Good morning LTW.

I like your views from a Catholic standpoint. I have some things I will present at a later time. Need to get off to work.

Hope to see thoughts from others on the subject, when they drop in..

This was from a daily devotional (Daily bread 10/18/07)

What do we say when someone is grieving?
Roy Clark and his father sat in the family car in the funeral home parking lot for several minutes. As a teenager, he wasn’t sure how to respond when his dad put his head in his hands and moaned, "I don’t know what to say!"

A friend from their church had been in a car accident. She had survived, but her three daughters had all died when a truck hit their vehicle. What could they say to their friend at a time like this?

In the Bible we are told that during Job’s time of grieving, his three friends came to mourn with him and to comfort him. For the first 7 days they sat and wept with him because he was in deep sorrow (Job 2:11-13). "No one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great" (v.13). Their presence alone was a comfort to him.

But then they began to lecture. They told Job he must have sinned and that God was punishing him (4:7-9).

When Job was finally able to respond, he told his friends what he needed from them. He asked for reasons to continue hoping (6:11), for kindness (v.14), and for words that did not presume guilt (vv.29-30).

Remembering the story of Job and his friends may help us when we don’t know what to say. —Anne Cetas

Lord, give me sensitivity
To people in their grief and pain,
To weep with them and show Your love
In ways mere words cannot attain. —Sper

When someone’s grieving—listen, don’t lecture.

Hi Everyone...

Greetings Brothers & Sisters in the Holy Name
& Power Of our Lord Jesus Christ

May the peace that passes all understanding
rule in your hearts today & everyday...

sending some love, light prayers & blessings


these came to my heart to share today...


Ephesians 5 : 15 & 16

[15] See then that ye walk circumspectly,
not as fools, but as wise,
[16] Redeeming the time,
because the days are evil.


II Chronicles 7 verse 14

"if My people
will humble themselves
and pray and seek My face,
and turn from their wicked ways,
then I Will hear from Heaven,
and will forgive their sins
and heal their land.."

Good evening all my buddies.....Hope everyone is having just a marvy day...I had a long day....I will be posting more tomorrow but just wanted to say hi.....and God Bless you all....

Good morning everyone,

Daily Devotional:

Is God's will my will?

This is the will of God, your sanctification . . . —1 Thessalonians 4:3


Sanctification is not a question of whether God is willing to sanctify me— is it my will? Am I willing to let God do in me everything that has been made possible through the atonement of the Cross of Christ? Am I willing to let Jesus become sanctification to me, and to let His life be exhibited in my human flesh?

(see 1 Corinthians 1:30). Beware of saying, "Oh, I am longing to be sanctified." No, you are not.

Recognize your need, but stop longing and make it a matter of action. Receive Jesus Christ to become sanctification for you by absolute, unquestioning faith, and the great miracle of the atonement of Jesus will become real in you.

All that Jesus made possible becomes mine through the free and loving gift of God on the basis of what Christ accomplished on the cross. And my attitude as a saved and sanctified soul is that of profound,humble holiness (there is no such thing as proud holiness). It is a holiness based on agonizing repentance, a sense of inexpressible shame and degradation, and also on the amazing realization that the love of God demonstrated itself to me while I cared nothing about Him (see Romans 5:8). He completed everything for my salvation and sanctification. No wonder Paul said that nothing "shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39).

Sanctification makes me one with Jesus Christ, and in Him one with God, and it is accomplished only through the magnificent atonement of Christ. Never confuse the effect with the cause. The effect in me is obedience, service, and prayer, and is the outcome of inexpressible thanks and adoration for the miraculous sanctification that has been brought about in me because of the atonement through the Cross of Christ.

I posted this earlier and wish to add my thoughts.

Some students of scripture believe that the Bible gives no grounds for divorce or remarriage. Others suggest it allows for divorce under some circumstances but does not allow remarriage. Others say if the divorce is justifiable, the innocent party should be allowed to remarry. ... Any thoughts on this subject?

