Oh, how wonderful is the cleansing power of the blood of our Lord!

Copied, a true story: One night in a church service a young woman felt the tug of God at her heart. She responded to God's call and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. The young woman had a very rough past, involving alcohol, drugs, and prostitution. But, the change in her was evident. As time went on she became a faithful member of the church. She eventually became involved in the ministry, teaching young children. It was not very long until this faithful young woman had caught the eye and heart of the pastor's son. The relationship grew and they began to make wedding plans. This is when the problems began.

You see, about one half of the church did not think that a woman with a past such as hers was suitable for a pastor's son. The church began to argue and fight about the matter. So they decided to have a meeting. As the people made their arguments and tensions increased, the meeting was getting completely out of hand. The young woman became very upset about all the things being brought up about her past. As she began to cry, the pastor's son stood to speak. He could not bear the pain it was causing his wife-to-be. He began to speak and his statement was this:

"My fiancée's past is not what is on trial here. What you are questioning is the ability of the blood of Jesus to wash away sin. Today you have put the blood of Jesus on trial. So, does it wash away sin or not?" The whole church fell silent as they realized that they had been slandering the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise God, the blood DOES wash away all sin!

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((:

-- The minister's little six-year-old girl had been so naughty during the week that her mother decided to give her the worst kind of punishment. She told her she couldn't go to the Sunday School Picnic on Saturday. When the day came, her mother felt she had been too harsh and changed her mind. When she told the little girl she could go to the picnic, the child's reaction was one of gloom and unhappiness. "What's the matter? I thought you'd be glad to go to the picnic." her mother said. "It's too late!" the little girl said. "I've already prayed for rain."

The First Thing To Go? Choosing That Good Part

Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. ―Luke 10:42

Everyone has limitations. A person’s schedule can only get so full. A person can only have a small number of intimate friends. A person can only digest so much information. One person can only assume so much responsibility.

So when a person’s capacity to take anything new has reached its limit, what is the first thing to go? What does a person drop when he finds his hands are full? Most likely, the thing that is most expandable. Or, the thing that means the least to him. Or, the thing that brings him the least satisfaction. Unfortunately, it is usually something spiritual. Man generally neglects the spiritual and clings to the material. It usually goes something like this…

-"I’ve had a hard week. I need a break. I’ll skip church today.” (The first thing to go is church attendance so I can rest.)

-“It’s late and I’m so busy. I’ll study my Bible tomorrow.” (The first thing to go is Bible study so I can be busy doing “more important things.”)

-“This is a great television program (or sporting event). I’ll watch it and pray later.” (The first thing to go is personal devotions so I can be carnal.)

-“Friends (or relatives) are coming over. I need to stay home from church and entertain them.” (The first thing to go is spiritual fellowship with the saints so I can enjoy fleshly amusements with others.)

-“I just cannot handle all these responsibilities. I’ll quit working in the nursery (or the choir, or Sunday School, etc.).”

I like the words of Job, “I have esteemed the words of his mouth MORE than my NECESSARY FOOD” (Job 23:12). Job put the spiritual before the material. Job prioritized his spiritual diet over his physical needs. When a person excuses himself from the preaching of God’s Word at church, is he esteeming God’s Word more that his physical needs? I think not.

Jesus said, “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which ENDURETH unto everlasting life” (John 6:27). Next time your hands are full and something needs to go, don’t drop the thing that is most needful. Remember the lesson of Mary and Martha. Martha was cumbered about with material things. Mary sat and listened to the words of Jesus. She chose “that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42).

What is the first to go in your life when you cannot take on another thing? Is it the spiritual or material? Are you choosing the GOOD PART?

"What I Do"

I do not do what I do
In the hope of receiving blessing

I do not do what I do
In hope that I can change the world

I do not do what I do
In the hope of gaining victory over enemies

I do not do what I do
In hope of praise;



I do what I do
Because of what He has first done for me.

Its me, O Lord

Division is one of Satan’s weapons. Confession is the weapon used to overcome Satan’s weapon. You will note that Jesus did not say 'if you have something against your brother...', He said 'if you remember your brother has something against you go and be reconciled to your brother'. What would keep a person from doing this? The answer is a one-word answer-“pride”- and this was a problem in the church in Corinth and in the twenty-first century church. The Corinthian were letting pride rob them of the gift of peace, and the members in the twenty-first church are letting pride rob them of the gift of peace. ("There is nothing new under the sun")


The gospel that saves is the gospel that humbles, and that humbling gospel is the basis for Christian unity and harmony.


http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/users/kensch/faith/life/divisions.htm

Annie J. Flint

This is a song that the Holy Spirit has impressed upon my heart during these few days... Truly, the more you know God and His Word, the more you yearn to know more! "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" James 4:8a

And what a joyous time of prayer it has been. Truly, He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater!


