You Are Something Very Special

 

Saturday, May 19, 2018

"I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well" (Psa. 139:14).

Hey Gang, As I have traversed through this life on earth, I have grown more amazed daily at the magnificence of God's creation, namely me.  I have been amazed with the unlimited capabilities of the control center that God placed in our brains.  I have read, and heard it said many times, that the average person uses but a tiny bit of our capacity.   Have you ever taken a moment or two just to take a deeper look at the center of your electrical system, your brain? 

God placed this magnificent miracle in each and every person whom He created.  You do believe you were created by God even before time began, don't you?  Paul made this clear in his letter to the Colossians: "For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created through Him and for Him" (Col. 1:16).

I woke up this morning with the song "We Shall Behold Him" running through my electrical system.  I wish I could say I always wake up with a song on my heart but that would be an untruth.  But within a few moments the song passed, and the challenges of the day became my focus

Now for the goodie of the day! God also gave us the ability to program our electrical systems to bring honor and glory to our Creator.  I have often used the analogy that we have knobs on the inside of our foreheads that are designed to hang knowledge on so that God can pull out of us when the need should arise. 

Here is a question for you to ponder this morning:  Can God pull out of you knowledge that you never put in?  Oh, I know that God is all powerful and can do as He pleases, but do you think He might depend on you to put into your brain those things that He can pull out? 

I do believe that is what Paul was talking about, in his letter to the Romans, when he wrote: "I urge you, brethren by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God  which is your spiritual service of worship."   That is the principle, now he gives the application "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom. 12:1-2). 

So, good and faithful believers in Yeshua, your task for the day - take a few minutes and hang a new piece of knowledge on one of those knobs in your head so that God can use it to mold you into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Blessings,  

Gramps

Down But Not Out!

 

 Wednesday, May 31, 2017

 “Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy.  Though I fall I will rise; Though I dwell in darkness, the Lord is a light for me.  I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me.  He will bring me out of the light, and I will see His righteousness” (Micah 7 8-8).

 Hey Gang:  Her name was Sheila and she had just gone through a very tough wilderness experience where the alligators had nearly won and she wrote the following when she was at the bottom, trying frantically to get up:

 “I did not understand that God’s most precious gifts come in boxes that make your hands bleed when you open them.  Inside is what you have been looking for all of your life. Only God can do that.  Only His love is as fierce and relentless as our deepest pain and unspoken fears….I longed for rescue, He gave me relationship.  I wanted deliverance, He gave me companionship in the ruins.

 Does that not sound reminiscent of the apostle Paul when he wrote, “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings”.  (Phil. 3:10).

Oswald Chambers prayed, “O Father, pierce a hole in the darkness so that I can behold the face of God.”

 A girl on the Oregon trail, after many hardships, as they trucked to the West wrote, “I have known what it was to believe in God, but now He came so near that I no longer simply believed in Him but knew His presence there…that calm strength, that certainty of One near and all sufficient, hushed, and cheered.”

 “He came so near”.  Words that are echoed in our heart and soul by many of us who have walked the path of pain. 

 We cry out, “Lord, why do you allow bad things to happen to good people?”  And he quietly speaks to the deep recesses of our heart: “So that you can experience my nearness to you and understand how much I love you.  Just some encouragement as you begin this new day in the mission field, (Your home, work and friends and neighbors).  Moses penned these words of assurance for those who love the Lord their God with heart and soul: “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the One who goes with you.  He will not fail you or forsake you” (Deut. 31:6).

  David wrote the following when he was fleeing for his life from Absalom his son: “O Lord, how my adversaries have increased!  Many are rising up against me.  Many are saying of my soul, there is no deliverance for him in God.”  But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head.  I was crying to the Lord with my voice, and He answered me from His Holy Mountain, Selah.

 “You O Lord, are a shield about me!”  Hallelujah!!!  “Come before the Lord with joyful singing.” 

 Blessings,

 Gramps

Remembering Gramps 1933-May 16,2020

 

Friday, May 29, 2020

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we eagerly wait for the Savior, the LORD Jesus Christ.” Philippians 3:20  (Read Revelation 21 & 22).

Hey Gang, For years Gramps was looking heavenward ‘eagerly awaiting the return of His Savior!”  Our plan was to go together in the clouds, but Abba Father had other plans. Did we pray and expect healing miracle? Indeed!!  Did we see many miracles during this last year? Indeed! In our lives and the lives of others and many prayers answered!! Our prayer was always- strength for today and “Thy will be done.”

Our God is very special when we look for Him in every facet of life.  It was our choice to share some morning devotions together. I want to share from one of Kermit’s favorite monthly booklet called Beside Still Waters, a Mennonite publication.  This was from May 20, 2020- the day of our graveside service where we gathered and had a solemn but joyful service, as we said good-bye through tears.

Devotional Title: The Upward, Forward Look

                The Bible account of Abraham gives us an inspiring example of one who looked forward by faith. “For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” (Hebrews 11:10). 

The author spoke of others whose eyes were on the world and pleasures of life, example- Lot’s wife.

