Dwelling Place

When I was first married, we rented a small apartment, and I dreamed of owning a home. That dream came true with the purchase of a very small, old two-bedroom house on a half-acre tract of land in a country community. After that I dreamed of building a new one. It happened! We were able to build a nice three-bedroom home on a corner lot in the city. Many years later, I worked several years drawing and planning my perfect next home, but it took me five years to find land, a five-acre tract in which to make my next home dream come true. As I enter my late 70’s, I suspect my next home may be a one-bedroom mini dwelling. Whatever the case, it will not be my last home. My next one will be a mansion with streets of gold. Through every move, One treasure has always moved with me.  Psalm 90, verse one tells me, “Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.” God will always be my dwelling place-the perfect home! 

Inconceivable

I am in awe when I stop and look at nature? How God can take a tiny seed planted in the ground and create a tall and stately tree! I am in awe at the wonder of how a tiny seed, nourished within a woman's body, produces an infant who grows into an adult. The wonder of creation and how God amazingly numbered it all and how He controls it all is beyond my scope of comprehension. God is sovereign and rules it all. I am even more awestruck over how a God who is so powerful and mighty can love a lowly person like me and continually want to protect and bless me. 

Inconceivable 

 

I cannot grasp;

I cannot comprehend

God’s greatness.

Yet, He wants me for a friend.  

He measured the waters.

He calculated the dust. 

He marked off the heavens.

And still, He loves me who lusts.

He knows the heights of mountains.

He weighed the hills.

He counted the specks of sand.

His awesomeness chills and thrills!

He knows the number of stars.

He sits above the circle of the earth;

None is His equal.

Even so, in birth, He gave me worth.

I cannot grasp;

I cannot conceive

A love for one who makes Him grieve. 

I cannot scratch the surface 

 Of His love for me,

One He constantly has to oversee. 

I cannot process

How He wishes to bless.

I do not understand 

A God who created the land,

Sitting on high

Loving enough and why 

He sent His only Son for such a one as I;

A Son who came to die.

 

Mary Crisp Jameson  6/29/2023

 

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, or with the breadth of His hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord, or instruct the Lord as his counselor?” Isaiah 40:12-13

 

 

Breakfast Food

 Dad was raised a farmer, and he always had a garden. I remember as a young child going with him to his parents' to "dig potatoes." Actually he was going to plow the potatoes to the surface and I was to help pick up the potatoes afterwards. Grandmother always kept her leftover breakfast biscuits and bacon in what we called her pie safe. I asked for one after we arrived, and Dad said, "Sure, I never work a hungry horse and I wouldn't want you working hungry either."
     God, also, does not want his children to start the day hungry. That is the reason He provided "food," His Scripture! His Words are our body's sustenance and the spiritual food which provides daily hope. Scripture is Fatherly advice to get us through the daily battles of life. We need to feed on His Word, and let it dwell within us. The more we taste it, the more we want the comfort and hope it provides. 

     "Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly." Colossians 3:15 NIV 

    

Hear Me

Zacchaeus was a wee little man. He was trying to see, so he climbed a sycamore tree. He was a sinner, yet he was focused on seeing Jesus. What then did Jesus do? He took time away from His task at hand to talk to Zacchaeus as he said, “Zacchaeus, you come down. I’m going to your house today.’

     Do we take time for others? Are we focused on Jesus? What does Jesus desire from us?  I believe He wants us to be focused on Him; Hear Him; Love Him. 

 

Hear Me

 

I long to talk, 

Hold your hand, 

Take a little walk

Before the dawn, 

Before you travel on.

Sit a while my child.

Take time with me!

I care so much for thee. 

Listen!

Strive to hear 

Words I softly whisper in your ear. 

Again and again

I come as a Friend 

But am left rejected – neglected.

I have written wisdom, line by line,

But time and time again,

Forgotten lies that book of mine;

Forgotten are my words

Not being mindfully stored;

Forgotten is my Father

As you drift farther and farther.

I plead with thee: 

Hear me!

Seek me! 

Love me!

 

Mary Crisp Jameson  6/26/2023 

 

 

A Great Feast

I am all about good, simple meals; a little meat, something green, and something yellow, and I absolutely love after-dinner desserts.  
     As a food junkie, I was thinking about the garden God created and assigned to Adam and Eve. They had their pick of after-dinner fruity desserts.  

     Then I found that after Jesus rose from the dead, in Luke 24, as He was talking with two of His apostles, "He said unto them, 'Have ye here any meat? And they gave Him a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And He took it, and did eat before them.'" 

     Later in Revelations 3, God said, "...if any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will sup (dine) with him, and he with me." 
     I am stretching the point just a little which is actually all meaningless under the sun unless we have Jesus in our heart and lives, but according to this information, I may still enjoy many great feasts when I get to heaven. 

     I just pray my new body will be lean and trim and my heavenly meals will not cause weight gain. 

