Sunday, December 31, 2017

The Purpose of Elevation

The Purpose of Elevation
From: Today God Is First by Os Hillman
December 31, 2017

"And the Lord said to Joshua, 'This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.'" (Josh 3:7-8).
Joshua had been a faithful number two man under Moses for 40 years. Can you imagine serving one man for 40 years? Now that is faithfulness!
Even so, when the time came to pass the mantel to Joshua, God knew he needed to be elevated in the eyes of the people in order for Joshua to accomplish his purpose. That is the purpose for elevation - so that you and I can fulfill our purpose and our mission.
We are not called to elevate ourselves. If we elevate ourselves before our time we will short circuit God's plans for our lives. We will not have the same level of grace as we would have if it were in God's perfect timing. Jesus refused to let others elevate Him or make Him into something contrary to His purpose. Moving into a job or responsibility before we are ready is a formula for failure. We may not be mature enough. We may not have the proper skill set.
Let God elevate you in His timing and you will be successful in the thing He created you to be and do.

Another Year Concludes Tonight

Another Year Concludes Tonight
At the stroke of midnight, the world will usher in a brand new year,  2018.  As we bid farewell to the old year, may we reflect a bit upon the experiences it brought us--both good and bad--and may we take a look at all the years and decades of our lives with gratitude for the life God has granted to us.
May we also have the resolve to fill all the moments, days, years and decades He may grant us in the future with the effort that pleases Him ( "All that your hand finds to do, do it as unto the Lord," ).
And may we also fill our future with the worship and adoration of our Holy Savior that He is due.
LORD JESUS, we place the year ahead, 2018, into YOUR hands. 
We ask YOU to guide our decisions, guide our efforts, guide our mind, guide our hearts, guide our spirits into the fullness YOU would have us to discover there. 
We pray that all our time would be in YOUR hands and that we would live our lives to YOUR glory.  It is in YOUR matchless name we pray, JESUS.  Amen.

Here is a lovely old poem by Robert Burns that captures the heart of those who have had the joy of welcoming in many a new year with one who is precious.  It reflects on the past and it faces the inevitable end together...

John Anderson, My Jo
John Anderson, my jo, John,
When we were first acquent;
Your locks were like the raven,
Your bonie brow was brent;
But now your brow is beld, John,
Your locks are like the snaw;
But blessings on your frosty pow,
John Anderson, my jo.

John Anderson, my jo, John,
We clamb the hill thegither;
And mony a cantie day, John,
We've had wi' ane anither:
Now we maun totter down, John,
And hand in hand we'll go,
And sleep thegither at the foot,
John Anderson, my jo.



Meanings of old Scottish words:
acquent--acquainted
bonie--handsome
brent--smooth
beld--bald
snaw--snow (white)
pow--head
clamb--climbed
thegither--together
mony--many
cantie--happy
wi'--with
ane--one
anither--another
maun--must
thegither--together
my jo--my sweetheart

Saturday, December 30, 2017

Get Ready!

Get a good night's rest tonight so you can kick up your heels on New Years Eve!

Frozen Lemon




-0:25


After more than 20 laboratory tests since 1970, the extracts revealed that: It destroys the malignant cells in 12 cancers, including colon, breast, prostate, lung and pancreas...