Beloved Name of God...series.."Diadem of Beauty"

Diadem of Beauty

 

"In that day shall the LORD of host be for...

a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people."

Isaiah 28:5 KJV

 

 

• Name of God the Father
• God is referred to as a "diadem of beauty" once in the KJV.
• A diadem is usually taken to mean a crown, but might also be translated as "a jeweled metal band worn around the head." It might also refer to a halo effect around one's head.

 Isaiah tells the people of Ephraim not to be too full of themselves (or their own wine). To God should go the praise for their prosperity. He is the Diadem of Beauty, and later Isaiah says the faith shall be "a crown of glory" and a "royal diadem" )Isaiah 62:3 KJV).

 

So that's how to sparkle! In living lives of adoration, we become jewels (tiny but nonetheless valuable) on the Diadem of Beauty that is our Marker.

A Broader View of Her Life

So have I told you guys lately how much I love the little thrift store in a town nearby? Well last Sunday I spent a little time checking out the books and look at the gem I found! For 50 cents!! I loved reading through the Little House on the Prairie books just several years ago- like in the last 10 years. I had not read them before.

And even though I have just read the first chapter of this book - I know I am going to love it as well. The first chapter basically goes over some history of how her parents came to be and ended with her being born. Only the first chapter read, but of so much delightfulness from this book!

 

"It was during these years that Ma wrote a little school composition on the subject of "home."  She told of her own home, and how she loved it, and she put down a thought that she carried close to her heart forever."

 

Ma's daddy died when she was seven. Several years later when Ma was ten - her mother remarried. And probably several years after that is when they are talking about "during these years" in the paragraph above.

 

Here is what Ma wrote:

 

"How sweet and enduring is the name of home! What music in that sacred sound!

It is there we can have the society of our beloved parents, brothers, and sisters; and how delightful it is after the avocations of the day to assemble around the bright, blazing fire variously employed: perhaps one with a book, to read aloud some interesting story, for the benefit and amusement of us all.

Although the wind is whistling without and blowing the snow, in every direction, making drifts as high as the fences; yet we heed it not. But we oftentimes think of and pity those who have no comfortable home, to secure them from the inclemency of the weather.

Who could wish to leave home and wander forth in the world to meet its tempests and its storms? Without a mother's watchful care and a sister's tender love? Not one.

 They would very likely meet with some warm friends, and some that would try to make it pleasant for them, and appear as much like home as possible, for which they would be very grateful. Yet after all it would not be like home.

Then give me a place at home, a seat at m father's fireside, where all is so happy and free."

 

 

Someone tucked a couple of newspaper articles into the back of this book - one of them from 1997. I am going to see if I can scan them and share with a friend - I might share them here as well.

 

Maybe you have a thrift store near you- have you looked for books there? You might be surprised at the gems you find! :O)

God Has Promised...series "Are You Lonely?"

This is very timely for me - since my husband is out of town. It does get lonely, but God is near. :O)

 

Are You Lonely?

 

We need never feel that we are alone. Angels are our companions. The Comforter that Christ promised to send in His name abides with us. In the way that leads to the City of God there are no difficulties which those who trust in Him may not overcome. There are no dangers which they may not escape. There is not a sorrow, not a grievance, not a human weakness, for which He has not provided a remedy.

None need abandon themselves to discouragement and despair. Satan may come to you with the cruel suggestion, "Yours is a hopeless case. You are irredeemable." But there is hope for you in Christ. God does not bid us overcome in our own strength. He asks us to come close to His side. Whatever difficulties we labor under, which weigh down soul and body, He waits to make us free. He who took humanity upon Himself knows how to sympathize with the sufferings of humanity. Not only does Christ know every soul, and the peculiar needs and trials of that soul, but He knows all the circumstances that chafe and perplex the spirit. His hand is outstretched in pitying tenderness to every suffering child.  The Ministry of Healing, p. 249.


Never feel that Christ is far away. He is always near. His loving presence surrounds you.
The Ministry of Healing, p. 85.

Jesus knows us individually, and is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He knows us all by name. He knows the very house in which we live, the name of each occupant. He has at times given directions to His servants to go to a certain street in a certain city, to such a house, to find one of His sheep.  The Desire of Ages, p. 479.

At all times and in all places, in all sorrows and in all afflictions, when the outlook seems dark and the future perplexing, and we feel helpless and alone, the Comforter will be sent in answer to the prayer of faith. Circumstances may separate us from every earthly friend; but no circumstance, no distance, can separate us from the heavenly Comforter. Wherever we are, wherever we may go, He is always at our right hand to support, sustain, uphold, and cheer. The Desire of Ages, pp. 669,670.

