As we attended the Celtic Festival in Bethlehem Pa today our wee Westie, Iona, and our Scottie, Mr.Knightly were certainly part of the family, and stole the show all dressed up in their Scottish regalia. When my daughters were small I enjoyed sewing for them and dressing them up. Now that the girls are all grown up and gone from home I enjoyed sewing for my furry children this week and dressing them up to show off their Scottish heritage amongst the parade of hundreds of colorful tartans and the air filled with the sounds of the highlands on the swirl of the bagpipes. It was like taking my wee family to Scotland for the day without crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
The Only Road to Maturity
Dear Child,
To lose life in the flesh, is to find life in the spirit.
The cross is self-denial, and doing that which I have ordained for you.
The cross is the key to obedience.
Obedience is the key to maturity
Maturity is the key to conformity to the image of My Son.
Take up the cross for the cross is the way to death of the flesh.
Don’t try to save that which satisfies the flesh for if it is starved it will die.
If it dies you will find spiritual resurrection and power
Thus saith Papa
Mat 10:38-39 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Heb 5:8 -9 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
There is no easy, painless path to maturity, the flesh must be crucified by daily taking up the cross.
We will never learn obedience without daily taking up our cross.
We will never mature without obedience.
We will never be conformed to His image without maturity.
Challenge: Which area of your old fleshly nature needs to be crucified by taking up the cross of self-denial in that area? Then you can state with conviction, “ Not my will but thine be done!”
Excerpt page 188 “DEVELOPING A SECRET HISTORY WITH GOD” available from Amazon/ Barnes &Noble
Come Apart Before You Come Apart!
Being a person who believes an active mind is a healthy mind and wanting to redeem every minute, I find it so hard to relax! But after my long trip home from Russia and the seven hour jet lag I had to take a fresh look at Jesus’ advice in Mark 6:32 where He tells His disciples
Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while.
So today I obeyed and took a whole day just to rest and relax on the beach at Ocean Grove New Jersey.
Having Food and Raiment Let Us Be Content. 1Timothy 6:8
The human emotional apparatus is constructed so as to disregard that which is taken for granted. The best immune system booster is a shot of super joy. Our emotions are related to the functioning of our immune system.
A modern day psychology book, The Law of Life, states “We are not made happy by what we acquire but by what we appreciate.” A survey in the book revealed that we usually take for granted 80% of the blessings in our lives, therefore we are only 20% as happy as we could be! Consequently the degree to which we are thankful determines our happiness; the degree to which we rejoice in the Lord determines our spiritual strength.
Page 145 “Developing a Secret History with God”
Book available on Amazon/ Barnes&Noble/ Walmart/Lulu/ itunes/ Kindle/ Nook/http wwwclfrance.com/ W.H. Smith UK/or a bookstore near you.
Languages: English/ French
Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow
It was so hard to say “Goodbye” to the church family in Russia. Until we meet again.
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace
Ephesians 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;