Topic: Gifts; Matthew 5:22-24

". . . I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother (or sister) without cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught aganist thee; leave there thy gift before the alter and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."


This is a lot harder to do than it is to read. The scripture says, whosoever is angry without cause, but if we are wounded, don't we always believe we have cause to be angry? I have carried the pain of that hurt for several years now and yesterday I was able to let it go. It changes nothing. It does not erase the act, does not change the heart of the perpetrator. All it changes is my attitude. I am simply tired of living in the past and yesterday I let that go and remember whatever it was no more.
Ceil

Topic: Gifts; My gift to all

Today I give the gift of forgiveness.   For those who have offended me either intentionally or on purpose, I forget what you did. If you sent me emails that were so horrible that they seared my eyes and wounded my soul, I have deleted them and remember them no more. I remember only the good things from this day forwarded. No longer will I allow the past to tarnish today.  I remember, your smile, the kind things you did and the small tokens of appreciation. Those things I have kept. I will remember and cherish them forever.

Ceil

Topic: Gifts; Ephesians 4:4-7

Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, and through all, and in you all. But into every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ."  We are given grace (or clemency) through the gift of Christ which is the atonement.
 

Topic: Gifts; Exodus 23: 8

When the Lord gives Moses the laws, pertaining to integrity and godly conduct he says, "And thou shall take no gift: for the gift bindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous."
I think this means that our conduct should not be swayed from righteousness by gifts. In other words we should not take gifts in payment for our christan duty such as preaching the gosple and doing good deeds.

Topic: Thankful; What I am Thankful For

The fullness of the earth is ours, "And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man: for unto this end were they made to be  used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extorton. And in nothing doth man offend God, or aganist none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments."
Happy Thanksgiving

Topic: Thankful; What I am Thankful For

The people I am most thankful for are those in my family. I consider it a privilege and honor to be the wife of Edward the mother of Eddie, Henry, and Gwen, the grandmother of fifteen, and the great grandmother of three.   It is a privilege and honor to be the daughter of Andrew and Virginia and the granddaughter of Mellie and Johnny the niece and cousin of a countless number of wonderful individuals. No other honor could be bestowed upon me than to be associated with such choice people.  

Mellie Ceil

Topic: Thankful; What I Am Thankful For

Only one more day until Thanksgiving and I have only began to express the things I'm thankful for. Today I am thankful for my eyes, ears, legs, hands, arms, brain, my heart (both physically and emotionally speaking) and all that I am. I am also thankful to live in a time when if these eyes, ears, legs , and so on don’t work I can purchase glasses so I can read, or a hearing aid.  My arm can be retied into the shoulder socket, or a broken bone put in a cast to heal straight and as good as new.  I am thankful for all these things and more.

Ceil

 

Topic; Thankful; Who I am Thankful For

I am thankful for my hometeacher and his sweet companion. The Lord sent them to do for me what I could not do alone. Thanks V&PS
Ceil

Topic: What I am Thankful For

I am thankful for Ben Bingham and the impact he has had on my life. Ben taught me the importance of writing from the heart and he taught me creativity. I took a class from him once but the most important things he taught me have been outside of a classroom.  He has always encouraged me to find and develop my talents and to follow the things that are inside of me. My grandchildren adore him and he has been their mentor as well as mine. Likewise, he encourages them to follow their insides to be who they were meant to be. He took one of them, who aspires to write, to visit the writer of his favorite children’s book. What a thrill that was for that child. The wonderful things he has done for us are too numerous to mention here but there are two things he has done that are of great importance to me. When my husband died, Ben was there for me and helped me through that difficult time. The other thing is that he literally saved my life. I am forever grateful for Ben Bingham.

Ceil DeYoung

Topic: Thankful; What I'm thankful for

I express thanks today for writers like Ken Baker, who has written on his blog about two writers who have inspired and encouraged him. I'd hardly know where to start, my list is so long. If I had to list only three they would be; Marilyn Richarson probably taught me the most simply because she was my first contact when I began writing. Betty Vickers, who let me contribute to the newsletter, and Caleb Warnock, who put up with me through umpteen dozen classes.
Thanks you guys.
Ceil

Thopic: Thankful' Hebrews 13:14-15

". . . We seek one to come. By him there fore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name."

Here Paul writes to the Hebrews about the sacrifice Christ made for us and that our praise to God -- the fruit of our lips-- our thanks --is our sacrifice to him.

Topic: Thankful; 1 Timothy 2:1 -2

"I exhort therefore, that, first of all supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority: that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty."

I find this so interesting that not only does Paul exhort Timothy to pray, for all men, kings and all that are in authority but to give thanks for them. Doesn't our attitude toward those in authority over us change when we pray for them but what if we gave thanks for them?     

Topic: Thankful; Ephesians1: 15-16

"Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him."  

This the opening paragraph in the letter Paul writes to the Ephesians. It reminds us of the love our brethren and sisters, who labor in the gospel, have for us.

Topic: Thankful; 2 Corinthians 9: 13-15

"Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ. . .  And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be unto Go for his unspeakable gift."

I think the ministration Paul speaks of here is the twelve, who were the Church administrators.

