2012: 30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 10

There’s lots to be thankful for… like teaching 10 year olds about tithing, how to memorize the 10 Plagues and the 10 commandments, the 10 generations from Adam to Noah, and the 10 generations from Noah to Abraham.  … but today, I AM SO THANKFUL THAT AROUND 10 a.m., our baby girl is flying in!  Yep, she’s bringing her future hubby with her, too!  They’ll be here for the weekend and her bridal shower.  So thankful for the 25 years of blessing upon blessing she has been to our lives.

2012: 30 Days of Thankfulness-Day 9

I am so grateful, on this Day Nine,
For being formed in my mother’s womb, by the Divine.
How patient and kind He was with Patti Ann Klein…
And now, Patti Klein Sikes, He’s still working to refine!

“He's still working on me to make me what I ought to be.

It took Him just a week to make the moon and stars,

The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars.

How loving and patient He must be, He's still working on me.”

Psalm 66:10 “For You have tried us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined.”

Isaiah 48:10 “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.”

Daniel 12:10 “Many will be purged, purified and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.”

2012: 30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 8

I am thankful that I have ETERNAL LIFE and not eternal death.  Lay an 8 on it’s side and you have the symbol for INFINITY… EVERLASTING… ETERNAL… IMMORTAL… IMPERISHABLE… PERPETUAL… TIMELESS… UNCEASING…  UNENDING…

 

All of our children were born in the 80’s…  our prayer for them is the same that Paul prayed for Timothy, in 1 Timothy 1:16-17:

 

^“Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for ETERNAL LIFE. Now to the KING ETERNAL, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

2012: 30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 7

 

 

 I am thankful for the number 7:

·  On the 7^th day, God rested.

·  In scripture, the number 7 symbolizes completeness or perfection.  

·  Today, November 7, 2012 God remains complete, perfect, and sovereign.  He is my KING!  He is the KING of kings!

·  On November 7, 1967 my grandpa went to his eternal rest. (He did not become a Christian until late adulthood, after I climbed up on his lap and told him that I was sad because we would not get to be in heaven together).

·  On November 7, 1970 I went on my first date with Steve and the rest is HiStory.

·  On November 7, 1991 my friend Derrick started for his eternal rest when he chose to be baptized to make Jesus Christ as his LORD and Savior.

·  Today, November 7, 2012 celebrates the 42^nd year since my first date with Steve and I am thankful how God continues to forge us into His will, His character, His Oneness… 

 

GIGATTAATTGIG 

 

2012: 30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 6

I am thankful for the number 6:

·         6 days of creation – Thank You, LORD, for Your magnificent creation.

·         6^th day is when man/woman were created!

·         6 days of work before a day of rest – Thank You, LORD, for designing work in such a way that we can each contribute our part to the bigger picture.

·         November 6, 2012 is election day in the United States of America.  Although, today I will go to the polls to cast my vote, I choose to get up every morning and vote for my ONLY HOPE… “not in the donkey, nor in the elephant, but in THE LAMB.”

 

When many people think of the number 6, they think of it in a string of three 6’s:  the devil or the anti-christ. Over the years, we have received credit card numbers and even a bank account number with 3 sixes.  Ugh!  Several years ago, I did a little reading and was encouraged to put a re-frame on the idea of 666.

  

PSALM 66:6  A reminder that God is my Deliverer:  “He turned the sea into dry land; They passed through the river on foot; There let us rejoice in Him!”

 

Isaiah 66:6 A reminder of who wins:  “A voice of uproar from the city, a voice from the temple, The voice of the Lord who is rendering recompense to His enemies.”

 

One day, in studying about the number 6, I learned that in the early manuscripts 666 is sometimes 616.  It made me smile.  I love Ephesians 6 and now Ephesians 6:16 takes on yet another connection for meJ.  I love Your Word, LORD!  GIGATTAATTGIG:

 

EPHESIANS 6…

^{10 “}Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

¹³ Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

¹⁴ Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

¹⁶   “…in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”

¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸  With all prayer and petition  pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view,  be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

¹⁹ and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,

²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

2012: 30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 5

I love Matthew 5!  It is the first part of Jesus' "sermon on the mount".  It puts the christian life... the BLESSED life together for me.  It makes sense!

 

Thank You, Jesus for Your words in MATTHEW 5

The Sermon on the Mount

The Beatitudes

When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the  mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. ² He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

³ “ BLESSED are the  poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ “ BLESSED are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵ “BLESSED   are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

⁶ “BLESSED  are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

⁷ “BLESSED   are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

⁸ “BLESSED  are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

⁹ “BLESSED  are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

¹⁰ “BLESSED  are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “BLESSED   are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Disciples and the World

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how  can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city set on a  hill cannot be hidden; ¹⁵ nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a  basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

¹⁷ “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not  the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹ Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches  others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever  keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

²⁰ “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

 

Personal Relationships

²¹ “You have heard that  the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be  liable to the court.’ ²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be  guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘ You good-for-nothing,’ shall be  guilty before  the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be  guilty enough to go into the  fiery hell. ²³ Therefore if you are presenting your  offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your  offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your  offering. ²⁵ Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last  cent.

