Sometimes I want to just be; you know like just live and not think or do but just B. The only way I can do that and feel good about myself is to be in a walk with God like:
B elieve
B reathe God’s Word
B ear fruit
B uild righteousness
B enefit others
B ake kindness
B elong in God’s family
B righten someone’s day
There are so many ways I can just B.
I came across the following quote. I do not know who wrote it but considerate it to be quite true.
Two natures beat within my breast.
The one is foul, the one is blessed.
The one I love, the one I hate.
The one I feed will dominate!
Although I am a Christian, I will always have two natures; one is God led and one is Satan led. It is up to me to make a choice. The right choice will lead me down the road to being blessed and loving self. The wrong choice will lead to foul. Wouldn’t it be great to set a button that would ‘default’ onto the right road? Yet, that is not how life works. God wants me to love Him enough to follow His instructions which always leads to His blessings.
Romans 7: 15 "I do not understand what I do, for what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do."
I have met few friends in my walk who have left a lasting memory, and only One with whom I can share every thought and every action. He loves me beyond measure. Before I even met my Friend, He decided to give up all His riches. He wanted to invest whatever He had to make my life better. He didn’t have a home; he had given it up. He actually traveled from place to place on foot. He became poor so I could become rich.
When I complain, He listens.
When I am in sorrow or sick, He comforts.
When I am lost, He directs and leads.
When I commit an offense, He forgives.
As I visualize my Friend, I see a man in rags, a poor man, reaching out to help the needy while teaching about how to achieve riches. I visualize a simple caretaker who loves me beyond measure. He loved me so much, He laid down His life and died for me. As my vision grows, I see my Friend with a crown of glory upon His head sitting with His Father. He has already prepared for me a mansion. He is always ready to forgive me, to love me and make me rich. He is ready to give me an eternal home with Him. He never fails me!
The Rapture excites me! What a reunion there will be! I am secure in the knowledge that I will be part of it.
Following is a little acronym of the Rapture.
R esurrected
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrected and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” John 11: 25
A live
“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins.” Colossians 2:13
P urified
“Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.” Daniel 12:10
T ransformed
“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18
U nited
“For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we will certainly also be united with Him in a resurrection like His.” Romans 6:5
R edeemed
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has come to His people and redeemed them.” Luke 1:68
E ternal life
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:13
I was really never good with book reviews. It was always too hard to summarize the full story and plot. Yet, I decided the Book I was reading this morning needed a review. I gave it my best.
The Best Seller Review
It is history
And mystery!
Within each category
There exists a love story.
Here we find a book with many writers
Sharing stories of lovers, haters, and fighters.
There is old and there is new;
Pages filled with stories true.
We read about how the world began,
Of battles lost and won,
Of evil versus good,
Of events not always understood.
The plot thickens
Making the heart quicken,
As we read of men
Who sin,
Who are strong or weak,
Bold, yet meek.
There are men who strayed
And men who obeyed and prayed.
We find losers and winners;
A good read for old-timers and new beginners.
The words are inspired
Giving the reader always something desired.
We read of One within the writers’ quill
Who came, a promise, to fulfill.
The stories tell of a man who walked amid men
Who did not sin.
Within the pages
We read in different stages.
Herein is a best seller left open-ended
Describing a hero with a hand-extended.
The book is splendid!
Mary Crisp Jameson 2/19/2024
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16 KJV
I hope everyone enjoyed my review of the Bible.
My recent Bible study has been in Kings. It seems as though there was always a battle going on, and most of the Kings in that day did "evil in the sight of the Lord." We still have that today. In fact, when I read Romans 7 today, I was reminded that I also constantly have a battle going on within myself. I have to choose daily so that I do not "evil in the sight of the Lord."
Choose
There’s a battle going on
which sets my daily tone.
Will I be hopeful
Or allow Satan to confuse?
I have to choose…
The war within
Makes me want to sin.
Will I be a slave?
Will I cave?
Will I submit to what I secretly crave?
Will it be God’s way
and Satan I refuse?
I have to choose…
Within there are two natures;
Two desires!
Two fires!
Will I submit to temptation?
Allow sinful flirtation?
Or accept God’s dictation?
Will I be prideful;
Lustful;
Sinful?
These things from Satan will abuse.
I simply have to choose…
Mary Crisp Jameson 2/14/2024
“For in my inner being I delight in God’s law, but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me…Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord.. So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature, a slave to the law of sin. Romans 7:22-23,25
When I think about change, it is sometimes scary; never knowing the result. I don't have to worry about change with God. He never changes, and He is, forever, with me.
The Same Forevermore
God is the same
And, in Him, there is no shame.
He does not change
Though some may think it strange.
He is here today
And forgives if I should stray
He will be with here tomorrow
And will uphold me if in sorrow.
He does not hide
Before my eyes.
He does not live,
As in the shadow of man
But brings about His foretold plan.
Every good gift;
They come from Him.
I will not be set adrift.
Mary Crisp Jameson 2/9/2024
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17
We have all heard the phrase, “Don’t just stand there. Do something.” I take that to heart, because I am a doer. I like to be busy. My mind is constantly thinking, “What can I do next? Is there a project I can complete?” Better yet, I love making sure my spouse has a project going on, as well. Although he tells me, “These projects are coming to a close.” That is really good for a laugh.
To be honest, he may be right. Maybe I should consider how another author turned that phrase around. “Don’t just do something. Stand there.”
Scripture tells me:
1 Samuel 12:16 “Now then, stand still and see…”
Psalm 37:7 “Be still before the Lord and wait…”
Psalm 46: 10 “Be still and know…”
Jeremiah 47:6 “…Cease and be still.”
Zephaniah 3:8 “…Wait for me…”
Psalm 27:14 “Wait for the Lord…”
These are just thoughts for me to consider before planning my next "great" project...or my husband's next one!
