We all need “a push,” a friend, from time to time in our lives; that friend can be the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit gives us the power, the strength, and the hope to climb any mountain, to ford any river, or to put one foot in front of the other in any difficult journey we are on. The Holy Spirit is the energy behind our creation and the faith to be born again. When you confess your…..
Standing in the pulpit of the Presidents’ Church, the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, in Washington, D.C., the Rev. Peter Marshall began to feel the affects of a heart attack. Fearing that the attack had weakened the heart of one of America’s finest ministers, his doctor recommended a six-month leave of absence from his duties, but Peter went back to his pulpit after only a few weeks. Believing that God had given him a powerful voice to speak out against…..
“A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” (Proverbs 17:17 KJV) 2. “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44 KJV) 3. “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report;…..
O God, Thou art my faithful God from which flows the truth. Nothing exists without You from whom all gifts come. Grant me good health and may I have a guilt-free conscience. Give me the strength to do with a willing heart what You command. Help me to fulfill my calling with all my might and soul. Grant me a heart and lips to say only consecrated words. Guard my speech with Your love and respect. Give me Your Truth…..
The world is a beautiful place, if only there weren’t so many problems. There still are good people around us, people whose love and forgiving grace is for all people, not just themselves. With health, political, economic, unstable relationships, and emotional issues and natural disasters, we yearn for Christ to shine in our hearts, to be the light we so desperately need to defeat the darkness that encroaches on our lives. We need the rain to quench out thirsts, but…..
Jesus told a parable about a sower (God), his seed (the Word), and the receiver of the seed (Us). The seed represented four different types of people in our world. The seed represented an individual who fell on the roadside. That person heard the Word but did not understand it. The evil one grabbed what had fallen and absorbed their soul. The seed represented some people who heard the Words, were interested in it but did not stick with it. …..
Matthew 3:13-17 (KJV) “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto…..
As we speak Christ’s truths in love, we grow in every aspect of our bodies towards the body of Christ, who is the head of the Church. When we say “good-bye” to 2022, we need to let go of shame, fear, hopelessness, hatred, anxiety, or anything else that has troubled us and put on the mantel of God’s truth. When we speak to others about God’s love and all He does for us, God longs to enter our hearts so…..
Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday, Jesus! Sounds of instruments playing in past years ring throughout my blessed home and bring so many memories of family, friends, and beautiful shared events back to my heart. In the solitudes of Dan Gibson’s, “Christmas Classics,” CD with nature sounds, I am home where every bird singing is a child’s gleeful voice, every sound of ocean waves is my mother hovering around us as we open our gifts, and every sound of a choir…..
It is Christmas Eve morning, and we certainly have a white Christmas. In fact, it is so cold that my cable TV froze, the internet cable froze throughout the area, and my ADT doorbell froze, too. The weatherman said it will be -25 degrees today, with winds up to 30 to 50 miles per hour. I’ve been reading two books about the Battle of the Bulge, Christmas, 1944 and the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, Korea in 1951. I now know…..