HALLOWEEN

When I started to look up “Halloween” in The Collins Concise Dictionary I would have never thought that I would end up reading about “the collective body of those who are righteous in God’s sight.”

HALLOWEEN

HALLOWEEN

The dictionary tells me that “Halloween” is “the eve of ALL Saints’ Day celebrated on October 31. Today is Thursday, October 31, 2013. Halloween is celebrated this evening.

And I am finding this about All Saints’ Day in the dictionary: “a Christian festival celebrated on November 1 to honor all the saints.” All Saints’ Day is tomorrow.

And what does the dictionary say about saints? There are several meanings. One meaning is “the collective body of those who are righteous in God’s sight.”

That is also what the Bible says. The apostle Paul wrote many of the letters in the New Testament and he addresses his readers as saints.

And believe it or not, I am also a saint, because I am righteous in the sight of God!

RUBBISH

“If you keep your mind sufficiently open, people will throw a lot of rubbish in it.”

I am finding that quote by William A. Orton in the book called WRITE RIGHT written by Jan Venolia. It is another second hand book and it was given to me yesterday. There is also a beautiful picture illustrating the quote.

RUBBISH

RUBBISH

 

PEOPLE WILL THROW RUBBISH IN OUR MINDS

Do I need to say more about that? The answer is NO.

THE LORD WILL PUT HIS LAW IN OUR MINDS.

In Hebrews 8:10 it says: “‘I will put my laws in their minds …'”

In Hebrews 10:16 we read: “‘I will put my laws in their hearts, …'”

Do I need to say more about that? The answer is YES!

Here is what we read about the law in the Psalms:

Psalm 1:2; Psalm 19:17; Psalm 37:31; Psalm 40:8; Psalm 119: 18,70,72,77,97,163,165.

Please find a Bible and read those verses!!

Don’t let people throw rubbish in your mind, but let the Lord put his law in your mind.

Keep your mind open for the law of the Lord!

“FIND THE PERFECT GIFT …”

PERFECT GIFTS

“Find the perfect gift at your local Pharmacy,” I am reading on the front page of the mailer, I picked up yesterday. “Christmas Magic” it says there also and the offers in the mailer are valid between 29th October – 24th November 2013.

In his letter James, the brother of the Lord Jesus Christ, is also writing about the perfect gift. He says in James 1:17 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

"FIND THE PERFECT GIFT"

“FIND THE PERFECT GIFT”

Are you familiar with the hymn, “GOD SENT HIS SON, THEY CALLED HIM JESUS,” by William J. Gaither & Gloria Gaither? I like especially the chorus, where it says: “BECAUSE HE LIVES, I CAN FACE TOMORROW.”

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS OUR POWER.

There is the power of His grace. The power of His grace strengthens us in our trials. Read Second Corinthians 12:9.

There is the power of His ministry. The power of his ministry operates through us. Please read Acts 1:8; Acts 3:12 and Acts 4:3.

There is the power of His strength.The power of His strength enables us to be faithful. Second Timothy 1:12.

There is the power of His resurrection. The power of His resurrection raises us above an earthly and  selfish life. Read that in Philippians 3:10.

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS OUR RANSOM.

In First Timothy 2:6 it says, “Who gave Himself a ransom for all.”

 We need someone to meet our liabilities and the Lord Jesus Christ did that!

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS OUR SUBSTITUTE.

In Isaiah 53 we are told that He was a crushed Substitute. You read that in Isaiah 53:5.

And in Isaiah 53:7 we read that He was a silent Substitute.

And in Isaiah 53:11 we are told that He will be a rewarded Substitute.

What do we learn in the Christmas story? We learn that JESUS became a man. Please read Philippians 2:5-8, where it also says that JESUS “made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”

I found the perfect gift in “THE BOOK OF BOOKS,” the Bible!

Mind, Tongue and Pen

The mind, the tongue, the pen and God’s love.

I looked up “mind” in The Collins Concise Dictionary and there it says, “the part of a person responsible for thought, feelings, intentions, etc.”

CHRIST’S LOVE AND THE MIND.

"LOVE, WHICH COMES FROM A PURE HEART ..." ( First Timothy 1:5)

“LOVE, WHICH COMES FROM A PURE HEART …” ( First Timothy 1:5)

“More than mind can know” is Christ’s love, says Timothy Dudley-Smith in his hymn “The love of Christ, who died for me.”

JESUS’S LOVE AND THE TONGUE.

“More than tongue can tell” is Jesus’s love sings Jane E. Hall in her hymn “The love that Jesus had for me.”

GOD’S LOVE AND THE PEN.

And Frederick M. Lehman in his hymn “The love of God is greater far” does not only say that God’s love is more than tongue can tell but also that God’s love is more than pen can tell.

My desire  is to learn more about God’s love and I think I have learned more. I hope you have also learned more about the love of God.

“What’s the time?”

“What’s the time?”

I was asked that question this morning. There was no need to answer the question, because the clock was not very far away.

“What’s the time?” There are three answers I would like to give, when I am asked that question.

CLOCK TOWER IN KAITAIA

CLOCK TOWER IN KAITAIA

The first answer:

The prophet Hosea says “for it is time to seek the LORD, …”

Jeremiah writes: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

The second answer:

In his second letter to the Corinthians the apostle Paul writes not only that it “is the time of God’s favor, …” but that it is also “the day of salvation.” And he says that the time is “NOW”.

The third answer:

David tells us in one of his psalms that it is time to trust the Lord.

I think I can say that I was SEEKING the Lord in my teens and that I experienced the DAY OF MY SALVATION in my late teens and that I am still TRUSTING the Lord. And I will TRUST him until I die or until he comes back.

Hosea 10:12; Second Corinthians 6:2; Jeremiah 29:13; Psalm 62:8