Good morning to all and Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in the house! Waine and I spent Mother's Day with Kai and Hailie and their parents. We got plenty of hugs and kisses and Waine got a lot of exercise running after the grandchildren as they took great delight in say "get me Poppop". I was blessed beyond expression to see these two little ones building memories of their grandfather and we are blessed to have the health and stamina to be able to interact with them. My glass is truly half-full today and running over. Satan will always try and get us to focus on our glass being half-empty and that's the time we have to gear up and praise God that our glass is half-full which is the fulfillment of His promise to us that our blessing will be pressed down, multiplied and over flowing. Praise God and hallelujah! A shout of to my nephew Jason who graduated from 8th grade over the weekend. I have had the pleasure of knowing Jason since his birth and he has turned out to be quite a handsome young man. Thanks to his Dad and Mom, he is also quite the athlete. Congratulations Jason from Auntie Steph and Uncle Waine!

I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah 25, verses 31-38 " Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them: The Lord will roar from on high; He will thunder from His holy dwelling and roar mightily against His land. He will shout like those who tread the grapes, shout against all who live on the earth.  The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth, for the Lord will bring charges against the nations; He will bring judgment on all mankind and put the wicked to the sword, declares the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth.” At that time those slain by the Lord will be everywhere—from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered up or buried, but will be like dung lying on the ground. Weep and wail, you shepherds; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock for your time to be slaughtered has come; you will fall like the best of the rams. The shepherds will have nowhere to flee, the leaders of the flock no place to escape. Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wailing of the leaders of the flock, for the Lord is destroying their pasture. The peaceful meadows will be laid waste because of the fierce anger of the Lord. Like a lion He will leave His lair, and their land will become desolate because of  the sword of the oppressor and because of the Lord’s fierce anger." Amen. May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

When I read this passage I was reminded of Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, BUT the gift of of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord." What God was communicating through Jeremiah was that the natural consequence of sin  IS death and destruction. God wishes that none perish which is the natural consequence of His LOVE for us however because we have free will, God cannot force His love on us. We  must accept it. He can warn us; He can show us the consequences of sin and our acceptance of sin; He can reveal the calamity that will befall us when we remove His protective Hand from us. He cannot make us accept His love but will try everything short of that! Hallelujah! I finally get it. Jeremiah is not about God's wrath its about the nature of Sin. Sin separates us from the Natural Love of God and the protection it provides. The scriptures describe Satan as a "roaring lion" ready to devour us. The lion's nature is to kill and destroy and when we are not in the protection of God's love we are vulnerable to the destruction that is all around us. Do not be fooled with what you see with your eyes. This world is a dangerous place without the love of God. Satan is a liar and the father of all the chaos and calamity that befalls you. Money and fame cannot protect you from Satan. Likewise God can shield you from all of it on a minute to minute basis is you let Him. If you let Him in to your life and then let Him steer your life, there is protection from the Great Deceiver. God implores us to take heed. He wants us to share this wonder Gift of Jesus that provides that protective hedge of Love and Security that we need. Do not be fooled that money, wealth or man made power can protect you. Remember what we have seen in Jeremiah. Death and destruction befell the kings and rulers just as readily as it befell the farmers in the field. Satan is the great destroyer who will try and fool you and the world. We, as Christians, have the key--we know the Savior. Isn't it time to stop fooling around and share this wonderful gift with all we know. Christ was not "just a great man and prophet". He is not like Buddha, or Mohammad, or Confucius. It is not enough to be moral. All these great men have come, walked among us and then died. Only one conquered the grave that is Jesus the son of God. Isn't it time that we all declared the Glory of the Lord to all mankind so that they too can be saved? Today, let your light shine that others may come to know the salvation that is available to them.

Have a GREAT day and keep your eyes open for all the blessings that God has in store for you today. 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. Amen and amen.

Stephanie