Blog Archives - The Remarkable Blog

New snow~New you!

12/30/2016

Isaiah 1:18 (NIV) ""Come now, let us settle the matter," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."

Snow is beautiful. You can go to bed at night with the world (well at least your part of it) looking dirty and dingy. When you wake up to fresh fallen snow everything looks beautiful. The light through the bedroom window looks as if someone set up flood lights in your yard. Everything looks brand new. What happened to that dingy dirty world that was there last night? It is still there. As a matter of fact when all that fresh fallen snow melts it may even look dirtier and dingier. That's the problem with just covering things up. It doesn't last.

I love the New Living Translation of this same verse. "Come now, let's settle this," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool." God didn't just cover our sins He made them something else, He made them something totally new.

If I make a cake and mix the eggs with the other ingredients you are not going to be able to take those eggs out they are now something completely different. Those eggs no longer exist in their previous form. They don't look like eggs, taste like eggs, because they are not eggs anymore even though they are still in there.

Unlike eggs here in this example and unlike the snow our old nature is not covered up or hidden inside something else we become completely new creatures.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT) "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"

Get to living your new life today. Don't let anyone bring up the old you. That old you doesn't exist if you have been born again. Not born again yet? Then do it right now. Here's how.

Romans 10:9-10 (NKJV) "9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

When you say, "Jesus come into my heart. I believe you were born, died and raised again. I need you to come into my heart and save me from my sin. Make me a new creature." He will do just that. Start the new year off with a new you!

The third generation blessing & the God of our fathers.

12/29/2016

Joshua 24:15 (NIV) "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

I was listening to a preacher on TV the other day and he was talking about the God of his father. He shared the story of how his parents and his grand parents worked so hard to make a living. He spoke of all the money his dad saved and how he was able to pay cash for his current properties. The sacrifices his parents and grand parents made allow him to this day to experience the three ply chord blessing. Their serving God, saving, sharing, preaching and sacrificing brought the blessing of God into his life today.

Matthew 22:32 (NIV) "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living."

It matters what you do today. It matters how you handle money. It matters what God you serve. What you are doing today will affect the generations yet to come. Your children and their children can expereince the blessing or be cursed because of the choices you are making right now.

I know that I am blessed because of my grandfather. He was a godly man. He was the husband of one wife and the father of 9 living children. He worked hard all his life and fed many of his neighbors during the depression. He was a farmer and raised livestock. He prayed. He sang. He loved. I loved my grandfather and I know in part I am living a life of blessing because of his choices and the God he loved and served. I want to leave my children with the third generation blessing.

What about you? What will be said about you when you are gone? Who did you serve? Who did you love? Make this year a year of investment into eternity. Live a life that counts for something.

Listening is for us-- not for God. How to hear better for the New Year.

12/28/2016

Matthew 13:15 (KJV) "For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them."

What areas are you sick in emotionally, physically and financially that people keep bringing up? Areas you are tired of hearing about? Subjects you wish others would just leave alone? We all have them. You know you aren't doing well yet you plung ahead daily trying to ignore or worst yet hating that part of your life. Now what? Ask God for help. Ask God to go ahead and tell you one more time what you need to do--then do it! That's right! This time just do it! Sure it would have been easier to do it years ago but the saying is true, "Better late than never."

Recently at our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services I told several stories and I shared the last two days with you two of them. Jesus spoke in parables often. Allow me to share a portion of scripture with you:

The Parable of the Sower

Matthew 13:13 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” The Purpose of Parables10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

Stories people share with us are to help us when they are spoken from the heart. Let's begin to clean the filter we run our thoughts through. In fact go get a new filter. Filter what people say through love. Example: someone helps you at a restaurant, instead of saying to them, "What you think I'm too stupid to order?" say, "Thank you for your help." Then ask a question, "How did you know to order that? or that, "I needed assistance", or whatever the case. Don't immediately retaliate with, "What you think I'm stupid?" "I could have done that myself!" You can even take it further and tell the person how you felt privately once the waitress has walked away and then ask the person why they did what they did. You may be surprised at the answer you get. Regardless of what you are feeling....most people do not want to purposely hurt the ones they love and spend time with. This situation can turn from toxic to terrific as you both learn what neither of you know.

So stop being so touchy! and hard of hearing. Ask questions and clean your spiritual, emotional and mental ears and filters. Let's get this thing off in the right direction for the NEW YEAR! Can you hear what I'm saying? If so drop me a reply.

Matthew 13:16 (KJV) "But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear;17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."

You Can Tell That He's Been Here~Cleaning up after Christmas.

