TODAY'S PROMISE

"So let's not get tired of doing what is good.

At just the right time we will reap a harvest

of blessing if we don't give up."

(Galatians 6:9 NLT)

THE POWER OF A WOMAN

Image courtesy of: www.Pixabay.com.    

This picture almost demonstrates the power of a woman.

Some of you kids will not understand this.  But us 

grandfathers do.

Imagine that little girl as your granddaughter.  Or in my

case it would be a great granddaughter.  She walks up 

to you and puts on her "innocent helpless" look.  Be

assured, they know how to do it.  And when she looks

up into your face says; "Grandpaw".  Brother, you just

lost the battle.  That little girl just got anything in the 

world she wants if it is humanly possible for you to 

do or get it.

True, their mothers don't fall for that line like you 

and I do because they have been using it all their 

life.

Ladies.  Truly it is you that I am wanting to make 

a point to.  And my first couple of illustrations would

seem to be blaming the women.  Not so, they are just 

the first to pop in my mind.  There have been many

Godly women who have used their influence to 

change the course of life for their whole family.

Consider Eve.  The very first women there ever was.

She messed up and fell for a lie so she ate some fruit

she was not suppose to.  Then she looked up into Adam's

face and said, that was good, here try some.  And the 

whole human race has been messed up ever since.

Consider Jezebel the wife of Ahab who was the 

most evil king that was ever over Israel.  

Ahab was bad to start with but then he 

married that witch Jezebel and 

the Scriptures tell us:

"(No one else so completely sold himself to what

was evil in the LORD'S sight as Ahab did under

the influence of his wife Jezebel."

(1 Kings 21:25  NLT)

One more.

Remember the daughter of Herodias who danced for

king Herod  and he was so overwhelmed that he 

promised her anything she wanted up to half of

his kingdom.

All she wanted was the head of John the Baptist,

so God's prophet lost his head because of a girl.

Something you and I have both noticed.

You have watched boys of - every age -

make absolute fools of them self to get

a girls attention.

Ladies what I am saying is that God has given

you a power and an influence over males that

can be used for good, or evil.  Are you using it

for God, or the Devil.

TODAY'S PROMISE.

"Teach those who are rich in this world not

to be proud and not to trust in their money,

which is so unreliable.  Their trust should be

in God, who richly gives us all we need for our

enjoyment.  Tell them to use their money to do

good.  They should be rich in good works and 

generous to those in need, always being ready

to share with others.  By doing this they will

be storing up their treasure as a good foundation 

for the future so that they may experience true

life."  

(1 Timothy 6:17-19 NLT)

TODAY'S PROMISE

"For the LORD God is our sun and out shield.

He give us grace and glory.

The LORD will withhold no good thing

from those who do what is right."

(Psalms 84:11 NLT)  

A WOMAN'S INFLUENCE

Ladies please I am not trying to pick on you one way

or the other.  In fact growing up without sisters I thought

that girls and women were angels.  I think that it was my

wife who told me that not all females are angels.

But one morning while reading my Bible I noticed what an

influence one woman had on her husband.  Then my mind 

began to wonder over the influence of a number of the women

mentioned in the Bible and their influence, either good or bad.

Consider:

Eve.  She influenced Adam to eat the forbidden fruit and the

entire world has suffered for it since.

Sarah.  She influenced Abraham to have relations with a 

woman he should not have.  The result is hard feelings 

and war between two races of people ever since.

Ester.  Here is a good one.  She simply melted king

Ahasuerus's heart.  That saved the Jewish people.

Solomon's wives.  They influenced him to worship

foreign gods to his hurt.

Jezebel.  She influenced Ahab to live an evil life.

King Herod's step daughter influenced him to have

John the Baptist's head cut off.

Here is a more modern day woman.

Susan Wesley.

If memory servers me right, she had 14 children.

She spent time with every one of those children

every day.  In the process she raised John and Charles

Wesley who greatly influence the world you and I 

live in.

I guess what I am trying to say is that it bothers

me in our modern world that women are trying to

be every thing but a woman.  In their God given

position women have one of the most influential

positions on the face of the earth.  Why lower it?

Most of my life I have heard the expression,

"The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world."

Having never read the poem before it is included

below.

Blessings on the hand of women!
    Angels guard its strength and grace.
In the palace, cottage, hovel,
    Oh, no matter where the place;
Would that never storms assailed it,
    Rainbows ever gently curled,
For the hand that rocks the cradle
    Is the hand that rules the world.
Infancy's the tender fountain,
    Power may with beauty flow,
Mothers first to guide the streamlets,
    From them souls unresting grow —
Grow on for the good or evil,
    Sunshine streamed or evil hurled,
For the hand that rocks the cradle
    Is the hand that rules the world.
Woman, how divine your mission,
    Here upon our natal sod;
Keep – oh, keep the young heart open
    Always to the breath of God!
All true trophies of the ages
    Are from mother-love impearled,
For the hand that rocks the cradle
    Is the hand that rules the world.
Blessings on the hand of women!
    Fathers, sons, and daughters cry,
And the sacred song is mingled
    With the worship in the sky —
Mingles where no tempest darkens,
    Rainbows evermore are hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
    Is the hand that rules the world.

by William Ross Wallace (1819-1881)

TODAY'S PROMISE

"The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,

To the person who seeks Him."

