What's Your Pedigree?

Good morning to all on this glorious Sunday morning. Waine and I are in Atlanta for a short weekend. Had a wonderful dinner with our son Aleron last night; Aleron finished his first full week of employment as a staff physician for Kaiser. Please continue to  keep him in your prayers as he navigates the "ins" and "outs" of being a GREAT physician. Many of you know by  now that Waine's email was hacked last week. Many people got a email saying that he was stranded in the Philippines and needed $2,000. So many people called with their concern, 1) to notify us that his email had been hacked, 2) many people wanted to help in any way they could. Malcolm Taylor always said, "If you  have God, family and friends, you   may stumble but will never hit the ground". Thank you all for your concern and prayers. We are both fine and were never in the Philippine and it is good to know we have friends that  care about us.

 

I am continuing my journey  in 1 John 2: 1- 29 " My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.  We know that we have come to know Him if we keep His commands.  Whoever says, “I know Him,” but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys His Word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did. Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. 

 

I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of His name. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one. Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. he world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.  

 

Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.  I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.  As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.  And this is what He promised us—eternal life. I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in Him. And now, dear children, continue in Him, so that when He appears we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of Him." Amen and may the Lord add a Blessing to the Reading and Hearing of His Word.

 

I have been CONVICTED lately that my life has to demonstrate the  LIGHT and LIFE of Christ. I am reminded daily that Jesus Christ does not have a pedigree of strife, confusion, misery or  bad outcomes. God, through Christ, ONLY bears fruit of abundance. Last week was a very stress filled week for me. There were so many things that seemed to be going wrong. The whirlwind of confusion and strife was overwhelming. I was caught up in it and felt hopeless until I remembered that this  STRIFE and CONFUSION was not of God. I then rebuked Satan and begin to think on the PROMISES of God!  The God we serve is not a God of confusion or hopelessness. He is a God of Victory and when we step out on faith and claim the victory our solutions are at hand. The temptation is to be caught up in the strife and confusion -- instead what we should do is to begin to praise the God of our salvation for our deliverance from the confusion caused by the father of lies--the evil one.

 

If this day finds you in the midst of confusion, rebuke the devil in Jesus name and he will flea from you. Satan can not be in the same space as God or Jesus so he will flea and his twin towers of confusion and strife will leave with him. We do not have power over the spiritual battle that  is taking place but God is in the forefront of our lives to protect us and to ensure that we have abundance today. When you think about your spiritual pedigree, does it reflect the God that has brought you  out of the mired clay? Others are watching so be blessed today so that you can bless others.

 

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

 

Stephanie

To Make Your Joy Complete!

Good morning to all! What a treat to have Internet services that actually work!!! We have just returned from Jamaica and the celebration of my birthday and Waine's 70th birthday and are at our home in Atlanta. We had all the children and grandchildren compressed into a week of sun, fun and what families do--discuss vigorously all the things that matter to them. After reflection, it occurred to me that Waine and I have to work harder to get every one together more than once a year. You can email and call but nothing takes the place of being in each other's space and face. I truly appreciate the expense that our child went to to be at the Dad's 70th birthday celebration. We were able to secure a 6 bedroom villa in Montego Bay. I went grocery shopping so much the grocery baggers knew me on a first name basis. The cook(s) at the villa had to constantly keep 15 people fed inclusive of 6 very opinionated and nevertheless hungry grandchildren. Needless to say I am not looking forward to seeing the inside of a grocery store anytime soon. As of the penning of this blog passage everyone has arrived home safely and for that I thank God for His mercies and blessings. 

We have completed 1st and 2nd Peter and I am continuing my spiritual journey in 1 John 1 verses 1-10, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of Life. The Life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.  If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.  If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His Word is not in us." Amen and may the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

What a powerful passage!! Headline---GOD DOES NOT EXPECT THAT WE WILL LIVE WITHOUT SIN or SINNING! That is the WHOLE point of the sacrifice of Christ. God knows the heart of man--He has been dealing with our hearts from the beginning (Adam and Eve). He knows that we will sin EVEN when we strive not to. He doesn't look at our behavior but He looks at our heart!!! He doesn't want us to dwell on our behavior but on the forgiveness that is already freely available. The only being that wants you to dwell on sin is the progenitor of it--Satan. I have "mouthed" these words on many occasions but I JUST GOT IT. God does not hold our sin against us--He doesn't beat us up about it--He only desires that we confess them and then move on. Does this mean we, as Christians, can live any life we chose. No and God knows that the more we yield our hearts to Him the more we will be willing and able to turn our lives to Him and move on. You see "sin" does more harm to the people watching us as Christians than it does to Christians. We are covered but people in the world are not so we not only hurt ourselves we hurt those that look to us for strength and sustenance. Sin also prevents us from enjoying the life that God has planned for us. He came that we might have life and in ABUNDANCE. He came to make our joy complete. If you are a Christian and are reading this and you are not happy then you are not connected into the source of your joy. Confess your sins even if you don't know what they are and then move on to assume your position of joy!! Claim your joy now--not today, NOW.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Stephanie

The Lord is Not SLOW--He is Patient!

Good morning to all on this 1st Sunday in July. We had Kai and Hailie last weekend and this weekend we have Brooks our oldest grandson. Melanie and her 2 children are also here so we have a full house here in Thomaston and it is GREAT! We miss having kids around us. I love a full house! My nephew Jason is still in Japan, so keep him in your prayers. We serve a  mighty good God and His Grace and Mercy are ever abiding!

 

I am continuing my journey in 2 Peter 3 verses 1 - 18, "Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking.  I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.  Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ He promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s Word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water.  By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.  By the same Word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.  But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.   But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives  as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.  So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him.  Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.  He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.  Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.  But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen.".  Amen! May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

 

The first time I read this chapter this morning, I was not struck by the POWER of what Peter was saying. By the third time I started to get what Peter was talking about. There are those among us who would have you believe that that scriptures are not the inspired Word of God. These scoffers would have you believe that there is no God; that He is a figment of our need to imagine a Power greater than ourselves. Be careful of these folk. They are "good" people; they live for the most part moral lives and they are being deceived by Satan just like Eve and Adam were. God is true to His Word. Ask Eve and Adam. God commanded that they NOT eat of the Tree of Knowledge for they would surely die and folk are dying every day. When these folk die they wake up to a new reality--it will either be in the presence of God through Christ or it will be an eternity without God. That is what the scripture says and there is no myth about it. I believe that God would have put an end to all of this but with each generation, more people come to know and love Him which is why we were created in the first place. To know Him and to love Him though repentance and through acceptance of Christ as the payment for the sin of disobedience. You have to ask yourself, what have you done today to forward the Kingdom of God to a confused world. A world of Attention Deficit folk! Were you a beacon of light or were you just another bump in the road helping others to stumble. Sometimes its good to look into yourself.

 

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

 

Stephanie