Well, with spring come changes in the weather! We've seemed to have several storms this spring. Praise the Lord, we've not had any real damage, like some have had. We've had a few power outages with these storms. One storm caused a lot of damage, flooding, and our power was out for 5 hours. Well, that gives you a lot of time to think! And as I watched the storm out the window, I noticed the trees. For the most part as the winds blew harder and harder, the trees swayed and bent, but were okay. Some would nearly break in two, but they survived. After the storm was over the yards and roads were covered with broken dead tree limbs.
You know me and my spiritual eye..........I began to ponder on what I saw. You know, that's how it is spiritually, too. If you are not firmly grounded in Christ, if you are not rooted in His Word, if you are not alive in Him.........then, you better watch out when the winds begin to blow. The storm hits and all the deadwood starts falling out of the trees. They are dry, brittle, ugly tree limbs. Have you ever noticed a poor old dry, dead christian? There's not an ounce of joy in their soul, their all brittle, and dried up! The whole tree can be so full and green, but then you notice that dead limb sticking out like a sore thumb! Same way with a backslidden saint! They get critical and sour towards everyone and everything. Your church may be on fire for God, all full and green........but that backslidden christian will stick out like a sore thumb.
Oh, they may look like they belong. Those dead limbs, before the storm, even though they are noticeably different, they still seem to fit into the tree........and some are so well hidden that you don't even know they are there.........until the storm hits! The wind blows, the rains beat down.......and the first to go is any deadwood! The tree may take a beating, and in the worst, darkest part of the storm, it may even look as though it will break! But, let the storm subside, the tree may look wary for a while, but just hold on. Let the sun come back out, and warm the air, and that tree will perk right back up, and be more beautiful than before!
The church is the same way..........let a storm brew, and the first to go are those deadwood christians! The church may look battered at first, after the storm..........but when the 'S-O-N' begins to shine...........the church will look full and green.........more beautiful than before!
My point is this..........don't be a deadwood christian! It can happen to any of us! In fact, the devil works night and day trying to get you to quit, sit down, and dry up on God! There will be storms that come up all through our lives.............be ready for them. Stay alive, keep reading His word, praying daily.............when the storms start to blow, you may get tossed around, you may even bend to the point of breaking.............but the Son will shine, and you will be better than you were before the storm! When that critical spirit starts to creep in to your heart, when you've been too busy to read your Bible or pray, when jealousy raises its ugly head..........get those shears out and do some pruning!!! If not, you will soon spiritually die, and the first storm that comes, and you will be dry and brittle, and before you know it, you'll be lying on the ground, destroyed!
The Holy Spirit is to our soul like sap is to the tree..........it is our spiritual life's blood! Keep exercising your faith! You'll keep your peace and joy, and like those healthy limbs and leaves, you'll be healthy and green.........and ready for whatever storm that comes your way because the Spirit is living in you!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Jiminy Cricket Didn't Know a Christian's Heart!
Have you ever watched Pinocchio? I'm sure everyone has....several times. It is a cute movie, and has a good moral lesson. Remember Jiminy Cricket's song, "Give a Little Whistle"? 'When you get in trouble and you don't know right from wrong, give a little whistle! Give a little whistle! When you meet temptation and the urge is very strong Give a little whistle! Give a little whistle! Not just a little squeak, pucker up and blow and if your whistle's weak, yell, "Jiminy Cricket!" Right! Take the straight and narrow path and if you start to slide, Give a little whistle! Give a little whistle! And always let your conscience be your guide.'
There's nothing wrong with that song, it has good moral value. But we Christians have a far better song, don't we? Psalm 36 gives a view of the human heart. Verses 1-4 tell us how wicked the heart of man is. How man flatters himself in his own eyes, how his words are wickedness and deceit, and how he even lies in his bed and plans the evil he is to do the next day! The rest of the chapter describes our Lord, how merciful and what lovingkindness He bestowes on us. He protects us under the shadow of His wings! And yet the world still rejects Him!
Jeremiah 17:9 says," The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked (incurably sick); who can know it?" Matthew 15:19 says, "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies" There is nothing good in the flesh, nothing at all. Because our heart is naturally wicked, then we must never let our conscience be our guide. We must always, let the Holy Spirit be our guide!
