I’m so very thankful to everyone who reads and has subscribed to my blog. God is doing great things, His message is being shared throughout the world. I’m thankful to be a part of this unique way of sharing the gospel. Below is a window into some of the stats of my site as of today. ♥️🙏🏻

~Peace~

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Winter Solstice 2019: The First Day of Winter

2 Samuel 7:23-29

“Who is like your people, like Israel? Is there another nation on earth whose God went to redeem it as a people, and to make a name for himself, doing great and awesome things for them, by driving out before his people nations and their gods? And you established your people Israel for yourself to be your people forever; and you, O Lord, became their God. And now, O Lord God, as for the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever; do as you have promised. Thus your name will be magnified forever in the saying, “The Lord of hosts is God over Israel’; and the house of your servant David will be established before you. For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, “I will build you a house’; therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant; now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you; for you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.”

Wow, we are 4 days away from Christmas! Things are busy and bright, trees and packages all wrapped with pretty bows! People rushing to and fro, grabbing the last perfect gifts. It really is a wonderful time of the year. Christmas is especially merry and bright for believers, we look forward to the birth of Jesus, the manger scene with Mary, Joseph, the animals, the shepherds, the kings, the angels and the bright star…so many people and things that just reading the words ignites a vision in our minds. Our hearts are filled with thanksgiving that each of these individuals heard the call from God and responded. In all the hustle and bustle of the season let us not forget to say “THANK YOU!” Thank you to God for sending Jesus, thanking Jesus for His sacrifice of being born in human form and to live among us, and to save us, the shepherds who listened and followed the star, the kings who travel far guided by the star and the gifts they brought, the Angels delivering messages/proclamations; Joseph who listened and followed the angels instructions, and Mary, who faithfully listened to the angels and humbly accepted the honor of carry the Christ child and enduring the ridicule of unbelievers, only trusting in God’s promises.

We also need to be mindful of the gifts we receive and of the gifts we give. May thankfulness and humility walk hand in hand through our responses this Christmas season. We may not receive the gifts we are most excited about, do not be dishearten remember the thoughtfulness of the person giving it to you. It’s gifts from the heart that truly mean the most, and trust me over time you will see that come to fruition. Celebrate the friendships, the caring, the respect and the love for one another, these are the most precious and priceless gifts we can give and receive.

I am sincerely appreciative of everyone who takes the time to read my blog posts. My intent is to share the love of God and hopefully some insight and humor from time to time. My life has been forever changed by this experience of sharing my thoughts with the world. I wish you all much happiness and love this Advent season, may the love of God ignite a flame 🔥 within your soul! I am thankful for each of you! ♥️

Prayer:

Lord, in the coming days there will be many distractions to draw us away from your majesty. We will be distracted by shiny objects and forget the promise you made to David, which is now being fulfilled through your Son. May your Spirit be made known to us so that we can magnify you and say thank you for the gift of your Son. ~Amen.

~Hope-Peace-Joy~

References:

https://mailchi.mp/abbeyofthearts/daily-nourishment-from-abbey-of-the-arts-may2-2228991?e=128ba1455f

Friday, December 20, 2019

2 Samuel 7:18-22

“Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God; you have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come. May this be instruction for the people, O Lord God! And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have wrought all this greatness, so that your servant may know it. Therefore you are great, O Lord God; for there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.”

Indeed, there is none like God! Today’s reading reminded me and hopefully you that we are not replicas of God and we are not mere clones of God, we are individually created by God and made in His likeness! We are His children! Just as some of you who have children with your DNA, they are created in God’s image and in the likeness of you and your partner. That’s not to exclude adopted children or IVF children or any other means of parenting children, we are all made in God’s image with a plan and a purpose and we are loved, so very loved. In this season of Advent, we recognize the divine and the human connection we have with God through the birth of Jesus. We have a renewed connection with God, the Father through the birth of Christ Jesus! God remains divine and unique and set apart from humanity because of our sinfulness and at the same time revealed to us through the birth of Jesus, who became human so that we could be redeemed. We now have a closeness to God, the distance that once was is now more intimate through Jesus. God is Holy! God is the one! God is always with us just as He promised, trust in Him. All praise and honor and glory are His alone! ~Amen.

Here are seven scriptures that assure us that God is with us always.

Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

Matthew 28:20 “Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.'”

Romans 8:38-39 “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Prayer:

Lord, you revealed yourself through prophets and promise to reveal yourself to us through Christ. You are unique. You are holy. You are being revealed to me through the Incarnation and power of you Spirit. Continue to reveal your grace to me so that I may see your uniqueness even more. ~Amen.

~Hope-Peace-Joy~

References:

https://www.christianpost.com/trends/7-bible-verses-reminds-god-with-us-always.html