Patriotism in the Midwest

 

Just as we see patriotism around the midwest - so there is the love of our Savior Jesus among many of the people. 

The world may overwhelm us, but the LORD holds our lives. He can hold yours also if you do not know Him yet.

Just sincerely ask to be His child.

Read the whole Book of John to know who Jesus really is.

John 3:16-21...“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 

He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.

For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”...

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Devastations

 

Market street San Francisco after 1906 earthquake

We have all witnessed, if only viewing them, devastations of one kind or another all through time.

For most people it breaks our hearts, it grieves us so, it brings our sense of humanity "out on our sleeves".

I, personally, have seen many tragedies, but not as much as others have. 

Why is this happening? 

Why can't we stop "whatever"? 

Why can't people just be kind?......

The answer in a broad term is sin (that which is wrong before God). 

This beautiful world is full of sinners. 

Some of these sinners are true Christians (saved by Jesus' Grace).  Being sinners, though, these people can be kind and compassionate or sometimes just as cruel as the unsaved. 

The difference between Christian sinners and unsaved sinners is that we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us for guidance, giving us strength, and making us aware of our sins so we will choose to stop sinning with His help. We have been set free from the slavery of sin!

Our job is to listen to the LORD. When we do this we will choose NOT to sin against others.

Other people - those not saved by Jesus's Grace - are just plain old sinners so they can be kind, thoughtless, cruel, to just really mean and evil. They do not have the Holy Spirit indwelling them to give guidance and strength to overcome sin. They are slaves to sin.

Ephesians 2:1-9

"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience... 

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him... 

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast..."

So what do we do while we seemingly watch our world crash and burn around us?

We who are Believers in Jesus, saved by His death and resurrection to life again, are to live our lives for Him. 

Our job never stops no matter what is happening. 

Everyday we can shine for Him, by prayers, actions, talking, listening and responding.

If you are not saved by Jesus' marvelous Grace then you should be thinking right now about what is really important to you. Life is short, we all need to make life saving decisions now.

How to be saved:

Romans 10:9-10

..."if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."... 

Interested?

Fearful? See: Psalm 73:26"My flesh and my heart may fail,

But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

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Amid Dark Times the LORD's Creation Shines!

 

Psalm 92:1-5, 13-15

It is good to give thanks to the Lord

And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;

To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning

And Your faithfulness by night,

With the ten-stringed lute and with the harp,

With resounding music upon the lyre.

For You, O Lord, have made me glad by what You have done,

I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.

How great are Your works, O Lord!...

...The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree,


He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

Planted in the house of the Lord,


They will flourish in the courts of our God.

They will still yield fruit in old age;


They shall be full of sap and very green,

To declare that the Lord is upright;


He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

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YIKES! I don't usually bring my cow with me.

 

And just so you know: We were taught to wash our hands when we were wee tikes.

It is Good to Sing Praises to our God!

 

Psalm 147 

Praise the Lord!


For it is good to sing praises to our God;


For it is pleasant and praise is becoming.

The Lord builds up Jerusalem;


He gathers the outcasts of Israel.

 

He heals the brokenhearted


And binds up their wounds.

He counts the number of the stars;


He gives names to all of them.

Great is our Lord and abundant in strength;


His understanding is infinite.

The Lord supports the afflicted;


He brings down the wicked to the ground.

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;


Sing praises to our God on the lyre,

Who covers the heavens with clouds,


Who provides rain for the earth,


Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.

He gives to the beast its food,


And to the young ravens which cry.

He does not delight in the strength of the horse;


He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man.

The Lord favors those who fear Him,


Those who wait for His lovingkindness.

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!


Praise your God, O Zion!

For He has strengthened the bars of your gates;


He has blessed your sons within you.

 

He makes peace in your borders;


He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat.

He sends forth His command to the earth;


His word runs very swiftly.

He gives snow like wool;


He scatters the frost like ashes.

He casts forth His ice as fragments;


Who can stand before His cold?

He sends forth His word and melts them;


He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow.

He declares His words to Jacob,


His statutes and His ordinances to Israel.

He has not dealt thus with any nation;


And as for His ordinances, 

they have not known them.


Praise the Lord!

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Sing to Him, Play Skillfully with a Shout of Joy!

Psalm 33 

Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones;


Praise is becoming to the upright.

Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;


Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.

Sing to Him a new song;


Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

For the word of the Lord is upright,

And all His work is done in faithfulness.

He loves righteousness and justice;


The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,


And by the breath of His mouth all their host.

He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;


He lays up the deeps in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the Lord;


Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

For He spoke, and it was done;


He commanded, and it stood fast.

The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations;


He frustrates the plans of the peoples.

 

The counsel of the Lord stands forever,


The plans of His heart from generation to generation.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,


The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.

The Lord looks from heaven;


He sees all the sons of men;

From His dwelling place He looks out


On all the inhabitants of the earth,

He who fashions the hearts of them all,


He who understands all their works.

The king is not saved by a mighty army;


A warrior is not delivered by great strength.

A horse is a false hope for victory;


Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,


On those who hope for His lovingkindness,

To deliver their soul from death


And to keep them alive in famine.

Our soul waits for the Lord;


He is our help and our shield.

For our heart rejoices in Him,


Because we trust in His holy name.

Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us,


According as we have hoped in You.

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Patriotism in the Midwest

 

Maps or Apps?

 

Pray for Us!

 

"Rejoice always; 

pray without ceasing; 

in everything give thanks; 

for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

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"Pray for us!"

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The Imitation of Strength

Legalism vs The One True God

In general Legalism finds strength in one leader and their own, ever changing rules.  

This Legalistic Leader may use the God of the Bible's Words, but only to pervert it for their own uses.

????Questions???? 

Sometimes followers of a Legalistic Leader may wonder about how "this or that" actually follows God's Word.

* In general Legalistic Leaders must be followed without question* 

Most times the followers are afraid to ask questions and so the Legalistic Leader continues in their totalitarian rule with little trouble from their ineffective followers. 

These followers find their strength in a flawed human, following blindly - with reality being that they are following an imitation of real strength.

Real vs Fake 

With God's Word other people follow real Truth.

These people read and listen to what the God of the Bible says and they trust Him.

They trust Him, having faith in Him even when their own world crumbles in front of them.  

Their faith in the one true God - not a faulty leader -  is steady even through traumas and tears.  

He always stays the same; He keeps His Word; He comforts the wounded and lifts their head.  

These people draw ever closer to God - trusting Him more deeply as time goes by.

That is Real Strength.

Which do you desire?  

Imitation or the Real Deal?

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