October 14, Today’s thought – At the Cross

oct 11 007Pink Japanese Anemone from Grandma Crain 

Good Morning

Matthew 11:28-30
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Four memorial services in one month are too many:
a 50 year old niece, and three 80+ year olds.
What spaces unfillable!

I don’t understand God’s timing but I do know His way is perfect.
The song At The Cross of Jesus Bowing brought comfort.

1 At the cross of Jesus bowing,
Here I find a safe retreat
From a world of care and trouble,
In His presence calm and sweet.

Refrain:
Sweet stillness of heaven around me I feel,
While low at the cross of my Jesus I kneel.

2 At the cross of Jesus bowing,
Here I count my blessings o’er;
Here I drink from life’s pure fountain,
Drink until I thirst no more. [Refrain]

3 At the cross of Jesus bowing,
Here I spend life’s sweetest hour;
Here I taste the joys of heaven,
Fill my heart with conq’ring pow’r. [Refrain]

4 At the cross of Jesus bowing,
Let me never from it part;
For His dying love has conquered
My rebellious, roving heart. [Refrain]

5 At the cross of Jesus bowing,
Here I own His way is best;
In the shelter of Mount Calv’ry,
Let me die in peace at last. [Refrain]
D.O. Teasley

a link to the song

Bowing . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on October 14, 2013 at 11:11 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , ,

October 7, Today’s thought – Waiting?

oct6 008I’m thankful for my new mouse.

Good Morning

Psalms 138:6-8 Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.

We don’t like to wait.
We’re the giddy-up generation.
We frown at the person who takes eleven items
to the ten-item express checkout.
We drum our fingers while the microwave heats our coffee.
“Come on, come on.”
We really don’t like to wait!

Look around you.
Do you realize where we sit?
This planet is God’s waiting room.
The young couple? Waiting to get pregnant.
The guy with the briefcase? Waiting for work.
Waiting on God to give or to help.
Waiting on God to come.
The land of waiting.
And you?
Are you in God’s waiting room?

You may be infertile or inactive,
in limbo, in between jobs
or in search of a house, spouse, health, or help.
Here’s what you need to know.
While you wait,
God works!
God never twiddles His thumbs.
He never stops.
Just because you’re idle, don’t assume God is.
Trust Him.
In the right time, you’ll get through this.

From You’ll Get Through This ~~~Max Lucado

Wait . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on October 7, 2013 at 5:17 am  Comments (1)  
Tags:

Ocotber 5, Today’s thought – Hope is a Promise

oct4 004Coleus

Good Morning

Hope is a Promise

“And this hope is what saves us.
But if we already have what we hope for,
there is no need to keep on hoping.”
Romans 8:24

Faith is a power, and Hope is a promise.
For Hope is always about that which is yet to come;
never about what we currently possess.
Faith reaches into the future
and brings into the present
a borrowed power that enables us
to live today in the strength of tomorrow;
to posses this earth with heaven in mind;
to live in the presence of the “not yet.”
But Hope differs in this regard:
it knows what is promised,
even though it cannot see it,
and though it will never lay hold of it
until the day it actually arrives —
Hope holds firm without wavering.
Faith is for this world;
Hope is for the next.
There will be no need for Faith
in Heaven once we are there,
so we should spend all that we have while we are here.
But our Hope will pay off huge on That Day
when we cross the threshold of Time into Eternity
and see what our hearts have only imagined.
Hope is a promise
that holds our hearts forward to a better day,
that lifts us above the present darkness of a bad stretch
and keeps us buoyant in the midst of turbulence and trouble.
But sometimes Hope flags in the face of delays;
and Hope deferred can make the heart sick.
Thus weakened with soul-sickness,
our hearts may lose their grip on what is promised;
our Hope may fade
and our passion to keep a forward view
can diminish in the dusk of uncertain turns.
That’s when Love steps in to lift Hope back on its feet
— for Love never fails.
Love is a Person.
We’ll meet this Person tomorrow.

For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Romans 8:24-25

Hope . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on October 5, 2013 at 5:00 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , ,

October 4, Today’s thought – Come Ye Aside

july7 shoting 018Fall’s Beauty

Good Morning

Luke 9:10 And the apostles, when they were returned, told him all that they had done. And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.

In order to grow in grace, we must be much alone.
It is not in society that the soul grows most vigorously.
In one single quiet hour of prayer
it will often make more progress
than in days of company with others.
It is in the desert that the dew falls freshest and the air is purest.
~~Andrew Bonar

“Come ye yourselves apart and rest awhile,
Weary, I know it , of the press and throng,
Wipe from your brow the seat and dust of toil,
And in My quiet strength again be strong.

“Come ye aside from all the world holds dear,
For converse which the world has never known,
Alone with Me, and with My Father here,
With Me and with My Father not alone.

“Come, tell Me all that ye have said and done,
Your victories and failures, hopes and fears,
I know how hardly souls are wooed and won;
My choicest wreaths are always wet with tears.

“Come ye and rest; the journey is too great.
And ye will faint beside the way and sink;
The bread of life is here for you to eat,
And here for you the wine of love to drink.

“Then fresh from converse with your Lord return
And work till daylight softens into even;
The brief hours are not lost in which ye learn
More of your Master and His rest in Heaven.”

Rest . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on October 4, 2013 at 11:29 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags:

October 1, Today’s thought – Your Mess

IMG_5297Grandma Crain made this star from seeds and cones and berries she found in the yard and along the road.

Good Morning

Deuteronomy 11:1-7
Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway. And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his stretched out arm, And his miracles, and his acts, which he did in the midst of Egypt unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his land; And what he did unto the army of Egypt, unto their horses, and to their chariots; how he made the water of the Red sea to overflow them as they pursued after you, and how the LORD hath destroyed them unto this day; And what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye came into this place; And what he did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and all the substance that was in their possession, in the midst of all Israel: But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the LORD which he did.

Your Mess Can Be Your Message

I like the conversation Bob Benson recounts in his book, See You at the House,
about his friend who’d had a heart attack.
For a while it seemed his friend wouldn’t make it. But he recovered.

Months later Bob asked him, “How did you like your heart attack?”

“It scared me to death, almost.”
“Would you do it again?”
“No!”
“Would you recommend it?” Bob asked.
“Definitely not.”
Then Bob asked him, “Does your life mean more to you now than it did before?”
“Well, yes.”
“You and your wife always had a beautiful marriage, but are you closer now than ever?” “Yes.”
“Do you have a new compassion for people—a deeper understanding and sympathy?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Do you know the Lord in a richer fellowship than you’d ever realized?”
“Yes.”

Then Bob said, “So, how’d you like your heart attack?”

Deuteronomy 11:2 reminds us to remember what you’ve learned about the Lord through your experience with Him. Do that, my friend, and your mess will become your message!

From You’ll Get Through This~~Max Lucado

Learning . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on October 1, 2013 at 5:27 am  Comments (1)  
Tags: ,

September 30, Today’s thought – Uplift

Good Morning

they shall mount up with wings as eagles; Isaiah 40:31

A young minister in our town asked some of us to describe the role we’d like to have God play in our lives. “In just one word,” he said.
An interesting collection of words came forth:
Protector, Redeemer, Guide, Comforter, Friend and so on.
But there was one unexpected reply, “I’d like Him,” this man said, “to be my Chauffeur.”
All of us were taken aback until he explained his choice. “When hot-air ballooning was invented some two hundred yeas ago in France, ” he said, “the man in charge of the fire underneath the balloon that produced the hot air was known as the chauffeur, from the French word, chauffer, meaning to heat. Without the work of the chauffeur, the balloon couldn’t soar I couldn’t even rise.
“I like the thought of God breathing His life=giving Spirit into me every single day so that I can rise above trials and difficulties and preoccupation with w material things. Without the life that God supplies I can do nothing.”
~~~Arthur Gordon

Isaiah 40:28-31
Hast thou not known?
hast thou not heard,
that the everlasting God, the LORD,
the Creator of the ends of the earth,
fainteth not, neither is weary?
there is no searching of his understanding.
He giveth power to the faint;
and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
and the young men shall utterly fall:
But they that wait upon the LORD
shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles;
they shall run, and not be weary;
and they shall walk, and not faint.

Rise above . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on September 30, 2013 at 5:05 am  Comments (1)  
Tags: ,

September 27, Today’s thought – Mourning?

may13 005Take things one step at a time. . . Today

Good Morning

Psalm 42:3-5
My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
Psalm 42:8
Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.
Psalm 42:11
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

Canst thou answer this, believer?
Canst thou find any reason why thou art so often mourning instead of rejoicing?
Why yield to gloomy anticipations?
Who told thee the night would never end in day?
Who told thee that the winter of thy discontent would proceed from frost to frost, from snow and ice, and hail, to deeper snow , and yet more heavy tempest of despair?
Knowest thou not that day follows night, that flood comes after ebb, that spring and summer succeed winter?
Hope thou then!
Hope thou ever! for God fails thee not.
~~~~Charles Spurgeon