Jiminy could only sing about the 'carnal' side of life. It doesn't matter how 'good' we try to be, our heart is wicked. Yes we are to take the straight and narrow path, and we are guaranteed that we are going to slide...............but, as christians (Christ-like), as children of God........we've got something so much better to rely on than our conscience! Our conscience is still connected to our carnal heart, and it may lead us wrong. Christians have something Holy, pure........something incapable of sinning..............the Holy Spirit! Jesus will never lead us down the wrong path. He will never forsake us or leave us. We don't even have to whistle, He is always there!
I'm so thankful that I don't have to rely on anything in me to get me through the day. The Holy Spirit will guide my path...............I've just got to be sensitive to Him, and listen!!!
There's nothing wrong with that song, it has good moral value. But we Christians have a far better song, don't we? Psalm 36 gives a view of the human heart. Verses 1-4 tell us how wicked the heart of man is. How man flatters himself in his own eyes, how his words are wickedness and deceit, and how he even lies in his bed and plans the evil he is to do the next day! The rest of the chapter describes our Lord, how merciful and what lovingkindness He bestowes on us. He protects us under the shadow of His wings! And yet the world still rejects Him!
Jeremiah 17:9 says," The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked (incurably sick); who can know it?" Matthew 15:19 says, "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies" There is nothing good in the flesh, nothing at all. Because our heart is naturally wicked, then we must never let our conscience be our guide. We must always, let the Holy Spirit be our guide!
Jiminy could only sing about the 'carnal' side of life. It doesn't matter how 'good' we try to be, our heart is wicked. Yes we are to take the straight and narrow path, and we are guaranteed that we are going to slide...............but, as christians (Christ-like), as children of God........we've got something so much better to rely on than our conscience! Our conscience is still connected to our carnal heart, and it may lead us wrong. Christians have something Holy, pure........something incapable of sinning..............the Holy Spirit! Jesus will never lead us down the wrong path. He will never forsake us or leave us. We don't even have to whistle, He is always there!
I'm so thankful that I don't have to rely on anything in me to get me through the day. The Holy Spirit will guide my path...............I've just got to be sensitive to Him, and listen!!!
Salvation is like Alka Seltzer!
My husband's 'cure-all' drug is Alka Seltzer Cold Plus medicine. If he has the sniffles, or the flu, he needs his Alka Seltzer! I think it's the fizzy noise that makes him feel better! Bear with me for a minute, it may sound as though I am jumping around, but it will all come together, I promise! I have a coworker, whom I love dearly, but I also feel sad for her. She is a wonderful person, and loves the Lord with all of her heart. She just has one problem...............she believes that you can lose your salvation! What a horrible way to have to live!!! Everytime I see her, she asks me to pray for someone in her family who has done something wrong, and therefore is now going to Hell again. What a tormented way to believe!!!!
Okay, so here's how I tie those 2 stories together. One night while making my husband an Alka Seltzer, I watched those two disks dissolving into the water.........and it hit me...........salvation is like Alka Seltzer!!!!! Once Jesus Christ comes into your heart......He's there to stay!! When I put those 2 alka seltzer's into the water, they start to immediately dissolve. They change the water in that glass forever! You CANNOT pour the water out of the glass without the alka seltzer going with it. Neither can you pour the alka seltzer out of the glass without the water going with it! It becomes ONE thing! It can NO longer be just water, or just alka seltzer! Oh what a blessing!!! I got the 'holy' chill bumps right there in my little ole kitchen.....................and over alka seltzer nonetheless!!! What a blessed assurance to know that once saved.........ALWAYS saved. Jesus and I can never be separated! The moment I got saved, it changed me and I can never again be lost!! Hebrews chapter 6 is Biblical proof of our eternal salvation! Verses 4-6 say, "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh (again), and put him to an open shame." You are always saved! You can backslide, but you are still saved. Jesus would have to die on the cross again, if you could be lost again!!!
I know this is nothing new to any of you. But it doesn't hurt to get reminded every now and then of what a wonderful Saviour you serve! I pray that one day my coworker will see that if God is great enough to save her...............then He's great enough to keep her!!! So, the next time you fix up a glass of Alka Seltzer for you or a loved one...............watch that 'fizzy' action, and praise God for your salvation, praise God that NO ONE or NOTHING can separate you from your Saviour!!! Boy, they didn't know what they were saying in the commercial was so true, when they sang, "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz.....ohhh, what a relief it is!" It is true RELIEF to know you have ETERNAL salvation!!!!!
