37 Grace for TODAY

Hey Mr. McGreggor…

 

Today is a new day, and the first day of the rest of your life…what are you going to do about it?    

I am busy getting over the flu, but also getting Zach’s Easter Basket ready to mail.   I told him he might be in his teens, but everyone needs  an Easter basket…I need one!  *Smile*   I hope I make him smile because I did when I got the idea to make him one… you know the candy corn they have ? Well I found some candy corn  but they were made into ‘chicken feet’...U G L Y !!    But quite funny, so that is what I am sending in his basket.  Remembering with fondness when I used to hide your baskets and then leave a trail of notes to find them.  Corny but fun...smile …

Thinking this a.m.  about  all the things that life has thrown at us, and how we handle them….what would we do without Jesus???????

As we walk this long road of life…often we are blasted with things that we have to deal with.   When we know Jesus personally, we are able (or not) to just throw them over our shoulder into Jesus arms for Him to carry, work out, or deal with-----and we go on our merry way without a care or a doubt…Right?  Wrong again Margaret!!!

We are very blessed indeed, to have a Savior who will do all that.  But I am quite sure that if I did not know Jesus and could depend on Him, I would, as Apostle Paul said, ‘ Be a most miserable man!’

But as I was reading yesterday about God’s Grace…We, by faith, can and do accept the fact that Christ was the ultimate pure Sacrifice….No one has ever found a way for sin to be forgiven forever without  ‘The Lamb of God and His  Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection.‘   

That is what this walk is all about.

Sins were dealt with, animals slain, blood flowed, but this all just pushed the sins away, for the time being...until it could be done by The Pure Sinless Lamb, Christ Jesus. 

   

ONCE FOR ALL…NO REPLAYS NEEDED…DONE… FINISHED…MISSION  ACCOMPLISHED…

And not only were they taken away, BUT thrown into the sea of forgetfulness,  NEVER to be remembered against us ever again.  Priceless!!!

Yep, we understand that we could do nothing, but He could…and He did!  Sound like a song?

We owed a debt we could not pay, He payed a debt He did not owe…

We can also accept this “Blessed Hope” of life after death to be eternally with that Perfect Lamb…Jesus…  We could never get there on our own, only He could make a way and He did….o.k. we got that, too.   The beginning and the ending (or the other beginning… smile)

He paid the ultimate price for our PAST…PRESENT  AND   FUTURE…  

 O.K. we got it….so what is the problem here?   Problem?  What problem?    The problem is in this life, the few short years we call our  sojourn  on earth…NOTHING has changed…God made the plan, Christ completed the plan…nothing else needs to be done or CAN be done by you and me…us!

As our Pastor said, ‘are you picking up what I’m laying down?’     

Do you get that the middle is just like the beginning and the end?     

Day after day, wearily we trudge along…things hitting the fan in a regular manner….

we forget who God is or what He says,

we think  He is asleep in the boat…

we think He needs our help, because things are not going right...

We forget that His plan is complete from beginning to end   without our help or input.

IT IS ALREADY DONE…..AT THE CROSS……Jesus exclaimed….IT IS FINISHED!!!!

Did He need our help, or does He now?   Absolutely not!!

Noooooooooooo all He needs is for us to trust Him and let Him do what He is doing, all for our own good.    

Remember the Potter and the  clay?    We are  just the POT…THE CLAY…WE ARE NOT EVEN THE WHEEL THAT TURNS THE POT…WE ARE TOTALLY HELPLESS…TOTALLY USELESS!!    

How can we be so  Egotistical as to possibly try and tell The Potter  how we want to be formed,  or try to tell Him what the problem is….

We are the problem… 

He is the Answer…

He has the answer.

So in  the middle part of this journey we make the problem…we think He needs our help …*smile*

 

Today…this minute… is  all we have….yesterday is gone,  just like our sins…tomorrow isn’t here yet…so we can’t accomplish anything tomorrow, today!  Nope!!   

  

This second is already gone…never to be recovered!!

Live today as if it was going to be all you have, it might be!  Don’t waste it…He sees ahead…listen to the Still Small voice….He loves you and is  ALWAYS nearby.   

Today He dropped a small word into my heart;  I was enjoying looking at my memories of our time with the Mouse House in Sacramento…these last two months….I am always aware of the tenuous  situation with your health, Greg…and I was musing about how was the fastest  way to get there, if in an emergency.  The thought that God dropped into my heart was, 

“I will tell you with urgency what to do.”

So I am adding that to my things I am truly learning and practicing…”don’t worry about tomorrow” ….pray the prayer that always works….”Thy will be done”…. Listen for directions “The still small voice.” 

How great and freeing is that?

The End!  Well, God is telling me to get out of the way, and let Him do His Stuff!!

Look up…hang on tight to  His hand…we’ll see you here, there, or in the air!!

Love y’all…Nanny…Marker…Mom …Sis…Grandma  (call me anything,  anytime, especially in time for dinner)  You too Cray!!

36 THE WHOLE ARMOR

Today as I read and reflect I am brought back to putting on the Whole Armor in Eph 6.  

  

Greg my Son my Friend…walking together thru this valley...I am reminded as I thought yesterday, and what has happened this week…(good and bad) that as hard as this has been…God is doing some marvelous things  right now, and that is my next blog….*smile*

We need to study…pay attention…use…put on…The armor that God has given us through our Lord, Christ Jesus…and do it every morning.   

I heard years ago, that when we get up, rush out into the day...it is like streaking, (running out of the house without any clothes on.  *Smile*)

Helmet of Salvation...Breastplate of Righteousness...Girdle of Truth...Shield of  Faith...Sword of the Spirit...Shoes of Peace.    When you put these all together, you will find out who Jesus is…because He is all of these pieces of the Armor!!  So we must be ready for the fight….it is coming, it is here, and we better be prepared. 

What is VERY interesting, is that  He says to put these on,  and  when the day of evil comes... you may be able  to stand …He didn’t say fight…  He says stand firm… so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.    

 Next verse….For our struggle  is  not against flesh and blood BUT against the rulers of darkness, authorities, powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil….

STAND…is the command…and the only way we can STAND is on our knees.  We have no power against these forces, but I know the ONE who  does have  the power….Greater is He that is  in you, than he that is in the world…that means ol’ slewfoot  the devil himself.   

Now you know just what it means to put on the Whole Armor…put on Jesus, every morning…walk comfortably into the sunshine or the shadow…knowing that all thru Scripture He repeats….Don’t worry… I go before you…stand still and see what I  will do…I am the same yesterday, today and forever…I never change…I am God… I cannot lie…  get it?

Can we concentrate on this?  Can we just Do what the Word sez?  Can we give it up, and let God do what He does best?  Pray the prayer that NEVER fails?   (Thy will be done)  Oh brother, here I am going on 84…and I am still working on this…well as they say, ‘I am a work in progress, God is NOT thru with me yet..’…..and He surely has a lot of work to do…*smile*

So look up, hold tightly to His hand,  and we’ll see you here…there or in the air…(and I am holding tight to the IN THE AIR part…I hope it is soon!!!)

See ya Cray, in the Morning!  (Ida is there already  thank  you Jesus for your Faithfulness!!)

Nanny…Mom… (and all those guys) smile

35 Two Trains Collide...brokenness...pain...death

There are many many scriptures that declare God’s love for us:

One verse  tells us that He  (God) chose us from the beginning of the world.  Eph 1:14

Another verse says  He adopted us.  Verse 5

Vs 11 sez we have obtained an inheritance (done!)

Vs 13 sez we were bought by Jesus blood and sealed with the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is our guarantee of this inheritance.

For God so loved the world……Jn 3:16

These are just a very few that declare His presence with us, His peace upon us, His mercies, new every morning...His word is sure and He is not a man that He can lie.   So what in the world are you getting at this day, Margaret?

My TRAIN of thought, if I pay attention to the above verses, is  absolutely the biggest ole’ freight train that can come down the track… absolutely unstoppable, nothing can de-rail this train!!! 

Agree?  Sure!!!

So the other TRAIN is just a paper mache toy running wildly down the track, driven by the winds, and the storms of life with NOOOOOOO substance at all.  There is no place to find shelter, nothing to keep you safe and in the distance you see  BIG OLE’ TRAIN,  coming straight for you…you realize you are definitely on the wrong train, on the wrong track and you are soon to be history. 

Why is this?  

We know the Scriptures, we play them over and over but we just don’t believe them--that they are for us.  There is going to be a collision, and yes we are going to be broken, hurt, yes even killed in the train wreck.  

We can’t believe The One who created us, and we believe the lie that the devil keeps placing in our minds  that He isn’t going to do for you what He promises.   How in the world can we get on the right train of thought and stay there?

He has brought us into the Banquet of His Word, pulled our chair up close to the table, everything setting within arms length.  

Are we to look at it?   

I guess if  that is what you want.   

Are we to reach out and partake?   

Absolutely...when we choose to receive what God has for us. 

 

Oh God, today, help me to fully put my trust in the God of the universe, who is always good, even if we cannot see  your goodness, even when it hurts so bad and we can’t see or FEEL your arms around us…open our eyes Lord, open our ears…Oh God send angels to minister to my precious son, Greg.. it is so hard to hang on!

