Tools.....
Tools come in all shapes, sizes, colors, materials, living, inanimate, transparent, solid...a piece of a paper is a tool for the right person, as well as a car, a train, a rock, a plane, a person...
Tool Definition
dictionary.search.yahoo.com
n. noun
A device, ......used to perform or facilitate manual or mechanical work.
Synonyms
instrument - implement - utensil
We had the dedication of a Kodiak plane for MAF yesterday...a tool....I looked around the hanger, there were people of all shapes and sized, ages and abilities...from doctors to janitors , pilots to computer people, infants to 75+....tools/instruments in God's kingdom....
there was machinery, the hanger itself, chairs, the plane....tools for various purposes...
All useful, necessary, fit together for that time and day.....to put one tiny dot in God's time of eternity .....it was so meaningful for us .....special....beyond our imagination.....
When I think of the descriptions of all the pieces to go into the temple and
God's plans for each....he does that detail....for each us...tools in his kingdom....usefulness .....each having our special abilities, talents, ......
Thank YOU for your grand design...in each of our lives...a lot of time we don't see how things fit together and then comes a magical moment when we get a glimpse of the usefulness of the tools in the kingdom....what a delight .....thank you again...and again...
Acts 9:15
But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.
Romans 6:13
Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.
2 Timothy 2:21
Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Monday, January 6, 2014
Cleaned out rooms....overturned tables....
Cleared out rooms.....overturned tables.....
I was reading Nehemiah, and came upon this passage....
Nehemiah 13:7b Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. 8 I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. 9 I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense.
It made me move forward in time to this passage...
Matthew 21:12-13
Jesus at the Temple
12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”
Nehemiah had been out of country and retuned to Jerusalem to find the emery occupying rooms at the temple ...Jesus came to the temple and found it being used as a market....both wanted the areas cleaned of the rubbish and replaced with the grain offerings, and incense...prayer.....
Was a reminder of what am I filling life with, ...economics, market places, household goods, stuff...and forgetting the prayer....
Or have I filled my life with the acts of the flesh as in Galatians .....
Galatians 5:19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
And not the fruit of the Spirit...
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
What do I need to go in and clean out????
Thank YOU for the reminders. ...of cleaning "house", The people in my life that remind me to clean house, attitudes, habits that are not pleasing to you....help me to clean those rooms and be a blessing to you....
I was reading Nehemiah, and came upon this passage....
Nehemiah 13:7b Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. 8 I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. 9 I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense.
It made me move forward in time to this passage...
Matthew 21:12-13
Jesus at the Temple
12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”
Nehemiah had been out of country and retuned to Jerusalem to find the emery occupying rooms at the temple ...Jesus came to the temple and found it being used as a market....both wanted the areas cleaned of the rubbish and replaced with the grain offerings, and incense...prayer.....
Was a reminder of what am I filling life with, ...economics, market places, household goods, stuff...and forgetting the prayer....
Or have I filled my life with the acts of the flesh as in Galatians .....
Galatians 5:19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
And not the fruit of the Spirit...
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
What do I need to go in and clean out????
Thank YOU for the reminders. ...of cleaning "house", The people in my life that remind me to clean house, attitudes, habits that are not pleasing to you....help me to clean those rooms and be a blessing to you....
Sunday, January 5, 2014
The life of a giver....
The life of a giver.....
The scene is a small church in northern Nevada...the year, 1972..Sunday morning..the back pew of a small, newly formed church...the treasurer counting the offering at the end of the church service...7 crisp $100 bills...10 % of a sale of a house...I can see it still, 40 plus year later....
Thus, the inauguration of a giver....oh, the decision had taken place earlier in the week to give, but surprise, smiles of the treasurer had made it worth it...the fledgling church needed the funds...but the heart of the giver was blessed as well....
Then, later, studying the gifts given to believers, the understanding of giving...and others...how people are motivated...how he was "wired" .....what a encouragement...
That was the beginning....new missionaries, pilots, churches in various places around the world...worthwhile ministries that touched millions or a community....start up and continuing Christian radio stations, families....Christian schools...a Bible college, homeless people, children of prisoners, the elderly, groceries for various people over the years....businessmen down on their "luck".... Teenagers going on their first short term mission experience....church groups building houses in Mexico.....seminary students...sleeping bags for scouts, grand children....Bible translations...teacher training in Mongolia....orphanages....children in need....a truck for a missionary to ranchers/native Americans.....hospitality for a multitude and variety of people .....the list goes on....
There are memorials at various places,names written in stone or on a metal plate or in Bibles in hotel/motel rooms ....but they will pass away...the important "memorials" are in the lives of the giver's children, grandchildren and generations to come.....plus the lives that were affected over the years...there is not way of counting the people affected, nor is it important....the importance is the following of a call, using the gifting that GOd bestowed...God does the rest, the multiplication of a gift used in every person's life...
this person wasn't perfect....not to be put on a pedestal ....but in obeying God and using the gifting .....brought light to many...encouraging others to use their gifting in the way they were bent..."well done, good and faithful servant".....you have taken a little and made it into much....
Thank YOU, for this giver in my life....YOU in my life and in the lives of the world...help us each to follow the paths that you have chosen....use the gifts that You have given to multiply and glorify You....the real Giver ....
Romans 12:8
if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
2 Corinthians 9:7
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Matthew6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The scene is a small church in northern Nevada...the year, 1972..Sunday morning..the back pew of a small, newly formed church...the treasurer counting the offering at the end of the church service...7 crisp $100 bills...10 % of a sale of a house...I can see it still, 40 plus year later....
Thus, the inauguration of a giver....oh, the decision had taken place earlier in the week to give, but surprise, smiles of the treasurer had made it worth it...the fledgling church needed the funds...but the heart of the giver was blessed as well....
Then, later, studying the gifts given to believers, the understanding of giving...and others...how people are motivated...how he was "wired" .....what a encouragement...
That was the beginning....new missionaries, pilots, churches in various places around the world...worthwhile ministries that touched millions or a community....start up and continuing Christian radio stations, families....Christian schools...a Bible college, homeless people, children of prisoners, the elderly, groceries for various people over the years....businessmen down on their "luck".... Teenagers going on their first short term mission experience....church groups building houses in Mexico.....seminary students...sleeping bags for scouts, grand children....Bible translations...teacher training in Mongolia....orphanages....children in need....a truck for a missionary to ranchers/native Americans.....hospitality for a multitude and variety of people .....the list goes on....
There are memorials at various places,names written in stone or on a metal plate or in Bibles in hotel/motel rooms ....but they will pass away...the important "memorials" are in the lives of the giver's children, grandchildren and generations to come.....plus the lives that were affected over the years...there is not way of counting the people affected, nor is it important....the importance is the following of a call, using the gifting that GOd bestowed...God does the rest, the multiplication of a gift used in every person's life...
this person wasn't perfect....not to be put on a pedestal ....but in obeying God and using the gifting .....brought light to many...encouraging others to use their gifting in the way they were bent..."well done, good and faithful servant".....you have taken a little and made it into much....
Thank YOU, for this giver in my life....YOU in my life and in the lives of the world...help us each to follow the paths that you have chosen....use the gifts that You have given to multiply and glorify You....the real Giver ....
Romans 12:8
if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
2 Corinthians 9:7
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Matthew6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Devotions....
Devotions...
I was reading Christmas sorties this winter...and came across this quote...and found it interesting...
Debbie Macomber's book, the Gift of Christmas, page 109.
""What are devotions?
BIble reading and praying, my private time with The Lord. My day goes better when I've had a chance to discuss things with Jesus..
'You talk to him! as if He were a regular person?'
He is..."
So I looked it up...
Online dictionary...
Definition of DEVOTIONAL
: a short worship service
First Known Use of DEVOTIONAL-1659
devotions : prayer, worship, or other religious activities that are done in private rather than in a religious service
Have wondered if devotions were part of the "Christianeze" language only, but apparently not. When you go to a Christian bookstore, there is a whole section of books labeled, devotions . But I don't see that same label at, say, Barnes and noble.
Haven't gone to a Deseret bookstore, so don't know if others have devotions or not...