(Lamentations 3:25 NASB)

TODAY'S PROMISE

"...The hand of our God is upon all them for good

that seek him; but his power and his wrath is

against all them that forsake him."

(Ezra 8:22)  

SOURCE OF BLESSING AND FAVOUR

Image courtesy of: www.Pixabay.com

"For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

he bestows favor and honor,

No good thing does the Lord withhold

from those who walk uprightly.

O Lord of hosts,

blessed is the man who trusts in thee!

(Psalms 84:11,112 RSV)

I do not pretend to know what all this implies.

But to myself,  God as my sun means he is my source.

You know even better than myself that if we did not

have the sun in our little solar system, life for mankind,

animals or plants would be impossible.

Further, Jesus Christ, the "Son" of God is the

source of life, and, the author of creation its self.

God is preparing a city that is coming and we are

told there is no need of the sun or moon because

the glory of God is its light. (Rev. ch. 21)

Not only is God my very source, but he is my

shield or protector and the source of any favor

and honor.

Here is the key.

He does not keep back any good thing from

those who "walk uprightly". That is, those

who live the way he wants them to.  Not to

those who live in the way they want to live.

And, we are blessed if we "trust" in God

for all we do and need..



COMFORT IN DEATH

First realize that this Scripture passage is taken out of context.

As it is said, a Scripture taken out of context is a pretext.

This then raises the question who is "good"?

Good according to God, or something that

a person has concocted in their own mind.

In this case it is someone who has been walking and

living with and for God.  And in todays time setting,

that would be someone who has been born of the

Spirit of God.  That is, born again and living with

and for God.

If that describes you,

then this Scripture is for you when  that day comes.

"Good people die, and no

one understands or even

cares.  But when they die, no

calamity can hurt them.  Those

who live good lives find peace and

rest in death."

(Isaiah 57:1,2 GNT)

"Death has nothing terrible which life

has not made so.  A faithful Christian

life in this world is the best preparation

for the next."

- Tryon Edwards

ALL THINGS???????????

We Christians like to declare that all things

work together for good to those who love God.

Makes you wonder sometimes.

But let me tell you about the day the 

above image was taken.

My habit  is to very early in the morning ask

for God's protection for the day, and his blessing

on the day.  I "try" to put the day in his hands

and let him worry about it.  [I know.  Sometimes

I try to help him.]

The above day started for me like several each 

week - at the oncology center.  It started well.

They sent me over to the hospital for blood.

That happens a lot.  About once a week I go

get more blood and/or platelets.  It's a routine

with me.

On entering the hospital I noticed that the 

regular people who do the admitting were not

there.  But one of the regular women who 

come out of the back office was.  So she helped

me.  Well, she had to get some help to help

her so she could help me. 

The next step is "usually" being taken to a 

hospital room.  But this time, she took me 

around the corner to a division or section I 

had never been in.  ??? and double ???

It was for out patient heart patients.  I am

not a heart patient.  I am there because of

"Aplastic anemia" as an out patient.

Next comes a nurse.  So far that happens 

everywhere.  And the way she was going 

to do the infusion was different than my  doctor

had instructed.  I know.  I had careful read the

instructions before handing them in at the front

desk.  Now I liked the nurse's method better. But

I am not normal.  Transfusions can give me reactions

that create real problems.  So I have learned to 

watch pre-medications and infusion rates very

carefully.  The nurse and I "sorta" went round 

and round on infusion rates.  But as mentioned,

I liked her method better and we followed her

"protocol" instead.

Now this division does not stay open 24/7.

So when they had gone as far as they could

they sent me to the 5th floor.  First time I have

ever been there.  The reason is simple.  They

do not work with "out patients" like me.  They

only care for full time patients.  But the people

were great.  They did a great job anyway.

Except as we are winding up, they wanted to

wait 30 minutes and do an "H and H".  No 

way.  How did that get in there?  It ends up that

that instruction came out of "ER" several months

ago when the reaction problems began.  Now

we have been following a different set of instructions

with a "protocol" that is similar to the one from

the department that sent me there.

After this comedy of errors that had me frustrated,

until I could hand it back over to God - what was

the outcome?

I was able to go home between 4 and 8 hours

EARLIER 

than my normal routine.

INSN'T GOD GOOD. 

But we are not done.

For quite a while now I have known that the

alternator on my old truck was getting very 

weak.  And leaving the hospital the lights in

the dash told me it had gone it's last mile.

God got me home safely and all at a time that

there were several extra vehicles I could use 

to go into towns to get parts.

GOD IS STILL GOOD. c

"And we know that all things work together

for good to those who love God, to those

who are the called according to His purpose."

(Romans 8:28 NKJV)

HOW TO ENJOY LIFE

"As the scripture says,
'If you want to enjoy life
and wish to see good times,
you must keep from speaking evil
and stop telling lies.
You must turn away from evil
and do good;
you must strive for peace
with all your heart.
For the Lord watches over
the righteous
and listens to their prayers;
but he opposes those who do evil.'"
(1 Peter 3:10-12 TEV)

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