Sheeples with Freedom

"When the people fear the government, 

there is tyranny; 

when the government fears the people, 

there is liberty."

-Thomas Jefferson

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God's Creation

-internet meme

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God's Protection of His people:

Psalm 91

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.


I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,


My God, in whom I trust!”


For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper


And from the deadly pestilence.


He will cover you with His pinions,


And under His wings you may seek refuge;

His faithfulness is a shield and a bulwark.


You will not be afraid of the terror by night,


Or of the arrow that flies by day;


Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,


Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.


A thousand may fall at your side


And ten thousand at your right hand,


But it shall not approach you.


You will only look on with your eyes


And see the recompense of the wicked.


For you have made the Lord, my refuge,


Even the Most High, your dwelling place.


No evil will befall you,


Nor will any plague come near your tent.

For He will give His angels charge concerning you,


To guard you in all your ways.


They will bear you up in their hands,


That you do not strike your foot against a stone.


You will tread upon the lion and cobra,


The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.

“Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;


I will set him securely on high, 

because he has known My name.


“He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;


I will be with him in trouble;


I will rescue him and honor him.


“With a long life I will satisfy him


And let him see My salvation.”

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Snow Sentry

-ROSE is ROSE

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Stresses and Storms

 -Yellowstone FB

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Sometimes the Lord's way is hard,

Leading through many stresses and storms;

But Satan's harsh touch is barred,

And God's character He surely forms.

Though you nearly tasted death,

You've learned how God sovereignly spares;

He renewed your life and breath,

Displaying how graciously He cares.

Yet today still unrevealed,

He has made for you a perfect plan;

Just follow the path He's willed,

And you'll soon become a godly man.

-James Reimann

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A Heart of JOY!

-Scotland FB

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"May we learn that 

in all the difficult places

 Gods takes us, 

He is giving us opportunities to

 exercise our faith 

in Him that will 

bring about blessed results 

and greatly glorify His name."

-Life of Praise,Streams in the Desert, 1/18

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"Only the soul that knows the mighty grief

Can know the mighty rapture.

Sorrows come to stretch out spaces 

in the heart for joy."

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God so Loved the World

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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Glory to God!

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Ephesians 2:8-9

True Justice

-Swans, Yellowstone Winter, FB

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From Zechariah 7:9-10 which we should certainly heed:

“Thus has the Lord of hosts said, 

‘Dispense true justice

and practice kindness 

and compassion each to his brother; 

and do not oppress the widow 

or the orphan, 

the stranger 

or the poor; 

and do not devise evil in your hearts 

against one another.’

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The Divine Art of Comfort

-FB England 

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Isaiah 40:1

“Comfort, O comfort My people,” 

says your God."....

"Store up comfort. This was the prophet Isaiah's mission. 

The world is full of hurting and comfortless hearts. 

But before you will be competent for this lofty ministry, you must be trained. And your training is extremely costly, for to make it complete, you too must endure the same afflictions that are wringing countless hearts of tears and blood. 

Consequently, your own life becomes the hospital ward where you are taught the divine art of comfort. 

You will be wounded everywhere so that in the binding up of your wounds by the Great Physician, you may learn how to render first aid to the wounded everywhere. 

Do you wonder why you are having to experience some great sorrow?

Over the next ten years you will find many others afflicted in the same way. You will tell them how you suffered and were comforted. 

As the story unfolds, God will apply the anesthetic He once used on you to them. Then in the eager look followed by the gleam of hope that chases the shadow of despair from the soul, you will know why you were afflicted. 

And you will bless God for the discipline that filled your life with such a treasure of experience and helpfulness.

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Streams in the Desert, January 11

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"God comforts us not to make us comfortable,

 but to make us comforters" 

-John Henry Jowett

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I now really know the why!

Praises to the LORD God Almighty!

I have grown up in Him!

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Uncertain Weather

 

Lord, lift me up and let me stand; By faith, on Heaven's table land

-internet

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 Higher Ground

I'm pressing on the upward way,

New heights I'm gaining every day;

Still praying as I onward bound,

Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

My heart has no desire to stay

Where doubts arise and fears dismay;

Tho' some may dwell where these abound,

My pray'r, my aim is higher ground.

I want to live above the world,

Though Satan's darts at me are hurled;

For faith has caught the joyful sound,

The song of saints on higher ground.

