It's
Monday, April 8, 2019. Good morning and welcome back. We all need encouragement. We do. You too. I appreciate those who continue to say the stuff I write about is something they enjoy. The other day one longtime reader said this to me, "Please never stop doing your blog." No. It wasn't my mother. I do not receive her emails from heaven, but, you would be right to assume she would say the same thing whether she liked reading them or not. My point? It's like me telling the managers who reported to me and they wanted to be leaders that they should occasionally look behind them to see if anyone is following. It is good to know that someone is reading and getting something out of them. I don't have to worry about the impact when I use the Word of God. He does His own thing when His Word is shared. And, we are promised that it will not return to Him having not accomplished His purpose. That comes from God through the Prophet Isaiah, and it is a favorite passage on how He uses His Word to accomplish His purpose:
Isaiah 55
1 “Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
3 Incline your ear, and come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—
The sure mercies of David.
4 Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people,
A leader and commander for the people.
5 Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,
And nations who do not know you shall run to you,
Because of the Lord your God,
And the Holy One of Israel;
For He has glorified you.”
6 Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
11
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
12 “For you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall break forth into singing before you,
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
And it shall be to the Lord for a name,
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
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| Under my desk. Snoozing. The typing must be soothing music. |
I included the entire text because that's how God delivered it to us. It had been a while since I had read it. Maybe that's the case with you. Speaking of encouragement, we had our Thursday Evening Gathering in our home last week. This is a time set aside to visit, fellowship, feast, sing, pray, and hear God's Word read. Several who planned to come couldn't because of illness and other issues, but, we had ten of us who had a blast. I mean that in a wholesome manner. After it was all over, I complimented the wife on being a superb hostess. I also mentioned to her that it was so good to hear so much laughter among our brothers and sisters in Christ. We did have some entertainment we saved for the end. Mr. Bentley. He absolutely loves people. He does. We turned him loose and he went wild. He couldn't even get traction under his little paws because he was moving so fast and was so excited. He went from person to person. Jumping, licking, and showing his own special welcome. That ended two hours of sharing, caring and having old fashioned fun.
Amen.
I received an email from a dear friend last week seeking urgent assistance. I tracked him down only to find out his email had been hacked and that message had been sent out to his entire email list. That list was extensive including his customers. Folks were calling from all over trying to make sure he was okay. I was suspicious of the formatting of that email and was relieved to find out it was a hacked hoax. What did the hackers want me to do? They wanted me to respond to that email. They can get more information about you if you respond. I'm sure some did. I didn't. I share this as a word of caution to us all as we receive and send information via the internet. Do not open any email that appears to be suspicious. Do not respond to any email that causes you to doubt the accuracy of its contents. One last thing. You can do everything possible, but, always remember the folks out there doing the hacking, well, they do that for a living. This is their job. They are good at what they do. This means we shouldn't be surprised if and when it happens to us. In the meantime, keep up your guard and be alert. Obviously, the technology can be used for good purposes. But, we do have to be vigilant. Have a great rest of the day and may God bless each one.
Amen. ...More later.
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