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Tuesday Night Prayer (11.10.09)...

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:08:52 GMT

See What’s Right with This Picture

Lord, so often I have prayed for something and didn’t even recognize the answer to my own prayer when I received it, because it did not happen the way I thought it would. Forgive me when I have been ungrateful because of my lack of perception. Help me to see things from Your perspective. Help me to see Your goodness in all things.

This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

-Book of Prayers

(195)

Be Grateful in God for all things.

Heart Prints...

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:11:33 GMT

Whatever our hands touch---
We leave fingerprints!
On walls, on furniture,
On doorknobs, dishes, books,
As we touch we leave our identity.
Oh please where ever I go today,
Help me leave heart prints!
Heart prints of compassion
Of understanding and love.
Heart prints of kindness
and genuine concern.
May my heart touch a lonely neighbor
Or a runaway daughter,
Or an anxious mother,
Or, perhaps, a dear friend!
I shall go out today
To leave heart prints,
And if someone should say
"I felt your touch,"
May that one sense be...
YOUR LOVE

-Unknown

Have you leave your heartprints in someone’s life today?

Family of God...

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:02:26 GMT

Romans 8:29-30

(29) For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. (30) Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Note that a process is moving from stage to stage. The goal of that process is to be conformed to the image of His Son!

The firstborn, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God! Others are to be conformed to His image--they are to be God as well!

When a baby is born, is it any less human than its parents? Certainly, it lacks the age, the experience, and the authority of its parents. It is less developed, its skills are not honed, and it lacks the knowledge the parents have. But is it any less human? No, it is not.

The Greek word for 'firstborn' is prototokos. The Greek prefix, proto, means 'first; earliest; in front; beyond; ahead.' In every case, it indicates others are following. The proto is out in front and others are following. (We use this same Greek prefix in an English word, 'prototype,' the model after which everything that follows it is based.)

Jesus Christ is the prototokos, the firstborn (the root word in prototokos means 'born'--thus, firstborn). He is in front of others who are going to be born. They will be conformed to the image of the One who was firstborn. We can tie to this Colossians 1:18, where Paul says Jesus was '. . . the firstborn [prototokos] from the dead [by a resurrection]. . . .'

The others who follow will follow exactly the same pattern as the One who went first. The archegos (Hebrews 2:10) who passed through all the trials of life, died, and was resurrected as the firstborn of God, into the Family of God (Ephesians 3:15). Behind Him are many sons who will follow exactly the same pattern and be born, by means of a resurrection, into the exact same Family that He was born into. As Christ was transformed and renewed and glorified by the resurrection, so will His younger brethren!

The thought in Hebrews 2:11-12, 17 shows that Jesus Christ, as a human being, fully shared in our human lot. Romans 8 is the reverse side of the coin--that even as Jesus shared our human lot, we will share his godly lot. Even as He was human, we are going to be God! It is a beautiful, clear, awesome picture!

John W. Ritenbaugh

Are you willing to be a part of God's family?

Monday Night Prayer (11.09.09)...

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:14:03 GMT

When I Struggle with Doubt

I worship You, Almighty God, and give You all the glory that is due Your name. I praise You, Lord of heaven and earth, and thank You that with You all things are possible. The things that are impossible with men are possible with You (Luke 18:27). Thank You that You give faith as a gift to those who ask. Because of You, I don’t have to live in doubt. I ask You to increase my faith to believe for bigger and greater things. Help me to always ask in faith, with no doubting. May I never be like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind because I have doubt (James 1:6-8)

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:6-7

-Book of Prayers

(135)

Have faith and hope in God for in Him, all things are possible.

Friendship Seeds...

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:11:01 GMT

Nurturing a friendship is like caring for your garden.
You spread the seeds, you water them and pull out the troublesome weeds. Eventually the seeds take root and your garden grows and flourishes. Come harvest time you find that all the love and care you have shown your garden has produced a bountiful harvest beyond your expectations.

You're never alone, I'm always near,
When your troubled, down or blue.
Pick up the phone or send me a note,
I'm always here for you.
It doesn't matter where I'm at,
It doesn't matter when.
When you need someone to talk to,
I'm here to be your friend.

If you need someone to hold your hand,
or a hug to say I care.
If you need a shoulder to cry on,
for you I will be there.

Never feel you are a burden,
when the weight is too much to bare.
You might find if you look close enough,
a good friend will always be there.

You're never alone, I'm always here,
through the good times and the bad.
I'm always here to be your friend,
I don't like to see you sad.
Each day as we walk through our gardens enjoying the beauty that they provide, we find that there are those special few that need a bit of tender loving care.
This page was created to help spread the Friendships Seed far and near. By using the links below, you may spread some seeds of your own, nurture seeds that have already been planted. Or read how others here are tending to this garden of friendship.

