PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD

Photo Provided by Kathy Mitchell

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, 

Prepare ye the way of the LORD, 

make straight in the desert a highway 

for our God.  Every valley shall be exalted, 

and every mountain and hill shall be made low: 

and the crooked shall be made straight, 

and the rough places plain:

And the glory of the LORD shall be 

revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: 

for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

The voice said, Cry. And he said, 

What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, 

and all the godliness thereof is as 

the flower of the field:  The grass withereth, 

the flower fadeth: because the spirit 

of the LORD bloweth upon it: 

surely the people is grass.

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: 

but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up 

into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that 

bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with 

strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the 

cities of Judah, Behold your God!

Isaiah 40:3-9

THE PERFECTION OF BEAUTY

Photo Provide by Tara Cook Bruce

 The mighty God, even the LORD, 

hath spoken, and called the earth from the 

rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, 

God hath shined.  Our God shall come, 

and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour 

before him, and it shall be very tempestuous 

round about him.  He shall call to the heavens 

from above, and to the earth, that he 

may judge his people.  Gather my saints together 

unto me; those that have made a covenant 

with me by sacrifice.

Psalm 50:1-4

A LIFE SEASONED WITH GRACE

What condiments do you add to your food?

Whichever one you add to it gives it a flavor that

makes your mouth water and you become

excited about cooking that type food and

serving it to others.  A few years ago our
daughter Lisa cooked a kale soup
and I loved it so much I cooked it and
took it to work.  The team loved it
and started asking for her recipe.

You don't buy the condiments and add them

to all the others on your shelf and never use

them.  Yet so many times we do this with the 

Word of God.  We buy a bible, set it on 

the table and expect for it to season our 

life and make it so exciting that others 

will desire to try it.

Maybe it's time we begin to season our life

with the Word of God and as others see it,

and experience it with us they will also

begin to season their own life with those same

words and eventually we'l find our community

hungry for the flavor and then the world would
begin to hunger and change their flavor because
of what we seasoned our lives with.

 Then tidings of these things came unto
the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem:
and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should
go as far as Antioch.  Who, when he came,
and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and
exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart
they would cleave unto the Lord.
For he was a good man, and full of the Holy
Ghost and of faith: and much people was
added unto the Lord.  Then departed Barnabas
to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:   And when he had
found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And
it came to pass, that a whole year they
assembled themselves with the church,
and taught much people. And the disciples
were called Christians first in Antioch.
And in these days came prophets
from Jerusalem unto Antioch.

Acts 11:22-27

RESTORE UNTO ME THE JOY OF THY SALVATION

Create in me a clean heart, 

O God; and renew a right 

spirit within me.  Cast me not 

away from thy presence; and take 

not thy holy spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; 

and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; 

and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Psalm 51:10-13

SAILING THE SEAS

Photo Provided by Brett Vance 

http://www.brettavance.com/blog/

Have you ever watched a ship as it is sailing the seas. 

They are majestic and something of great beauty

when you realize that some of them are over 30,000

tons and the length is sometimes 500 feet long. 

If you were to just set any object having that amount

of weight on top of the water it would instantly fill with

water and begin to sink but when designed and placed

properly it can not only float but it can

withstand even the toughest storms clashing

against it. 

The same is true in our lives.  We have a master

designer who created us to live in this world and to

be able to withstand the storms that come against us. 

Although there are times that we fail to keep things in

the right perspective.  Just as this great ship can sail

on top of the water, it can also sink once water starts

entering into the hull of the ship. 

Many times we allow the world to enter into our

vessels.  We may not be able to even see that it

is affecting us but as the weight of the world keeps

filling our vessel, others begin to take notice. 

Christ himself was able to walk on water because

he came into this world, he lived everyday just

as you and I.  He walked among sinful people, he

was tempted by sinful desires, but the difference

is he didn't allow the world to enter into his vessel

and weigh him down.  This isn't something easy to keep

from happening, but Christ has told us that

we can be overcomers: so we must

understand that with each earthly pleasure we place

into our vessel, we are weighing it down.  There will

come a day that the vessel becomes so full of the

earthly pleasures that it becomes engulfed and 
looses it's majestic beauty and many times
it totally sinks.

