Category Archives: The Cross

“East To West”

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“As far as the east is from the west,

so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Psalm 103:12

Have you allowed Him to cast your transgressions that far???

“Who is a God like You,   

who pardons sin and forgives the transgression   

of the remnant of His inheritance?

You do not stay angry forever

but delight to show mercy.

You will again have compassion on us;   

You will tread our sins underfoot   

and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”

Micah 7:18-19

Have your iniquities been hurled into the sea of forgetfulness?

This song by Casting Crowns, is so powerful!

Here I am, Lord!

I don’t want to end up where You found me!

In the arms of Your mercy I find rest!

Jesus,

You’re holding on to me…

You know just how far the east is from the west

From one scarred hand to the other!

Amen!

Sitting On The Fence? Ouch!

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(I received this photo through e-mail…photographer unknown!)

Who owns this adorable dog???

The people in the brown house?

Or the people on the other side of the fence?

Is this dog coming home?

Or running away?

Who owns you?

Jesus or satan???

Are you coming home?

Or are you running away?

Get off the fence!

Sitting on the fence hurts!

It hurts us, and it hurts others…

Lack of commitment to Jesus holds us back!

We can’t help anyone…

Or disciple people from the fence…

Satan keeps us bound to it!

We can only help others from a position of total freedom…

Of true liberty in Jesus…

From our position at the foot of the Cross!

Are we too complacent to make an effort to get off the fence?

Choose Jesus!

Encourage others to get off the fence, too!

Help them see Jesus’ glorious face…

At the gate ahead in Heaven…

Show them His love in you…

Point them to Heaven…

So they can turn their back on hell!

It’s the right direction to receive abundant blessings…

From our Lord and Savior.

Jump off the fence!

Today!

All the way off!

For once and for all!

Into the arms of Jesus!

And stay as far away from the fence as you can!

Stop trying to run away!

And go home!

*Based on my previous post Straight To The Gate

No Charge For Love!

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I just received this e-mail from a friend…

I’ve seen it before…

I don’t know who wrote it…

But it’s worth re-reading!

Let it sink in…

“There’s No Charge For Love!”

Jesus already paid the price…

And Jesus Understands!

Point everyone to Him!

1-23-2013 Outreach 021

A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell.

He painted a sign advertising the 4 pups

and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard.

As he was driving the last nail into the post,

he felt a tug on his overalls.

He looked down into the eyes of a little boy.

“Mister,” he said,

“I want to buy one of your puppies.”

“Well,” said the farmer,

as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck,

“These puppies come from fine parents

and cost a good deal of money.”

The boy dropped his head for moment.

Then reaching deep into his pocket,

he pulled out a handful of change

and held it up to the farmer.

“I’ve got thirty-nine cents.

Is that enough to take a look?”

“Sure,” said the farmer.

And with that he let out a whistle.

“Here, Dolly!” he called.

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Out from the doghouse

and down the ramp ran Dolly

followed by four little balls of fur.

The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence.

His eyes danced with delight.

As the dogs made their way to the fence,

the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse.

1-23-2013 Outreach 023
Slowly another little ball appeared,

this one noticeably smaller.

Down the ramp it slid.

Then in a somewhat awkward manner,

the little pup began hobbling toward the others,

doing its best to catch up…

I want that one,”

the little boy said,

pointing to the runt.

The farmer knelt down at the boy’s side and said,

Son, you don’t want that puppy.

He will never be able to run and play with you

like these other dogs would.”

With that, the little boy stepped back from the fence,

reached down,

and began rolling up one leg of his trousers.

In doing so, he revealed a steel brace

running down both sides of his leg

attaching itself to a specially made shoe.

Looking back up at the farmer, he said,

“You see sir,

I don’t run too well myself,

and he will need someone who understands.”

With tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down

and picked up the little pup.

Holding it carefully,

he handed it to the little boy.

How much?” asked the little boy…

“No charge,” answered the farmer,

There’s no charge for love.”

“But God shows his love for us

in that while we were still sinners,

Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8  ESV

“For we do not have a high priest

who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,

but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are,

yet without sin.

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.” 

Hebrews 4:15-16  ESV

Our salvation cost Christ a great deal…

But when Jesus saw us,

His eyes danced with delight!

Others may have said, “You don’t want that one!”

But, as Jesus looked at the runts we all are…

With complete love,

He said,

“Yes, I want that one!

I understand and sympathize with their weaknesses…

I know they can never afford to repay,

But, there’s never, ever…

A Charge for My Love!”

Oh, Go Ahead…Let Go!

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And Let God!

Keep letting go of things…your plans…your way…

and as they fall away, you’ll look more like Jesus every day!

He’s trimming, pruning, chiseling, and fine tuning…

Let Go and Let Him!

