Power of Prayer

 

Our Daily Prayer

 

"In the future life the mysteries that here have annoyed and disappointed us will be made plain.  We shall see that our seemingly unanswered prayers and disappointed hopes have been among our greatest blessings. We are to look upon every duty, however humble, as sacred because it is a part of God's service. Our daily prayer should be, "Lord, help me to do my best.

Teach me how to do better work. Give me energy and cheerfulness.

 Help me to bring into my service the loving ministry of the Saviour.' "

Ministry of Healing, page 474  

Yes...There is Such a Thing

Just wanting to share a bit of my heart today. Before I went through chemo - I had never heard of chemo brain. And if I had - I might not have believed there was such a thing. But since going through chemo - and it being almost 1 1/2 months out from chemo- and still experiencing thing that frustrate me, I am beginning to believe that there is more damage done to the brain than what people think. Well at least those not affected by chemo personally.

In fact, I would say that not only does it affect the brain - it affects your stamina. And example of such is this past week end. I had plans to go with my Sister to the midnight madness sale that Goodwill had going on Saturday night. I had also been asked to help with the dinner for a family after a funeral at our church. So I went and helped - and after that 3 1/2 hours - I only had an hour between when I left the church to when I would need to be at my sisters house. Well I was TOO tired to go shopping. In years past - I think I would have been able to do both. But now I just don't have the ability as I once did. As I have been walking - I have noticed that I do have more energy and stamina than I did say a year ago or even 6 months ago- but not like before.

And chemo brain - goodness- it's hard to explain how it affects you. Sometimes I find it hard to express my thoughts, or even to give an intelligent answer for basic questions. I find myself talking and thinking just be quiet. I also have a problem with having a conversation with someone and I can remember most of the conversations - but there will be a blank area in the middle or at some important part where I know what we were talking about but I can not remember what they said or how they answered a question that I asked. And then there is the keeping up with the checkbook. It used to be not much of a problem at all. But now - ever so often I just get to were I can not figure out what went wrong or how to balance the checkbook. And it is so frustrating...Really it is.

I am having to realize that I have limits. Limits of what I can do in a given day. I need to slow down and allow myself time to work on what ever project needs doing that day. Especially the projects like paying the bills(make sure I write all the figures in) and balancing the checkbook. And then I need to be patient with myself when I make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. It is just hard when you have tried so hard to do a good job at what ever you do...and then to come face to face with mistakes being done. It's ok not to be perfect. It's a thing I need to get more used to I guess.
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Update on Charlene:

I went by to see her yesterday. She is doing so much better than her last surgery- there is such a huge difference- it goes to show how close we got to losing her - just to see how much better she is doing this time. She is in a lot of pain. I don't blame her one bit- I would hate to have an incision down the front of me and I would be in a lot of pain as well. She is slowly making improvements. Yesterday they helped her to the chair and then helped her back to bed. She was moving around in her bed a bit more also. And she is eating - first clear liquids and now liquids with substance. They sent her jello---lol- she does NOT like jello - she could be starving to death and she would not eat it...nope.
Anyway but slowly she is building back up. I don't see her getting out of hospital before Monday. I would be surprised if they let her out sooner. If they do - they would be sending her to rehab. At this point I really don't know. I am happy that this surgery is behind her and that she is improving every day. Please continue to pray for her and for me as well. Thanks :O)

Heart Gifts.....series

I was given a great book. It is "Heart Gifts" a book full of Helen Steiner Rice's poetry and at the end a bit of her life story. Helen Steiner Rice is probably one of my favorite poets. Her writing is so uplifting and encouraging so I decided that I would do a series and share all of the poetry in this book - on a weekly basis.

 

"Heart Gifts"

 

It's not the things that can be bought

that are life's richest treasure,

It's just the little "heart gifts"
that money cannot measure...
A cheerful smile, a friendly word,
a sympathetic nod
Are priceless little treasures
from the storehouse of our God...
They are the things that can't be bought
with silver or with gold,
For thoughtfulness and kindness
and love are never sold...
They are the priceless things in life
for which no one can pay,
And the giver finds rich recompense
in giving them away.

