Day eighteen

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
'Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live, I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

I will stand
I will stand, all other ground is sinking sand
All other ground, all other ground
Is sinking sand, is sinking sand
So I'll stand

Written by Andrew Shawn Craig, Donald A. Koch • Copyright © Universal Music Publishing Group, Capitol Christian Music Group

Day Sixteen

God’s Kind Care

God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways, all our lives thro’;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

God hath not promised we shall not know
Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear
Many a burden, many a care.

God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel, needing not guide;
Never a mountain, rocky and steep,
Never a river turbid and deep:

But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

--Annie Johnson Flint.

Day Fifteen

Today we were presented to our church for membership. It was a good day! The last church we attended closed in April, 2016. We have been at our new church for about a year and a half now. I am blessed by our new family and can't wait to get to know everyone even better as time goes on.

For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!
(Psalms 84:10-12 ESV)

Day Six

Nothing in my hands I bring. 

Simply to the cross I cling. -Unknown

    Nothing in my hands I bring:

For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. Isaiah 64:6

                                                                   Romans 3 (BSB)

1 What, then, is the advantage of being a Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.

3 What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? 4 Absolutely not! Let God be true and every man a liar. As it is written:

“So that You may be justified in Your words,

and prevail in Your judgments.”

5 But if our unrighteousness highlights the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unjust to inflict His wrath on us? I am speaking in human terms. 6 By no means! In that case, how could God judge the world? 7 However, if my falsehood accentuates God’s truthfulness, to the increase of His glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner? 8 Why not say, as some slanderously claim that we say, “Let us do evil that good may result?” Their condemnation is deserved!

There is No One Righteous

(Psalm 14:1-7)

9 What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin. 10 As it is written:

“There is no one righteous,

not even one;

11 There is no one who understands;

no one who seeks God.

12 All have turned away;

they have together become worthless;

there is no one who does good,

not even one.

13 Their throats are open graves;

their tongues practice deceit;

the venom of vipers is on their lips;

14 their mouths are full of cursing and of bitterness;

15 their feet are swift to shed blood;

16 ruin and misery lie in their wake;

17 and the way of peace they have not known;

18 there is no fear of God before their eyes.”

19 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it says to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the Law. For the Law merely brings awareness of sin.

 Simply to the cross I cling:

Righteousness through Faith

21 But now, apart from the Law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets. 22 And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

25 God presented Him as an atoning sacrifice through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand. 26 He did this to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and to justify the one who has faith in Jesus.

27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of works? No, but on that of faith. 28  For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.

29 Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is One God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

31 Do we, then, nullify the Law by this faith? By no means! Instead, we uphold the Law. 

Day Four

Mums and Pumpkins  are on the porch now.  I love this time of year. I am very contemplative this time of year. This time of year seems to bring trials. I do not know why. Its all in Gods Hands. He allows this to happen to build us up and to strengthen us.  So with this knowledge, I just need to trust Him.

• Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 2 Samuel 7:28 
• Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3: 5-6 
• Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:10

Day Three

We do not always understand what God's plan is, but we can know what His character is.We can trust Him no matter our circumstance. We can take joy in the God of our salvation.

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
(Habakkuk 3:17-19 ESV)

Day two

I have only sadness from the porch tonight. A childhood friend that I grew up with in my home town lost her life in the shooting in Las vegas.   May our souls find rest in God alone. I am praying for her family and friends.

Head-dibs: 30th Wedding Anniversary

Head-dibs: 30th Wedding Anniversary

31 Days of Reflection Day 5 "Dreams"

Why do we often feel like we cant accomplish what we set out to do? We all have goals and ideas and dreams but somehow they are stolen, lost and not completed. I feel like I am my own worst enemy! Well I know that I am. I need to get some fresh air. Clear my head and make some new goals whether they be weight loss, or other goals and just do them. I always feel like I am being held back, it is fear? What is it that keeps me from accomplishing what I need to do? Is it laziness? Intimidation? 

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 
(2 Timothy 1:7 Webster) 

Being lazy is like walking in a thorn patch, but everyone who does right walks on a smooth road. 
(Proverbs 15:19 CEV) 

For you have not received a spirit of slavery that leads you into fear again. Instead, you have received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba! Father!" 
(Romans 8:15 ISV)

Times are uncertain

Times are uncertain....there are rumors of war......earthquakes.... the economy is fragile... it seems our government has let us down.......  Where do we turn? To God of course!  His Word says: But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"-- these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
(1 Corinthians 2:9-10 ESV)  No matter our circumstance He is there. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39 ESV).  He loves us so much. He has our best interests at heart. We can trust Him! But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. (2 Corinthians 4:7-10 ESV) I am so encouraged that King Jesus is on the throne and He is Sovereign over all things. Amen!