Poetry ~ Lord How Sweet Is Your Word

Lord How Sweet Is Your Word

How sweet is your Word in suffering,
Though oft' the burden is great.
It feels unbearably frequent,
Such difficulty of late.

Your Word is a precious ointment,
Oft' applied in much duress.
Your Word is a pathway lamplight.
With your Word I make progress.

I read and feel much freedom.
A breath of joy I breathe.
I lose myself in scriptures.
Where found is sweet relief.

Your Word I'll never shun it,
Though hurting hinders me.
That two-edged sword of sweetness,
Is what I need from thee. 

---

If you are not delving into the Word daily, preferably in the morning, you are missing a treat. It is the necessary nourishment for us to learn more about God, and the gospel of His Son, and to be able to successfully walk in His ways. Many Christians practice what they know of the Bible, but without spiritual power.

It is the daily ingesting of His Word that spiritually transforms us over time, giving us the power to not be conformed to this word, to resist the devil, to take no thought for tomorrow, to fear not, to give thanks in everything, to bear fruit from the inside out, to not turn to the right hand or to the left, to pray for those who despitefully use us, and to increase in faith. It is this very Word that many try to do in the flesh, that when eaten and drunk every day, will give us the power to walk in the freedom where with Christ has made us free, and to not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Lord How Sweet Is Your Word (c)2016 sjhollandwriting

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Sister Betty Jo On Receiving & Giving Blessings

"So the blessings that you receive, let me tell you they are all from God, and with no strings attached."

 Receive Your Blessings, And Give Them As Well

Praise the Lord everyone!! You are a blessing whether you know it are not. There are many who do not know that they are blessings to people. They didn’t even think they could be. This title came to me in a positive way, Receive Your Blessings, And Give Them As Well. I don’t know about you, but I’m thankful and grateful for (all) my blessings; and knowing that the blessings that I have received during my journey, have been a teaching given from Jesus Christ Himself.

When I sit and think about John 3:16, For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life, I realize that I have read that scripture just as I have read many others, over and over again. This time, I went so deep into it that I said to myself, This God has done something that no other would have done for me.

He gave me a blessing, and I didn’t even know that was what it was. I asked myself why would He do such? Did He not know that I didn’t love Him, or how I was living, and how I cared only to please others? The answers to these questions that I was asking were a mystery. He came back with the answer in John 3:17, For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

He wanted me to know that I was blessed by a gift called Salvation. And He wanted me to take this Word of blessing, and give it to others. Whether they accepted the blessing or rejected it was not to concern me. You still keep sharing it, is what He said.

So the blessings that you receive, let me tell you they are all from God, and with no strings attached.

He does what he does because He Loves us (all). You may hate Him…He still Loves you…You may use His name in vain…He still Loves you…You may be ashamed to speak of Him to your friends…He still Loves you. You may try to stop Him, but you can’t…He still Loves You.

His blessings are still spreading, and spreading. And those who are receiving them, are spreading and spreading them to people who do not know that they are to become blessings also. That man, that woman, that boy and girl do not yet know that they are to become blessings in return. Praise the LORD!!

So, receive your blessings, and give them as well. Those of you who have testimonies of what Jesus Christ has done in your life, tell It! Keep it real! Don’t allow the devil to stop you…his a liar, deceitful, and a hater. There is no love in him.

Jesus Christ Is Agape, A Blessing!

Sister Betty Jo is a strong woman of God who loves sharing her relationship with The Father, and what Christ has done for her. She lives in TX, and enjoys spending time with her daughter and granddaughters. She is a crafter and folk art painter, and likes cooking, especially trying new recipes.

This is what she has to say about her relationship with the Lord,

" My Life Has Not Been The Same since I Was Diagnosed With Lupus Some Years Ago. My Life Has Changed Quite A Bit, But Lupus Does Not Define Who I Am. I'm Blessed To Have Jesus Christ as my Savior. Also Loved One's & Friends Are My Blessings.

I Am A Bible Believing Christian. I don't like religion. I'm in love with Jesus Christ, whom I have a relationship with. I will Follow Jesus Christ, and not man. He will direct my feet into the right path. It isn't about how good I think I am, or what I think I can do for Him. I cannot work my way to Heaven, nor pay Him to take me. I'm blessed through SURRENDERING my all to Him. He has forgiven me of my nasty Sins.  