Helen Steiner Rice


Waiting Game

Just checking in for a minute to let you know that my Mother in Law - Charlene - made it through surgery. Everything went well. It was a very long day of waiting and waiting and waiting. She is very sore and having some nausea - so continued prayers for her would be appreciated. Thank you so much for the prayers. :O)

Prayers Requested

Just wanted to hop on line for a minute to ask for prayers for my Mother in law, Charlene. She is having a major surgery this morning. Starting at 8:30am. They will be reconnecting the colon. I'll check back in and let you know how it went, as soon as I am able to do so. Thanks so much! :)

Power of Prayer

The first words upon arising~

"The very first outbreathing of the soul in the morning should be for the presence of Jesus. 'Without Me,' He says, ' ye can not do nothing.' It is Jesus that we need; His light, His life, His spirit, must be ours continually. We need Him every hour. And we should pray in the morning that as the sun illuminates the landscape, and fills the world with light, so the Sun of Righteousness may shine into the chambers of mind and heart, and make us all light in the Lord. We cannot do without His presence one moment. The enemy knows when we undertake to do without our Lord, and he is there, ready to fill our minds with his evil suggestions that we may fall from our steadfastness, but it is the desire of the Lord that from moment to moment we should abide in Him, and thus be complete in Him."- My Life Today, 15

 

Your very first work~

"Consecrate yourself to God in the morning; make this your very first work. Let your prayer be, 'Take me, O Lord, as wholly Thine. I lay all my plans at Thy Feet. Use me today in Thy service. Abide in me, and let all my work be wrought in Thee." This is a daily matter. Each morning consecrate yourself to God for that day. Surrender all your plans to Him, to be carried out or given up as His providence shall indicate. Thus day by day you may be giving your life into the hands of God, and thus your life will be molded more and more after the life of Christ. A life in Christ is a life of restfulness. There may be no ecstasy of feeling, but there should be an abiding, peaceful trust."

_Steps to Christ, 70

Sharing a "Streams" Devotional Today

This post is actually a devotional from my "Streams in the Desert" book - for October 18th.

It was so good I wanted to share!

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"Know of a surety that thy seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs; . . . they shall afflict them four hundred years; . . . and afterward they shall come out with great substance"

Genesis 15:12-14

An assured part of God's pledged blessing to us is delay and suffering. A delay in Abram's own lifetime that seemed to put God's pledge beyond fulfillment was followed by seemingly unendurable delay of Abram's descendants. But it was only a delay: they "came out with great substance." The pledge was redeemed.
God is going to test me with delays; and with the delays will come suffering, but through it all stands God's pledge: His new covenant with me in Christ, and His inviolable promise of every lesser blessing that I need. The delay and the suffering are part of the promised blessing; let me praise Him for them today; and let me wait on the Lord and be of good courage and He will strengthen my heart.
--C. G. Trumbull


Unanswered yet the prayer your lips have pleaded
In agony of heart these many years?
Does faith begin to fail? Is hope departing?
And think you all in vain those falling tears?
Say not the Father hath not heard your prayer;
You shall have your desire sometime, somewhere.

Unanswered yet? Nay do not say ungranted;
Perhaps your work is not yet wholly done.
The work began when first your prayer was uttered,
And God will finish what He has begun.
If you will keep the incense burning there,
His glory you shall see sometime, somewhere.

Unanswered yet? Faith cannot be unanswered,
Her feet are firmly planted on the Rock;
Amid the wildest storms she stands undaunted,
Nor quails before the loudest thunder shock.
She knows Omnipotence has heard her prayer,
And cries, "It shall be done"--sometime, somewhere.
--Miss Ophelia G. Browning

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Be sure and stop by tomorrow - there are some excellent quotes about prayer that I have ready to share with you all. You won't want to miss these! :)

Spur of the Moment Field Trip

So this past week end was a weekend that our son had his daughter. We really enjoy these weekends.

On Sabbath afternoon - our son was driving home and just happened to see a small sigh that told of a Dino Presentation. So he called us and asked us to bring SweetPea up there for an spur of the moment field trip.

