Reflection/Projection

I was young and now I am old, yet I've never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed (Psalm 37:25).

God is faithful to keep His promises. It's our responsibility to delight ourselves in Him, believe and obey His word. He is our ever-loving Father and wants to bless us. We walk by faith...not by sight.

Progress and failure are both part of our journey. Let's be reminded that God's grace will help us to find a solution to major problems. We can gain insight from past struggles that will help with issues we're currently facing.

God's faithfulness in the past brings hope for the future.

Be encouraged.

You Too

Sitting alone with head in hands,

Struggling with what might be your life's plan;

Confused by daily fears and pain,

And untrue friends who falsely claim;

They're there for you until the end,

Only to leave when your trials begin;

There's help for all of us,

From someone whom we certainly can trust;

One who will never cease to care,

And will keep us safe regardless to where;

His love is real and will always be,

In Him we're blessed and forever free;

So, we don't have to sit alone,

With head in hands and joy is gone;

You nor I ,

Have to cry;

To feel mistreated,

Depressed and defeated;

Let's reach up during times of stress,

And praise our Lord who continues to bless;

Now is our time,

To rise and shine;

To take our stand,

To worship this Man;

For Him this is the least we can do,

He gave His all for me and you too.

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GUARDING OUR SOUL

GUARDING OUR SOUL

SOUL- Our inner life with which we have ability to believe, to love God, to suffer, to sin, to prosper, and to survive death. The dimension which deals with the mental realm. Our intellect. The sensibilities and will. The part that reasons and thinks. The part that feels; the seat of the emotions, passions, appetites, and desires. Our soul may be considered the battle-ground of the flesh and spirit(Romans 8:1-13; Galatians 5:16-26). Our soul is to be saved, (James 1:19-21; Romans 12:2; Psalm 23). We are to renew our "minds" through the Word.

Guard, according to Webster...is the act or duty of protecting or defending; to protect from danger.

According to our Holy Bible...'guard' is to keep watch.

Now, how are we to guard our soul? The Word of God says that we must seek the Lord(Deut. 4:29), love the Lord(Deut. 6:5), serve the Lord (Deut. 10:12), store God's Word (Deut. 11:18), keep God's law (Deut. 26:16), obey God (Deut. 30:2, 6, 10) and get wisdom.

While on Earth we are to be mindful of our responsibility to protect our soul from the wiles(trickery, lure, and enticements) of Satan (2 Cor. 11:3; 13-15). We are accountable for what we allow to enter our mind gate, our ear gate, and our eye gate. We must allow the Holy Spirit to filter what enters these areas. We must watch as well as pray. We must seek God's will and purpose for our life. Ephesians 6:11 teaches that we must put on the whole armor (truth, righteousness, and the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:14). We must be sure to take the shield of 'faith' the vital part of our armor. 'Faith' honors God, and God always honor 'faith'. Whatsoever is NOT of 'faith' is SIN (Romans 14:23).

We who are born-again, Spirit-filled Christians are to avoid idleness, gossiping, and using precious time with fruitless acts that only provide selfish gain. Let's not flirt with Satan; whose desire is to steal, to kill and to destroy every thing God has prepared for and promised us.

Satan is NOT our friend,

his only aim is to deceive us,

and to lock us deep in sin;

with wages that result in death..,

(eternal separation from God) in the end.

We MUST keep in mind that Jesus paid the price for our salvation when He gave His life for us, and that He alone deserves our total obedience, praise and worship. Let us guard our soul.

REAL FREEDOM

Webster defines "freedom" as the quality or state of being free: as action; liberation from slavery or restraint, or from the power of another. A political right; a privilege.

The Holy Bible defines "freedom" as unrestricted action( Open Bible edition).

In observing both definitions of the word, "freedom"; it came to mind that "freedom" is an action that produces results. And, I'm convinced that whatever action(s) we choose will result in an experience...positive or negative consequence.

I'm reminded of how often in our mind we make decisions that lead to choices that may result in painful experiences for ourselves, our love ones as well as others.

Sometimes we're guilty of using our "freedom" as an instrument to support our choice of selfish acts and not considering the consequence.