-Unknown

Be a true friend to someone today and make a positive impact in their life.

Grace Upon Grace...

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:05:22 GMT

Galatians 2:17-21

(17) ?But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! (18) For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. (19) For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. (20) I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (21) I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.?
Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Justification is clearly an act of God's grace, because what we deserve from what we have earned—from what we have done, the conduct of our lives—is death. There is none righteous, no not one (Romans 3:10; Psalm 14:1). Since justification, then, cannot be claimed as a right because we have sinned, it must be received as a gift. That fact that it is given makes it an act of grace.

It is not our hanging on to Christ (that is, the keeping of the law) that saves us, but rather Christ hanging on to us. That is, it is not what we do, but it is what He does continuously as acts of grace that saves us, because we deserve death. If we can earn salvation through law-keeping, Paul is saying in verse 21, "then Christ died in vain." If we can earn salvation through law-keeping, then Christ's sinless life and agonizing death were not necessary, because we can do it ourselves.

Justification is not vindication or exoneration. Both of those words connote that a person was right all along, but the true facts were hidden from those who were doing the judging. In some cases with men, vindication is possible because people are judged unrighteously. Their judges are not using righteous judgment.

But God never judges unrighteously! He knows all the facts. He knows our heart. He knows everything about us in every situation that we have ever been in, so He cannot vindicate us because we are not clear of guilt. He cannot exonerate us because we are not innocent. Justification is more than that. It is setting us right or calling us righteous though righteousness does not exist in us.

John W. Ritenbaugh

How pure is your heart conditions?

There Comes A Point When You Realize...

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:53:01 GMT

God blesses and be a blessing to others...

'To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.' When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better.

There comes a point in your life when you realize:
Who matters,
Who never did,
Who won't anymore...
And who always will.
So, don't worry about people from your past,
there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

-Unknown

Amen.

Sunday Night Prayer (11.08.09)...

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:00:22 GMT

Lord, Take Me Deeper in Your Word

Lord, I don’t want to be just a hearer of Your Word. Show me how to be a doer of Your Word as well. Enable me to respond the way I should and obey You. Show me when I am not doing what it says. Help me to apply Words of knowledge (Proverbs 23:12). May Your Word correct my attitude and remind me of what my purpose is on earth. May it cleanse my heart and give me hope that I can rise above my limitations. It is food to my soul, and I can’t live without it. Help me to know You better through Your Word.

Whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 1 John 2:5

-Book of Prayers

(24)

Faith without work is dead. Thus, we must do as well as hear with all of God’s Will for us.

Someone Like You...

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:35:34 GMT

Some one like you makes the heart seem the lighter,
Some one like you makes the day's work worth while,
Some one like you makes the sun shine the brighter,
Some one like you makes a sigh half a smile.

Life's an odd pattern of briers and roses,
Clouds sometimes darken, no sun shining through,
Then the cloud lifts and the sun light discloses
Near to me, dear to me--Some one like you.
Some one like you who stands steadfastly near me,
Knows me and likes me for just what I am,
Some one like you who knows just how to cheer me,
Some one who's real without pretense or shame.

Some one whose fellowship isn't a fetter
Binding my freedom--who's loyal all through,
Some one whose life in this world makes it better,
Blest to me, best to me--Some one like you.

Some one like you who's the same today and tomorrow,
Firm as a rock and square as a die,
Some one who's steadfast in joy or in sorrow,
Some one who's dearer each day that goes by.

Fortune is fickle and hope is deceiving,
Comradeship ends and life changes all through,
There's only one thread that runs all through the weaving,
Fair to me, square to me--Some one like you.

Never a trouble but you help me bear it,
Just by the fellowship you have with me,
Never a joy but I want you to share it,
How far you fare or wherever you be.

Never a burden but you make it lighter
Just by your smile that I see creeping through,
Never a glad hour but you make it brighter,
Heart of me, part of me--Some one like you.

How come the thoughts of you joyously welling
Up like the water of springs bubbling clear,
What a new joy everytime in the telling
Some thing that always I want you to hear.

Roses of June or the snows of December
Gray be the skies or like azure the blue,
Far be the day that I may not remember,
Near to me, dear to me--Some one like you.

-Unknown

Have you found someone like you yet?

Sunday Prayer (11.08.09)...

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:25:03 GMT

Surviving Disappointment

Lord, I know that times of disappointment are inevitable because life can’t always live up to our expectations. But when someone or some situation fails me, or I fail myself, help me to remember to put my expectations in You. Help me to remember that the happiness and fulfillment I experience in life don’t depend on other people or situations, they depend on You. You are all I need in every situation.
When I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me Micah 7:8

-Book of Prayers

(221)

Set your expectations on the Lord and He shall work all things for good.