But you don't have to go very far in the Bible itself to find devotions .....songs, praises, psalms, even single verses fill the Bible, showing devotion and worship...talking to
God, listening to his Words of life...in fact, the whole Bible is a devotional ....lessons for everyone to learn in their time...when we read it, meditate on it, learn and live it....it transcends time and place...it flows Into our hearts, minds and souls...
2 Timothy 3:15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
So I have to ask myself, "to whom, or what am I devoted? Where is my strong love, loyalty? Where does my use of time, money, energy show my devotion?
de·vo·tion noun \di-ˈvō-shən, dē-\
: a feeling of strong love or loyalty : the quality of being devoted
: the use of time, money, energy, etc., for a particular purpose
Thank YOU, that you have given the world your WORD, the truth, that we may be trained in righteousness...that it is useful...but more help me to talk to you and listen to what you say to my heart...and be obedient to those words....your words...
I was reading Christmas sorties this winter...and came across this quote...and found it interesting...
Debbie Macomber's book, the Gift of Christmas, page 109.
""What are devotions?
BIble reading and praying, my private time with The Lord. My day goes better when I've had a chance to discuss things with Jesus..
'You talk to him! as if He were a regular person?'
He is..."
So I looked it up...
Online dictionary...
Definition of DEVOTIONAL
: a short worship service
First Known Use of DEVOTIONAL-1659
devotions : prayer, worship, or other religious activities that are done in private rather than in a religious service
Have wondered if devotions were part of the "Christianeze" language only, but apparently not. When you go to a Christian bookstore, there is a whole section of books labeled, devotions . But I don't see that same label at, say, Barnes and noble.
Haven't gone to a Deseret bookstore, so don't know if others have devotions or not...
But you don't have to go very far in the Bible itself to find devotions .....songs, praises, psalms, even single verses fill the Bible, showing devotion and worship...talking to
God, listening to his Words of life...in fact, the whole Bible is a devotional ....lessons for everyone to learn in their time...when we read it, meditate on it, learn and live it....it transcends time and place...it flows Into our hearts, minds and souls...
2 Timothy 3:15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
So I have to ask myself, "to whom, or what am I devoted? Where is my strong love, loyalty? Where does my use of time, money, energy show my devotion?
de·vo·tion noun \di-ˈvō-shən, dē-\
: a feeling of strong love or loyalty : the quality of being devoted
: the use of time, money, energy, etc., for a particular purpose
Thank YOU, that you have given the world your WORD, the truth, that we may be trained in righteousness...that it is useful...but more help me to talk to you and listen to what you say to my heart...and be obedient to those words....your words...
Friday, January 3, 2014
Thorns, thrones....crowns
A friend sent this quote recently....about life...the reality of life...thorns...thrones....
"Streams In The Desert"
"The ministry of thorns has often been a greater ministry to man than the ministry of thrones"
It made me consider, thrones, thorns, crowns.....
It seems sometimes that we have to go through or live with a lot of thorns to get to the throne or obtain a crown....life isn't always an easy trail through the tulips....it may be a path through the thorny beautiful roses....
Our family is getting ready for a dedication of a Kodiak plane with Missionary aviation Fellowship, a group who supplies planes, transportation , support for missionaries all over the world...they are dedicating a plane in my husbands memory ....a thorn,,,yes, he is not here to take part in this ceremony...but a throne that he helped make it possible....a crown of life that he is wearing.... So while he is wearing the crown, we are going through the thorns,....and the accolades of the life of his giving.....bittersweet...all around....
Crowns come in all sizes...ideas....
The wise...
The gray haired..
Grandchildren...
The husband of a noble wife...
The rich...
kings....
Those who grieve...
Various People....
A victor....
The overcomer...
A Saviour.......
A crown of thorns for the creator, who exchanged it for a crown of all things, all creation, all glory...his life was not easy here on earth, experiencing mans problems, but he overcame it...just as as ours is not....the thorns with the throne and the crowns....bittersweet...again...
Thank YOU for the thorns, the thrones, the crowns....they seem to go hand in hand...one with the others....that we might obtain the crown of life....which we will lay at your feet...the ultimate Crowned one....