Topic: Thankful; 1 Corinthians 15:54-57

"So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law, but thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Death is not the end but the begining of our time in immortality.

Topic: Thankful; The Acts 27:34

"Wherefore I pray you to take some meat; for this is for your health; for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you. And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all:"

This is an interesting passage. This is where Paul is held prisoner and King Agrippa said, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christan." Since Paul was not worthy of death they put him on a ship to bring him before Caesar. But the ship was caught in a tempestuous wind. After many days Paul stood before them and said, you should have listened to me, but be of good cheer because there will not be the loss of any man's life, but of the ship only. Then after 14 days they were frighten and ready to abandon ship. Paul gave the above quote and all were saved. However, as Paul had told them the ship ran aground and was broken by the violent waves.

Topic: Thankful; Luke 17:12

"And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, that stood afar off: and they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priest, and it came to pass, that, as they went they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God. And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan."  
Who do we forget to thank? Most certainly the Lord, who has given us all things; but what about our children, our spouse, our neighbor, our co-worker, our boss, people who wait on us in stores, or the bank, or wherever.

Topic: Thankful; Luke 22: 17 &19

"And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this and divide it among yourselves: . . .  And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: This do in remembrance of me."

Topic: Thankful; St Matthew 15: 36-38

"And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks and brake them and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.  And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children."
It is interesting to note here that Christ did not take the food and comand it to multiply.
Instead he gave thanks. Is the message here that if we would have the blessing we need and want we need to ask for them by giving thanks?  

Topic: Thankful; Finding the Right Bus by Ceil DeYoung

I have a son who was born visually impaired. He didn't look handicapped. When he went to school, his peers made fun of him because he had to get right up to the school buses in order to see the number on each bus. Only the bus with the right number on it would bring him safely home.

We are surrounded by people like my son, whose problems can't be seen. I just read some alarming statistics about depression, abuse, addiction and suicide in the state of Utah. All of these individuals have areas of their lives that are not desirable and yet somehow they must find their way safely back home. I was not there to help my son, his teachers were busy with other task, his brother and sister and childhood friends went to a different school. This was something he had to do for himself and it didn't help to have kids make fun of him.

Gaining your own testimony, overcoming your fears, and having faith is like finding the right bus. The road back home may not be easy even when you are on the right bus, but how much better to be on the right bus than still waiting at the bus stop. God lives. He loves us and has prepared every needful thing for our return. For this I am thankful.
Ceil DeYoung

Topic: Thankful; Daniel 6:10

Daniel you remember had the gift to interpret dreams and gained a huge number of likes. When Darius becomes the new king and he sets up 120 princes over the whole kingdom. Over these are three presidents of which Daniel is the first. This displeases certain people and they seek to get rid of Daniel and convince the king to make a decree that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.
"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime."

Would you have the courage to worship in a similar situation?  

Woops! Sorry.

Yesterday's scripture was Psalms 92:1-2. I left off the Chapter number. Sorry about that.
Ceil

Topic: Thankful; Psalms:1-2

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High; to shew forth thy loving kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night."

Can you name something different each day that you are thankful for?

Topic: Thankful; Ezra:3 10-11

"And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the Lord, afte the ordinance of David king of Israel.
 And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord. . . and all the people shouted with  a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid."

Something to think about during this season of thanksgiving, what privileges do we have that we would miss so much that we would shout to have them restored?

Topic: Thankful; 1 Chronicles 16:7

"Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord into the hand of Asaph his brethern. Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people  Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works."
Psalms obviously means songs so keep a song in your heart today.

Topic: Thankful; 2 Samuel 22: 47-50

"The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation, it is God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people under me, and that bringeth me forth from mine enemies: thou also hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up aganist me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man. Therefore, I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name."
Here David sings praises unto the Lord. The phrase, he hast delivered me from the violent man, hits home because he has done that for me and I am grateful.

Topic: Thankful; Jacob 4:2-3

Here is a good one for those among us who write.
"But whatsoever thing we write upon anything save it be upon plates must perish and vanish away; but we can write a few words upon plates, which will give our children, and also our beloved brethern, a small degree of knowledge concerning us, or concerning their fathers-- Now in this thing we do rejoice; and we labor diligently to engraven these words upon plates, hoping that our beloved brethern and our children will receive them with thankful hearts . . ."
How mind boggling to think of the fragility of the things we write. Five years and most things will be outdated, paper will in the end decay. What good is cyberspace if in the end we cannot access it? The only thing that counts in the end are those things that are written, recorded, or bound on earth and in heaven. Gives me shivers. 

Topic: Thankful; Colossians 3: 14-15

" And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness, and let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful."
Paul says charity is the bond of perfectness. Charity being love does make us perfect for by love God sent his Son that through love he atoned for us. As we server others that pure of Christ makes us perfect and the peace of God rules in our hearts. Be ye thankful.

Topic: Thankfulness; Romans1: 18, 21-22

"For the wrath of God is reveled from heaven aganist all ungodliness and unrighteounsness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; . . . Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their folish heart was darkened.  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, . . . "

Topic: Thankful: Psalm 100

"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."