Shalom, welcome to October 8^th


><//>--------------------Thought for the Day

There is such a thing as being too loyal to any one church group. Do I feel put out when another church starts up and some members of my church group leave it and branch out into new territory? Or do I send them out with my prayers and my blessings? Do I visit that new offshoot church group and help it along? Or do I sulk in my own tent? The Body of Messiah grows by the starting of new churches all the time. I must realize that it’s a good thing for a large group to split up into smaller ones, even if it means that the large group – my own group becomes smaller.

Am I always ready to help new groups?


><//>--------------------Meditation for the Day

The Dark Places

Yes, Love Me until just to think of Me means joy and rapture. Gladness at the thought of One very near and dear.

   It is the balm for all sorrows, the thought of Me. Healing for all physical, mental, and spiritual ills you can always find in thinking of Me, and speaking to Me.

   Are doubts and fears in your hearts? The think of Me, speak to Me. Instead of those fears and doubts there will flow into your hearts and beings such sweet Joy as is beyond any joy of earth.

   This is unfailing. Never doubt it. Courage. Courage. Courage. Fear nothing. Rejoice even in the darkest places. Rejoice.


><//>--------------------Prayer for the Day

Father, we pray that we may have true tolerance and understanding. We pray that we may keep striving for these difficult things. Amen.


A Disciple’s Reflections:  Power in Gratitude, Strength in Joy

Beloved, allow me to share what comes to mind after considering today's meditation above from the Lord.

I had begun the Atkins Diet. I seem to do very well on this food regimen. You know the one, don’t you? It’s where one has the freedom to eat rather normally, as long as we reduce our intake of carbohydrates (most sugars and flour). I happen to be carbohydrate allergic. I just look at food with any amount of carbohydrates, and they turn directly into fat. I would also become tired and lethargic, which can be often misdiagnosed as depression. It’s a sugar thing.

Tonight I had prepared myself a delicious Roast Beef, nice and pink inside and I enjoyed it immensely. I have some carbo-free snacks in the fridge.  Now all this is well and good, but actually it is not enough. You see, if I don’t find a way to be grateful to God in all my circumstances then in the end I will most probably go off my diet and ruin all my efforts to lose weight. Please allow me to explain further…

Each day get mail from believers all over the world living in circumstances that are driving them to distraction. I often hear I’m fearful over money matters… or “I’m so frustrated with my husband or wife, and the emotional state of these dear folks is all over the place. But rarely is there found gratitude or joy when we are called to experience those difficult crucibles we all experience from time to time.

I can relate to each one of these completely – been there, and done that. But now, we're born-again children of the Living God, under the Hand of His Son, the King of Kings. New rules do apply.

OK, then, how do we produce gratitude, when we don’t feel it, or when we're oppressed and depressed or accused and misused and life seems to be just so much pain.

Well, beloved, here’s a way our God has shown us.  It works, and I would love to share it with you. It’s actually rather simple in its approach.

Let us first get a handle on the meaning of gratitude.

We see, beloved that gratitude like faith pleases God to no end. We know that “…faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Gratitude, like faith, were it to be described by scripture would look a little like this: “ …gratitude is the substance of things promised, and Joy is the evidence of things seen and unseen.”  Gratitude is the actual evidence that we are believing and living by faith that so pleases God.  It's not just an empty thank you.  It is the actual evidence of our faith, that special something that makes us a peculiar people.

The question we must pose to ourselves daily is simply this. Am I continually receiving blessing from the Lord or not?

If the answer is no, this would suggest we should continue on our search for God and some genuine housecleaning may very well be in order.

If the answer be yes, then we should be continually expressing gratitude for all we receive and letting joy be our witness. Yet, we must realize that this is sometimes a work of labor in the face of difficulties.

Just today, a dear sister wrote me a sorrowful letter on her financial difficulties and would I pray for her deliverance. Through her writing I could easily sense her distress.  I wrote her that I would be delighted to pray for her good, and then the Holy Spirit put a word into my heart for her, and for myself. It was a simple one really that touched my heart too. It went, "And Jesus said unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."  God's word has a tendency to put us in our place from time to time.

I have a roof over my head, and a comfortable bed. I was able to enjoy a remarkably delicious dinner tonight, and for all intent and purpose all is well. I have no debt to men, the police aren’t looking for me, and the IRS couldn’t care less about me. Most of all, like my dear sister from the letter this afternoon, our names are written in the Lambs Book of Life. How much is that lottery ticket worth? Then there’s grace. Day after day, new mercies and grace are poured into our lives, and the lives of all believers continually. 

But, then again, there’s that instant forgetter that many of us have built into our heads. The forgetter that sees what we want and don’t have, instead of all that we have. It is then that we should consider the Lord. He had nothing but a rock for a pillow for His wonderful magnificent head, and He did just fine. I’ll bet today He has much more than a rock. After all, His IS our Rock upon which we should lay our heads.. 

It is then we can be grateful right where we are as we rejoice in all we are and have in our Lord, and that Joy, itself, is the witness that He is Risen, and is the King of Kings. Thank you, precious Lord, and praise Your Wonderful Name. 

Let us all join together in spirit in praising Him with our gratitude each day?


Our Weakness, His Strength

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." 
– Galatians 5:1 (NKJV) 

Many people believe that liberty comes from living in a "free" society; like America for instance. But true freedom comes from the privilege of knowing Christ as we are learning in these difficult and dangerous times that are upon us. 

Outside of a relationship with the Lord, everyone is entangled in a yoke of bondage. The Scriptures tell us that we shall hear the truth (the word of God), and knowledge of the truth shall make us free. But many choose to ignore the truth and remain shackled. You see, it just isn't real cool to admit that we need to rely on more than our own human understanding. After all, who wants to be considered weak by one's own peers. 

Sadly, such pressure causes many Christians to live their lives in the flesh. Refusing to change the things that they enjoy the most for fear of rejection from their family, friends or colleagues. And I am speaking of the things that each one of us knows to be wrong in the eyes of God. Believers who house the Holy Spirit of God now know what is right and what is wrong! 

The truth is, many of us in bondage to the "yokes" in our lives. Whether it be alcohol, sex, drugs, food, pornography, money, other people, or whatever; if it does not glorify God and edify man spiritually, then it is a vain pursuit. Handcuffs that prevent us from being all that God would have us to be must be removed. And God wants for all His children to be free. Free from the slavery that binds all who choose to be bound. 

Sure, we may not be a servant to some earthly master, but rather, many of us are in bondage to the things which, in the final analysis, are only temporary and fleeting. We have been called to liberty, not as an opportunity for the flesh, but to serve one another through love. Today, may we seek the true liberty that can only come from a love for one another and for the Lord. It is a gift from God that will set us truly free! 

"For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." – Galatians 5:13


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Please have a blessed day, be hopeful, be encouraged, and know you are not alone.

“God Calling” compiled by A. J. Russell.
"Twenty-Four Hours A Day" Hazelton – adapted.
Greg Candelaria writes Our Weakness, His Strength.
Barry Gray writes A Disciple’s Reflections.