Proverbs 14:24a
The wealth of the wise is their crown, ....
Proverbs 16:31
Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness.
Proverbs 17:6
Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.
Isaiah 51:11
Those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Isaiah 61:3
and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
Zechariah 9:16
The Lord their God will save his people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown.
Matthew 27:29
and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said.
Revelation 3:10-12
New International Version (NIV)
10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Castles and cabins....
Castles and cabins .....
In every town, culture, country, there are castles and cabins.....you, know big houses and little houses....and we all define it differently and we all have a variety of needs, desire and wants....
It seems, like when we are young, we aspire to bigger and bigger homes...the kids each need a room, we need our space...all those common comments....then as the children grow and leave, some of us build the really big home so all the families can come home and we have room for everyone .....or others are ready to reduce the work load and downsize to smaller homes.....
We have heard the stories since we listened to the tales of the "three little pigs" or "Cinderella"...houses, bigger and better or what do we really need...each of us have the opportunity to determine which is better for our own personal needs and lifestyles ....
Down through ages, it has been the same...people really haven't changed...some lived and live in tents, the nomadic life....others in mud hits, caves, houses of clay, huts of bamboo, wood, bricks of sod, whatever was available at the time and place....shelters of different sizes, shapes...home.....
In the Bible, there are many different types of homes described...the tents, the houses, the palaces.....but the aspiration is to live where God dwells...and that really is the bottom line here on earth and in heaven..no matter what kind of home we have, we want to have God dwell there...in spirit...with us, permeating our lives, homes....making the statement to whomever enters the door....God lives here....His presence...envelops us....dwells....resides....
Thank YOU, that no matter the size of house, bank account, car, or accumulation...that You can dwell with us if we accept the free gift of salvation...the desire to have You dwell in our hearts, forgiving us....loving us.....then please help us to be good stewards of whatever we have....big or little....
John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Exodus 15:13
In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.
Exodus 15:17
You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance— the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.
Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Psalm 26:8
Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells.
Psalm 61:3-5
New International Version (NIV)
3 For you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the foe.
4 I long to dwell in your tent forever
and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
5 For you, God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
Psalm 84:3-4
New International Version (NIV)
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
In every town, culture, country, there are castles and cabins.....you, know big houses and little houses....and we all define it differently and we all have a variety of needs, desire and wants....
It seems, like when we are young, we aspire to bigger and bigger homes...the kids each need a room, we need our space...all those common comments....then as the children grow and leave, some of us build the really big home so all the families can come home and we have room for everyone .....or others are ready to reduce the work load and downsize to smaller homes.....
We have heard the stories since we listened to the tales of the "three little pigs" or "Cinderella"...houses, bigger and better or what do we really need...each of us have the opportunity to determine which is better for our own personal needs and lifestyles ....
Down through ages, it has been the same...people really haven't changed...some lived and live in tents, the nomadic life....others in mud hits, caves, houses of clay, huts of bamboo, wood, bricks of sod, whatever was available at the time and place....shelters of different sizes, shapes...home.....
In the Bible, there are many different types of homes described...the tents, the houses, the palaces.....but the aspiration is to live where God dwells...and that really is the bottom line here on earth and in heaven..no matter what kind of home we have, we want to have God dwell there...in spirit...with us, permeating our lives, homes....making the statement to whomever enters the door....God lives here....His presence...envelops us....dwells....resides....
Thank YOU, that no matter the size of house, bank account, car, or accumulation...that You can dwell with us if we accept the free gift of salvation...the desire to have You dwell in our hearts, forgiving us....loving us.....then please help us to be good stewards of whatever we have....big or little....
John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Exodus 15:13
In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.
Exodus 15:17
You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance— the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.
Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Psalm 26:8
Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells.
Psalm 61:3-5
New International Version (NIV)
3 For you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the foe.
4 I long to dwell in your tent forever
and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
5 For you, God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
Psalm 84:3-4
New International Version (NIV)
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
The ticking clock...
The Ticking clock....