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; ²⁸ but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye makes you  stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you  to lose one of the parts of your body,  than for your whole body to be thrown into  hell. ³⁰ If your right hand makes you  stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you  to lose one of the parts of your body,  than for your whole body to go into  hell.

³¹ “It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; ³² but I say to you that everyone who  divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a  divorced woman commits adultery.

³³ “Again, you have heard that  the ancients were told, ‘ You shall not  make false vows, but shall fulfill your  vows to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or  by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶ Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷ But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is  of evil.

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. ⁴⁰ If anyone wants to sue you and take your  shirt, let him have your  coat also. ⁴¹ Whoever  forces you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴² Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may  be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸ Therefore,  you are to be perfect (mature), as your heavenly Father is perfect (mature).

 

2012: 30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 4

 

 

 

 

 

 Thankful 4 the 4-runners! They are those who precede and indicate the approach to others.

Jesus, is our main 4-runner who not only preceded us,
but modeled for us how to live our lives… including how to give 4-giveness!  So thankful that Steve and I had 4 parents who were 4-giving 4-runners who modeled how to live like Jesus!  What a blessing!

 

As I prepare to join other Christians in communion, to celebrate our chief 4-runner and His ultimate act of 4-giveness, I keep singing this gospel song:

Tell them that I love them,

that I died to set them free

Tell them there’s an answer for everything they need

Tell them there’s 4giveness

and there’s hope in suffering.

The truth never gets old, so say it again and again

Tell them that I love them.  

Grace is still amazing!

There is power in the blood!

 

And the old rugged cross is enough!

 

 

2012: 30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 3

Thankful that I have a personal relationship with the 3 dimensional God of the universe, who is:

•  God The Father
•  Jesus
•  The Holy Spirit

His love permeates His relationship with me!  He is mine!


 

My – All in all

My – Beloved Blessing

My – Creator and Comforter

My – Desired Deliverer

My – Eternal Life

My – Faithful One

My – Good Shepherd and Teacher

My – Holy One

My – I AM

My – Just Judge

My – King of kings

My – LORD of lords and Light

My – Merciful Messiah

My – Name above all names

My – Omnipresent One

My – Powerful Passover Lamb

My – Quieter of my winds and waves

My – Rock

My – Savior

My – Truth

My – Unfailing love

My – Victory

My – Wonderful Way, Word, and Wisdom

My – eXample

My – Yahweh

My – Zion stander

So thankful that God is mine and I am His!

2012: 30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 2

 

 

 

Thankful for our God, who is LOVE.

 

He gives me the choice to L1 and L2:

• LOVE God!
• LOVE others!

Thankful that I get to wake up each day and make the choice to LOVE God... LOVE Steve... and LOVE you...

 

 

GIGATTAATTGIG

 

 

 

2012: 30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 1

 

 

Thankful that each of my children, children-in-love, and grandchildren have a heart for God!

 

GIGATTAATTGIG

TRANSFORMING THURSDAY... Jesus is OUR HOPE

At the end of yesterday's post, I shared this:

"When reading different scriptures that talked about Jesus as our hope, I was struck by the similarity of some of the language or words used. There were close to 20 words that jumped out at me, as being common words used in many "hope" scriptures. So, I decided to take a tally. I found 7 words/themes that were in many of those scriptures. I will share them here and then I'd like you to ponder on the connections they have, with Jesus as our hope, until tomorrow. Then, tomorrow on TRANSFORMING THURSDAY, we can study together some of the transformational implications."

If you are a "born again christian", then you have lived out the apostle Peter's directive in Acts 2:38:

Peter replied,

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you,

 in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.

 And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
³⁹ The promise is for you and your children 

  and for all who are far off —

for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

So, your sins are forgiven and you've come into a right relationship with God because of the gift Jesus Christ has given you.  Yet, sometime since then, life has you on a journey that may include some or all of the following:  suffering, affliction, insult to injury, discouragement, exhaustion, and/or powerlessness. 

Just a reminder:  Jesus is our hope!  WITH HIM, this too shall pass!  Oh, I know... it's easier said than done...

Many of the scriptures that talk about Jesus as our hope include:

1. God, the Father-another aspect of God that we do not deny!
2. The Holy Spirit-the third characteristic/piece of God that we do not deny!
3. Love-who God is and what He does!
4. Suffering/affliction/insult- difficulties that will either bring us closer to God or drive us away from Him.
5. Persevere/perseverance/endure/endurance-defined a steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement;  continuance in a state of grace to the end, leading to eternal salvation. 
6. Encourage/build up-to give courage
7. Power-ability to act or produce an effect

Where does the power, encouragement, perseverance/endurance, to keep HOPE, come from in the midst of suffering/affliction/insult? 

• It comes from our GOD who is LOVE:  as a loving Father, a sacrificial Brother, and a Holy Spirit at work within us.  It comes from the encouragement that is received by GOD's family, too!

It is possible to go for years and years and years of suffering, rejection, affliction, rejection, insult, rejection and still have the power to overcome... to be encouraged... to persevere... to love...


Colossians 1:24-29
Christ in you, the hope of glory.

²⁸ He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. ²⁹ To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me."

Jesus, in you, the HOPE of glory!

Oh, the JOY!