HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST

See How Your King Comes

 ^12-15The next day the huge crowd that had arrived for the Feast heard that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. They broke off palm branches and went out to meet him. And they cheered:

   Hosanna!

   Blessed is he who comes in God's name!

    Yes! The King of Israel!
Jesus got a young donkey and rode it, just as the Scripture has it:

   No fear, Daughter Zion:
      See how your king comes,
      riding a donkey's colt.

 ¹⁶The disciples didn't notice the fulfillment of many Scriptures at the time, but after Jesus was glorified, they remembered that what was written about him matched what was done to him.

Lyrics | Hillsong United lyrics - Hosanna lyrics

Please visit the Spiritual Sundays blog for links to many inspirational posts. Click HERE to go there.

DARE TO ASK

KATE SMITH 1909-1986

Perhaps you have never heard of Kate Smith, but I suspect most of you have even if you are too young to remember when she actually performed. She was a great singer. I recently read a story about her faith and I want to share it today.

Kate was asked to describe her philosophy of living. She said it had been the same since she was a little girl and could be stated in just three words: "Try asking God." Then she told the story of the beginning of that faith for her.

Once she was out in a rowboat on the Chesapeake Bay with two other girls. All three were in their early teens. They did not notice that the outgoing tide had swept them far out from the shore and that it was nearly dark. They suddenly became filled with fear. They cried for help but no one could hear. Then Kate Smith remembered a statement in the Bible that if two or three are gathered together in His name, He is in the midst of them.

"We have the limit," she said to her friends. "The Bible says 'two or three' and we have three. God will save us if we ask Him." They prayed. And out of the gathering darkness became the lines of a boat. They were taken aboard and carried back to safety. From that time on, in trouble, in need, in disappointment, in every circumstance of life, her philosophy was simply, "Try asking God."

I found this information about Kate Smith in Charles Allen's book entitled All Things Are Possible Through Prayer.

I am notorious for trying to fix or put  things together without reading the instructions. After I've tried and tried and failed, then I read the instructions. How many times has my hubby reminded me when I'm frustrated about assembling something or trying to figure out how something works, that I need to read the instructions. And boy, does that help. God has given us instructions for everything in life, but the world keeps trying to figure out things on their own and neglect the instructions. Many times in our society, they even make fun of and scoff at His instructions. I'm so happy that we have them written in His book. Let's not forget to read and follow them. It does no good to know the instructions if we don't follow them.

Spiritual Sundays is a blog where you will find links to many inspiring posts. Please click HERE to go there. 

St. Patrick

Since Saturday is St. Patrick's Day, I decided to see what information I could find about it online. Here's a portion of what I found. Some of it was contradictory. This is not surprising since he lived so long ago.

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity's most widely known figures. But for all his celebrity, his life remains somewhat of a mystery. Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling.

Saint Patrick, who lived during the fifth century, is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. Born in Roman Britain, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to its people. In the centuries following Patrick's death (believed to have been on March 17, 461), the mythology surrounding his life became ever more ingrained in the Irish culture: Perhaps the most well known legend is that he explained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) using the three leaves of a native Irish clover, the shamrock.Since around the ninth or 10th century, people in Ireland have been observing the Roman Catholic feast day of on March 17.

Patrick Guided by Visions:
After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. According to his writing, a voice-which he believed to be God's-spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland.

To do so, Patrick walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo, where it is believed he was held, to the Irish coast. After escaping to Britain, Patrick reported that he experienced a second revelation-an angel in a dream tells him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after, Patrick began religious training, a course of study that lasted more than fifteen years. After his ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland with a dual mission-to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish. (Interestingly, this mission contradicts the widely held notion that Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland.)

