Click on the Fireplace
for Christmas Music
24/7
Merry Christmas!
Posted on 10/31/2019 8:53:22 PM PDT by JustAmy
Wow
love that fireplace!
it is pretty. It sort of mesmerizes me like a real fire does. :)
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Good night kitty!
I am up at 2am, can’t sleep again.
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Bible in a Year:
It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
As a youth, the words of an aunt had shaken this woman to the core. “She’d tell us that we had to do something God would notice,” she told Coles, “or else we’d get lost in the big shuffle!” Worried at the prospect of hell after the “big shuffle” of judgment, this woman had devised ways to “get God’s attention”—going to church so “He’d see me being loyal” and working hard to serve others so God might “hear from others what I was doing.”
I grieved reading her words. How had this dear woman never known that she already had God’s attention? (Matthew 10:30). How had she not heard that Jesus took care of the big shuffle for us, offering freedom from judgment forever? (Romans 8:1). How had she missed that salvation can’t be bought with good deeds but is a gift to anyone who believes? (Ephesians 2:8–9).
Christ’s life, death, and resurrection take care of our future with God and set us free to serve others with joy.
Why is it easy to mistakenly believe you must do good things to be accepted by God? How does understanding the gospel help you to love others better?
God, help me to trust that You’ve done what’s needed for me to be accepted by You.
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Thank you.
Bible in a Year:
Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.
At the BBC in London, Paul Arnold’s first broadcasting job was making “walking sounds” in radio dramas. While actors read from scripts during a walking scene, Paul as stage manager made corresponding sounds with his feet—careful to match his pace to the actor’s voice and spoken lines. The key challenge, he explained, was yielding to the actor in the story, “so the two of us were working together.”
A divine version of such cooperation was sought by the author of Psalm 119, which emphasizes living by the precepts of God’s Word. As Psalm 119:1 says, “Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.” Led this way by God and following His instructions, we can remain pure (v. 9), overcome scorn (v. 22), and escape greed (v. 36). He will enable us to resist sin (v. 61), find godly friends (v. 63), and live in joy (v. 111).
Theologian Charles Bridges commented on verse 133: “When I take therefore a step into the world, let me ask—Is it ordered in God’s word, which exhibits Christ as my perfect example?”
Walking this way, we show the world Jesus. May He help us walk so closely with Him that people glimpse in us our Leader, Friend, and Savior!
How closely do you walk with God? Finding your answer in Psalm 119, identify one key step you can make to follow God more closely. What benefit can you gain?
Dear God, order my steps in the wisdom found in Scripture today, helping me to walk like You.
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Have a good night.
I have insomnia, still up way too late again.
May have to stop having my mid-morning lipton tea that I like so much.
Too sensitive to caffeine.
It’s already Saturday! 12:40am!
Whhhoooooooo stays up half the night....
O’ve had days (and nights) like that!
Bible in a Year:
I will not forget you!
Egged on by my children to prove I’d endured years mastering the basics of piano, I sat down and started playing the C Major scale. Having played very little piano in nearly two decades, I was surprised I remembered! Feeling brave, I proceeded to play seven different scales by heart one right after the other. I was shocked! Years of practicing had imprinted the notes and technique so deeply in my fingers’ “memory” that they instantly knew what to do.
There are some things that can never be forgotten. But God’s love for His children is far more deeply imprinted than any of our fading memories—in fact, God can’t forget them. This is what the Israelites needed to hear when the exile left them feeling abandoned by Him (Isaiah 49:14). His response through Isaiah was unequivocal: “I will not forget you!” (v. 15). God’s promise to care for His people was more certain than a mother’s love for her child.
To assure them of His unchanging love, He gave them a picture of His commitment: “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (v. 16). It’s a beautiful image of God’s constant awareness of His children; their names and faces always before Him.
Still today, we can easily feel overlooked and forgotten. How comforting to remember that we’re “etched” on God’s hands—always remembered, cared for, and loved by our Father.
When have you felt forgotten or abandoned? In what ways has God always been present with you to remind you of His constant love?
Jesus, thank You that I’m never forgotten by You. When I feel abandoned by others, help me to remember and rest in Your never-ending, constant love.
Thank you.
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WEARING RED ON FRIDAY
