I am sure we can all think of one thing that is needed, but is it the right 'one thing'? I can think of a very important 'on thing' right now, and it is important to me but is it the 'one thing' that I need most? Probably not. We get our priorities mixed up and do not always put first things first.
Jesus said to Martha, Mary's sister, Luke 10:41,42 "And.Jesus answered and said to her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part which will not be taken away from her."
What was the good part that Mary had chosen? She was sitting at Jesus feet communing with Him and Martha her sister was busy getting things ready for a meal and wanted Mary to help her but Jesus commended Mary for choosing the good part of communing with Him.
Another time someone came running up to Jesus and knelt before Him asking what he could do to be saved and Jesus repeated some of the commandments and he answered Jesus and said all these things I have kept from my youth up and Jesus answer was, "One thing you lack; Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and COME, TAKE UP THE CROSS, AND FOLLOW ME."
What did he lack? He needed to get rid of the things that were holding him back from following Jesus and
'Come and follow me, spend time with me".
This is Jesus admonition to all of us. Get rid of anything that is standing in our way of following Jesus and come and follow Him, kneel at His feet, spend time with Him. I can't stress this enough, since I have been spending more time with Him, I am learning to know Him and am learning to love Him more each day. This is the reason for Jesus admonition that one thing is needful or one thing you lack.
How is it with you, are you lacking that 'one thing'? I was, but now am trying to fulfill the admonition of Kneeling at His feet and learning from Him. Doing this blog each day helps me more than it is probably helping anyone else but I pray I am not the only one being helped by it, but if I am, I am totally satisfied that my relationship with Jesus is growing stronger each day by doing my worships on line.
Of course I spend more time than this with God, this is just the cream of the crop that you are getting. If we want to grow up in Christ, we must spend time with Him. I always talk to Him in prayer before I read my Bible or do my blog. That way I am prepared to listen as He presents different things to me that I need each day. It has been such a blessing to me and I do hope and pray that you are being blessed also. May God continue to bless each one of us daily as we supply that 'one thing that is needed' staying close to Him and talking to Him and listening to Him through His word. Grandma Joan
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Easy and Light
Are you tired? Are you carrying a heavy load that is too heavy for you to bear? Do you need rest? I think all three things fit most of us. We are tired of carrying a load that is too heavy and we need rest. There is an invitation to rest and I want to share it with you. I think that many, many people are carrying a load far too heavy for them and I hope some of you are reading this, this very day and I do hope it will help.
Would you like to have an easy and light load to bear? Would you like someone who is gentle and lowly and not condemning to help you? Then here it is, all the help you need is at your fingertips.
Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Psalms 55:22 "Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you. He shall never permit the righteous to be moved."
And then when your burden becomes easy and light, then you can help someone else.
Galatians 6:2 "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."
Can you imagine what kind of a world we would be living in if everyone followed this counsel. It would be like heaven, wouldn't it? But it isn't so let's follow the counsel God has given us for lifting our heavy burdens from our shoulders and then let us lift someone else's. So 'cast your care upon Him for He cares for you.'
1 Peter 5:7. Grandma Joan
Would you like to have an easy and light load to bear? Would you like someone who is gentle and lowly and not condemning to help you? Then here it is, all the help you need is at your fingertips.
Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Psalms 55:22 "Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you. He shall never permit the righteous to be moved."
And then when your burden becomes easy and light, then you can help someone else.
Galatians 6:2 "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."
Can you imagine what kind of a world we would be living in if everyone followed this counsel. It would be like heaven, wouldn't it? But it isn't so let's follow the counsel God has given us for lifting our heavy burdens from our shoulders and then let us lift someone else's. So 'cast your care upon Him for He cares for you.'
1 Peter 5:7. Grandma Joan
Another Unseen Companion Story
I guess you can see why I am a Christian, I have so much to be thankful for. This happened about 54 years ago, my son was just two years old and we were picnicking with friends and were eating lunch or just finishing up and the kids went down to the waters edge at the lake and my son had three older siblings, not that old, the oldest being eight and a half.