The bible states:
Adultery: Jesus said, "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery," (Matt. 19:9). The word in Greek for immorality is porneia from which we get the word pornography. Sexual immorality, i.e., adultery, is a grounds for divorce according to Jesus.
Abandonment: In addressing the issue of husband and wife, Paul said, "Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace," (1 Cor. 7:15).

---

In the case of abandonment. I believe that it is possible
that a Christian can act like an unbeliever if they physically/emotionally abandon their spouse, and I would consider that grounds for divorce, allowing the abandoned spouse to remarry another believer.

Our Daily Bread

What’s Right?

Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor. —Isaiah 1:16-17

When my computer greeted me one morning with what is ominously referred to as "the blue screen of death," I knew it was broken, but I didn’t know how to fix it. I read a little, tried a few things, but finally had to call an expert for help. Knowing that something was wrong was only a small part of the problem; I couldn’t fix it because I didn’t know the right thing to do.

The ordeal reminded me of the many pundits who appear on television news programs. All of them are "experts" at proclaiming what’s wrong, but most are clueless as to what is right.

This happens in relationships as well. In families, churches, and workplaces, nothing gets fixed because we get fixated on what’s wrong. It doesn’t take an expert to know that something is wrong when people quarrel and hurt each other with unkind words and behavior. But it does take an expert to know how to fix the problem.

God revealed to Israel’s prophets not only what was wrong but also what was right: "Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow" (Isa. 1:16-17).

Instead of focusing on what is wrong, let’s obey the One who knows what is right. —

Lord, grant me grace throughout this day
To walk the straight and narrow way,
To do whatever in Thy sight
Is good and perfect, just and right. —Huisman

Like a compass, the Bible always points you in the right direction.

Good morning everyone, hope you all had an enjoyable weekend.

The sun was shining here in New England and the fall colors are beautiful to behold.

Spent the day in Boston yesterday helping a friend at a mission. It was a really super day and a wonderful way to spread God's word and do things for His glory.

Good Morning Christian People (Robin Williams voice) I think Britty is doing a fine job when Im not around in keeping this room going.....If for nothing else for our sanity when it gets so hard in other rooms.....I hope everyone had a blessed weekend. I know that saturday and sunday were totally devoted to God and church for me. Spent 10 hours trying to get the computer up and running and Sunday betwen service and classes....very busy....but loved it.

question: When or if your in other threads and ppl are just wanting to spew their nonesense about God, Bible, all of it.....How do you handle? And do you feel it's our obligation to God to show them where they are lost, or wrong or both?

Love you guys

Debbie

you can try to present the truth when led to do so.

However, my thoughts are often:

"There are none so blind as those who cannot see"

and

"I can't have a battle of wits with an unarmed man" :)

thanks britty........I am going to use that.......your one great gal and Im honored to call you friend.

feralat, you certainly did.

"What we call adversity God calls opportunity", ps 71

Daily devotional (spurgeon)

I will love them freely." --Hosea 14:4

This sentence is a body of divinity in miniature. He who understands its meaning is a theologian, and he who can dive into its fulness is a true master in Israel. It is a condensation of the glorious message of salvation which was delivered to us in Christ Jesus our Redeemer. The sense hinges upon the word "freely." This is the glorious, the suitable, the divine way by which love streams from heaven to earth, a spontaneous love flowing forth to those who neither deserved it, purchased it, nor sought after it. It is, indeed, the only way in which God can love such as we are. The text is a death-blow to all sorts of fitness: "I will love them freely ." Now, if there were any fitness necessary in us, then He would not love us freely, at least, this would be a mitigation and a drawback to the freeness of it. But it stands, "I will love you freely."We complain, "Lord, my heart is so hard." "I will love you freely ." "But I do not feel my need of Christ as I could wish." "I will not love you because you feel your need; I will love you freely." "But I do not feel that softening of spirit which I could desire." Remember, the softening of spirit is not a condition, for there are no conditions; the covenant of grace has no conditionality whatever; so that we without any fitness may venture upon the promise of God which was made to us in Christ Jesus, when He said, "He that believeth on Him is not condemned." It is blessed to know that the grace of God is free to us at all times, without preparation, without fitness, without money, and without price! "I will love them freely." These words invite backsliders to return : indeed, the text was specially written for such--"I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely." Backslider! surely the generosity of the promise will at once break your heart, and you will return, and seek your injured Father's face.

