bahmer

Amen and Amen

no propaganda please Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun

Crosswalk the Devotional


What Are You Thankful For?
by Ryan Duncan, Crosswalk.com Entertainment Editor

“I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.” – Psalms 69:30

A while back, there was an episode of The Simpsons in which the family is celebrating Thanksgiving. When the time came to say grace, Bart Simpson bowed his head and said,

“Dear God, we paid for all this stuff ourselves, so thanks for nothing.”

The first time I saw this clip on TV I remember feeling a mix of emotions. On one hand, I was angry that such cynicism was being shown toward God and a day celebrating thankfulness. On the other hand, I couldn’t help but relate to Bart a little. I was at a time in my life when everything seemed out of control. I had no money, my life felt like it was stuck in neutral, and my future was looking pretty bleak. Why should I be thanking God for anything?

If you’ve ever been in my situation, I want to point you toward a passage of scripture that helped me put things in perspective,

“On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" And he said to him, "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.’” – Luke 17:11-19

It’s easy to spend our lives worrying and obsessing over the problems of life. It’s also easy to overlook a blessing in times of need, or forget to be thankful when troubled times have been put to rest. Be sure you don’t become one of the nine lepers, who were so happy to be cured that they forgot who cured them. This Thanksgiving, I encourage you to spend time remembering what God has done in your life.

Intersecting Faith and Life: Wh**ever your situation may be, count your blessings and take a moment to thank God for them.

Further Reading

Psalms 95:1-6

BearK Loc: TN

Amen, praise the Lord. Amen.

BearK Loc: TN

Prayer for 11/24/15

How Great Thou Art, words to a much loved hymn, words we should utter each morning as we awaken, in a land where we have peace. Most of us have a place to sleep, enough to eat, and a winter coat or two. Do we start our day thanking the Lord for these gifts? All that we have, He has so generously supplied, it is His. Do we care for it, like the two good servants, in the Bible story from Matthew 25:14-30? His daily blessings are more than we even imagine. Praise the Lord, from whom all blessings flow.

Yes, Lord, each morning You Raise Me Up. You have blessed me with more than I can begin to enumerate, more than I need, how do I thank You, how do I show my gratitude? There is nothing You need that I can supply, so what can I give to You? Humbly, I bring You my heart, my soul, my words of praise and blessings. I invite You to join me as I drink my coffee, to be with me as I gaze up at Your remarkable heaven. All that You provide for me, the beauty of nature that surrounds me, Your generous love and care, I thank You.


Each day, I awake to Your Amazing Grace. Do I share that grace, and the story of Your love and sacrifice for me? How best can I do that, how do I give back to You? I have only my words of praise for You, for all Your blessings. It seems like I am walking in a world I no longer recognize, a world where some want to exclude You. Bless me with the strength to always stand tall for You and for Your Word, Lord. Walk with each of us this day, I pray in the name of Jesus, giving You all honor, glory, and praise. Amen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GKhDCsLrUg How Great Thou Art

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COayNmm2bf0 You Raise Me Up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDdvReNKKuk Amazing Grace

bahmer

Amen and Amen

bdamage Loc: My Bunker

In the name of Christ Jesus....AMEN!

bdamage Loc: My Bunker

AMEN AMEN AMEN!!!!!!

bdamage Loc: My Bunker

Verse of the Day for Tuesday November 24th, 2015:

Be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. — 1 Samuel 12:24

Thoughts on Today's Verse....

God is awesome and mighty. He can do anything he chooses to do. So isn't it amazing of all the things he could do, he chooses to do one thing especially well: God blesses us! God blesses us with material blessing, he blesses us with spiritual blessings, he blesses us with big things, he blesses us with small things, he blesses us with hope, he blesses us beyond pain, he blesses us now, he blesses us in the future, he blesses us...

My Prayer...

Generous and gracious God, thank you for blessing me in so many ways. Please use my life to be a blessing to others and a glory to you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

The Thoughts and Prayer on Today's Verse are written by Phil Ware.

no propaganda please Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun

Tuesday, November 24, 2015



Crosswalk.com - The Devotional

Crosswalk the Devotional

The Time for Radical Action is Now
Alex Crain, Editor, Crosswalk.com Contributor

"...if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live."
Romans 8:13

Aron Ralston's grisly experience during a climbing expedition illustrates a spiritual t***h that makes me wince. If you aren't familiar with the story, take a look at his book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place (© 2004 Simon & Schuster), which is a detailed tell-all of his ordeal that occurred in late April 2003.

The experienced 27 year-old outdoorsman jumped into his truck that spring morning, bringing just enough food and water for the day. He took off by himself, driving 150 miles south of Salt Lake City to his favorite spot—a remote canyon area that used to be the hideout for wild-west outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

By afternoon, he was suspended seventy-five feet high off the canyon floor—climbing in a crevice that was just a few feet wide. It was a near perfect day. But then without warning, a boulder suddenly broke loose from the rock wall above him, hurtled down and trapped Ralston's right arm against the wall, completely crushing his hand. At that instant, Aron's hand—one of his greatest assets—had now become his greatest liability.