Okay, so here's how I tie those 2 stories together. One night while making my husband an Alka Seltzer, I watched those two disks dissolving into the water.........and it hit me...........salvation is like Alka Seltzer!!!!! Once Jesus Christ comes into your heart......He's there to stay!! When I put those 2 alka seltzer's into the water, they start to immediately dissolve. They change the water in that glass forever! You CANNOT pour the water out of the glass without the alka seltzer going with it. Neither can you pour the alka seltzer out of the glass without the water going with it! It becomes ONE thing! It can NO longer be just water, or just alka seltzer! Oh what a blessing!!! I got the 'holy' chill bumps right there in my little ole kitchen.....................and over alka seltzer nonetheless!!! What a blessed assurance to know that once saved.........ALWAYS saved. Jesus and I can never be separated! The moment I got saved, it changed me and I can never again be lost!! Hebrews chapter 6 is Biblical proof of our eternal salvation! Verses 4-6 say, "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh (again), and put him to an open shame." You are always saved! You can backslide, but you are still saved. Jesus would have to die on the cross again, if you could be lost again!!!
I know this is nothing new to any of you. But it doesn't hurt to get reminded every now and then of what a wonderful Saviour you serve! I pray that one day my coworker will see that if God is great enough to save her...............then He's great enough to keep her!!! So, the next time you fix up a glass of Alka Seltzer for you or a loved one...............watch that 'fizzy' action, and praise God for your salvation, praise God that NO ONE or NOTHING can separate you from your Saviour!!! Boy, they didn't know what they were saying in the commercial was so true, when they sang, "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz.....ohhh, what a relief it is!" It is true RELIEF to know you have ETERNAL salvation!!!!!
Let Your Fear Produce Faith
Fear can be a crippling thing....if we let it. Fear can prevent us from doing things, from adventuring out of our comfort zone. If we let fear have control.........we can miss out on a lot! But, if we learn to go to our Father during times of fear, we can gain faith! Psalm 56:3-4 says, "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me." Fear will bring out the faith in your life!! In Psalm 55, David is talking about being betrayed by Ahithopel. Ahitopel had been a dear friend of David's, and he had betrayed him and gone over to Absalom's side. David writes: "For it was not an enemy that reproached me....but it was thou, a man mine, equal, my guide (companion), and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God ..." David is so hurt by Ahithopel's actions. He could see it more if it had been an enemy that had done this, but it was a friend. In vs. 16-17 Davids says, "As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud; and he shall hear my voice." When fear strikes in your life........it will make you pray more!!!
Okay, so here is my newest fear...........my oldest child is 15 yrs. old, and has her learner's permit. It's not that she is a terrible driver........she's a wonderful driver. I am proud of her, and frankly, very impressed. But, let me tell ya........like ole David, I have certainly been praying more! If you are a parent, then you know that with each new phase in your child's life, comes more things to pray about. If you are a parent of a baby or young child, just fasten your seatbelts, honey! Just when you pray through one phase, another one hits with a whole new set of things to pray about!
Kaylea took driver's ed in school before she got her learner's license. She is prepared and knows the rules of the road. But, as we learn throughout life, it is experience that is the real teacher. She could spend years studying all sorts of books about driving, but until she puts it into action, and experiences driving, she will never get any better!
Same with our spiritual walk. We can read the Bible 24 hours a day........and that would be great.........but until we start putting the Bible into action in our lives, we will be weak, inexperienced christians!
Kaylea is fearful when she gets behind the wheel.........and that's a good thing! When you fear something, you respect it, you do your best, you are alert and on top of things! Just don't let fear take control of you, and keep you trapped! Kaylea improves and continues to learn each time she takes my car for 'a spin'. Her fear.........her respect for driving.........is increasing her faith in what she has learned about driving in class and in the books.
Fear the Lord, respect Him enough to read His Word and pray daily. As you do this, then your faith will increase. It's a wonderful cycle. The more you learn of Christ, the more you want to learn of Him!!! Don't let fear push you into the pit of doing nothing, of bullying you out of your relationship with Christ! Put your trust in God and then, you too, can say, "...I will not fear what flesh can do unto me!"
Okay, so here is my newest fear...........my oldest child is 15 yrs. old, and has her learner's permit. It's not that she is a terrible driver........she's a wonderful driver. I am proud of her, and frankly, very impressed. But, let me tell ya........like ole David, I have certainly been praying more! If you are a parent, then you know that with each new phase in your child's life, comes more things to pray about. If you are a parent of a baby or young child, just fasten your seatbelts, honey! Just when you pray through one phase, another one hits with a whole new set of things to pray about!
