found out I had a daughter from my youth. She is a beautiful young lady, and at that time she was twenty-nine. This morning I talked on the phone to my grandson John Paul. He just turned fourteen and what a blessing it was to talk to him about school, football, work, bicycles, cars, and all the things boys do. I was really blessed when we shared with each other about going to church, singing praise music, and knowing Jesus. A fifteen-minute conversation this morning has really lifted me up. I watched an arrow fly through the air straight. In my youth, as an arrow out of the quiver of my parents, I did not fly so straight. I used to blame it on many things, divorce, poverty, education, alcohol, drugs, bad friends, bad luck, I blamed everything and everyone. But the truth is, when I was old enough to fly, I made my own decisions. My flight through life has been straightened by others around me who have cared enough to give of their love and direction, and to share their experience strength, and hope. I am grateful to God for the ministries that are out there that find arrows already in flight, and help them to fly true. God is still doing for me what I can not do for myself…….JRE

“In my distress I cried to the LORD, and He heard me.” PSALM 120:1 NKJV
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SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD
“Joined and knit together,………edifying………in love.” EPHESIANS 4:16

Years ago I was part of a reserve military training program. During my training, I was taught how a small team of soldiers, a squad, was to move forward in enemy territory. Each man had an assigned place in formation following the lead soldier. We were to proceed in such a way that we “covered” one another. Each soldier was responsible to maximize the safety and security of the others in his squad.
That is the essence of New Testament submission in relationships. It has nothing to do with reducing one another, but everything to do with protecting each other, being sensitive to one another, being sensible, and serving in our relationship to one another.
There are no doormats, only brothers and sisters in Christ, sons and daughters of the Father.
JACK HAYFORD……………….Rebuilding the Real You
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“We found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him.”
Alcoholics Anonymous page 46

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Dividing love

Thought for the day: “for Love in this differs from clay: that to divide is not to take away.” Percy Bysshe Shelley

There’s a line from the poet Shelley that’ll last all day! Most things when you divide them, they become less. Love is such a powerful spiritual force that it cannot be lessened, by sharing. The Word of God has this same spiritual force behind it, When it is shared it grows to be shared again and again. Over the centuries there have been many individuals and political systems that have tried to lessen the power of the Word of God, only to find that is has multiplied in the process. After Jesus came to show us the Way, His followers were persecuted, which spread them through out the world. They in turn shared the love of the Father that had been taught them through Jesus. The results can be seen still today in the changed lives of many who had no hope, no love, no friends, and no prosperity. That same love, as it grows from the Cross into the present day, carries with it the power of life, the power of hope, and the power of love. It cannot be lessened, it can only grow and grow. I am so grateful that at some point in my life of self-centeredness, love that grew from the Cross all the way to 1983, crossed my path. May I pass it on in some way. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself………………JRE

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become as a sounding brass or a clanging gong. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.”
1 CORINTHIANS 13:1-3 NKJV
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“Natural love expects some return, but Paul says, I do not care whether you love me or not, I am willing to destitute myself completely, not merely for your sakes, but that I may get you to God. ‘For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor.’ Paul’s idea of service is exactly along that line, I do not care with what extravagance I spend myself, and I will do it gladly. It was a joyful thing to Paul.
The ecclesiastical idea of a servant of God is not Jesus Christ’s idea. His idea is that we serve Him by being the servants of other men.”
OSWALD CHAMBERS
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“Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.” Alcoholics Anonymous page 59

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What an order!

Thought For the day: “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles.” PROVERBS 24:17 NKJV

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.” MATTHEW 5:44-45 NKJV

Jesus makes it very clear about our attitude toward those people we don’t care for. We are to rise above the situation and extend good will and love. How difficult this is. Our natural response toward someone who rubs us the wrong way is to rub back a little harder, or to run from the problem. In my walk with God, I find two areas to be most difficult. First is to have a humble spirit and to let go of my self-centeredness. Second is to change my attitude and the way I feel emotionally about people I don’t get along with, or they don’t get along with me. Jesus says, we must “love our enemies to be children of God.” What an order! Why must I love someone who dislikes me or that I dislike? From my personal experience I have come up with one answer to this dilemma. When I begin to change my attitude and see the other person as also having feelings and experiencing pain, my heart softens a little, and with that some of my own pain becomes less. Jesus could see that the solution for easing the pain we experience, as a result from living together on earth, is to by helping someone else, not by helping ourselves. When we extend love to those who hate us it changes them and us both. When I keep it all to myself, I have nothing. When I open my hand and release what I have, I have everything. God makes this possible, and does for me what I could not do for myself………JRE
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It is time I read this again, it is by Chuck Swindoll. Share this with me:

ATTITUDE
“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failure, than success, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company….a church….a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past….we cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude…..I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you……..we are in charge of our attitudes.”
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“All of us, whatever our race, creed, or color are the children of a living Creator with whom we may form a relationship upon simple and understandable terms as soon as we are willing and honest enough to try.”
Alcoholics Anonymous page 28

