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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Sharing Something Silly

-Non Sequitur 

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Following the Crowd

 -Yellowstone FB, Bison Herd

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Alexander the Great put it succinctly:

"I am not afraid of any army of lions led by a sheep; 

I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion."

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Follow the Lion of Judah! 

Jesus! 

The Lamb who was slain, 

but who is the Lion of Judah!

Revelation 5:1-5

"I [John] saw in the right hand of Him [Jesus] who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals.

And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?”

And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it.

Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it; and one of the elders *said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, [Jesus] has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.”

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- internet

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Wisdom in Waiting and Trusting

-Alistair Begg, December 29, 2024

-Devotionals

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 Seasons of Waiting

"[God] brought [Abraham] outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then He said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness.

Genesis 15:5–6

If our faith is to remain steadfast in seasons of prolonged waiting, then we must be confident of these truths: first, that God has the power to do what He promised to do; and second, that God Himself is sufficient to meet all of our needs, in every season.

Abraham’s faith was tested in the waiting room of life. For years he lived in a foreign land, waiting for his “very own son” to come into the world as God had promised (Genesis 15:4). And it was his trust in God’s promises while he waited that God “counted … to him as righteousness.”

Paul, when he writes of Abraham’s faith during this time, says, “No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised” (Romans 4:20-21). In other words, Abraham believed that nothing and no one could stand in the way of God fulfilling His spoken word—even when he could not begin to see how God would keep His promises. His faith wasn’t a blind leap in the dark. Rather, it was a belief based on God’s character.

Fast-forward to today, and one of the great promises to which we cling is that the Lord Jesus has promised to prepare a place for us and that He will come to take us to Himself (John 14:3). Therefore, when we take Him at His word, we are filled with the hope of heaven. We can be certain beyond any shadow of a doubt that Jesus is coming back personally, He is coming back visibly, and He is coming back for His own. These promises to us are as sure as the promise God made to Abraham, for which he waited 25 years before it was fulfilled.

Furthermore, through Abraham’s experience we see that it is God alone who is sufficient to bring us through seasons of waiting. In Genesis 17, God appears once more to Abraham in order to strengthen his faith. How? By revealing who He is: “When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty [El-Shaddai]; walk before me’” (17:1). This Hebrew term, El-Shaddai, can mean “God who is sufficient.” God, in other words, affirmed His promises to Abraham on the strength of His character.

The Christian life is a life of waiting. And all of God’s “hold ons” and “not yets” are part and parcel of His purpose. Every season of waiting is an opportunity for you to take God at His word. And while you wait, you can surely trust Him to meet your every need. Rest in this: the God in whom you believe is able to do all that He has promised.

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All emphases are mine: Piper's Wife

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Beautiful, Yellowstone, God's Creation

-Yellowstone FB

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Yellowstone, lovely in photos and magnificent in person!

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Ecclesiastes 3:1-14

There is an appointed time for everything. and there is a time for every event under heaven—

A time to give birth and a time to die;


A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.

A time to kill and a time to heal;


A time to tear down and a time to build up.

A time to weep and a time to laugh;


A time to mourn and a time to dance.

A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;


A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.

A time to search and a time to give up as lost;


A time to keep and a time to throw away.

 

A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;


A time to be silent and a time to speak.

A time to love and a time to hate;


A time for war and a time for peace.

What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils?

I have seen the task which God has given 

the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.

He has made everything appropriate in its time. 

He has also set eternity in their heart, 

yet so that man will not find out the work 

which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

I know that there is nothing better for them 

than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime;

moreover, that every man who eats and drinks 

sees good in all his labor—it is the gift of God.

I know that everything God does will remain forever; 

there is nothing to add to it 

and there is nothing to take from it, 

for God has so worked that men should fear Him."...

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The Christian Buddy System: Honor and Loyalty

Hebrews 10:19-25

..."Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near."...

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1 Corinthians 12:25 

(please read all of 1 Cor. 12!  :o)

..."if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it."...

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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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Galatians 6:1-5

"Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.

Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. 

For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another.

For each one will bear his own load."...

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Why Whisper? :o)

-a Scottish site on the net 

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A Merry Christmas!

Praising the LORD for our Salvation! 

Glory to His Precious Name!

Thankfulness for our Safety in Him alone!

Praise Him from Whom all Blessings Flow!

Praise Him! Praise Him! Praise Him!

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Healthy Snacks?!

-Garfield
 

My Father's Favorite Hawk

This beautiful little bird is an American Kestrel, which we always called just a Kestrel.

You can find them in the wild, but also in your own neighborhood looking for its food.

Another name which my father used besides Kestrel was "Chicken Hawk". 

I think it is one of the most beautiful birds, and one of my father's favorites.

He named our small sail boat, Kestrel.  

Happy Memories. :o) 

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He will wipe away our tears!

-internet photo

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"Earth has no sorrow 

that heaven cannot heal" 

This is attributed to Irish poet, writer, and lyricist Thomas Moore (1779-1852). 

Thomas Moore's full quote is:

"Here bring your 

wounded hearts, 

here tell your anguish; 

Earth has no sorrow 

that Heaven cannot heal".  

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Isaiah 35:10

..."And the ransomed 

of the Lord will return

And come with joyful shouting to Zion,

With everlasting joy upon their heads.

They will find gladness and joy,

And sorrow and sighing will flee away."...

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Revelation 21:4

..."and He will 

wipe away every tear from their eyes; 

and there will no longer be any death; 

there will no longer be any mourning, 

or crying, 

or pain; 

the first things have passed away.”

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