There were more than 24,000 dinosaur bones- we did not actually see them all- that would have taken forever. We did see some rare bones of a nanosaurus.

It was fun to see and touch dinosaur bones. And it was fun to try to answer questions about the bones. I even got to ask a couple of questions.

In fact, I learned something that I had never thought of before.

When God created the world - the animals and people were perfect. You can read all about it in Genesis chapters 1 and 2.

Not only were the life spans longer but the size of the people were much bigger than they are today.

What I learned on this field trip was that not only were the people larger in size so were the animals. They had the pelvic bone of a giant slough. It was about 2- 3 feet wide. I thought I got a photo of it but I guess I did not.

When Got created everything and before sin entered into the world - everything was perfect- even the atmosphere, the food, and the nutrition that it gave all supported the perfection that God had created, but sin changed all of that and the life span grew shorter as did the stature.

I love when I understand a new (to me) concept. And especially when it has to do with Biblical things. After all isn't that the most important things to really know about - God's Word?! There are always new gems for us to find in the Bible and in our spiritual life with Jesus Christ. We only need to keep searching and asking for the Giver of all gifts to give us wisdom and understanding.

When I was on my spur of the moment field trip I di not even things of doing a post about it or I would have taken more photos to share. I hope you enjoyed our little field trip.

Here is just a small sampling of the bones we saw:

 

Gigantic Stature of Antediluvians—At the first resurrection all come forth in immortal bloom, but at the second, the marks of the curse are visible upon all. All come up as they went down into their graves. Those who lived before the flood come forth with their giant-like stature, more than twice as tall as men now living upon the earth, and well proportioned. The generations after the flood were less in stature.—Spiritual Gifts 3:84. EGWSRGES 39.7

 

Decline in Stature After the Flood—Soon after the flood the race began to rapidly decrease in size, and in length of years. There was a class of very large animals which perished at the flood. God knew that the strength of man would decrease, and these mammoth animals could not be controlled by feeble man.—4SG 121. EGWSRGES 39.8

 

I just wanted to share a few great quotes that a friend of mine helped me find. The reference is to: Ellen G. White Statements relating to Geology and Earth Science. I am working on finding a link to share so if you would like to find where the information was found. When I find it I will include it here. :o)

Free - My Favorite Price Or Unexpected Blessings

Out of the blue, I got a text from someone I know asking if I or someone I knew needed a queen sized bed- a complete bed. I wrote back asking how much and she replied, "Free." My favorite price.

Why Yes! - we could use a queen sized bed. Our son was really in need of a new bed. his box springs had broken and he had made a make shift board type thing to put between box spring and mattress to help the bed be comfortable and last till he could afford to get another one.

My friend's neighbor is an elderly woman who is in rehab. right now and she was going to be getting a hospital be. So she wanted to get rid of her bed to make room for the hospital bed. And she wanted this all done before she got home. So the quicker the bed was removed from the house the better.

So after my husband got home from work we went to check out the bed. To be honest, nether one of us was expecting anything very nice. So when we walked in and saw this:

 

We were both happily surprised- me so more than my husband. (We just have different tastes...isn't that normal?..)

I was thrilled - What a nice looking bed!!

 

My son was thrilled to have a new bed!

He and his fiancé had talked about getting a new bed.

One that neither one of their exes had slept on. So this unexpected blessing was right on time!

 

I love when God brings unexpected blessings!

 

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

James 1:17

That Which Really Matters

Last week I went to the memorial service of a man who just days before had celebrated his 61st birthday. A man who although he had never smoked died of lung cancer. From diagnosis to the day he died was only 6 weeks and 1 day.

The following verse was used to describe his life:

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and compliant,

full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

 James 3:17

 

Next:

 

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,

goodness, faith, Meekness, self-control:

against such there is no law. 

 Galatians 5:22-23

 

And we ended up in the Love Chapter:

 

 

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 

                                                                                         

2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, ^a but have not love, it profits me nothing.

References for 1 Corinthians 13:3

• Footnotes

• Š 13:3 - NU-Text reads so I may boast.

4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;

5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;

6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part.

10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.              

 

                  
What a beautiful chapter this is!

