Israel did evil before God; God went silent for 400 years

 Good morning all.  God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!!!

  MALACHI - the last book and prophet of the old testament.  God is speaking to Malachi and God does most of the talking.  It starts out in Chapter 1 of God saying He loved Jacob yet hated Esau. Then we get to verse 6 and God talks about a son honors his father, a slave his master, but where, O Israel is their honor to God? He talks about defiling the food for His (God's) altar.  Giving blemished or lame animals instead of the perfect animal.

   Chapter 2 God admonishes the priests. God says He will send a curse on them because their hearts are set to not honor God.  Also, because of them God will rebuke their descendants.

    God speaks to the unfaithfulness of Judah and that there will be a day of judgment.

   Chapter 3 God will come to offer judgment and testify against sorcerers, adulterers, and perjurers, those who defraud laborers of their wages, ones who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, yet they do not fear God.

  God says He does not change, and because of this (covenant) the descendants of Jacob are not destroyed.  God says:" Chapter 3: verse 7 "

Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them.  Return to me and I will return to you".  Verse 18 God says: "And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not."

  Chapter 4 gives us the Day of the LORD.  Tells of Christ's return, you can read it below:

Malachi 4 “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. 3 Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty.

4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.

5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”

  After this there was a 400 year gap of God being silent until John the Baptist and Jesus was coming about.  If you have a chance to read all of Malachi, a very short book, you will see the anger come forth from God because of the unfaithful and  lack of gratitude of the people.

Thank you for reading with me today. Love y'all.

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny

Jeremiah 1:5-9

 Good morning all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good. YOU ARE BLESSED INDEED!

  Does God really know who I am?  We need to remember Jeremiah 1: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

    before you were born I set you apart;
    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

What does God say? He knew us before he formed us, we are set apart (Christians), however, we may not be a prophet but He does want us to go into all the world and spread the good news.

   When called to do so we may have excuses as in Jeremiah 1: 6 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young (or old).”

   This first one is an excuse many will  say we don't know how to speak or know enough scripture to talk to people. Also, we use age, some say they are too young and no one will listen. Some say they are too old and no one listens to old people. So, how does God react to this?

   God comes right back to us ( you and me) and says in 

Jeremiah 1: 7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young (or old).’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

    So what happens now?  What should I do? 

 Jeremiah 1: 9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.

   God will lead us.  We just have to be open to His leading by the Holy Spirit.  I pray that God leads you and me to tell at least one person about God, Jesus today.  May God be with you and grant you God's speed in sharing the gospel with others.

    4 things to remember:  1) God initiates;   

2) Your value comes from God's choice, not your accomplishments;  

3) God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called; 

4) God promises His presence, NOT an easy path.

  Thank you for reading today. Love y'all.

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny

How do you deal with people? Like Jesus? Paul? Timothy?

 Good morning everyone.  God is good all the time, all the time God is good.

SAVED BY FAITH, NOT BY WORKS!! AMEN!!!

   It is important we follow Jesus' example as well as Paul's.  Jesus dealt with people in a loving and kind way, UNTIL, they were contrary to God's ways.

  Jesus often would answer a question with a question and He (Jesus) did not get angry UNLESS it was spurred on my evil.

  Look at Matthew 23: 13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. [14] 

15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.

If you notice verse 14 is left out of most Bibles. Here is verse 14 in the NKJV 14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

 Jesus dealt harshly with people who went against God's laws or His will.  However, when dealing with regular people He (Jesus) dealt with them in a kind and humble way, winning them over to "The Way".

  While we live and travel on this earth we have to be faithful and true to what we believe in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 23: 27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

  There are plenty of antichrists in the world today. Some in the pulpits, many on social media as "influencers", and some in famous positions (movie stars, athletes, tv). Yes, what they say sounds "good" at the time, but we MUST WEIGH IT AGAINST THE WORD OF GOD!

We have to stand our ground and say to them as Jesus said to Peter just before His crucifixion (whenPeter said he would die for Christ and never deny Him):  Matthew 16:  23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” 

  We should not tolerate evil and be bold enough to say what Jesus said to Peter. When Paul was dealing with people he would look for the positive and appeal to their (the peoples) knowledge and common sense.  Also, he taught Timothy to do likewise and told Timothy to not shy away because of his age.  Just go forth boldly and share God's word.  

  How do you share the Word of God with others?  Don't stay in your little cocoon and be afraid to tell others because you might "offend them".  If you don't share the word of God with others when the Spirit nudges you, them by your silence you are, in essence saying, "you can go to hell".  Think about the result if you don't tell them. Just plant a seed, you are not the savior, just a worker who plants seeds and shares God's word.

  Thank you for tolerating me in my rambling and thoughts. Love y'all more than you know.  I would love to hear back from you and how you are doing or if I may pray for you.

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny

Are you guilty of.............---Unfortunately I am 1 Thessalonians 5:17

 Good morning everyone. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.

HE IS RISEN, INDEED, HE HAS RISEN!!!

   I have realized in the past, but it really hit me today. I do pray for people, put people on my prayer list and then what?  Yep, I put it on the shelf or in my special carrying case and only look at it 2 or 3 times a week.

  Is that what God wants us to do? Okay, I'll pray with you now and then again when I see you; OR, should I keep this on my pray list and pray over you and others each day.

   I fail to take the time, just a 10 minute period each day to STOP and PRAY!  

1 Thessalonians 5: 16 Rejoice always, 

17 pray continually, 

18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

   Romans 12: 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

    And God says in Jeremiah 33: 3 ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’

  Please understand, this does not mean we need to speak out loud 24 hours a day.  It simply means keeping an ongoing conversation or connection with God as we go through the day.

   We need to keep our hearts tuned in and turned toward God and we can silently pray while walking, driving, working, or just relaxing.

  For me, I need to take at least 10 minutes during the day to just stop, go over my prayer list, and spend time with God.

   Not just giving out things (ordes) for God to do (if it be His will) but also to give thanks for all HE has done for me and others.

    Being humble, patient, and listening to God does not always come easy, but it is important for me to do.

  Thank you for reading with me today. Love y'all.

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny

Unite in the Spirit by Dr. Charles Stanley - 1996

 Good morning all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.

I listened to this sermon and I felt it was worth sharing as it did touch me.  I am putting it in the link below:

   Dr. Charles Stanley 1996 

Thank you for being patient with me and may your day be wonderfully blessed.  Love y'all.

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny

As Christians we are held to higher standards!!!

 Good morning all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!!

   Jo Anne and I pulled up a sitcom which we thought would be funny, and it is. However, some of the terminology they use can make your hair blow back.  The language is very suggestive and sometimes slightly obscene.

  The sitcom is Mike and Molly when they first met.  We were watching and WOW!

We did not know they had such suggestive language.  This stimulated my thoughts about me, my family, others, and the words that come out of our mouths.

  Also, this has been sitting on my heart for a few days. So here we go..........

   Here are some scriptures that you can read and mull over.

Ephesians 4: 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Ephesians 5: 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.

Colossians 3: 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

Exodus 20: 7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

 

I found these verses and they did really slap me across my mouth.  I feel like I have been guilty of all these one time or another.  How about you?  Thankfully, God forgives us and it is time to walk the straight and narrow.

   Thank you for reading with me today. Love Y'all.

In Christ's Love and Grace,

Johnny

Rewards! Are you storing up rewards for heaven?

 Good morning everyone. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.

In our world, our societies today we work for rewards.  Football national championships, superbowl, state championships. Baseball world series; basketball championships, and then we have personal rewards.

   I am great at what I do and need to be rewarded!!  ALL Children  get rewards-win or lose! Music, Writing, Singing, Sports - - we all want rewards.

  This is not all bad, unless it takes the place of working for our rewards when we get to heaven.  If I work solely to get MY PRAISES!  If I work for people to say "LOOK AT HIM/HER, WISH I COULD BE LIKE THAT".  

   The Bible tells us in Matthew that if we work for our rewards on earth so everyone will notice we have our reward.  

     If we walk as the Pharisee who stood on the corner, full of pride and self-righteousness we are getting our reward at that time as all the people see.

  However, if we are as the woman who gave 2 mites, which was all she had, we show our love, faith, and commitment to the Living God. Check the attitude of both. Hmmm!

Matthew 6: 2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

  However, if we work for the kingdom of God and quietly go about God's work then we will get our rewards.

   Matthew 6: 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

  Matthew 5: 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

   

   Look in the mirror, ask yourself, where am I today?  Wanting rewards here and now? OR -- building rewards for the trip to heaven?

  Thank you for reading with me today. Love y'all.

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny