Monday, September 30, 2013

How He Loves Us!

"Pay attention to what I am telling you,"
Jesus said in Luke 9:44
"Lay these sayings in your ears."
It meant we should listen carefully,
and remember well, for what you are about to hear
is very important."

Jesus said many important things and told parables
so that we would have a picture in our mind's eye 
to help us remember.

One of these parables is about Lazarus and the rich man.
"Lying at the rich man's gate was a poor man named Lazarus, 
covered with sores, 
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps 
that fell from the rich man's table." Luke 16:20 
But even though the rich man KNEW Lazarus,
he did nothing to help.
When both of them died, the rich man who went to hell,
and saw Lazarus in the company of Abraham.
He asked if Lazarus could dip his finger in water
and give him some water.

Abraham said there is a chasm where
no one could go across
and that the rich man had been 
satisfied with all the good things
while Lazarus had nothing 
when they were on earth.

We may say, "I'm not a rich man!"
BUT we ALL have something to share. 
With the poor. With the hungry. 
With the sick. With the lonely. With those in prison. 
With the children begging in the street. 
With those who need encouragement. 
With those who need the Word of God. 
Let us not be like the rich man 
who did not help Lazarus in ANY way!

"I am intensely jealous..." Zechariah 8:1 
We are all beautiful in His sight, or rather, 
He sees how much more beautiful we can become. 
Isn't that the ideal lover- 
that He sees beneath the surface of our frailty, 
our weakness, our failures,and sees 
how wonderful, beautiful we are inside? 
Such is our God who loves us with a jealous love. 

He wants the best for us. 
He does not want us to fall for other gods of this world 
whose empty promises only seek to destroy us! 
His is not a tepid love, a watered down love. 
He is passionate for us. He keeps running after us, chasing after us! 

He woos us with His intensely jealous love! 
Let us listen to Him, remember what He says,
for He will do everything, use any means to bring us closer to Him!

How He loves us!

Thinking of joining The Nester
for her 31 Days Challenge.
Will I be able to complete it?
We'll see!

Every week I choose one wonderful visitor
who leaves a comment
to receive an ATC from me.
I know it takes so much time and effort
to leave a comment
and I appreciate it soooo much!


This week,
Random.org chose
 #19, Marilyn Lamoreux,
who wrote "Pick me! Pick me!"
in her comment!
Unfortunately I'm going to have to google her!
When I click on her name ,
it goes to Yahoo OpenID!

Friday, September 27, 2013

Paint Party Friday: Shake the Nations!

I got this clock for free
from Watson's drugstore
(after buying a lot medicine!)
and decided to change the face.
"Nothing is as far away as a minute ago."
it says.
We can't bring back the past.
It's gone forever!

After the Jews were brought back from 
Babylonian exile and captivity,
they were so excited to build
 the temple and restore it. 
But then they got lazy and ungrateful, 
and for 16 years
they neglected the temple 
and allowed it to fall back into ruin.
They prioritized building THEIR OWN houses.

Then God spoke through Haggai the prophet, 
"Consider your ways! Go deep into the hill country;
bring timber and build the house that I may take
pleasure in it and receive my glory!" Haggai 1:8
Are we like the Jews, forgetting all God has done for us?
Wanting not God's best, but preferring what the world 
tries to pass off as the best for us?

"I will shake all the nations..."Haggai 2:7
A lot of preachers cite this verse
for what will happen at the end times
and say THAT is what is happening now-
earthquakes, severe weather conditions,
terrorism....
Is it a physical shaking?

Or is it like the shaking, the winnowing,
allowing the chaff to separate from the grains of wheat?

What would God want to separate?
The believers from the unbelievers?
The gold from the dross?
Correct teaching from false?
When times are difficult, 
more people turn to God.
I think that is why He will shake the world.
It does not matter if these are the 
end times or not.
For each one of us, there will be an end...
and a new beginning.
I like to think I'm investing for that
new beginning.
And I need to do it now!
Because a minute ago is gone forever
and the future depends
on what I do today!

Every week I choose one wonderful visitor
who leaves a comment
to receive an ATC from me.
I know it takes so much time and effort
to leave a comment
and I appreciate it soooo much!

This week,
Random.org chose
 #43, Connie who is a woman of 
many talents!
She is so creative with her sewing machine
and her guitar


Linking with

Sometimes I put on my best pajamas and
join these wonderful blog parties!!!
So many WONDERFUL blogfriends to discover!