Tim's Blessing Blog

These two well known scriptures should give us a real insight to the heart of God. John 3:16-17

16: For God so loved the world he gave his one and only son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

17: For God did not send his son to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

We often read through scriptures we know without seeing some thing of value that are there.

The Depth of God’s love: God so loved that He gave, He sacrificed. What an understatement! God’s love is a love, a real love cannot stay inactive.

The offer and God’s commitment to human freedom: Whosoever believes indicates human volition is involved and the gift of eternal life is not forced on the unwilling. It is our enemy who forces, binds and coerces, not God.

Saving us from perishing: The purpose is to save us from something that is already happening, perishing because of sin. God did not do this because He wanted to prove himself “big man on campus,”‘ He did it because He cared and because we needed it.

Not to condemn: God gets a bad rap as the condemner. That is not His heart. That is not His desire. His desire is to save us from our spiritual death and reconcile us with Him. His purpose is not to condemn but remove us from our sin and its condemnation.

These are things we should already know but it is good to be reminded of them.

Have a great week!

Things I wish I had said

• The worst moment for the atheist is when he really is thankful and has nobody to thank. Dante Gabriel Rossetti
• O Lord that lends me life, Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness. William Shakespeare

Thanksgiving Proclamation

We have been a most favored people.

We ought to be a most grateful people.

We have been a most blessed people.

We ought to be a most thankful people.

Calvin Coolidge

I like this prayer by George Herbert.

Thou who hast given so much to me, give one thing more-a grateful heart.

One day when I was homeless, living out of my car I was feeling sorry for myself, thinking of all that I didn’t have. The more I considered them the more depressed I got. I cried out to the Lord and I heard in my heart “Don’t you have anything you can be thankful for?” It brought me up short. OK what did I have? I had the car, I wasn’t sleeping in a cardboard box. I had gas so if the temperature got too uncomfortable I could turn on the engine and fix that, I had snack food. I had my health… and as I started to think about those blessings more came to mind. A spirit of thankfulness came on me and my emotions became more and more positive.

Sometimes in hard times it is easy to forget the good times. When we suffer lack it is easy to forget our blessings. But the good times happened and the blessings exist. Remember, “God is good” is not a catch phrase. It is reality.

BE THANKFUL

YOU’RE BLESSED

Sometimes we find ourselves too busy too fellowship as we should. We Christians are a family and we need to interact with one another.

Many times after church I see my brothers and sisters and we fellowship’ We fellowship music, works sports teams…..just about anything you can imagine. It’s good to fellowship these things.

We need to take time to interject The Lord into our fellowship. Just something as simple as God provided that for me this week or I felt His love when I was going through a hard time.

Fellowship is fellowship. Christian fellowship should include the Christ.

I do not mean be a hyper religious knot head but some one who finds it important to share God’s goodness in the context of everyday live.

Remember, praising God should not only be done on Sunday. His praise should be shared with people during our week…not preachy, just thankful.

Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is just hang in there. When God has promised but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen we often get discouraged and change our doctrine. Often we don’t need a new doctrine but a new determination to believe God and His Word.

Joseph is a great example. In Genesis 37 he received a dream about his future. But things did not go smoothly in a straight line to the dream’s fulfillment. He was thrown in a pit by his brothers. They decided not to kill him…a ray of hope. But they sold him as a slave and so he was a slave in Egypt. He had favor with his master…a hopeful sign. But the his master’s wife falsely accused him of assaulting her and he was put in prison.

In prison he interpreted dreams for a chief baker and a chief butler. The latter was asked to remember Joseph when he was released… a ray of hope.  But the man forgot him and two more years passed.  Who would blame Joseph if he got mad, bitter, or disavowed the dream.  We have no record that he responded in such a way. When Pharaoh  needed a dream interpreter Joseph was able to help and was able to step into the role God had for him…the second most powerful man in Egypt!

In an instant gratification society we need reminders that not all things that are true are instant.

While trusting God, waiting, and working for better things let’s pause and enjoy some of His creation.

The sun rises over the clouds in front of the summit of Haleakala volcano in Haleakala National Park on Hawaii’s island of Maui, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. Park officials say the sunrise on Haleakala attracts over a thousand people a day, resulting in an overload of visitors and creating a safety hazard. As a result, anyone wanting to see the sunrise on the summit will now be required to make reservations in advance and pay a small fee. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones) ORG XMIT: NY301

Blessings to you all. Hang in there.

Tim has been unable physically and technologically able to blog these last two weeks. Tim says Keep Smiling. He’ll be back next week.

Do believe that conditions in the world are getting worse and worse? Do you believe evil is overwhelming good and God and His plan are in danger? Some Christians do. They may not admit it but if you hear them talk, you can tell they believe these things. Psalms 2 tells us how God responds to the efforts of the evil. Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: The Lord shall have them in derision…. God’s not a little worried. Please don’t be worried yourself.

Our society says that Christianity would be all right if we didn’t make exclusive claims and admit there are other religions that are just as good as getting people to God. But in John 14:6 Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life: and no man cometh to the father but by me. Do we believe our culture or Jesus’ own claim?

What do we believe? Who do we believe? If it is not Jesus and His words, are we really followers of Him?

An apology

I had intended to get a post out every Friday or Saturday. I have been unable to do that every week. My apologies that some posts are a day or two late.

Let us enjoy looking again at some of God’s creation. God Bless you all.

The sun rises over the clouds in front of the summit of Haleakala volcano in Haleakala National Park on Hawaii’s island of Maui, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. Park officials say the sunrise on Haleakala attracts over a thousand people a day, resulting in an overload of visitors and creating a safety hazard. As a result, anyone wanting to see the sunrise on the summit will now be required to make reservations in advance and pay a small fee. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones) ORG XMIT: NY301

Today I want to share with you the issue of loss. Not fun you say? Well not every part of life is positive. But as Christians we even have positives that help us through personal loss. A couple of my absolute best friends went home to be with the Lord recently. You know the rare kind of friends with which you can fellowship anything from the trivial to the most personal and spiritual. My friends Dave, Carrie, Krystal, Sam and others have lost spouses or parents recently.

And when that happens nothing is ever quite the same again. The family dynamics  change. It takes courage to admit and accept that a big part of our lives have changed and even more courage to turn the page and go on.

As Christians we are blessed with the Lord’s love and comfort to help us carry on. He is glad to comfort and strengthen us. Our community of faith is a great comforting resource. And even beyond that remember death is not just an end for our loved ones but a new beginning. I am comforted that our love is not over and we will see each other again.

That I am looking forward to. So all my Christian friends suffering loss remember though we grieve we do not grieve as do those in the world. We have hope and resources others do not have. It is natural to go through grieving, feeling loss…but I am so grateful we can move on (which does not diminish the love we have for those we had that passed).

Blessings until next week

Due to circumstances this post will be short. But I did want to post something, if no more than a reminder of the goodness we have in God. He is the Creator, the Savior, the keeper of our souls. He is the one whose love sticks to us like supernatural super glue. He is our shepherd and comforter. He is the Almighty and He loves you. Though my post is short, the list of your benefits as Christians is not. Enjoy His stuff. Enjoy your life.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!