Eyes on Him Not Them

January 11, 2022 Gracie

Keep Your Eyes On Him Not Them

Have you ever heard the expression, “Keep your eyes on Him, not them”?

That means us, Church!

Let’s face it: It’s hard.

fear-mongering

It’s very difficult at times to not get caught up in the bad news and fear-mongering coming from the mainstream media, or the rampant immorality and harmful content in the entertainment world.

There’s more.

protect the innocence of children

Even in school systems across the country, there are radical programs – all of which affect the next generation.

The downward spiral of family values is heartbreaking.

Lord, please make it stop.

How can any person, any school system, any agenda, think it’s okay to steal the innocence of children?

We can’t be alright with a world that encourages these things which ultimately represents hostility towards God and His design for the human race.

Thankfully, brave and concerned parents are speaking out against this.

There’s no quick fix.

The devil fights hard.

We’ve got to be ready.

How about a New Year’s resolution to pray more than ever before?

We need to pray to Jesus.

Not to His mother Mary nor any saint, nor any religious leader for that matter who takes our eyes off of our only Triune God who deserves our prayer and worship.

eyes on Him not them

We must keep our eyes on Him and His promises.

Whatever happens, we can’t let these upsetting changes “take over” our lives and stall us in our mission to keep praying for others, and help reach the lost for Christ.

There are many issues dividing our communities right now: abortion, gender identity, human sexuality, racial tensions, religious liberty, and education, among others. But the gospel offers a light to our path! The scriptures are full of good news about our inherent value as humans, from our mother’s womb all the way to natural death. And about how God has uniquely made men and women. And there’s good news about His design for marriage as a reflection of Christ and the church. We need to share it! As citizens, we need to be advocates for sound policy. But as we do so, we should always seek to be as bold and truthful as Jesus, and we should also always seek to be as loving in our approach. – Dobson Policy Center.

Are we ready?

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– Quotation from Dobson Policy Center. “An Important Resolution for 2022.”. January 6, 2022., para. 6. Accessed 10 January 10, 2022. Retrieved from https://www.drjamesdobson.org/news/important-resolution-2022

Our Exceptional God

The Same God

January 4, 2022 Gracie

The Same God

the same God who created the dragonfly

Have you ever looked closely at a dragonfly?

They fly pretty fast so my own close-up encounter happened one afternoon in a friend’s garage.

A dragonfly flew in and landed on a nearby box.

I was fascinated because, close-up, he was kind of adorable.

Huge eyes that look like sunglasses

A colorful body

Light, but perfect wings.

I’d never seen a dragonfly that close before.

Did you know that these fascinating insects are better skilled than any human pilot?

“No flying machine or other creature has the aerial dexterity of the dragonfly. It can fly upside-down and backwards as easily as straight ahead. And it moves so fast that researchers have to use high-speed cameras to study it.” – (Thomas, 2021)¹

When you think about it even deeper, the same God who created the dragonfly also created the nations.

God created the nations

That means that the same God who created the magnificent Grand Canyon, also created the refining processes that form ocean sand.

the fingerprints of God

Look up at the night sky sometime.

There are billions of galaxies up there.

Our galaxy—the Milky Way—is a remarkable demonstration of God’s power and glory. True to its name, it appears as a faint, cloudy band stretching from the northeast to southwest in our summer night sky. A telescope reveals that this band is the combined light of over one hundred billion distant stars. Each of those stars is a “sun” much like ours. Each releases more energy in a billionth of a second than a major city on Earth could use in an entire year. And that is just our galaxy. We now estimate that there are over one hundred billion galaxies in the visible universe. Yet, God created all this merely by His spoken Word. – Courtesy of The Institute For Creation Research.²

Billions of Galaxies . . . And Us

The same God who created the galaxies, billions of them, created you and me.

the same God who created the galaxies created you and me

Thankfully, more people are catching on to this.

The fingerprints of God on creation are everywhere.

Biblical creation has always seemed foolish in the world’s eyes, but this is not because evidence for creation is lacking. The ranks of biblical creationists include researchers recognized as world-class scientists.– Courtesy of the Institute For Creation Research.³

Our God is nothing short of wonderful.

Many, Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is no one to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They would be too numerous to count. – Psalm 40:5, (NASB).⁴

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¹Quotation from Brian Thomas, PH.D., Author, Teacher, and Research Scientist, Institute For Creation Research. From the book, Creatures by Design. “The Dexterous Dragonfly” – first printing: July 20, 2021., p. 45, para. 1. Accessed 15 December, 2021.

²Quotation courtesy of The Institute For Creation Research. From “The Knowledge of the Night”, n.d. para. 1. Web. Accessed 17 December, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.icr.org/creation-galaxy/

³Quotation from Dr. Jake Hebert, PH.D. From “Biblical Creation and Intellectual Foolishness” November 30, 2021, para. 5. Web. Accessed 15 December, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.icr.org/article/biblical-creation-and-intellectual-foolishness/

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Happy New Year 2022

December 28, 2021 Gracie

Wishing You a Happy New Year 2022!

