Consider the lilies of the field… Matt 6:28
This year in reading through the bible with a checking off of the scriptures in a booklet prepared by Gary I decided to read Max Lucado’s Devotional Bible. I was reading in Luke 10 when I came across Max Lucado’s insight into Mary and Martha. He says Mary had thoughts to think and Martha had things to do. Is that any of us? Guilty of picking up that broom and off you go! Yes!
Ties That Bind, Ties That Break is a book that I just finished reading by Lensey Namioka. It tells about a young girl who decided to stand up against a century old custom of having feet bound. As a result of her stance, her engagement was broken off. No engagement for a girl who wouldn’t consent to her feet being bound. She then went on to a missionary school where she learned English with the hopes of becoming a teacher. Very few Chinese women ever became teachers. When her father died of tuberculosis her uncle gave her three choices, none of which she liked and it certainly didn’t include finishing school. She ran away and went to work taking care of two missionary children. She became a fine teacher and later moved to America never to see her family again.
Continue reading “My Book Review-Ties That Bind, Ties That Break”
After our gospel lesson at Christ C. International on Luke 10 this morning I was asked to read Oh Zion, Haste. As our team huddled in prayer before the service praying for this glorious web site, I could not help to think that God knew long ago of the site and placed the words in the heart and soul of Mary A. Thomson in 1868. I thought you the reading audience would enjoy reading it as well. If you have any doubt of sharing your love for Jesus to touch others in the nations, read the hymn again.
O Zion, haste, thy mission high fulfilling,
To tell to all the world that God is light,
That He who made all nations is not willing
One soul should perish, lost in shades of night.
I suppose the “giving seasons” are officially over….like Christmas and Valentine’s Day and I would venture to guess that many people heave a sigh of relief. Like relief from searching for the right gift for the right (or wrong) person. Like anxiousness over budgets and expenses. And many of us say that we are just not going to go all out with giving and and presenting , anymore! Plus, we get myriads of pleas in the mail for missions and soup kitchens and children’s disease funds and Girl Scout Cookies with precious little pumpkins looking innocently into your narrowing eyes, their big eyes pleading with you to please buy their wares. Do we need MORE cookies? Of course not, but who can resist these virtuous little entrepreneurs?
I am not a Shakespearian by any means. But, at times while struggling to read Shakespeare, there would be a ‘pop up’ that my mind would believe he wrote just for me.
His words would shake and spear my soul. One of my very favorites always sounds loudly in my ears, “…it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.” (Macbeth-Shakespeare)
One of my ears would hear Shakespeare and one of my ears would hear Jesus as recorded by Matthew…
“But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. (Matthew 12:36)
Read this Passage from the Message with me, “You have minds like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded? It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard. Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation.” (Matthew 12:34 -37)
“Fear is the darkroom where negatives develop.”
– Max Walker
Share Your Joy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anonymous
“The genuinely happy person shares his joy and reaches out to those who are in distress. Show him that you care.”
We bless you today, Tammy. We thank you for timely wisdom that you give us daily as you use the beautiful gift of encouragement that God has given you for each of us and you are obedient to write here daily to encourage us. The gift of encouragement God has given you in words are like His when they come through a vessel/servant like yourself.
May you see God smile on you and your family today. See and hear His laughter in the reflection of these wind air balloons each and everyday as they fly over your little southern village to bless you and smile on you and yours.
I saw Jesus, today! I followed Him down dusty pathways, through steamy market places, across sandy dunes, over a raging sea and through waving wheat fields. Oh, I wasn’t the only one, but it felt as though it were just He and I.
And as we were walking toward a little town, Nain I think, is the name, here comes a funeral procession. A young man had suffered an UNTIMELY death leaving his poor, widowed mother all alone . Oh, the anguish on her face as she trudged alongside the bier. I looked at Jesus to see what He would do and I saw the compassion well up in His eyes and He went over and touched the bier. To my astonishment, the young man slowly sat up right in front of our whole crowd. We were filled with amazement as Jesus gave the young man back to his mother. No words can describe the joy on her face as she held her son in her arms. All I wanted to do was kiss His feet out of sheer reverence and adoration for such supernatural, compassionate work of this amazing Man.
Today, my friend, Wendy asked if I could recite the ten commandments. I have to admit it, I could not remember them all, to recite them to her. Lord, forgive me, I want to practice them now; so I can recite them, and apply
them to everyday life. I’d like to ask, how many of us can actually recite the ten commandments, with out cheating? (Exodus chapter 20: 1-17)
thedailylily.com 