We are never along. Whether we choose Him or not, we have a companion. Remember that wherever you are, whatever you do, God is there. ~The Ministry of Healing, p. 490

To those who... acquaint themselves with Christ, the earth will nevermore be a lonely and desolate place. It will be their Father's house, filled with the presence of Him who once dwelt among men.  ~ Education, p. 120.

God will not suffer one of His truehearted workers to be left alone, to struggle against great odds and be overcome. ~ The Ministry of Healing, p. 488


Not a sigh is breathed, not a pain felt, not a grief pierces the soul, but the throb vibrates to the Father's heart... God is bending from His throne to hear the cry of the oppressed. To every sincere prayer He answers, "Here am I." He uplifts the distressed and downtrodden. In all our afflictions He is afflicted. In every temptation and every trial the angel of His presence is near to deliver.  ~ The Desire of Ages, p. 356.

Every step in life may bring us closer to Jesus, may give us a deeper experience of His love, and may bring us one step nearer to the blessed home of peace. ~Steps to Christ, p. 125




The Results are In.....

So last week - I had some blood work done. Since my cholesterol is elevated my Dr wanted me to take some cholesterol lowering meds, I have probably already told you about that. Anyway I really did not want to start taking the meds- especially after reading the side effects. I feel like I put my body through enough with the 2 different chemo drugs going through my body, so if I can take care of this naturally - I would like to.

I am really beginning to realize that high stress can really affect many things with your body. Now I believe that it also affects your cholesterol levels. We will start with the total cholesterol - it had gone up about 20 points. And the LDL- up about 20 points. But I am happy to report that my HDL went up 3 points and my Tri. went down about 25 points.  My husband worked in the Corpus Christi area for 2 weeks - when he left we had no idea of when he would be coming home. That was stressful. Once he got home- there was the fact that he could be going to Florida anytime. That weighing over our heads was stressful. He did not go to Florida but went back to the Houston area to help rebuild damaged equipment and again we are not sure how long he will be gone. I also think that the time period in August when I was really having a hard time with several things played a big role in the elevated numbers. But I am not giving up. I know that what I am doing is the best thing for me and I will continue to work towards better health. And an added benefit - is weight loss. Slow and steady but going in the right direction.

So from my blood work - I learned that stress plays a role in our health. Oh this is not news to me - I already realized that long ago- I feel that very high stress caused my cancer. I was just reminded of the fact that stress plays a role. And I need to incorporate more quiet time - and more prayer time. Feeling closer to God helps take care of stressful feelings. When we realize that God is in control - it is easier to handle the things that come our way.

I was also reminded of this beautiful prayer that I think would do us all a lot of good to say each day:

 

 

There are things in our lives that we have no control over- we need to let God deal with those things.

There are things in our lives that we can change- and we need courage from God to make the changes needed. And we need wisdom from God sometimes to know the difference. Many times we think that we have to do it all- But there is a good reason why Philippians 4:13 in in the Bible:

 

To remind us that it is through Christ's strength that we are to live our lives. We can depend on God to supply everything that we need- even courage, wisdom and strength!

 

I go to the Dr Wednesday to talk to her about the blood results and all- I figure we will set up more blood work to be done in 3-6 months. I hope she is at least with all the positive results from my healthier living. :O)

 

 

 

Fall in Texas....

It's really a good thing that I have learned to hold my plans loosely. This morning I work up with the intentions of volunteering at the Emergency Depot in a town nearby. When I drove up there - there were already 18 cars in the parking lot. I have volunteered enough to realize that it might be hard for them to be able to use more than that many people at one time - so I changed my plans for the day. A park I like to walk at is nearby so I made my way there.  With encouragement from my sister, I pushed myself to make 3 miles. It had been a couple of weeks since I had walked that long at one time, so it was the perfect time to do it. It was already getting warm outside but I pushed through.

Speaking of warm, our highs each day are in the 90's. It is suppose to be fall, but here it is pretty warm still - summer like.

When I got home from walking - I decided to get some weed eating done. I have an area of my drive way which got out of control and I am slowly working to get it under control. Yesterday I had gotten my front and back yard mowed(except my chicken yard). And had worked a bit on weed eating. I really enjoy seeing the results of these outdoor jobs.

I have my list already for the week and will start working at crossing things off. The sooner I get the list taken care of the sooner - I will be able to add some fun things in. Oh don't get me wrong - I don't just do all the chores with nothing fun- I just can add more fun into my week when I work to accomplish my to do list. It really gives an incentive when you have some fun activities added in here and there through out your week.

Oh and I got my blood results back - but I don't have any more time right now to share about them. Be watching for that tomorrow.

Well I hope you all are doing well. See you soon. :O)

Beloved Names of God...series.."Passover Lamb"

 

Passover Lamb

"Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch- as you really are.

For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed."

1 Corinthians 5:7 NIV

 

• Name of God the Son
• Jesus is referred to as the "Passover lamb" once in the NIV.
• The blood of a lamb was used to mark the doors of Jewish households so they might be spared on the night God began the plagues of Egypt. This ritual is now celebrated as the feast of Passover.
• In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul wrote to the Corinthians demanding that they deal with a case of immorality in their community, reminding them that Jesus died so they might be born anew. The "yeast" he spoke of referred to the earthly things that distract us from our true spiritual nature.

The original Passover lamb was to be male and without defect. Its death and blood marked the Hebrews and spared them from the plagues God visited on Egypt. The sacrifice of the lamb began the process by which the Jews, as a nation, were reborn- from slavery in Egypt to free people on their way to the Promised land.

Jesus was without defect and His blood marked the possibility of rebirth for each of us. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul reminded them, and through them us, that because of the sacrifice of God's very own Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ, humankind can be born again, free from the slavery of sin, and on our way to a heavenly home.

 

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~Ok- I just have to add here - on the 3rd point above - it say that the blood was used the night God began the plagues of Egypt- well if I am thinking correctly that actually was part of the very last plague- the last night before they were to leave Egypt. Anyway I just didn't want to put out information that was not correct.

 

Come back next week when we will look at "Diadem of Beauty"

 



God Has Promised...series "Are Your Trials More Than You Can Bear?"

 

Are Your Trials More Than You Can Bear?

"The fact that we are called upon to endure trial shows that the Lord Jesus sees in us something precious which He desires to develop. If He saw in us nothing whereby He might glorify His name, He would not spend time in refining us. He does not cast worthless stones into His furnace. It is valuable ore that He refines. The blacksmith puts the iron and steel into the fire that he may know what manner of metal they are. The Lord allows His chosen ones to be placed in the furnace of affliction to prove what temper they are of and whether they can be fashioned for His work."

The Ministry of Healing, p. 471

 (in the "God Has Promised" book- they did not put the entire paragraph - I just added the last couple of sentences)

 

 

 "od has a purpose in sending trial to His children. He never leads them otherwise than they would choose to be led if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose that they are fulfilling. All that He brings upon them in test and trial comes that they may be strong to do and to suffer for Him."

Prophets and Kings, pg. 578

 

 "God's love for His children during the period of their severest trial is as strong and tender as in the days of their sunniest prosperity;"

The Great Controversy, pg. 621

The rest of the paragraph - I am adding because I think it is very helpful as well:

"but it is needful for them to be placed in the furnace of fire; their earthliness must be consumed, that the image of Christ may be perfectly reflected."

 

"Seek the Lord for wisdom in every emergency. In every trial plead with Jesus to show you a way out of your troubles, and your eyes will be opened to behold the remedy and to apply to your case the healing promises that have been recorded in His Word. In this way the enemy will find no place to lead you into mourning and unbelief, but instead you will have faith and hope and courage in the Lord... Every draught of bitterness will be mingled with the love of Jesus, and in place of complaining of the bitterness, you will realize that Jesus' love and grace are so mingled with sorrow that it has been turned into subdued, holy, sanctified joy." ~ Selective Message, book 2, pp. 273-274.

 

"The precious Savior will send help just when we need it. The way to heaven is consecrated by His footprints. Every thorn that wounds our feet has wounded His. Every cross that we are called to bear, He has borne before us. The Lord permits conflicts, to prepare the soul for peace." Colporteur Ministry, p. 116

 

"Our heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us, of which we know nothing. Those who accept the one principle of making the service and honor of God supreme will find perplexities vanish, and a plain path before their feet." The Desire of Ages, pg. 330.  

 

"Those who are finally victorious will have season of terrible perplexity and trial in their religious life; but they must not cast away their confidence, for this is a part of their discipline in the school of Christ, and it is essential in order that all dross may be purged away."

~Messages to Young People, p. 63

 

 "If received in faith, the trial that seems so bitter and hard to bear will prove a blessing. The cruel blow that blights the joys of earth will be the means of turning our eyes to heaven. How many there are who would never have known Jesus had not sorrow led them to seek comfort in Him!"

~Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, pg. 10.

 

"We need not keep our own record of trials and difficulties, griefs, and sorrows. All these things are written in the books, and heaven will take care of them."
~The Ministry of Healing, pg. 487.

 

 

 "The Saviour is by the side of His tempted and tried ones. With Him there can be no such thing as failure, loss, impossibility, or defeat;"

~The Desire of Ages, pg. 490. 

 the rest of the sentence:

  "we can do all things through Him who strengthens us. When temptations and trials

Page 493

come, do not wait to adjust all the difficulties, but look to Jesus, your helper. "