Luke 17:5

Luke 17:5

The apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith!' 

 

A statement I frequently make in my prayers.  Please, Lord, Increase my Faith.  The thing is, what will I go through in order for that statement to be true?  The Lord's journeys are always interesting.... that is for sure! 

Matthew 24:4-5

Matthew 24:4-5

Jesus answered: 'Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. 

There have been a lot of sermons I have been listening to of late, that have been talking about this.  Saying we are being too PC and how we need to start saying what the Bible says and stop trying to let people hear what they want to hear.  Like the fact that you can't get to God without going through his son.  His son is who he sent.  His son is who he loved.  His son is who he said we must go through.  Which means you can't go through Mohammad, Buddha, or anyone else that claims they have the way. Why would he send his son and then give us ways to get to him through anything else?  It doesn't make sense. 

So watch out for the people that say there is any other way to get to God other than what He told us.  There is only one way.

John 12:25-26

John 12:25-26

The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

 

I think this is saying, if I work hard to make and keep things in this life, I will lose it, because that is not permanent.  The only permanent thing, the only everlasting thing is Him.  If I love him, then what is in this world, doesn't matter because we KNOW it will go away and we have a future with him.  I'm pretty sure I feel that way.  Most of the time, the stuff I have, I don't care about because I KNOW it doesn't matter. 

Luke 19:37-38

Luke 19:37-38

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 'Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!'

Amos 7:7-8

Amos 7:7-8

This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD asked me, 'What do you see, Amos?' 'A plumb line,' I replied. Then the Lord said, 'Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. 

 

I guess this means that if we don't straighten up he will have no more mercy on us.  Again, since God does not change, it is Him showing us that he won't put up with our antics forever.  We make a choice to get in line or fall out.  I want to be "plumb" with our Lord. 

E-How's, Shelley Shaub said this: 

What Is a Plumb Bob?

"A plumb bob is a humble tool consisting of a weight at the end of a string. "Plumb" comes from the Latin term "plumbum" for the element lead, indicating a lead slug tied to a string. One end of the string is affixed at a point above the floor or ground, and the weight is allowed to hang free until it stops moving. This shows the user "true vertical." With a plumb bob, anyone can measure or draw a line parallel to Earth's gravity. Plumb bobs often have carefully machined brass or bronze weights with points on the end and cotton or water-resistant nylon string. The point represents the spot directly below the origin of the string. Aside from modern plumb bobs using newer manufactured materials, the plumb bob has not changed in millennia"

I think it interesting that we know that the plumb bob has not changed in a millennia.  How God showed Amos a plumb line and Amos knew what it was and what it was for. Therefore the symbolism stands perfectly straight.  

This is just MY opinion.

This is just MY opinion.

1. There must be something that people love about that fat faced freckled little child that has no mouth, that is the "magnolia stamp craze" but I don't see it.  I'm a huge fan of puddle jumpers and I don't stamp. I mean, I've tried to "stamp" through the years, but I'm not that good at coloring so stamping and digi-stamping are not my thing.  I love paper piecing.  I love love love my cricut.  But, I would like to love stamping too. 
2.  Praise.  We all need praise.  I need praise.  I love picking out something lovely on a project and pointing it out.  I love the cricut message boards and all the people that are starting out and looking to learn what they are doing well and what they could do better.  I'm becoming better all the time by the trial and error.  I just wish more people would take the time to praise others as much as they like getting praised.  I hardly even post over at the MB anymore, but I go there and look at others work and especially praise the  newbies.  They need it the most.  Don't get me wrong, I"M NOT a trophy to everyone kind of girl.  But praise is important to keep someone trying.
3.  I have become a politico.  I never cared much about politics until recently. I know that it is having so much time to do nothing that has led me to listen to political banter and search all the facts.  There is little balance on the news.  Even on the "Fair and Balanced" Fox network, they are not really that balanced.  I've been reading a lot lately, books like Courage and Consequence by Karl Rove and the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, by Benjamin Franklin.  I think Glenn Beck is crazy, but he has some good points.  I can't stand Bill Mahr or David Letterman.  I think that Jon Stewart is funny but sometimes to crass for my taste.  I like humor with my politics, but I also know there is more going on behind the scenes than we even think there might be.  I find myself more of an activist the older I get.  I do research.  Who would have ever guessed?!  I pray a lot for our leaders.  I dislike Obama not the man, but the policies and beliefs he stands for.  So, I pray a lot!
4.  People can choose what they want.  I love that God gave us choices.  Along with our choices though, there are consequences.  We can't say, I can do whatever I want and God will love me anyway and not condemn me.  No, that is not what God said.  He said, choose to love me, choose my ways, choose to give up what you hold dear and I will bless you.   We all sin, on a daily basis and we make choices, but the consequences of our choices are on us.  Even David, a man after God's own heart, didn't get away with the consequences of his sin.  But, he was still a man after God's own heart, he was seeking to live his life in his choice of God.  You can't have it both ways.  A choice is just that.... you choose one way or the other way.  But it IS your choice.
5.  There are so many "good" things to do out there.  For me, I discovered the cricut card fairies.  I make cards for those people on the list that need to be cheered.  I can't say enough how many blessings I feel from getting to do this work.  Most of the time I don't even know if my card made it to the intended person.  But, when I send the card and pray over my list, I feel blessed to get to do it. It brings me such joy.

So, I just had those few things I wanted to say out loud today.  I don't get to say much out loud since I'm by myself most of the time.  But, this is a way of saying something out loud I guess.  It is my opinion and no one else has to read it or listen to it, but I needed to say it.

Mark 6:14-15

Mark 6:14-15

King Herod heard about this, for Jesus' name had become well known. Some were saying, 'John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.' Others said, 'He is Elijah.' And still others claimed, 'He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.'

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I think they are talking about John the Baptist preaching Jesus' name here.  That John the Baptist was like the prophets of old.  This made me wonder, what happened to the Prophets between the old testament and the new?  There was a time when there were no prophets.  It is interesting to point this out because I just thought there were prophets right up until the time that Jesus was born.  But the time had already begun to change to the search for the messiah.  It's probably not important to me that there was a time without prophets, we don't have them now like they did in the old testament.  I'm grateful that the Messiah came, lived and died and that I can believe without wondering when he will come.  I only have to think about the wonderful day that He will come again.  But it is interesting to think about the people of that time.  In reality, they are absolutely no different than us now. 
Interesting thoughts for today.