Jesus, the Shepherd

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside still waters.
He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. ~ Psalm 23

Teaching the Truth in Love

60 Facts: Sabbath

Keep Your Feet from Breaking the Sabbath

Isaiah 58:11-14

"The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord's day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.

The mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Jesus Saves Sinners . . . and Changes Lives

God Cares for Everything

"God cares for everything and sustains everything that He has created. No tears are shed that He does not notice. There is no smile that He does not mark. If we would but fully believe this, all undue anxieties would be dismissed. Our lives would not be so filled with disappointment as now, for everything, whether great or small, would be left in the hands of God, who is not perplexed by the multiplicity of cares or overwhelmed by their weight. We should then enjoy a rest of soul to which many have long been strangers." ~ E.G. White

God is . . . Mighty to Save

What is Symbolic Babylon

A Quote by Charles L. Newbold
"Symbolic Babylon is that attitude of heart that makes us think we can solve all of our problems and meet all our needs without God. We look to government, politics, science, technology, psychology, sociology, economics, entertainment, and religion for help --things mankind has invented. Therefore we look to ourselves to save ourselves. Self-centered living is making ourselves out to be god; therefore, it is idolatry, which is spiritual harlotry...We become spiritual prostitutes when we create something and give our hearts to it rather than the Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever appeals to Self is not of God. Self is love in love with Self. It seeks its own. It is vain, prideful, arrogant, self-exalting, self-indulging, self-absorbed, power-hungry, and lustful. It strives for independence, self-reliance, and self-management. It uses and abuses others, if necessary, to achieve its own ambitions. It lies, steals, cheats, murders, covets, blames, justifies, and does whatever seems necessary to save itself. It goes to any end to protect itself. It is addicted to more. It can never be satisfied...Because the Self is centered upon itself...Self consumes itself, is self-destructive, and has death as its final reward. Self lives and dies for Self."

To the Glory of God the Father

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Philippians 2:5-11 NIV

Before the Throne of God Above

Daily Confession of Faith

My husband, Jason, and I went to Beaumont to visit with a friend of ours. He's a pastor and his church is involved with prison ministry. While we visited, we volunteered to help with the correspondence to the prisoners who had requested Bible studies. One of the volunteers--actually the volunteer coordinator of the prison ministry at the church --had a beautiful statement printed up to add into each envelope we were preparing to send to the prisoners. Her name was Faith, and this is her own "Daily Confession of Faith" . . . Maybe you will receive as much of a blessing from reading it as I did, and I'm sure hundreds of prisoners will as well.

In Christ I am anointed and a powerful person of God.

I am a joint-heir with Jesus and more than a conqueror.

I am a doer of the Word of God and a channel for His blessings.

If God be for me, who can be against me?

I am blessed coming in, and I am blessed going out.

My enemies are fleeing before me. God has commanded His blessing on my storehouses.

He has opened His good treasures and I shall lend and not borrow.

I am the head and not the tail.

He has given me power to make wealth.

I dwell in the secret place--I have his protection and provision.

God is my refuge, my fortress. I am not afraid of the snare of the fowler.

No evil shall befall me and no plague shall come nigh my dwelling.

God has give His angels charge over me and they are bearing me up in their hands lest I dash my foot against a stone as declared in Psalm 91.

1 Peter 2:9 establishes that I am a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.

I am a peculiar person--called out of darkness into His marvelous Light.

1 Peter 2:24 states that I have been healed by the stripes of Jesus.

Cancer, sugar diabetes, heart disease, sickness, afflictions, infections, or any other disease can not enter my body.

I am without spot or blemish.

An intercessor, the righteousness of God, saved, and washed in the Blood of Jesus.

"No weapon formed against me shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against me in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me," says the Lord. I am saved from wrath by Him and justified by the Blood of the Lamb.

Lord, I pray that they may prosper that love Jerusalem and that peace will be with them and prosperity in their houses according to Psalm 122:6-9.

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!

The 30 Days to Live Challenge

My favorite radio station, KSBJ has been following a local church's "30 Days to Live" challenge. The challenge is meant to give us all a reality check. It's the type of concept that brings priorities into focus, reminds us to be thankful for each breath we take, and pin points our daily decisions--which we know add up to the sum of our life.

I heard about this challenge, and decided I wanted to find out more about it. They sent me a packet of information. It contained a letter and a green rubber "message bracelet" --the type that became popular through Lance Armstrong's "Live Strong" campaign. I was almost disappointed by the simplicity of the packet. I expected worksheets, a brochure, maybe even a small journal to record my 30 day journey. What I found was simply a letter that could best be summarized by one statement it contained.
Every day, ask yourself what you would do if you had one month to live --then live that way.

Dreams From Above

When you surrender your own dreams to God, and ask Him to lead you, guide you, and direct your life, then He will reveal His dreams for your life. Dreams are, for some people, the achievements they most want to complete in this life.

Dreams Through Time
A common dream for elementary school students, is to be able to drive, date, stay out late, and be like the celebrities and sports stars. High school students dream of a faster car, a modeling career, going to college, and being the most popular girl or guy in school. Once the college years begin, many begin to dream of marriage, a lucrative career, a large home, and luxury vehicle. Newly weds begin to live many of their dreams, only to find more dreams to chase. They long for more time to spend together, less work, and more vacations. They birth the dream of having children, and soon embark on the path to parenthood. Once they become parents, a new multi-faceted dream scheme emerges, as they dream of family adventures, and the lives they hope their children will live. They dream about how to provide better for their families, and dream of when to expand their family and to what extend. They dream of weddings, grandchildren, and the pride of watching their offspring succeed. Grandparents dream of spending time with their family most of all. They dream of the days gone by, and dream with hope for the days ahead.

Dreams From Within
Dreams, for others, may be messages that bring healing or change to their lives. Depression sufferers dream of finding joy again. The lonely dream of fellowship, comfort, care, love, and comrade re. The barren dream of new life. Grief breaths dreams of memories, mostly good, and chases them. Those with cancer dream of cures. Addicts dream of the next buzz, and freedom from their chains. Employees dream of raises, promotions, and recognition-some dream of a different job. Dreams change who we are, and who we are becoming.

Dreams Come True
God is part of who we are today, and who we will be tomorrow. He wants to be our everything. He wants to make life run smoothly by carrying us through the rough spots. He dreams of us.
Your dreams for this life and eternal life come from God when you ask Him to give you His greatest blessings. When you surrender all of yourself to Him, then He will reveal His dreams for your life. If deep down in your heart you have genuinely asked Him to take all of your hopes, dreams, plans, and goals, then whatever the thoughts and dreams that come into your mind after that will be from Him! -If you continuously seek Him on a daily basis, and maybe even more than daily --maybe hourly if you have a lot of distractions around you...maybe even moment by moment.

Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit speaks to us all the time. When we listen and follow His directions, then we can hear Him more and more distinctly. However, if multiple times in a row we hear Him, but do not follow through on His message to us, then the voice of the Holy Spirit within us will grow softer and softer, until we don't hear it anymore. This is when life begins to take turns towards pain, and recklessness. We lose our direction and begin to wander around with no purpose in life. We begin to lose sight of our goal of being Christians (Christ-like), and lose sight of our destination of eternal life. Eternal life is not earned --it is the gift of God when He gave Jesus as the payment of our debt of sin. However, as Christians we are called to live a certain way, and are only able to live this way by the leading of the Holy Spirit. If you do not feel like your life is following the plans God has for you, it's OK. --Stop what you are doing now, and pray to God to help you. Tell Him that you want to follow His plan for your life, and you want Him to bless your life. He wants you! Nothing you have ever done or will do is too much to keep Him from loving you. NOTHING!

Follow the dreams God give you. Seek Him, surrender to Him, ask Him for help, guidance and direction today. Then continue to spend time reading the Bible and praying, knowing that God has promised to draw near to us when we draw near to Him.

"Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up!" James 4:8