July 27, 2009

"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor requite us according to our iniquities. For as a father has tender compassion upon his children, so the Lord has tender compassion upon those who fear him." Psalm 103: 8, 10,13

This past spring I went to the Lazy 5 ranch with a group of kids. I am always fascinated with the peacocks that run loose. Spring was in the air and the male was out to impress the females. He would strut, whistle and then spread those tail feathers. Then he would do this little strut while the feathers quivered and shook. (Reminded me of some young boys I have watched at football games) Anyway, who of us have not at sometime tried to impress someone else? We even try to impress God. We have this crazy idea that if we try hard enough God will be impressed and reward us for WHAT we do. The fact is, we have never deserved one blessing from God. Blessings come our way because the Father has a huge heart of love and can't help Himself. He has to love you because love is who he is. He adores you so much that he will bless you in spite of yourself. It is all about Him, not about you. If you try to impress Him and think He will answer your prayers because you pray so well or know so much about the Bible, you are simply missing the point. He blesses not because we deserve it, but because He adores you. That is what GRACE is all about. Now that is something worth strutting and shaking tail feathers about!

Thought for the week: You can go a long way with a smile. You can go a lot farther with a smile and a gun. -- Al Capone

Funny for the week: Yellow Canaries"

A lady went to a pet shop.

"I'd like to buy two yellow canaries," she told the owner.

"We don't have any canaries, but we have these," the owner said, as he showed the lady some pale green parakeets.

"That's not what I'm looking for," the lady stated.

But the pet store owner refused to give up. He said, "Just think of them as yellow canaries that aren't quite ripe yet."

Today's CleanQuote

"It's ok to kiss a fool. It's ok to let a fool kiss you. But don't let a kiss fool you."

Ah, that is good advice………….Chaplain Barnes

Last week’s answer: Who is "Yahweh" another name for? Jehovah or God

This week’s question: One gospel (Mark) records that a young man ran away when Jesus was arrested. What was unusual about him?