God's Laws

      We often don't like man's laws.  But what about God's laws?  Are we such a sinless people that we don't like God's laws either?  Yet, if we want to be wise and discerning, God's laws are perfect.  They protect us and give us true joy.  God's laws never change although some are endeavoring to amend them to fit their own worldly desires.  Let us all look to scripture for the way we should think, live, and treat others.  The only way we can cleanse our hearts is to stop amending God's laws to fit our own personal agendas.  And the only way we can learn God's laws and gain true joy is to read and embrace His Word.  

Psalm 19: 7-11 "God's laws are perfect.  They protect us, make us wise, and give us joy and light.  God's laws are pure, eternal, just.  They are more desirable than gold.  They are sweeter than honey dripping from a honeycomb.  For they warn us away from harm and give success to those who obey them."   

     

     

Oh, God! Where are you?

     In the same way Jesus quieted the storm-tossed sea, He can remove this current virus that is rapidly spreading across the nations.  This Coronavirus can disappear in an instant by His spoken voice. 

     Yet, oh God where are you?  Why are you not answering our prayers?  Could it be He is waiting for people to unite.  Could it be that people are not yet looking to Him, changing their ways, and asking forgiveness. 

     In Texas Rep. Randy Weber’s prayer he stated that “We have sinned.  We have endeavored to kick God’s Word out of public schools.  We have taken the Bible out of classrooms.  We have removed the Ten Commandments off walls.  We have trampled on God’s institution of holy matrimony and called it an alternate lifestyle.  We have gone to killing the most innocent among us, who are our descendants, and called it a choice.  Our nation is 20 trillion in debt thus ignoring your Word that 'the borrower will be slave to the lender.' ”

     How can we glorify God and continue to ask for His mercy when His laws are being rewritten to satisfy mankind?  

     However, rest assured that God has a plan, and in answer to my question, "Oh, God! Where are you?'  He is in my heart.  He is with us, for His Word says, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." 

CO VID 19

    I read a facebook post in which the writer stated CO VID 19 led her to the following:

CO 19 for 2 Corinthians Chapter 1 and verse 19. "Indeed we felt that we had received the sentence of death.  But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead."
Then the writer looked up the word "vid" and stated it means "to see" and the word corona means "crown."

Eye opening!  What I see here is a God who is over it all.  He is working, but we must give Him the praise and glory for it all.  There are so many times in scriptures where God waited to perform His miracles because He wanted the people to see that it came from Him.  We do not have His understanding.  I just know that through it all, we must continue to prayer for His grace and his mercy to come quickly rather than later.  And we need to thank Him before hand, in faith, knowing that His mighty work is coming.

Coronavirus List of Things to Do

     When God sent the last plaque to Egypt, Moses told the Israelite people, "none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning."  Basically they were quarantined. 
     We are being asked to quarantine ourselves for several weeks in order to try and eliminate this Coronavirus going across the world.  Many are doing so, but some are not.  Many are still working to serve in areas needed.  Many are coming together to provide much needed supplies.  Who is to say that if we don't do our part to self-quarantine, we may be forced to do so.  What can we who have the opportunity to self-quarantine do?

C alm your fears in the promises of God
O ffer prayers for others who are serving and cannot stay home
R est in God, knowing He is in control of all things
O ccupy your time in praise
N otice that the world belongs to God and He has the power over all
A void criticism and stay positive
V alue your blessings
I n everything and in quiet moments pray
R ead and study God's Word
U tter prayers for workers, truck drivers, medical staff, businesses without income, people who have lost jobs and income, the homeless, those who are sick with Coronavirus, and the leaders of our land
S tay compassionate, loving, and in prayer for healing of our land.

Coronavirus Fear

     Amid the Coronavirus, there is a certain amount of fear with some more than others.  This fear is not just over sickness from the virus but, rather, the loss of jobs, the loss of income, and the loss of financial savings.  In order to put our anxiety aside and remove the “fear factor” we must rely on God and His promises.  We must look to the Words of our great Creator.  We need to come together as a Nation and put God back into our hearts and our lives.  He is the One in control of the great world He created.  He tells us not to fear.  He tells us He will heal our land but it comes with an “if” factor.

Job 5:20-21  “In famine He will deliver you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword.  You will be protected from the lash of the tongue, and need not fear when destruction comes.”

Psalms 3:5-6 “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.  I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.”

Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

     Finally, we must claim 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 

Voice Recognition Trivia

 A little TRIVIA:  

    When I asked Google when the first piggy bank was invented, I got, “Western Europeans weren't the only ones making piggy banks. Indeed the first true piggy banks — terracotta banks in the shape of a pig with a slot in the top for depositing coins — were made in Java as far back as the 14th century.”

     Then I searched and found the definition of piggy bank as “a small bank provided with a slot at the top to receive small coins.”

     Since I am writing this article I suppose I can write it according to the way I want.  I believe the actual first piggy bank was created much, much earlier than the 14^th century.

     I found in 2 Kings 12, when Jehoash was king of Jerusalem, in verse 9, the following: “But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh into the house of the Lord: and the priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord.”    Hmmm, could this have been the 1^st piggy bank?

My next trivia deals with voice recognition. 

     According to Wikipedia voice recognition refers to “determining who is speaking and/or determining what is being said.”   Next I found the following on when voice recognition began:  “The earliest voice recognition technologies could only comprehend digits.  Audrey system, built by Bell Labs in 1952 considered to be the first speech recognition device, recognized only ten digits spoken by a single voice.”

     This is where I dispute the creator and the date of voice recognition, as well.  Actually the very first voice recognition, in my opinion, was not created by man, and it was created at the beginning of time. 

     This is proven in Genesis when God created the heaven and the earth.  He spoke, “And let there be light…and let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters…”  Now let’s take it a step further.  In Mark 4 we find Jesus was on a boat with His disciples when “a great storm of wind came up and the waves beat into the ship”.  In verse 39 Jesus spoke again, “And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still.  And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”    This is Voice Recognition!

Shine The Light

     "Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed?" (Mark 4:21)  Here we find that Jesus is the light and He is not to be hidden:  He is to be seen and known.  We are to show His light in our lives.  However, I believe I am not only responsible to show God's light through sharing the gospel, but I am to show His light in my service to others.
     I forget, often, that in my service to others I should do it in love and not through a sense of obligation.  When I stop complaining about "what I have to do" but rather enjoy the moments spent in helping when needed, I can gain fulfillment and shine my own light.  When I get over the selfishness of "time" taken away from my own plans I can find rewards in the moment.