Are You Too B-U-S-Y?

Dr. David Jeremiah has been teaching a wonderful series in which he recently shared the following. I challenge you to read it and think about it. I know it impacted me. How about you?

Addressing a worldwide convention of demons, Satan told them: "As long as Christians stay close to God we've no power over them, so here are 12 steps to help pry them away.

1. Keep them busy with non-essentials.
2. Tempt them to overspend and go into debt. 
3. Make them work long hours to maintain empty lifestyles. 
4. Discourage them from spending family time, for when homes disintegrate there's no refuge from work.  
5. Overstimulate their minds with television and computers so that they can't hear God speaking to them.  
6. Fill their coffee tables and nightstands with newspapers and magazines so they've no time for Bible reading.  
7. Flood their mailboxes with sweepstakes, promotions and get-rich-quick schemes; keep them chasing material things.  
8. Put glamorous models on TV and on magazine covers to keep them focused on outward appearances; that way they'll be dissatisfied with themselves and their mates.  
9. Make sure couples are too exhausted for physical intimacy; that way they'll be tempted to look elsewhere.  
10. Emphasize Santa and the Easter Bunny; that way you'll divert them from the real meaning of the holidays.  
11. Involve them in 'good' causes so they won't have any time for 'eternal' ones.  
12. Make them self-sufficient.  Keep them so busy working in their own strength that they'll never know the joy of God's power working through them.  

Do these twelve things faithfully.  I promise--it'll work!"


Have you figured out the difference between being busy and being successful in what God's called you to do?  Sometimes being B-U-S-Y just means Being Under Satan's Yoke!

Calvary is the Sea

In my church choir, we have been rehearsing a song called "Calvary is the Sea." The lyrics to this song have really touched me. I'm sharing them here so they might speak to you, too.

Calvary is the Sea

Image by petalouda62 via FlickrYour broken form upon the cross,
Your holy love expressed
Stirs a passion in my soul,
Calling me to give my best.

No sacrifice I could give to You
Could match what You’ve given me.
For my everything is but a drop of dew
And Calvary is the sea.
Calvary is the sea.

If I could take the love I feel
And capture it with words,
More than what my heart could give
Is still much less than You deserve.

No sacrifice I could give to You
Could match what You’ve given me.
For my everything is but a drop of dew
And Calvary is the sea.
Calvary is the sea.

If I should ever doubt Your love
My only prayer would be
That You would keep Your rugged cross
Etched upon my memory.

No sacrifice I could give to You
Could match what You’ve given me.
For my everything is but a drop of dew
And Calvary is the sea.
Calvary is the sea.

Dave Clark, Lowell Alexander, Tony Wood
©1997 Word Music, LLC (a div. of Word Music Group, Inc.)

Do You Believe?

Many years ago, Michelle and I spent Easter in a poverty-stricken village of Romania. Those who believed in our living, loving Lord had a tradition of greeting each other with "Christ is risen, He has risen indeed!" 

Like our Romanian brothers and sisters, I praise God for dying on the cross for our sins and rising from the dead three days later. I Peter 2:24

Do you believe?

Related articles

• Christ is risen! (johnmeunier.wordpress.com)
• Blessed and Happy Easter ! (writingsfrom50pluslady.wordpress.com)
• He Is Risen! (fromdatestodiapers.com)

Food for Thought....

Image by Duncan Brown (Cradlehall) via Flickr

One principle that the resurrection teaches us is that God will always finish what He started. No matter how dark it looks, no matter how long it's been, no matter how many people are trying to push you down; if you will stay in faith, God will always take you from Friday to Sunday. He will always complete what He started in you! I Cor. 15:3-4

Miracles Still Happen...

Image by GlacierTim via FlickrIn Bible Study this morning I learned about three miracles. However, these miracles were not from the stories of the Bible. These were present day miracles.

The first one was shared by one of our Bible Study members who had been diagnosed with cancer five years ago. This past week he received a clean bill of health from the doctors at MD Anderson. He shared that the type of cancer he had is diagnosed in more than 16,000 men every year and that 11,000 of those diagnosed pass away. Praise God for healing my friend!

The second and third miracles surprisingly made it to the front page of The Post and Courier today. One headline read "Get Up and Walk" and tells about a man who had a degenerative disease that progressively got worse. By 2005 he was wheel chair bound and could not walk. In 2009 this Christ-follower heard a voice in the night that told him to "Get up and walk." He did and has been walking ever since. Praise God from whom all blessing flow!

The third miracle's headline "Surviving a tornado" tells about a man who emerged unharmed after a violent storm flattened the church around him.  Detailed accounts of this story on local news stations shared that he tried to get out of the church but could not find the key to unlock the door, so he knealt and prayed for God's protection. After the storm had destroyed everything around him and moved on, the locked door opened providing the man an exit. He was unharmed. Praise God!

Psalm 91:15 says "He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
         I will be with him in trouble;
         I will deliver him and honor him."

I know from personal experience that our living, loving Lord performs miracles all the time. He's done many miracles for me over the years. In fact, recent events in my life are a testament to what He has done for me. Jer. 33:3 and Ps. 34:1

So what about you? Do you believe in miracles?

"A blessing is not always easy, painless, simple, comfortable or expected. A blessing often comes, wrapped in the mystery of darkness. But I am learning this truth - anything that makes us cry out to God can be counted as a blessing." From Girlfriends In God 

Read Matt 14:22-33

It came to pass

I was listening to a former pastor of mine, Jeff Schreve, preach through streaming video. Many of the things he shared spoke to me, but one in particular stood out.

The Bible says "It came to pass...*" The Bible never says it came to stay...

Think about that for a moment. "It came to pass..." To me this loudly proclaims that whatever we are going through is not permanent. It WILL pass.

So the choice is up to us. We can wallow in things and have a self-pity party. OR we can choose to make the most of the trials we are going through.

I chose to make the most of the trials I go through by putting my trust in Him. How about you?


*Came to pass is mentioned 2,761 times in the Bible. Cool little factoid, aye?!