Good Morning To Amy's Place

We Wear Red On Friday To Support Our Troops
Wishing You A Blessed Beautiful Weekend

Happy Friday!

Have a WONDERFUL Weekend! :-)

((((HUGS))))

ML/LTOS

Well. a Scots Dog.

Would a Scots Dog work Pro Bone-O?

:-)

NO! Whale’s the Clan of that Tartan?

Too darn cute!!! :)

Chris DeBurgh~The Lady In Red

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That Famous Smile

November 4, 2017

The prospect of the righteous is joy. Proverbs 10:28

After my wife and I had the privilege of visiting the Louvre in Paris, I called our eleven-year-old granddaughter Addie on the phone. When I mentioned seeing da Vinci’s famous painting Mona Lisa, Addie asked, “Is she smiling?”

Isn’t that the big question surrounding this painting? More than 600 years after Leonardo captured this subject in oil, we still don’t know if the lady was smiling or not. Though enraptured by the painting’s beauty, we are unsure about Mona Lisa’s demeanor.

The “smile” is part of the intrigue of the painting. But how important is this anyway? Is smiling something the Bible mentions? In reality, the word appears less than five times in Scripture, and never as something we are told to do. However, the Bible does suggest for us an attitude that leads to smiles—and that is the word joy. Nearly 250 times we read about joy: “My heart leaps for joy,” David says as he thinks about the Lord (Ps. 28:7). We are to “sing joyfully to the Lord” (Ps. 33:1); God’s statutes are “the joy of [our] heart” (119:111); and we are “filled with joy” because “the Lord has done great things for us” (126:3).

Clearly, the joy God provides through everything He has done for us can bring a smile to our face.

You are a good Father, dear God, and You do make us smile. You provide joy that is beyond what anything the world can offer. Help us show that joy to others by our countenance.

Hope in the heart puts a smile on the face.

INSIGHT

In addition to the Psalms, the New Testament uses joy many times. In Paul’s letters, he spoke often of both his joy and the joy we can experience. In the book of Philippians the apostle mentioned joy to his friends at the church of Philippi six times in only four chapters. As he instructed them, Paul prayed for them with joy (1:4), spoke of the joy of spiritual development (1:25), called on them to give him joy through their unity (2:2), described his hardships in the gospel as a joy to share with them (2:17), and asked that their joy would likewise be shared with him (2:18). In sending helpers to them for their growth in Christ, Paul asked that those mutual friends be received with joy (2:29) and referred to the Philippians themselves as his “joy and crown” (4:1).

It’s interesting to note the repeated emphasis on a joy that is relational. How often are relationships a source of joy for you?

“Autumn...the year's last, loveliest smile."

William Cullen Bryant

Happy Caturday, Dogurday and Bunnyday, everyone!

Happy Caturday~Dogurday
To Amy's Place

Wishing You A Lovely Fall Weekend.
*HUGS*

Happy Caturday!

My Mouse isn't working! Grrrrr! Gotta get a new one.

((((HUGS))))

ML/LTOS

Beautiful cat! Mr. trisham wants to get one of these:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphynx_cat

I’m not sure that it would work with our pack of Ridgebacks and Mini Bull Terrier.

Penny tolerates kittehs, but does not prefer thier company! :-)

Let me IN!
It's too hot out here!
Happy 85° Caturday!

Happy Caturday And Dogurday
To Amy's Place!

Ace walking Sir Winston – 4 November 2017

Clan MacNessa Wishes A Happy
Caturday and Dogurday To All!!!

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Joy and Justice

November 5, 2017

You rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth. Psalm 67:4

At a conference in Asia, I had two eye-opening conversations in the span of a few hours. First, a pastor told of spending eleven years in prison for a wrongful murder conviction before he was cleared. Then, a group of families shared how they had spent a fortune to escape religious persecution in their homeland, only to be betrayed by the very people they had paid to bring about their rescue. Now, after years in a refugee camp, they wonder if they will ever find a home.

In both cases, victimization was compounded by an absence of justice—just one evidence of our world’s brokenness. But this vacuum of justice is not a permanent condition.

Psalm 67 calls on God’s people to make Him known to our hurting world. The result will be joy, not only as a response to God’s love but also because of His justice. “May the nations be glad and sing for joy,” says the psalmist, “for you rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth” (v. 4).

Although the Bible writers understood that “equity” (fairness and justice) is a key component of God’s love, they also knew that it will only be fully realized in the future. Until then, in our world of injustice, we can serve to point others to our God’s divine justice. His coming will see “justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24).

Father, help us to work for Your justice now where we live, even as we await the day when You will make everything right. We long for that day.

INSIGHT

Do you have a special place in your heart for those who are being ignored, misrepresented, or taken advantage of? Psalm 67 expresses such a heart for the whole world. Yet notice where the songwriter begins and ends. He starts by adapting the well-known Aaronic blessing of Israel (Num. 6:24–26). He rightly interprets God’s desire for his own nation when he says, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us” (Ps. 67:1).

God’s heart for Israel, however, isn’t where the song stops. It’s just the beginning. The author of this psalm recognizes God’s purpose in choosing some for the blessing of all (vv. 2–7). From the beginning, God’s promise to bless the descendants of Abraham was not just for the benefit of an undeserving few. God’s plan and vision was far wider. His purpose was that, in a descendant of Abraham, all of the families of the earth would be blessed.

That intent was fulfilled in Jesus. Living and dying to show the love of God for the world (John 3:16), He began by naming twelve disciples to be His personal and chosen witnesses to proclaim the gospel—for the good and blessing of all.

Beautiful devotional, Rus.
I Am So Grateful To You For Our Daily Bread

~Welcome To Sunday At Amy's Place~

"For I know the thoughts I think toward you says the Lord, thoughts of peace... to give you a
future and a hope. And you will seek me, and find me, when you search for me with all your
heart." _ Jeremiah 29: 11-13
~Blessings To All Who Enter Here~

This is so cute, Conor!

Have a Blessed Sunday!

And May Your Week Be Filled With Prosperity, Joy, and Peace.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS