Memories...The Word Taught

Memories...oh how I love them!  I remember going to Grandma's house in Southern California in the summertime. I always slept with Grandma and she usually had the windows open, and a box fan running. I loved it!  On Sunday night after we got home from church, we'd go to bed and she would reach over and turn the radio on, tuning into "Hour of Power."  Pastor David F. Gray would be teaching. I hear her say, as if it were yesterday, "Oh, I love to hear that man teach!"  As a little girl I couldn't understand her love for his teaching, because I didn't understand everything he taught, but I did feel the depth of his words, and the reverence to the Word he taught. It made an impact on my heart and mind that has stayed with me my whole life. 

One of the things I miss about my husband, not pastoring a church are the many Bible studies he taught on Wednesday night.  He taught with the same depth and reverence his Pastor, Bro. David F. Gray did.  I've told him so many times, "I REALLY miss hearing you teach.  You always fed my soul."  

It's amazing the things that come to my mind.  If you've read this whole status update, then you must be a true friend.  Friends are the only ones who enjoy the ramblings of another friend. Bless you!  

#thinkinoutloud 

How Do You See Yourself?

"It constantly amazes me that men and women wander the earth marveling at the highest mountains, the deepest oceans, the whitest sands, the most exotic islands, the most intriguing birds of the air and fish of the sea – and all the time never stop to marvel at themselves and realize their infinite potential as human beings."  -The Rhythm of Life 

-Matthew Kelly 

I read this quote and my mind went to the scripture, 

“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”

(Psalms 139:14 KJV)

Then, my thoughts turned to the fact that so many people never see their worth, their abilities, their talents, their potential.  They seem to always focus on negative things they see in themselves.  

What if...we looked at us and saw the magnificence of who we were made to be?  After all, we were created in HIS image! 

What if...we realized the qualities He put in us?  

What if...we lived up to the potential He sees in us?  

What if...we believed this scripture and applied it to our lives?  “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13 KJV)

Quit allowing the enemy to destroy your worth!  As the song says...

"You thought I was worth saving...So, You came in changed my life. You thought I was worth keeping...So, You cleaned me up inside.

You thought I was to die for...

So, You sacrificed your life.

So, I could be free!

So, I could be whole!

So, I could tell everyone I know!"

Stand up and see yourself as God sees you!  You're a child of the King!  You were created for a reason and your worth, your potential is far greater than you can imagine. 

I have a feeling, when those who do not know Jesus Christ have the opportunity to "view a real Christian," they see a beauty that is beyond compare to anything they have ever seen. 

Yes, the beauty of the mountains, rivers, skies, birds, fish, animals, flowers, and oceans are breathtaking to our eyes, yet God decided all of that wasn't enough, so He created you and me to be His hands, His feet, and His arms reaching to all mankind. There's nothing more beautiful than...LOVE!  ❤️  #thinkinoutloud

"Castaway"

The enemy is throwing everything he can at people who are living for God!  I heard a man say, "I realized I had become bitter and I didn't like what I felt in my heart. I had never felt that way before."  It's great when a person can RECOGNIZE this foreign feeling. When you no longer feel the change that's happened, you are being deceived.  "Create in me a clean heart...renew in me a right spirit."  A song called "Castaway" that Sis. Bobbie Shoemake, my brother Keith and I sang a long time ago still plays in my mind today. "If I carry the gospel to the regions of the lost, to a world that's going astray. Don't let me fail in sight of the gate and become just a castaway."  The chorus went on to say..."Castaway...castaway...lost forever on a cold, dark ocean. Turned away...castaway...lost, just a castaway."  (I think the words are correct, but you get the message.) I remember one service we sang it in. Bro. Shoemake preached with a soberness and deep conviction to a youth group about a clean heart. The altars were filled with kids who wanted to be saved, no matter the cost.  Do we still feel this way?  Will we give up ANYTHING that's pulling us away from Him?  Do we even RECOGNIZE what is happening in our heart that is pulling us away from Him?  Are we willing to fall at the foot of the cross so our human spirits are broken once again?  There's too much ME in me!  Like the man who was transparent about his heart...there's been  times, "I've felt something in my heart I'd never felt before, and I didn't like it!"  The words to that song will haunt me the rest of my life..."Don't let me fail in sight of the gate and become just a castaway."  #thinkinoutloud 

If you feel this post is too heavy, too negative, too convicting...I'm not sorry. It's time we, who claim to be Apostolic, fall at the foot of the cross and crucify our flesh!  I can hear our elders, through tears, admonishing  us to "PREPARE FOR HIS COMING!  HE'S COMING SOON!"

SPECIAL

I've tried to put my finger on it.  The feeling that there's so much we can do, buy, make, that it seems nothing is quite as special as it was when it wasn't so accessible.  Does that make sense?  Example:  A lady carrying an "expensive name brand" purse.  Several years ago, that "purse" was really special, because it wasn't unattainable for most of us. Now, you can buy some of these in outlets that sell them cheaper, at re-sale shops, or, you can buy a "knock-off" and make it "look like" you have the real thing. 

I don't know...sometimes I'd love to go back to...SPECIAL...where things weren't so accessible and you had to really work, save and reach for the goal.  That's when things become SPECIAL. 

Such are things in the Christian world. I love the SIMPLE, SACRED, SPECIAL things God gives to "those who DILIGENTLY seek Him. Don't give me a "knock-off salvation."  Give me a "power packed experience" with God!  Give me doctrine (truth) that will change my life!  Give me guidelines and lifestyle changes that helps me walk according to God's Word. Don't give me watered down religion. Give me the old-time experience!  That's really...SPECIAL!