Thankfulness reaches beyond ... to God's gift of love

a gift
received
a gift
given

were you, are you
thankful
appreciative
grateful

Thanks
returned
not from an upright heart
is hypocritical,
presumptuous

Thanks
given, returned
from God's word revealed to you
is humbling

Little
and big.

Thankfulness
returned
in all things
all ways
The minutest details
of daily living
Are you thankful
for what you have

or
are you greedy
for more
and more
and more still

Does thankfulness
only come to you
when you have reached
what you think you deserve

Are you deserving
Are any of us

Do you refuse
to accept ...
is it because
there is something
about the other
you cannot, will not condone

Do you accept a gift
only with plans
to return it
to the giver

Where is your thankfulness
Where is your gratefulness
Who are you
to think you are
more deserving
than any other

Do you forget
from where you came

Do you live
like its only your life
that matters and no one else

Are you dissatisfied
with everything,
everyone

Do you doubt
the sincerity
and question
the love
of another?

Do you not know
Are you not aware
Do you not care
(about)
The gift
that God offers
to you
The gift of salvation
The gift of freedom
of new life
of Life! everlasting

In God's gift
there is only love

God, our creator
The One who is
and always shall be
loved us so much,
even in utter despair
over the choices we make,
He reached out to us
to bring us,
reunite us to Him.
God sent His Son
to die for us,
the ungodly.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:16-17)

Yet,
we refuse to accept,
to believe.

We follow
a road leading nowhere
a tunnel of darkness
The light of true understanding and insight
escapes us.

The gift offered ...
we see only what is
perceived,
our individual thinking
and beliefs.

The syndrome of ...
This is what "I" believe
What another believes
is all fine and good
But this is what "I" believe
and therefore, this is truth.

There is only One Truth
One Way,
not many, not more than One.

It is not
the individual "what we believe,"
but what God says,
God's Truth,
God's love.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

I believe God's word
I accept God's love
I accept His gift
of eternal life
offered me
through His Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
I believe there is only One Truth
One Savior - Jesus
One basic problem with humanity - Sin
One solution - Death

Too late, too late
Too old you think.
Until the moment you have breathed your last
or until Jesus returns,
it is not too late.
Every moment counts.
Act now.
Don't go to your grave
without God's gift of love,
without His peace.

"The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light." (Romans 13:12)

"have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them." (Ephesians 5:11)

Some, many are in the darkness now
and some are among the "used to be"
Those who "were once darkness, but now are light in the Lord, walk as children of light."   (Ephesians 5:8)

"Let us walk properly (decently), as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness; not in licentiousness and lewdness, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts." (Romans 13:13-14)

Thankfulness reaches beyond ...

In remembrance

In remembrance of former colleagues Phyllis Fleming, 75, who died Feb. 18, 2011, and Kathy Alter, 64, who died Feb. 24, 2011, your lives touched many and your passing brings much sadness.

Teach me, revive me, strengthen me, save me

Teach me
the way

Direct me,
my walk
in the path
of Your will,
Your commandments

Revive me
Remind me
Rejuvenate me

Turn me
from worthless things
and toward
Your righteousness

Keep me
firmly planted
in the ways
of You
My precious Lord
and Savior
so shame
in You
and You in me
does not,
is not.

Strengthen me
so my weaknesses
do not overcome me
and I lie distressed,
filled with remorse,
fallen from Your
wondrous love.

Accept me,
Save me,
Deliver me,
Your child
Your daughter.
Do not forsake me
Do not reject me
The stone
which the builders
rejected,
The chief cornerstone --
Your Son
Jesus
I accept
I believe
Accept me God
through Him
who came to save ...
me.

"Let my soul live, and it shall praise You; And let Your judgments help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; Seek your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments." (Psalm 119: 175-176)

Death without the Lord does not bring peace

Oh
woe

To be
lost,
separated
forever
from Him
who came
and lived
among us
who died
for our souls,
for our freedom
from
damnation,
continual torment.

