The LORD God is Our Only Helper

John 16
Jesus says, 1 “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling....

...29His disciples said, 

“Lo, now You are speaking plainly and are not using a figure of speech. Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God.”

Jesus answered them, 

“Do you now believe? 

Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.

These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Let We Broken Ones Be a Beautiful Fragrance to the LORD as We Wait

I am blessed and thankful so many of you have been encouraged concerning my posts with Prayers for Prodigals by R.J. Reinhard. All of our prayers are precious in God's sight, but I  sometimes read through "Prayers for Prodigals" as good way to think rightly when praying for my Waywards.

Any one of us can be a Prodigal. We need to pray for ourselves sometimes as well as the others in our lives who are following their own way instead of our LORD God in His truth.

We may have a friend who is a Prodigal, or a son or a daughter, a spouse, a mother, a father, an Aunt, an Uncle, Grandma, Grandpa....

This important list can be endless! 

When any one of our own precious people become wayward from the LORD it is personal to us and heart-wrenching! 

We can PRAY and PRAY and PRAY......

The LORD certainly hears our cries!

Psalm 34:4, 15
"I sought the Lord, 
and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.

The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
And His ears are open to their cry."

Psalm 40:1
"I waited patiently for the Lord;

And He inclined to me and heard my cry.

Eventually our cries to God can become so huge and so deep inside of us that they are simply groans which only the Holy Spirit can interpret. We may become discouraged, but we only need to remember that the LORD God hears our cries even if we can not express them the way we desire.

Romans 8:26-28
"In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; 
for we do not know how to pray as we should, 
but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with 
groanings too deep for words;
and He who searches the hearts 
knows what the mind of the Spirit is, 
because He intercedes for the saints 
according to the will of God.

And we know that God causes all things 
to work together for good to those who love God, 
to those who are called according to His purpose." 

No matter where you are in your agonies and in your praying for your Prodigals you can find solace in His precious Word. 

*Continue to RUN to HIM!* He is our safety even when our world seemingly is falling apart!

Psalm18:1-6
“I love You, O Lord, my strength.”

The Lord is my rock and my fortress 
and my deliverer, 
My God, my rock, 
in whom I take refuge;

My shield and the horn of my salvation, 
my stronghold.

I call upon the Lord, 
who is worthy to be praised,

And I am saved from my enemies.

The cords of death encompassed me,

And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me.

The cords of Sheol surrounded me;

The snares of death confronted me.

In my distress I called upon the Lord,

And cried to my God for help;

He heard my voice out of His temple,

And my cry for help before Him came into His ears."

Psalm 118:1-9
"For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Oh let Israel say,

“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

Oh let the house of Aaron say,

“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

Oh let those who fear the Lord say,

“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

From my distress I called upon the Lord;

The Lord answered me 
and set me in a large place.

The Lord is for me; I will not fear;

What can man do to me?

The Lord is for me among those who help me;

Therefore I will look with satisfaction 
on those who hate me.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord
 
than to trust in man.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord
 
than to trust in princes."

We are to be in His Word everyday, but life overwhelms us and sometimes reading His Word is pushed to the sidelines.

Reading His Word needs to be a staple in our diet!

*All of Psalm 119 
(you will find it divided into 8 verses in each section, it is an excellent read!)

"How blessed are those whose way is blameless,
Who walk in the law of the Lord.

How blessed are those who observe His testimonies,
Who seek Him with all their heart.

They also do no unrighteousness;
They walk in His ways.

You have ordained Your precepts,
That we should keep them diligently.

Oh that my ways may be established
To keep Your statutes!

Then I shall not be ashamed
When I look upon all Your commandments.

I shall give thanks to You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.

I shall keep Your statutes;
Do not forsake me utterly!..."

When those we love choose a wayward path we are beside ourselves! 

Anxiety, anxiousness, fears, worry, concern, grief, despair, hopelessness, agonies, etc. begin to rule our very being. Our whole aim is "them" and what can we do to help them, change them....

