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GOD IS THERE
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Dec 6, 2005 7:17 pm
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When the sky is dark-
HE IS THERE.
When You are all alone-
HE IS THERE.
When nothing goes your way-
HE IS THERE.
When you are in pain-
HE IS THERE.
When people are against you-
HE IS THERE.
When you are frightened or worried-
HE IS THERE.
When those you love are in crisis-
HE IS THERE.
When you feel was if God is far away-
HE IS THERE.
When doubt and confusion weigh you down-
HE IS THERE.
When you are about to breathe your last-
HE IS THERE.
AND WHERE GOD IS, THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE.
JOB 23:10- "But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
JOB 23:14-"For He performs what is appointed for me, and many such decrees are with Him.
JEREMIAH 31:3-..."I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.
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A Beautiful Christmas Story
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Dec 5, 2005 9:15 pm
292 Views
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This is a first person account from a mother about her family as they ate dinner on Christmas Day in a small restaurant many miles from their home.
Nancy, the mother relates: We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly eating and talking.
Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, "Hi there." He pounded his fat baby hands on the high-chair tray. His eyes were wide with excitement and his mouth was bared in a toothless grim.
He wriggled and giggled with merriment. I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man with a tattered rag of a coat; dirty, greasy and worn. His pants were baggy with a zipper of half mast and his toes poked out of would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map.
We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled. His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists. "Hi there baby; hi there, big boy. I see ya, buster," the man said to Erik. My husband and I exchanged looks, "What do we do?" Erik continued to laugh and answer , "Hi, hi there>"
Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby.
Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, "Do ya know patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he know peek-a-boo."
Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk. My husband and I were embarrassed. WE ate in silence; all except for Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring ski-row bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.
We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man sat poised between me and the door. "Lord, just let me out of here before he speaks to me or Erik," I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to side-step him and avoid any air he might be breathing.
As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in baby's pick-me-up, position. Before I could stop him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the man's.
Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their love relationship. Erik in an act of total trust, love and submission laid his tiny head upon the Man's ragged shoulder. The Man's eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain and hard labor - gently, so gently cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his back.
No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time. I stood awestruck. The old m an rocked and cradled Erik in his arms for a moment, and then his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, "You take care of this baby." Somehow I managed, "I will," from a throat that contained a stone.
He pried Erik from his chest unwillingly, longingly, as though he were in pain. I received my baby and he said "thank you ma'am, you've given me my Christmas gift."
I said nothing more than a muttered thanks.. With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was wondering why I was crying and holding Erik so tightly, and why I was saying, "My God, my God, forgive me>"
I had just witnessed Christ's love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a child who was not, I felt it was God asking- "ARE YOU WILLING TO SHARE YOUR SON FOR A MOMENT?", WHEN HE SHARED HIS FOR ALL ETERNITY.
The ragged old m an, unwittingly, had reminded me, "TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD, WE MUST BECOME AS LITTLE CHILDREN.
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A Soldiers TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
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Dec 5, 2005 8:45 pm
284 Views
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Twas the night before Christmas,
He lived all alone,
In a one bedroom house made of
Plaster and stone.
I had come down the chimney
With presents to give,
And to see just who
In this home did live.
I looked all about,
A strange sight I did see,
No tinsel, no presents,
Not even a tree.
No stocking by mantle,
Just boots filled with sand,
On the wall hung pictures
Of far distant lands.
With medals and badges,
Awards of all kinds,
A sober thought
Came through my mind.
For this house was different,
it was dark and dreary,
I found the home of a soldier,
Once I could see clearly.
The soldier lay sleeping,
silent, alone,
Curled up on the floor
In this one bedroom home.
The face was so gentle,
The room in such disorder,
Not how I pictured
A United States soldier.
Was this the hero
Of whom I'd just read?
Curled up on a poncho,
The floor for a bed?
I realized the families
That I saw this night,
Owed their lives to these soldiers
Who were willing to fight.
Soon round the world,
The children would play,
And grownups would celebrate
A bright Christmas day.
The all enjoyed freedom
Each month of the year,
Because of the soldiers,
Like the one lying here.
I couldn't help wonder
How many lay alone,
On a cold Christmas eve
In a land far from home.
The very thought
Brought a tear to my eye,
I dropped to my knees
And started to cry.
The soldier awakened
And I heard a rough voice,
"Santa don't cry,
This life is my choice;
I fight for freedom,
I don't ask for more,
My life is my God,
My country, my corps."