Editorial note:

I received a link from a friend just a couple days ago that I just have to insert here.  I think it is a perfect complement to the train theme.  From Nashville, with love:  CLICK HERE TO PLAY

34 New Year, New Me

Well, I have been silent (at least on paper) for a few weeks…but that doesn’t mean that nothing has been happening or going on!!! I have kept you updated about my Greg on Facebook, and I do not have the strength or desire to go into it at this time, for it was an amazing challenge mentally, and physically to you, Greg, and anyone who knows and loves you!!!

So what I am going to specifically focus on is a wonderful challenge that God showed me this morning on the 700 Club.

A song came to me yesterday from my G.T.B.I. daze…smile:
‘Only to be what He wants me to be, Every moment of every day.

 Only to be what He wants me to be, Every step of this pilgrim way. 

Just to be clay in The Potter’s hands, only to do what His Word commands.

Only to be what He wants me to be, every moment of every day.’

A wonderful man of God said that “they” said: “The new cigarette (bad for the body) is ‘The easy chair’. So get going and keep moving!!"

He said we need to “wake up” so we can be ready to fight these end time conditions, and he didn’t just mean physical lethargy, though it does walk hand-in-hand with our spiritual condition.

It is like when the alarm goes off in the morning.  We roll over and hit the snooze button…and go back to sleep. God is setting the alarm…saying Get up! Wake up! We need to be spiritually alert, there is work for us to do, with all the end time things that are going on, terrorists, racial un-rest…all the signs He said we would see... wars and rumors of wars…

WE the CHURCH, need to wake up!!!  We must lead the way. So physically and spiritually…STOP this lethargic attitude, stop hitting the ‘snooze’ button and Wake Up!! He gave a reference in Joel which challenges us to fast, repent, wait silently before the Lord, and let Him speak to us. (Not us yacking to Him about what we think, blah…blah…blah. Listen , really listen quietly and hear what He is telling us to do.) Many times in the scripture we hear Him say, ‘he that has ears to hear, let him hear’. 

How can we listen if we are always talking?

He--God--is saying to me: ’wake up’ change your slothful ways. Not only will it help me spiritually but physically… How can I admonish my precious Grandson, Andy, agreeing with him that he needs structure, when I am soooooo un-structured…with my devotions, my prayer time, my physical ‘sitting in the chair ‘ unmoving body time, a body that needs action for good blood flow, and will give me better rest, a healthier body, etc. etc. 

SO I CAN BE ALL THAT HE WANTS ME TO BE!

Again I am trying to ‘work’ it up…Father, my desire is to be like Jesus…really!! But until I let You do it your way, and You make me what you want me to be, instead of my ‘everlasting’ trying to do it, I will never succeed…I do need to be ‘still’ and know you, and then follow your instructions!!

My Bestest Friend Jody and I say, ‘the reason God is letting us live so long, is to pray for our children and grandchildren’, that in itself will help us to pray without ceasing…smile No Kidding!!

I pray you will let these words help you as you enter this New Year, to again realize it is not about us, and ALL about Jesus…as we work our way toward that ‘Blessed Hope’…because Jesus is coming soon…live like it!

Look up…hang in there...Hang on tight to His hand, and we’ll see you here, there, or in the air!

See ya in the Morning, Cray!... Nanny

33 Testing, Trials, Timelines & Trust

Well, Greg...another day, another test...for you?   

Most assuredly you are being tested...but your Mom?   

Even the Scriptures talk about a Mother and Child...can a Mother forget her child??   Of course not, so if you are going thru great trials, you know my heart and Spirit are walking with you thru them.

 

You hurt, I hurt; you cry, I cry.  

So it is with the Body of Christ (of which we area all a part...right?)  We all have our own place and part in THE body.  

When one part hurts the whole body is challenged.

You know where I am going with this don't you?  *smile* 

God's timing is always right on time...

He sez ,'With the LORD, a thousand years is but a day, and a day as a thousand years.'  

So what He is looking at, is timeless.

Do you know when you pray a prayer, once it is spoken it is 'out there.'  It goes on and on, it becomes timeless.  And He says He keeps our tears in a bottle, and our prayers in a bowl?  We, and everything about us, is very precious to God. 

So when we want-what-we-want-when-we-want-it, we are trying to  put God's time clock in our  own pocket, and call the shots, so to speak, because we think we know just what God wants.  Which in the tiniest measure, we may know what God's will is....since we search the Scriptures, but the one big problem is that God is sovereign, and we?   Just the sheep in His pasture!!!

I decided a few weeks ago I thought I needed to help God out, so I sat down to write a letter, with some suggestions about how 'the Body of Christ' ought to be doing their job...nicely, I might add.   *smile*   But is was a hard letter to write, to try and not be judgmental.  (Know what I mean?)  *smile* 

   

So I just chucked the whole thing, and  I'd like to say, I just left it in God's good hands like He wanted me to, but I really didn't give it to God, I sort of decided to look internally, and see what was missing in Margaret's  part of the Body!

   

Now as God was working on me, He was working on others, and the Holy Spirit was challenging them...and several of the Body have stepped up and are helping Greg in small ways, wonderful ways, beautiful gifts from God...just as He (God) has had in His plans all along.

Will I never learn?

Will we never learn?

Yes, slowly and surely  we will take one step at a time, on moment at a time, not worrying about tomorrow,  as we grow into what the Father wants and wills for our lives.

Greg, how I love you and want the best for you...but God wants His best for you...and it is coming!  

 

When someone said they missed you in the Ministry, and your part that you do best, which is drama--

God put those talents there and made you what you are, and you are not at the end yet, just at the beginning

of what God still wants to do in your life...from here on out...  

 

Great things are coming, expect them!!!

Look up! Hang in there!  Hang on tight to His hand!

...and we will see you here there or in the air!

  Nanny

32 He is Waiting

Hi Greg...want to see just what bad choices your Mom makes? 

   

I hate to break this to you, but they are  sometimes quite disgusting.

 

I say,  'I want to spend  time with you Jesus...I want the desire to not be able to put down Your Word...I want to grow in You...'

   But as I read in the Old Testament,  I find I am just like the Children of Israel, when faced with a "little" decision  (like spending time with the LORD) 

they chose to go their own willful way, and  do what was easier or more pleasant than what God was asking them to do.

What did I do this a.m. before spending  my quiet time with the Lord ?    I went to the computer to look for an e-mail about Saturday...

And when the system didn't come up----what did I do?

 

 I sat there and played 3 or 4 games of 'free cell'.   

Was that wrong? 

No...not in the sense of sin.....But when I chose that

rather

than time with the Lord...well, yes.  

The Word says, 'Him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it IS sin.'

I think I tend to be a  pretty willful, undisciplined  person, and I really need to work on that...not so I can be so heavenly minded that I am

 no earthly good, (smile)  but in essence I am asking for LIFE and choosing DEATH, and weakness.

The Word is health and strength to our bones!  That's what it sez.  So today my choices  looked like I  am choosing to become less 

than what God wants and weaker spiritually...think?

Is He mad at me for my poor choices?  

Nope, He is just an encourager...He wants the best for me and you.

Beth Moore said it best, "Jesus is sitting by our bedside...waiting for us to wake up in the morning and keep Him company---so when the alarm 

goes off,  He sez,  "No! No!  don't hit the snooze button...I've been waiting all night to spend time with you.!"

Makes me think about another little snippet...

Years ago, Forrest Sr. introduced me to a little booklet, called 'My Heart Christ's Home" by Robert Unger.  

I read it and liked  it so much I gave out dozens of them.  It is a story about Christ coming to live at my house and in My heart.

Jesus  goes thru the house room by room with me,  cleaning it out, so He would be comfortable living there.  The best part of the story is when they

 get to the Library, He says I would like to meet you here every morning, and we will go over God's Word together, and  of course I say YES!

For a few days, weeks, months we attend to this wonderful meeting and it is  a precious  time with Jesus.   Then one morning I got up late, and

 was in a hurry to get to school, or an appointment and I hurry out the door...  Then another morning goes by and I forget again,

 then several days go by, and at last one morning, I stop and look in the library, and there sits Jesus...waiting...  

I am so embarrassed,

 and I slip in and sit beside Him, apologizing and I ask His forgiveness...

He said, "Just remember, even though you don't feel like

 you  need me, I need you!"

When  I DID get to my time with Jesus that morning... we wound up in Hebrews 13:5.... (the Amplified Version)   It sez, 

'Let your character be free

 from the love of money.......and be satisfied with your present circumstances.....For God Himself said,'I will not in any way fail you,

 nor give up, nor leave you without support.  I will not, I will not, I will not  in anyway leave you nor forsake you, or relax my hold on you!

Now isn't that just too  amazing for words?   My good intentions were just that...good intentions...but I didn't follow thru...You have to know 

one of my very  favorite portions of scripture is in Romans 8, verses 38 & 39...

"For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels,

 nor principalities,  nor powers., nor things present,  nor things to come....Nor height,  nor depth,  nor any creature will be able to separate

 us from the Love of God."

Well...Look up!  Hang in there!  Hang on tight to His hand, and we'll see you here, there, or in the air!

Love ya Cray!   

Nanny...Mom...Marker