The Living Dead / A repost- from many moons ago

  We do not celebrate halloween. We do however, celebrate each new day because: "This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24)

My husband , for some weird reason, has been hooked on zombie movies ever since the old (original) black & white version of 'Night of the Living Dead'.  I personally believe that if you've seen one, you've seen them all. Well, here's my version of a zombie story:

Have you noticed how many movies are made about zombies? We find the creatures ugly and repulsive, a contradiction in and of itself. (the walking dead or living dead) The thought of them conjures up images of ghastly creatures mindlessly walking around in ragged clothes stinking up the place, looking for someone to devour.(Gal.5:15) This is how we looked to God before we were changed into the image of His Son. Isaiah 64:6 says it like this: But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags..

We may think that our good deeds make us beautiful and ,well [good]; but unless we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ, God sees us quite differently. for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Galatians 3:27)). In this text, the word "clothed" is translated from [endunw-enduno], and properly means to envelop in, to hide in, and to put on something. The word “clothed” has been defined "to become so possessed of the mind of Christ as in thought, feeling, and action to resemble him and, as it were, reproduce the life he lived." –Joseph Henry Thayer

Jesus at one point tells one of the disciples to “Let the dead bury the dead” (Mat.8:22)

Thankfully we were given a new identity, a new life when we accepted Jesus. We can now say “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Gal.2:20)

When we get dressed in the morning, we do not desire to dig through the hamper and pull out the dirty clothes that we wore days ago, but when we turn back to our 'old ways' from our old life before we knew the Lord, we are putting on the smelly old clothing of our [old man] who was dead and buried. Instead let us daily stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (Gal.5:1)

• What's your favorite movie? Why?
• If the book of Revelation was made into a movie (a realistic one) do you think a lot of people would get saved after watching it?
• Did you get saved after reading the book of Revelation in the Bible? (I did!)

~God Bless & keep you safe this halloween season~  

The Promise Before The Rain



 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;

 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.

 And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth. ( Genesis 9:8-17 KJV)

I had to pick our youngest daughter up from work this afternoon. On the way we were remarking on how beautiful the landscape was. The sky was a very deep gray, but the sun was shining on the trees igniting them in color, a beautiful contrast against the dark backdrop and like icing on a cake we saw a rainbow. It had not rained yet. My daughter said "Look it's God's Promise!"
 (just like when she was little) I replied: "The promise without the rain!"
As we neared home it began to darken and rain. My daughter said "The promise before the rain! To which I replied: "Looks like I found my next blog post!"


So, what is the science behind the rainbow, and does it have to rain in order to see one?

Light and water create rainbows. However, to see a rainbow, it must be raining in one part of the sky, the sun shining from the opposite part, and you must have your back to the sun. Then raindrops, like tiny prisms, scatter the white sunlight into brilliant colors--red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet--and make a rainbow...

 Our backs were to the sun as we traveled, so that would explain why we seen the bow before the rain.


If we think of Jesus as the white light of the Sun (Sonlight),  
it is as though we are looking through this brilliant prism of the light of God's promises; trusting securely in the Lord, and not worrying about what we can not see ahead of us, the storms of life.
When we let God's light shine through us, we become like those raindrops reflecting His light, becoming beautiful like the Savior. 
We can be a  bright token of God's love and promise of eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ.
Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world. 
 (Philipians 2:14-15)


 Oh Lord you're beautiful
Your face is all I see,
For when your eyes are on this child
your grace abounds to me.

I want to take your word and shine it all around.
But first help me to just live it Lord.
And when I'm doing well, help me to never seek a crown
For my reward is giving glory to you.

Oh Lord please light the fire
that once burned bright and clean
Replace the lamp of my first love
that burns with holy fear.
~Keith Green's 'Oh Lord Your Beautiful' Lyrics~

...The drops bend the light to scatter it. Light slows when it goes through water and this causes its path to bend.

This made me think of us Christians as the droplets, passing through the Sonlight, making the Light slowly work through us, bending our will into His.

...Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:21 KJV)

Did you know ?...
*The Bible begins with a rainbow and ends with a rainbow:

• In the Book of Genesis it says: The Rainbow of God's Promise shines across the world. Genesis 9:16
• In the Book of Revelation it says: The Emerald Rainbow shines around the Throne of God in heaven. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. Revelation 4:3b (NIV)



~Double Blessings~
Never Forsaken

.

The Church

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the
Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16 )

Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool; what is the house which you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things are mine, says the LORD. But this is the man to whom I will look, he that is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word." (Isaiah 66:1)

"Am I a God at hand, says the LORD, and not a God afar off? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? says the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the LORD. (Jeremiah 23:23, 24)

Jesus is the head of the Church:

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: the things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ( Colossians 15-18)

The Church is made up of the(body) of true believers in Jesus Christ:

"So we who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another."  (Romans 12:5)


  "For the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ." (Eph. 4:12)




God Bless~ & remember... We are....

Never Forsaken

The Wind and Waves and... sand in my teeth!

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

(Ephesians 4:14 NIV)

    “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Mathew 7:24-27)

Over the weekend my husband and I took a drive along the western shoreline; we had no plan, just go wherever the wind blows us..The winds blew us all the way up to the Sleeping Bear Dunes along the coast of Lake Michigan. *As a  true Michigander will always do, I am now holding up my left hand and pointing to the pinkie so you know where this is located  in the state.*
With my husband being Chippewa, (his grandfather was the chief back in the 50's)  
Aamjiwnaang First Nation (Chippewas of Sarnia)  He grew up hearing the legend of the Sleeping Bear Dunes...

THE LEGEND OF THE SLEEPING BEAR

Long ago a great famine had spread over the land. Longingly, a mother bear and two famished cubs walked the shore on the Wisconsin side, gazing wistfully across the great lake at Michigan, which in those days was the land of plenty (as it is today). Finally hunger overcame their timidness and the bears launched out, trying to swim to Michigan. As they got closer and closer to the Michigan shore, the mother's words of encouragement urged on the weary cubs. When only twelve miles from the land of plenty, the mother's heart was rent as she saw a babe sink and drown. With the remaining cub she struggled to gain the beach. Two miles of slow dragging and the second of her beloved cubs also perished.

The mother reached the beach, alone, and crept to a resting place where she lay down facing the restless waters that covered her lost ones. As she gazed, two beautiful islands slowly rose to mark the graves of the cubs. The Great Spirit Manitou created two islands (North and South Manitou Islands) to mark the spot where the cubs disappeared and then created a solitary dune to represent the faithful mother bear.
This picture of the Sleeping Bear dune, as it appeared years ago (actual date unknown), shows its striking resemblance to a sleeping bear. Today, the vegetation in the vicinity has changed markedly, and the resemblance is less obvious. In particular, trees now block the view from several angles.

Sleeping Bear Dunes

(Michigan)

http://www.sleepingbeardunes.com/

~voted as America's most beautiful place~

This bench is very strategically placed behind this tree. The constant wind literally stings your face with very course sand making it impossible to look out onto the water for very long!

(hence the reference to sand in my teeth)  Protective clothing is a must when visiting the dunes!

Footprints

One night I had a dream-- I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord and across the sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints, one belonged to me and the other to the Lord. When the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that many times along the path of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in my life. This really bothered me and I questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you would walk with me all the way, but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. "I don't understand why in times when I needed you most, you should leave me." The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never, never leave you during your times of trial and suffering. "When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you." ...Mary Stevenson

Footprints

One night I had a dream--
I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord
and across the sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints,
one belonged to me and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that many times along the path of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest
and saddest times in my life.
This really bothered me and I questioned the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,
you would walk with me all the way,
but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life
there is only one set of footprints.
"I don't understand why in times when I needed you most,
you should leave me."
The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child,
I love you and I would never, never leave you
during your times of trial and suffering.
"When you saw only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."

...Mary Stevenson

This guy keeps getting in my shots......      ^

...And here he is last year aboard the 'Starline' ferry on our way over to Mackinaw Island!
Ha-ha, just kidding..we get a lot of tourists up here from all over the world, I'm sure this isn't the same guy?

Hope you enjoyed my photos..(more to come soon)

~God Bless~

Never Forsaken

You're Grounded!

I remember how as a child ,hearing those two words would devastate me. One incident in particular comes to mind: Once when I was a very young teenager my mother had to work the late shift at the nursing home until 1:30 am, I took advantage of this and wrote her a note telling her I was spending the night with a girl in the neighborhood. I left it on the kitchen table expecting her to find it when she woke up later the next morning.
 ( I really thought I would get away with it too!)

Problem #1:   Telling, not asking her?  

Problem #2:  This was someone whom I was forbidden to hang around with
 ( and for good reason )! 
Problem #3:  I underestimated Mom's love and concern for me..She really was paying attention to my life, even when I didn't think she cared. She was watching over me.