 

I left this memorial - deep in though with questions like:

 

Could these things be said about me?

If not, Why not?

What areas need improving?

 

We are all on a journey in this life.

We all have choices.

And as the Holy Spirit guides,

 I hope that we all will choose that which really matters in life.

                      

Power of Prayer

 

The Morning Prayer

 

Enter the day with prayer~ "Let your day be entered upon with prayer; work as with God's sight."

(4 Testimonies, 588)

 

Begin the day by your bedside~ "It is our privilege to open our hearts, and let the sunshine of Christ's presence in. My brother, my sister, face the light. Come into actual personal contact with Christ, that you may exert an influence that is uplifting and reviving. Let your faith be strong and pure and steadfast. Let gratitude to God fill your hearts. When you rise in the morning., kneel at your bedside, and ask God to give you strength to fulfill the duties of the day, and to meet its temptations. Ask Him to help you to bring into your work Christ's sweetness of character. Ask Him to help you to speak words that will inspire those around you with hope and courage, and draw you nearer to the Saviour." (Sons and Daughters of God, 199)



Finally a Friday Update

Ok - So I figured since I had not had very much chance to post this week - I would do a bit of an update post.

Monday means it's my Ladies Study Group. I am going to be honest with you all- this did not turn out the way that I thought it would. I had some picture in my mind about how it would turn out(not just this Monday's group but the study group in general) and it has not turned out that way at all. I am trusting God that there is a purpose for it being different and challenging to me. And I am sure there are things for me to learn. So I am trying to not let the disappointments get me down and just continue to move forward and trust God.

So I had my mammogram on Tuesday - and I got good news.... results came back normal. I had been worried because the lady doing the test had me do like 4 extra shots and squished a bit harder than usual saying that I had dense tissue and so they had to get a better look. So I left here a bit worried. Was thankful to get a call from my Dr.'s office telling me that everything was normal.

My Mother law was going to have surgery on Wednesday but she had not stopped taking her aspirin so the Dr postponed the surgery till the 26th of the month. She was a bit disappointed but I was thankful that she had a positive attitude and trusts that God is in control and that there must be a reason for it to be put off a little longer.

On Wednesday, since I did not have to get my Mother in law to the hospital for surgery - decided to make up 4 batches of gluten. As I have probably shared in the past - once you make up the broth it is really good to try to get as much use out of it as you can. I do think the next time I make up this much gluten at one time - I will probably use two large pans to cook make up the broth and cook the gluten in.  My pan was quite full and it was a bit challenging to move them around. And I ended up cutting a couple of them while I was trying to stir. Guess what we had for supper on Wednesday? Fried Gluten! I was happy - my 4 batches of gluten ended up making enough for a total of 5 meals. I put 4 bags into the freezer. And I used just under 2- 5 pound bags of flour. I have been being able to get my flour for about 1.19 a bag- so my 5 meals of gluten cost me less than $5.00 - when you take in to account the celery and onions that I cut up for the broth and the seasonings and such. I think that is an awesome deal. Yes it takes time- but well worth that time and effort.

Yesterday was another very warm day - in fact, we had record breaking temperatures. Way back in 1999 there was a high of 92 degrees. Yesterday - the official high was 95 degrees. So you can tell why I am SO ready for cooler weather. The only saving grace of everything is that we are at least getting some night time temps that are in the 60's - and a day or two we were lucky enough to dip slightly into the 50's - upper 50's of course. Today is suppose to be in the upper 80's. And if the forecast is correct - after today our temps might be in the mid 80's to the upper 70's at least for the next week. That is more the weather I enjoy. I enjoy opening up the house.  But I am tired of closing it down to turn on the AC because it gets so warm. I would rather open and shut the windows to adjust the temp in the house--too cool - lets close the windows...too warm - lets open the windows. That is my favorite time of the year!!

Oh I wanted to also leave you all with a link to get to the breading and broth - for the gluten. I hope these links work - if not let me know.

Who has Ears and Does Not Hear?

Who has ears and does not hear? This is an important question and today during my devotional time I was led to the answer! And it is quite interesting the way in which God leads me to the answers to the question in my heart.