You know how things can fade over time?

a shirt fades

A piece of jewelry

Your favorite shirt

An old photograph

A memory

Aren’t you thankful that God’s love for us never fades?

He does not and will not ever fade with time.

In fact, God is timeless.

His majesty is eternal.

The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty;
The Lord has clothed and encircled Himself with strength.
Indeed, the world is firmly established; it will not be moved.
Your throne is established from of old;
You are from eternity. – Psalm 93:1-2, (NASB).

No doubt the year 2022 will come with a lot of challenges to our country, and even more importantly, to our faith.

Don’t let satan rob you of your joy.

The evil one will strike you where you are most vulnerable.

Our faith in Jesus and God’s Word are our strength.

With that in mind, you might want to consider reading the Bible all the way through this year with a good commentary.

You can also memorize verses in Scripture so that they’ll come to mind and encourage you when you’re under a spiritual attack.

We will all suffer for a time, but we have the return of our Savior to look forward to.

He will end all suffering and pain and, with His return, our sorrowful tears will turn to tears of joy.

For this reason, friends in Christ – we must stay strong!

From our home to yours, we wish you a very happy and safe New Year 2022!

Happy New Year 2022

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Our Exceptional God

Merry Christmas 2021

December 21, 2021 Gracie

Have a Merry Christmas 2021!

Merry Christmas 2021

Dear friends in Christ,

May Christmas 2021 fill your hearts with happiness and joy as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ around the world.

How awesome it is to know that our Savior and King will be with us again!

The immense step from the Babe at Bethlehem to the living, reigning triumphant Lord Jesus, returning to earth for His own people – that is the glorious truth proclaimed throughout Scripture. As the bells ring out the joys of Christmas, may we also be alert for the final trumpet that will announce His return, when we shall always be with Him. – Alan Redpath, pastor, author, and theologian.¹

Many people this week are singing the beloved Christmas hymn, “The First Noel.”

Have you ever thought about what the word “Noel” actually means?

Besides the association with the well-known song, an older version of Webster’s dictionary defines Noel as “A Shout of Joy.”²

You and I have a life-changing reason for our shout of joy.

Jesus Christ was born, and He is coming back for us!

God with us

Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name Him Immanuel, which translated means, “God with us.” – Matthew 1:23, (NASB).³

He is with us!

Merry Christmas 2021! God With Us

Have you ever read Psalm 66?

If you haven’t, please take the time to read this glorious psalm of praise to our Heavenly Father.

You can even make it your prayer.

Come and see what God has done:
he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man. – Psalm 66:5, (ESV).⁴

This psalm is not just for Israel, or for the specific and true events that occurred in Biblical times, but for all of us.

We praise Him for all that He has done and for all that He will do.

The following Chris Tomlin song gives me chills – of the good and humble kind.

As it says in the Psalm, “All the earth worships You and sings praises to You.”

May we never lose our Joy and childlike wonder

over what God has done!

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¹Alan Redpath, Christian pastor, author and theologian (1907-1989)) quotation, courtesy of and as quoted from Christian quotes.info

²Webster’s 1828 Dictionary definiton of “Noel” as cited in Got Questions.org.

Our Exceptional God

The Hope of Christmas

December 13, 2021 Gracie

The Hope of Christmas

We got a surprise visit the other day!

This beautiful deer showed up right behind our back fence.

an early Christmas surprise

He spotted us and froze, but then he went back to grazing.

Within minutes the rest of his herd showed up, including two playful fawns chasing each other around the pasture.

We could have watched them for hours.

Christmas deer

Christmas and deer seem to go together, don’t they?

All you have to do is look at the Christmas shelves in any retail store.

But we all know that, in truth, Christmas isn’t about Santa Claus, or the presents around the tree, or even eight tiny reindeer pulling a sleigh.

Around the holidays, as we scramble to prepare food, decorations, parties, and presents, friends or relatives may ask us, “Are you ready for Christmas?” It’s an innocent question. But now, in light of God’s self-revelation, we are a little readier to answer in earnest: Yes, I am ready. Jesus has washed me, saved me, made me new. The new life I have in Him can never fade. And now the hope of Christmas has grown into the eager expectation for His second coming, when the good news of great joy, peace, and love will reach its climax and we will truly, wonderfully live happily ever after. – Alistair Begg, Christian pastor and author.¹

From The Hope of Christmas to His Second Coming

Who are we to deserve such a precious gift as Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world?

⁹This was the true Light that, coming into the world, enlightens every person. ¹⁰He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him, and yet the world did not know Him. ¹¹He came to His own, and His own people did not accept Him. ¹²But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, ¹³who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God. – John 1:9-13, (NASB).²

The Christmas season winds to a close in a few days.

Even so, Child of God, let us continue to worship and adore Him the rest of our lives.

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¹Quotation from Alistair Begg, Christian pastor, author, and founder of Truth For Life Teaching Ministry. From Web, The First Advent: Four Reasons Christ Came.” November 30, 2021., para. 23. Web. Accessed 5 December, 2021., Retrieved from https://blog.truthforlife.org/the-first-advent-four-reasons-christ-came

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