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We are one

Thought for the day: “The only really happy people are those who have learned how to serve.” Albert Schweitzer
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” GALATIANS 3:28 NKJV
We are one in Christ. We are all the same at the foot of the Cross. In the game of life, the playing field has been leveled. When we come to Jesus by faith, not one person has an advantage over another. We are all equal in the eyes of God. We are His children, and He loves us all. All of these statements are good news to me. Early on in my life and many times as an adult I have suffered from feelings of inferiority. As a child I found myself comparing my life to the life of other children around me, I realized that many had more material things than I did. Later on as I became an adult I saw others who were very smart, they worked hard and achieved many of their goals. I thought I could find a softer easier way and failed. Materially I did not achieve what others did at the start of my life, and because of this I developed inferior feelings about myself. Knowing Jesus Christ has been the greatest psychological help I have ever received. It leveled the “playing field.” It made me realize that there is much more to life than just “things.” As I began to learn the spiritual part of myself, I developed feelings that were not inferior. I saw myself as God sees me, a work in progress. Today I see many different kinds of people; those who have prospered materially and spiritually, those who have prospered materially and not spiritually, those who have not prospered materially but are spiritual giants, and then there are those who have neither prospered materially or spiritually. Of the various types of people I have observed, the ones I feel have the most serenity and peace in their lives are those who prosper in the spiritual realm and give of themselves to help others. Albert Schweitzer was right! Thanks for letting me share…..God does for me what I could not do for myself………………….JRE
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“No one is ever united with Jesus Christ until he is willing to relinquish not sin only, but his whole way of looking at things. To be born from above of the Spirit of God means that we must let go before we lay hold, and in the first stages it is the relinquishing of all pretense. What our Lord wants us to present to Him is not goodness, nor honesty, nor endeavour, but real solid sin; that is all He can take from us. And what does He give us in exchange for our sin? Real solid righteousness. But we must relinquish all pretense of being anything, all claims of being worthy of God’s consideration.
Then the Spirit of God will show us what further there is to relinquish. There will have to be the relinquishing of my claim to my right to myself in every phase. Am I willing to relinquish my hold on all I possess, my hold on my affections, and on everything, and to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ?
OSWALD CHAMBERS
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THIS IS WHAT MAKES US EQUAL…………JRE
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“We find that our thinking will, as time passes, be more and more on the plane of inspiration. We come to rely on it.”
Alcoholics Anonymous page 87

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Just for today

Thought for the day: “If a person is to find God, the desire must come from within.”
Alcoholics Anonymous page 95

“Now if God so clothed the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith.”
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
MATTHEW 6:30-34 NKJV

As Jesus spoke these words in what we call the Sermon on the Mount, He gave us spiritual food to nourish us “one day at a time.” Sometimes I find myself letting thoughts about tomorrow dominate my thinking today. I must have some consideration and planning for tomorrow, otherwise I might wind up cold and hungry. But I should not let my thoughts today be dominated by tomorrows’ problems. The battle to live the way I feel God wants me to live takes place in the “here and now.” The very instant is where the decision is made that can make or break today spiritually. I remember once when I was setting on a bench in Wal-Mart talking to an older gentleman. He asked me if I thought that I could live without sinning. I thought about it and cam to the conclusion that I could probably not. He then asked me if I could go one second without sinning. I agreed that I could do this. Then he said, “how about a minute?” I agreed that I could probably do that. He then said to take that minute and make it an hour, a day, a week, a year, forever……. If I take care of myself today spiritually, tomorrow will be better off materially and physically. I know this for a fact and it has been proven in my life on a daily basis. I am so grateful that I don’ have to stress out on tomorrow, because Jesus tells me, “Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” My prayer today is for peace and serenity for all who happen by this page. May God bless Ya’ll. God does for me what I could not do for myself………….JRE
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PEACE TREATIES OF LOVE
“Be sure that no one pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to do what is good for each other and for all people.” 1 THESSALONIANS 5:15

Jesus described for his followers what he came to do. He came to build a relationship with people. He came to take away enmity, to take away the strife, to take away the isolation that existed between God and man. Once he bridged that, once he overcame that, he said, I will call you friends.”
In repairing a relationship, it’s essential to realize that no friendship is perfect, no marriage is perfect, no person is perfect. With the resolve that you are going to make a relationship work, you can develop peace treaties of love and tolerance and harmony to transform a difficult situation into something beautiful.
MAX LUCADO…………….Walking with the Savior
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“As long as I take it easy and make a commitment with my Higher Power to do the best I can, I know I will be taken care of today.”
Narcotics Anonymous basic text page 120

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Paradise, a place in the heart.

Thought for the day: “The heart of him who truly loves is a paradise on earth; he has God in himself, for God is love.” FELICITE ROBERT DE LAMENNAIS

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
JOHN 4:7-8 NKJV

I spent all day Saturday on top of Jerusalem Ridge. It is near the town of Rosine Kentucky, the birthplace of Bill Monroe of bluegrass music fame. Forty-four different bluegrass bands from all over the country showed up to play music in the woods just a stone’s throw from the old house that Bill lived in. The festival was almost a gospel event. If you take Jesus and the mighty workings of God out of Bluegrass Music, you leave a very large hole. The people of Kentucky were very kind and gracious. Many shared their experiences with us of life living in the hills of Kentucky. We were in Muhlenberg and Ohio counties down by the Green River, and one sight will remain forever in my memory. That is how Peabody Coal Company has come into the land and stripped it for the coal that was just below the surface. Many places were green and luscious with tall trees, and then there were places where almost nothing would grow and the ground was uneven with the occasional strip-pit lake. Some times when we change we can’t ever get back to where we were. I realize that the people of Kentucky sold mineral rights in order to survive, but you just can’t get paradise back after you’ve stripped it away. Thanks be to God for keeping paradise the same yesterday, today and forever. And like the quote above we can have paradise in our hearts if we “truly love.”
My prayer today is for all of us to have a forgiving and loving heart to one another. Thanks for letting me share, God is still doing for me what I could not do for myself………….JRE

“And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”
JOHN 4:16 NKJV
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“If human love does not carry a man beyond himself, it is not love. If love is always wise, always sensible and calculating, never carried beyond itself, it is not love at all. It may be affection, it may be warmth of feeling, but it has not the true nature of love in it.”
OSWALD CHAMBERS
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“On going recovery is dependent on our relationship with a loving God who cares for us and will do for us what we find impossible to do for ourselves.”
Narcotics Anonymous basic text page 96