I would counsel that we can do what we can, and then we need to allow the LORD to do His work in them. The LORD God Almighty knows their situation completely. He is the One who can work in them and in His right timing. 

This does NOT mean we just give up on our wayward loved ones. 

We can choose to continue to read God's Word, we can pray for our Waywards, and we need to live one day at a time for the LORD. 

FYI: Living one day at a time for Him is what we are suppose to do every day no matter if we have strive or not! 

How do we live for Him when we are in such agonies?!

We must live in HIS JOY! We need to find our own safety in Him. We need to learn to rest in Him while we wait. Waiting can take a lifetime. Are you willing to live your life for the LORD while you wait for His right timing with your Waywards?

Living right now, every day, every moment for the LORD is worth it! 

Don't wait until your Waywards turn around! We have our very own lives to live for Him! Let us glorify God right now, every moment because we love Him more than life itself!

Our lives should be a beautiful fragrance to the LORD no matter if we are happy as can be or living in agonies.

Philippians 4:4-9
"Rejoice in the Lord always; 
again I will say, rejoice!

Let your gentle spirit be known 
to all men. The Lord is near.

Be anxious for nothing, 
but in everything by prayer 
and supplication with thanksgiving 
let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God, 
which surpasses all comprehension, 
will guard your hearts and your minds 
in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, 
whatever is true, 
whatever is honorable, 
whatever is right, 
whatever is pure, 
whatever is lovely, 
whatever is of good repute, 
if there is any excellence 
and if anything worthy of praise, 
dwell on these things.

The things you have learned 
and received 
and heard 
and seen in me, 
practice these things, 
and the God of peace will be with you."

and again:
Psalm 40:1-4
"I waited patiently for the Lord;

And He inclined to me 
and heard my cry.


He brought me up out of 
the pit of destruction,
out of the miry clay,

And He set my feet upon a rock 
making my footsteps firm.


He put a new song in my mouth, 
a song of praise to our God;

Many will see and fear

And will trust in the Lord.


How blessed is the man 
who has made the Lord his trust,

And has not turned to the proud,
nor to those who lapse into falsehood."
*
Let we who are so broken 
because of our Waywards 
be a beautiful fragrance 
to our wonderful LORD God!

Sweet Memories

-Mary Engelbreit

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace

Streams of mercy, never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount, I'm fixed upon it
Mount of Thy redeeming love

Here I raise my Ebenezer
Here there by Thy great help I've come
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood

Oh, that day when freed from sinning
I shall see Thy lovely face
Clothed then in the blood washed linen
How I'll sing Thy wondrous grace
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry
Take my ransomed soul away
Send Thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day

Oh, to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be
Let that goodness like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, oh, take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

-Robert Robinson

MondaysTuesdaysWednesdaysThursdaysFridaysSaturdaysSundays...

PSALM 71
"In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge;

Let me never be ashamed.


In Your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;

Incline Your ear to me and save me.


Be to me a rock of habitation to which I may continually come;

You have given commandment to save me,

For You are my rock and my fortress.


Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,

Out of the grasp of the wrongdoer and ruthless man,

For You are my hope;

O Lord God, You are my confidence from my youth.


By You I have been sustained from my birth;

You are He who took me from my mother’s womb;

My praise is continually of You.

I have become a marvel to many,

For You are my strong refuge.


My mouth is filled with Your praise

And with Your glory all day long.


Do not cast me off in the time of old age;

Do not forsake me when my strength fails.


For my enemies have spoken against me;

And those who watch for my life have consulted together,

Saying, 

“God has forsaken him;

Pursue and seize him, 
for there is no one to deliver.”

O God, do not be far from me;

O my God, hasten to my help!


Let those who are adversaries of my soul be ashamed 
and consumed;

Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor, 
who seek to injure me.


But as for me, I will hope continually,

And will praise You yet more and more.