Dead.
No more,
no more.

It is finished.
The Book closed,
clamped shut
at your last breath.

You
the unbeliever
reside
among
the cowardly
the immoral
the murderers
and
sorcerers,
idolaters,
liars
in a place
of
fire and brimstone.
There is no peace.

"I am the Alpha and The Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things and I will be his God  and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone..." (Revelation 21:6-8)

Practice reaps rewards

Practice Practice Practice
"Practice makes perfect"
we've often heard said
from our parents, our teachers.
If you want to get it right,
If you want to be better,
practice first
and then,
practice again.

You cannot wait
until the mood strikes
It may never come
Your "I don't want to"
may become
your famous last words
repeated over and over and over

In every field
every avenue of life
practice is necessary
for us to be
"accomplished."

Even with God
practice
is a necessary
component.
How will we
talk, pray, interact
with Him,
if we don't practice,
work at it.

How will others see Christ
in you
and so,
glorify Him,
if you do not
practice
what He teaches?

The walk of Christ
is our walk as well,
one we must
continually practice
to be
accomplished in Him.

Don't be misled.
Don't let discouragement overcome you.
Don't give up or give in,
but
Persevere.

"Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." (Galatians 6:9)

Could you be the one for whom God still waits?

The uncertainty
of it all
near
nearer than desired
yet
farther than hoped

Coming
All of us
to face it
No escaping.

For some,
a gentle and peaceful
release
For others,
a struggle of emotions
churning within

A looking forward
to eternity
with
our loved ones
and
Jesus,
our Savior

or
a grim matter-of-factness
there is nothing more
Life is ending
It is over
There are no more chapters,
no more
chances ...

or is there?

Could you
be the one
for whom God
still waits ...
to usher you
into His presence
to embrace you
to love you
forever and ever?

Another chance ...
perhaps.
Another chapter
waiting to unfold

Yes.
Life is ending.

So,
why wait!?

Seek Him
while He is near.

"Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the people turn from their wicked deeds. Let them banish from their minds the very thought of doing wrong! Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah 55:6-7, New Living Translation)

Who is the Good One?

The Good One
is not you
Nor me
But God above
The Lord almighty

The Good One
is
King of Kings
Lord of Lords
The I AM
of
yesterday
today
tomorrow

The young ruler
asks
"what good thing
shall I do
that I may 
inherit eternal life?"

There is nothing
good or bad
not one thing
not his works
nor yours
nor mine
Nothing
we could ever
do
will enable us
to achieve
eternal life

It is not
to work for
like buying a house
or car
There is
nothing
we can
accomplish
on our own

But,
we can
accept ...
God's gift.
For it is
His gift
of eternal life
that He gives
to you and me
through
His Son.

Thinking
all you need do
is obey
the Ten Commandments
or
what you deem right
in your
personal thinking
lowers God
from the
honor and glory
He rightfully deserves.

The young ruler asks.
And Jesus,
God's son,
answers.
"Go, 
sell what you have
and give 
to the poor, 
and you 
will have 
treasure in heaven;"

Be obedient
to your Father
in heaven
Seek to do
the Lord's will,
not your own
Hear, see, be open
to what the Lord
instructs you.

The Good One
is not you
is not me.

It is not about
your rights
It is about
what is right.
GOD.

"No one
is good
but One,
that is, God." 

"...with God all things are possible." 

Matthew 19:16-21, 26

Do you live by faith in the Lord Jesus or ....

The Ten Commandments, recorded in Exodus 20:

"And God spoke all these words, saying:  I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. (1) You shall have no other gods before Me. (2) You shall not make for yourself a carved image ... you shall not bow down to them nor serve them... (3) You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, ... (4) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (5) Honor your father and your mother. (6) You shall not murder. (7) You shall not commit adultery. (8) You shall not steal. (9) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (10) You shall not covet your neighbor's house ... i.e., anything that is your neighbor's."


