abandoned to Christ.

Do words really matter? Does the true meaning of words really matter? Does it matter how we use words, when we say them, and to whom we attribute them? The Holy Spirit of God inspired King David to write: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD , my Rock and my Redeemer." ~ Psalm 19:14 Our Savior Jesus Christ, when He was here, said: "I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." ~ Matthew 12:36-37 It is apparent that according to God, words are very important; how we use them, what we mean by them, when we say them and to whom we attribute them. After all, it is also written in Scripture through the Apostle John that: "In the beginning was the Word , and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 Jesus Himself is the Word of God. God chose to r...

...independent ...lazy ...hateful and judgmental I am also one who has been saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, and not of myself, so that I may never boast. My salvation is a gift from God that was never imparted to me based on who I am or what I have ever done or will ever do [Ephesians 2:-9]. God saved my wretched and utterly sinful soul based on His righteousness alone, by His grace, His abounding compassion and unending mercy. God saved me, not because it made Him feel better or would bring any benefit to Him. For what has man ever given to God that God should owe him anything [Job 41:11]? God is God. He is fulfilled in Himself. We are not God and cannot satisfy ourselves with anything; although all of us have tried and at times; and still do [Isaiah 55:2-3]. But because I am saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, because God has granted me the gift of repentance that leads to salvation [2 Corinthians 7:10]; I am now someone I could've never m...

...who humble themselves. All my life, I've heard differently. I've heard, "God helps those who help themselves." As with many things, I believed it because, well, for the most part, it sounded right. It sounded like something that could be and should be true. Fortunately for all of us, it's not true and is not found anywhere in Scripture. Here are some Scriptures that remind us God does not help those who can help themselves, instead the Lord our God helps those who humble themselves; crying out to Him out of their help less ness , and not out of their ability to "help" themselves. "The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help . From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry to Him reached His ears.... For You save a humble people, but the haughty eyes your bring down. " ~ ...

"Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it" -- when you have it with you." ~ Proverbs 3:27-28 And who are the ones who are "due" good done to them? Everyone in whom the LORD our God says; for truly no human being is worthy or owed (due) any good from God, but we are lavished by His love, mercy and grace in spite of ourselves (Luke 6:35). Key Passages: Exodus 35:4-9 "Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, "This is the thing that the LORD has commanded. Take from among you a contribution to the LORD. Whoever is of a generous heart , let him bring the LORD's contribution ; gold, silver, and bronze; blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen; goats' hair, tanned rams' skins, and goatskins; acacia wood, oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense...

Good day precious sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ! Below is one of the sources God has provided me to use for my personal praise and quiet time. We use these as our family breakfast devotionals as well. I encourage you to sign up for these so that you may also be blessed and strengthened in the word of our awesome Father God as you daily strive to meditate on His Law and His holy precepts. This particular message is so timely as our brother Mark Roberts reminds us that although our world seems to spiral into the abyss of ungodliness, as God's children our hope is not in this world or society's view, but on the LORD God Most High and His view of things here on earth. God is still on the throne - so all is well. ♥ May the Lord our God bless you this day sisters as He directs you into His love and Christ's perseverance! Daily Reflection by Mark D. Roberts Laity Lodge Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence What Can We Do If the Foundations of Society Collapse? ...

"And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' And I said, 'Who are You, Lord?' and the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.' " ~ Acts 26:14 - 15 The first thing that comes to most of our minds when we think about the phrase "persecuting Jesus", we think about those abroad who are brutally beating and/or killing Christians. It seems our minds often carry us to the extreme when we consider most things. At least, that's the way my mind works. But the Lord our God's mind doesn't work that way. He cares intimately about every minute detail, i.e., God has numbered every hair on our heads ( Matthew 10:30 ), God stores every tear in a bottle ( Psalm 56:8 ), the Lord considers any who angrily slanders or hates another to be a murderer ( Matthew 5:21-22 & 1 John 3:15 ), and our holy Go...

servant n. ~ a person employed by another, esp. to perform domestic duties. bondservant n. ~ a person bound to service without wages . Every time I read in Scripture "servant of Christ Jesus" or something of the like, I used to only have the concept that it meant I was "in His service". But without really considering it, I had been "in His service" most often than not, in order to receive a reward; whether here on earth (like accolades and praise) or in Heaven - our eternal treasures. But as time passed, I began to cringe at the thought of doing anything in the name of Jesus, for any kind of "reward", even heavenly rewards. To encourage me through difficult trials, people have often said, "Press on Sunny, press on! You know this is for your eternal reward! You'll have treasure in Heaven, far better than any of this and a crown of glory!" Now, I know that they all meant well, but still, inside - I would cringe. I began a...

I've always told my boys one of my most favorite things is to be found in error by anyone I've ever taught (whether my own children or those God has graciously given me to disciple or counsel). I know that sounds a bit strange, but after I explain why, I'm sure you'll desire this as well. Any teacher is blessed to see their student(s) not only has actually paid close attention to their lessons, but have also trained themselves to apply what they've learned - through research, much study, meditation and personal reflection. Now, when it comes to being a mother training up her children in "the Way they should go" ( Proverbs 22:6 ), her greatest desire is that her children learn to walk in the truth as they themselves begin to study Scripture on their own; testing everything ( Acts 17:10-11 , 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 , 1 John 4:1 ), from having been taught that only God is perfectly omniscient and all human beings (including mom) are fallible. With this u...

I've always heard, “Live every day as if it were your last.” On the surface, this statement sounds thoughtful, but looking deeper, its foundation is self-centered. Therefore, I'd like to propose another statement that I feel is more in line with God's word: Live each day as if it were everyone else's last day. If today was your husband's, you wife's, your children's, your mother's, father's, aunt's, uncle's, or best friend's last day, what would you do differently? What things would be important to you...enough to fight and argue about? What would you say to them and what would you do for them ? I guess before any of us can answer that question, we'd first have to consider, is this person saved? If they are, then I'm sure most of us would quickly humble ourselves and lavish them with the awesome love of Christ as He commanded us to do as His Church. We would quickly throw away any differences, any malice any discourse th...