Our Plans May Fail, but...

If we plan according to our own ideas, the Lord will leave us to our own mistakes. But, when, after following His directions, we are brought into tight places, God will deliver us.

We are not to give up in discouragement, but in every emergency we are to seek help from God who has infinite resources at His command.

Desire of Ages, 369, E G White

Silence of the Soul

When every other voice is hushed, and in quietness we wait before Him, the silence of the soul makes more distinct the voice of God.  He bids us, “Be still, and know that I Am God.” ( Psalm 46:10).

   Desire of Ages, 363, E G White

The Throb that Vibrates to the Father's Heart

Jesus assures His disciples of God’s sympathy for them in their needs and weaknesses. 

Not a sigh is breathed, not a pain felt, not a grief pierces the soul, but the throb vibrates to the Father’s heart.    Desire of Ages, 356, E G White

HIT & RUN !

October 2015, I (Deb M)  was in a car accident.  I was sitting still and another car hit me head on then drove off – it was a hit and run! The air conditioner was decimated, the engine was shoved around, and the car was totaled to the tune of $6,800.00, but I had only two small bruises.

God protected me. God blesses!

Our Jesus Thirsts for Our Love

Our Redeemer thirsts for recognition. He hungers for the sympathy and love of those whom He has purchased with His own blood. He longs with inexpressible desire that we will come to Him and have eternal life.

As the mother watches for the smile of recognition from her little child, which tells of the dawning of intelligence, so does Christ watch for the expression of grateful love, which shows that spiritual life is begun in the soul.

based on Desire of Ages, 191, E G White

Joy to the World !

The Prince of Heaven was among His people. The greatest gift of God had been given to the world.

Joy to the poor - for Christ had come to make them heirs of His kingdom!
Joy to the rich - for Christ would teach them how to secure eternal riches!
Joy to the ignorant - for Christ would make them wise unto salvation!
Joy to the educated - for Christ would open to them deeper mysteries than they had ever fathomed!

Truths that had been hidden from the foundation of the world would be opened to humanity by the Savior's mission.

based on Desire of Ages, p 277, E G White
 

Help for Anxiety

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.  Psalm 9:9

When I said, “my foot is slipping,” God’s love supported me. When anxiety was great within me, God’s love brought joy to my soul.  Psalm 94:18-19

For I am the Lord your God, who takes hold of your right hand, and says to you, “Do not fear, I will help you.”  Isaiah 41:13

My body and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and portion forever.  Psalm 73:26

Jesus says, “Do not let your heart be troubled, Trust in God, trust also in Me.”  John 14:1

 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, with prayer and thankfulness, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which is higher than all understanding, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:6-8

Depression

The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you. He will never leave you or forsake you.  Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:8

Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”  Matthew 11:28

Do not be afraid!  For it is your [heavenly] Father’s desire to give you the kingdom of Heaven.  Luke 12:32

In the day of trouble I will call to God, and He will answer me. Psalm 86:7

Cast your worries on the Lord and He will sustain you. Psalm 55:22

God heard my cry for mercy when I called to Him for help…Be strong and take courage all you who hope in the Lord.  Psalm 31: 22, 24

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their cry.  Psalm 34:15

Our Defense Attorney in the Final Judgment

          The Biblical judicial system was not like ours.  The one bringing the charges served as prosecutor.  The judge served as defense attorney.  If the judge realized the charges were serious, he could call for the accused's eldest male relative to sit at his right side to help him with the defense.

          Jesus speaks with the Father, because they are both on the same side defending us against Satan's accusations!!  This is why the Bible speaks of looking forward to God's Judgment.  It means vindication to those who love and obey the Lord!!

          "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ..." 2 Corinthians 5:10.  "The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son."  John 5:22.

           "Who is to judge us?  It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, for He is at the right hand of God, who intercedes for us!"  Romans 8:34.   "And to testify that it is He [Jesus] who was ordained of God to be the Judge of the living and dead."  Acts 10:42.

          Jesus speaks, "My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me."  John 8:16.   "…if anyone sins, we have an Attorney with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous." 1 John 2:1.  "He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man God ordained."  Acts 17:31.

           "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  1 John 1:9.  Jesus says, "But I say to you, that every idle word that people speak, they will give account thereof in the Day of Judgment!"  Matthew 12:36.  

           "As many as have sinned in the Law [Ten Commandments] shall be judged by the Law.  Romans 2:12.   We shall be "judged by the Law of liberty" [the Ten Commandments].  James 2:12.

           "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His Commandments, for this is the whole duty of humanity.  For God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or evil."  Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14.

FINAL JUDGMENT GOING ON NOW!

Solemn are the scenes connected with the closing work of the Judgment. Momentous are the interests involved. The Judgment is now passing in Heaven above. …In the awful presence of God our lives are to come up in review.

When the work of the investigative Judgment closes, the destiny of all will have been decided for eternal life or eternal death. Probation ends a short time before the appearing of the Lord in the clouds of heaven.

The righteous and the wicked will still be living on earth in their mortal state –there will be planting and building, eating and drinking - they will all be unconscious that the final, irrevocable decision has been pronounced in Heaven above….

Watch and pray; for you know not when the time is. Mark 13:33

Watch…lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping. Mark 13:35-36

Perilous is the condition of those who, growing weary of their watch, turn to the attractions of the world. 


While business men and women are absorbed in the pursuit of wealth, while the pleasure-lover is seeking indulgence, while the daughter of fashion is arranging her adornments – it may be in that hour the Judge of all the earth will pronounce the sentence, “Thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting.”  (Daniel 5:27)

Based on Excerpts from The Great Controversy, p 490-491 E G White

Why Worship God?

Why worship God when the ungodly are rich and happy?

 "Such words are spoken against Me!” says God.

 But you reply, "What did we say against God?" 

 You have said, "it is useless to serve God for what difference does it make if we keep His Laws and live a moral life?  The conceited are happy and the immoral have honor and prominence.  It seems that even those who provoke God are exalted!'"

 But the Lord hears those who love Him and witness about Him to others. The names of those who love and serve Him, and pray to Him are written in His Book of Remembrance.

"They will be My people", says God, "in the day when I return to claim My own.  I will save those who love Me, as a man saves his own son that serves him.  Then the difference between the righteous and the wicked will be discerned, between those who serve God and those who do not."

 The above quotes are from these Bible texts: Malachi 3:13-18

QU'RAN & HOLY SCRIPTURE

Sura 4:171 (An-Nissa). Jesus is the “Word of God bestowed on Mary and as the Spirit that proceeded from HIM.”

Sura 19:21 (Maryam). Jesus is a “Sign unto men and Mercy from God”

Sura 3:49 (Al-i-Imran).  Describes Jesus as a miracle worker and a life giver.

Sura 4:171 (An-Nissa), Sura 21:91 (Al-Anbiyaa), Sura 66:129 (At-Tahrim), Sura 5:110 (Al-Maida). All of these Suras describe Jesus Christ as the “Breath of God bestowed on Mary and as the Spirit that proceeds from HIM.”

Sura 3:45 (Al-i-Imran). Describes Jesus as the Word of God.

God’s Spirit is God Himself and God’s word is God Himself.

Genesis 1:1-3. The Spirit of God and the Word of God created the world.

Sura 3:55 (Al-i-Imran).  Those who follow Jesus will be superior in the resurrection than those who reject him.

John 1:1-14 describes Jesus’ divinity.

John 14:6-12 describes Jesus’ mission.

Isaiah 7:14 / Isaiah 61:1-3 / Isaiah 9:6.  These are a few of the many prophecies written hundreds of years before Jesus was born, and they are fulfilled in Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:26-35.

John 14:1-3. Jesus’ Promise.

From F Coker (Africa)

Appropriate Now !

Please read Blog January 12, 2015 - Stupendous Crisis Coming. Seems so appropriate right now.

We have an Advocate!

If anyone be in Christ, they are a new creature: old things are passed away, all things have become new.  2 Corinthians 5:17 

And you will be made alive, who were dead in sin. Ephesians 2:1

For the Father has made Jesus to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.  2 Corinthians 5:21

For this is good and acceptable to God our Savior: Who wants all people to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of truth. 1 Timothy 2:3-4

Not by our works of righteousness, but according to His mercy He saved us….  Titus 3:5

 My little children, these things I write to you, that you sin not. And if any one sins, we have an Advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ the righteous.   And He is the sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world!  1 John 2:1-2 

Lack of Faith? Lack of Healing?

Someone said they were mad at God because their mother, a woman of faith, was not healed and later  died. "why didn't God heal her?," he asked angrily. I was at a loss for words.

But today I learned that a a lack of divine healing does NOT mean the person has a lack of faith!

 The apostle Paul was a man of faith, yet God chose not to heal Paul of his "thorn in the side."

Why some healings occur and others don't is a mystery to us humans. Many times God's ways are past understanding.  I wish there was a more concrete answer I could give. But, keep the faith and trust in God is the best thing in this sinful old world.

Jesus will come soon, and all those who love God above all else will be healed and given perfect bodies, perfect minds, and perfect health at that time.

What does God Hate?

Just finished reading "Gods Lamb, our High Priest" by Loren Seibold in Signs of the Times November 2015 magazine. A caption on page 41 caught my attention:


"it's because God loves humanity so much - that He hates the damage sin has
done to us, the creatures created in His image."


This quote blew me away! Thank you Loren for this insight!

Even those who hate God

God loves everyone, even those who hate Him.

TRICK or TREATING 1964

On Halloween 1964 I was allowed to go "trick or treating" with the neighbor kids Merry and Mark who were two years older than me. The rule was to stay on 91st Street Circle, but we decided the "treats" were better on the other side of busy 90th Street.

After crossing 90th Street in the dark the first home owner we came to eagerly led us into his garage. He told us for a "treat" he was giving us fresh fish he had caught that very morning. Being excited about “fresh” fish we were each given six or more frozen fish. The fish wrappers were stamped, "June 1962,” but this made no difference to us, we were only in grades 3 thru 5!

We were proud of our fish, but kept getting farther from home and finally were lost. It started raining, thundering and lightning and being very scared we started running and shouting. Adults came out of their homes to see what the commotion was all about and yelled at us. We were so scared we threw our thawing fish all over their lawns, which only made the adults yell louder! Running down the street we met Dad who was driving around trying to find us! After a reprimand he drove us home. Dad and Mom were upset that anyone would give me two-year-old frozen fish and the next day Dad went to see the man and gave him some words.

After Halloween (1964) my friend Merry and I got into more trouble. In her basement we found a wall box with pop bottle tops sticking out of it. There were purple caps, red caps, orange caps, and yellow caps, but we thought they were grape, strawberry, orange and lemon soda bottle tops. When Merry’s dad found us pulling on the tops, he was very upset, because the tops were old fashioned, live electrical fuses!

GOD DOESN'T USE FORCE

God is so powerful that He could force us to love Him, but
God doesn’t use force, because He loves us and wants us to love Him back.
 Even if you hate God – He still loves you.


Bad things happen to good people – it’s because of sin,
not because God hates you. God loves everyone. The devil hates everyone.
 You don’t believe in God? He believes in you!
Trust yourself to God – He will care for you.


God planned for you before the world began. He longs for you to talk to Him about everything that is on your mind. God always listens. 
I go to Him with all my problems and He always looks after me. As a small child I learned these things – it made all the difference in my life.


Often your mind may be
Clouded because of pain.
Then do not try to think.
You know that Jesus loves you!
He understands you.
You may do His will by simply
Resting in His arms.


Jesus determined, (in council with His Father), to do everything possible - no matter the cost - to rescue sinners. Jesus loves you more than He values His own life – He died for you!

Seeing Grandma's Ghost - True Story

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God..."
1 John 4:1 [RSV]

When Adam and Eve believed Satan’s first lie, "you will never die," (Genesis 3:4), the world was cast into sin and confusion that grows worse every year. Satan lied in direct opposition to God's truth, “when you eat of it [and sin] you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:17). Since Satan’s first lie almost everyone believes that when you die you keep on living.

It was this teaching and the popular 1960's television comedy, Bewitched, that almost caused my spiritual ruin. Bewitched piqued interest in other schoolgirls, and at slumber parties we would attempt levitation and seances. We did not know the Bible truth that would protect us from danger. “The living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing.” (See: Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 and 10; Psalm 115:17; Psalm 146:4; Job 7:9-10; Job 14:21; and Isaiah 8:19-20.)

On May 21, 1963 at 10:15 p.m. I sensed something "bad" in the house. Trying to alert my parents to danger by shaking their bed and yelling - I was confused when they did not respond. Crawling back into bed, I was startled when Grandma Anna, who lived three hours away in a nursing home, walked through the closed door. She was filmy-white. Slowly she glided towards me.

"Grandma, why are you here?" I asked innocently. Never speaking she came to me, her face changing into a demonic glare while gesturing to choke me. "Jesus help me!" I screamed, while throwing the covers over my head. Moments later the ghost was gone. The clock read 10:20 p.m. I cried out to Mom who came immediately.

The next morning the nursing home called with the news that Grandma Anna had died the night before at 10:18 p.m.

"Grandma was in my room last night,” I told the family, “she was see-through white." Mom was unnerved, but said, “Such things are impossible. Grandma is in Heaven. When people die they go to Heaven."

For years I wondered what Grandma had wanted from me. Was she really trying to kill me, or just wanted me to go to Heaven with her? These questions haunted me for a long time.

In 1975 a friend and pastor, Dr. Charles Felton, explained, “the living know that they will die but the dead do not know anything.” Ecclesiastes chapter 9, verses 5, 6, 10. Dr. Felton said that the ghost was the devil – the devil had been confusing me and wanting me to follow him ( the devil.) These words of Holy Scripture protected me from further attacks.