The soldier rolled over
And drifted to sleep,
I couldn't control it,
I continued to weep.
I kept watch for hours,
So silent and still
And we both shivered
From the cold night's chill.
I didn't want to leave
On that cold, dark, night
This guardian of honor
So willing to fight.
Then the soldier rolled over,
With a voice so soft and pure,
Whispered, "carry on Santa,
It's Christmas day, all is secure."
One look at my watch,
And I knew he was right.
Merry Christmas my friend,
And to all a good night."
This poem was written by a Marine stationed in Okinawa, Japan. The following is his request.
I think it is reasonable....PLEASE. would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S. service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us. Please, do your small part to plant this small seed.
Thanks,
glo
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WANT HOLINESS? HERE'S HOW
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Dec 5, 2005 8:19 pm
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We live in a time of rampant immorality and ungodliness from which the Church is not immune. A recent Barna survey found that while some 24 percent of Americans have been or are divorced, that figure for born-again believers is higher at 27 percent. Barna has also turned up the disturbing finding that 40 percent of evangelicals do not believe there are moral absolutes.
In the early centuries in Tome they said the barbarians are at the door. These studies indicate they're not at the door-they're in the pew, and even in the pulpit, as preachers pander to the self-centered individuals before them.
And yet we were saved to be hole;y that we might be forevermore with Him, who is holiness itself. WE are told in Hebrews 12:14 to "FOLLOW PEACE WITH ALL MEN, AND HOLINESS, WITHOUT WHICH NO MAN SHALL SEE THE LORD (KJV).
QUESTION: ARE YOU HOLY?
The Christian life begins with the ACT OF JUSTIFICATION- when God, the great Judge of heaven and earth, declares that we are pardoned, that we have had imputed to us the perfect righteousness and obedience of Jesus Christ, which we have put on by faith as a white robe.
But that is not the end of salvation; it is but the beginning. From there it continues on in the LIFELONG PROCESS OF SANCTIFICATION. SANCTIFICATION OR GROWTH IN HOLINESS IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TO THE CHRISTIAN LIFE AND TO OUR HOOPER OF SEEING GOD BECAUSE IT IS THE PROOF THAT WE ARE JUSTIFIED. The person who is not striving after holiness is a person who is not justified.
But how do we become holy?
FIRST, WE CANNOT MAKE OURSELVES HOLY: The unclean cannot cleanse itself. WE MUST MAKE IT OUR CONSTANT PRAYER that Christ would give us His holiness.
SECONDLY, As the great Puritan writer Stephen Charnock said, WE MUST MEDITATE UPON HIM. It is as if, he said, an artist was painting a person's portrait. If you were to watch that taking place, you would notice a constant shifting of attention, first to the canvas upon which he was working, but repeatedly his eyes would shift back to the face he was trying to transfer to that canvas. Over and over he would fix his eyes upon the lineaments of that face, on every detail of the visage before him, as he tried to reproduce it upon the canvas. Likewise, IF WE WOULD REPRODUCE THE IMAGE OF CHRIST IN US, WE MUST CONTINUALLY LOOK UNTO HIM. THAT IS HOW WE BECOME HOLY.
THIRDLY, WE BECOME HOLY THROUGH HIS WORD AS WE READ THAT WORD DAILY AND HIDE IT IN OUR HEARTS BY MEMORIZATION.
The WORD OF GOD MEMORIZED, the FACE of CHRIST MEDITATED UPON IN ALL OF HIS WONDROUS PURITY , and PRAYER FOR THE IMPARTATION OF HIS HOLINESS-This is the only way we can become holy.
Dear friend, in this world sinking into the very sewer of sin, may I urge you to remember the admonition of God, "FOLLOW AFTER HOLINESS, WITHOUT WHICH NO MAN SHALL SEE THE LORD."
-D. JAMES KENNEDY
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WORDS ON WISDOM
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Dec 4, 2005 8:12 pm
284 Views
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It is comforting to know that not only the steps but also the stops of a good man are ordered by the Lord.
-George Muller
Judge each day not by its harvest, but by the seeds you plant.
-Author Unknown
It is the fire of suffering that brings forth the gold of godliness.
-Madame Guyon
Relying on God has to begin all over again every day. -C.S. Lewis
Time is a very precious gift of God; so precious that it's only given to us moment by moment..
-Amelia Barr
Never mistake knowledge for wisdom, One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life.
-Sandra Carey
The secret of Patience...is to do something else in the meantime.