My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness

And of Your salvation all day long;

For I do not know the sum of them.


I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord God;

I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone.

O God, You have taught me from my youth,

And I still declare Your wondrous deeds.


And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me,

Until I declare Your strength to this generation,

Your power to all who are to come.


For Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens,

You who have done great things;
 O God, who is like You?


You who have shown me many troubles 
and distresses
 will revive me again,

And will bring me up again from the depths of the earth.


May You increase my greatness

And turn to comfort me.

I will also praise You with a harp, 
even Your truth, O my God;

To You I will sing praises with the lyre, 
O Holy One of Israel.


My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You;

And my soul, which You have redeemed.


My tongue also will utter Your righteousness all day long;

For they are ashamed, for they are humiliated who seek my hurt."
*

Hope for a Glorious New Day!

I Want To Stroll Over Heaven With You

If I surveyed all the good things that come to me from above

If I count all the blessings from the storehouse of love

I'd simply ask for a favor of Him beyond mortal king

And I'm sure that He'd grant it again

I want to stroll over Heaven with you some glad day

When all our troubles and heartaches are vanished away

Then we'll enjoy the beauty where all things are new

I want to stroll over Heaven with you

So many places of beauty we long to see here below

But time and treasures have kept us from making plans as you know

But come the morning of the rapture together we'll stand anew

While I stroll over Heaven with you

I want to stroll over Heaven with you some glad day

When all our troubles and heartaches are vanished away

Then we'll enjoy the beauty where all things are new

I want to stroll over Heaven with you

I want to stroll over Heaven with you

-Alan Jackson

*

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

" ...For the Lord Himself 

will descend from heaven 

with a shout, 

with the voice of the archangel 

and with the trumpet of God, 

and the dead in Christ 

will rise first.

Then we who are alive 

and remain will be 

caught up together with them 

in the clouds 

to meet the Lord in the air, 

and so we shall always 

be with the Lord.

Therefore 

comfort one another 

with these words."

*

Standing up and Sitting down

"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; 

courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen."

--Winston Churchill

 cited in The Smart Words and Wicked Wit of Winston Churchill, 

edited by Max Morris, pg.18

*
1 Thessalonians 5
Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, 
you have no need of anything to be written to you.
For you yourselves know full well 
that the day of the Lord will come 
just like a thief in the night.

While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then 
destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains 
upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.

But you, brethren, are not in darkness, 
that the day would overtake you like a thief;
for you are all sons of light and sons of day.
We are not of night nor of darkness;
so then let us not sleep as others do, 
but let us be alert and sober.

For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, 
and those who get drunk get drunk at night.
But since we are of the day, 
let us be sober, 
having put on 
the breastplate of faith and love, 
and as a helmet,
 the hope of salvation.

For God has not destined us for wrath, 
but for obtaining salvation 
through our Lord Jesus Christ, 
who died for us, 
so that whether we are awake or asleep,
 we will live together with Him.

Therefore encourage one another and build up 
one another, just as you also are doing.

But we request of you, brethren, 
that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, 
and have charge over you in the Lord and 
give you instruction, 
and that you esteem them very highly in love 
because of their work. 

Live in peace with one another.

We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, 
encourage the fainthearted, 
help the weak, 
be patient with everyone.

See that no one repays another with evil for evil, 
but always seek after that 
which is good for one another and for all people.

Rejoice always; 
pray without ceasing;
in everything give thanks; 
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Do not quench the Spirit; 
do not despise prophetic utterances.

But examine everything carefully; 
hold fast to that which is good;
abstain from every form of evil.

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; 
and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, 
without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Faithful is He who calls you, 
and He also will bring it to pass.

Brethren, pray for us.

Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.
I adjure you by the Lord to have this letter read 
to all the brethren.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
*

Time for Polar Bears to be put away for Spring!

Can't do a thing without a kitty helper.

