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Posted on 01/01/2024 3:15:48 PM PST by luvie
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Happy, not Haooy. Yikes.
Well, it’s “only” 92 here right now, so it feels pretty good. Hope it’s nice there, too!
Have a Blessed Sunday!
I am going to a family cookout today.
The forecast changed from sunny to some rain in the last 2 days.
Will hope for the best.
😅
I hope you have great weather for your cookout! :-)
Bible in a Year :
A great number of people were brought to the Lord.
On February 5, 2023, Christian Atsu kicked the winning goal for his football (soccer) team in a match in Turkey. A star international player, he learned to play the sport as a kid running barefoot in his home country of Ghana. Christian was a believer in Christ: “Jesus is the best thing that ever happened in my life,” he said. Atsu posted Bible verses on social media, was outspoken about his faith, and put it into action by helping finance a school for orphans.
The day after his winning goal, a devastating earthquake shook the city of Antakya, once the biblical city of Antioch. Christian Atsu’s apartment building collapsed, and he went to be with his Savior.
Two thousand years ago, Antioch was the fountainhead of the early church: “the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch” (Acts 11:26). One apostle, Barnabas, said to be “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit” (v. 24), was instrumental in bringing people to Christ: “a great number of people were brought to the Lord” (v. 24).
We look to the life of Christian Atsu not to idolize him but to see in his example an opportunity. Whatever our circumstance in life, we don’t know when God will take us to be with Him. We do well to ask ourselves how we can be a Barnabas or a Christian Atsu in showing others the love of Christ. That, above all, is the winning goal.
Reflect & Pray
What does it mean to be a Barnabas to others? What opportunities do you have to talk about Jesus?
Dear God, I pray that You’ll give me opportunities to share my faith.
Dear God, I pray that You’ll give me opportunities to share my faith
The rain held off until our drive home.
Had a very nice time, even got a boat ride in.
We were at Lake Geneva, which is in southern Wisconsin.
Relatives have a cottage there.
Been going here about 50 years, so many good memories.
😊
I still have a painting I did of a cottage my family used to rent in the 1960’s.
Wonderful Memories.
Bible in a Year :
If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
The criminal had been apprehended, and the detective asked the perpetrator why he had brazenly attacked someone with so many witnesses present. The response was startling: “I knew they wouldn’t do anything; people never do.” That comment pictures what is called “guilty knowledge”—choosing to ignore a crime even though you know it is being committed.
The apostle James addressed a similar kind of guilty knowledge, saying, “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them” (James 4:17).
Through His great salvation of us, God has designed us to be agents of good in the world. Ephesians 2:10 affirms, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” These good works aren’t the cause of our salvation; rather, they’re the result of our hearts being changed by God’s Holy Spirit taking up residence in our lives. The Spirit even gives us spiritual gifts to equip us to accomplish those things for which God has recreated us (see 1 Corinthians 12:1-11).
As God’s workmanship, let’s yield to His purposes and the empowering of His Spirit so that we can be His instruments for good in a world that desperately needs Him.
Reflect & Pray
Review 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 and read about the spiritual gifts. What gifts has the Spirit given you? How can you exercise them?
Loving God, thank You for the salvation You’ve provided as a free gift of grace. Please give me the courage and wisdom to know how best to serve You and others.
Discover your God-given calling here.
Amen, Rus....
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Happy Manic Monday!
Mosquitoes are nuts around here- so much rain this summer.
Weeding in hot weather plus mosquitoes = nope, not weeding.
😅
Do NOT blame you! Mosquitoes drive me nuts.
We just got a fantastic rain this morning. We’ll have a new crop of mosquitoes here in 3....2....1.........🦟🦟🦟
We have 2 seasons, shovel and swat.
That was an old joke here.
Most years the mosquitoes are not around until sunset, but now they are out all the time.
I think I see a nose print/hole. LOL!
Bible in a Year :
Let’s have a feast and celebrate.
Our former church in Virginia held baptisms in the Rivanna River where often the sunshine is warm, but the water is frigid. After our Sunday service, we’d load into our cars and caravan to a city park where neighbors tossed Frisbees and kids mobbed the playground. We were quite a spectacle, traipsing to the river’s edge. Standing in the icy water, I would offer Scripture and immerse those being baptized into this tangible expression of God’s love. As they emerged, soaked to the bone, cheers and clapping erupted. Climbing up the bank, friends and family enveloped the newly baptized in hugs—everyone getting drenched. We had cake, drinks, and snacks. The neighbors watching didn’t always understand what was happening, but they knew it was a celebration.
In Luke 15, Jesus’ story of the prodigal son (vv. 11-32) reveals that it’s cause for celebration whenever someone returns home to God. Anytime someone says yes to God’s invitation, it’s time to party. When the son who’d abandoned his father returned, the father immediately insisted on showering him with a designer robe, a shiny ring, and new shoes. “Bring the fattened calf,” he said. “Let’s have a feast and celebrate” (v. 23). A massive, exuberant party including whoever would join the revelry was a fitting way “to celebrate” (v. 24).
Reflect & Pray
Where have you seen transformation and healing happen? What could celebration in these moments look like?
Dear God, I have much to celebrate, and this joy flows from You and Your work in my life.
my new tagline.. Amen is right!
This was refreshing to read today...
In the middle of such chaos and turmoil, isn't it wonderful that our relationship and HOPE in the Lord NEVER CHANGES!!!!!!
Have a GREAT DAY everyone....
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