Illustrated Truths continued...

Psalm 56

Lord, have mercy on me; all day long the enemy troops press in.

So many are proud to fight against me; how they long to conquer me.

^3-4 But when I am afraid, I will put my confidence in you.

Yes, I will trust the promises of God. And since I am trusting him,

what can mere man do to me? ⁵ They are always twisting what I say.

All their thoughts are how to harm me. 

⁶ They meet together to perfect their plans;

they hide beside the trail, listening for my steps, waiting to kill me.

 ⁷ They expect to get away with it. Don’t let them, Lord. In anger cast them to the ground.

⁸ You have seen me tossing and turning through the night.

You have collected all my tears and preserved them in your bottle!

You have recorded every one in your book.

⁹ The very day I call for help, the tide of battle turns.

My enemies flee! This one thing I know: God is for me! 

 ^10-11 I am trusting God—oh, praise his promises!

I am not afraid of anything mere man can do to me! Yes, praise his promises.

 ¹² I will surely do what I have promised, Lord, and thank you for your help. 

¹³ For you have saved me from death and my feet from slipping,

so that I can walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

 

1 Peter 3:3-4

New International Version (NIV)

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

I love this quote from Kid President.

It is similar to others I have heard.

 

"Nobody cares about how much you know,

until the know how much you care."

 

and

 

"It's nice to be important,

It's more important to be nice."

 

It all reminds me of what The Bible taught us...

 

Philippians 2:3-5

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

 Let each of you look not only to his own interests,

but also to the interests of others.

Have this mind among yourselves,

which is yours in Christ Jesus,

Think on These Things, Philippians 4:8

 

My most common spiritual weakness is my pessimistic thoughts. My mind complains, gripes, insults myself and others in my weakest moments. I have found that there are ways to "flip the switch" in my head. One is turning on my Spiritual Music, another is counting my blessings, and finding a way to give praise for what I am complaining for. God wants us to think of GOOD things.

This is harder and goes against the human grain. Every action we make was once a thought,

so before you speak it or do it,

Think it through.

 

T- is it TRUE

H- is it HELPFUL

I- Is it INSPIRING

N- Is it NECASSARY

K- Is it KIND?

 

Philippians 4:6-8

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--

if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Romans 12:2

 

do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

 

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing

 

Here I sit in the middle of Hurricane Harvey, high and dry in my house.

Work is cancelled and school too. What to do, what to do.

I see the news filled with people blessing others. I am so proud of my community.

I feel antsy just sitting and watching...

How can I use my time and not waste it?

How can I give back?

I know the Word of God,

I have an abundance of inspiration and creativity,

(Sometimes too much and time is too little!)

AND God has given me the time in this rainy week.

 

 God blesses us with gifts, talents and time?

Do you have a boat? Go rescue storm refugees.

Do you have extra clothes? Go give to the wet ones.

Do you bake? Make cookies for your flooded neighbor.

Do ALL THIS in the Name of Christ!

 

Parable of the Talents

Matthew 25:14-30

If God gives you talents, do not bury them in the dirt to keep them safe out of fear.

Invest them, use them, be brave to put them out there.

For if you use what God has given you, he will be happy with you.

^" For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance."

 

DONT IGNOTE WHAT GOD GIVES YOU TODAY!

or it can be taken away...

This was told to the rich fool that stored away all his harvest for the future,

instead of trusting God to provide him with daily needs.

When he finally had time to use it, he was gone.

See Luke 12:13-21

We cannot take our "harvest" with us, so share it today.

 

YOU ARE BLESSED!

It's not by Luck of Chance or some changing thing that you have the good things you have.

 

James 1:17

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Treasures in Heaven

¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 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. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 

Hebrews 13:16

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

 

Galatians 6:9

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

 



Luke 6:38

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

 

 

Matthew 5:40-41

And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.

If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.

(Go the "extra mile")

 

IN your good works and deeds, do not expect earthly praise.

Let your Father in Heaven clearly see your work.

For he is the only one that needs to know.

At times this is hard because people may be around you when you work,

for instance: what if you are a preacher or helping flood disaster.

How can you do that in secret? You cannot.

The most important thing in these circumstances is to bring glory to your Father in the act.

For example, "I give you these cookies in Jesus's Name" or put a note on the cookies that says,
"In Christ's Love". Basically, put the spotlight on HIm and give HIm the glory. He is what the blessing came from in the first place, you are just giving it back.

 

Matthew 6:1-2

"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 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.

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

 

I hope these illustrations will stay in your heart and be an inspirational reminder to you that

YOU ARE BLESSED!

God wants to give you more and wants to see you share it with your

Brothers and Sister in Christ.

When your kids share the things you give to them, doesn't it make you proud?

Does it not make you want to do it more?

Be Blessed this week.

Stormy Day Art

It's often that in the storm is where people find inspiration.

Watching the news on Hurricane Harvey, seeing people step up in love to help inspires me to help in my own way from home.

Through my art I hope to encourage people to help others out of love, without expectation of return.

I hope others remember what is important in life. There are temporary things in life  that can be replace and eternal things that last forever.

I will keep creating beyond the storm...

 

 

Moths Destroy

Intricate design woven and weaved by artist hands,

Imported beauties shipped from other lands,

things to treasure and lock away,

and things worth much money we pay.

The world finds comfort in which to things we cling

to some special item or beautiful thing.

 

But there is a higher perspective from a Father so tall,

that the things we see here have no value at all.

For moths come to eat till it all fades to nothing,

we choose to cry in sorrow or in praise we can sing.

Do we love the things or the Creator of all?

Is our perspective big or is it too small?

I pray you see it with an unseen spiritual gaze

instead of continuing in the world's tangible ways.

by Tabitha Morgan

 

 

 

 

Here in South Texas we are under flood advisory. At times like this, it helps me to realize what is most important. It's not things we see, but things we cannot.

Here in preparation for the storm, are we preparing our hearts as well?

Are we not only stocking up on bread to eat, but stocking up on the daily bread of Christ?

Read the WOrd of God today and everyday to know the truth.

 

 Take these words at truth and memorize them to prepare you for the storm.

Deauteronomy 11:18-20

18“You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 19“You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. 20“You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,

 Yes, you should prepare for a storm in many ways. But do not conform to the ways of the world in fear. Trust God Daily with your needs.

God Warns against this hoarding of riches in place of daily trusting Him.

Luke 12:13-21

 

Matthew 4

But he answered and said, it is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

 

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

This music video is perfect for this verse...

Shane and Shane, Though You Slay Me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyUPz6_TciY&list=PL81E68F5A1F0FA410&index=96

 

 

Things in the storm may wash away. This is God's will for us to cling to Him in knowing that He is the only rock to stand on in the storm. He is the firm foundation on which we stand.

If a storm is what I takes to praise Him, then bring the rain!

Listen to this song...

Mercy Me, Bring the Rain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kseRKxkq5iY&list=PL81E68F5A1F0FA410&index=97

 

 

Matthew 6:19-21

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,

where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.…

 

 

I pray that these images I created and words of truth bring you closer to Christ.