Last night I dreamed twice about water...in one dream I was at a college and I tried to get to my car to leave because I knew that soon a tide of water would be rushing through the campus...in the other dream I was taking a little boy home and he lived at an absolutely beautiful house on the water; I opened the French doors to the balcony to look out at the water and as soon as I opened them a wave of water rushed through the French doors. The dreams may have been symbolic of my week! but I'm still standing!
ISAIAH 59
1 Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened , that it cannot save ; neither his ear heavy , that it cannot hear : 2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear . 3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. 4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. 5 They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth , and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. 6 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. 7 Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. 8 The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace. 9 Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. 10 We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men. 11 We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us. 12 For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them; 13 In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. 14 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter . 15 Yea, truth faileth ; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey : and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment. 16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor : therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. 17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke. 18 According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay , fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies ; to the islands he will repay recompence. 19 So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. 20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD. 21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.
Friday, August 22, 2014
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
ARE YOU A CARROT EGG OR COFFEE BEAN?/TRIED BY FIRE
I would like to share a story that I heard today with you: A certain daughter complained to her father about her life and how things have been so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and she wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that just as one problem was solved another arose.
Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen, filled three pots with water and placed the fire on high. Soon the three pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the other he placed eggs, and the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.
The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently wondered what he was trying to do. She had problems, and he was making this strange concoction. In half an hour he walked over to the stove and turned down the fire. He pulled the carrots out and placed them in the bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in the bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her he asked. “Darling what do you see?
Smartly, she replied, “Carrots, eggs, and coffee.”
He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Her face frowned from the strength of the coffee.
Humbly, she asked, “What does it mean Father?”
He explained. “Each of them faced the same adversity: 212 degrees of boiling water. However, each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. But after going through boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg was fragile. A thin outer shell protected a liquid center. But after sitting through the boiling water, it’s inside became hardened. The coffee beans are unique however. After they were in the boiling water, it became stronger and richer.
Which are you, he asked his daughter? When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
Are you the carrot that seems hard, but with the smallest amount of pain, adversity, or heat you wilt and become soft with no strength?
Are you the egg, which starts off with a malleable heart, a fluid spirit, but after a death, a divorce, an accident you became hardened and stiff? Your shell looks the same, but internally you are so bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and heart.
Or, are you like the coffee bean? The bean does not get its peak flavor and robust until it reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit. When the water gets the hottest, it just tastes better.
When things are their worst, you get better. When people talk the most, your praises increases. When the hour is the darkest, trials are there greatest, your worship elevates to another level. How do you handle adversity?
Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying , Behold , a sower went forth to sow ; 4 And when he sowed , some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up : 5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up , because they had no deepness of earth: 6 And when the sun was up , they were scorched ; and because they had no root, they withered away . 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up , and choked them: 8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold , some sixtyfold , some thirtyfold. 9 Who hath ears to hear , let him hear
Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen, filled three pots with water and placed the fire on high. Soon the three pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the other he placed eggs, and the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.
The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently wondered what he was trying to do. She had problems, and he was making this strange concoction. In half an hour he walked over to the stove and turned down the fire. He pulled the carrots out and placed them in the bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in the bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her he asked. “Darling what do you see?
Smartly, she replied, “Carrots, eggs, and coffee.”
He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Her face frowned from the strength of the coffee.
Humbly, she asked, “What does it mean Father?”
He explained. “Each of them faced the same adversity: 212 degrees of boiling water. However, each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. But after going through boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg was fragile. A thin outer shell protected a liquid center. But after sitting through the boiling water, it’s inside became hardened. The coffee beans are unique however. After they were in the boiling water, it became stronger and richer.
Which are you, he asked his daughter? When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
Are you the carrot that seems hard, but with the smallest amount of pain, adversity, or heat you wilt and become soft with no strength?
Are you the egg, which starts off with a malleable heart, a fluid spirit, but after a death, a divorce, an accident you became hardened and stiff? Your shell looks the same, but internally you are so bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and heart.
Or, are you like the coffee bean? The bean does not get its peak flavor and robust until it reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit. When the water gets the hottest, it just tastes better.
When things are their worst, you get better. When people talk the most, your praises increases. When the hour is the darkest, trials are there greatest, your worship elevates to another level. How do you handle adversity?
Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying , Behold , a sower went forth to sow ; 4 And when he sowed , some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up : 5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up , because they had no deepness of earth: 6 And when the sun was up , they were scorched ; and because they had no root, they withered away . 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up , and choked them: 8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold , some sixtyfold , some thirtyfold. 9 Who hath ears to hear , let him hear
Monday, August 11, 2014
God Is Love
Psalm 8
4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. 6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: 7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; 8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
Promise
Today in the sky was a beautiful rainbow...it didn't form an arch it was just painted across the sky. I wanted everyone that I know; especially my loved ones to see it. I tried to take a picture but it just didn't do it justice. Do you want to know something else odd? Today I rented Noah!
Friday, August 8, 2014
PURSUE PEACE...REST
THURSDAY NIGHT I HAD A DREAM AND IN IT SOME PEOPLE THAT I KNOW TOLD ME THAT SOMEONE WAS STUDYING SERENITY. THIS WEEK WAS A LONG WEEK FOR ME; THERE WAS SO MUCH GOING ON. TODAY AT THE CLOSE OF MY WORK WEEK I THOUGHT ABOUT THE DREAM...AND THOUGHT FINALLY...PEACE. I TOLD A FRIEND OF MINE THAT JUST THE KNOWLEDGE THAT TOMORROW I CAN RELAX AND DO WHAT I CHOOSE IS BEAUTIFUL. I PRAY THAT THE PEACE OF GOD THAT SURPASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING IS YOURS TODAY AND TOMORROW. I PRAY FOR STILLNESS IN YOUR LIFE. I PRAY FOR A SABBATH IN YOUR LIFE; A TIME OF REST. GOD BLESS YOU. I LOVE YOU WITH THE LOVE OF CHRIST.
PSALM 34
1 I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad . 3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. 4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked unto him, and were lightened : and their faces were not ashamed . 6 This poor man cried , and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. 8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. 9 O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. 10 The young lions do lack , and suffer hunger : but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. 11 Come , ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 12 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. 14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
PSALM 34
1 I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad . 3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. 4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked unto him, and were lightened : and their faces were not ashamed . 6 This poor man cried , and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. 8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. 9 O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. 10 The young lions do lack , and suffer hunger : but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. 11 Come , ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 12 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. 14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)