The beautiful prayer of St. Patrick, popularly known as "St. Patrick's Breast-Plate", is supposed to have been composed by him in preparation for this victory over Paganism. The following is a literal translation from the old Irish text:

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop [deck],
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I'm always inspired by people like St. Patrick. He made such an impact on Ireland and Christianity that we're still celebrating his life after all these years. Wow 461 was a long long time ago. I like the explanation of the meaning of the shamrock. Thank you St. Patrick for your faithfulness. I will be wearing green in your honor even though green is not my color.

Please visit our Spiritual Sundays blog for links to lots of inspirational posts. Just click HERE to go there.

God's Love Endures Forever

Another dear friend in his 90s went home to be with the Lord this week. I'm sharing the following poem by Helen Steiner Rice in memory of him.

God's Love Endures Forever

God's love endureth forever ―

    What a wonderful thing to know.

When the tides of life turn against you

     and your spirit is downcast and low.

God's kindness is ever around you,

     always ready to freely impart

Strength to your faltering spirit,

     cheer to your lonely heart.

God's presence is ever beside you,

     as near as the reach of your hand.

You have but to tell Him your troubles,

     there is nothing He won't understand.

And knowing God's love is unfailing,

     and His mercy unending and great,

You have but to trust in His promise ―

     God comes not too soon or too late.

So wait with a heart that is patient

     for the goodness of God to prevail.

For never do prayers go unanswered,

     and His mercy and love never fail.

And the following quote by HSR

God never said die not, sorrow not, or suffer not, but He did say, 'Fear not!' And when you take the fear out of life, then all the terrible experiences ― all the trials and all the suffering ― become bearable.

I hope you will visit Spiritual Sundays. So many wonderful inspirational posts are shared there each week. Here is the url:  http://bloggerspirit.blogspot.com/

LIFT UP YOUR EYES

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
He it is who reduces rulers to nothing.
Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.
Scarcely have they been planted,
Scarcely have they been sown,
Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But, He merely blows on them and they wither.
And the storm carries them away like stubble.
"To whom then will you liken me
That I would be his equal?" says the Holy One
Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created these stars
The one who leads forth their host by number
He calls them all by name
Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power
not one of them is missing ...
Do not fear for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 40:21-26; 41:10   

Wow. I don't know about you, but these scriptures give me great hope. Even though it seems like everything is going wrong in our world, He is still in control and it is so true. Nothing takes Him by surprise and do you suppose He is worried about anything that is going on here? And if you are still worried, I suggest you read the above scriptures again.

And did you notice the statement about the circle of the earth? Until recently people thought the earth was flat. How do you suppose Isaiah knew about the circle of the earth so many centuries ago? To me this is just another proof that Scripture is inspired by God.

Another thank you to everyone who shares on Spiritual Sundays. Here is the link to that blog. New people are always encouraged to join us there. http://bloggerspirit.blogspot.com/

SELF IMAGE

Do you have a good self image? For me, my self image has at times been a little "iffy". I think everyone can probably say that. In view of this, I thought I'd share what Joel Osteen says about developing a healthy self-image.

I Corinthians 15:10
     "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain." NKJV

Every person has an image of himself or herself. Psychologists have proven that you will most consistently perform in a manner that is in harmony with the image you have of yourself. If you see yourself as unqualified, unattractive, inferior, or inadequate, you will probably act in accordance with your thoughts. Individuals who view themselves as God sees them are usually happy about who they are. They can honestly say, "Thank You, Father, for creating me the way You did. I'd rather be me than any other person on earth. I know that You have a purpose and a plan for me, and I can't wait to discover it!"

True self-esteem can be based only on what God says about you―not on what you think or feel about yourself. You are who God says you are.

If you didn't come here from Spiritual Sundays blog I hope you will go there and check out all the links to many great posts that others have shared there. You might even want to participate by linking a post on your own blog. Click HERE to go there.

WORK IT OUT

The following was taken from Joel Osteen's little devotional book entitled Your Best Life Begins Each Morning. The title is "Work It Out".