I had started my morning with a heavy sadness. A situation in which I have no control over was weighing heavy on my heart. As I was thinking about everything, my mind wandered to the verse about us not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities. So I looked this verse up and began my study in Ephesians.

  12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,

 against the rulers of the darkness of this age,

^a against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.    

                     Ephesians 6:12           

 

After that I went to so many different places in the Bible. I went to this verse and then to that verse and then I went to verses that I was sent to by cross referencing the verses. And if I shared them all - it would make for a super long post. But in the end I was lead to just the right verse that answered my question. 

 

As I had been studying in Revelations it had really stood out to me all the times that the phrase "He who has an ear, let him hear..." first time found in Revelations is chapter 2 in verse 5. 

This phrase was repeated to each of the 7 churches and other times in the Bible. Because of this, I knew that there had to be some significance. And one conclusion that I had come to in another post about this phrase is that the message to the 7 churches are still relevant to us today! 

 

So the question for us is who has ears but does not listen? Today I actually found two reasons. The first answer we find in Ezekiel. This is a challenging book in the Bible to read but it has some important things for us to know like the answer to ~ Who has ears but does not hear? 

 

                  2 "Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house,

which has eyes to see but does not see,

and ears to hear but does not hear;

for they are a rebellious house. 

 Ezekiel 12:2

 

Then I was lead to Jeremiah:

 

    Hear this now, O foolish people,

 Without understanding, Who have eyes and see not,

 And who have ears and hear not:

Jeremiah 5:21

 

So in these verses we learn it is the rebellious and the foolish who have ears but do not listen.

 

As soon as I read these verses I knew that God had given me a better understanding and some answers to my questions. God is faithful to us. When we earnestly seek answers He will guide us to the answers. We just need to give Him the change to do so. We need to spend time - quiet time studying our Bibles - digging deeper. When a verse really speaks to you and it gives another Bible reference- go to that verse and so on and so forth. By utilizing the entire Bible we will find answers for our questions and joy for our souls!

I had started the morning with a heavy weight on my shoulders, but now I feel joy because of my time in the Word of God. Because I spent time in the Word of God and allowed the Holy Spirit to guide me, I was let to answers and also was reminded of God's love. He is there waiting for us to give Him time to speak to us through His Word. Take time today. Turn off the distractions of the world and focus on the Word of God, asking the Holy Spirit to give you understanding. You will be amazed at how much more peace and joy you will experience. Give it a try. Don't be found in the ranks of the rebellious and the foolish.

 

Power of Prayer

 The Power of Prayer  

"The strength acquired in prayer to God, united with individual effort in training the mind to thoughtfulness and care-taking, prepares the person for daily duties and keeps the spirit in peace under all circumstances, however trying. The temptations to which we are daily exposed make prayer a necessity. In order that we may be kept by the power of God through faith, the desires of the mind should be continually ascending in silent prayer for help, for light, for strength, for knowledge. But thought and prayer cannot take the place of earnest, faithful improvement of time. Work and prayer are both required in perfecting Christian character."

"We are to look upon every duty, however humble, as sacred because it is a part of God's service. Our daily prayer should be, 'Lord, help me to do my best. teach me how to do better work. Give me energy and cheerfulness. Help me to bring into my service the loving ministry of the Saviour.' "

Busy and Busier...

Just wanted to check in this evening. It's been a busy week. And although at the beginning of this week, I thought that next week would be a less busy week - it is actually going to be a busier week - a much busier week.

I went for my well woman check up - I really like my Dr she is very good at taking care of the whole person. It's not a single minded dr's visit like well women visits usually are. Anyway so they set me up for a mammogram for next Tuesday.

About one hour after I got home from the Dr visit- I got a call from my MIL - letting me know that next Tuesday she has an appointment with the Dr who will be doing her surgery to reattach her colon. Then after the appointment - she will have her pre-op appointment. And she would like me to take her. Well the good news is that the place that I will be having my mammogram is walking distance from the hospital so I will take her to her appointment and then walk over and have my mammogram and then walk back. It should all work out.

The very next day - Wednesday- my MIL will have her surgery to reattach her colon. She is excited, but understandably nervous as am I. It's a big deal. A big incision - up and down the front of her. She has had so much problems with keeping the bag on that she is more than ready to have the colon reattached but she is nervous. I will be taking her for the surgery as well.

So as you can see it will be a busy week, with all these things listed plus the normal things that I do each week.

I am very tired - and thinking I need to go to bed early tonight - So I will be getting off and getting myself ready for bed. Hope you are all doing well. :o)

Important, Yet Many Times Left Off the "To Do" List

At the beginning of each week - I write out a paper- with each day listed. Under each day~ I write down important things to remember such as Dr. appointments, appointments to get my hair cut, Ladies Study group, prayer meeting, Bags of Love, Block of the Month, so forth. Then I add important things to remember like - the day to gather trash and get it out. There are certain jobs that I like to do on preparation day - so under Friday I write those down - these are things like changing the sheets and such. There are some things that are a given and I don't have to write them down- for example. Every morning I like to have my devotional time - so there is no need to be reminded of that - unless I want to write down an list just for that day so I can mark things off as I get them finished.

I have really been wanting to sit down with my cookbooks and look through some of them and find some great recipes to try. I have also wanted to spend some time designing a beautiful garden for my back yard. I have a great book about being creative and designing your yard and I would like to finish reading it. I want to learn more about vegetable gardening. And I want to work on getting my next quilt finished.

When I got to the end of the week - most of these things had gone undone. That is when I realized the importance of putting fun things on my "to do" list as well. It is very important that I block off a little time each day to do one of these things. And by the end of the week I will have had the chance to spend a little bit of time working on each of these - or I may want to focus in just once area a week. I really don't know yet.

All of these things would be fun and enjoyable. In life I think that it is important that we continue to be creative and do fun things. It's also important that we continue to learn. And if I will just make time for these things - I will have time for them. Just because something is not cleaning or working does not mean that it is not something important to do.

So I would like to challenge you to add something fun to your "to do" list. It may only be 10-15 minutes that you have free to do this but if you will write it on your list of things you want to accomplish for the day - you will be surprised at your ability to work it into your schedule. And if you are really busy and you are not able to do something every single day - that is ok. At least start by adding a little time at least once a week for something you want to do. And see how much for fulfilled you feel.

Last week while reading in this book:

 

I read something that really that I had never thought of before but it makes a lot of sense to me. I am just now getting enough time to sit down and type I out for you all. I have typed up the entire section for you all to read along with me.

I hope you are blessed by this and that you will better under stand the importance of living in God's will.

 

What hinders God's will?

 

While God's will is already perfectly implemented in heaven, it isn't yet on earth- hence the prayer " ' on earth as it is in heaven.' " What is it that has prevented God's agenda, His plan and purpose from being implemented?

 

According to Scripture, two main factors are at work: a satanic one and a human one. First, the satanic factor. Tradition has it that when God decided to create us in His own image and likeness, the archangel Lucifer, a creature depicted in Scripture as

 

"the signet of perfection,

full of wisdom

and perfect in beauty" (Ezekiel 28:12)

 

protested out of fear that his position was being threatened by the new creature. Using the kind of Babylon as a symbol, the prophet Isaiah described what happened:

 

"you said in your heart,

'I will ascend to heaven;

above the stars of God

I will set my throne on high;...

I will make myself like the Most High." (Isaiah 14:13-14)

 

Apparently, a battle followed between the angels of God and those of Satan, and the former archangel and his forces were defeated. Revelation describes it as follows:

 

"Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world- he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our breather has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God... Rejoice then, O heaven and you that dwell therein But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!" (Revelation 12:7-12; see also Ezekiel 28:12-19)

 

In our daily life under God an in our ministries of reconciliation, we are constantly threatened by these evil forces. They flatter us, tempt us, and try to dissuade us from giving priority to the kingdom of God. We have been told- as we have experienced in so many ways- that in our struggles to remain loyal to God and His agenda for our life, "we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12) That's why the apostle Paul urges us not to take these demonic forces and the way they operate lightly, but to "be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might" and to "put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." (verses 10,11).

