Take the time to... THANK GOD

~Friday for Friends~

This is the ninth post in the Take the Time series. The rest are Take the Time to Listen, Encourage, Talk With Someone, Stop Gossip, Forgive, Calm Down, Plan Ahead, and Smile.


It’s easy to take things for granted. To think that the way it is – if it’s good – is how it should be. To think the opportunities and blessings we have are a right, not a gift.

We also tend to think about bad stuff in a “God-please-make-it-go-away-very-soon” sort of way. But sometimes bad stuff happens. And yet we still need to be thankful. So, my friends…

"give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)

Even when it’s hard going we can be grateful. His love is abundant and He will never fail us.

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe," Hebrews 12:28 (NIV)

How about you? What are you grateful for today? Let us lift our voices to heaven!   

He knows us by name

~Tuesday Thoughts

"The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." John 10:3  (NIV)

God knows us – each and every one of us. He knows your name and my name. He knows how much hair we have. He knows our thoughts. He knows what we’ll say before we say it.

Our God is a personal God, One who knows us.

Amen!!!

Jesus saves

~Monday Movies & Music~

"Jesus Saves" is a song by Jeremy Camp. Here are the lyrics. 

""Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”" Acts 4:12 (NIV)

There is no other name; Jesus is the only way. How merciful God is to save us! 

Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis

~Saturday Stories~

Here are a couple great quote from C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity.

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

How about you? Have you read the book? What do you think of these quotes? What are some quotes you can share?

Take the time to... SMILE

~Friday for Friends~

This is the eight post in the Take the Time series. The rest are Take the Time to Listen, Encourage, Talk With Someone, Stop Gossip, Forgive, Calm Down, and Plan Ahead.

  "A cheerful heart is good medicine,

    but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Proverbs 17:22 (NIV)

Sometimes when you're sad a smile is one of the most helpful things. A family member, a friend, or even a stranger can light up the day by just smiling. 

And the cool thing is... we can do that too. Smile! Who can you try and cheer up today?

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV)

Punishment...

~Tuesday Thoughts~

  "because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
    and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”[a]" Hebrews 12:6 (NIV)

""Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent."" Revelation 3:19 (NIV)

Most of the time punishment isn’t well accepted. We don’t go “Yay!” when we get punished. It takes us a while to realize that that punishment might have served us some good and gotten us out trouble.

Whatever we think of the punishment at the time, if we are God’s children He does punish us. To be honest, I'm not sure exactly how that works. What are some of your thoughts and examples? 

We can decide to learn from the punishment or we can decide to ignore it. And although ignoring seems so much easier, learning is so much more worth it.

How about you? When was a time when you got punished and learned from it? When was a time you ignored it? 

Lifting His Name on High

~Monday Movies & Music~

"Lord, I lift Your Name on high" is a song sung by MercyMe. Here are the lyrics.

Our God is really worthy of praise!

"1 Praise the Lord.[a]
Praise God in his sanctuary;
    praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power;
    praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
    praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,
    praise him with the strings and pipe,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
    praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord." Psalm 150 (NIV)

Let's praise Him today and forever!