After Moses returned from the mountaintop, where God had spoken to him and given him the Ten Commandments which were chiseled on stone tablets, he spoke to the people --

"Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin." (Exodus 20:20a)

In Romans, the apostle Paul writes,
1:20-21  "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened." 


2:17-20, 21a, 24 "Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest (rely) on the law, and make your boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in law. .... you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? .... For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."


4:13 "For the promise that he (Abraham) would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." 


The law is not what saves us; obedience to the law will not reap rewards of eternity.

It is only our faith in God almighty that saves us, that sets us apart. Our righteousness comes about through faith, not following the law - its every letter.

"And therefore it was accounted ... for righteousness. ... but also for us, ... who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offense, and was raised because of our justification. ... Therefore, having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 4:22, 24-25, 5:1)

Faith in the Lord Jesus is our assurance of everlasting life. Obedience to laws and traditions without faith is not the direction God has shown us, that He wants us to follow.

Paul reiterates to the Galatian believers: "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. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." (Galatians 2:20-21)

And Christ did not die in vain, for God sent Him. God is ALL and we His creation. Who are we to say He is less than He is?

How many people are saved by the law?

None. Zilch. Zero.

The laws are a standard to live by.

"... What does the Lord your God require of you, 

but to fear the Lord your God,

to walk in all His ways

and to love Him,

to serve the Lord your God

with all your heart

and with all your soul

and to keep the commandments

of the Lord 

and His statutes,..."

(Deuteronomy 10:12-13)

"Therefore you shall love the Lord your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always." (Deuteronomy 11:1)

The "seed" promised by God to Abraham is Jesus Christ. The law was a precursor to what was to come. The law was given to the people as a standard to live by because of repeated disobedience to God.  When Jesus came the law was fulfilled.

"Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For  you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ... There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."  (Galatians 3:24-26, 28-29)

And Jesus himself says in Matthew 5:17,  "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." 


The law keeps us confined. Christ sets us free. If we choose jail and live under the confines of rules and regulations and judgments rather than living by faith in He who died for our sins, we are separated from Christ. We cannot have both. We either live under the law ... and ultimately death  or live by faith in the Risen Lord ... and eternal life.


Remember LOVE
"Therefore you shall love the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 11:1)
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Galatians 5:14)

We are at odds with ourselves

We make choices.
God allows.
The promises He makes
are true.
He is forever
faithful.
But us?
We are at odds
with ourselves.
We question.
We see one thing
and yet another
Never the same
it appears.
Our faith is weak.
We falter,
we fail
to keep our eyes
our heart
our mind
on Him
who knows us
beginning
to
end.

Cathy Orrick Luders 

2.7.2011

When the day is over

Tonight my husband and I watched "Spencer's Mountain," a precursor of "Walton's Mountain." When the patriarch of the family dies, the song, "When the day is over," was sung as the casket was being carried to its final resting place. It was an interesting song ....

Are we One with (or against) the Father?

Conscienceness came into being the moment Adam and Eve realized they did wrong and attempted to hide from their sin and from God.

Sin separates us from God. Our conscience, our realizing we did something wrong, and our attempt to run from it, is the result of sin.

We didn't have a conscience before sin entered the picture. We were complete and whole, one with the Father.

BUT ...

The darkness of the world - Satan utilized the serpent to cast doubt on God to His created beings, Adam and Eve. "Had God indeed said...?" (Genesis 3:1)

Their thinking led to their choosing against God and His commandments and unto themselves. It resulted in sin. It brought about conscienceness - shame before God, justification for acts done or not done.

Mankind was doomed. Mankind had fallen out of God's favor, fallen from God's supreme sovereignty, fallen into darkness, a deep dark hole of separation. Mankind listened to another of God's creatures, preferring to follow the physical desires they had over the commandments given them by their Creator.

It is more than disobedience. We do not accept our individual blame, we pass it off to someone else. We run, go into hiding, fearful of facing the very one we should face. We do not seek forgiveness.

He gave us life and we want more?!