We will without a doubt gravitate towards disobedience when we begin to entertain selfish( it's all about me and what I want) thoughts. The tempter(Satan) makes the way to disobey easy by removing ALL fear of consequences. Jessie Duplantis made a vital observation during one of his messages. He said, "There's always an inward defeat before there's an outward one." I wholeheartedly agree and know from personal experience that the flesh is at constant war against the Spirit. We must realize this fact and become submissive to the voice of God who speaks to us, and choose to walk in the Spirit. We will be blessed. Doing what is right will bring honor to us, to our love ones and to others, and will most importantly, glorify our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The following poem expresses what the mind of a repentant child (who had used "freedom" and chose disobedience) revealed to their mother...a mother who refused to give in, to give up or to stop praying and believing God for her child's deliverance and return to God. Real "Freedom" is in Him.

SCARS OF THE WORLD

I praise God for you, Mom,

I'm back,

On the right track,

I'm headed for my Heavenly home,

Where I belong;

I know you've spent many restless nights,

Praying for me,

That I'll be alright;

I know that I caused you much sadness and sorrow,

Even at times...

Your last dime,

And all you could scrap and borrow;

I've caused your heart to throb and to ache,

Because I refused to give,

Always eager to take;

All night roaming, rambling,

Drinking hard liquor,

Cussing and gambling;

I was disgusting and shamful to see,

And now I bear the scars of the world on me;

No matter where I go, they'll not be hid,

And all because of what I did;

Oh!! how I praise Jesus, the Son of God,

For cleansing and purifying my heart;

I'm so happy to be delivered and free,

Mom, now I know you refused to give in,

Or to give up,

And, you didn't stop praying for me.

Thank you and I love you.

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Words of Encouragement: " Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God's grace.

We Have Freedom to Give and to Receive

During our stay on this earth and as we take our journey; we're encompassed by three main forces that can/will direct our path:

1) The power of God,

2) The influence of Satan, and

3) The freedom of choice.

Whatever situation or experience we witness during our life's journey is determined by our knowledge and our reaction to either of these main forces. Our decision(s) will affect and/or determine our life's consequences.

None of us desire to experience heartbreak, failure or disappointment. We all want to be loved, accepted and appreciated. We are free to receive love, to share happiness, to experience joy and to live in peace while on this earth.

Our Heavenly Father(God) has given us the measure of faith. He has made knowledge, wisdom and understanding available to each of us. He has no respector of persons.

We have freedom to give and to receive.

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Photo: My youngest grandson; Chancellor Hampton Martin

Happy Mother's Day

Mothers Are Lovers

Mother: Source of beginnings, provider of love, provider of wisdom and provider of protection.

Always there, always share and will always care.

All mothers may not be 'biological'. But all mothers are blessed with faith, ability to love, nuture, provide, protect, instruct, discipline, share and to care for those whom they have been given opportunity of responsibility. No thing can replace the joy and power of 'motherhood'. 'Motherhood' is the 'will' of the Lord to sustain the beauty and strength of the family...a divine reflection of 'love'.

God has given mothers mounds of strength, wisdom, knowledge and understanding. They're creative, loving, kind, compassionate, longsuffering and forgiving. They're always willing to go that extra mile. Mothers will keep secrets, edify, encourage and exhort. Mothers are 'Lovers'.

Yes, this is our day,

We've made it here to celebrate

God's blessings as we pray;

We honor and glorify our Lord

for lending our children to us,

Just a few days to nurture

As we learn, in Him to trust;

One day you'll be all grown up

with children of your own,

I plan to stay around and see,

how many grands you'll give to me;

Enjoy your precious time with them...

for soon they'll be off and gone.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

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HE AROSE!!!

"He arose." An all too familiar saying, and especially on Easter Sunday,

And is often fogotten by the following Monday;

I ponder why this holds true,

Among so many who claim, "I know He arose for me too;"

Our Heavenly Father who sent His 'only' begotten Son,

Who gave His life so our battles in this world can be won;

Now, He's sitting high and watching as we live our lives in open shame,

As we walk the paths of darkness denying our Savior's name;

Oh! dear sisters, brothers, fathers, and mothers,

Come and stay with our Lord who has given us so much,

His love for us is 'real'... there is none other;

Our Savior is always near... we can reach out and touch;

After His death and His burial, the stone was rolled away,

He arose to bring us into His presence each and every day;

So, let us remember how much we're truly loved,

And, that He's waiting for us to join Him in our home above.

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Supporting Scriptures: Luke 24:1-8

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This Day

This beautiful day of two-thousand eleven,

Unfolded gracefully as the new dawning scrolled from Heaven;

Another day our Lord has made...so His children can rejoice and be glad in it,

The moon moved over...and the darkness faded...now the amazing sky is brightly lit;

We're blessed to witness this wondrous day,

More time to share our love, more time to worship our Lord and more time to pray.

STOP: REFLECT!

Give thought to what you've read in God's Word. Did you wait to hear what God was saying to you? Do you understand God's message to your heart? Do you realize that God speaks to us through His Word? Sometimes we(Christians) speed-read through passages we've read many times before. In so doing, we miss what God is meaning to show us. When we do this, we fail to learn anything new from that passage. Like physical food, spiritual food needs chewing.

So, let's not come to the Bible as if we're going to an express buffet. By chewing(meditating) on God's Word we will get the most value for our spiritual growth.

Reading the Bible without reflecting is like eating without chewing.

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Ref: C.P. Hia, Our Daily Bread 2/2011.

Photo: My lovely daughter, Karen(r), my lovely granddaughter, Deborah(m) and my lovely granddaughter, Estelle(l).

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Love: "I Do"

" Love" as defined by Webster: affection based on admiration or benevolence; a warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion; unselfish concern that freely accepts another in loyalty and seeks his good; the fatherly concern of God for man; and man's adoration of God.

"Love" as described by the Holy Scriptures: first commandment(Matt.22:37,38); with all the heart (Matt. 22:37); sign of true faith (John 8:42); manifested in obedience (John 14:15, 21, 23). Second command (Matt. 22:37-39); commanded by Christ (John 13:34); in detail (ICor. 13:1-13).

February 14th, Valentine's Day; the date our society uses to express, in a special way, how we feel about spouses, children, relatives, friends and co-workers. We send well selected cards, favorite candy, lovely flowers/roses, go out together for a delicious dinner and/or make plans to attend some special event. We have many ways to express our 'love' one to another. Also, there're times we even reach out to others in effort to show our 'love.'

'Love' encourages, strengthens and satisfies;

even when denied and pushed aside;

It bears up those who're broken,

distraught, criticized,

victimized, ostracized

and often cried;

It suffers long,

seeks not its own;

'Love' reaches out to those who're left alone,

with no one to call their own;

It rescues those who're in despair,

expresses concern, and brotherly care,

any day, any time, and anywhere;

'Love' the most powerful passion mankind can share.

Ask me, "do I love you ?"

You bet your love for me, I do!

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THE HEART THAT BLEEDS

I live from day to day with a bleeding heart as I witness how we, professing and born-again Christians appear to not be spiritually conscious...and fail to trust our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to take care of us during our time of tests and/or trials.

There's no doubt that our physical heart can suffer damage. The body learns to make adjustments and to survive with medical attention and proper care.

On the other hand our human spirit suffer emotional damage...often referred to as "broken-heart." We become saddened, depressed, hurt, and experience lonliness. We also become angry, unpleasant, defensive and arrogant.

When our heart is broken we often seek comfort and/or attention from different trusted or familiar sources; friends, relatives, counselors, the clergy and co-workers. Also, alcohol consumption, drugs, and illicit sex.

A broken-heart demands attention. We learn to pretend day to day; we learn to hide our true feelings and to act happy while really hurting.

Our heart-break may result from different areas; but every heart-break is painful. We don't choose our tests and/or trials. No one will ask for a broken heart...in life things happen. While traveling through life we make bad choices and sow seeds that result in pain. We will experience disappointments, deceit, abuse,disrespect, and rejection; just to mention a few...but all has purpose and works together for our good. There is light at the end of the tunnel and we only need to focus on the light that will lead us through.

I've decided that every day I will remember that I'm a born-again Sprit-filled Christian, I'm a woman, a mother, a daughter(parents deceased) a sister and a friend. I live in a physical body and experience emotions. I'm not a lone ranger...there are many of us in God's family. Every day of victory produces a stronger 'will' to stand and give God the glory. I realize that my 'faith' is increased and my desire to obey the Lord becomes more intense. I learn with every bleeding heart-beat that all the praise and glory belongs to God;that my purpose is to let my life reflect the love of God and to share this love with others. Sure, no one wants to suffer...but must become willing to remain faithful and to trust the Lord for deliverance.

I survive heart-break by remembering that God is concerned about everything that concerns me and that He is faithful to keep His promises. His grace is sufficient for me. The joy of knowing this gives me strength to stay focused. What a testimony to share with others; our overcoming heart-break experience.

We'll never grow in 'faith' without learning what it means to trust the Lord.

Our deliverance is found in accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, believing and obeying the word of God.

Humility before honor(Proverbs 18:12).

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