Kaylea took driver's ed in school before she got her learner's license. She is prepared and knows the rules of the road. But, as we learn throughout life, it is experience that is the real teacher. She could spend years studying all sorts of books about driving, but until she puts it into action, and experiences driving, she will never get any better!
Same with our spiritual walk. We can read the Bible 24 hours a day........and that would be great.........but until we start putting the Bible into action in our lives, we will be weak, inexperienced christians!
Kaylea is fearful when she gets behind the wheel.........and that's a good thing! When you fear something, you respect it, you do your best, you are alert and on top of things! Just don't let fear take control of you, and keep you trapped! Kaylea improves and continues to learn each time she takes my car for 'a spin'. Her fear.........her respect for driving.........is increasing her faith in what she has learned about driving in class and in the books.
Fear the Lord, respect Him enough to read His Word and pray daily. As you do this, then your faith will increase. It's a wonderful cycle. The more you learn of Christ, the more you want to learn of Him!!! Don't let fear push you into the pit of doing nothing, of bullying you out of your relationship with Christ! Put your trust in God and then, you too, can say, "...I will not fear what flesh can do unto me!"
Monday, April 20, 2009
Jesus Is Our Heartbeat
Revelation 3:20 says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup (dine) with him, and he with me." I am so thankful for that day when Jesus knocked on the door of my heart, and I let Him in! What an everlasting, life changing experience!
Now bear with me as I go 'medical' on you, lol.........after all I am a nurse. Early Saturday morning, I was starting my shift at the hospital, as I always do, by getting report on my patients. I have an 82 yr. old woman, who is very alert and frisky, but had been admitted due to possible gallbladder problems, and she also had been passing out. Her daughters had stayed at her bedside. The floor I work on is a cardiac floor, so each patient has a heart monitor on. At 6am, the night shift nurse noted a couple of long pauses in her heartbeat. She checked on her, she was sleeping soundly, but seemed okay. Then the nurse put a call into the doctor. At 6:45 am, she is now giving me report, but the doctor has not called back yet. While I go down the hall to start my assessments, she places another call into the doctor. While I am in her room, she has another cardiac pause.......this time it lasted 24 seconds! Yes, your thinking correctly, that means that her heart did not beat for 24 seconds.........on the heart monitor.......that registers a straight line!!! All the while, my sweet little lady says she's fine, and her daughters tell me they thought she was just resting good. Yeah, too good! I raise the head of her bed, wash her face, and get the doctor on the line!!! He immediately asks for a cardiologist to consult, and we get that doctor on the line. Of course, he orders her to go to the intensive care immediately and get her prepared for an immediate placement of a temporary pacemaker! The patient, as well as her daughters, were shocked with all of this.............as far as looking at her, she looked fine!!! The little lady kept asking why she was being moved to another room, she had no idea about how dire her situation was!
I get her transferred to ICU, and the cardiologist gets there and places a temporary pacemaker on her, and now her heart is beating 83 times per minute, and the monitor is full of those pretty little 'wiggly' lines that we nurses love to see, lol! She is then put on the schedule to have a permanent pacemaker placed (under anesthesia) on Monday morning. She's doing wonderful and as spunky as ever..........not really realizing just how close to death she came.
Well, you know me and my spiritual eye, lol..............I couldn't help but see God all over that one! As far as looking at me before I was saved, I looked fine. I had no obvious signs saying that I was lost and going to hell. Not realizing that I was a heartbeat away from an eternal hell! The world was going on around me with no problems. Just as those daughters were sipping their coffee, talking, and watching the morning news................Mom lay a foot away in a hospital bed with NO heartbeat for 24 seconds..........they had no clue that anything was wrong.
One day, like Revelation 3:20 speaks of.............there was a knock at my door. My 'heart monitor' picked up on something being wrong with my heart! I didn't realize how bad a shape I was in, didn't see my dire situation, but I answered the door. I'm so glad I did! Jesus Christ came into my heart that day and immediately my situation turned around! He became my 'pacemaker'! This old world is temporary, but one day, I'll reach my heavenly home, and live with the 'permanent pacemaker' for all eternity!!!
Now, as far as seeing any sudden changes in this little lady, you couldn't tell any difference. The difference was done on the inside. The heart monitor was the only thing that you could see a change in immediately. But over time, she will gain strength, she won't be passing out anymore, and she'll feel so much better. When I got saved, the world couldn't tell any difference in me.....but if you could monitor my heart, you could see the change..........see that now Jesus was dwelling in me. But over time, as I grew in Christ, I gained strength in Him and you can see a change! I definitely felt better!
Are you having heart trouble today? Maybe it's not noticeable to anyone around you, but your spiritual heartbeat is not beating right. Oh, just answer that door today, He will come in and make you whole! What a wonderful God! It doesn't matter who you are, or what you have or have not done..............it's all about Him, and what He did on that old rugged cross! Let Him in, and He will 'pace' your spiritual heartbeat into a wonderful perfect rhythm that you will never have to worry about it ever stop beating again!!!
Now bear with me as I go 'medical' on you, lol.........after all I am a nurse. Early Saturday morning, I was starting my shift at the hospital, as I always do, by getting report on my patients. I have an 82 yr. old woman, who is very alert and frisky, but had been admitted due to possible gallbladder problems, and she also had been passing out. Her daughters had stayed at her bedside. The floor I work on is a cardiac floor, so each patient has a heart monitor on. At 6am, the night shift nurse noted a couple of long pauses in her heartbeat. She checked on her, she was sleeping soundly, but seemed okay. Then the nurse put a call into the doctor. At 6:45 am, she is now giving me report, but the doctor has not called back yet. While I go down the hall to start my assessments, she places another call into the doctor. While I am in her room, she has another cardiac pause.......this time it lasted 24 seconds! Yes, your thinking correctly, that means that her heart did not beat for 24 seconds.........on the heart monitor.......that registers a straight line!!! All the while, my sweet little lady says she's fine, and her daughters tell me they thought she was just resting good. Yeah, too good! I raise the head of her bed, wash her face, and get the doctor on the line!!! He immediately asks for a cardiologist to consult, and we get that doctor on the line. Of course, he orders her to go to the intensive care immediately and get her prepared for an immediate placement of a temporary pacemaker! The patient, as well as her daughters, were shocked with all of this.............as far as looking at her, she looked fine!!! The little lady kept asking why she was being moved to another room, she had no idea about how dire her situation was!
I get her transferred to ICU, and the cardiologist gets there and places a temporary pacemaker on her, and now her heart is beating 83 times per minute, and the monitor is full of those pretty little 'wiggly' lines that we nurses love to see, lol! She is then put on the schedule to have a permanent pacemaker placed (under anesthesia) on Monday morning. She's doing wonderful and as spunky as ever..........not really realizing just how close to death she came.
Well, you know me and my spiritual eye, lol..............I couldn't help but see God all over that one! As far as looking at me before I was saved, I looked fine. I had no obvious signs saying that I was lost and going to hell. Not realizing that I was a heartbeat away from an eternal hell! The world was going on around me with no problems. Just as those daughters were sipping their coffee, talking, and watching the morning news................Mom lay a foot away in a hospital bed with NO heartbeat for 24 seconds..........they had no clue that anything was wrong.
One day, like Revelation 3:20 speaks of.............there was a knock at my door. My 'heart monitor' picked up on something being wrong with my heart! I didn't realize how bad a shape I was in, didn't see my dire situation, but I answered the door. I'm so glad I did! Jesus Christ came into my heart that day and immediately my situation turned around! He became my 'pacemaker'! This old world is temporary, but one day, I'll reach my heavenly home, and live with the 'permanent pacemaker' for all eternity!!!
Now, as far as seeing any sudden changes in this little lady, you couldn't tell any difference. The difference was done on the inside. The heart monitor was the only thing that you could see a change in immediately. But over time, she will gain strength, she won't be passing out anymore, and she'll feel so much better. When I got saved, the world couldn't tell any difference in me.....but if you could monitor my heart, you could see the change..........see that now Jesus was dwelling in me. But over time, as I grew in Christ, I gained strength in Him and you can see a change! I definitely felt better!
Are you having heart trouble today? Maybe it's not noticeable to anyone around you, but your spiritual heartbeat is not beating right. Oh, just answer that door today, He will come in and make you whole! What a wonderful God! It doesn't matter who you are, or what you have or have not done..............it's all about Him, and what He did on that old rugged cross! Let Him in, and He will 'pace' your spiritual heartbeat into a wonderful perfect rhythm that you will never have to worry about it ever stop beating again!!!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
This Ain't No April Fool's Joke!