He Giveth More Grace

He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
-Annie J. Flint


So, i searched the author's name and discovered another poem written by her: What God Hath Promised.


What God Hath Promised
God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

Refrain
But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.
God hath not promised we shall not know
Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear
Many a burden, many a care.

God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain rocky and steep,
Never a river turbid and deep.

Refrain

'Life's Treasure Book' -H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

I've learned that...

...I've never regretted the nice things i've said about people.
"Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another." Rom 12:10

...Children need loving the most when they are the hardest to love.

...If you let your integrity slip just a little, it can have lasting consequences.

...A happy person is not a person with a cetain set of circumstances but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Rom 8:28

...Never ignore evil.
"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Eph 6:11

...The older i get, the more i appreciate the times my parents said no.
"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." Eph 6:1

...A torch loses no heat by lighting a thousand torches.
"Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house." Matt 5:15

...People will remember how you treated them long after they have forgotten what you were wearing.
"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?" Matt 6:25

...I don't need more to be thankful for; I need to be thankful more.
"In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thess 5:18

...If you want your children to be good readers, let them see you read.
"For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you." John 13:15

_______________________________

Get your priorities straight. No one ever said on his deathbed, "Gee, if I'd only spent more time at the office."

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiently, who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming, but who does actually strive to do the deeds, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
-Theodore Roosevelt

Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring and integrity, they think of you.

Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.
-Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe


I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity an obligation; every possession a duty.
I believe in the sacredness of a promise, that a man's word should be as good as his bond; that character- not wealth or power or position- is of supreme worth.
I believe that love is the greatest thing in the world; that it alone can overcome hate; that right can and will triumph over might.
-Excerpts from The Rockfeller Creed


Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men!
Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work will be no miracle, but you shall be the miracle.
-Phillip Brooks

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor...
Rejoice in your hope,
Be patient in tribulation,
Be constant in prayer.
-Rom 12:9-12 (RSV)

Do not consider anything for your interest which makes you break your word, quiet your modesty, or incline you to any practice which will not bear the light or look the world in the face.
-Marcus Aurelius


Love people more than things.

Remember that when you take inventory of the things in life you treasure most, you'll find that none of them was purchased with money.

Do not care overly much for wealth or power or fame, or one day you will meet someone who cares for none of these things, and you will realise how poor you have become.
-Rudyard Kipling

Many of the things you can count, don't count.
Many of the things you can't count, really count.
-Albert Einstein

Cherish your children for what they are, not for what you want them to be.

If we discovered that we had only five minutes left to say all that we wanted to say, every telephone booth would be occupied by people calling other people to stammer tha they loved them.
-Christopher Morley


Let life be your sermon.

A thousand words will not leave so deep an impression as one deed.
-Henrik Ibsen

A reputation for a thousand years may depend upon the conduct of a single moment.
-Ernest Bramah

We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an art but a habit.
-Aristotle

We- all of us, but especially the young- need around us individuals who possess a certain nobility, a language of soul, and qualities of human excellence worth imitating and striving for. Every person knows this, which is why parents are concerned with both the company their children keep and th rold models they choose. Children watch what we do as well as what we say, and if we expect them to take morality seriously, they must see adults taking it seriously.
-William J. Bennett


Remember that no situation is so bad that losing your temper won't make it worse.

Apply this simple rule to your conversations: If you wouldn't write it down and sign it, don't say it.

Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, tolerant with the weak, and forgiving with the wrong. Sometime in your life you will have been all of these.
-Lloyd Shearer

I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heros, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.
-Helen Keller

Last:
Don't forget that what you are thinking about,
you are becoming.

Email Thread: God Exists

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed.
As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation.
They talked about so many things and various subjects.

When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: 'I don't believe that God exists.'

'Why do you say that ?' asked the customer. 'Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist.

Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people?
Would there be abandoned children?

If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain...
I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things.'

The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument.
The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard.
He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber:

'You know what? Barbers do not exist.'

'How can you say that?' asked the surprised barber.

'I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you !'

'No!' the customer exclaimed. 'Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.'

'Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come to me.'

'Exactly !' affirmed the customer. 'That's the point! God, too, DOES exist !

That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world.'