I want to scale the utmost height,

And catch a gleam of glory bright;

But still I'll pray till Heav'n I've found,

Lord, lead me on to higher ground.

Refrain:

Lord, lift me up and let me stand,

By faith, on Heaven's table land;

A higher plane than I have found;

Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

by Johnson Oatman, Jr.

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What's a good hair day when it is cold!?

 -PLUGGERS

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Love and Grief: You Will Never be the Same

-internet meme

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Romans 12:9-21

..."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 haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. 

Do not 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."

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Just a Little Cat Crazy...or maybe not...

-from "Heartfelt Stories", Facebook page, 12/30/24

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Mark Twain, born Samuel Clemens, was not only one of America’s greatest writers but also a devoted cat lover. He once remarked, “I simply can’t resist a cat, particularly a purring one. They are the cleanest, cunningest, and most intelligent things I know, outside of the girl you love, of course.” 

At one time, Twain owned as many as 19 cats, each with unique and whimsical names such as Apollinaris, Beelzebub, Blatherskite, Buffalo Bill, Satan, Sin, Sour Mash, Tammany, Zoroaster, Soapy Sal, and Pestilence. His love for cats was so strong that he found it hard to understand anyone who didn’t feel the same, famously saying, “When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade, without further introduction.” 

One of his favorite cats, Bambino, went missing while Twain was living in New York City. Bambino, a black cat originally owned by his daughter Clara, had a special place in Twain’s heart. When the cat disappeared, Twain placed an ad in the New York American offering a $5 reward for its return. In the ad, he described Bambino as “large and intensely black; thick, velvety fur; has a faint fringe of white hair across his chest; not easy to find in ordinary light.” Several people brought cats they hoped matched the description, but Bambino eventually returned home on his own. 

From his childhood in Hannibal, Missouri, to his later years in Connecticut, Twain’s life was filled with cats, which also made their way into many of his works. Cats appear in books such as The Innocents Abroad, Roughing It, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and Pudd’nhead Wilson. 

For Twain, cats were more than pets. They were loyal companions, muses, and a source of joy throughout his life. His deep appreciation for them continues to resonate with cat lovers around the world.

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God's Great Faithful Love

-internet

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Isaiah 40:1-11

“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.

“Speak kindly to Jerusalem;


And call out to her, that her warfare has ended,


That her iniquity has been removed,


That she has received of the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.”

 

A voice is calling,


“Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;


Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

“Let every valley be lifted up,


And every mountain and hill be made low;


And let the rough ground become a plain,


And the rugged terrain a broad valley;

Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,


And all flesh will see it together;


For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

A voice says,

 “Call out.”


Then he answered, 

“What shall I call out?”


All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness 

is like the flower of the field.

 

The grass withers, the flower fades,


When the breath of the Lord blows upon it;


Surely the people are grass.

The grass withers, the flower fades,


But the word of our God stands forever.

Get yourself up on a high mountain,


O Zion, bearer of good news,


Lift up your voice mightily,
O Jerusalem, 

bearer of good news;


Lift it up, do not fear.


Say to the cities of Judah,


“Here is your God!”

Behold, the Lord God will come with might,


With His arm ruling for Him.


Behold, His reward is with Him


And His recompense before Him.

Like a shepherd He will tend His flock,


In His arm He will gather the lambs


And carry them in His bosom;"...


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SJ Commentary:

"[This section] was pointing us to God's great faithful love. 

Only God would make a highway, not a little track in the dry lifeless desert.

Only God can lift up the deep valleys and lower the mountains and hills, plus, smooth the rough broken places.  

God does these things that the glory of Himself may be revealed!

The command is to speak the truth! Beauty of grass and flowers fade and wither when God blows on  them.

We are that which is created and finite. 

Compare this truth to the Word of the LORD!

Living eternal Powerful--He never fades nor any of His attributes!

What comfort we receive when we believe that "the Word of our God will stand forever!" [v.8b]

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What Kind of Woman Will You Be?

-internet meme

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Proverbs 31:30

..."Charm is deceitful 

and beauty is vain,

But a woman who fears the Lord, 

she shall be praised."...

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Is it time yet?

-PLUGGERS

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GPS: Glenn's Positioning System

-PLUGGERS 

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We are Weary and Heavy Ladened

-internet photo

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Matthew 11:28-30

"...[Jesus says] 

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” 

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Weary ones... let us learn to run to Jesus, rest in Jesus, trust in Jesus.  

He is our only hope. 

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