Thought you all would enjoy this as the New Year approaches. Just maybe we can be our best in 2023!! Love Mel
“Apprehended”
A mild-mannered man was being tailgated by a stressed-out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection. The tailgating woman hit the roof, and the horn, screaming in frustration and flipping him a bird and shaking her fist as she missed her chance to get through the intersection. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, finger printed, photographed and placed in a holding cell.
After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door.
She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects. He said, “I’m very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the ‘Choose Life’ license plate holder, the ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ bumper sticker, the
‘Follow Me to Sunday School’ bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk. Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car!”
How to Bring Glory to God
Rev 4:11 (ESV) Worthy are you, our Lord & God, to receive glory & honor & power, for you created all things, & by your will they existed & were created. Luke 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, & on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased! Psalm 57:5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
How to bring Glory to God in our everyday life?
1. Seek to do good. 1 Cor 10:31 —So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
2. Come Worship Him & Believe in Christ as our offering! —1 Chron 16:29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering & come before Him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
3. Live a thankful life! —Psalm 50:23 The one who offers thanksgiving as His sacrifice glorifies Me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God.
4. Declare! —1 Chron 16:4 Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples!
5. Pray in Jesus Name! —John 14:13 Whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
6. Live a pure life! Take care of your temple! —1 Cor 6:20 For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
7. Honor His Name above every name! —Psalm 115:1 O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory, for the sake of Your steadfast love & Your faithfulness
8. Worship Him in Spirit & Truth! Hold nothing against your brother! —John 4:23 The hour is coming, & is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit & truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. —Have a Blessed Christmas Love Mel
The Danger of Doubting
The Danger of Doubting. I will summarize a message from Charles Spurgeon I heard today. In 1 Sam 27:1 David says “one of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul”. To doubt God – is a grievous sin. Yet David – the man after God’s own heart committed it. David is the one who said “by my God I will run over a troop” and “God will destroy all my enemies”. The man who wrote countless love songs of praise to the God who always saved him, seems to say God will let him be destroyed. Why? It was because he was under pressure for many months and years. His troubles never seemed to end. He finally lost hope it seemed. So then what did this loss of hope cause him to do? It caused him to seek help from the Philistines – the mortal enemies of Davids people. He ended up doing raids for the Philistine king and killing the enemies of the Philistines and other people in the land, and then reporting to the king that he had been killing Israelites. What then happened? Well the Lord allowed that the place where David’s and his men and their families were staying (Ziklag) would be captured. David and his men thought all their families were dead. His men wanted to kill him. But David “encouraged himself in the Lord”, and God graciously allowed that the families were preserved alive and returned. If things get tough – even for a long time – don’t give up. Don’t doubt God or it may cause you to seek help elsewhere and make bad decisions. Keep a warm heart towards God – he will make all things right in the end. By the way – Charles Spurgeon – the Prince of Preachers – old sermons can be found on youtube. Nobody’s says it quite like him in my book. Love Mel
Hanukkah – the Meaning and Origins
The 18th of December was the beginning of Hanukkah or the Festival of Lights or the Feast of Dedication. The festival is not in the Torah because it began around 150BC which is much later than when Moses wrote Leviticus. It is a celebration of the re-dedication of the temple of God. The temple was desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes the Seleucid Greek who stopped all Jewish worship in Jerusalem and offered a pig as a sacrifice in the temple to Zeus. A brave group of Jews called the Maccabee’s conducted Guerrilla warfare and eventually expelled the Greeks and re-dedicated and cleansed the temple of God. According to the Talmud, There was one days worth of anointed oil to light the temple menorah – but it lasted 8 days. We are the temple of God. Let us use this time of year to re-dedicate and cleanse our temples. “Test me and try me oh God – to see if there be any wicked way in me” were the words of David. Let them be our words. Evil forces are indeed everywhere. Let us get our house in order and be among those – saved by grace – who will hear “well done my good and faithful servant, i was hungry and you fed me, and i was naked and you clothed me, and i had no home and you gave me a place.” Let your light shine before men and so give glory to your father in heaven. The Festival of Lights is upon us. — John 10:22-23 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, & Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 1 Cor 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own. — With sin so prevalent today in our world, this rededication of our body as the temple of God is to be set apart from the world. Maybe it is time! Love Mel
Sow Bountifully!
Hos 10:12 (ESV)Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that He may come & rain righteousness upon you. Luke 6:38 Give, & it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you. 2Cor 9:6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, & whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Prov 11:25 (NIV) A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. — Barnes notes: “He, who is “our Righteousness,” came down from heaven, to give life to us, who were dried and parched up and withered, when the whole face of our mortal nature was as dead.”— His righteousness is all that we need or require. Love Mel
