Matthew 13:15-17

"Heart" has the word HEAR in it....so if I truly Love my Lord, I will hear Him with love and a desire to obey. My heart will not be dull , and I will understand what He wants of me. 
I would also LISTEN to those I love with carefulness and attention to everything about their words, seeing their heart as they speak. O Lord teach my ears and eyes sharpness, openness, and understanding. Verse 16 says my eyes are blessed and my ears do hear! But Lord, why do I often not see or listen to the voices of my loved ones with sharpness or understanding? It's because of my own sin which blinds my heart, and dulls my hearing. My ideas and thoughts get in the way of truly hearing. Purge me of my own thoughts, and give me clear eyes and ears that truly want to understand, obey You, and help those around me.

His Word is dependable and lays us open!

God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what. (Hebrews 4:12, 13 MSG)

Don't you want to know the reality of your own heart? I mean I know I'm a sinner, but sometimes I don't see exactly what that means! So, reading His Word will "lay us open" to see our hearts as HE sees them, and His rebuke is loving and so good, because of His Grace through Christ. Praise Him that we still have His Word to look into, and if we sincerely ask His Spirit to teach us and show us our hearts He is faithful to answer! And He gave us His Spirit to lead us into righteousness....may I not allow my heart to be hardened so that I become impervious to His Word. But if I stray, He is the Good Shepherd and will draw me back to Himself.

Help for today

I hope you like this as much as I do! How we need His continual help in being patient with others and not being annoyed.

Woolies and Soweto Gospel Choir: Madiba Tribute

Live Life to the Hilt

For praise and thanksgiving

I just read Luke 1 and 2 and especially liked these verses- 

1:68--75 "Blessed be The Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people...to show the mercy promised to our Fathers and to remember His holy covenant,... That we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days."

Our enemies are just as real today, both physical threats of Islam terrorists, people who want to take away our freedoms, and our own spiritually wrong thoughts- leading us to doubt God's word, and be fearful, as well as the Enemy of our souls.  But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph, and has not given us a spirit of fear but of a sound mind!

May you be able to rejoice in His love and power in your days, as you go about serving Him without fear , and boldly showing His love to those who don't know our merciful Savior!

He burned up our invoice of debt

This is the reason we are overwhelmed at the mercies of God, the reason why there can be true JOY at Christmas, and deep peace. This is from Billy Graham's devotional for today.

Years ago King Charles V was loaned a large sum of money by a merchant in Antwerp. The note came due, but the king was bankrupt and unable to pay. The merchant gave a great banquet for the King. When all the guests were seated and before the food was brought in, the merchant had a large platter placed on the table and a fire lighted on it. Then, taking the note out of his pocket, he held it in the flames until it was burned to ashes. The king threw his arms around his benefactor and wept. Just so, we have been mortgaged to God. The debt was due, but we were unable to pay. Two thousand years ago God invited the world to the Gospel feast, and in the agonies of the cross, God held your sins and mine until every last vestige of our guilt was consumed.

May you know His peace and forgiveness today and bask in His love for you. Take time to sit still and listen to His Word each day these coming weeks. He is worth your time!

Lovely harp music!

http://youtu.be/Tiye0BqxJS4

Satisfied in Him

"They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your delights. For with You is the fountain of life, in Your light do we see light." Psalm 36:8-9

Amy Carmichael wrote for today's devotion in Edges of His Ways,   "The foundation of our happiness must be invisible, not visible." Because we are told to walk by faith and not by sight, God reminds us continually that our life's joy and strength is found in Him, especially when circumstances are difficult. He is worthy of our trust especially when things don't look wonderful around us! But in Him we will be completely satisfied.

Delighting and Loving

"For in my inner being I delight in God's law."  From Romans 7:22

Many years ago, when I'd been married only about 3 years, I was aware one day of how disappointed I was in my good husband, and it dawned on me that he could never satisfy all the longings of my heart, and that only God could.  I'm sure the Holy Spirit was telling me that all my comforts, joys, and desires would only be completely satisfied by delighting in Him, the source of all Truth, Joy, and Love.  I slowly began to recognize that my husband was not given to me to make me happy, but the Lord was going to teach me to focus on his happiness and not my own.  I did not learn this completely on that day, or in 1 year, or even in 20!  It takes daily little deaths, as my mother used to say, in many chances to die to self, to put the other's happiness first.  I am so thankful that as I would read the Bible in "fits and starts", sometimes eagerly, sometimes as a duty, and often infrequently,  the Lord showed me over and over that His desires for me were for serving, giving, loving, and not taking myself and my wants so seriously-it takes a LIFE time to learn this!  As Paul said "I have not attained, but keep pressing on...."  

It has also amazed me over and over again, how gracious and kind my husband is, even tho' I've been a nagging, mean, trying-to-control-him-wife!  On one day, I will make up my mind that I will say no words of criticism or "management" and within a few hours I've failed.  Where does my eagerness to follow Christ go?  It disappears into the insatiable mist of the hungering SELF! God has shown me His grace and forgiveness time and time again, through His Word, and through my husband's acceptance and meekness when I've put him down again and again.  So, it still takes daily "little" deaths (tho' sometimes they seem huge to this Self) and I'm still learning to be gracious and keep my mouth shut- maybe once a day?!  Oh, that I may love kindness as His Word says, in every minute, hour, and day.

Micah 6:8 says:

"He has told you, O man, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,[a]
    and to walk humbly with your God?"

"Many persons want to hear what God says just out of curiosity. They want to analyze and dissect it in their own test tubes. To these persons, God may remain the great cosmic silence “out there somewhere.” He communicates to those who are willing to hear and receive Him, and willing to obey Him. Jesus said that we must become humble as little children, and God has most often revealed Himself to the meek and the humble—to a shepherd boy like David, to a rough desert man like John the Baptist, to shepherds watching their flocks, to a girl named Mary. How does God speak? How can a blind man see? How can a deaf man hear? From the beginning God spoke to man. Adam heard the voice of the Lord in the Garden of Eden. Adam had two sons, Cain and Abel, and God spoke to them. Cain spurned that which was revealed to him, but Abel was obedient to the Word of God. Abel’s response showed that a man tainted and handicapped by sin could respond to God’s overtures. Thus, in the beginning, God began by revelation to build a bridge between Himself and people."

-from Billy Graham's devotional on Micah 7:18

The Grahams

I'm eager to hear Billy Graham tonight on Fox TV at 10 PM EST.  Hope you can watch and hear him tonight or the next two nights- see My Hope America.com or Watch Billy Graham.  He is a true saint and we must listen to the aged, as the Bible says their grey heads are a crown.

I was able to meet and visit with Mrs. Graham shortly after I had had my 8th child, Sarah Abigail.  What a treat it was to see this wonderful woman of God.  She honored my mother and me with love and kindness, as we wanted to honor her for her life of godliness.  Her face was full of light and joy and we felt unusually blessed.  I do hope I can live long and honor others with His love and kindness, and be able to speak of His faithfulness.