There Is Healing When You Give Someone Voice

It is my pleasure to present to my dear readers a great Christian friend and sister in Christ, Susan Smith, as our guest blogger here at Talk Wisdom this evening. May her wonderful words of wisdom, brought to us all by the power of the Holy Spirit of God through her, be a special blessing to each of you tonight. I know that what she has shared in this wonderful message has truly blessed me!

Love in Christ,
Christine

*******

Susan Smith's Newsletter, July 29, 2011


There is healing when you give someone voice. Listening to a hurting heart can be therapeutic when the time is right. Silence can speak volumes, but then again words are powerful too if they come from the Lord via the Holy Spirit. Sometimes it is difficult for me to hear clearly and to see with a pure heart. Often I pray for God to open the eyes of my heart and others who are hurting. I also have learned that pain can draw me closer to God, and when I am hurting deeply it tends to draw me closer to God, almost as though he is watching me closer than before.






The words that are written tell me it is good for me to draw near to God (Psalm 73:28). For me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made him my refuge so that I can tell of all his works. I like David Stern’s translation from Psalm 73:






Whom do I have in heaven but you? And with you, I lack nothing on earth. My mind and body may fail; but God is the rock for my mind and my portion forever. Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who adulterously leave you. But for me, the nearness of God is my good.






My friend, you are in the kingdom of heaven now, if you believe the truth. I am not talking about relative or comparative truth that we hear so much about during this season in the world. I am talking about absolute truth. The Messiah is the truth (John 14:6). He is the way we must go in order to come unto the father, and he is the life we must live if we want to choose life instead of death (John 14:6).






When Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan River, there were still wars in the Promised Land. We are in spiritual battles today, every day we breathe. The battlefield is the mind! We are all experiencing the oppression and what appears to be destruction by the enemy in and on the earth today. What can we do? Nothing, we must BE what we are, by his GRACE! When we are focused and following Jesus, then the Lord directs our path.






We must trust in the Lord with all our corporate heart and lean not on our own individual understanding. In all our ways the ONE body must acknowledge the ONE God of heaven and earth, the ONE God of ISRAEL, and he will make level our individual paths and make them straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).






By God’s grace I am what I am, and his grace towards me was not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:10). We have ONE enemy. We are created in the image of God; therefore, we are spiritual people. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). The spiritual realm is real. We are slaves to the one we obey (Romans 6:16). We must be sober and be watchful. Our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).






In union with the Messiah, through his faithfulness, we have boldness and confidence when we approach God. When we suffer for others, it is for their glory. For this reason, I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name (Ephesians 3:12-15). There is ONE body (Ephesians 4:4). My prayer this day is that the eyes of your heart and mine may be enlightened, so that we both will know what is the hope of his calling (Ephesians 1:18). Do you have hope this day?






I received a personal phone call from a pastor I love last week. He knew I was traveling to Israel for the three-week study tour, and he called to tell me he missed me in worship the first Sunday I was back. My custom is to worship with several congregations throughout each year. I enjoy the variety of the spiritual food I receive from different circles of worshipers.






It made me feel good to receive the call. I told the pastor I wanted to worship with a congregation that I know loves Israel my first Sunday back. He understood and showed me God’s grace when he said he did not want me to feel pressured to attend the religious service where he speaks most every Sunday unless there is a guest speaker. Then I told him I was very interested in attending the Wednesday night bible study he will be teaching later this year.






The study I hope to attend should show me more of the pastor’s heart concerning Israel. I was pleased to hear him call Jesus the “Messiah” not long ago. The study is called a “Precept Bible Study” and the advertisement for the study says this:






Do you know that our relationship with Jesus Christ is built on an Old Testament covenant with Abraham? Do you know that the Covenant bridges the Old and New Testament? Do you know that our Lord and Savior is the fulfillment of that covenant? Do you know that everyone who is not a part of that covenant is not among God's chosen people? Would you like to learn why God chose you for His Kingdom and not others?






God’s people are beautiful all over the earth and in the world where we live in the flesh today. On the sixth day of creation, God saw all that he had made, and indeed it was very good (Genesis 1:31). I am in love with the family of God, the ONE body. Of course even they can be discouraging and even disappointing at times to my fleshly desires.






