THAT'S JESUS

PSALM 23

An unknown author elaborated on each line ...

The Lord is my Shepherd — that’s relationship!
I shall not be in want — that’s supply
He makes me lie down in green pastures — that’s rest!
He leads me beside quiet waters — that’s refreshment!
He restores my soul — that’s healing!
He guides me in the paths of righteousness —that’s guidance!
For His name’s sake — that’s purpose!
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death —that’s testing!
I will fear no evil — that’s protection!
For you are with me — that’s faithfulness!
Your rod and the staff, they comfort me — that’s discipline!
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies —that’s hope!
You anoint my head with oil — that’s consecration!
My cup overflows — that’s abundance!
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life —that’s blessing!
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord — that’s security!
Forever — that’s eternity!

WONDERS OF CREATION

DELIGHT IN WEAKNESS

IT SHALL PROSPER

 MY WORD

“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,

And do not return there,

But water the earth,

And make it bring forth and bud,

That it may give seed to the sower

And bread to the eater,

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;

It shall not return to Me void,

But it shall accomplish what I please,

And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

Isaiah 55:10~11

GOD SAYS

DO NOT BE AFRAID

Here are just a few...

Psalm 23:4...Ps 27:1...Ps 118 :6...Deut. 31:6...

1 Chron.28:20...Isaiah 41:13...Isaiah 54:4..

.Matthew 10:28...1 Peter 3:13-14...

Jeremiah 46:28...Ezekiel 2:6...

Daniel 10:12...Joel 2:22...

Zechariah 8:13...Luke 1:30...John 12:15...

Acts 27:24...Revelation 2:10

A LIGHTED PATH FOR 2014

 

 A NEW YEAR . . . A NEW LIFE

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. (1)

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." (2)

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will. (3)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (4)

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. (5)

~ 1.Jer 29:11...2 Lamentations 3:22~24...3 Rom 12:1~2..
.4 Proverbs 3:5~6... 5 Rom 8:18 ~

IN HIS HAND...

Galway Bay  (~GOSh.~)

 WHO ?

 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,

 and meted out heaven with the span,

 and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure,

 and weighed the mountains in scales,

 and the hills in a balance ? 

Isaiah 40:12

A PSALM OF DAVID

St. Mary's Cathedral, Limerick (~GOSh.~)

LET THE KING IN !

The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.

 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

 This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.

 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

 Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

Psalm 24

HE IS CLOSE TO YOU

NO ONE KNOWS

END OF THE AGE

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying,

 “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?”…

 Jesus answered,

 “But concerning that day or that hour,

 no one knows, not even the angels in heaven,

 nor the Son, but only the Father."

 (Matthew 24)

THE PROMISE

DIET FOR LIFE

COME TO ME

“I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again.
Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me.
However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them.
For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.
And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day.
For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life.
I will raise them up at the last day.” ~ Jesus ~

John 6:35~40

PROBABLE PROPHECIES

This little nugget was brought to my attention on ‘The Shepherds Staff’’, a blog worth looking up in its own right. These probabilities are taken from Peter Stoner in Science Speaks (Moody Press, 1963) to show that coincidence is ruled out by the science of probability

FUTURE PERFECT !

Stoner states that by using the modern science of probability in reference to eight prophecies, "we find that the chance that any one man might have lived down to the present time and fulfilled all eight prophecies is 1 in 1017." (Please pardon the format. Blogger will not support superscript). That would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000.
In order to help us comprehend this staggering probability, Stoner illustrates it by supposing that "we take 1017 silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover the state two feet deep. "Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man."
Stoner considers 48 prophecies and says, "we find the chance that any one man fulfilled all 48 prophecies to be 1 in 10157, that is, 1 in
100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
The estimated number of electrons in the universe is around 1079. It should be quite evident that Jesus did not fulfil the prophecies by accident.

LOVING ENEMIES

A TIMELESS TEACHING

These are words we need to be reminded of over and over again as we seek to follow the way of the Master. Such extraordinary forbearance is impossible through human resolve alone and with this in mind He has sent the Holy Spirit "to lead us into all truth". Only through His supernatural power can we ever hope to even come near to the standard of living being set out here. This teaching is timeless...its implication is radical...here from the lips of Jesus is a truly life altering principle.

~GOSh.~

THE LOVE OF GOD

NOTHING STRONGER

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What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honour at God’s right hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.” No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Romans 8:31~38

WORKING IT OUT

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A USELESS FAITH

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My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favour some people over others?
For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewellery, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?
Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? But you dishonour the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?




Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” But if you favour some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.
For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.
So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.
What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.


Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”
You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.
Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.
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James Chapter 2

BORN AGAIN ?

AFTER DARK

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There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

“How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.
Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.


“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”
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Gospel of John, chapter 3, verses 1 - 21

APPROACHING THE THRONE

15 th century Dutch

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The king . . . held out to Esther the golden scepter. . . . Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.

OUR HELP IN TIME OF NEED

“If he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.”
So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.—Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.— For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.—We have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.—Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

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Esth. 5:2; Ex. 22:27; 1 John 4:16-19; Heb. 10:22;

Eph. 2:18; Eph. 3:12; Heb. 4:16

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY...

GOD'S RESCUE REMEDY

The Bible is a large body of work comprising of 66 books within its covers, and sometimes for life’s emergencies it can be difficult to find just the right word for a particular situation. For such eventualities this list of selected verses may be useful, a sort of inspired Rescue Remedy for the troubled spirit.

Anxious For Dear Ones----Psalms 121 & Luke 17

Business is Poor---Psalms 37; 92 & Eccl 5

Christian Assurance---Romans 8:1-30

Courage for Your Task----Joshua 1

Discouraged---Psalms 23; 42 & 43 and Isaiah 40

Down & Out------Romans 8:31-39

Doubts Come Upon You-----John 7:17

Everything seems to go from bad to worse----2 Timothy 3 & Hebrews 13

Faith Needs Stirring----Hebrews 11

Friends seem to go back on you----Matthew 5 & 1 Corinthians 13

Men Fail You------Psalms 27

Sorrow Overtakes You-----Psalms 46; Matthew 28 & John 14

Tempted to do Wrong---Psalms 15; 19 & 139; Matthew 4 & James 1

Things Look Blue------Psalms 34; 71 and Isaiah 40

You Can't Go To Sleep-----Psalms 4; 56 & 130

You Have Quarrelled-----Matthew 18; Ephesians 4 & James 4

You are Weary-----Psalms 95:1-7 and Matthew 11

You Want Rest & Peace------Matthew 11:25-30

Wanting to Live Successfully with your Fellow Man---Romans 12

World Seems Bigger Than God-------Psalms 90