I am in a Intimate Relationship with a man who gave His life for me. He loved me that much that He laid His life on a cross that was put together by man. My life has not been the same after I gave Him my heart, and my life. That is True and Honest Love.

No matter what I looked like, or the life-style that I was living that wasn't pleasing to Him, He still accepted me with open arms. He said to me at that moment..."your sins have been forgiven." That was a Promise that He has kept ever since. Halleujah!! My first and Only Love!! His name by the way is Jesus Christ. Amen!! Don't Give Up! Push On! Amen!! "

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Draw Nigh To  Hope

POETRY: Wonderful Words

Wonderful Words

 

I study your Word.

It's lovely to me,

Though sharp, and cutting, and true.

 

It brightens my path,

And straightens it too.

It turns my gray skies to blue. 

 

~ SJHolland ~

Let Us Say Grace For This Meal

Dear Lord:

We thank you for this food, and all of the blessings that you have given us.

Protect our systems from any hurt, harm or damage,

through any poisons, toxins or impurities

that may be present in this food.

 

 

We thank you for all of the things that you are doing for us,

and the ways that you have helped us when we were unaware.

 

Help us to have better diets,

and teach us the things that we need to do to be healthy. 

 

 In Jesus' name.

Amen.

 

__________________________________

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How Can I Control My Anger?

When you feel anger coming on, pray, 

"God, right now, I need your peace. Please soothe my mind. I feel you replacing my anger with patience. I thank you for this gift of quiet.

Let your restraining, healing hand be upon me today, Lord. Help me to meet every situation calmly and with control."

 

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Philippians 4:6 (KJV)

Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart.

Philippians 4:6 (GNT) 

Do not be over-anxious about anything, but by prayer and earnest pleading, together with thanksgiving, let your request be unreservedly made known in the presence of God. 

Philippians 4:6 (WNT) 

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Philippians 4:6 (NLT) 

Don't worry about anything. Instead, tell God about everything. Ask and pray. Give thanks to him. 

Philippians 4:6 (NIRV) 

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. 

Philippians 4:6 (MSG)

How many times has God told us, in His Word, not to worry, but to turn worrying thoughts into prayer? Stop what you are thinking and doing right now, or at any time of worry, and tell it all, tell the truth, just as you were thinking it, to God.

It takes a lot of effort and practice to defeat useless, persistent and harmful anger. Whether it has a valid reason or not, most of the time it can't help us, or anyone else. It can easily destroy, rather than build up. Most of the time, it is bad for our emotional well-being, bad for our physical health, and bad for our spiritual growth. So, you've got to defeat it, with God's help, if you sincerely want to be healed, and be a help to others. You can do it, with God's help.

Scriptures: BibleStudyTools.comBibleStudyTools.com
Images: Pixabay.com Free Images
Anger Prayer: Triumph Over Life's Toughest Problems, Norman Vincent Peale, A Guideposts Outreach Publication, GuidepostsFoundation.org

 

James McDonald On What Is Prayer

James McDonald Said:

Prayer is the process of getting spiritually ready to receive what God already wants to do.

Something to think about, huh? If you want to learn more about praying effectively and what it means to obtain what you want and need through God, listen to his message.

Some ministries of James McDonald:

Watch "Why Don't We Pray?" TV broadcast 

Walk In The Word With James McDonald website 

Harvest Bible Chapel 

Act Like Men Conference 

Harvest Christian Academy

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Just How Large Is The Sea Of Galilee Anyway?

Was reading about Jesus' 5th sign, walking on the waves on the Sea of Galilee, John 6:15-21. When the sea is mentioned in the Bible, I often forget that most of the time it is referring to a massive lake, rather than a body of water like the Pacific or Atlantic ocean, or the Mediterranean Sea. In verse 16, it says that "And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea" (KJV).

I remembered that this is referring to a relatively small land-locked body of water. I wondered, Just how large is the Sea of Galilee anyway? I realized that because they knew very little, if anything, about the topography of the Earth, this massive water feature would naturally be a sea to them. So what is the area and some interesting facts about this water area with the 3 names?

I thought that there were only 3 names that it is known by:

• Sea of Galilee
• Sea of Tiberius
• Sea of Gennesaret

According to BiblePlaces.com, it is also known as:

• Sea of Chinnereth
• Ginnosar
• Bahr Tubariya.

This site states that this sea is "more properly designated a lake," and that it is "13 miles long and 7 miles wide." I am not good at judging distance, but that doesn't sound very large to me. I think Lake Gennesaret is smaller than I thought.

Wikipedia, my fav place to do research (though it is not academically accepted), states that Lake Chinnereth "is approximately:

• 53 km (33 mi) in circumference,
• about 21 km (13 mi) long,
• and 13 km (8.1 mi) wide
• area is 166.7 km2 (64.4 sq mi) at its fullest,
• and its maximum depth is approximately 43 m (141 feet)."

It doesn't seem very deep either. I wonder how there could have been waves so scary, on a body of water this size, so as to terrify the disciples, some of who were experienced fishermen? Do you think Jesus whipped up those waves to build their faith? At one point on shore at least, the opposite shore can be seen, showing how small the lake is. And when they got into the boat, they traveled from Tiberius to Capernaum, which would be north, along the coast. I don't know how far out they had to go to reach a navigable depth before they turned north, but it seems that they could not have ever been out of sight of land.

An interesting mystery! But, where Jesus is there are mysteries galore, and revelations, lol. Wikipedia states that The Sea of Galilee was also called the Sea of Minya.

Sources:
Wikipedia
BiblePlaces.com
King James Bible

Image: Wikipedia

How Do I Get Rid Of My Guilt Feelings?

Guilt is most definitely not from God.

Why would it be when Jesus Christ of Nazareth paid it all?

We either believe it, or we don't.

If we find that the truth behind that is not manifesting in our day-to-day thinking, then we'd better step up our daily Bible reading, and praying without ceasing.

God expects us to take responsibility for our actions, not only those that affect others, but our actions that adversely and negatively affect us, as well. Often in this earthly life, we even have to live with the consequences of our actions, for God does not always change the outcomes. He is, however, always there to help us to live through the results in the positive way that he would have us to. He can take bad results and cause them to eventually benefit us, if we will allow him to.

It is extremely difficult to see how God can and would do this for some situations in life. We point to evidence that we feel shows that we have never benefited from hurtful and distressing situations in our lives. Sometimes we have benefited, and don't realize it. Regarding other circumstances, God has not yet provided us with the benefits. Sometimes the benefits may not even come in this life, I believe. However and whenever we experience these benefits, God's word is true. He is not a man that he should lie. He keeps his promises, forever and forever. He always has, and he always will.

Responsibility is paramount, guilt is useless. God never punishes us for anything un-Godly and un-beneficial that we have caused, because Jesus took our punishment, past, present and future, once and for all.

If you would like to be sure that you are Saved, say this simple prayer:

Jesus, I believe that you are the Son of God, and the only Savior. Come into my heart, and save me. I was born in sin and you died for me so that I can know God and not be blamed anymore. Thank you for my new life. Show me the way to turn away from bad things and help me to understand. I don't have to fear death anymore, and thank you for Eternal Life.  

 

______________________________________

Draw Nigh To Hope

What CAN We Change That Will Bless Us?

My great-grandmother was a three-time widow, who appeared to be very unhappy towards the end of her life. As I continued my genealogical research, my heart went out to her. How neglected and unloved she must have felt by God. She was blessed to find a new husband three times, only to find herself left alone in the end. Existing day after day, and though fit, caring for an elderly sister, and herself being elderly and alone.

As I thought back on the few times I remember being in her presence, I can see now what part of the reason could have been why she appeared cold and stand-offish. In fact, the last time I saw her, she looked simply dejected and miserable. She was born in the late 19th century, and married my grandfather's father in her 20's. By the time she was 61, he had died, she had married again and her 2nd husband died. A few years after that, and sometime between when I was born and my first memory of her, she had married her 3rd husband, who died before I remember him. Though I'd heard about 1 or 2 of her marriages, I'd only known her as a single woman.

As my heart ached for her, I thought about how it is these types of turns in life that cause many to feel that God does not care, that he does not love them. Some say in their hearts, "Afterall, why would he bless me with husbands who die and leave me? And here I am alone in the end. In the end, I have been left with years of loneliness, drudgery and boredom. No one to help me in my declining years, and  I have my single sister to care for. How cruel and unfair life has been to me!"

