II Corinthians 13:4

Although he died on the cross in weakness, he now lives by the mighty power of God. We, too, are weak, but we live in him and have God's power –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luke 17:19

And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Psalm 147

14 He keeps the peace at your borders, he puts the best bread on your tables. 15 He launches his promises earthward-- how swift and sure they come! 16 He spreads snow like a white fleece, he scatters frost like ashes,17 He broadcasts the hail like birdseed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isaiah 25:1

O LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For You have worked wonders, Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness

Dot Dot

Quinswayla came to Bible School. She listened. She learned.  The children were asked to learn memory verses.  Quinswayla eagerly raised her hand to quote the verse each day. One verse was John 14:19 Because I live, you also shall live.  When asked where it was found Quinswayla said, “John 14 dot dot 19.”   None of the children noticed her added dot dots to the quote, but I did.  I was amazed a young girl who most likely had never leaned a verse before, most likely had never been to “church.”  put forth the extra effort to learn the verse exactly as it appeared. She was careful not to add to or take away from.  How often do we “seasoned” Christians put forth an extra effort to quote God’s Word, or do God’s work exactly like He wants it said or done?  Of course I know God didn’t put the dots in John 14:19, man did, but Quinswayla didn’t know that. She just knew God, His Word, learning it, quoting it, was not to be taken lightly. She put forth her very best effort for God.  Because He lives, because He died a cruel death and rose to new life, we also shall live for all eternity: dot dot we should put forth our best effort for Him

 

The Real Thing

In 1969, Coca-Cola began the ad campaign,   "It's the Real Thing."  Advertising surveys identify it as the best commercial of all times.   Even Christian marketers profited from the ads with T-shirts and other products, replacing the word, “Coke” with Jesus as the Real Thing, Today another product has an ad reminiscent of the real thing commercials. Splenda, no calorie sweetener gets its sweetness from sucralose which is made from real sugar.  Their real slogan is “Tastes like real sugar.”  So, even though Splenda doesn’t claim to be the “Real Thing,”   it does contain a splendid thing we in the real world refer to as sugar.  In today’s society real things are often replaced with other things which are almost as good.  As Christians we sometime unknowingly do this.  We sometime come to depend on others who are definitely made by, and with, and contain the real thing, which is Jesus.   However, Jesus cannot be replaced by a person.  He alone replaces evil with good. He replaces confusion with peace.   He replaces emptiness with wholeness   He is the best. He alone ever so sweetly really saves, heals and delivers.

 

 

Simple Truths

In Mississippi July is hot.  Simple truth:  August will most likely be even hotter.  The best way to stay cool in Mississippi is to STAY INSIDE. Coolness brings to mind ice cubes, icy pops, and ice cream. Is the word ice inside the Bible?  Yes, it is.  Job 6 speaks of melting ice in streams being as unreliable as a friend who judges. Simple truth: Judge not. Job 38 speaks of icy frost appearing. Simple truth: God created everything. Psalm 147 speaks of God scattering icy hail like birdseed. Simple truth: Our strong powerful God is in control of everything.  As we simply accept the July heat in Mississippi and sit inside to stay icy cool, we can consider these simple truths.   Judge not.  God created everything and everyone, even those who we sometimes judge. He is in control of every situation. Also, to be considered is this, a simple way to avoid a place much hotter than Mississippi is to STAY INSIDE of our strong powerful Creator’s Word. It contains the TRUTH which leads to everlasting life.

 

 

To Do List

Sitting outside on the first morning of summer vacation, a young girl made plans. Summer would be short and she wanted to make the most of it. She made a list of each thing she wanted to do.  Every day she crossed things from the list.  At the end of the summer the young girl was pleased to have a list with a lot of things crossed off.  When the girl was older she remembered that summer and the list. She remembered making it and crossing things off, but could only vaguely remember what the crossed off things she accomplished actually were.  When we are young we make plans. We even make a few to do lists along the way.   Life here is short and we want to make the most of it.   Are the things we are crossing off making a lasting impact in our lives or in anyone’s? At the end of our lives we don’t want to simply have a list with a lot of things crossed off.   God has a plan, who knows, perhaps even a list, for each of our lives.  How many things would He be able to cross from the list which we have accomplished for Him? Life here is short.