We were sitting there visiting around the table when all of a sudden I heard a loud voice yell, 'the baby'. I turned to see what happened and my baby son was floating face down on the water and I jumped up and ran as fast as I could and dashed out and picked him up and he had held his breath until I got there.
I couldn't figure out why no one else ran down to help and I found out after I calmed down a bit that I was the only one who had heard the voice yell, 'the baby'.
Who do you think yelled at me that day and why didn't anyone else hear it? I will let you figure it out, it is pretty simple for me to understand.
I didn't entertain an angel that day but I sure heard one and I will go back to the Psalms 91:11,12 For He shall give His angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up lest you should dash your foot against a stone. How blessed we are to have such care over us at all times. We will never know just how many times our lives have been spared until we see Jesus and He tells us of all the times that we came near death and didn't even know it.
You have angel companions watching over you too so don't be presumptious and careless, just know that they are there when you need them and they are always wanting to help us if we will serve God and do His will.
The first verse in Psalms 91 explains that. "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Remember I have been stressing staying in the presence of the Lord day by day and we can count on His merciful care when we do this. I am a sinner saved by His grace and you can have the same experience. I am sure some of you have had greater experiences than I have and would love to hear them. Stay close to Jesus is my advice because He cares for you. He really does.
Grandma Joan
We were sitting there visiting around the table when all of a sudden I heard a loud voice yell, 'the baby'. I turned to see what happened and my baby son was floating face down on the water and I jumped up and ran as fast as I could and dashed out and picked him up and he had held his breath until I got there.
I couldn't figure out why no one else ran down to help and I found out after I calmed down a bit that I was the only one who had heard the voice yell, 'the baby'.
Who do you think yelled at me that day and why didn't anyone else hear it? I will let you figure it out, it is pretty simple for me to understand.
I didn't entertain an angel that day but I sure heard one and I will go back to the Psalms 91:11,12 For He shall give His angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up lest you should dash your foot against a stone. How blessed we are to have such care over us at all times. We will never know just how many times our lives have been spared until we see Jesus and He tells us of all the times that we came near death and didn't even know it.
You have angel companions watching over you too so don't be presumptious and careless, just know that they are there when you need them and they are always wanting to help us if we will serve God and do His will.
The first verse in Psalms 91 explains that. "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Remember I have been stressing staying in the presence of the Lord day by day and we can count on His merciful care when we do this. I am a sinner saved by His grace and you can have the same experience. I am sure some of you have had greater experiences than I have and would love to hear them. Stay close to Jesus is my advice because He cares for you. He really does.
Grandma Joan
Unseen Companions.
Did you know that we have an unseen companion that is with us where ever we go. I have a little story to tell you about an unseen companion, not sure if it was my husbands or mine but it really doesn't matter, it was a wonderful experience.
A few years ago we were traveling over the United States and we were on our way home, we were driving a pickup and pulling a nice travel trailer. We were going through upper New Mexico and it was all big ranches and sparse homes, mostly none. We had two gas tanks in the pickup and when one went empty, my husband always filled it when we switched to the other, so we always had a full tank handy. Well this day we were out in a forsaken part of NM and as far as you could see, nothing, anyway that you looked and our tank started to sputter and spit so he switched tanks and nothing happened. We coasted off the road as far as we could get and he jumped out and got a container and started hitchhiking and no one, I mean no one would even offer to give him a ride.
Finally a car pulled over and told him they would give him a ride to the next town which was at least twenty miles south and that would have left me alone with the truck and trailer, which I was a little nervous about that but didn't complain because what else were we to do? While he was talking, a police car pulled up behind us and the policeman asked what the problem was and my husband told him and he said, 'no problem, I have a can of gas in the trunk of my car.' So the people left and it was a scorching hot day and they got the gas can out and came up and put it in our tank and I kept looking at the policeman, his features were so soft and his eyes so gentle and he was so kind and considerate, a man of very few words, I mean few. He had my husband step up in front of our truck to put the cap back on for safety sake and he looked at me through the windshield and smiled and waved at me.