Closer to God

 Anyone who has read my blogs know that I like to do acronyms; however, I did not come up with the following. It was published in Baptist Trumpet by Judy Wallace. The title was Closer to God. The acronym was Closer: 

C- Communicate with God
L- Learn to study God's Word
O-Obey God's Word
S-Store God's Word in your heart
E-Evangelize
R-Renew daily

Nothing is more important than staying close to God. 

Parting of the Waters

How many times did God part the waters? 

     I have a tendency to forget the stories of the waters parting except the one of Moses and the Red Sea. But actually, there were other times in scripture God caused the waters to part. In my search, I found five times: 

1. In the beginning with God's creation:  Genesis 1:6-7, "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so." 

2. Moses delivers the Israelites out of Egypt (Red Sea): Exodus 14:21-22 "And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left."

3: Carrying the ark (Jordan River): Joshua 3:16-17, "That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zairean: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan."

4. When Elijah is taken into heaven (Jordan River): 2 Kings 2:8, "And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground." 

5. When Elisha returns from seeing Elijah taken into heaven  (Jordan River): 2 Kings 2:12, "And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? And when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over." 

God, I pray for parted waters so I may walk the righteous path with you on solid ground. I pray for wisdom and courage to move through the waters when they are parted by your miraculous hand.   

 

 

Alcoholics Anonymous

AA stands for Alcoholics Anonymous. It is a program based on one alcoholic helping another. However, it goes further than that. It is based on having a Higher Power which most in the program come to realize is the One True God. 
     Actually AA could stand for God who is All-powerful and Always present. Within that power and presence the alcoholic has Accessibility to God 24/7, and he becomes Able to defeat his addiction.

     AA works!

"But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet." 1 Thessalonians 5:8

"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8

Prayer of Jehoshaphat

In troubling times, when I find I do not know what to pray, I simply ask Jesus to do it for me. However, other times, I see a prayer given in Scripture that just draws my attention and helps me in my prayer life. As mentioned in a previous post, I really like the prayer of Jabez. However, as I was reading 2 Chronicles 20: 6 I came across the prayer issued by Jehoshaphat. It stood out to me, especially the last sentence: "O Lord, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that on one can stand against You." 
     This is just a reminder that when trouble looms it ugly head, I should have no fear if I have God and have said my prayers for no one can stand against God.

What Are The Odds?

Solomon wrote, “Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles…History merely repeats itself.”

     Thinking back to Biblical times, they battled, and we still battle. There was Sodom and Gomorrah, and we have it today. They sacrificed their babies. We are doing the same today through abortions. They sinned. We sin. The grass turns brown, then green again. The wind blows south and then turns north. History repeats itself. 

     There is only one truth that stays the same. It is God and His Word!     

     What are the odds that over 40 human authors, living over different generations, could write a Book (inspired by God) which would map out the beginning and the end and be read over and over throughout all generations?

     God never changes. The truth is that God created all things. Scripture is His Word! He is in control. Jesus came. He died. He arose the 3rd day, and believers are saved.    

The Clean Stable

As I was reading Proverbs 14, I came across verse four, "Without oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest." I thought the verse so interesting that I really wanted to find a good interpretation, so I googled it. I found, "The only clean stable is an empty stable. So if you want the work of an ox and to enjoy an abundant harvest, you'll have a mess or two to clean up." 
     I have always thought God has a sense of humor, and I found this scripture verse funny because when I have a job to do, it becomes my focus, whether sewing, quilting, or yard projects, and all other areas of my life get messy, especially my house keeping. Sounds like a good excuse to me for a dirty house. 

     On another note, I think God may be telling us to get up out of the easy chair and get to work in order to enjoy an abundant crop of blessings without expecting free handouts.  

My scripture to memorize this week is Psalm 119:11 "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." 

Prayer of Jabez

 I mentioned the Lord's Prayer yesterday. There are just some prayers that stand out once they are pointed out. One of my favorites is the prayer of Jabez. I don't believe I would ever have locked into it had I not read Bruce Wilkinson's book, The Prayer of Jabez. This prayer is located in 1 Chronicles 4:10, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain."  I am not sure I remember correctly Wilkerson's  four points to this prayer but I use it as follows: 

1. Pray for blessings for self.
2. Enlarge my territory (This one is hard for me. I am afraid God will give me a job or deed to do which I dread or am unwilling to do.)
3. Let your hand be with me so I do not hurt or injure another in word or deed 
4. Keep Satan away  

The Model Prayer

God gives us the model prayer in Matthew 6: 9-13. In breaking it down I see a few good points:
1. We know to whom we speak and are giving God our adoration. 
2. We are asking for God's will.
3. We are expressing our needs.
4. We are asking for forgiveness.

5. We are asking that we do not fall under the influence of Satan's ways

6. We are acknowledging that God has power over all things. 

"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. 
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: 

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen"