Living Stones


Make an appeal to the King of Kings on behalf of our family, church, city, and nation. Intercede for the suffering Christians in the areas torn apart by ISIS in the Middle East. Cry out for restoration in the places where Satan has stolen from God’s people.
 
Recall the story of the Shunammite woman who showed kindness to Elisha, the prophet of God. When her house and land were taken in a time of famine, she “returned from the land of the Philistines and she went out to appeal to the king for her house and land.”  The king commanded, “Restore all that was hers and all the produce of the field from the day that she left the land until now.” Show kindness as the Shunammite showed to Elisha. We make an appeal in the spirit of the Shunammite.
 
King of Glory, send a wave of Your mighty Spirit to bring full restoration...

A Sense of Purpose

You love God. You want to serve God. You didn’t ask for life to derail on you and leave you shattered and seemingly grasping the air to find where you are and where you are headed. I want to remind you that God does have a purpose for your life, even though disappointment in life may have devastated you for a time. The events of your life are not a surprise to God. He saw what was coming on the path of life for you, and He has a plan. Be encourage and keep standing!

And now God is building you, as living stones, into His spiritual temple.  What's more, you are God's holy priests, who offer the spiritual sacrifices that please Him because of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 2:5

 Life's biggest challenge is deciding what's important – then disregarding the rest.Through it all, HIS LOVE is transforming us, perfecting us, completing us.
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Year  2015 

"Don't look back. Don't look back and you WILL move forward. Know that this year you are GOING where you are GIVING. Give toward greater things and greater anointings and greater ministries that you are walking in yourself and you WILL experience promotion."
"If you want to walk in the prophetic and know God's voice give to the prophetic. If you want to go to the mission field give to God's messengers. Give toward those works and ministries that represent the DNA of God's  glory churning and burning in your heart and you WILL SEE unprecedented increase."...Donna

This year put your HOPE only in the Lord, and HIS unfailing love will rest upon you. Some of you have forgotten how to hope. You have been disappointed (me too!) so many times that you don't want to risk being let down again. So you forge ahead stoically-living mechanically. Other people put their hope in problem solving, the lottery, materialism, money and so on. But I challenge you to place your hope fully in our God. No matter what is happening in your life now, your story has an amazingly happy ending. Though the way ahead may look dark to you, there is brilliant, everlasting Light at the end of your earth-journey. HIS finished work on the cross secured this heavenly hope for you, and it is absolutely assured.  Moreover, knowing that your story finishes well can fill your present journey with joy.  The more you put your hope in the Lord, the more His love-light shines upon you--brightening even you worse day. Remember HE is with you continually, and HE is your HOPE! Keep pressing onward and upward!
"The Lord is my light and my salvation...the Lord is the strength of my life. "  Psalm27:1

Let us pray....
Dear Father God,
Please forgive me for the errors of yesterday and help me to walk close by your side today.  Take my hand, precious Lord, for I cannot make it alone.  Thank you Lord for all your many blessings,  Amen
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"Don't Be Moved".....Donna

"Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance."  Psalm 112:6

Who is this person who isn't moved?  Who is unshakeable, steadfast, grounded?  Who isn't moved by what they see or hear?  Or moved by circumstances of life?  We live in a world that is full of violence, uncertainties, threats, economic problems, and concerns about the future.  When you look at the state of affairs in the world, it is easy to become fearful, anxious and discouraged.  It is easy to dread the future.  It is easy to want to turn and run or put your head under the covers and go into hiding.  It would be easy to leave the firm foundation upon which your hope, strength and peace lie.  But we don't have to be moved by anything that is going on around us-- nationally, internationally or personally.  "Surely he shall not be moved for ever." 

So again, who is this person?  Who is this one who isn't moved?  Who is this one that stands firm and strong?  Who is this one who continues to have peace though everything around them is falling apart?  The answer is found in verse 1- "Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments."  That person is the person (man or woman, boy or girl) who fears the Lord and delights in His commandments. 

The fear of the Lord is a keeper.  It is the beginning of wisdom.  Wisdom will keep you grounded and unmovable.  The commandments (God's Word) is a keeper as well.  It will keep you rooted and grounded.  It is a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path, so that you can see clearly and know which direction to go.  The Word is more powerful that any weapon known to man.  The Word of the Lord gives us faith which in turn helps us to trust the Lord no matter what we see, hear or feel.  When we have the fear of the Lord, and the Word of God hid in our hearts and renewing our minds, we will not be moved regardless of what comes our way.

Have a great day.  The key to remaining unmoved and unshaken by distressing situations is to fear the Lord and delight in His commandments.