When the majority of Americans forget this nations proud history, lose their sense of nationhood, their patriotism, feeling of oneness that is the essense of being a citizen of this great land, and love of all that this country stands for, is, and will be, as the Shining Light among all the free nations of the wolrd... we will be SCREWED.

http://www.sneakeasysjoint.com/sneakeasy/2006/11/occ_college_stu.html

Daily Devotional:

Making Everything Known

"He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him." Daniel 2:22 (NIV)

Devotion:
For Americans, Halloween is just a week away and fake skeletons seem to be everywhere I look. I don't like skeletons - especially the proverbial kind that hide in my closet. We all have "skeletons in the closet" - stuff we keep hidden away from everyone, except perhaps our closest friends. Deep hidden things about who we are, where we come from, what we've done .... things we're afraid to bring into the light ... things we're afraid to look in the eye ... things we fear may cause others never to look at us the same. But Jesus knows, and loves us still.

Jesus knows. Genesis 16:13: "You are the God who sees" (NIV).
Jesus knows. Ezekiel 11:5: "The LORD says... I know what is going through your mind" (NIV).
In fact, He knows and still He truly desires to be friends with you.

Friendship is a two-way street. It's both give and take, talk and listen, reveal and accept. Jesus is on that two-way street with us. We can be vulnerable and real with Him. We can relax and safely surrender the key to our closet. We can bring our "skeletons" into His light, where they're not merely tolerated, but miraculously transformed from dry bones to abundant life. No other friend can do that!

We can share our secrets with Him and He will reveal His mysteries to us. Psalm 24:14 tells us, "The LORD confides in those who fear him" (NIV). The word "confides" means to disclose, to pass on, to speak in confidence, and to open your heart to. Jesus wants to open His heart to you and give you full access! Pause and think about that humbling, exciting, amazing reality for just a minute!

Jesus also wants to pass on to us everything He learned about how to live here on earth while staying connected to God in heaven. That is knowledge you and I need to know, and Jesus is the friend who can hook us up with it. He made all this known to his disciples while living among them and teaching them. He's also made it known to us through their gospel accounts in the Bible.

"I no longer call you servants," Jesus said to His disciples, "because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you" (John 15:15, NIV). Jesus considers us a friend, and is keeping nothing hidden from us. Anything we want to know about Him, or about what He knows of His Father, is available to us. It's not automatically downloaded into our brain without any effort on our part -- yet, we need only read His Word, and connect with His heart in prayer to receive it. I'm confident we'll find it worth the effort.

So Jesus has made the first move. He's reached out to you in friendship. He has vulnerably opened His heart to yours. He's willing to tell you everything. Will you do the same? -Will you let yourself be fully known by Him? Are you ready to hand over that key and let those skeletons come out into His transforming light?

(Rachel Olsen)

Thanks for the daily devotions britty.....I think I will just turn that position over to you...

Please pray people as S Calif is in a major fire storm, and it looks like its going to get muchworse befor eit gets better. So please pray that the geta handle on things and that the winds die down. 60-70 mph.

Bless all of you...

Debbie

Thank you Debbie,

they will be in my prayers.

"the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God"

Ephesians 6:17 NKJV

This is what we use in our personal battle with forces of darkness. Through the power of God's word the intellectual forces of Satan are overcome.

In the psalms we can find God's people praising him.

We can also find God's promises to us.

"He shall call upon me
and I will answer him,
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him"

Ps 91 13-15

How are you praising God today?

Matthew 4

The Temptation of Jesus

1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

3 The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."

4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.

6 "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
'He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."

7 Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test."

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.

9 "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."

10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'

11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him

Jesus defeated Satan by using a weapon that everyone has at their disposal: the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. (Eph. 6:17)