Hopeful . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on September 27, 2013 at 11:04 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags:

September 26, Today’s thought –

new 088A good day for this.

Good Morning

Matthew 4:18-20
And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

In the Midst of Regular Work

“It was their regular work.” (Matthew 4:18, The Message).
Here we have two guys minding their own business,
when suddenly, and unexpectedly
they are interrupted by a preacher.
We could finish the story fifty different ways,
but none would be as astounding
as what actually happened after this brief encounter.
For the two guys were Peter and Andrew;
and the preacher passing by was Jesus.
“Follow Me,” He said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”
And get this —
“they dropped their nets immediately and followed Him.”

Something is going on here
which does not appear to the naked eye.
Two guys quietly going about their regular work,
day after day, net by net, catching fish after fish —
over and over and over again.
They were no doubt considered successful by their competitors;
their business was doing well.
They’ve got it made; not a care in the world.
At least that’s the surface reading.
But Jesus read their hearts.
He looked past the obvious and saw the actual.
There was a longing in their labor
for something more, something better, something meaningful.
And Jesus tapped into that desire
and opened the door to their future;
and that’s why they responded so immediately to His invitation.

Might He be doing the same for you today?
We were made for something more than regular work.
Our lives are not meant to be relegated
to the usual, the ordinary, and the average.
This is why these things disturb us so
when they seem to become the predicable course for our lives —
our spirit stirs for higher things.
And it is just there,
in the midst of regular work,
you can hear Jesus calling you
to something truly significant and satisfying,
something worth spending your life pursuing.
“Follow Me,” He says,
“and I will transform your labor into a calling —
filled with extraordinary promise and great purpose.” Rylie

May my ‘daily work’ not stand in the way of Jesus’ call . . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on September 26, 2013 at 11:36 am  Comments (2)  
Tags:

September 23, Today’s thought – Pop Quiz

new 076Fourth of July Rose

Good Morning

Each day has a pop quiz! And some seasons are like final exams. Brutal, sudden pitfalls of stress, sickness, or sadness. What’s the purpose of the test? James 1:3-4 says, “For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.”

Test, test, test! This chapter in your life may look like rehab, smell like unemployment, sound like a hospital, but you’re in training. God hasn’t forgotten you, just the opposite. He has chosen to train you. Forget the notion that God doesn’t see your struggle. Quite the contrary. God is fully engaged. He is the Potter, we are the clay. He’s the Shepherd, we’re the sheep. He’s the Teacher, we’re the students. Trust His training. You’ll get through this!

From: You’ll Get Through This – Max Lucado

Through all the test of life – Just Remember

Just get through it . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

(Sorry about the ad)

Published in: on September 23, 2013 at 10:12 am  Comments (2)  
Tags: ,

September 21, Today’s thought – Heavenly Sunlight

Good Morning

This song was on my mind this morning.

Heavenly Sunlight
Henry J.  Zelley

Walking in sunlight all of my journey;
Over the mountains, through the deep vale;
Jesus has said, “I’ll never forsake thee,”
Promise divine that never can fail.

Refrain

Heavenly sunlight, heavenly sunlight,
Flooding my soul with glory divine:
Hallelujah, I am rejoicing,
Singing His praises, Jesus is mine.