                As heaven-bound pilgrims, we need to focus by faith on the unseen, eternal realities and remember the troubles of this life will soon be over, and Heaven Will Be Worth it ALL.  We look forward with joyful anticipation to our eternal home in glory, where we shall “ever be with the Lord”. (Read 2 Corinthians 4: 16-18)

                Keep pressing onward, looking forward, and gazing upward!  (Mark Kropf of Halsey, OR)

Sooooo, Gramps would tell you, young and old: “Set your eyes on Jesus, Do not be deceived” read Matthew 24-25 and II Timothy 3:1-9. Be alert to what Jesus said about the times before His return and LOOK UP!!!!

Blessings,

Gma Jean

In Perilous Times We Especially Need God's Power!

 Tuesday, May 26, 2015

 

God’s Power Principle for Today, “Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” (Is. 41:10). 

Hey Gang:  It is 6:03 am and I have already made ten or twelve decisions.  I decided to get out of bed, fix the fire, put the coffee on, check the weather, turn on the computer, prepare the morning message for today, spend time with the Lord and in the Word, etc. etc.  I am now making decisions on what I will do with the rest of the day – stack wood, shovel snow, finish toys, clean garage, start tractor, ashes out, wood in, feed birds, etc, etc, etc. 

 Will I complete all of these chores?  Probably, because I am a task-oriented chap who does not rest until my list is complete.  But if I had to choose one project from my list of chores for the day, there is no question, I would choose “spend time with the Lord and in the Word”, for all the others are mundane in nature and only time with the Lord and in the Word has eternal significance and equips me for the battles of the day.

 In our work with Voice of Martyrs we are in constant touch with stories of people who live their lives in harm’s way. Many are imprisoned, beaten and even killed for their faith In Yeshua as Lord.  In all of their testimonies they echo the same words of Paul and the other disciples who voiced joy in being worthy to lay down their lives for the Lord. Do not pray for us to be taken out, pray that out testimony will impact our captors for Jesus!

 I often find myself asking the question, “If someone aimed a gun at my head and said, “Give it up or die”, would I stand firm in my commitment to the Lord?  I think most people who are locked into God's power supply would answer "Yes", but I confess, until that day finally comes, I am not really sure.  I do know I would have less problems placing my life on the line for my Lord than having to make a decision for my bride, or child or grand children or great grands.

 I believe in God's principle: put on the armor of God.  As long as we keep all the armor in place -our head covered with the "Helmet of Salvation, the sword of the Spirit in hand, which is the word of God, with prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, and be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints" (Eph. 6:17-18).

 It is when we keep the armor spit polished and in place that we will be "Strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light" (Col. 1:10-11).

 Soooo, good buddies, I believe we would all agree that these are very perilous times (2015) when Satan has turned up the heat and released his minions to do as much damage as possible for he knows his days are very short.  But "The Word of the God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword" (Heb. 4:12).

 Blessings,

Gramps

Are you In Satan's Sifter?

 Monday, April 29, 2013

 

Be sure you read the note from the blogger.com at the bottom

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat:  but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail".  (Luke 22:32)

 Hey Gang:  Note in the Scripture of the day there are two very profound truths:  first, "Satan continually requests permission to sift God's children like wheat", and secondly, when we are being sifted, we sometimes forget, "But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail and you. When you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."  

 I am reminded, on a daily basis, of the words of Hebrews, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven."  And what is he referring to?  "Those things that can be shaken".  Why?  So that those things that cannot be shaken may remain".  (Hebrews 12:27-28). The writer then tacks on the power source for this prophetic set of events , "For our God is a consuming fire"  (v.29).

 When I am sent back to this Scripture pertaining to "God's shaking", I always tack several other verses to the prophecy.    The first,  "And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil"  (Matt. 6:14); and then I go to Paul's words found in his first letter to the Corinthian believers, "No temptation has overtaken you but such is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it"  (I Cor. 10:13). I place great confidence and faith in these verses.

 I am convinced that right now the faith of the body of Christ is under fierce Satanic attack.  In other words, “everything that can be shaken is being shaken.”  Why? I have a theory:  Satan is getting panicky because he is losing his grip on those nations that have been under his total domination for generations.  I am referring to the Muslim and Communist nations that were solidly in his camp.  But something profound is happening in those nations! The fires of revival are running rampant and the rivers are rising faster than Satan and his hordes can reverse the tide.

 In a recent article the author gave startling statistics.  Startling to the Ayatollah and Mullahs was the vast numbers of people who have sought something that filled that chest cavities with joy and something they can sink their teeth into, and found peace and blessings -  Yeshua, the Lord of Glory!     The article went on to say there is growing anxiety among the Ayatollah and Mullahs that, if they cannot stop this movement of God, they are going to lose power and control over these nations. 

 Soooo, in closing this epistle for today, let me ask you a question or two?  God is moving mightily in the Muslim and Communist world.  Even though there are concerned efforts in all of these nations to wipe out anything that pertains to Jesus.  Yet, the underground church is growing like wild-fire in all of these nations.  My question: "Why is it not happening in America? 

 And question number two: if you were Satan and seeing the rapid desertion of his main power block, would you not be getting a wee bit nervous and begin to think about stepping up your campaign to rid the world of all those who have chosen to follow Yeshua as Lord?   Something for you to chew on today. Are you being shaken? Be sure you are firmly grounded in the Word?

Blessings,

Gramps

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