Mistakes Lost!

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Ephesians 1:17

I thought this was so good. I found it in my devotions this morning, from the book, Everyday Blessings, by Max Lucado. "Jesus allows your mistakes to be lost in His perfection." What a wonderful thought! Wow! I am just so struck by this statement. I love this quote!

God's Word

Reading the Bible shouldn't just be a "habit." I know I sometimes find myself at night wondering, "Do I really have to read the Bible?" I should look forward to it. It should be a joy to read--something new and exciting. I should be able to re-read passages and discover new things each time. I need to concentrate more on what the Word is telling me and less on what the world is telling me.

He Will Be With You

Jesus is my best friend.
He picks me up when I am down.
He peacefully says, "Do not frown
For I am with thee."

Jesus is my constant companion.
He will be with me always.
Through good days and bad days,
He will be with me.

Jesus is my healer.
He heals me of sickness.
He heals me of sin.
He will be with me.

Jesus is the Savior.
Accept Him into your heart
And do not from Him dart.
He will be with you.

Just For Fun!

One day, one of my best friends and I were just playing around--dressing really weird, acting goofy, and taking pictures. As you can tell...

"Be joyful always."

I Thessalonians 5:16

Jesus AND PETER walk on the water

Matthew 14:29-31

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.




This Sunday was Harvest Fest/Missions. The guest speaker (one of our former pastors who has been a missionary to Lithuania) talked about Peter. He mentioned that there are two people who have walked on water: Jesus and Peter. Peter is not generally noted for walking on the water, rather he is noted for not (completly) trusting Jesus. However, Peter did walk on the water for awhile. It was only after Peter noticed his surroundings (the crashing waves and how far away the boat was), that Peter began to sink. The Bible says in Matthew 14: 31 that "immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him." In the sermon, it was said that obviously Jesus was very close to Peter if he could just reach out his hand and grab him. In the same way, Jesus will immediately reach out his hand to us when we are in trouble.

Jesus is our escape!

Jesus is our escape! The definition of escape is to free yourself and get away from captivity or confinement. However, escape from sin is quite the opposite. We can not free ourselves from the captivity of sin by ourselves. We need to call on Jesus to escape from it, but once we do this we are free... forever! Isn't it comforting knowing that we have an escape route!?

Church

This may not be the picture that comes to mind when you see the word church. However, for a pastor and his wife it is. Today I was thinking about the persecuted Christians and what lengths they go to go to church. Like I said, this is a picture of a pastor and his wife. They are on their way to church at who knows what time in the morning or night, through mud. Now, we generally don't have to go through mud to get to church, and even if we do, it is generally in a vehicle. I know that I am very tempted to complain about "early" church, but then when I see this picture, I think, "Do you know what? I have it pretty easy!"

Romans 8:31

"...If God is for us, who can be aginst us?" Romans 8:31
"The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Psalm 118:6

Do you know what? Nothing with eternal meaning or value can be against us! The world may be against us, but it is not forever! However, God--who is forever--is with us! There is no reason to fear anything in the world.

Rejoice!

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again; Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4

If Paul has this attitude while in prison, I can certainly have this attitude everyday! We should always have joy in the Lord--not just in the good times, but in the bad times as well!