Shadows around me, shadows above me,
Never conceal my Savior and Guide;
He is the Light, in Him is no darkness;
Ever I’m walking close to His side.

Refrain

In the bright sunlight, ever rejoicing,
Pressing my way to mansions above;
Singing His praises gladly I’m walking,
Walking in sunlight, sunlight of love.

Refrain

Do you want to hear this song? Click here

Close to His side . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on September 21, 2013 at 11:22 am  Comments (2)  
Tags:

September 19, Today’s thought – Love thy Neighbour

june1012 009One of my waiting pastimes

Good Morning

Matthew 22:39

Thou shalt love thy neighbor –

The love of our neighbor
springs from the love of God as its source;
is found in the love of God
as its principle, pattern, and end;
and the love of God is found in the love of our neighbor,
as its effect, representation, and infallible mark.
This love of our neighbor is a love of
equity, charity, succor, and benevolence.
We owe to our neighbor
what we have a right to expect from him –
“Do unto all men as ye would they should do unto you,”
is a positive command of our blessed Savior.
By this rule, therefore,
we should speak, think, and write,
concerning every soul of man: –
put the best construction upon all the words and actions
of our neighbor that they can possibly bear.
By this rule we are taught
to bear with,
love, and forgive him;
to rejoice in his felicity,
mourn in his adversity,
desire and delight in his prosperity,
and promote it to the utmost of our power:
instruct his ignorance,
help him in his weakness,
and risk even our life for his sake,
and for the public good.
In a word, we must do every thing in our power,
through all the possible varieties of circumstances,
for our neighbors,
which we would wish them to do for us,
were our situations reversed.
This is the religion of Jesus!

Do we as the lawyer ask in Luke 10:?
29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus,
And who is my neighbour?
Christ related the parable of the good Samaritan,
and asked the lawyer:
36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour
unto him that fell among the thieves?
The lawyer answered:
37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him.
Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

That one who needs a smile, a hand, a prayer is my neighbour.
Remember how many times we needed just that little bit of caring.

Love thy neighbour. . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on September 19, 2013 at 11:45 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , ,

September 18, Today’s thought – The First and Great Commandment

Good Morning

Mat 22:37-40
Jesus said unto him,
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it,
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
On these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets.

Matthew 22:38, from Clarke’s Commentary

This is the first and great commandment –
It is so,

1. In its antiquity, being as old as the world, and engraven originally on our very nature.

2. In dignity; as directly and immediately proceeding front and referring to God.

3. In excellence; being the commandment of the new covenant, and the very spirit of the Divine adoption.

4. In justice; because it alone renders to God his due, prefers him before all things, and secures to him his proper rank in relation to them.

5. In sufficiency; being in itself capable of making men holy in this life, and happy in the other.

6. In fruitfulness; because it is the root of all commandments, and the fulfilling of the law.

7. In virtue and efficacy; because by this alone God reigns in the heart of man, and man is united to God.

8. In extent; leaving nothing to the creature, which it does not refer to the Creator.

9. In necessity; being absolutely indispensable.

10. In duration; being ever to be continued on earth, and never to be discontinued in heaven.

Every need of proof, every reason of proof supplied.
God’s Word is steadfast and sure.

Psalms 18:30
As for God, his way is perfect:
the word of the LORD is tried:
he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

from Clarke’s
God, his way is perfect –
His conduct is like his nature, absolutely pure.
The word of the Lord is tried –
Literally tried in the fire.
It has stood all tests;
and has never failed those who pleaded it before its author.
He is a buckler –
A sure protection to every simple believing soul.
We cannot believe his word too implicity;
nor trust too confidently in him.

Trusting in the perfect way of God . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on September 18, 2013 at 5:02 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: ,

September 17, Today’s thought-With All my Mind

sept 10 seedling 004

Good Morning

Matthew 22:37-40
Jesus said unto him,
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it,
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets.