-Author Unknown
All men desire peace, but very few desire those things that make for peace.
-Thomas A Kempis
The most important things in life aren't things.
-Church Bulletin
You were made by God and for God-until you understand that, life will never make sense.
-Rick Warren
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APPRECIATE SIMPLICITY
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Dec 4, 2005 7:52 pm
275 Views
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*Simplicity adds quality and contentment to your life.
*Simplicity comes from learning to say "no."
*Simplicity is being as satisfied with what you don't have as with what you have.
*Simplicity involves removing the clutter.
*Simplicity means never buying something for the purpose of impressing others.
*Simplicity refuses to get caught in the trap of overspending, overcommitting, and overworking.
*Simplicity enjoys happiness and treasures joy.
*Simplicity cherishes tranquility.
*Simplicity knows how to be content in whatever situation you find yourself.
*Simplicity celebrates God's creation and sees God in the small stuff.
-Bruce and Stan
'God is in the Small stuff'
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ARE Y OU HUNGRY FOR GOD?
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Dec 4, 2005 7:44 pm
293 Views
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PSALM 27:8- WHEN YOU SAID, "SEEK MY FACE," MY HEART SAID TO YOU, "YOUR FACE, O LORD, I SHALL SEEK."
Pursuit is proof of desire. You'll never possess what you're unwilling to pursue, and you won't pursue a relationship with God unless you desire it more than lesser things.
David Brynard, a8th century missionary to the American Indians, wrote in his journal: "I withdrew to my usual place of retirement in great tranquility. I knew only to breather out my desire for a perfect conformity to Him in all things. God was so precious that the world with all its enjoyments seemed infinitely vile. I have no more desire for the favor of men than for pebbles. At noon I had the most ardent longings after God which I ever felt in my life. In my secret retirement I could do nothing but holiness, that He had given me these desires and only He could give the things I desired. I never seemed to be so unhinged from myself...so wholly devoted to God. My heart was swallowed up in God most of the day."
David wrote, "Whom have I in heaven but you? And besides you, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail. But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever...My heart has heard you say, 'Come and talk with me'...And my heart responds, 'Lord, I am coming'" (Psalm 73:25-26 NAS and Psalm 27:8 TL .
ARE YOU SPIRITUALLY HUNGRY? SPEND MORE TIME WITH GOD!
-The Word for you Today
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WHY MEN FEAR INTIMACY?
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Dec 4, 2005 7:11 pm
344 Views
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It is rare to find a man who doesn't have some struggles with intimacy. Men love the benefits of intimacy, but often they are not committed to the work intimacy entails. Though few of them will admit it, most men fear intimacy, and this fear is reflected in the way they interact with their wives, families, and friends.
WHY IS IT MEN AVOID INTIMACY? Here are some of their responses which reflect rationalizations rather than actual reasons.
"That's just the way men are. We aren't intimate the way women are. They may not like kit, but that's just the way it is for us men."
"If you open up and share your feelings, others will take advantage of you. It's just not safe. It comes back to haunt you."
"You can't be macho and vulnerable at the same time. It just doesn't work, and I wouldn't know how to learn anyway."
"I don't know whether or not I'm comfortable telling her everything. If I did something to make her mad, she'd use it against me. She's shared some things with her friends that I thought were only between the two of us. That hurt, I don't think women use good judgment when private discussions are concerned."
A major concern for men about intimacy with women is TRUST. Some men about himself from other people, he can avoid facing his own Ihave had bad experiences after opening themselves up to the woman in their lives. WHO can be trusted? WHEN can they be trusted? WHAT can they be trusted with? Many men believe women perceive information differently, and they share in public what men see as only personal.
Another concern of men has its roots in the issue of CONTROL. When a man shares his personal thoughts and feelings in order to draw close to someone, he is potentially giving that person influence over him. That individual can us the information shared either FOR his welfare or AGAINST his his welfare. It's risky. So withholding information helps a man retain a sense of control over his life and gain power over others.
Many men fear losing this power over themselves and others. Research confirms that men withhold information about themselves in order to mislead others and often misrepresent themselves to others.
Men often keep their thoughts and feelings a mystery in order to control the responses of others to them. But treating themselves as mysteries also helps men handle another fear they rarely admit to: THE FEAR OF REALLY KNOWING THEMSELVES. When a man withhold information NCONSISTENCIES and INADEQUACIES.
