Thanksgiving Of Faith

Although things are not perfect

Because of trial or pain

Continue in thanksgiving

Do not begin to blame

Even when the times are hard

Fierce winds are bound to blow

God is forever able

Hold on to what you know

Imagine life without His love

Joy would cease to be

Keep thanking Him for all the things

Love imparts to thee

Move out of "Camp Complaining"

No weapon that is known

On earth can yield the power

Praise can do alone

Quit looking at the future

Redeem the time at hand

Start every day with worship

To "thank" is a command

Until we see Him coming

Victorious in the sky

We'll run the race with gratitude

Exalting God most high

Yes, there'll be good times and
 yes some will be bad, but...

Zion waits in glory...
where none are ever sad!

~ Cindy Blackamore ~

Source: mamarocks.com

Robin's Return By Leander Fisher - J.J. Sheridan

Heaven Is Not Ours Because Of Our Works

Heaven is not ours because of our works. Doing good things for others will not take us one step closer to heaven. Heaven is ours because of Jesus' willingness to take our punishment upon himself. If we accept that sacrifice and love God, heaven is ours for eternity.
Even so, God does expect us to get busy and do good things. He won't forget the good we do. He will reward Christians for their good deeds.
There is a difference between our salvation and our reward. Salvation is a gift. Our reward is given because of our good works. Of course our reward will be worth a gazillion times more than we deserve.

Reward comes WITH salvation, not separate from salvation. We can do good works without believing in God. Many people do so. They do not receive an eternal reward for their good works.
For those who believe in Jesus and God and accept the sacrifice and love of Jesus, salvation is theirs. Because they cannot help but love Jesus and God, works automatically follow.
"“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done."
"In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds."
"God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them."
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."
"The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor."

Edith Smith

Changed Meanings Of Words

"Sinfully delicious", "decadent desserts", "wickedly delicious", "eat wicked - never feel guilty", "chocolate sin cake" (all real advertisements), and "that's BAD, Dude" ... terms calling good things "bad" but we understand that they mean "good"?

Have you noticed how at times words have changed in meaning? Words that actually mean "bad" are used to mean "good"? Words that actually mean "good" are used to mean "bad"?

No, I don't think it has come to the meaning in Isaiah 5:20. But when I hear these phrases, it sure brings that verse to my mind. "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil".

(I have some of my Daddy in me. I know he would do this too.) If I see a dessert advertised as "sinfully delicious" or "decadent chocolate", I will not eat it. YES, even CHOCOLATE. Don't misunderstand me, please. I do NOT believe there is anything wrong with eating it and I CAN eat it with a clear conscious. It is simply my way of keeping my mind from slipping into allowing those words that are tied with evil from becoming less meaningful in my life.

And then there is ... "If there's no chocolate in heaven, I'm not going." ~Author Unknown

Ahh, wouldn't it be nice to know (when things are said in fun) at what point God's smile is beginning to fade because of the words that come out of our mouths.

All that being said, remember that "chocolate is an antidepressant, which is especially useful as you start to gain weight." ~Jason Love (whoever he is)

Edith L. Smith

God Does Not Compel Us To Go Against Our Will,

When the Canaanites hardened their hearts against God,
And grieved Him because of their sin,
God sent along hornets to bring them to terms,
And to help His own people to win.

If a nest of live hornets were brought to this room,
And the creatures allowed to go free,
You would not need urging to make yourself scarce,
You'd want to get out, don't you see!

They would not lay hold and by force of their strength,
Throw you out of the window, oh, no!
They would not compel you to go against your will,
But they would just make you willing to go.

When Jonah was sent to the work of the Lord,
The outlook was not very bright.
He never had done such a hard thing before,
So he backed and ran off from the fight.

Now, the Lord sent a great fish to swallow him up,
The story I am sure you all know.
God did not compel him to go against his will,
But He just made him willing to go.

CHORUS:

God does not compel us to go, oh, no!
He never compels us to go.
God does not compel us to go against our will,
But He just makes us willing to go.

"Tell Her How You Love Her Everyday...",

"I saw this elderly gentleman dining by himself, with an old picture of a lady in front of him. I though maybe I could brighten his day by talking to him.

As I had assumed, she was his wife. But I didn’t expect such an interesting story. They met when they were both 17. They dated briefly, then lost contact when he went to war and her family moved. But he said he thought about her the entire war. After his return, he decided to look for her. He searched for her for 10 years and never dated anyone. People told him he was crazy, to which he replied “I am. Crazy in love”. On a trip to California, he went to a barber shop. He told the barber how he had been searching for a girl for ten years. The barber went to his phone and called his daughter in. It was her! She had also been searching for him and never dated either. 

He proposed immediately and they were married for 55 years before her death 5 years ago. He still celebrates her birthday and their anniversary. He takes her picture with him everywhere and kisses her goodnight.

Some inspiring things he said;

"I was a very rich man. Not with money, but with love"

"I never had a single argument with my wife, but we had lots of debates"

"People are like candles. At any moment a breeze can blow it out, so enjoy the light while you have it."

"Tell your wife that you love her everyday. And be sure to ask her, have I told you that I love you lately?"

Be sure to talk to the elderly. Especially strangers. You may think that you will brighten their day, but you may be surprised that they can actually brighten yours.”

You Are A Vital Part Of The Body Of Christ

Howard Mooney: And then he spoke of the other feeling that is prevalent among God's people - "I am no good in the Church". That is like the ear saying, because I cannot be the eye, I am no good in the body; like the foot saying, because I am not the hand or in other words, because I am not doing what the other person is doing, I am no good in the body. And he went to say, every member in the body is vital. If you do not remember anything else that we are trying to tell you from our meeting this afternoon, take this thought home with you. REGARDLESS OF WHO YOU ARE, OR HOW OLD YOU ARE, OR HOW HANDICAPPED YOU ARE, YOU ARE A VITAL PART OF THE BODY. There is no thing as a non-vital organ in the body of Christ, for God has put everyone of them in the body as it has pleased Him.

I Tim 4:12 This reference is to the youth. If there is anyone who might have a tendency to feel unnecessary in the body of Christ, it is the young people. And the reason why I know this, is because I remember my feelings when I was a teenager. I just felt sometimes so unnecessary. And I did not have a car at that time, so I wasn't able to go out and bring people to the meeting like the older folks could. I could not pray like the older folks, I felt so unnecessary. And having passed through the mill myself, I can understand the feelings of you young people. I wish you young people could know how much we do appreciate you. I wish you could understand how vital you are in this fellowship. I wonder if you realize how many times the workers who have been given a room to stay in your home - I wonder if you know how many times those workers have gone into that room and got down on their knees and thanked God for you.

We have been having some services on a University campus. We had a number of our professing young people there and they were real examples of the believers. And you know, there has been over one dozen of their fellow classmates that have come to the Gospel meetings and professed through the last couple of years; and one was an opera singer. She was way up in the higher circles of the opera world. She had just taken a tour of Europe; and she was so impressed with the godly example of our young folks, that she came to the meetings and professed. You naturally think, when a person like that comes to the meetings, what happens when they come to the crossroads? But it was only a short while after that young woman professed, that she came to me one day and she said, "Howard, I am giving up opera." I said, "That is good, what brought you to that conclusion?" She said. "You know, in the opera world, you do not get anywhere without stepping on somebody else". But she said, "In this fellowship, everyone is helping each other." And she said, "I would give up anything for what I have found in this fellowship. It's everything, compared with what the operatic world has to offer". These young people were a real example of the believers. They believed God could do for them more than anyone else could do, and it was showing in their lives. And as I said before, a number of their fellow students at the University have come to the meetings and professed as a result of their example. I would encourage every young person to read the 12th verse of this 4th chapter of I Timothy over frequently. If I am a believer, if I believe in the Lord - all that this verse teaches - then I am a vital part of this body. And even though I am just a young person and even though I may not pray very good and speak very well, I am still a vital organ in the body of Christ.

Howard Mooney: We were traveling - a group of us workers in a car - recently going from one convention to another and there was an old worker in the car who had been in the work over 50 years. And he was talking to us younger ones about the miracle of convention and the miracle of fellowship as a whole. He said: "I have been in the work now over 50 years and I understand perfectly how it works, but if God would take this miracle work out of this fellowship, there is not one thing I could do to make it work." He said, "There are no strings to pull, no buttons to push."

He pointed to one of the workers in the car and said "If God took over and took life out of your body, there is not one thing that man could do to make it work. You could get the latest physician in the country and he could employ the latest methods known to science, but if God takes that miracle out of your body, there is not one thing that we could do to make it work."

He said: "The same is true of the body of Christ. This thing is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes; and it is a God-given miracle in this fellowship that makes it the living calling - something that we all found it to be." And that is why I am so thankful that in the scriptures we have this illustration so frequently used of the Church, of which Christ is the Head and we are the members and each one enjoying the miracles of that life.