He walked my husband back to the door and when He got in he shook hands with the policeman and asked what we owed him and he said, 'nothing'. I spoke up and told him, 'your not a policeman, you are an angel and he just smiled and looked at me with those gentle eyes. We thanked him and he went back to his car and we started ours up and pulled out in the road and there was no police car behind us, it was at least twenty miles both ways and straight as a pin and nothing on the road either way. Who do you think came to our rescue that day?
The Bible tells us in Psalms 91: 11,12 "He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways."
Hebrews 13:1,2 "Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels."
I don't know whose guardian angel it was, it doesn't matter, what does matter is that we did entertain an angel on that hot day out in the desert, his countenance was etched in my mind to this day and I am so thankful that we have unseen companions with us all the time. That particular day he wasn't unseen, we saw him and he was beautiful, kind, considerate, compassionate, and caring. I will never forget that day and it happened just like I told you, nothing added to make it fancy or anything, just a plain visit from God through His guardian angel. Praise the Lord for His protecting care. It was not a good situation. By the way we always kept both tanks full after that.
Watch for angels, you may get a visit some day and be sure to thank them. Thank God too for watching over us so tenderly and keeping us safe. Grandma Joan
A few years ago we were traveling over the United States and we were on our way home, we were driving a pickup and pulling a nice travel trailer. We were going through upper New Mexico and it was all big ranches and sparse homes, mostly none. We had two gas tanks in the pickup and when one went empty, my husband always filled it when we switched to the other, so we always had a full tank handy. Well this day we were out in a forsaken part of NM and as far as you could see, nothing, anyway that you looked and our tank started to sputter and spit so he switched tanks and nothing happened. We coasted off the road as far as we could get and he jumped out and got a container and started hitchhiking and no one, I mean no one would even offer to give him a ride.
Finally a car pulled over and told him they would give him a ride to the next town which was at least twenty miles south and that would have left me alone with the truck and trailer, which I was a little nervous about that but didn't complain because what else were we to do? While he was talking, a police car pulled up behind us and the policeman asked what the problem was and my husband told him and he said, 'no problem, I have a can of gas in the trunk of my car.' So the people left and it was a scorching hot day and they got the gas can out and came up and put it in our tank and I kept looking at the policeman, his features were so soft and his eyes so gentle and he was so kind and considerate, a man of very few words, I mean few. He had my husband step up in front of our truck to put the cap back on for safety sake and he looked at me through the windshield and smiled and waved at me.
He walked my husband back to the door and when He got in he shook hands with the policeman and asked what we owed him and he said, 'nothing'. I spoke up and told him, 'your not a policeman, you are an angel and he just smiled and looked at me with those gentle eyes. We thanked him and he went back to his car and we started ours up and pulled out in the road and there was no police car behind us, it was at least twenty miles both ways and straight as a pin and nothing on the road either way. Who do you think came to our rescue that day?
The Bible tells us in Psalms 91: 11,12 "He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways."
Hebrews 13:1,2 "Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels."
I don't know whose guardian angel it was, it doesn't matter, what does matter is that we did entertain an angel on that hot day out in the desert, his countenance was etched in my mind to this day and I am so thankful that we have unseen companions with us all the time. That particular day he wasn't unseen, we saw him and he was beautiful, kind, considerate, compassionate, and caring. I will never forget that day and it happened just like I told you, nothing added to make it fancy or anything, just a plain visit from God through His guardian angel. Praise the Lord for His protecting care. It was not a good situation. By the way we always kept both tanks full after that.
Watch for angels, you may get a visit some day and be sure to thank them. Thank God too for watching over us so tenderly and keeping us safe. Grandma Joan
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
A Dangerous Walk.
Have you ever been on a dangerous walk? I was overcome with anxiety one time years ago and I took my German shepherd with me and went down the dark alleys in town, she was a good protector and I really wasn't afraid but it could have been dangerous had I not had her with me. Then one time years later but still years ago, my grown daughter and I went for a bike ride down a trail that was known as dangerous. She wanted to do it so away we went and we were safe but still it was a little eerie.
Well, in our Christian walk there are some dangerous places too.
John 12: 35 "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you, he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going." Jesus was talking to His disciples but I believe He was speaking to us too. We need to walk while we have the light of Jesus shining on our pathways, lest the darkness overtakes us. Speaking of the darkness of this world. That would be a dangerous walk in the darkness of this world.
Romans 4:2 "But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully." That would be a dangerous walk too, wouldn't it?
There is someone else walking about that is dangerous. 1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." So be on the lookout for this adversary, he really is dangerous and we need to be fortified with the word of God to combat this dangerous person. It's really best if we stay in God's presence where we have safe keeping from this adversary.
Then I want to quote Psalms 23:4 to you. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."
Even though the walk sometimes can get dangerous when we get side tracked, we have this comforting verse that tells us, we need not fear because He is with us to protect us and comfort us. I love Him, don't you. He is soooooo good to us in every way and even if we stray, He still loves us and draws us back into His loving arms. I really do want to stay there. How about you? So make sure you stay on the right path when you are walking and everything will be OK. Grandma Joan
Well, in our Christian walk there are some dangerous places too.
John 12: 35 "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you, he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going." Jesus was talking to His disciples but I believe He was speaking to us too. We need to walk while we have the light of Jesus shining on our pathways, lest the darkness overtakes us. Speaking of the darkness of this world. That would be a dangerous walk in the darkness of this world.
Romans 4:2 "But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully." That would be a dangerous walk too, wouldn't it?
There is someone else walking about that is dangerous. 1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." So be on the lookout for this adversary, he really is dangerous and we need to be fortified with the word of God to combat this dangerous person. It's really best if we stay in God's presence where we have safe keeping from this adversary.
Then I want to quote Psalms 23:4 to you. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."
Even though the walk sometimes can get dangerous when we get side tracked, we have this comforting verse that tells us, we need not fear because He is with us to protect us and comfort us. I love Him, don't you. He is soooooo good to us in every way and even if we stray, He still loves us and draws us back into His loving arms. I really do want to stay there. How about you? So make sure you stay on the right path when you are walking and everything will be OK. Grandma Joan
Let's Exercise!
Do you like to exercise? The one I like the best is walking and I am not able to go for walks like I use to. We use to have a mountain behind our house in Oregon and my grandkids and I would hike to the top every morning and run back down, that was our exercise for the day. It was fun and the kids enjoyed it too.
I was thinking today about walking our way to the kingdom and when I searched it out I found so much about walking that I thought I would share it with you. It really makes sense.
Micah 6:8 "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God." As we learn to exercise, let us learn to walk humbly, putting others first in our lives, that's pretty simple but not always easy to do, so let's practice walking humbly.
2 Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight." I believe the next text explains what walking by faith means.
Isaiah 30:21 "Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it," Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left." So walking by faith is listening to God's word telling us which way to walk, I think we will find the directions for which way to walk in the Bible, by daily study and talking to God in prayer. So let's practice walking humbly and by faith. Good exercise!!
Galatians 5:16 "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." What does 'walk in the Spirit' mean? Could it be walking in God's will and not our own? I think so because if we are walking in God's will, we won't want to walk in our fleshly lusts. So let's practice walking humbly, and by faith in God's will or in the Spirit. This exercise is good, do you feel like you are gaining ground in your walk?
Ephesians 5:2 "Walk in love...." How hard is it to walk in love? If we have Christ's love in us it should be fairly easy to walk in love. So now we walk humbly, and by faith in God's will and in love.
Colossians 1:10 "That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." So now we walk humbly, and by faith in God's will and in His love and worthy of the Lord, pleasing Him being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. What a walk this has been, are you tired from our walk? I hope not, we are supposed to be refreshed when we spend time with God, specially walking with Him, what a privilege is ours to be able to walk with God. There is a reward for this kind of walk. Do you know what it is?
Revelation 3:4 "....They shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy." Shall we plan on walking with God in white someday? That will be a great ending to our wonderful walk. Don't you think so?
Grandma Joan
I was thinking today about walking our way to the kingdom and when I searched it out I found so much about walking that I thought I would share it with you. It really makes sense.
Micah 6:8 "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God." As we learn to exercise, let us learn to walk humbly, putting others first in our lives, that's pretty simple but not always easy to do, so let's practice walking humbly.