SO avoiding intimacy is a controlling behavior that "helps" a man in two ways. FIRST, IT GIVES HIM THE POWER OVER OTHERS THAT HE ASSOCIATES WITH SUCCESS IN LIFE.SECOND, IT SERVES AS PROTECTION AGAINST EXPOSING HIS FRAILTIES TO HIMSELF.
Men, be encouraged that others like you are hesitant about developing intimacy in relationships. It is a slow journey. It takes work and time. It involves a level of discomfort. It involves taking in more information about feelings.
But as one man who made the journey stated, 'WHAT WAS THERE TO BE AFRAID OF IN THE FIRST PLACE?
There are other things in life more terrifying than intimacy, and I've faced them, I guess I created my fear in the first place."
MEN WHAT DO YOU THINK? WE SURE LOVE TO HEAR YOUR COMMENTS AND INPUT TO HELP US UNDERSTAND YOU BETTER AND BE ABLE TO RELATE TO YOU EFFECTIVELY AND INTIMATELY!
Thanks...glo
-H. NORMAN WRIGHT
'Afraid No More'
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WHY WOMEN FEAR INTIMACY?
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Dec 4, 2005 6:39 pm
355 Views
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There are several reasons women fear intimate relationships. One primary fear is the PAIN OF REJECTION.
Yes, it does hurt when intimate relationships fall apart. But when there is NO intimacy and closeness in a relationship, there is an EVEN GREATER CHANCE of a relationship dissolving! When you insulate yourself against others, you tend to bring about that which you fear the most-ABANDONMENT. The courage to run the risk of intimacy can bring tremendous fulfillment in life for both men and women.
Women also struggle with the fear of LOSING THEIR IDENTITY in an intimate relationship with a man. Even though women tend to encourage and be more comfortable with intimacy than men, some women fear losing their sense of independence and autonomy if they get close to their men.
We all need our own space, our privacy, and our separateness. That's normal. But some women are afraid a man's demands for closeness and sharing may become too energy-draining for them. They fear their men may begin to invade their lives too much. And in some cases, if a man is vulnerable and discloses his deepest feelings, both positive and negative, she fears he might be weak and unable to give her the care she desires.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS WOMEN? LET ME HEAR YOUR COMMENTS AND INPUT...
-H. NORMAN WRIGHT
'Afraid No More"
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THE BEATITUDES
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Dec 4, 2005 6:17 pm
321 Views
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Read Matthew 5:3-10 and measure yourself on these mental attitudes- 1 being LOW and 4 being HIGH.
POOR IN SPIRIT: I have come to the place where I feel accepted by God when I feel Most unacceptable to myself. I recognize my need for God and know that I do not have to earn His love with wealth, status or spiritual sophistication.
LOW 1 2 3 4 HIGH
MOURN: I h ave come to the place where I can really feel the empty places in my life. I can let others know when I am hurting and share the grief of others without embarrassment. I can weep like Jesus did.
LOW 1 2 3 4 HIGH
MEEK: I have come to the place where I don't have to be strong one all the time, I can be tender and gentle with people. I've given the control of my life to God and I don't have to "win" all the time.
LOW 1 2 3 4 HIGH
SPIRITUAL HUNGER: I have come to the place where I want to know God and His will for my life more than anything. I am more excited about God's will for the world than my won financial gain, success in my career, or acceptance by my peers. I long for God's perspective in my decision-making.
LOW 1 2 3 4 HIGH
MERCIFUL: I have come to the place where I can enter into the feelings of someone who is hurting, lonely or distressed and feel alongside them in their pain. God has given me a sensitivity for the suffering of others.
LOW 1 2 3 4 HIGH
PURE IN HEART: I have come to the place where I can be completely open and honest with God and others -transparent because I have nothing to hid. I don't have to put on "airs," or pretend to be what I'm not.
LOW 1 2 3 4 HIGH
PEACEMAKER: I have come to the place where I really work at keeping the channels of communication open between me and those around me. I deal with anger and disagreement immediately and don't allow them to fester. I encourage those around me to work out their differences without hurting one another.
LOW 1 2 3 4 HIGH
PERSECUTION: I have come to the place where I know what I am living for, and for this cause I am not afraid to suffer and, if need be, die. I am willing to "take the heat" and stand alone for what is right. I can take criticism without feeling self-pity or self-righteous.
LOW 1 2 3 4 HIGH
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To link to this blog (GODRULESGLO) use [blog GODRULESGLO] in your messages.
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