I have a cheap wall clock packed away in my aquacise equipment in the bedroom. I bought it when we lived in an apartment while Don was undergoing radiation and chemo. The pool in the residence hotel didn't have a clock and I wanted one to keep time while I exercised...it is still ticking , a daily reminder of times past...I hear it every day, tick, tick, tick....the batteries have not run down in the two years since I put them in...
At various times yesterday, the new year was welcomed at various parts of the world....at noon here, was midnight in Dubai, where they had a huge show for 6 minutes of 500,000 fireworks...working for a world record of fireworks,.....the Times Square ball, undulating with beautiful colors at midnight, falling to mark that new year in New York City, and finally, fireworks locally booming away around the midnight mark....
Time marches on.....as much as we want it to stop it sometimes and hold on to those precious moments, it still moves forward....our children grow up, we grow older, our parents grow older....we lose loved ones, friends, acquaintances...we gain others.....as the clock ticks away....
The beauty of yesterday, today and tomorrow....waiting to be enjoyed at the moment , held as a treasure as the clock continually ticks away....thankfulness , gratitude, blessing held lightly and fleetingly...for all time...as that clock ticks away ....
Only God holds time...ours is not His, and we have only a concept of what eternity is...and now no reality of that concept....we step there when our earthly clock stops ticking and we become part of that eternity that we strive for, ask for in the gift of salvation....
So we enjoy the moments, the times, the hours, days, years we have...listening to the ticking clock....the fireworks, the ball dropping...the toasts...the time that God grants us.....but looking forward to our new home when that is prepared .....not morbidly,...but at the right time....
Thank YOU, that you grant us joys, times, here as a preparation for the eternity that is to come at the end of our earthly ticking clock.....help me to look at each new day as a gift of time to be used wisely .....holding lightly and preciously...
Books, the Ultimate gift and the Ultimate life... thought provoking ideas..
Genesis 1:14
And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years,
1 Chronicles 18:1a
In the course of time,.....
Psalm 31:15a
My times are in your hands; .....
Psalm 62:8
Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
2 Peter 3:8
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
I have a cheap wall clock packed away in my aquacise equipment in the bedroom. I bought it when we lived in an apartment while Don was undergoing radiation and chemo. The pool in the residence hotel didn't have a clock and I wanted one to keep time while I exercised...it is still ticking , a daily reminder of times past...I hear it every day, tick, tick, tick....the batteries have not run down in the two years since I put them in...
At various times yesterday, the new year was welcomed at various parts of the world....at noon here, was midnight in Dubai, where they had a huge show for 6 minutes of 500,000 fireworks...working for a world record of fireworks,.....the Times Square ball, undulating with beautiful colors at midnight, falling to mark that new year in New York City, and finally, fireworks locally booming away around the midnight mark....
Time marches on.....as much as we want it to stop it sometimes and hold on to those precious moments, it still moves forward....our children grow up, we grow older, our parents grow older....we lose loved ones, friends, acquaintances...we gain others.....as the clock ticks away....
The beauty of yesterday, today and tomorrow....waiting to be enjoyed at the moment , held as a treasure as the clock continually ticks away....thankfulness , gratitude, blessing held lightly and fleetingly...for all time...as that clock ticks away ....
Only God holds time...ours is not His, and we have only a concept of what eternity is...and now no reality of that concept....we step there when our earthly clock stops ticking and we become part of that eternity that we strive for, ask for in the gift of salvation....
So we enjoy the moments, the times, the hours, days, years we have...listening to the ticking clock....the fireworks, the ball dropping...the toasts...the time that God grants us.....but looking forward to our new home when that is prepared .....not morbidly,...but at the right time....
Thank YOU, that you grant us joys, times, here as a preparation for the eternity that is to come at the end of our earthly ticking clock.....help me to look at each new day as a gift of time to be used wisely .....holding lightly and preciously...
Books, the Ultimate gift and the Ultimate life... thought provoking ideas..
Genesis 1:14
And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years,
1 Chronicles 18:1a
In the course of time,.....
Psalm 31:15a
My times are in your hands; .....
Psalm 62:8
Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
2 Peter 3:8
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
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