2 Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight." I believe the next text explains what walking by faith means.
Isaiah 30:21 "Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it," Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left." So walking by faith is listening to God's word telling us which way to walk, I think we will find the directions for which way to walk in the Bible, by daily study and talking to God in prayer. So let's practice walking humbly and by faith. Good exercise!!
Galatians 5:16 "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." What does 'walk in the Spirit' mean? Could it be walking in God's will and not our own? I think so because if we are walking in God's will, we won't want to walk in our fleshly lusts. So let's practice walking humbly, and by faith in God's will or in the Spirit. This exercise is good, do you feel like you are gaining ground in your walk?
Ephesians 5:2 "Walk in love...." How hard is it to walk in love? If we have Christ's love in us it should be fairly easy to walk in love. So now we walk humbly, and by faith in God's will and in love.
Colossians 1:10 "That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." So now we walk humbly, and by faith in God's will and in His love and worthy of the Lord, pleasing Him being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. What a walk this has been, are you tired from our walk? I hope not, we are supposed to be refreshed when we spend time with God, specially walking with Him, what a privilege is ours to be able to walk with God. There is a reward for this kind of walk. Do you know what it is?
Revelation 3:4 "....They shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy." Shall we plan on walking with God in white someday? That will be a great ending to our wonderful walk. Don't you think so?
Grandma Joan
The Faithful One.
One of my greatest needs is to have someone in my life that I can trust implicitly and I mean implicitly. Is that something you need too? Someone who never fails you when He makes a promise, someone whom you can go to with anything, anything at all. Someone who is always there, regardless of circumstances. Someone who doesn't condemn you when you fall short?
I told you before about my friends, and I love them and of course I love my children and they are there when I need them but it isn't the same as someone with the power to change things that need changing and to heal and to forgive us when we fail Him. You know who that Someone is don't you? I can't help talking about Him so I know that you know what I am thinking, but do you realize that He is a Faithful Someone who never let's you down. I am learning this lesson and it's a wonderful lesson and I hope that I can achieve what I am learning to do.
1 Thessalonians 5:23,24 "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it."
I've got to put this one in my promise note book too. This is a wonderful promise and it is just for me right now and maybe you too? I need sanctified completely, my whole spirit, soul, and body. How about you?
I think probably there isn't anyone out there that doesn't need this promise fulfilled in your life. It also says that He will preserve us blameless until Jesus comes? But the best part of it all is that He says that "He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it."
He is the faithful One, God is faithful who calls us and He will also do in our lives what needs to be done to save us. Can you find a better promise than this? I don't know what it would be. It's just what I needed this morning. I can trust Him with my problems that overwhelm me and know that He has it all under HIS control. I love that and it takes all the worry out of things. He not only will save us but He takes care of us while we are here on this earth. We just need to learn to trust Him.
Have a worry free day in the God who is Faithful. Grandma Joan
I told you before about my friends, and I love them and of course I love my children and they are there when I need them but it isn't the same as someone with the power to change things that need changing and to heal and to forgive us when we fail Him. You know who that Someone is don't you? I can't help talking about Him so I know that you know what I am thinking, but do you realize that He is a Faithful Someone who never let's you down. I am learning this lesson and it's a wonderful lesson and I hope that I can achieve what I am learning to do.
1 Thessalonians 5:23,24 "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it."
I've got to put this one in my promise note book too. This is a wonderful promise and it is just for me right now and maybe you too? I need sanctified completely, my whole spirit, soul, and body. How about you?
I think probably there isn't anyone out there that doesn't need this promise fulfilled in your life. It also says that He will preserve us blameless until Jesus comes? But the best part of it all is that He says that "He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it."
He is the faithful One, God is faithful who calls us and He will also do in our lives what needs to be done to save us. Can you find a better promise than this? I don't know what it would be. It's just what I needed this morning. I can trust Him with my problems that overwhelm me and know that He has it all under HIS control. I love that and it takes all the worry out of things. He not only will save us but He takes care of us while we are here on this earth. We just need to learn to trust Him.
Have a worry free day in the God who is Faithful. Grandma Joan
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