You see, the Bible study sounds good to my ears; however my hope is not in the written Word of God. My hope is in the Living Word. When I draw near to him, I realize he is keeping a closer eye on me than ever before. I begin to realize his eyes are like a flaming fire; he is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God (Revelation 19:12-13). It is a fearful and terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31).






Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down nations—“He will break them with an iron rod; shatter them like a clay pot” (Psalm 2:9). It is he who treads the winepress from which flows the wine of the furious wrath of God, the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written: King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:15-16).






As a believer, I am not very interested anymore in learning more facts and what other people might think. I want to know God and the ONE he sent (John 17:3). I want to believe the Spirit of Truth is guiding me into all truth (John 16:13). Hmmm… if God’s chosen people are made in his image and we are ONE body, then maybe somehow, someway we can learn from one another. I believe I am purely and simply following Jesus. Want to join me? After all, we are ONE! (Colossian 2:9-11 and Colossians 3:9-11). Think about these things… ~ Susan Smith

Hat Tip and many thanks to Susan Smith!

Urgency and Necessity of The Truth War

Chapter Three of John MacArthur's book, The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception is entitled "Constrained Into Conflict: Why We Must Fight for the Faith."

I have had this book for a long time. Every so often, I go back and read some of the chapters. If you do a search on this blog, you will find at least four blog posts about the book. Recently, I ran across a link to several John MacArthur Videos. Many of them are excerpts from his book The Truth War.

Years ago, I bookmarked the final three pages of chapter three. It is subtitled, "When It's Time To Go To War." I found it very interesting that the verse in Jude 3, which contains the phrase "contend earnestly for the faith" is actually stronger in meaning when translated from the Greek. MacArthur writes:

The expression "contend earnestly" is translated from a strong Greek verb epagonizomai,literally meaning "agonize against." The word describes an intensive, arduous, drawn-out fight. There is nothing passive, peaceful, or easy about it. Jude "exhorted" them - meaning he urged and commanded them - to wage a mighty battle on behalf of the true faith.

So then literally, we are to "agonize against" the falsehoods that creep up into Christianity that often, quite frankly, turn Christian truth into something unrecognizable. I could cite dozens of examples. But two of the most contentious moral problems of our time are the acceptance of homosexual behavior and abortion of children in the womb.

There will always be people who try and twist the truth to their own advantage. Many times it is used as an excuse to cover their sins. But there is only One Provision for the forgiveness of sins - and that is Jesus Christ's sacrificial death on the cross. Christ is the only way to be reconciled unto the Father.

MacArthur continues:

Jude himself says he felt the necessity to write this command. He employs a verb that speaks of pressure. In other words, he sensed a strong, God-given compulsion to write these things. He was not writing them because he took some kind of perverse glee in being militant. He was not responding to a momentary whimsy or personal anger. This was critical, and since the writers of Scripture never wrote by human self-will, but only as they were moved by the Spirit of God (2 Peter 1:21), the extreme urgency of Jude reflects the sovereign influence of the Holy Spirit, and therefore also the mind of Christ.

I love that last line - "This was critical, and since the writers of Scripture never wrote by human self-will, but only as they were moved by the Spirit of God (2 Peter 1:21), the extreme urgency of Jude reflects the sovereign influence of the Holy Spirit, and therefore also the mind of Christ."

I don't know about you, but in my lifetime I have NEVER seen so many liars getting away with their sin and corruption than over the past two and a half years. It seems that ever since the Obama administration got into office, any semblance of a reasonable government was out the window. As one example, we only need to turn on the T.V. each day and hear the bad news about the current debt crisis to understand how fallen man has gotten us into such a mess. Then, in the next news segment we find out that Obama has raised 86 million dollars for his re-election campaign. Why would anyone in their right mind want to re-elect this monster?? Answer: money, power, influence, and the desire to "fundamentally transform America" which is code word for collapsing our Constitutional Republic Capitalist system and bringing in a cesspool combination of communism, socialism, Islamo-fascism and sharia law. What could go wrong? But all of that is for another blog post.