I don't know my great-grandmother's thoughts during that time. These are my general guesses on how anyone may have felt. From her demeanor when I knew her, it did not appear that she was happy, upbeat and optimistic. Not until I was well into my adult years, in fact, fairly recently, did I come to understand the course of her marriages, and how it must have been for her to endure it.

Sometimes life just beats us down, and we become tired, period. But we should start early claiming all that the Bible says that God feels for us, and all that he wants us to think and have. Why? Because his love and promises are in spite of life's twists and turns. Some have more sorrow and suffering than others. Things never seem to work out for many, and they can't catch their breath before another crisis happens. It doesn't just rain, it pours for so many Christians, and often the torrent of trials don't seem to let up. Does all of this negate God's love for each individual? No! Does it mean that he has forgotten us? No! Does that mean that his Bible is worthless? No!

There are going to continue to be problems, sorrows, disappointments and devastation in this world, until it is over for all of us, living and dead. We may have dreams fulfilled, and we may have happiness at every turn, and we may not. None of us knows as we live, what will happen. We do know that his Word is always true, dependable and everlasting. We know that there is always an answer in Christ, and that we can always ask and receive, seek and find, knock and the door will be opened for us by God.

It is good to start early, and no time is too late, determining in our hearts and minds what the end of our lives will be, no matter when that will come. No matter what our situations or conditions, we can determine that the joy of the Lord will be our strength as we live and age. We can live out the conviction that he will keep us in perfect peace  because our minds will be continually on him.

We can grab hold to and confess joy unspeakable, because our hope is for something more than what we are living. We can confess that we live in the peace that surpasses all understanding, because we know that God said he loves us no matter what. He has our best interests at heart, though all looks like disaster. It is not easy, but our tending to these things will help us to present different personalities and attitudes than the ones displayed by those who are consumed by the sorrows of life's downturns.

My heart truly breaks for those who have successive sorrows in life. We don't know why some have to endure these types of things, and others do not. Anyone who comes to the altar of God, though, has something to bring, however different than the other. I don't know what my great-grandmother thoughts were about her life's course. I do know that had she been immersed and focused on God's love and glory, she would have been more able to reach out to others, and even alter some parts of the course of her life.

Some things we can never change, but we don't know what we can change unless we have the physical strength, the mental and emotional fortitude, and the spiritual growth to try. I truly believe this. None of us who love the Lord can have the exact, perfect life that we desire here in this fallen world, but we can grow in him everyday. His everlasting love can flow through us and out to others. He even helps us, for moments at a time, to forget our sorrows in favor of helping others with theirs.

I am sorry that the end of my great-grandmother's life was not better. Was it meant to be? Is it what she wanted? I doubt it. By the time I knew her, she was too old and tired to care. I have felt that way sometimes, and I'm not the age she was when I knew her. I am not professing that I can do better than her, because they say we all do the best that we can with the life that we are handed. That's why I say it's never too early to grab this life by the horns. Rather than determining to accept and react to what comes our way, work with God to make changes.

We are either resigned and have given up, or we are resistant to defeat and are always planning for the best, for what we really want, now and towards the end. There is a way to make life more of how we really want it to be, to make whatever changes are necessary to attain that. As we work with God to bring it about, we present a certain face to the world, one of true love, never-ending hope and Godly happiness. We cannot change everything, like the death of my great-grandmother's 3 husbands. The important question is, what can we change that will bless us, and make a difference in the way that we treat others?

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How Can I REALLY Witness About The Goodness Of God?

It's not being a Christian that witnesses.

It's the change that

growing as a Christian makes

in the attitude, personality and behavior

of the evolving Christian.

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Generally, unless it is a specific work of The Spirit at that moment, it is not so important to 

broadcast to people that we are Christians. Most people couldn't care less about a 

statement that could be true, or not.

What is important is that we have taken Christ's yoke upon us, that we are learning of Him, 

and therefore, faithfully growing in the Lord. When we pray often, read the Bible daily, and 

commit ourselves to allowing God to show us the way, and obeying when we see it, we will

find ourselves becoming more Christ-like.  If we are committed to daily doing this, the gradual 

change that it will bring about in us will be an outstanding witness to the presence of God. 

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Pray. Read. Commit. Grow. Daily.

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