Matthew 22:37

Thou shalt love the Lord –
This is a subject of the greatest importance,
and should be well understood,
as our Lord shows that the whole of true religion
is comprised in thus loving God and our neighbor

4. He loves God with all his mind (intellect – διανοια)
who applies himself only to know God, and his holy will:
– who receives with submission, gratitude, and pleasure,
the sacred truths which God has revealed to man:
– who studies no art nor science
but as far as it is necessary for the service of God,
and uses it at all times to promote his glory
– who forms no projects nor designs
but in reference to God and the interests of mankind:
– who banishes from his understanding and memory
every useless, foolish, and dangerous thought,
together with every idea which has any tendency to defile his soul,
or turn it for a moment from the center of eternal repose.
In a word, he who sees God in all things
– thinks of him at all times
– having his mind continually fixed upon God,
acknowledging him in all his ways
– who begins, continues, and ends
all his thoughts, words, and works, to the glory of his name:
– this is the person who loves God
with all his heart, life, strength, and intellect.
He is crucified to the world,
and the world to him:
he lives, yet not he,
but Christ lives in him.
He beholds as in a glass the glory of the Lord,
and is changed into the same image from glory to glory.
Simply and constantly looking unto Jesus,
the author and perfecter of his faith,
he receives continual supplies
of enlightening and sanctifying grace,
and is thus fitted for every good word and work.

And to think God loves me the way I am to love Him.
It is beyond understanding.
All I can pray –
Lord, help be draw evermore nigh unto thee.
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on September 17, 2013 at 10:01 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: ,

September 16, Today’s thought – Love With All My Strength

Matthew 22:37-40
Jesus said unto him,
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it,
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets.

Matthew 22:37

Thou shalt love the Lord –
This is a subject of the greatest importance,
and should be well understood,
as our Lord shows that the whole of true religion
is comprised in thus loving God and our neighbor

3. He loves God with all his strength
(Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27)
who exerts all the powers of his body and soul in the service of God:
– who, for the glory of his Maker,
spares neither labor nor cost –
who sacrifices his time, body, health, ease,
for the honor of God his Divine Master: –
who employs in his service all his goods,
his talents, his power, credit, authority, and influence.

Let your love be strong for the Lord . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Today is Mary’s birthday, born 9 weeks early, in 1968,
weighing in at 3 pounds 6 ounces and 16 inches long.
God spared her life even when I was told
“This one isn’t going to make it”
2010 0227 (48)
Mary has been a joy and comfort to me.

Published in: on September 16, 2013 at 10:25 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags:

September 13, Today’s thought – With All My Life

sept 9 005Little white Chrysanthemums, Black-Eyed Susans,
and Golden Rod transplanted from Grandma Crain’s .

Good Morning

For several weeks now I have been reading and re-reading,
pondering and re-pondering: Matthew 22:37-40

40Jesus said unto him,
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it,
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

I wanted to know what it meant to really love God.
I wanted to know if I really loved God
with all my heart, soul and mind.
I referred to Clarke’s Concordance.

As I continue to read, searching myself,
asking God to search me.

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

To love God is becoming more clear.
Then it dawned on me one morning:
This is how God loves me!
I felt so utterly unworthy of that kind of love, God’s love.

For the next few days I’ll share with you what Clarke wrote;
any scriptures or comments I add will be in a different color ink.
I hope you will take a little time to read the thoughts slowly,
let the wonder of it sink into your heart,
begin to catch a glimpse of real love,
then draw nigh to God, as He draws nigh to you. (James 4:8)

from Clarke’s Commentary:

Matthew 22:37

Thou shalt love the Lord

But what is implied in loving God
with all the heart, soul, mind, strength, etc.,
and when may a man be said to do this?

2. He loves God with all his soul,
or rather, εν ολη τη ψυχη, with all his life,
who is ready to give up life for his sake –
to endure all sorts of torments,
and to be deprived of all kinds of comforts,
rather than dishonor God:
– who employs life with all its comforts,
and conveniences, to glorify God in, by, and through all:
– to whom life and death are nothing,
but as they come from and lead to God,
From this Divine principle sprang the blood of the martyrs,
which became the seed of the Church.
They overcame through the blood of the Lamb,
and loved not their lives unto the death.
See Revelation 12:11.

Am I ready. . . Today?
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on September 13, 2013 at 9:00 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , ,
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »