Thankful

Colossians 4:2

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." 

NIV



Pic from freepicturesweb.com

Lord, in Jesus' name I come before You in humility and thankfulness and praise You for the gifts that You have given.  Lord, thank You for Your Son Who You gave for our redemption.  Thank You for His obedience unto the cross.  Lord, thank You for the freedom to worship You in Spirit and in truth.  I pray for our brothers and sisters in countries that do not have this freedom of worship.  I pray that You strengthen and protect them.   I pray for the martyrs who have gone before us, for those who have held open the door for our understanding.  I thank You for those who have died to further the cause of the cross.  Thank You for the service men and women who are fighting and have given their lives for our freedom.  I pray for Your peace to flood the earth, and bring together the nations in Your name.  Thank you for the blessings that You have provided to me, I pray that You guide me in using them to bless others.  Lord, I pray for the hungry and cold, that You use my hands and heart to reach out to them.  I pray that the spirit of generosity flows from Your people and floods the dryness of the world.  Lord, I pray for those who have lost loved ones and must go on without them.  I pray that you comfort them and cover their hearts.  I pray for those who are ill and lonely, I pray that You fill them with health and joy.  Father thank You, I love You and praise You.  Please hear my prayer.  Heal us, Lord and we shall be healed.  Thank You for loving us in our weak and sinful state.  Thank You. Amen.

Patti    

Don't Fret

The pages are turning

     Like time flying by

Old letters and photographs

     Your smile makes me cry

If I could only tell you

     How much God loves you today

He's written you a letter

     Just so He can say. . .

Don't fret, just leave it all in My hands

     Don't let this moment slip away

Not yet, just hold on to Me

      Just leave it all in my hands

God's love never changes

     The truth remains the same

He loves you, He died for you

     And He's coming back again. . .

Don't fret, just leave it all in His hands

     Don't let this moment slip away

Not yet, just hold on to Him

Just leave it all in His hands. . .

Original Song Lyrics Patricia Paige Harrison

Please Forgive me. . .

Ephesians 4:32
"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

Have you ever forgiven someone only to have the issue come up again?  Forgiveness is the crux of Christianity.  Matthew 18:20,21 records a conversation between Jesus and Simon Peter, "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”  Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times" (NIV).  The King James version renders verse 22 as, " Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." The Greek rendering of the words  hebdomekontakis hepta or seventy times seven reveals that the answer that Jesus gave was in accordance with the question Peter asked.  Seventy-seven times is hyperbole for as many times as it takes.  Seven is the number of perfection in scripture.  We must forgive as we have been forgiven. Matthew 6:15 instructs, "But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."  Unforgiveness blocks our relationship with God.  Forgive, if it comes up again say, "No, I have forgiven this situation as God forgave me."  Do it seventy-seven times or as many times as it takes.  The enemy has a vested interest in keeping us in unforgiveness.  If he can keep us bound, we can't move forward in God's plan for our lives.  Forgive, not because you feel like it or you want to, but because you know that is what will set you and others free. 

Lord, in Jesus' name please show us the areas of our lives that we may be harboring unforgiveness.  Please give us the grace to forgive as many times as it takes.  Lord, thank you for the opportunity to be Your child and to live in Your light.  I pray that Your Holy Spirit fills our hearts and lives with Your glorious presence and enables us to shine to this dark world.  Amen.  I love You.

Patti 

Reflections

"However, as it is written:  “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived,” the things God has prepared for those who love him." 

I Corinthians 2:9

NIV

I've been feeling rather reminiscent lately.  It seems that around every corner I catch glimpses of yesterday.  The sharp smell of burning leaves transports me back to my autumns past, and the glinting sun reflecting on the calm water reminds me of days long gone and the memories that they hold.  We collect the pieces of our lives and display them in curio cabinets and picture frames to remind us of the people and things that we love.  It isn't difficult to get lost in the wave of memories that they contain.  Recently I went for a walk on a local beach and a barrage of memories swept over me.  In that very spot over the years, I had swam as a teenager, watched my daughter play in the sand, cried my eyes out, laughed with friends and wistfully watched sailboats cross the sound.  The most bittersweet of memories are the ones of people who have passed on.  Longing to see them and speak with them again brings tears to my eyes even now.  It is so easy to get overwhelmed delving into these shadows of the past.

Isaiah 64:4 is the scripture that I Corinthians 2:9 refers to in the phrase, "However, as it is written. . ."  This scripture reads, "Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him" (NIV).  God understands that our pasts are just that "passed."  We can't change the things that have gone before.  Try as we might we can't change ourselves.  It may seem that we make some superficial adjustments; but honestly, without God's indwelling Spirit anything that we can do ourselves is just skin deep.  When we give our past and present to God in repentance and salvation He ensures us a glorious future.  We are given the opportunity to live our lives in His presence now, and to spend eternity with Him in a heaven that we can't even imagine.

I pray that you accept God's offer of eternity.  His intention is and always has been an intimate relationship with man.  This truth is traced through the Bible, from the Fall of man in Adam, to the redemption of mankind in Christ.  He loves you. That is the beginning and the end.

Sincerely,

Patti