Because of this separation, mankind was no longer one with the Father, no longer dwelling with Him. That is not to say none followed after the Lord, for some did and some do. When sin entered in, however, God's wrath was kindled and the curse He doled out to Adam and Eve and the serpent fell to all future generations as well.

"So the Lord God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."

"To the woman He said: I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you."

"Then to Adam He said, Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it, Cursed isthe ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles itshall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. In thesweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return." (Genesis 3:14-19)

It was God's  grace, God's love that brought us into being. His love that provided food and water. His love that gave us instructions, guidance. His love that brought man and woman together. His love that we trampled on, disobeyed, ignored. His love we chose to forgo for something different. The Lord gave and gave and gives still and instructs us, guides us in His purpose for us, which ultimately is to praise and glorify Him.

When we follow, listen to opinions, abiding there instead of with the Father, when we listen to our conscience we tend to hear negativity and our actions are based on what we perceive, however right or wrong they may be.

God's  love. God's  grace. God's  curse.

BUT...

God's grace, His love, toward us all was extended when He sent His Son into the world.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

When we believe and accept that Jesus came and lived among us, walked and taught, went to the cross of Calvary bearing our sins, died for us, was buried and after three days, was resurrected, when we believe, when our faith, however small, takes precedent over all else, the wide gulf of separation with God the Father, handed down since the beginning of human sin, is no more.

Jesus' death and resurrection and our faith thereof  bridges the gap. And we are once again One with the Father and with the Son and with the Holy Spirit.

We are One. We dwell with Him. Our faith has made us whole and complete with the One who is and was and is to come.

And we are at peace.

God's Rest

I have been confused by the true meaning of God's rest. I understand He rested after completion of His work.

"And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done and He rested ... Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made." (Genesis 2:2-3)

He blessed the seventh day because His work of creation was finished. He sanctified it - doesn't that mean set apart?

God's Rest came to be known as the Sabbath in Hebrew/Jewish circles. The name implies cessation from normal activities.

What I find hard to grasp is our rest, our Sabbath. Is it a day of our personal whims and desires or a day of worshiping the True God, our creator?

The Jewish Sabbath is a holy day, a day of rest for man and beast, commemorating God's rest after the work of creation. It is one of the Ten Commandments God gave to Moses for His people.

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." (Exodus 20:8-11)

The Hebrew Sabbath is on a Saturday, their seventh day. The Christian Sabbath is on a Sunday.
It seems to me God's rest is any day and every day.

"Six days you shall labor ... but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God." (verses 9-10)

Who determined God's first day of creation was a Sunday or that the seventh day, the day of rest, the Sabbath, was a Saturday? Which six days do you labor? Is it Sunday through Friday ... Monday through Saturday?

"God saw ... God divided ... God called ... so the evening and the morning were the first day." (Genesis 1:4-5)

There are no strict dates.

God blessed the seventh day. He sanctified it. When He gave Moses the Ten Commandments, regarding the Sabbath, He said, "Remember to keep it holy."

Remember to keep it holy.

Do we remember God's command? Do we obey or are we following a "must do" set of rules that we think will get us to a higher plain? We are all equal in the sight of God. Not one of us is better or greater than another.

A day of rest, not relaxation, a day of rejuvenation, refreshment, a regrouping of our souls within, a day of remembering, commemorating the Lord and all He has done, is doing and will do for now and forever.

God's rest is a result of being one with Him, a personal relationship, one-on-one with He who was and is and is to come. God's rest comes to those who believe and accept, who profess faith in His Son whom He sent - Jesus.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:16-17)

God's rest comes to those who give, surrender their whole life to Him, who rely completely on His promises, who do not turn from Him and do their own thing. God's rest comes solely by faith.

"Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, proved Me, and saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways. So I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest." (Hebrews 3:8-11)

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." (Galatians 5:1)

IF "you have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace." (Galatians 5:4)

If you do not believe in Him
If you are disobedient to Him
If you walk a path away from Him

The covenant promise of God's rest will not come to you.

Without faith there is no rest, no peace.

With it, we are blessed beyond more than we deserve.