“MAY ALL WHO COME BEHIND US . . .”

“We’re pilgrims on the journey of the narrow road
And those who’ve gone before us line the way
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary
Their lives a stirring testament to God’s sustaining grace
Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses
Let us run the race not only for the prize
But as those who’ve gone before us
Let us leave to those behind us
The heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives

[Chorus]
Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful

[Verse 2]
After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone
And our children sift through all we’ve left behind
May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover
Become the light that leads them to the road we each must find

[Chorus]
Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful”

WALK WITH JESUS, TODAY

“Walk closely with the Lord, so that when trouble comes, you won’t have to catch up.”
—–David Jeremiah

CONTENTMENT ?

Repeat from 2-19-15

This morning after breakfast, I was sitting in the recliner, drinking my coffee, watching the sun rise, listening to Christian music, trying to let the words soak in and lift out my worries.

I found myself dreaming of building my log cabin, with a sunroom outside the bedroom—a place to relax and enjoy the beginning of the day, warmed by the sun.

I realized once again that most of my thoughts of contentment revolve around someday when I get such-and-such done.  And many of those projects are so slow in coming that they rob me of peace for today and contentment right now.

Then I thought of a Bible passage, and I will close with this.  I want it to sink in and let God work in me.

“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls;

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me to walk upon my high places.”

GIVE THE DEVIL AN INCH . . .

. . . AND HE’LL TAKE A MILE.

This is a stinkin’ story, to match the stinkin’ devil.

Jeff Shreve told this on American Family Radio.

A man offered a house for sale at a very low price, and immediately had a buyer.
Because of the price, the buyer asked if there was a catch, anything wrong with the house ?
The seller assured the buyer that there was nothing wrong with the house, and he showed all the inspection reports to prove it.
But, he said there was one catch—the seller would retain ownership of one square inch on the front of the house.
The buyer thought, how could that possibly be a problem, and bought the house.

A few months after the new people moved in, the seller drove a nail in the square inch he still owned on the front of the house.
Still no problem, until he hung a large carcass on the nail.

In spite of their protests, the new owners lost the battle, lost the house, and had to move out.

When enough time passed for people to forget what happened, the house went up for sale again, and the seller repeated the evil scheme—made a substantial, crooked living over the years.
– – –
A little deal with the devil—just an inch ?—happens in real life, real easy.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me, and know my thoughts; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

BEAUTIFUL – – – JUST FOR LOOKS ?

“Looks are only skin deep.”

“Beauty is fleeting.”

“Like a flower, here today, gone tomorrow.”

“Just a vapor, reflecting sunlight.”

“Beauty in the eye of the beholder.”

Is there a beauty that lasts ?

“Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.”

DEFINITELY

In Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian was

Delivered from imminent
Destruction of his city
enDowed by a
Desire to reach the Celestial City
Defined the course of his life
Decision to leave all—everything, everybody
Direction—focused, renewed, clarified
unDeterred by repeated
Distractions
Devotion to purpose, Person
Dedication against all odds
Determination in spite of opposition
Diligence through the challenges, to the end, the glorious end

TRANS – – – VERSION 12.2

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be TRANSformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”—–Romans 12.2

CLOSE TO GOD ?

I believe I’m close to god when . . .
. . . when I’m close to nature.
. . . when I’m helping someone.
. . . when I listen to my favorite music.
. . . when I’m alone.
. . . whenever I feel like it.

Lots of people claim that.
That makes LOTS of different ways to get close to God.
Wonder if God agrees with all those ways—God who made everything and everybody ?

Does the natural world have that freedom to operate every which way ?
No, only people have freedom to make up anything we want to believe, and expect it to fit into reality in the spiritual world.
In other words, we see the natural world has order, run by consistent laws.
But we then count on the spiritual world to be completely random, run by and answerable to eight billion different, fluctuating ideas from wishful thinking.
– – –
+ “I believe your gravity is okay for you, but my gravity is different.”
Okay, show me an example.

+ “Your truth is not my truth.”
Is that true ?

+ Someone challenged God, saying he could make anything God says He created, by using evolution.”
God said okay.
“I started with nothing—what are you going to start with ?”
The person said he would start with a bucket of slimy mud and turn it into everything.
God answered, “Go get your own mud.”

That does take care of evolution—it doesn’t even have a starting point.

– – –

May I suggest getting close to God on His terms—simple, clear, true, final, good, exclusive.

SEARCH SUGGESTIONS HERE

There is over a decade of writing on AWordforThought.com—here are a few key words to type in the search bar (feel free to enter your own topics as well).
Some searches will bring up older articles for you to compare with more recent ones.
Please pay attention to the dates when they were posted.

— # (prepare to stay awhile, even surprised/inspired me, goes way back)
— stress
— blessings

— life—balanced
— baseball
— senior year
— slavery

— game of life (several articles from a decade ago)
— be there
— forgiveness

— document the disaster
— freedom
— half slave
— oppressed
— senior
— goodness
— abortion
— xi xi ping pong
— all things trans
— humble
— hurry up and wait
— my part
— God what are You waiting for
— sacrifice [lots of articles include this word]
— trinity [if you dare]
— comfortable

— the problem with theologians
— call to prayer
— prisons

— if I was God
— end of the world – or the end of the free
— perfect weather

— America
— if this world is not
— likewise

— evolution of God
— the one God loves