The first 2 chapters of Ephesians describes who we are (Eph.1:5) We are adopted children through Jesus..In Ephesians 2:1  we are told we were once dead in sin, walking according to the spirit of the devil, children of disobedience, but now we are  made alive in Christ..

 This  reminds me of a question I once heard (from a forgotten source):

“If God was our earthly parent who caught one of his children hanging around on a street corner with a bunch of hoodlums, what do you think he would do?”

I imagine the answer to that question would be pretty similar to what my mother did when she caught me hanging around with that girl…

First… He might gently (although Mom wasn’t too gentle) remind us of who we are in Him, and who He is to us ( His authority over us), and why we don’t hang around with children of disobedience any longer.

..He would then lead us back home. (Mom followed behind me with the car while I rode my bike home in the middle of the night. I can still feel the  imagined heat of those headlights boring into my back and filling me with dread!)  And finally, He would say those two words….

You’re grounded!… In Ephesians 3:16 we are told that we are grounded in love through our faith in Jesus Christ who dwells within our hearts, and we  are given spiritual strength through Him.

When our earthly parents grounded us it was through love, and for our own good, but it was given as a punishment for our wrong doing; when God tells us that we are grounded it is also in love, and for our own good, but is given as a reminder of  the great gift we've recieved in Christ; the gift of eternal life and a renewed spirit, our adoption as sons and daughters of the Most High! God wants to deepen our understanding of who we belong to and what is the magnitude of His love for us! 

 ...that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him
(Eph. 1:17)...

..that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— ¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.  (Eph.3:16-19) 

In Ephesians 4,  Paul urges us to walk worthy of the vocation by which we are called. He then goes on to explain how to do this: (vs. 2-3) With all lowliness and meekness(humble and gentle), with long suffering,(patience) forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace...  The rest of this chapter goes on to describe how we are each a part of  the family of Christ, being given various spiritual gifts, with the common goal of perfecting the body of the saints of which we are united through Christ!

The book of Ephesians contains so many spiritual truths and lessons on how to live a healthy Christian lifestyle. I find myself returning to this part of the Bible often, and whenever I do, it seems to pull me in , whetting my spiritual appetite more and more..These four chapters in Ephesians were my focus this morning as I was sitting in the yard swing, while the birds were calling to one another in joyful anticipation of the meal of suet and seeds I had just provided them..

So likewise, we must be joyful at all that the Lord is providing us in terms of the spiritual food which gives us our strength..and like the birds, we should call out to one another to share in this bounty of His Word. We must encourage one another and  continue to shine the light of God's Word  upon the path that we are walking so none will be lost and all will grow strong in the Lord, and in doing so we will equip the saints and build up the kingdom for His glory and our joy!



                           "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,
                                 and a light unto my path ."
                                                          Psalm 119:105 ( KJV)

~Loving Peace and Blessings In Jesus~

Never Forsaken

Autumn Is Ablaze!

                                            On Fire?

This is the same tree featured in last week's blog post...
What a difference a week makes!


Having some fun with the dogs and a giant oak...

Buddy takes a closer look..

I wonder what a coon-hound could possibly be looking for in a tree?

Sasha taking a little break, sits on the foot of the tree..

She likes to sit on everybody's feet.

 A Golden Land

(The same oak the dogs were at)

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Robert Frost (1923)

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

I cried over beautiful things knowing no beautiful thing lasts.

Carl Sandburg Autumn Movement, (1918)

 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 

1 Corinthians 2:9

I can only imagine that someday in Heaven we

will look back and reflect upon this time of golden autumn as

dreary as the grayest day of November..In comparison.

~Loving Peace and Blessings In Jesus~

Never Forsaken

The History Of The English Bible

In 2006 I had the privilege to attend an exhibit of ancient Biblical artifacts at an Expo Center here in Michigan. I had goosebumps throughout the entire tour of the exhibit.  It was so amazing to actually see with my own eyes the dead sea scrolls and portions of the original manuscripts from various Hebrew texts as well as the only remaining copies of the oldest Bibles in the world. I bought a book highlighting the exhibit and ended up giving it to my pastor shortly afterwards. The following post is taken in it's entirety from a website  and is very interesting/ educational. There are links and accreditation to the website at the end and throughout. Enjoy!

God- Kissed

 

And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen. (Psalm 72:19)

After a full week of constant rain, I was eager to get away and find some beautiful fall landscapes.

I drove 14 miles to a nearby town that has a nicely groomed hiking trail, but it was just simply too early to find much autumn color there yet. My husband and I both took several pictures and when we got home we noticed this tree had turned very vibrant. The best was right here in our own backyard!