For further reading:
Psalm 112
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"Why Do You Follow?"...Donna
 
"Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life."  John 6:68
 "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him." (verse 66)  Many who had followed Jesus were now, because of the word He had spoken to them, turning away from Him and not walking with Him any more.  This same thing is happening today.  There are those who have walked with Jesus and followed His teachings but have now turned from following Him.  They stopped following for various reasons.  Some have stopped because He didn't answer a prayer in the way they wanted Him to.  Some have turned from Him because they feel that He let them down.  Others found themselves in a situation-- the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, a divorce, a sickness or some other adversity-- and blamed the Lord for it, so they turned away from Him. 
The same people who were now turning from Jesus in the verses above had turned to Him to begin with because of what they saw Him doing.  They had heard of His fame, they had seen His miracles, many of them had been healed themselves by His power.  They followed Him because of His acceptance of the outcast and downcast.  They flocked to Him because the religious leaders didn't have what they needed, the government couldn't provide what they lacked, there was no other place than with Jesus where they could get their needs met and feel the loving grace they felt from Him. 
The question then becomes, "Why were they following Him in the first place?"  Some followed because of the miracles that He did.  In other words they followed because of what He was doing and what they could get from Him.  When you follow for the wrong, or a selfish, self-centered reason, when the following becomes hard, when it leads you into a place you had not planned on going, when it puts a demand or condition on you, if you aren't following for the right reason, then you will turn from following.
Now the question today is, "Why are you following Him?".  What is your motive behind following Jesus?  Is your reason enough that it will keep you following Him even when times get hard, even when persecution comes, even when things don't go as planned, or even if the journey gets painful?
Why are you following Jesus?  
 
For further reading:
John 6:2, 64-69
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                            "Messengers Of Blessings"

"Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord."  Palm 118:26

This verse was a prophecy concerning the Messiah who was to come.  It was fulfilled in Jesus when He made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday riding on the colt of a donkey.

This verse was fulfilled in Christ Jesus but it is a continuation to what He fulfilled.  It is continued through the Body of Christ.  "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!' (Isaiah 52:7) 

He fulfilled it, but we continue to make it known.  When we share the good news of salvation with others, we do not share it in our own name or authority.  We do it in "the name of the Lord".  We are His messengers, announcing peace and proclaiming good tidings.  We are "blessed" messengers bringing "blessings" to others.  The Greek word here for blessed means:  to invoke a blessings upon a person.  Each time you share the message of salvation through Jesus Christ, each time they hear the Good News that Jesus saves, each time you testify to someone about Jesus, you are bringing a blessing into their lives.  (Of course it is up to them whether they receive it or not.)

Do you want to be a "blessing" to others?  The best way, the greatest way to do that is by sharing Jesus-- sharing the message of His love, His saving grace, His salvation, His mercy and His power.

Have a great day.  We are messengers of the Lord who bring blessings to others as we share the good news that Jesus saves.

For further reading:
John 12:13
Matthew 21:9


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"Good Hearted Or God Hearted?"

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"  Jeremiah 17:9

I know a lot of really good-hearted people.  They will do anything for you.  They show a lot of compassion.  They are always there when there is a problem.  They are among the first ones to help.  They will "give you the shirt of their back" or their last dollar if you need it.  But is it enough to just be good-hearted?  Especially when it comes to eternity?

A rich young ruler came to Jesus to ask a question.  He addressed Jesus as "good master".  Jesus corrected him by telling him that there is only one who is good-- God the Father.  Meaning that in man dwells no good thing.  We are not good, we are sinners with evil hearts.  That is not to say that we don't do some good things like the people I described earlier. But our hearts have to be changed and transformed from "good" to "godly".  Just because you have a "good heart" doesn't mean you have a "godly" heart.  

The Bible tells us it all goes back to the heart.  The heart has to be changed.  The belief in Jesus as Savior for salvation has to come from the heart.  We are to love the Lord God with all our heart.  It has been said that a lot of people miss heaven by "eighteen- inches"-- the distance from the head to the heart.  

Head knowledge of Jesus won't save you.  Just having a mentally positive attitude about who Jesus is won't save you.  Knowing that He is real and exist won't save you.  Believing that He created everything won't save you either.  It is with the heart that man believes unto righteousness.  When the heart believes, it will become brand new.  Then the heart will go from being just "good" to "godly" because God will give you a new heart-- a heart like His.

Have a great day.  Are you just a good-hearted person?  Or a God-hearted person?  There is a difference.  

For further reading:
Matthew 15:19
Romans 7:18; 10:10