The home is the foundation of a nation. When the structure in the home crumbles, so does the entire nation. I'm so grateful for the godly home God has given me.
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One of the greatest gifts Christians have is to be able to share Jesus and worship Him freely.
In church tonight, the missionary speaker spoke about our purpose on earth. The main text was Philippians 1:20, which says, "According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death." So, our purpose on earth is to magnify Jesus Christ. Everything we do and say is bring honor to His name. As a Christian, our entire life is for service. Most everybody wants to serve God, but not everybody wants to serve others. In order to serve Christ we must serve our fellow man. We have the privilege of serving a Savior who gave everything, his very life, for us. This should motivate us to love and serve Him even more, and one of the ways we can do this is through the local church. Today's gift might seem a little strange. In fact, it might not seem like a gift at all.
This morning, while doing some house cleaning, I stepped outside for a minute to shake out one of our floor rugs. As I slapped the rug against the tree, a cloud of dust blew into the air. When the dust cleared, I notice that the tree I had been using to clean my rug had several scars. These scars were from where the tree had been pruned and the flesh of the tree had swelled a little to heal the cut. Seeing the scars on the tree set me to thinking. I had pruned this tree over a year ago, when the trunk had been smaller and the branches more tender. The pruning had been necessary for the growth of the tree. The branches that had been cut off were beautiful and green, but they were hindering the rest of the tree from growing to its full potential. Just as I had pruned the tree for it's own good, so God allows things in our lives that hurt and wound in order that we might grow spiritually. Scars remind us that we live in a fallen world. They remind us that we are not perfect or good. But scars should also remind us of just how great our God is! The God who allows trials and hurt in our lives is also the one who has our best interest at his heart. As, Christians, everything that happens is for our good. Even though we may never know what good comes of the hurt that we experience, God never breaks his promises. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." The Bible also tells us to give thanks in all things. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." Weeds are also a gift in disguise. They remind us everyday of our sin nature and our need for dependence on Christ. Sin is like weeds. In order to overcome sin, we must draw nigh to God. When we do this, our faith increases which results in spiritual growth. Just like in the physical world there cannot be growth without struggle and pain, so in the spiritual life hard things cause us to grow if we let them. 2 Corinthians 12:7 says, "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure." This morning my sisters and I and some friends had a girls day out! We did some shopping and then had lunch at Moe's. (so yummy!) This afternoon we hung out and played games with some neighbor friends. Today has been a nice break from the regular routine and a chance to catch up with friends. Good friends are definitely a gift! You become like whomever you hang out with. Choosing who your friends are should not be taken lightly. A truly good friend will not "butter you up" with flattery or leave you hanging when life gets hard. A true friend is not out to get all they can from you. When I think of others who demonstrate the qualities of being a good friend, I think of my "little" sis Sunshine. :-D Not only is she an all around great person to hang out with, but she sincerely cares about her family and everyone else around her. My sis has the ability to make even the most miserable people smile. I so appreciate her example and I'm so thankful for the many Godly friends God has given me. Proverbs 27:9,17: "Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel. Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." Since I wasn't able to post yesterday, I'm making up for it by posting twice today! :-D After breakfast this morning, I walked into our front hallway and saw sunlight streaming down from our big picture window! So, I grabbed my camera and snapped this photo. It was so beautiful and warm! The sun is another gift we often take for granted. Yet, it comes up every morning and provides light, warmth, and energy to the world. Even though we can't always see the sun, its always there. Sunlight reminds me of God. A God who is a personal God. This is the same God who hung the sun, moon, and stars in the sky and who is more faithful than the rising of the sun! Has the sun ever not risen in the morning? No. But, God is more faithful than the sun rising every single morning since the world began. Wow! Now, that's a thought! Lamentations 3:22-23: "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." How many times a day do we use our hands and feet? Thousands of times a day we use our hands and feet to perform multiple tasks. Washing dishes, simply standing, comforting someone, playing an instrument, running, holding a tool, eating dinner.... God made our hands and feet to be strong, flexible, and durable. If they get injured, they are able to heal by themselves most of the time. Even if your hands and feet aren't as brand new as the day you were born, they are still hands and feet! Imagine for a minute what it would be like if you didn't have hands? What if you didn't have any feet? Your life wouldn't be the same. Just getting out of bed in the morning would be a challenge, must less playing an instrument or hiking a mountain. So, the next time you use or hands or feet to do something, stop and thank God for the body he's given you. Genesis 49:24: "But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)" Psalm 119:101: "I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word." Isaiah 52:7: " How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!" Every day God sends us gifts. They come in many different shapes, sizes and forms. Some look like wonderful blessings while other seem like a mud puddle that you didn't see coming.
Lord willing, starting tomorrow and over the next two weeks I will be posting about these daily gifts from our heavenly Father. Each post will comprise a picture or pictures and a little synopsis. One of my goals is to post every day for the next two weeks. Through this challenge I hope to gain a new and better perspective of God's goodness, while at the same time improving my photoing abilities! It is also my prayer that this photo journey will encourage you, the reader, in some way in your own spiritual life. So, until tomorrow, Toodles! |
Ashley Johnston
Sharing God's glory through the eye of a camera. Archives
November 2016
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