Mothers....

Moms....

I learned yesterday of a mother passing away, I had just talked to her last week and she was doing fine after an operation...so fast and she was gone...Was so glad I heeded God's nudging to call....

Mine has been gone almost  five years now, and I still see things that, I wish I could share or think, "oh, mom would like this"...and then realize that I can't, so I just hold it in my heart....knowing that she is without pain and enjoying the colors and music of heaven after enjoying the painting and music talents that she had here on earth...

The Bible records so many mothers from the beginning to the end...Eve, the first of all....no midwives or doctors to assist ....what that must have been like...I hope Adam was a big help and not the fainting type...

Genesis 3:20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. 

And down through the ages, 

Noah and his wife and children in the ark....

Issac, whose mother was aged, but so longed for...

Jacob and Esau, twins who were ever in conflict...

Leah and Rebecca, both vying to be mothers of sons by Jacob....

Moses, whose mother nursed him for Pharaoh's daughter

Samuel, whose mother prayed for him and then gave him into the hands of the priest...

The Shumenite woman, whose son was ill...

Bathsheba,whose son  died...and then another to be a king...

Hosea's wife, Gomer, and their children with their names of various events...

Jesus, and his mother, Mary....she endured so much..

Timothy, with a guiding mother and grandmother...

Babies and mothers....all kinds of situations, cultures...going through life...

Mother play such a big role in their children's lives, birthing, molding, directing, letting them go...watching, holding, caressing, teaching, laughing, crying...praying...

Thank YOU for  mothers.....help those of us still here to be a blessing to our children...

Exodus 2:8-10 “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.” 

Leviticus 19:3a“‘Each of you must respect your mother and  father.....I am the Lord your God. 

Deuteronomy 5:16 “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 

1 Kings 17:22-24 The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!” Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.” 

Psalm 139:13 For you created my inmost being;you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

Proverbs 23:25 May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful! 

From the cross, Jesus said-John 19:27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. 

2 Timothy 1:5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 

http://www.coolestone.com/media/12217/Mom---Mothers-Day-Home-Free-Cover/#.VUIjUIhHaK1

The fathers and mothers.....

The fathers and mothers...

In the book, "Christy", the students were challenged to memorize scripture for a prize. The one who memorized the most verses got a prize...so one of the boys memorized a portion in the Old Testament with all the "begets" and the difficult names...he was the winner..

I appreciate that in Matthew  1, the women were not left out of the genealogy of Christ....Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Uriah's wife and Mary...not all shining women, to be sure...

Tamar, a daughter in law of Judah, a widow, and then the mother of Perez by Judah...played a harlot to get back at Judah ....a tangled web...

Genesis 38

Rahab, a prostitute in Jericho, saved the Israelite spies because  she believed them....they in turn saved her family in the fall of Jericho ....she became the mother of Boaz who married Ruth...the great grandmother of David...

Joshua 6:23, 25 So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother, her brothers and sisters and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel. But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day. 

Ruth, a Moabite,  a widow, stays with her Israelite mother in law, Naomi, returning to Israel after a famine..following the God of Isreal...

Ruth 1:16-17 Ruth 4:13-15, 17 ” But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.

So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.” 

The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. 

Uriah's wife, Bathsheba, who became David's wife  after David had Uriah killed on the battle field, committed adultery with her... Another web...but the mother of Solomon,  the wisest man...

2 Samuel 2...

And finally, Mary, a young woman, a virgin, humble, believing, willing...who pondered, considered...and later watched Her firstborn be crucified...and resurrected, the very Son of God....

I am so glad looks beyond my heritage, my sins, and looks at my heart, covers me with His robe of righteousness, gives me salvation no matter my history/story ...Thank YOU...

Matthew 1:1-17 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: 

Abraham was the father of Isaac,Isaac the father of Jacob,Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 

Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron,Hezron the father of Ram,

 Ram the father of Amminadab,Amminadab the father of Nahshon,Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, Solomon the father of Rehoboam,Rehoboam the father of Abijah,Abijah the father of Asa, Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,Jehoram the father of Uzziah, Uzziah the father of Jotham,Jotham the father of Ahaz,Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,Manasseh the father of Amon,Amon the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. 

After the exile to Babylon:Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,Abihud the father of Eliakim,Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok,Zadok the father of Akim,Akim the father of Elihud, Elihud the father of Eleazar,Eleazar the father of Matthan,Matthan the father of Jacob, and 

Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, 

and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah. 

An accounting....