Yeah, go ahead, give in!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

and He will make straight your paths” 

Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV

“For I know the plans I have for you,

declares the Lord,

plans for welfare and not for evil,

to give you a future and a hope”

Jeremiah 29:11  ESV

“Remember not the former things,

nor consider the things of old.

Behold, I am doing a new thing;

now it springs forth,

do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness

and rivers in the desert.”

Isaiah 43:18-19 ESV

“Casting all your anxieties on him,

because He cares for you.”

I Peter 5:7  ESV

“All This Time”

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Keep walking with me, Lord!

Footprints In The Sand

A Poem About Jesus

-Author Unknown

One night a man had a dream.

He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.

For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand:

one belonging to him, and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him,

he looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of his life

there was only one set of footprints.

He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it.

“Lord, You said that once I decided to follow You,

You’d walk with me all the way.

But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life,

there is only one set of footprints.

I don’t understand why when I needed You most You would leave me.”

The Lord replied,

“My son, My precious child,

I love you and I would never leave you.

During your times of trial and suffering,

when you see only one set of footprints,

it was then that I carried you.”

All this time!

 

Hiding From God???

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You Can’t!

So Don’t Try!!

You can run, but you can’t hide!

He’s everywhere!

That’s bad for you if you’re trying to hide from Him,

But good, because you can be assured that He’s always there!

He’s already found you…

Now stop, turn around, look up, and there He is!

He loves you!

It’s like “Lost and Found” to Him!

His love embraces you…

Wraps around your hurts, your pain,  your despair,  your scars, your mistakes…

It wraps around everything!

“…because love covers over a multitude of sins.”  I Peter 4:8 NLT

Come out of hiding…

If He loves even me…

He can love even you, too!

What are you hiding behind???

Your job?  Your family?  Your health?  Your money?

Your wants and desires?  Your reputation?

I assure you, He knows who you are and where you are!

Look up!

Or, if you knew Him in the past…

Look inside!

To that place in your heart that can only be filled with God’s Holy Spirit…

Where it can be refilled…

And ready to overflow again with His Joy…

Even in life’s difficult situations with your job, family etc.!

Adam and Eve tried to hide, too!

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God…

As He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day…

And they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’

He answered,

‘I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked;

So I hid.’”

Genesis 8-10  NIV

In Bible study, while watching the DVD series called Frequency by Robert Morris…

Pastor Morris talked about God feeling sad when Adam said…

“I heard your voice and I was afraid.”

God created Adam and Eve to have a relationship with Him in Paradise…

He did things with them…

He walked with them in the garden…

He was always anxious to spend the day with them…

But, one morning, He finds them hiding…

They’re afraid of Him…

How it saddened God…

To lose that close intimate relationship…

Their sin had separated them from their God!

Jesus can restore the relationship…

Between you and God!

Don’t hide from God…

Even when going through a difficulty…

Come back…

Ask for forgiveness…

Do what it takes to be in a right place to hear His voice…

Don’t fear God’s voice…

Draw near to God!

You’re perfect together!

Psalm 139:1-18 NIV

“You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts,God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.”

Don’t hide from Him

You’re Beautiful!

You’re Loved!!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

“I Am” A Proud Drama Mamma!

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In November, our church hosted a Thanksgiving Dinner for the residents of Gulf Breeze Apartment Homes…

Yum!!  So much food!  And such a blessing to serve and meet the residents!

Our Drama Team was invited to do a human video drama…

It was the first outreach for all our new kids…I was so proud of them!!

They did such a great job, that I had tears in my eyes!

We chose “I Am” by Eddie James…It’s really such a powerful song!

(**Click on the link above to see the human video drama that we based our drama on!  It’s really well done!)

(Here are the lyrics)

“I Am the Lord…

I’m the Almighty God…

I Am the One for whom nothing is too hard…

I Am the Shepherd and I Am the Door…

I Am the Good News to the bound and the poor…

I Am…

I Am the Righteous One and I Am the Lamb…

I Am the Ram in the bush for Abraham…

I Am the ultimate Sacrifice for sin…

I Am your Redeemer, the Beginning and the End…

I Am…

I Am Jehovah…

And I Am the King…

I Am Messiah, David’s offspring…

I Am your High Priest and I Am the Christ…

I Am the Resurrection, I Am the Light…

I Am…

I Am the Bread and I Am the Wine…

I Am your Future so leave your past behind…

I Am the One in the midst of two or three…

I Am your Tabernacle, I Am your Jubilee…

I Am…

I Am Hope, I Am Peace, I Am Joy, I Am Rest…

I Am your Comfort and Relief from your stress…

I Am Strength, I Am Faith, I Am Love, I Am Power…

I Am your Freedom this very hour!

You’re my Hope, You’re my Peace, You’re my Joy, You’re my Rest…

You are my Comfort…

You’re Relief from my stress…

You’re my Strength, You’re my Faith, You’re my Love, You’re my Power…

You are my Freedom this very hour!”

Yes, He is!!