12/27/2016

Acts 4:13 (KJV) "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus."

My how far we have come since the first Christmas. Now we clean up after Christmas on the first Christmas I would guess they cleaned up before Christmas. Like most mothers I would want a clean place to give birth. I can just imagine Joseph hurrying about spreading fresh hay and looking for a clean and sharp instrument and some clean pieces of material. After Christmas however I can just imagine the beautiful scene--gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.

Yes, we've come along way. Nature gave the beauty and now its Walmart. There laid the reason for the season compared the what lays in the households of today.

This Christmas I vowed to do Christmas a little bit differently next year. Christmas happened to be on Sunday this year so we opened the doors as usual. After all it was His birthday. Next year Christmas is on Monday. I wonder if the doors were to be opened if anyone would come? I guess we will find out.

Keep the REASON for the SEASON the REASON for the SEASON. Mary carried the reson for 9 months. I think I will follow Mary's example.

Why Did He Become One of Us? Because of Love...

12/26/2016

Hebrews 2:17 "So He had to be made like His brothers in every way, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, in order to make atonement for the sins of the people."

Soren Kierkegaard, the great Danish theologian of another century, tells the story of a prince who was running an errand for his father one day in the local village. As he did so, he passed through a very poor section of the town. Looking through the window of his carriage, he saw a beautiful young peasant girl walking along the street. He could not get her off his heart. He continued to come to the town, day after day, just to see her and to feel as though he was near her. His heart yearned for her, but there was a problem. How could he develop a relationship with her? He could order her to marry him. It was in his power to do so. But he wanted this girl to love him from the heart, willingly. He could put on his royal garments and impress her with his regal entourage, and drive up to her front door with soldiers and a carriage drawn by six horses. But if he did this he would never be certain that the girl loved him or was simply overwhelmed with his power, position and wealth. The prince came up with another solution. As you may have guessed, he gave up his kingly robe and symbols of power and privilege. He moved into the village dressed only as a peasant. He lived among the people, shared their interests and concerns, and talked their language. In time, the young peasant girl grew to know him, and then to love him.

John 3:16 (NIV) "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Becoming One of Them~A Christmas Message in a Message

12/23/2016

''And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh . . . " (I Timothy 3:16)

As I am studying all week preparing for our Christmas Eve service and Christmas Day message I happened upon this story that I will be sharing. So here is just a taste of what I will be speaking on. If you don't have a place to go Christmas Eve let me invite you to come join me.

Now the man to whom I’m going to introduce you was not a scrooge; he was a kind, decent, mostly good man. He was generous to his family and upright in his dealings with other men. But he just didn’t believe all that stuff about God becoming a man, which the churches proclaim at Christmas time. It just didn’t make sense, and he was too honest to pretend otherwise.

“I’m truly sorry to distress you,” he told his wife, “but I’m not going with you to church this Christmas Eve.” He said he’d feel like a hypocrite and that he would much rather just stay at home. And so he stayed, and they went to the midnight service.

Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier. Then he went back to his fireside chair to read his newspaper. Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound. Then another and another — sort of a thump or a thud. At first he thought someone must have been throwing snowballs against his living room window.

But when he went to the front door to investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They’d been caught in the storm and, in a desperate search for shelter, had tried to fly through his large landscape window. Well, he couldn’t let the poor creatures lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter, if he could direct the birds to it.

Quickly he put on a coat and galoshes and then he tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on a light, but the birds did not come in. He figured food would entice them. So he hurried back to the house, fetched breadcrumbs and sprinkled them on the snow. He made a trail to the brightly lit, wide-open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the breadcrumbs and continued to flap around helplessly in the snow.

He tried catching them. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them and waving his arms. Instead, they scattered in every direction, except into the warm, lighted barn. And then he realized that they were afraid of him. To them, he reasoned, I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me — that I am not trying to hurt them but to help them. But how?

Any move he made tended to frighten and confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed, because they feared him.

“If only I could be a bird,” he thought to himself, “and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to the safe warm barn. But I would have to be one of them so they could see and hear and understand.”
At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. And he stood there listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. And he sank to his knees in the snow.

“Now I understand,” he whispered. “Now I see why you had to do it. Louis Cassels, 1922-1974

Seeing whats on the inside.

12/22/2016

Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

One of the worst things that can happen first thing in the morning is, to grab a coffee cup from the cupboard fill it with fresh ground french pressed coffee and realize the cup was still dirty. It had been put away dirty.