An accounting..... It seems this last year there has been an inordinate number of violent outbreaks for a variety of reasons...hopelessness, godlessness, plane wrecks,  just plain evil...whatever the reason...it is a sorry way to live...then you add the tragedies of nature with hurricanes, tomatoes,  earthquakes, where people are helpless in the face of danger, but are desperately trying to put their lives back together... Wars and rumors of wars, .....are we just more aware of the bad things happening or are we coming into the end times?..we don't know, Only God knows that...there will be and accounting, though...how will we answer for so much?? Matthew 24:3-14 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.  At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Thank YOU for all things...I admit, I am not ready for the evil that comes on a daily basis ....I like everything in G rating, without the bad stuff. My head is In the sand, not wanting to see the tragedies that come fast and furious to overcome so many...my heart is broken over those in pain, those whose lives are in an uproar...the hopelessness of so many...Bring about your glory, your Goodness in these trying times .....   Unsubscribe? Click Here Having trouble viewing this email? Click Here     The Price We Pay   A daily devotion for April 28th   From your friends at RayStedman.org     Read: Genesis 9:1-29       And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man (Genesis 9:5b-6).       After the flood, God is reinstating this prohibition against taking human life, but He controls it by another tactic. He says He will extract a price for any blood that is shed. That is more than the process of justice. Human justice does not always do the job; it sometimes fails. But notice what God says: And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.God does not look at humanity as we do. We look around and see so many isolated individuals. We think of ourselves as separate from one another. But God never does. He looks at us and sees the ties that bind us together, the ties that unite us to the past and to the past beyond that. In God's sight, the human race is one vast body of humanity, a brotherhood of one flesh in Adam. God says that He will require of this entire race a price for the shed blood of a single individual. Murder will be avenged against the race, not merely against the guilty individual. We are touching now upon a principle that has been active in history and that is extremely important to understand. It is that violence begets violence. God has ordained it so. The price of bloodshed is more bloodshed—and still more—until the fact of humanity's evil looms so large that people cease their delusive, naive ideas and recognize the stark, naked fact of human evil and turn to the God who alone can deal with the problem. Since the human race is a brotherhood, it means that the innocent can suffer as well as the guilty. The innocent individual will be struck down as well as the guilty, because we are all tied together. When people resort to violence to gain their ends in one area, they may justify it as being peculiarly needed to accomplish their specific goal, but what they don't see is that, though God apparently does nothing to correct it in that one area, soon a war breaks out or the accident rate increases or a senseless murder occurs or violence sweeps a city or a public figure is assassinated. People are then forced to learn that God does not take lightly the distorting and despoiling of His image in them. That is why violence inevitably breeds more violence, until people, at last, in horror at what they have loosed in society, face up to the fundamental act that they are infiltrated with evil. Only God can cure it. Only the cross of Jesus Christ can smash this evil in any one of us. That is what God wants us to learn. Lord, I pray for peace in a world filled with violence and bloodshed. Let that peace be in my own heart as I seek to honor Your image in each person.       Life Application   In God's collective created humanity, we soon learn that violence by individuals begets more violence in society. What do all need to recognize & learn from this?   Related Message   For more on this portion of Scripture read the message: Who Needs Government? or listen to the audio by clicking:   Listen to Ray     Previous Devotions for April Next       Want to Subscribe?   Subscribe / Unsubscribe to this Daily Devotion by Email   Copyright © 2014 Ray Stedman Ministries — This daily devotion is from the book The Power of His Presence: a year of devotions from the writings of Ray Stedman, compiled by Mark Mitchell. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice and a hyperlink to RayStedman.org if the copy is posted on the Internet.

Concurrent ideas and happenings....

Concurrent thoughts and happenings....

1. I have been listening to the book, "Christy" by Catherine Marshall while driving lately. 

2. Doing a Bible study on Apologetics by Mary Jo sharp, "Why do you Believe that?".

3. Receiving a photo of hatched killdeer.

4. Received a plea for funds for a mission in the Appalachian mountains.

I hadn't  read the book, "Christy", for forty or fifty years and found how fitting it was with this study and the photo..and then the letter asking for funds ...All in God's perfect timing...

Christy is questioning her faith all through the story, going from one who speaks grace to another who lives legalistically, ....to another who questions the existence of God because of hurt...to yet another who supports many ways to God...to others who are guided by superstition and traditions...all with good arguments as to why they believe and live the way they do...

She continues her search for truth for her life and faith to hold on to...as she continues her relationships with all these people...who are real, who have a real faith in God...where is Joy....who has it???

Then the photo of the hatched baby killdeer arrived, camouflaged so much that they are very hard to find in the picture, just as the eggs were a few weeks ago...is my Christianity camouflaged just as well...that no one can tell and find Christ in my life....what is real?  who is real?  

And finally the plea for funds...realizing that economics have changed, government has shut down coal mining is various  areas, it just seemed that these are the same people that Christy was working with over a hundred years ago...how have they changed..has Christianity changed their lives on those years?

Are they still asking the same questions she was asking then? Are the same superstitions prevailing? The same arguments of faith being addressed? are Christians stilled dressed in camouflage? Or are they real? Making real differences In the lives of others and themselves? am I?

Thank YOU for the concurrent events and happenings that really fit together with no mistake...one illustrates the other and enhances the whole idea ...is My faith hidden/camouflaged so that no one sees it? Do I question? Am I ready to step out and give a reason for the faith that I have...am I walking the faith that I purport?

Proverbs 12:15 The way of fools seems right to them,but the wise listen to advice. 

Proverbs 18:2 Fools find no pleasure in understandingbut delight in airing their own opinions. 

Mark 8:27-29 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. 

On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” 

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?" 

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” 

The blessings of food....

The blessing of foods.....

I have been taking various foods classes, just as I have over the years...I started cooking when I was little and took over family weeknight meals when I was in the sixth grade with both parents working....

Part of our family heritage was trying new foods, at least a taste without complaint...when I was growing up, we did this and as I had children this carried on as well...if I saw something new at the market, I would bring it home and we would taste it...not all my children like everything and they still don't, but trying new things is part of life and now my grandchildren are trying new foods as well...what fun to travel and try new fish, fruits, breads, vegetables, speciality dishes from cultures around the globe...plus we can do that  in our own towns...

God has so blessed us with foods on every continent..and sometimes enough to share with others...some kind of protein, breads, vegetables, fruits of all shape and size...

Yesterday, it was Jack fruit...the world's largest fruit, growing up to 3 feet in length and weighing 50 pounds...not something you want to hit you on the head when falling off the tree...hummmm good....

There are so many references to food in the Bible...from the provision for man in the beginning to the wedding feast in Revelation...from the provision of food in the wilderness to Jesus saying that He is the Bread of Life....

We are blessed with physical food and spiritual food, both are needful...Mary looked for Jesus' spiritual food and Martha was concerned with the physical food preparation...the little boy offered his small lunch to feed thousands...grain for Ruth and Naomi...lessons for the soul...over and over again...giving nourishment of all kinds...How God loves us to "taste" new thins of Him...from His Word and His provision...

Thank YOU for Your abundance of the physical food and spiritual food that You so freely give...Help me to feast on Your Words... 

Genesis 1:29-30 Genesis 9:3-4 Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. 

Genesis 9:3-4 Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. 

Psalm 104:14 He makes grass grow for the cattle,and plants for people to cultivate—bringing forth food from the earth: 

John 4:34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 

2 Corinthians 9:10-11 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 

1894

A NEW COMPANY

In the beginning, the Hershey Chocolate Company was simply a wholly owned subsidiary of Milton HERSHEY'S Lancaster Caramel Company. Using chocolate-making equipment purchased at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the company produced baking chocolate, cocoa and sweet chocolate coatings for the parent company's caramels.

But things changed with the hiring of William Murrie to sell the excess product to other confectioners. Murrie was so successful a salesman that the Hershey Chocolate Company quickly turned into a viable concern on its own. Milton Hershey became even more convinced that his future in the candy business lay in chocolate, not caramels.

George Washington Carver was a prominent African-American scientist and inventor. Carveris best known for the many uses he devised for the peanut.

Kellogg's was founded as the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company on February 19, 1906, by Will Keith Kellogg as an outgrowth of his work with his brother John Harvey Kellogg at the Battle Creek Sanitarium following practices based on the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The company produced and marketed the hugely successful Kellogg's Toasted Corn Flakes and was renamed the Kellogg Company in 1922.

Sunny....with a chance of smiles....

Sunny...with a chance for smiles....

I recently came across an article in a women's magazine that touched a positive cord in this negative world...

Facing a new day can sometimes be challenging for some depending on where they are in life and life's circumstances...but turning a gloomy day into a positive one may help our outlook, our health, our souls.....instead of hiding under the covers of dread...

Proverbs 15:13 A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.

1. "Think about what you're thankful for before you even climb out of bed.....this can affect the rest of your day" 

Psalm 118:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. 

2. "Set short term goals.....checking off something....accomplishment, satisfaction....and optimism."

1 Corinthians 14:40 But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way. 

3. "Choose to be positive in every situation....avoid bitter emotions."

Psalm 145:8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate,slow to anger and rich in love. 

Proverbs 15:1, 4 A gentle answer turns away wrath,but a harsh word stirs up anger. 

The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

Hebrews 12:15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 

4. Try to find the root of your bad mood... "HALT, hungry, angry, lonely, tired". Address the issue..

5. Remember good times, things...songs that bring happy memories...

Philippians 4:8-9 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. 

6. Say positive things to others .....

1 Thessalonians 5:11, 16-18 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 

Rejoice always, 

pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 

Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 

I have added the scriptures, they didn't come in the  article, but fit so well and were timely for me personally ...

Thank YOU for this new day!!! help me to reflect Your glory to others in my attitude, actions and words...

Sunny Side UP, Jessica Cassity, Family Circle, May, 2015

Grieved....

Grieved.....

I was watching the news right before bed last night and I was so grieved by the happenings of the world...the murders, the underhandedness, the evil that seems so prevalent in the news, fears, wars, rumors of wars, .....I know there must be some good things going on somewhere but that wasn't being reported on...

It was hard to put the bad down and not fret over evil...pray...and then what do you pray?  Come quickly, Lord...or show them Your light...or thy will be done...or as David prayed, consume them, in their evil...what, how...

I had to put It down...open my hands and give it over...let Him make that decision ...I don't know what His plan is for these various news pieces...people....His desire ultimately is that none should perish, and that all would turn from their wicked ways and follow Him...in my Finite mind, I don't know how that can be.....forgiveness is a big word, with deep, deep meaning...

Then this morning, it was this devotional, prepared before I knew it came up...I am so glad God has a plan...His timing...is perfect...

thank YOU for your love .....

Unsubscribe? Click Here Having trouble viewing this email? Click Here     God's Grief, God's Grace   A daily devotion for April 24th   From your friends at RayStedman.org     Read: Genesis 6:1-12       The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain... But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:6, 8).       When the account says God was grieved, it is really the word God repented. We know from other Scriptures that it is impossible for God to repent. He does not change His mind like humans do. But this is a powerful figure to express in a vivid way God's anger and determination. When society reaches this stage of dissolution and deterioration, God's anger burns. It appears that He has changed His mind completely, even though He is but acting on principles that are entirely consistent with His own being. Yet, in the midst of this, we read that it grieved Him, and grief is always the activity of love. What we finite human beings do not understand is that God's love and wrath are exactly the same thing. They are two sides of the same coin. What entrances us and warms us about God and draws us to Him is love. He is the God of love who loves regardless of merit. This is what attracts us. But it is because we respond that He appears to us in that way. To those who reject His love, the same quality in God becomes wrath, and it seems to be a wall of fire, burning and consuming everything. We can see this also in ourselves. It is our love that causes us to be angry at anything that injures what we love. You injure a mother's child in the mother's presence, and watch her love flame out in anger against you. Thus we have here clearly described a time when humanity, in its rejection of God, passes beyond the place of seeing God as love and begins to experience His love as wrath. But it is exactly the same thing. But there is always the shining of grace, as in verse 8: But Noah found favor [or, literally, grace] in the eyes of the LORD (Genesis 6:8). God was calling throughout this whole age, just as He is calling in our age today, pleading with people to turn from their ways, to resist the widespread lie of Satan. One man and his family turned and found grace in God's sight. He did not deserve it, and he could equally have turned and gone the other way, but he responded to the wooing and pleading of God and found grace in His sight. Bring this down to this century and draw the parallel between the days of Noah and the days in which we live. We must remember that if we are delivered from the wrath to come, if we escape the judging hand of God upon society, it is not because of anything we have done; it is the manifestation of God's grace. God wooed us and won us, sought us out and, through many influences upon us, brought us at last to see that the age in which we live is an age under the bondage of a lie. He has opened our eyes to the truth, till we have turned to the Lord Jesus and rested under the grace of God. As our age deteriorates, and our civilization nears the point of utter collapse, we can thank God that we have been snatched away as brands from the burning, like Noah and his family, if our hearts are responsive to the appeal of God's grace. How I thank you, Father, for Your grace, which has snatched me out of the fire and brought me into a relationship with Your dear Son.       Life Application   God's love and wrath are two sides of the same coin. Are we believing Satan's widespread lie, still striving to please God, or are we walking in His grace?   Related Message   For more on this portion of Scripture read the message: Signs of Collapse or listen to the audio by clicking:   Listen to Ray     Previous Devotions for April Next       Want to Subscribe?   Subscribe / Unsubscribe to this Daily Devotion by Email   Copyright © 2014 Ray Stedman Ministries — This daily devotion is from the book The Power of His Presence: a year of devotions from the writings of Ray Stedman, compiled by Mark Mitchell. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice and a hyperlink to RayStedman.org if the copy is posted on the Internet.