Work out your own salvation. - Philippians 2:12

Certainly, none of us enjoy going through struggles, but you have to understand that your struggle may be an opportunity for advancement and promotion. The very thing you are fighting against so tenaciously may be the springboard that catapults you to a new level of excellence. Your challenges may become your greatest assets.

Without the resistance of air, an eagle can't soar. Without the resistance of water, a ship can't float. Without the resistance of gravity, you and I can't even walk. Without opposition or resistance, there is no potential for progress. There are no shortcuts; there is no easy way to mature physically, emotionally, or spiritually. You must remain determined and work with God. Salvation is more than a onetime prayer. It is constantly cooperating with God, dealing with the issues He brings up, keeping a good attitude, and allowing Him to change you as He sees fit.

My thoughts on this subject: As I am writing this I am reflecting on the past hour or so. We went to the 24 Hour Fitness Center as we do often. Some days I go to the Silver Sneaker exercise class but today I just rode a stationary bike. On those bikes you can turn up the "resistance" so you can hardly make those pedals go around. I seldom turn it up that high, but I do turn it up higher than I did when I first started riding over a year ago, and I can ride it a lot longer and faster. This devotional by Joel Osteen reminded me of my "gym" experience. I'm not in wonderful shape, but I'm in a lot better shape than I would have been if I had not been doing this exercise for the past year. Obviously "resistance" has benefits. I need to stop seeing my struggles as "problems" and see them as growing opportunities. Of course reading and studying the Bible is an even better way to "grow" spiritually. Reading what others have shared on Spiritual Sundays has been extremely helpful to me as well.

If you didn't come here from Spiritual Sundays blog I hope you will go there and check out all the links to many great posts that others have shared there. You might even want to participate by linking a post on your own blog. Click HERE to go there.

A Clean Heart

Be sure to visit Spiritual Sundays for links to lots of inspirational posts.

Thank you to each dear "heart" who shares there.

SPEAK TO YOUR MOUNTAIN

"Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, "Be taken up and cast into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you."

Mark 11:23-24 NASB

In his little devotional book, Your Best Life Begins Each Morning, Joel Osteen shared these thoughts.

WHAT MOUNTAIN IS IN FRONT of you this morning―a sickness, a troubled relationship, a floundering business? Jesus said that whatever your mountain is, you must do more than think or pray about it; you must speak to that obstacle.

The Bible says, "Let the weakling say, 'I am strong'" (Joel 3:10). Start calling yourself healed, happy, whole, blessed, and prosperous. God is a miracle-working God. Stop talking to God about how big your mountains are, and start talking to your mountains about how big your God is!

Charlotte's thoughts: I think this is good. I can remember arguing with my cousin about this scripture when I was about 12 years old. He just laughed at me, but I argued that if the Bible says it, it has to be true. As I got older I realized a literal mountain like the one in the picture was not exactly what was being talked about in this scripture. Although "BELIEVE" is the key word here. I did believe that when I was 12. I still do. God has moved a lot of mountains for me in my lifetime. 

Please visit Spiritual Sundays blog for links to many inspirational posts. 

A REAL LIFE FAIRY TALE

...and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. (Mark 10-44)

Marion Mill was born in a fairy tale royal palace in Hungary. Her first spoon was solid gold. They sent her to school in Vienna where she became an actress and there she met and fell in love with a young medical student named Otto.

Otto and Marion married and went to live in Hollywood, California. There, as they "set up house," he began to dabble in movies. He became so interested in movies and in directing movies that he gave up his medical practice and went on to become the internationally famous movie director Otto Preminger. Marion's beauty, wit, and irresistible charm brought her everything a woman desires. In Europe, New York and Hollywood, she became a famous international hostess. But Otto's princess could not handle the fast life of Hollywood. She dove into alcohol, drugs and numerous affairs. Her life and life-style became so sordid, even for Hollywood, that Otto Preminger divorced Marion. She tried to take her own life three times, unsuccessfully, and finally moved back to Vienna.

There at a party, she met another doctor ― Albert Schweitzer, the well-known medical doctor, musician, philosopher, theologian  and missionary Schweitzer was home on leave from his hospital in Lamberene, Africa. She was so fascinated by Schweitzer that she asked him if she could talk to him alone. For almost six months she met with Dr. Albert Schweitzer every week. At the end of that time he was going to go back to Africa and she begged him to let her go with him. Schweitzer surprised everyone by agreeing. Marion, the young princess, who was born in a palace, went to a little village in Lambarene, Africa, and spent the rest of her life emptying bed pans and tearing up sheets to make bandages for putrid sores on the poverty stricken nationals.

She wrote her autobiography. I love the title of it - All I Want is Everything. When she died, Time Magazine quoted from her autobiography these words: "Albert Schweitzer says there are two kinds of people. There are the helpers and the non-helpers. I thank God He allowed me to become a helper, and in helping, I found everything." 

This story was shared by Jim Borror of Scottsdale Bible Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, in a devotional book the church had printed as part of the 50th Anniversary celebration of the church. I'm happy to be a member of that great church. It was started 50 years ago when 13 people met in a home. It has grown to about 7000 members now and is active in missions around the world as well as locally. 

Of course I'm sharing this for Spiritual Sundays. 

You may click HERE to go to that blog for many links to inspirational posts others have shared.

Show & Tell

I John 4:11

"Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

A Salvation Army worker found a derelict woman alone on the street and invited her to come into the chapel for help, but the woman refused to move. The female worker assured her: "We love you and want to help you. God loves you. Jesus died for you." But the woman did not budge.

As if on divine impulse, the worker leaned over and kissed the woman on the cheek, taking her into her arms. The woman began to sob and, like a child, was led into the chapel, where she ultimately trusted Christ.

"You told me that God loved me" she said later, "but it wasn't until you showed me that God loved me that I wanted to be saved."

Jesus did not simply preach the love of God; He proved it by giving His life on the cross. He expects His followers to do likewise. If we abide in Christ, we will abide in His love. If we abide in His love, we must share this love with others. In other words, as Christians there is no separation between our inner life and our outer life.

This devotional was taken from Warren Wiersbe's book Pause for Power.


There are many ways we can show Christ's love for others. As I was typing this message, one of our Spiritual Sundays people came to my mind. That person calls herself micey. Her name is Michelle. She has linked with us on Spiritual Sundays almost every week since we first started this blog. Right now micey is making preparation to go to Africa on another mission trip. If you are not acquainted with her I hope you will visit her blog and learn all about this trip that is coming up very soon. You can click HERE to go to her blog.

And you can click HERE to go to the Spiritual Sundays blog to find links to lots of inspiring posts. You may want to participate by sharing something of an inspirational nature on your own blog. There are instructions there on how to do it.

LIGHTEN UP

There are so many good devotionals in Warren Wiersbe's little book called Pause for Power. Today I want to share with you the one called "Lighten Up." It's short but the message is good.

Read I John 2:9-11
Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.

A man who was walking down a dark street one night saw a pinpoint of light coming toward him in a faltering way. He thought perhaps the person carrying the light was ill or drunk, but as he drew nearer he could see a man carrying a flashlight and a white cane.

Why would a blind man be carrying a light? the man wondered, and then he decided to ask. 

The blind man smiled. "I carry my light not so I can see, but so that others can see me. I cannot help being blind," he said, "but I can help being a stumbling block."

The best way to help other Christians not to stumble is to love them. Love makes us stepping-stones; hatred (or any of its "cousins," such as envy or malice) makes us stumbling blocks. It is important that we Christians exercise love in a local church or else there will be problems and disunity. If we are falling over each other, instead of lifting each other higher, we will never become a happy spiritual family.

As I was thinking about this devotional, I thought about how so many of you who share on Spiritual Sundays "lift us up" by sharing your hearts with us each week. You can click HERE to go to that blog and click on the different links. You will find a big variety of interesting and inspirational thoughts.