God Moves in Mysterious Ways To Remind Us To Pray

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While in Russia I prayed for and made friends with Tatyana. She reminded me of someone I knew and when I was in Macys today I realized it was Sharon, my favorite shopping assistant. When I showed Sharon the photo of Tatyana she exclaimed “Wow! She could be my daughter!” Maybe a relative somewhere in the family line as Sharon’s family was originally from Poland. So, Tatyana, you may be far away in Novocheboksarsk Russia, but when I am at the Lehigh Valley Mall in Allentown Pennsylvania and see Sharon I will remember to pray and think of you.  It really is a small world!

2 Timothy 1:3 Without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers.

We Have A Heart of Gold

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The Holy of Holies where God dwelt in the Tabernacle of the Old Testament was made of  pure gold.

As believers we now have a heart of gold because God now dwells there by His Spirit

Although we are only redeemed dust, a fragile container, for this treasure of the Holy Spirit

God is working on us daily to make us a vessel of gold tried by fire into the purest, transparent gold for His dwelling place.

Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary
Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living
Sanctuary for You

CHALLENGE: May we all pray “Create in me, Lord, a heart worthy of your presence as I bring my emotions, thoughts and actions under subjection to your throne, that the world may see that the King is in Residence there and glorify you.”

Thought for Sunday

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The Only Road to Maturity

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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

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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.

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