Monday, July 31, 2023

Thankful for my very own Mathematician

 Genesis 2:24

..."For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. "...
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"...Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her"...
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Friday, July 28, 2023

The Strongest Among Us...


"
Save me, O God, by Your name,

And vindicate me by Your power.


Hear my prayer, O God;

Give ear to the words of my mouth.


For strangers have risen against me

And violent men have sought my life;

They have not set God before them.

Behold, God is my helper;

The Lord is the sustainer of my soul.


He will recompense the evil to my foes;

Destroy them in Your faithfulness."

Willingly I will sacrifice to You;

I will give thanks to Your name, 
O Lord, for it is good.


For He has delivered me from all trouble,

And my eye has looked with satisfaction upon my enemies."
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And so my higher calling is to continue to PRAY to You, oh, LORD...
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Monday, July 24, 2023

A Friend Does NOT take Advantage of you.

Friends come in many varieties...


...but beware - friends who take advantage of you ARE NOT friends.
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..."Woe to those who call evil good
 and good evil,

who put darkness for light
 and light for darkness,

who put bitter for sweet
 and sweet for bitter.

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
 and clever in their own sight."...
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Monday, July 17, 2023

Trust in the LORD

1 John 4:15-21 

..."Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.


We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. 


God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 


By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.


There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.


We love, because He first loved us.


If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.


And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also."

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Friday, July 14, 2023

"A Pandemic of Cruelty"

"There is a pandemic in the Western world — especially, but not only, in America — that few are talking about, let alone addressing.


This pandemic doesn’t actually kill people. But it does destroy people, ruin lives, crush families and cause permanent, debilitating pain — far more than have the vast majority of cases of COVID-19.


This pandemic consists of adult children who have decided never again to speak to one or both of their parents. The vast majority of these people were never sexually or physically abused. In fact, nearly all were loved by their parents.

….

In our post-biblical age, there are no Ten Commandments. In fact, there are no commandments, period. That’s what “no shoulds” was all about — no Commandments. Instead, you do what you feel is right. If you don’t feel like talking to your mother or father, you don’t. My father, governed by the Ten Commandments and many other shoulds, called his mother every night despite the fact that he rarely felt like doing so. 


Though the Bible commands us to love our neighbor, love the stranger and love God, there is no commandment to love our parents. On the other hand, there is no commandment to honor anyone except our parents."...


Dennis Prager, A Pandemic of Cruelty 

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Psalm 18:1-3

“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."...


Psalm 55

Give ear to my prayer, O God;


And do not hide Yourself from my supplication.



Give heed to me and answer me;


I am restless in my complaint 

and am surely distracted,


Because of the voice of the enemy,


Because of the pressure of the wicked;


For they bring down trouble upon me


And in anger they bear a grudge against me.


My heart is in anguish within me,


And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.



Fear and trembling come upon me,


And horror has overwhelmed me.



I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!


I would fly away and be at rest.
“


"Behold, I would wander far away,


I would lodge in the wilderness. 

“I would hasten to my place of refuge

From the stormy wind and tempest.”


Confuse, O Lord, divide their tongues,


For I have seen violence and strife in the city.



Day and night they go around her upon her walls,


And iniquity and mischief are in her midst.



Destruction is in her midst;


Oppression and deceit 

do not depart from her streets.


For it is not an enemy 

who reproaches me,


Then I could bear it;


Nor is it one who hates me 

who has exalted himself against me,


Then I could hide myself from him.



But it is you, a man my equal,

My companion and my familiar friend;


We who had sweet fellowship together


Walked in the house of God in the throng.



Let death come deceitfully upon them;


Let them go down alive to Sheol,


For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.


As for me, I shall call upon God,


And the Lord will save me.



Evening and morning and at noon, 

I will complain and murmur,


And He will hear my voice.



He will redeem my soul in peace 

from the battle which is against me,


For they are many who strive with me.



God will hear and answer them—


Even the one who sits enthroned from of old—.


With whom there is no change,


And who do not fear God.

He has put forth his hands 

against those who were at peace with him;


He has violated his covenant.



His speech was smoother than butter,


But his heart was war;


His words were softer than oil,


Yet they were drawn swords.


Cast your burden upon the Lord 

and He will sustain you;


He will never allow 

the righteous to be shaken.

But You, O God, will bring them down 

to the pit of destruction;


Men of bloodshed and deceit 

will not live out half their days.

But I will trust in You."

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Tuesday, July 11, 2023

Conversations

Colossians 4:6


..."Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person."...


..."Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. 

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you."


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

James 1:19,21-23,25

..."This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God....

Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was....

But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does."...
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Thursday, July 6, 2023

Understanding, Compassion, Dignity...

Matthew 25:34-40

Jesus speaking:

...“Then the King will say to those on His right, 


‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.


For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 


Then the righteous will answer Him, 


‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 


And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 


When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 


The King will answer and say to them,


Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’...

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Wednesday, July 5, 2023

We are Thankful for our Freedoms!

"...We hold these truths to be self-evident, 
that all men are created equal, 
that they are endowed by their Creator 
with certain unalienable Rights, 
that among these are 
Life, Liberty 
and the pursuit of Happiness..."
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Sunday, July 2, 2023

Happy Birthday to the USA!

-When prompted about his love of country and what “America” meant to him, Audie Murphy  responded: 

“It’s in a Texas rodeo, in a policeman’s badge, in the sound of laughing children, in a political rally, in a newspaper…

In all these things, and many more, you’ll find America.  

In all theses things, you’ll find freedom. 

And freedom is what America means to the world. 

And to me.”
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