Five whole days passed as he tried various ways to free himself—all to no avail. His efforts to chip away at the boulder with a pocket knife only made a small dent. Rigging up a pulley system to move the boulder proved fruitless.

Finally, a moment of decisive clarity came. The thoughts came fast and furious: he could break his forearm, cut through the muscle with his dirty pocket knife, detach his arm, and use a piece of rope as a tourniquet.

Aron explains that he was driven by "some sort of autopilot" as he went about the gruesome task of amputating his own right arm just below the elbow. After he was finished, Aron lowered himself down and began trudging slowly in the direction of his truck. Later, he stumbled across two hikers who used a mobile phone to call in a rescue helicopter. Amputating his right arm was a radical act, but it was one that saved his life and reunited him with his family.

God calls us to deal with sin in our life in a way that is surprisingly similar. The Bible doesn't offer a laid-back, live-and-let-live approach at all. It's so radical, that we don't really like hearing about it or talking about it. Recall what Jesus said in Matthew 5:30, "If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell." While Jesus was not literally talking about physical amputation, He was saying that sin's deadly effects call for extreme measures. Even though it hurts, we must rid sin from our lives. In fact, our eternal destiny hinges on how we deal with sin.

Really? Well, why else would Jesus talk about hell in the same breath that He talks about how we are to deal with sin if He didn't mean to teach that our eternal destiny hangs in the balance? Clearly, it's a matter of preferring one destiny over the other. Outward behavior indicates what the heart primarily loves. If Aron Ralston had stayed there on the canyon wall with his hand pinned down by the boulder, he would have died. But because he was willing to k**l his hand, his life was saved.

The same goes with us as we deal with sin. It really comes down to what we value most. Colossians 3:5 says, "Put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry." The world may tell us to laugh about sin, to lighten up about it, to tolerate it, and just let it be… that it's not idolatry; it's not an issue of worship. God says the opposite is true.

Intersecting Faith & Life: What has you pinned down? What are you trying to hang on to that is robbing you of the blessings of abundant life or, perhaps, preventing you from being restored to a brother or sister in Christ? What is keeping you from treasuring the Lord above all other things? Read the first two links below as you have time, but most of all pray for grace to heed God's radical call to amputate sin from your life.

Further Reading
Romans 8:10

BearK Loc: TN

Yes, blessed in so many ways. Amen

no propaganda please Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun

his morning I was thinking about Thanksgivings past, and a story came to mind. SWMBO and I were at a seminar, and during one of the breaks, we met a couple only a few years younger that we are. they told us about their kids, a 10 year old boy and a 13 year old girl at the time and one of their most memorable Thanksgivings. the kids were starting the whinny stage, not nice enough clothes, a little TV an old car, you know the drill. This was before I phones, tablet computers and all those other gadgets, but the kids felt put upon, and couldn't find anything to be thankful. The wife's grandfather had a house way back in the woods, which, after his passing,still stayed in the family. They decided to take the kids to the house and spend a few days there not telling the kids what was in store for them. The house was in the middle of the woods in Michigan (where this couple lived back then) It had a wood burning stove for heat and cooking, a cistern with pump for water, and an out house, a two hole no less. The couple told the kids that grandpa was raised in this house, along with his two sisters, sharing one bedroom with the parents, and blankets to provide privacy and keep the warmth in around each bed. The couple and their kids stayed for four or five days, no amenities at all. Deer and owls, hawks and chipmunks, many bears wandering through heating hardy because they were getting ready to hibernate. For the first two days the kids whined and pouted, nothing was right, fair, or welcome. Then the animals got through to the kids and they started to realize the beauty of god's world. The girl started to draw pictures of the animals, the boy used his camera to take lots of pictures of animals, their tracks in the mud and snow, and each other chopping wood, pumping water and other chores. By the time they left, they know about God's gifts, were looking forward to sharing them with their friends and thought it was the best Thanksgiving they had ever had. Apparently the kids went back to the house a few times, before moving away to marry and start their own families. The year before we met them, the man said his son took his wife and kids to share the gift that has kept on giving through the generations.
Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends on OPP, may God's blessings be with you, and His love abound. NPP and SWMBO

AuntiE Loc: 45th Least Free State

I am asking all of you to issue a prayer of blessing and well wishes for a lady, whose name I do not have. She is the manager of the Liberty Gas/Service Station on Bradley Blvd. She, literally, saved me from a severe car accident today and refused any payment for the service provided.

Thank you for your prayers for this lady.

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

The lady is owed an immense debt of gratitude, not only by you, but by all of us, AuntiE. Consider the prayers, blessings and well wishes a done deal. I certainly hope you suffered no damages or injuries in said incident. :|

BearK Loc: TN

Thank You, Lord, for this samaritan who saved our dear AuntiE from a serious accident. We ask that you bless her, and bless each of us this Thanksgiving. Help us to count our blessings, give thanks accordingly, and pray for those who are in war torn areas, or suffering due to pain, loss, loneliness, or for any other reason. Also, we ask that You care for the homeless, lead them to a mission where they will receive assistance. This we ask in Jesus name. Amen

no propaganda please Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun

She is in our prayers, auntiE. We owe her a great deal for saving our aunti. the good Lord works in hidden ways, but is with us always.