Relax ... and live another day

Is this you?

Sometimes it's me.

It's hard to unwind.

The mind never stops.

Technology affords instant and constant contact with life around us and around the world.  And the world is busy.

Shut the world down for a bit.

Read a book.

Listen to music.

Laugh with a friend.

Listen to a good sermon.

Write a blog.

Sign off.

Rest.

Relax

and live another day.

God is good - all the time and

all the time - God is good.

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GREETINGS FROM BELIZE

We are enjoying these few days of cooler weather.  Today is was about 81 degrees, but it feels cooler because of the gentle breeze.  Today was slower paced.  Studying has been our mail goal.  We're blessed to teach a class at the Assemblies of God Bible Institute in Belize City.  Tommy teaches on Tuesday night....and I teach on Thursday night.  My subject is, "Old Testament Historical Books" ... from 6 pm to 8 pm.

We have a team of workers arriving next Thursday from Arkansas -- so I am striving to get ahead on lesson preparations for the next two weeks.  Today I concluded my study guide for lesson 12, the Books of I and II Chronicles.

Although it's a relatively short lesson, it is packed with great truths....and these points show just how on target God was and is, regarding His plan for the Messiah to appear!  I Chronicles 17:14  "But I will settle him in My house and My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forevermore."

I'm amazed at just how steadily and perfectly God stays on course with His plan.  He used imperfect men and women and He chose them based upon their obedience to Him ... because that obedience produced the character needed for the task ahead.  Personal character actually grows out of obedience to God.

A story is included in this chapter of a minister in a large city who was beset by all the pressures of the pastoral scene.  In desperation, he searched for and found a place where he could get away from the phone and demands of his office.  He found it in the baptistry of his large church.  As he honored God by seeking His face daily and waiting in His presence, God honored him and enlarged his ministry so that the work of that church prospered and grew beyond all that could have been done through human means.

The next paragraph is one to remember:

*"Love for God will always leave its material mark.  When men of God were possessed of holy faith, something material always happened as a testimony of God's power and their faith (Hebrews 11).  In David's case it was the temple that was brought into being.  But let us be brought again to the basic truth that God's work is fundamentally spiritual in nature even though it is material in expression.  The temple of God must first be built in the human heart; then its material expression will be blessed and used of God.  The reverse order can never succeed."

LOVE is the focus of the weekend.  And I love this sentence:  "Love for God will always leave its material mark."   We love ... then we express that love.  God loved ... and He expressed that love to us through Jesus Christ.

May the love of God abound in your hearts and may your love for Him ... and obedience of His word, produce the character in you which will launch the plan of God in your life.

Much love from Belize ...

* (from Study Guide by Amos Millard, based on the textbook, "The Historical Books" by L. Thomas Holdcroft)

Scriptures To Pray For Our National Election

This is a crucial hour for our nation.  Perhaps, more than ever before, we must seriously look at where we are, where we are headed, and the freedom that is being taken from us.  The pot is slowly coming to a boil, while we look the other way ... busy tending to our life with it's concerns.

I discovered a blog this morning while searching for scriptures to use in praying for our nation.  The author encouraged sharing these verses for use in prayer for our upcoming election.  I'm posting the content along with the link.  

You may want to print/share this, also.  Christians, we are powerful in prayer!  Now is the time to rise and declare the Word of the Lord.  Now is the time to practice what we preach!  

Prayer is just as powerful today as it ever has been in the past because God has not changed. God is still on the throne. Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me (Jeremiah 32:27)? Nothing is too hard for God.

Scriptures To Pray For Our National Election II Chronicles 7:14  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, will heal their land.     Acts 17:30 - Pray for repentance for yourself and for our nation.  Psalm 32:6-7 - Pray that Christians will be motivated to pray faithfully for this election and that the Lord would deliver us from the wrong leaders.  Proverbs 16:13 - Pray that our nation will listen to the truth and not be led astray.  Psalm 125 - Pray that those who trust in the Lord will not be shaken.  Psalm 86:14-17 - Pray that the Lord would defeat those who have no regard for Him in this election.  II Kings 13:16 - Pray that the Lord would put His hands on the man of His choice for president (and his team) and guide them in this election.    Luke 12:54-57 – Pray that God's man and our nation will be discerning and do what is right.  Psalm 16:7-8 - Pray that the Lord would give wise counsel and guidance to His choice for president in this campaign.  Proverbs 1:5-6 - Pray that God's man will listen with discernment, add to his knowledge, and receive wise counsel in this campaign. John 16:33 - Pray that the man of God's choice would be given wisdom and ability from the Lord to overcome any obstacle or difficulty during this campaign.  Philippians 4:13 - Pray that the Lord's choice for President will have special strength and unusual ability from God.        Psalm 18:32-36 - Pray that the Lord would arm the man of His choice with strength; would guide him in battle (this election); and would sustain him and give him victory.    Hebrews 11:32-34 – Pray that God's man could, through faith, persevere and maintain his courage throughout this election.        2 Corinthians 12:9 – Pray that the Lord would empower and enable his man in any area of weakness.    Habakkuk 1:5 and 3:2 - Pray that the Lord would do something that would utterly amaze us and give His servant victory.     Please print out this prayer guide and pray daily until the election.   Please forward this to every Christian you know! http://wellscountyvoice.com/scriptures-to-pray-for-our-national-election-p7258-300.htm ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~