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Posted on 12/31/2019 7:29:35 PM PST by JustAmy
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One of my favorite verses.
Have a blessed Sunday!
I saw a beautiful HUGE Red-Tailed Hawk the other day. He was eating a squirrel, and wasn’t even perturbed when Penny and I stopped to watch him.
Oh I love hawks. Saw a few while driving this week.
Spotted an eagle’s nest on a drive south of here on Tuesday.
It was empty at the time.
Easy to see the big nest in the bare tree in winter.
Yes...I have seen a few of those big nests.
Good night Kitty Mittens!
Bible in a Year:
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
After several years of drought, the wildfires of Southern California left some residents thinking of them as acts of God. This disturbing impression was reinforced when news sources began referring to one as the Holy Fire. Many unfamiliar with the area didn’t realize it was a reference to the Holy Jim Canyon region. But who was Holy Jim? According to local history, he was a nineteenth-century beekeeper so irreligious and cantankerous that neighbors tagged him with that ironic nickname.
John the Baptist’s reference to a baptism of “the Holy Spirit and fire” also came with its own story and explanation (Luke 3:16). Looking back, he was likely thinking of the kind of Messiah and refining fire foreseen by the prophet Malachi (3:1–3; 4:1). But only after the Spirit of God came like wind and fire on the followers of Jesus did the words of Malachi and John come into focus (Acts 2:1–4).
The fire John predicted wasn’t what was expected. As a true act of God, it came with boldness to proclaim a different kind of Messiah and holy flame. In the Spirit of Jesus, it exposed and consumed our futile human efforts—while making room for the love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control of the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:22–23). Those are the acts of God that He would like to work in us.
How has your life been affected by the work of the Holy Spirit? What does it mean for you to pursue a holy—set apart—life before God?
Father in heaven, please replace our fear of Your Holy Spirit with a love, joy, and peace that is as priceless as our stubborn ways are worthless.
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Yeah...those eyes just SPOKE to me! :-)
Bible in a Year:
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?
I once visited an impoverished neighborhood of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Homes were made of corrugated iron, with electrical wires dangling live above them. There I had the privilege of interviewing families and hearing how churches were helping to combat unemployment, drug use, and crime.
In one alleyway I climbed a rickety ladder to a small room to interview a mother and her son. But just a moment later someone rushed up, saying, “We must leave now.” A machete-wielding gang leader was apparently gathering a mob to ambush us.
We visited a second neighborhood, but there we had no problem. Later I discovered why. As I visited each home, a gang leader stood outside guarding us. It turned out his daughter was being fed and educated by the church, and because believers were standing by her, he stood by us.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus presents a standard of love that’s beyond comparison. This kind of love embraces not just the “worthy” but the undeserving (Matthew 5:43–45), reaching beyond family and friends to touch those who can’t or won’t love us back (vv. 46–47). This is God-sized love (v. 48)—the kind that blesses everyone.
As believers in Santo Domingo live out this love, neighborhoods are starting to change. Tough hearts are warming to their cause. That’s what happens when God-sized love comes to town.
How would you describe the difference between human love and godly love? Who can you bless today who can’t repay you?
Jesus, pour Your love into me so I may pour it out to others—even to those who can’t repay the favor.
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“Messy Room”
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!
Shel Silverstein
A Happy GratiTuesday everyone here at Amy's Place!
Oh boy,that is a good picture to inspire decluttering and cleaning.
Maybe even the dreaded Dusting!
: )
Aw, three cuties all posing so perfectly!
They do seem to like their sweaters.
: )
I am bundled up in one right now! :-)
Happy GratiTuesday!
Sunny and cold here, not bad at all.
Been thinking of/praying for Rush.
One of my favorite people.
He must have millions praying for him.
cheers
It is rather cold and windy here today, but the lovely sunshine makes up for it!
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