*

A Long Winter's Nap

Wild Wolverines need their rest.

Happy Valentine's Day

Every thing is coming up reds and pinks!

This would be so wonderful to make and put together!

Happy Valentine's Day! Just wear pink or red for fun!

Whiter than White is White as Snow!

It snowed again last night. The fluffy flakes fell so gentle and pretty from the afternoon into the late night. It was "warmish" so the fluffy snow began to stick onto every tree and bush like icing covering everything. The landscape was like a beautiful Christmas card.

This morning the sun came out with a blue sky and the temperatures had dropped to one degree. The old snow which had turned crusty, chunky, and dirty was all covered with the new snowfall. 

White as snow.

White as snow.

As I drove to and from my destination the new blanket was impressive and the whiteness was incredible. I once again could only think, "white as snow". 

This new snow covered every thing, every yucky, dirty thing. All of my world was so white and clean. The whiteness struck me. What do we have that is so white? Anything we have which is white decays or becomes dirty.

Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool."

No matter how sinful we are right now, no matter how dirty our past has been, we can truly become white as snow when we have Jesus as our Savior! When we accept Him as our sacrifice His precious blood covers over all our dirtiness, all of our sins! 

Psalm 51:7
Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

How can we ever be white as snow? How can we ever rid ourselves of our pasts?

Jesus Christ of the Bible is how! We must stop being a slave to our sins and our past! Cry out to Him, seek first His kingdom:

Matthew 6:25-34 
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, 
as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, 
as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the 
body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap 
nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 
Are you not worth much more than they?

And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?

And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies 
of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to 
you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one 
of these.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today 
and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more 
clothe you? You of little faith!

Do not worry then, saying, 

‘What will we eat?’ or 

‘What will we drink?’ or 

‘What will we wear for clothing?’

For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly 
Father knows that you need all these things.

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things 
will be added to you.

So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Find your white as snow safety in the Lord Jesus!

*

It is too early for us, but wouldn't these be wonderful for Valentine's Day?!

"Consider the lilies, how they grow: 
they neither toil nor spin; but I tell 
you, not even Solomon in all his glory 
clothed himself like one of these."
Luke 12:27
*

Three Valentine Kitties for Three Precious Ladies

*

Learn Compassion 101

Compassion matters in this evil world.
If you, saved by God's grace in Jesus Christ, 
do not know how to show it, it is time for 
you to learn how to do so.

Proverbs 11:24-25
"One person gives freely, yet gains even more;
    
another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

A generous person will prosper;
    
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed."

Romans 12:8d-21
"...he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; 
cling to what is good.

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; 
give preference to one another in honor; not lagging 
behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted 
to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, 
practicing hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those 
who weep.

Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be 
be wise in your own estimation.

Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is 
right in the sight of all men. 

If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with 
all men.

Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room 
for the wrath of God, for it is written, 

“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

“But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, 
give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals 
on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
*

"Refueled" in God's Love, His Word

Life can be busy. Life can be tough. Life can overwhelm.

Because of this we can "forget" we are dearly loved by the LORD.

When we forget to read His Word our lives become more strenuous. 

We need to "refuel" in Him every day!

*
Psalm 32
"How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,

Whose sin is covered!

How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not 
impute iniquity,
 and in whose spirit there is no deceit!

When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away

Through my groaning all day long.

For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;

My vitality was drained away as with the fever 
heat of summer. 

I acknowledged my sin to You, 
and my iniquity I did not hide;

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;

And You forgave the guilt of my sin.

Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You 
in a time when You may be found;
 Surely in a flood 
of great waters they will not reach Him.

You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble;

You surround me with songs of deliverance. 

I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;

I will counsel you with My eye upon you.

Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no 
understanding,
 whose trappings include bit and bridle 
to hold them in check,
 otherwise they will not come near to you.

Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
 but he who trusts in the Lord, 
lovingkindness shall surround him.

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;

And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart."
*