Adrift

Hebrews warns about our losing
our relationship with God.(Heb. 2:11)

"We must give the more earnest heed
to the thing we have heard,
lest we drift away."

I picture a boat in a creek.
As soon as the rower stops rowing,
drifting begins.
Just as in the Christian life,
we must be forever vigilant.

Again he warns in 3:11-

"Beware, lest there be an
evil heart of unbelief
in departing
from the living God."

Thank you, Joseph

Then Joseph took the body of Jesus down,
wrapped it in linen,
and laid it in a tomb. (Luke 23:53)

What a beautiful thing to do
and how tenderly he must
have done it.
Did Joseph realize
this was the body of his
creator and Savior?

I am sure it wasn't the puny body
that most artists portray.
For this Man had walked miles.
And with cords in His hands,
He alone drove the crowd
out of the temple.

Sweet Release

"As soon as it was day" (Luke 22:66a)

Jesus was bound by all the aspects of humanity.
And so He would have been utterly exhausted.
The evening before
He had drunk the dredge of emotional turmoil-
even to sweating like great drops of blood
falling to the ground.
That would have caused extreme exhaustion.

Then He is dragged from place to place,
walking miles.
All this during 24 hours of no sleep.
And it continues on and on
into the next day
when He is finally released from
His humanity
and adorns a resurrected body.

Yoked

"My yoke is easy and my burden is light."
(Matt. 11:30)

A yoke involves two.
And since it is His yoke,
He's bearing it with us.
And He said, 'His yoke is easy and light.'
Light, because He is bearing His share
and light because He is near
and we have His companionship to
help take our minds off the load.

The Great Escape

"Watch, therefore, and pray always
that you may be counted worthy to
escape all these things that will
come to pass." Luke 21:36

To not want to suffer or experience
pain and loss is not selfishness
or cowardice.
Jesus says so here.

Jesus wept again

"He saw the city and wept over it." Luke 19:14

Proof that even though punishment is deserved
as it was in the case of Jerusalem,
the Lord grieves for those who are suffering
because of their sins.

Really Good Prayer

This is something to ask God
to do for those we love:

Shepherd them and
bear them up forever.
Ps. 28:9b

Same Breath

In the same breath where God promises punishment
and judgment,
He says,
"I Am the Lord who is just and righteous,
whose love is unfailing."
Jeremiah 9:24

I must keep this in mind as I view
all of this chaos and suffering
taking place in America.

Finding God

I love this information!

Is. 65:1~
"I am being found by people
who were not looking for Me.
To them I have said,
"I am here!"

Insistent Prayers or Bugging God

Prayers we should make for those we love
from Isaiah 62:1,6,7~

I will not stop praying for _____
until _____ righteousness shines
like the dawn and _____ salvation
blazes like a burning torch.

I will pray to the Lord day and night
for the fulfillment of His promises.

Take no rest,
all you who pray.
Give the Lord no rest.

Weight

Isaiah 53:4-
"It was our sorrows that weighed Him down."

I don't want to admit this but my first thought was:
How can this be?
Immediately I remembered how I have
been weighed down by other's sorrows.

How much more would our sorrows
weigh on our perfect Savior?

Thoughts~#3

Quotes on thoughts:

C.S.Lewis-"Letters to Malcolm"
'There is always hope if we keep an unsolved problem fairly in view:
there's none if we pretend it's not there."

Hannah Hunnard in "High's Feet in High Places."
'From bitter experience she knew that pictures
thrown on the screen of her imagination
could seem much more unnerving and terrible
than the actual fact.'

Robert Frost-"Overflowing Life"
'We will recognize his (Satan's) persistent
pressure to focus our faith in our feelings
rather than the word and life of our Lord.
No longer will we view with fear
the fantasies Satan paints upon
the canvas of our imaginations.'

"There is a fine line between the power
of suggestion, which is of man,
and the power of conviction,
which is of God!"

Tight Fit

Jeremiah 13:11~
(Ponder this!)
"Just as shorts fit tightly
around a man's waist,
so I intended My people
to hold tightly to Me."

Strength in Waiting

Waiting-means 'braided together.'

They that are 'braided together'
with the Lord,
shall renew their strength.

Thoughts~ #2

1 Chronicles 28:9b-
"Worship and serve Him with a clean heart
and a willing mind,
for the Lord sees every heart
and understands and knows
every thought."

11 Corinthians 10:5~
"...we are taking every thought captive
to the obedience of Christ."

Amos 4:13~
"You are dealing with the One who
formed the mountains and made the winds,
and knows your every thought.

11 Corinthians 1:3~
"But I am afraid,
lest as the serpent deceived Eve
by his craftiness,
your mind's should be led astray
from the simplicity and purity
of devotion to Christ."

Matthew 9:4~
"Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said,
'Why do you entertain evil thoughts
in your hearts?'" (healing the paralytic)

Romans 8:5~
"Those who live according to their
sinful nature have their minds set
on what that nature desires;
but those who live in accordance
with the Spirit have their minds
set on what the Spirit desires.

The mind controlled by the Spirit
is life and peace."

Servants and Being Served

Jesus calls us servants
but for those who are watching
for Him...
at the "Great Marriage Supper of the Lamb"
He will gird Himself
and have them sit down to eat,
and will come and serve them. Luke 12:37
That just boggles my mind.
Jesus,
the great King,
serving us!

What a Life!

What a life He wants us to have!

Luke 12~"...Do not worry about your life...
Why are you anxious?
How much more will He clothe you,
O you of little faith?
Do not...have an anxious mind..
Your Father knows that you need these things...
Do not fear little flock...."

Overwhelmed

"When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,
then you knew my path." Psa. 142:3

This is so nice to know.

"Bring my soul out of prison, that I may
praise Your name." v.7

A perfect prayer during those times of
feeling overwhelmed and depressed.

Wonderful Pastor

This is the kind of care God wants His shepherds to give ~

"...one who cares for those who are cut off,
who seeks the young,
who heals those that are broken,
who feeds those that still stand."
Zechariah 11:16

What a wonderful pastor that would be!

Jesus

"As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered." Luke 9:29 (Mount of Transfiguration)

And I am wondering if this may be what happened after the resurrection when Mary, the men on the road to Emmaus, and others didn't recognize Jesus.

How did Peter know that it was Moses? Elijah? These men would have been in Heaven with Jesus before He came to earth.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit." Luke 10:21

I am so glad Jesus had that time of joy. So often the opposite was true. Even immediately following this "a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him." v.25

"Others testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven." Luke 11.16

Testing again, dear Jesus. And how often have I added to that testing when I want a special assurance of your love and care.

Thoughts

(My mother loaned me a special notebook of hers. She wrote down a topic and verses and quotes regarding that topic. I opened up to the section on 'Thoughts'. It is quite lengthy which shows its importance to God since most of these words come from His book. I will break it into segments. The battle is in the mind. So meditate and think on these things.)

Matt. 1:11-"It is what you say and think that makes you unclean."

Matt. 16:8-"Jesus knew what they were thinking and told them,
"O men of little faith!"

Matt. 16:23~ "You are a dangerous trap to me. You are thinking merely from a human point of view, and not from God's." (What a fearsome responsibility-to think God's thoughts so we are not a dangerous trap to Him (or others-a.h.). God HELP me.)

Luke 1:16d-"..and will change disobedient minds to the wisdom of faith."

Psa, 119:97,99~"Oh, how I love Your words. I think about them all day long....I am ever thinking of your rules."

Daniel 1 8~"But Daniel made up his mind not to eat the food and wine given to them by the king."