April 1st is always full of jokes and pranks.......but it is a place of endearment in my heart. For you see it is my very dearest friend's birthday! I love her dearly. She means more to me than she will ever know. There are not enough words in the english language to describe what I have with her. She is the sister that I never had. We have known each other since the 7th grade. We have so, so many things in common. Today is a very special day, not only because it is her birthday.........but it is her 40th birthday!!! That means that we have known each other for 28 years! We pretty much know everything about each other...........and yet we are still friends, lol! I would do anything for her.........and I know I could call her anytime, for anything. Our friendship has grown with every passing year. She's an awesome lady!
My daily Bible study is now in 1Samuel, it's no coincidence that I am reading about a wonderful friendship between Jonathon and David as I am celebrating my best friend's birthday! Chapter 18 talks about Jonathon and David's bond, the first verse reads "...that the soul of Jonathon than was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathon loved him as his own soul." Because Jonathon loved David so, he made a covenant with him and took his own robe, his garments, his sword, his bow, and his girdle and gave them to David. I'm sure you know the story of how Jonathon protected David from Saul, and helped him many times. What a friendship!!
Proverbs speaks of friendship, in 17:17 it says that "A friend loveth at all times..." A true friend does love at all times. Through these 28 yrs. I've done some unloveable things, but my friend has never once stopped loving me! And of course in chapter 18:24, it says, "A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." You may ask how my friend and I have remained friends all these years. Time has even taken us many miles apart, yet, I feel we are even closer. How can this be?...........it's simple, really, it is the love of Christ working in both of us!
He is the friend of all friends, He is the one that sticketh closer than a brother! We have grown together through and to Christ! The love of Christ that dwells in both our hearts has knit our souls together, like Jonathon and David! I am so thankful to have her in my life! She is a blessing to me, an encouragement, a source of strength and compassion, a constant, a true joy, and always a place of laughter. We have many buddies, pals, in life, but few true friends. I thank God everyday for putting her in my life!
But she would agree.........most of all I am thankful for us both having that relationship with Christ. When I can't be there for her, or she can't come to me.........we always have our Heavenly Father who can be there anytime, anywhere! Do you have that with Jesus? The key to friendships here on earth is this: ask yourself if that person makes you want to be a better christian, do you want to get closer to God when you are around your friend? That is the foundation to our friendship. Jesus Christ is love, you don't know how to love....really love, until Christ lives in your heart!
So today, April 1, 2009, I want to wish Lora Leah Lawson Weaks a very, very Happy 40th Birthday!!! I love you!
My daily Bible study is now in 1Samuel, it's no coincidence that I am reading about a wonderful friendship between Jonathon and David as I am celebrating my best friend's birthday! Chapter 18 talks about Jonathon and David's bond, the first verse reads "...that the soul of Jonathon than was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathon loved him as his own soul." Because Jonathon loved David so, he made a covenant with him and took his own robe, his garments, his sword, his bow, and his girdle and gave them to David. I'm sure you know the story of how Jonathon protected David from Saul, and helped him many times. What a friendship!!
Proverbs speaks of friendship, in 17:17 it says that "A friend loveth at all times..." A true friend does love at all times. Through these 28 yrs. I've done some unloveable things, but my friend has never once stopped loving me! And of course in chapter 18:24, it says, "A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." You may ask how my friend and I have remained friends all these years. Time has even taken us many miles apart, yet, I feel we are even closer. How can this be?...........it's simple, really, it is the love of Christ working in both of us!
He is the friend of all friends, He is the one that sticketh closer than a brother! We have grown together through and to Christ! The love of Christ that dwells in both our hearts has knit our souls together, like Jonathon and David! I am so thankful to have her in my life! She is a blessing to me, an encouragement, a source of strength and compassion, a constant, a true joy, and always a place of laughter. We have many buddies, pals, in life, but few true friends. I thank God everyday for putting her in my life!
But she would agree.........most of all I am thankful for us both having that relationship with Christ. When I can't be there for her, or she can't come to me.........we always have our Heavenly Father who can be there anytime, anywhere! Do you have that with Jesus? The key to friendships here on earth is this: ask yourself if that person makes you want to be a better christian, do you want to get closer to God when you are around your friend? That is the foundation to our friendship. Jesus Christ is love, you don't know how to love....really love, until Christ lives in your heart!
So today, April 1, 2009, I want to wish Lora Leah Lawson Weaks a very, very Happy 40th Birthday!!! I love you!
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