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Twelve Gifts from God | Significance

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Significance  Matthew 18:12-14 -The Voice A shepherd in charge of 100 sheep notices that one of his sheep has gone astray. What do you think he should do? Should the shepherd leave the flock on the hills unguarded to search for the lost sheep? God’s shepherd goes to look for that one lost sheep, 13 and when he finds her, he is happier about her return than he is about the 99 who stayed put. 14 Your Father in heaven does not want a single one of the tripped, waylaid, stumbling little ones to be lost. Monday of Christmas week . Right about now you’ve probably gone down memory lane remembering your childhood Christmases, the family and friends who were part of those memories, and a thousand little memories of this miraculous week of yesteryears. Those memories will make you laugh, cry or shake your head. It’s all in your perspective. I’m going to challenge you to see through God-colored lenses for the rest of the year. Inst

Twelve Gifts from God | Companionship

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Dec. 18, 2013 Companionship   Isaiah 58:11  The Eternal One will never leave you; He will lead you in the way that you should go. When you feel dried up and worthless, God will nourish you and give you strength. And you will grow like a garden lovingly tended; you will be like a spring whose water never runs out. Living a "perfect" or good life without knowing God plunged me into silent desperation, which led to painful loneliness even when I was with a room full of people that I knew well and liked.   – Blanca Velasquez from the post,  Anyone out there lonely ? 

Twelve Gifts from God | PRAYER

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Ephesians 6:18 The Voice PRAYER Pray in the Spirit. Pray about everything in every way you know how! And keeping all this in mind, pray on behalf of God’s people. Keep on praying feverishly, and be on the lookout until evil has been stayed.  Paul knows that the real battles and dangers we face are not against flesh and blood. The enemies we see are real enough, but they are animated by spiritual forces of darkness that stay strategically hidden from view. These powers often reveal themselves in institutional evils—genocide, terror, tyranny, and oppression—but the weapons needed to combat them are not earthly weapons at all. What is needed, Paul advises, is to stand firm in God’s power and to suit up in the full armor of God. Although the devil and his demon armies are destined for destruction, they are serious threats now and must be resisted and beaten back. For Paul, the best offensive weapons we have are the word of God and prayer. Pray always.   - The

Twelve Gifts from God | Faith

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Mark 9:23 The Voice Faith Jesus: What do you mean, “If there’s anything?” All things are possible, if you only believe. Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time. – Oswald Chambers Check back to read The Twelve Gifts of God through Christmas Day. His gifts to us are immeasurable and His love infinite. He is the reason we celebrate Christmas.

Twelve Gifts from God | Purpose

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John 15:4 TLB PURPOSE Take care to live in me, and let me live in you. For a branch can’t produce fruit when severed from the vine. Nor can you be fruitful apart from me. When you fully comprehend that there is more to life than just here and now, and you realize that life is just preparation for eternity, you will begin to live differently. You will start living in the light of eternity, and that will color how you handle every relationship, task, and circumstance. Suddenly, many activities, goals, and even problems that seemed so important will appear trivial, petty, and unworthy of your attention. The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears.  – Pastor Rick Warren from The Purpose Driven Life Check back to read The Twelve Gifts of God through Christmas Day. His gifts to us are immeasurable and His love infinite. He is the reason we celebrate Christmas.

Twelve Gifts from God | Understanding

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Today marks one year since my mother passed into the eternal hands of the Lord. I miss her presence, but I’ll see her again. I wrote the post below on April 7, 2011.  John 11:35 Jesus wept. Those two words –   Jesus wept   -   started my writing ministry several years ago. And, those two words encouraged me today. Just knowing that the Savior of the universe, the Son of God and my precious Jesus wept, comforted my sad heart.   My heart is heavy for my mother who is critically ill. It’s a helpless feeling to see someone we love suffering. Today I started to plunge into deep sadness, and then I remembered that I am connected to a tender and loving God. I recalled how he worked in my Mother’s life during the past difficult week.   I immediately reactivated my faith and asked the Lord to clear my heart – to walk with me in my sadness. As I connected to the Lord, he brought that Scripture to my mind. As I read the story of the death of Lazarus, I realized that it’s oka

Twelve Gifts from God | HOPE

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Psalm 119:114  HOPE You are my hiding place and my shield of protection;  I hope in Your word.  Hope is not what you expect--it's what you would never dream. ~ Max Lucado  Check back to  read The Twelve Gifts of God through Christmas Day. His gifts to us are immeasurable and His love infinite. He is the reason we celebrate Christmas. 