MacArthur continues:

We thus have an urgent mandate from God Himself to do our part in the Truth War. The Holy Spirit, through the pen of Jude, is urging Christians to exercise caution, discernment, courage, and the will to contend earnestly for the truth.

Notice what we are supposed to be fighting for. It is not anything petty, personal, mundane, or ego related. This warfare has a very narrow objective. What we are called to defend is no less than "the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints."

Jude is speaking of apostolic doctrine (Acts 2:42) - objective Christian truth - the faith, as delivered from Jesus through the agency of the Holy Spirit by the apostles to the church. As he says in verse 17: "Remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Notice: no one discovered or invented the Christian faith. It was delivered to us. It was not as if someone mystically ascended into the transcendental realm and drew down an understanding of the truth. We don't need an enlightened guru to open the mysteries of the faith for us (cf. 1 John 2:27). The truth was entrusted by God to the whole church - intact and "once for all." It came by revelation, through the teaching of the apostles as preserved for us in Scripture. Jude speaks of "the faith" as a complete body of truth already delivered - so there is no need to seek additional revelation or to embellish the substance of "the faith" in any way. Our task is simply to interpret, understand, publish, and defend the truth God has once and for all delivered to the church.

The fact that the Bible is the Written Word of God, Jesus is the Living Word of God, and the Holy Spirit of God guides us into all truth allows born again believers in Jesus Christ to "interpret, understand, publish, and defend the truth God has once and for all delivered to the church." How can we spot untruths, heresy, apostasy and lies? By making sure that what is being espoused by any preacher, teacher, or layperson is not contradictory to what the Bible teaches!

John MacArthur explains:

That is what the Truth War is ultimately all about. It is not mere wrangling between competing earthly ideologies. It is not simply a campaign to refine someones religious creed or win a denominational spitting contest. It is not a battle of wits over arcane theological fine points. It is not an argument for sport. It is not like a school debate, staged to see who is more skilled or more clever in the art of argumentation. It is not merely academic in any sense. And it is certainly not a game. It is a very serious struggle to safeguard the heart and soul of truth itself and to unleash that truth against the powers of darkness - in hopes of rescuing the eternal souls of men and women who have been unwittingly ensnared by the trap of devilish deception.

This is a battle we cannot wage effectively if we always try to come across to the world as merely nice, nonchalant, docile, agreeable, and fun-loving people. We must not take our cues from people who are perfectly happy to compromise the truth wherever possible "for harmony's sake." Friendly dialogue may sound affable and pleasant. But neither Christ or the apostles ever confronted serious, soul-destroying error by building collegial relationships with false teachers. In fact, we are expressly forbidden to do that (Romans 16:17; 2 Corinthians 6:14-15; 2 Thessalonians 3:6; 2 Timothy 3:5; 2 John 10-11). Scripture is clear about how we are to respond when the very foundations of the Christian faith are under attack, and Jude states it succinctly: it is our bounden duty to contend earnestly for the faith.

I have to chuckle each time I see someones car with the bumper sticker that says "COEXIST" where each letter represents a different religion. It seems to me that the liberal/progressive advocates of such a symbol often hate those who adhere to true Christian faith and they tend not to hide their disdain. Just watch some of the alphabet soup news programs and commentary shows out there and you will see what I mean!

Why is there such hatred for Christians? I think that it is because of what Jesus told us in these verses:

Jhn 15:18 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before [it hated] you.

Jhn 15:19 "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Jhn 15:25 "But [this happened] that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause.'

Read the entire chapter of John 15. It starts out Jhn 15:1 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser." Jesus is speaking in these verses and He goes on to reveal that Jhn 15:5 "I am the vine, you [are] the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."

John 15 is such a comfort these days. Why? Because Jesus has warned us that followers of him will be hated. It is part of the "turf" in the warfare we are in for the souls of men.

John MacArthur continues:

Notice carefully: Jude is not suggesting (nor am I) that Christians should contend among themselves over every petty disagreement or divide into factions over every personality conflict. In fact, that is the very thing the apostle Paul condemned in 1 Corinthians 3:3-7. Divisiveness and sectarianism are terrible sins that hurt the church when major divisions are manufactured out of petty differences over trivial, doubtful, indifferent, or less-than-vital matter (Romans 14:1).

We cannot include differences over abortion or homosexual practice. They are not in the "petty disagreement" categories. Both of them break at least one, if not more of the Ten Commandments. However, a difference over whether a hard Christian rock band sings a Christmas song or a more traditional choir sings it better would be a petty argument. Such a thing is a matter of taste.

John MacArthur continues:

Now, you might think that the difference between a picayune disagreement and a serious threat to some core truth of Christianity would always be obvious and clear-cut. Usually, it is. Most of the time, it is easy enough to see the distinction between a peripheral issue and a matter of urgent and fundamental importance. But not always. And here is where mature wisdom and careful discernment become absolutely crucial for every Christian: sometimes serious threats to our faith come in subtle disguise so that they are barely noticeable. And false teachers like to surround their deadly error with some truth. Therein lies the seduction. We must never assume that things like the teacher's reputation, the warmth of his personality, or majority opinion about him are perfectly safe barometers of whether his teaching is really dangerous or not. We also shouldn't imagine that common sense, intuition, or first impressions are reliable ways of determining whether this or that error poses a serious threat or not. Scripture, and Scripture alone, is the only safe guide in this area.

As Dr. MacArthur states in that last paragraph sentence, "Scripture, and Scripture alone, is the only safe guide in this area."

Amen!!!

The term "Scripture" itself appears in the Bible 32 times!

This is a beautiful verse:

Gal 3:22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

Hat Tips:

Grace To You.org - The Truth War pp. 74-77

Blue Letter Bible and all links.

He Is Risen!

Just as he said!

I love the fact that Jesus told his disciples, in advance, that he would rise again three days later after being crucified. On the dreadful day when Jesus was beaten and nailed to the cross at Calvary, his followers must have been in deep grief. But even in this, he told them that their grief would turn to joy! And it did!! On that first Resurrection Day almost 2,000 years ago, the promises of Jesus came to fruition and we can have the ultimate confidence that all he has promised in the Scriptures regarding his second coming will also be fulfilled!

Today's message at church discussed 1 Corinthians 15:14-25, Within these verses is the fact that if Christ had not risen, then our faith is futile. But the fact of history is that Christ did rise from the dead, so our faith is secure and absolute truth. Whether a person believes this or not is up to him/her. Free will and all that.

1 Corinthians 15:20-28 - 20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For he "has put everything under his feet." Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

Looking Back, Looking Forward

Looking Back, Looking Forward

. . . saying, “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”
Luke 24:7  

Recommended Reading Matthew 16:21-28

  
Suppose someone told you of two unlikely events that would happen in the future—one in a few days, the other at an undetermined time in the future. In spite of the details he gave about each event, you found it hard to believe that he could predict the future with that kind of accuracy. Within a few days you learn that the first predicted event took place exactly as the man said. How would that change your thinking about the likelihood of the second event?

It would probably change your thinking radically. Strangely enough, even though Jesus Christ predicted His own death and resurrection on the third day—both of which were fulfilled in detail—many people don’t take seriously His promise to return to earth. On the same occasion in which Jesus told His disciples of His impending death and resurrection, He said, “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works” (Matthew 16:27).

It would be unwise to look back at Christ’s death and resurrection in belief, and not look forward to His Second Coming with expectation.

The future is as bright as the promises of God. Adoniram Judson

Read-thru-the-Bible 
2 Kings 18:1 - 20:21

*******

Today is Holy Thursday, a.k.a. Maundy Thursday. It is the day where Christians commemorate the Last Supper when Jesus shared the Passover meal with his disciples on the night before he was crucified.


Tomorrow is Good Friday, which is the day we remember and commemorate when Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross to save mankind from their sins. Upon confession and repentance of sin and belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives because of what he did for us on the cross of Calvary, we can be united to our Savior and ask for the Holy Spirit of God to indwell our hearts. The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth, helping us to read and study the Bible, do good works because we love God, and have the desire to please and serve him.  The Holy Spirit helps us to discern good vs. evil.


While reading through the March/April/May, 2002 devotional booklet called "Our Daily Bread" this morning, I was trying to decide which daily devotional to present on my blog today. I had bookmarked at least five of them as possibilities, until I turned the page once again and found THE ONE that I thought was perfect for this time of year. After reading through the devotional, I started to turn back the pages to find out the name of the author so I could give credit to him. You see, typically only the initials appear at the end of each devotional, but the authors are listed at the beginning of the booklet so we can know who they are. When I turned back, I noticed that I had skipped one page (two devotionals) that I may have most likely chosen to share today. They are so good - as are most of the devotionals - but because the pages stuck together, I didn't see them at first. One is called "Murphy's Laws," the other "The Good Life." Needless to say, I can always present them here at a later date. The one that I already made up my mind to share  (or, maybe the Holy Spirit's leading brought me there?) is the one that is best for today. It is called "Compelling Love."
~Christine

*******

Compelling Love

Read: 2 Corinthians 5:9-15

The love of Christ compels us.
-2 Corinthians 5:14

I read a story some time ago about an aspiring young golfer who spent hours in his backyard practicing his golf swing. He wasn't allowed to use a real golf ball close to the house, only a plastic, practice ball.

One day, when he thought both his parents were gone, he longed to hear the sweet click of a club head meeting a real golf ball. So he went outside, teed one up, took a mighty swing, and accidentally hit the ball through his parents' bedroom window.

I'll let him tell the rest of the story: "I heard the glass shatter, and then I heard my mother cray out. I ran into the house and up the stairs to her bedroom. She was standing there in front of the broken window and she was bleeding. I started to cry and I couldn't stop. All I could say was 'Mom, what have I done! What have I done! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!' Her response was to hug me and say, 'It's all right; every thing's going to be all right.' After that I never wanted to take a real golf ball into the backyard."

When we think about our Lord suffering for us on the cross, we want too live "for Him who died for [us] and rose again" (2 Corinthians 5:15). After we've heard His words of forgiveness, there are things we just never want to do again--in the backyard, or in any other place. - DHR (David H. Roper)

Down from His splendor in glory He came,
Into a world of woe;
Took on Himself all my guilt and my shame,
Why should He love me so? - Roth

 WHEN WE PONDER CHRIST'S LOVE FOR US,
WE'LL WANT TO LIVE FOR HIM.

Hat Tips:

David Jeremiah.org

Our Daily Bread Devotional, March/April/May 2002, May 22nd reading.

The 23rd Psalm

Psa 23:1 [[A Psalm of David.]] The LORD [is] my shepherd; I shall not want.


Psa 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.


Psa 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.


Psa 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou [art] with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.


Psa 23:5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.


Psa 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Also read:

A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23

The God Who Shepherds Us

The God Who Invites Us to Rest

The God Who Guides Us

The God Who Is With Us

Have A Merry and Blessed Christmas!

Dear Friends and Visitors,

Christmas Eve is almost here! This is often a busy day for most people. It certainly is for me so I just wanted to take a moment and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! May the blessings of Jesus Christ be upon you and your loved ones during the celebration of the miraculous occasion almost 2,000 years ago - the birth of the Savior of the world - JESUS CHRIST!

In the previous blog post entitled If Our Greatest Need Was... I wrote about the fact that the "politically correct" greetings around this time of year generally do not include the mention of the name of Jesus Christ or why he came to earth for our salvation.

Noooo!

Can't say that!

It's deemed "too religious" or a host of other excuses are used.

In the comment thread, Stevex09 shared:

Hey Christine;
I couldn't agree with you more. A person is very hard pressed to find anything about Jesus Christ or at least the mention of his name at this time of year. It saddens me immensely. Last week I took Sandy and went to a friend's home where about 7 others were gathered and we read the Christmas story from Luke and Matthew. What a great and edifying time I had. (Sandy is my Shi-Tzu). Take comfort that not all of us has forgotten what Christmas is all about.

I sincerely wish you and your family a wonderful and blessed Christmas day.

In my reply to Steve I wrote:


Hi Steve,

It warms my heart to hear about fellow Christians gathering and sharing the TRUE meaning of Christmas together - the Person Jesus Christ. He is the Light of the world!