So why do we allow this to happen to such a vessel

of honor?  Why do we not see ourselves as the

majestic ship on the sea needing to stay above the

water so that others can see the beauty God wants

to display in our lives?   Why do we choose to

plunge into the depths of sin and enjoy it?

Why do we allow the voice of fear and worldly

satisfaction engulf our vessels and cause us to

sink? 

II Timothy 2: 15-21

 Study to shew thyself approved unto God,

a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,

rightly dividing the word of truth.

But shun profane and vain babblings:

for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

And their word will eat as doth a canker:

of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;

Who concerning the truth have erred,

saying that the resurrection is past already;

and overthrow the faith of some.

Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure,

having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that

are his.  And, Let every one that nameth the

name of Christ depart from iniquity.

But in a great house there are not only vessels

of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth;

and some to honour, and some to dishonour.

If a man therefore purge himself from these,

he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified,

and meet for the master’s use, and prepared

unto every good work.

NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD

Photo Provided by Brian Bohannon

Nay, in all these things we are more 

than conquerors through him that loved us.

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 other creature, shall be able 

to separate us from the love of God, 

which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:27-28

YOU ARE A MASTERPIECE

Photo by Penny Beth

As an artist, you would understand that

to have a painting there must be specific things

that happen.  One must have a canvas, one must

have a brush and one must have paint.  But that

is not all the artist needs.  The artist will

need to be used himself.  For you see, if the

artist has all the right products yet he never picks

the brush up himself then he will never

produce a masterpiece

You are not here by chance so don't live your

life by chance.  You are here by design, so

live your life following your designers

plan in order to have the best results

displayed for others to see.   One

day you will be able to see the

completed canvas of your life for
yourself and not just a few strokes
that you don't understand. 

There may be times the fog seems to

hang so low in your life and you can't

seem to find your way through it.

The Lord has used those fog filled days
in my life to produce something deeper
in my soul.  He used those strokes of the
brush to create a masterpiece in my life
that resembles nobody else's but yet it has
strokes within the crevices that people can
relate to and help them through their storms.
He may be doing the same thing in your life.
Don't push the brush away from his hand
before he adds the strokes of beauty to
it for the world to see.  Allow him to
complete the masterpiece he began in
your life and one day you will be able
to stand back and see the whole picture
and marvel at the majestic beauty that
God can create in you.

It's when Jesus shines his light from heaven
onto the darkness that the true beauty can
radiate forth and give others hope.

Our soul waiteth for the LORD:
he is our help and our shield.
For our heart shall rejoice in him,
because we have trusted in his holy name.
Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us,
according as we hope in thee.
I will bless the LORD at all times:
his praise shall continually be
in my mouth.  My soul shall make her
boast in the LORD: the humble shall
hear thereof, and be glad.
O magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together.
I sought the LORD, and he heard me,
and delivered me from all my fears.

TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART

Photo submitted by Lisa Long

Do you ever feel there are times that you are barely 

hanging on?   Do you feel that with just one little

bump you would find yourself falling into 

the unknown?   In life I am the kind of person

that likes to know where I am going and have

the path paved in front of me but I have found

there are times in my life that I feel as this

lady bug in the photo; that I am just barely 

hanging on and there is nothing under me to

catch me if I do fall.  When we find ourselves in 

those times in life just hold onto the word of 

God for he is faithful and will truly direct 

our paths.  

Does this always mean that my path will

be filled with greatness and abundance of 

things that I need.  No!  What it does mean 

is there will be times that I find myself

in the midst of the storm or that my path is

filled with darkness.  If this is true in life,

then I need to realize that he promised to be

my light and salvation because he knew I 

am going to find myself in the midst of darkness.

Why would I need light or salvation if my 

pathway was already filled with light and I 

was living in safety and in heavenly places 

already.  He promises to bring that light to us

when we find ourselves consumed with the 

darkness around us if we trust in Him and
lean not on our own understanding. 

My son, forget not my law; 

but let thine heart keep my 

commandments.  For length of 

days, and long life, and peace, 

shall they add to thee.  Let not 

mercy and truth forsake thee: bind 

them about thy neck; write them 

upon the table of thine heart:

So shalt thou find favour and 

good understanding in the sight 

of God and man.  Trust in the 

LORD with all thine heart; and lean 

not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, 

and he shall direct thy paths.

Be not wise in thine own eyes: 

fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

It shall be health to thy navel,  

and marrow to thy bones.