So when you have an X Ray or CAT Scan or Barium or any number of test they can see your insides. You may feel perfectly fine but the test shows something different. Many people look great on the outside but God looks at our heart. God cares about the inside. If the Lord was too look inside you today what would He find? Would there be unforgiveness, envy, jealousy, hatred or any number of maladies of the spirit, soul and body. There is only one way to clean the inside of our hearts. We must repent and ask God to forgive and cleanse us.

Listen to King David: Psalm 51:10 "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Today ask God to cleanse you. There is a day coming He will be looking inside and it will reveal what manner of man we are.

Everybody needs a friend

12/21/2016

So my little grandson started pre-school. He made a friend we will call her Izzy. The first day of schoolm when it was nap time he went over and pulled his cot up next to hers. The teacher told my daughter when she came to pick him up and my daughter ask if that was okay. The teacher said, "For the first week we will let it go but then we will have to seperate them." When I shared the story with my husband he said, "He's a real man. Men like to have pretty things close to them." Well Izzy remains his friend. They save one another a seat. They celebrate one another. When one or the other gets sick, they miss each other. We all need a friend.

Proverbs 18:24 teaches, “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, / but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Given the fact that we normally think of blood being thicker than water, this proverb is rather jarring: there are ways that a friend can be more faithful than a brother.

Today show yourself friendly. The Bible tells us if we want to have a friend we need to be a friend. Friends mean more to you as you grow older. I encourage you to pull your friends close. We can learn a lot about being a friend from children. They don't judge they just love.

Steels Stand Strong

12/20/2016

Proverbs 27:10 (NIV) "Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative's house when disaster strikes you-- better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away."

This photo is probably from the late 90's. Some of the ladies in this photo are still as close to me as the day this photo was taken. We've buried children, spouses and parents. We've weathered health battles and divorces and still we stand strong together. These are the friends that I have done life with and still journey to the unknown future with. These are my friends. We are now enjoying our children's children. We share stories and enjoy one another's photos. Together life has been better. So why am I writing this?

Because these were the days that life was lived in person. We didn't do text or Facebook we did some ole fashioned face time without an Apple device in hand. I want to share because I don't want these tyoes of relationships lost to the future generations of women. I want to dublicate myself in others not so others can be me but so they can be themselves. How did we manage life without electronics and modern day devices?

We helped one another. We watched one anothers children. We shared meals. We helped one another with projects, house cleaning, laundry and cookie baking. We learned from one anothers mistakes and victories. We encouraged one another to do right, stay married and not give up or give in. These were my good old days. But it didn't stop there because these are the better days. These days are not better because times have changed, we have changed and now we are older, but these are the better days because of the investments and choices we made then. We chose right. We chose work. We chose family, faith and fellowship. These are what made us better. When we are better life is better.

The ladies I have done life with are friends but so are their parents my friend and so are thier children my friends. See life is a very long list of special people that bring into our lives special people. Someone recently gave me an early Christmas gift. It is a wooden plaque that reads, "Great women raise great women who raise great women." Yes we are. We are the builders of others who in turn will build others.

I challenge you to be great. To be great you need to serve an even greater God. Serve a vision and purpose greater than your own. Be what you are looking for and in the process you will find not only yourself but the greatness in others.

Finding Our Purpose From Jeremiah #47-The last in the series. Look beyond the temporal to the eternal.

12/19/2016

Jeremiah was set aside before birth to take a message to the nations, urging a change of heart and turning to the one true God. His message still applies.

Prior to their captivity, God told the people of Judah: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:11-13).

Jeremiah was often inspired to look beyond the distressing scenes of the present to the hope of a glorious future when God’s people would return from the land of the enemy back to their homeland (Jeremiah 31:12). The final fulfillment will come when Jesus Christ returns to establish the Kingdom of God.

Prophets of God often performed a dual role. One was to warn a wicked nation of God’s judgments while powerfully calling on them to repent and turn from their sins. And the other was to build up and encourage the faithful of that time as well as us today to remain steadfast in living godly lives and to stay close to God in order to weather the increase in wickedness.

Such will be the conditions in the world before Christ’s return (Matthew 24:11-12). God’s servants must boldly preach a message of warning and repentance to the nations (Matthew 24:14; Mark 16:15-16) and also a message of comfort and hope to those who fear God and do His will (Romans 2:7-8; James 5:7-8, 11).

This message is called the gospel of the Kingdom, and we need to understand it and respond.

Jeremiah’s message fell largely on deaf ears. Few responded. Those few who did preserved their own lives and those of their loved ones.

Find your destiny. It may not be a life of luxury or one that brings you fame and fortune but in the end all that matters is did you do what God called you to do. Jeremiah did. You can too.