Someone recently asked me, "why do people put Christmas lights up on their homes."

The answer is that it originally was meant to recognize that Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, is the Light of the World!

Of course, many people who do not know Him would probably have other reasons for putting the lights up. But how ironic it is to realize that they inadvertently are recognizing Jesus Christ through their actions.

I have a great post coming up that I can't wait to share with everyone!

As each busy day passes, I find that my time on the computer has been very limited! Right now, I only have about 10 minutes to spend online.

I am really looking forward to creating the new post! I'll give you a hint - it is about studying the word "power" in the Bible. It occurred to me that people probably wouldn't care less about other's belief in Jesus [and the outward expressions of the true meaning of Christmas] if they truly believed, in their heart of hearts, that there wasn't any power in His Holy Name!

I will be working on the essay over the next day or so until it gets done!

Anyway, have a Merry and Blessed Christmas! All the best to you and yours in the coming New Year!

Sincerely,
Christine

As Roy Lessin wrote in his wonderful piece of prose:

...But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Saviour.

If Our Greatest Need Was...

How sad it is to realize that certain magazines have to be so "politically correct" that their December issue does not even mention the true meaning for the celebration of Christmas?

In this example, I am referring to the fact that Prevention magazine (one that I consider as a good resource for health issues) could not see fit to mention the name of Jesus Christ anywhere in their publication!

Why is that?


The December issue is filled with "holiday" articles. However, the only time that the term "Christmas" is mentioned is within an article entitled "Why puppies make poor presents."

Not to be a Scrooge, but a Christmas canine can be a holiday hazard.

The article goes on to say:

Christmas litters may not be healthy...

Perhaps this is good advice, but is this the only article that warrants the use of the term "Christmas?"

The year that my daughter wanted a puggle puppy for Christmas ended up being fine. We bought the dog three months before Christmas so she was further along in the training schedule by the time Christmas Day was here. Of course, we were fortunate enough to be able to barricade the puppy in the kitchen when we were out and didn't have to leave her cooped up in the dog crate for hours.

Back to the topic.

Another interesting article was entitled,

"Everything you think you know about beating stress is wrong."*

*Read on for six smart new strategies to start now.

I had to laugh when I read that the authors wrote:

Yesterday's Wisdom: "OM" your way to calmness.

How ironic it was to read that some people find meditation as a "fast track to frayed nerves." According to a study published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54% of participants reported feeling anxious while meditating!

In contrast to "yesterday's wisdom", the magazine claims that

Today's Smart Strategy says, "do something you love."

I'm surprised that reading or playing with your pets wasn't mentioned. They are great stress reduction activities. Our dogs are a great joy in our lives.

The article goes on to explain "anything that allows you to disengage from your thoughts can help you relax." They mention several activities, like jogging, swimming, knitting, etc. and surprisingly, the author wrote,

"or praying, will work just as well, he says."

I would have to say that praying, Bible and devotional reading are far more superior than the other suggestions. It is unfortunate that the author either doesn't know about how calming Bible reading can be, or he didn't want to get too "religious." At least he did mention "praying."

I suppose mentioning Bible reading would have been to "divisive" in this current age of anti-Christian bigotry. It's O.K. to mention other religions, but Christianity? At Christmastime? Apparently, that's off limits at Prevention.

I dislike having to complain here but what ticked me off the most was the "Give Yourself the Gift of Holiday Healing" pages that listed "putting happiness and health, joy and inspiration on your calendar every day of December" list.

Want to know what was listed for December 25, 2010?

Window-shop. The same brain chemicals that make sex so pleasurable rise sharply when you're window-shopping. (No wonder Sex and the City had such a winning formula!) To avoid overspending, peek through the glass when stores are closed or you've left your wallet home.

WHAT????? THIS IS WHAT THEY RECOMMEND TO DO ON CHRISTMAS DAY?

How utterly sad it is to realize that the Greatest Gift of all given to mankind was ignored on this calendar list!

In closing, I would like to share a copy of what is written on this year's Christmas cards that were sent out by our family:

God Sent Us a Saviour

If our greatest need had been information,
God would have sent us an educator.

If our greatest need had been technology,
God would have sent us a scientist.

If our greatest need had been money,
God would have sent us an economist.

If our greatest need had been pleasure,
God would have sent us an entertainer.

But our greatest need was forgiveness,
so God sent us a Saviour.

- Roy Lessin

Inside the card:

This Christmas may you see and know anew how great His love is toward you.

For unto you is born this day...a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:11 KJV

To Him That Overcometh

The accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their
testimony.--Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? [It is] God
that justifieth. Who [is] he that condemneth? [It is] Christ that died, yea
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also
maketh intercession for us.

Having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly,
triumphing over them in it.

--That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

--In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.--Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. . . . And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.--But thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Re 12:10,11 Ro 8:33,34 Col 2:15 Heb 2:14,15 Ro 8:37 Eph 6:11,17 1Co 15:57



Evening

The tree of life.

God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.--He gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.--As the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth [them];
even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. . . . As the Father hath life in
himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.

To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the
midst of the paradise of God.--In the midst of the street of it, and on either
side of the river, [was there] the tree of life, which bare twelve [manner of]
fruits, [and] yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree [were]
for the healing of the nations.

Happy [is] the man [that] findeth wisdom. . . . Length of days [is] in her right
hand. . . . She [is] a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy
[is every one] that retaineth her.--Christ Jesus . . . is made unto us wisdom.

Ge 2:9 1Jo 5:11 Joh 3:16 5:21,26 Re 2:7 22:2 Pr 3:13,16,18 1Co 1:30

==================================================================
Daily Light on the Daily Path Devotional
Saturday August 28, 2010
http://bible.christiansunite.com/devotionals.shtml
==================================================================

We Will Rise - Victorious in Jesus

The unrelenting bribes and push for the terrible ObamaSCARE HELLcare bill is enough to drive all of us crazy with grief over what this awful ObaMAO administration and Liberal Dem Congress is doing against the wishes of a great majority of the American people!

While driving home from the grocery store, I was listening to Chris Tomlin's beautiful song "I Will Rise." For some reason, a statement uttered by the actress Olympia Dukakis in the movie Moonstruck came to my mind. Dukakis played the role of an older, married Italian woman (Rose Castorini) who knew that her husband (Cosmo Castorini played by Vincent Gardenia) has been cheating on her with another woman. Knowing that her husband had just come home from being with his mistress, she simply stated, "Cosmo - no matter what you do one day you are going to die, just like everybody else."

Later, she asked the "can't commit" fiancee (Johnny Cammarini played by Danny Aiello) of her daughter Loretta (played by Cher), "Why do men cheat? Why does a man need more than one woman?"

He told her in a questioning fashion, "Because they fear death?"

And Rose Castorini replied, "THAT'S IT! Thank you for answering my question!"

She is correct. One day we all will die. Me, you, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Rahm Emanuel and all the rest of those who one day will have to answer to God for all that they have said and done - the good, the bad, and the ugly - while on this earth.

Do YOU fear death?

Depending on whether or not a person is born again in Jesus Christ will determine how, where, and when they will each face Jesus Christ - the Lord of the universe. Believers will face Him at the Judgment Seat of Christ, where the Worthy Lamb's shed blood at the cross of Calvary will have saved them from the punishment for their sins. It will be a judgment of rewards.

The unsaved, will meet a different fate. They will face Jesus Christ at the White Throne Judgment. Without Christ's sacrificial death on the cross and Resurrection to life to atone for their sins, they will each have to face eternal judgment with their own sins on their souls. The result of their choice not to believe in Christ will be separation from God forever.

No matter what happens with this gangster government regime while they are in power (for a brief moment in time compared to eternity!), all that they think that they have (or will accomplish) will fall to dust and blow away when the Lamb of God calls his own unto Himself and ushers them into the Kingdom of God.

The fact that Jesus is the ONLY ONE worthy enough to open the scrolls at the end of the age shows how foolish those who do not believe in Him will be.

Listen carefully to the great lyrics (many taken straight from Scripture!) of Chris Tomlin's "I Will Rise" in this music video!

YouTube Video Link: "I Will Rise" by Chris Tomlin

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death. - Revelation 2:11 (NIV)