Of course, D-day has dawned in this war too. The devil has already been defeated, His place is no longer found in heaven (Luke 10:18). His powers have been greatly curtailed. God, not this prince of darkness, is in control of our lives, times, and circumstances. Christ, the One who sends us on our mission of reconciliation, holds all authority, and He has given us " ' authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you' " (Luke 10:19; cf Matthew 28:18-20) Consequently, when we pray with Christ the petition " ' they will be done.' " we are expressing our desire that God make an end to all the powers of evil in us and around us so that His plan of salvation will be fully implemented" 'on earth as it is in heaven.' "  



Help Needed

OK - I need some help from some of you computer savvy people out there. So it looks like a blog that I was following has been hacked or something because now all that is posted on that blog is advertisement and I would like to stop following the blog. Here is the problem - when I go to the blog - they have hidden or taken down the Follow box -so I do not have the option to stop following that way. Is there another way? I just got on here to write up some posts and there are like 6-8 posts from that blog and it clogs up my feed and makes it hard to see the real posts that I want to see.

I have tried to go to the page- "Manage my blogs" and it doesn't seem to work either. Those are the only two ways that I know of to stop following a blog.

 Any help would be much appreciated. :O)

Power of Prayer

"If we keep the Lord ever before us, allowing our hearts to go out in thanksgiving and praise to Him, we shall have a continual freshness in our religious life. Our prayers will take the form of a conversation with God as we would talk with a friend. He will speak His mysteries to us personally. Often there will come to us a sweet joyful presence of Jesus. Often our hearts will burn within us as He draws nigh to commune with us as He did with Enoch. When this is in truth the experience of the Christian, there is, seen in his life a simplicity, a humility, meekness, and a low lines of heart, that shows to all with whom he associates that he has been with Jesus and learned of Him." - from "Christ's Object Lessons" pg 129-130

Loving How It All Comes Together

I just love it when I'm reading in several different books- the two pictured and The Desire of Ages~ and in the last two days what I've read all comes together to help me better understand the great controversy between God and Satan. It re-enforces to me that God brought all these books to me for me to be reading- right now!
Here are the books that I have been reading, along with the Desire of Ages:

 This is actually what book I am reading and pulling my prayer quotes from for my Sabbath Post's.

 

This morning I discovered something that I had not quite understood before and I can't wait to share it with you all. I am thinking I will have to wait until Monday because we will have our granddaughter this weekend so it will be a busy week end.

 

Before I close though, I would like to share a couple of great quotes that go along with the amazing thing that I learned and I wanted to share these with you all.

IF you would like to go to the actual chapter to read more about the following quotes just click here.

"Jesus in the synagogue spoke of the kingdom He had come to establish, and of His mission to set free the captives of Satan. He was interrupted by a shriek of terror. A madman rushed forward from among the people, crying out, "Let us alone; what have we to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazareth? art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee who Thou art; the Holy One of God." DA 255

"Remorse came too late. When he would have sacrificed wealth and pleasure to regain his lost manhood, he had become helpless in the grasp of the evil one. He had placed himself on the enemy's ground, and Satan had taken possession of all his faculties. The tempter had allured him with many charming presentations; but when once the wretched man was in his power, the fiend became relentless in his cruelty, and terrible in his angry visitations. So it will be with all who yield to evil; the fascinating pleasure of their early career ends in the darkness of despair or the madness of a ruined soul. - {DA 256.4}

The same evil spirit that tempted Christ in the wilderness, and that possessed the maniac of Capernaum, controlled the unbelieving Jews. But with them he assumed an air of piety, seeking to deceive them as to their motives in rejecting the Saviour. Their condition was more hopeless than that of the demoniac, for they felt no need of Christ and were therefore held fast under the power of Satan. - {DA 256.5}

Every man is free to choose what power he will have to rule over him. None have fallen so low, none are so vile, but that they can find deliverance in Christ. DA 258.6

And here is another great quote that I came across this week that helps us understand what God's will is:

"The will of God as described in Scripture has two dimensions- two pillars, as it were- grace and obedience." A great quote from the book I'm reading~"The Lord's Prayer Through Primitive Eyes"