Twelve Gifts from God | Goodness

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Psalm 31:19 TLB Goodness  Oh, how great is your goodness to those who publicly declare that you will rescue them. For you have stored up great blessings for those who trust and reverence you.  We don't see the fingerprints, handprints and footprints of God's goodness around us.    ~ Dr. Charles Stanley  Check back to  read The Twelve Gifts of God through Christmas Day. His gifts to us are immeasurable and His love infinite. He is the reason we celebrate Christmas. 

What happens when you are scattered? John 16:32

John 16:32a Be aware that a time is coming when you will be scattered like seeds. In this Scripture, Jesus warns the Disciples that they will be on their own after he finishes his Earthly mission. He chose these men and spent three years sharing his heart. But it wasn’t meant to be forever. They would have to receive the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the one who would teach them what they needed to know to fulfill God’s plan. This meant that they had to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, to accept His power and the ministries that God planned for each one. Do you depend on others to increase your faith; to be there to remind you that God exists when your world falls apart; or when things are somber?  There’s a place for community and having people pray, but at the end of the day do you go directly to God? Do you have that relationship with the Lord, so that you know He will hold your hand through the fiery trials of life? Do you need the comfort of a church buildi

31 Days of Your Word

Day 1 Peace Psalm 29:11 The Voice  We ask You, Eternal One, to give strength to Your people; Eternal One, bless them with the gift of peace Day 2 What The Lord wants Micah 6:8 NCV The Lord has told you, human, what is good; he has told you what he wants from you: to do what is right to other people, love being kind to others, and live humbly, obeying your God. Day 3 Bless The Lord Praise to the Lord of Love Psalm 103:1 NCV All that I am, praise the Lord; everything in me, praise his holy name. Day 4 He is always there Psalm 121:3-4 TLB He will never let me stumble, slip, or fall. For he is always watching, never sleeping. Day 5 The beauty of heaven Revelation 21:21 The Voice  The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate expertly crafted from a single beautiful pearl. And the city street was pure gold, yet it was as transparent as glass. Day 6 I will not fear Psalm 56:3 CEV but even when I am afraid, I keep on trusting you.

Why God may not go on your journey - Exodus 33:3

Exodus 33 1 The Lord said to Moses, “Lead these people you brought from Egypt to the land I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for I said, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’ 2 I will send an Angel before you to drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 3 It is a land ‘flowing with milk and honey’; but I will not travel among you, for you are a stubborn, unruly people, and I would be tempted to destroy you along the way.” Even the chosen go astray.   God’s chosen people decided that they had had enough. They were tired of the desert experience; they were tired of doing as God commanded, they were tired of waiting for the land of milk and honey so they decided to do life on their own.   These Scriptures are so relevant for our times today. God sets rules. We break them: ·         We say it’s fine for two men or two women to be married ·         We’re fine with redefining marriage and in the process the entire fabric

Open the door.

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Philippians 2:13 (TLB) -  For God is at work within you, helping you want to obey him, and then helping you do what he wants. There was an air of expectancy when I stepped through sacred doors recently.  What is God going to do today?  The thought had briefly crossed my mind earlier in the day. One more door, open one more door. I did.  I  wasn't  disappointed.

The 3 best days of my life - so far. Based on Acts 17:27

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October 19, 2013 Acts 17:27 - Living Bible (TLB) “His purpose in all of this is that they should seek after God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. Since I read a wonderful  post  on Maria Shriver’s blog, this post has been swirling in my brain. While cleaning treasures from my closet this morning, I found one of my many journals.  At that time, I had experienced the second happiest day of my life. Before I write about those days, I must tell you what I know for sure now. May 2, 2006  is the best day of my life. Period. There will be no other better day while I am living on Earth because on that day,  I saw the hand of God  and my life changed forever.  It was an unexpected supernatural occurrence. God wanted to get my attention.  He did.  Life has never been more exciting, joyful, painful and meaningful. I can blog about the milestones of my life, but there is no more significant milestone for me than

What is holding you in captivity? Take off the chains and go Read John 8:32

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John 8:32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. These are my notes based on a sermon by Dr. Charles Stanley. You can find it here: Real Freedom, Oct. 13, 2013.   Causes of captivity:  EVIL HABITS False beliefs, lying, deception, sexual immorality, Drunkenness, drugs, smoking, laziness, profanity EMOTIONS Fear, false guilt, jealousy, worry and anxiety, prejudice, feeling you can never please God, bitterness, unforgiveness, insecurity. BONDAGE affects our personal testimony and hinders spiritual growth. TRUTH that sets us free:   Freedom comes when we know the heart of God through a relationship. And, when we allow The Lord to reveal junk and hidden sin  and then allow Him to remove it. What pride is holding you back? You can choose to have the freedom God wants for you.  If you don't know there's stuff/sin keeping you down or if you continue to not deal with it,   you will always live at a low