The 30th Day . . .

~ . . . So the evening and the morning were the 29th day. Good Morning, Blogger, G+1, Twitter and FB! On this 30th day of 2015, my faith is still strengthened by what I see Him doing in the lives of others . . . ==> “I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” [Psalm 121:1-2] [And as you RESPECT and LOVE one another as hard as you can, PLEASE play nice, pray for one another, and enjoy your Superbowl weekend. (Go Browns!?)]

The 29th Day . . .

~ . . . So the evening and the morning were the 28th day. Good Morning, Blogger, G+1, Twitter and FB! On this 29th day of 2015, I'm reminded that true faith involves walking in the footsteps of the One Who walked on water, knowing that He's there to rescue me . . . ==> "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you pass through the rivers, they will not flow over you . . ." [Isaiah 43:2a] [And as you RESPECT and LOVE one another as hard as you can, PLEASE play nice, pray for one another, and have a great day.]

The 28th Day . . .

~ . . . So the evening and the morning were the 27th day. Good Morning, Blogger, G+1, Twitter and FB! On this 28th day of 2015, might I suggest that we stop telling God how big our problem is, and start telling our problem how big our our God is . . . ==> "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." [Hebrews 10:23] [And as you RESPECT and LOVE one another as hard as you can, PLEASE play nice, pray for one another, and have a great day.]

The 26th Day . . .

~ . . . So the evening and the morning were the 25th day. Good Morning, Blogger, G+1, Twitter and FB! On this 26th day of 2015, I remind you that you cannot live in a world so wonderful without you, yourself, being wonderful to me . . . ==> "I praise [God] because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; and [His] works are wonderful, I know that full well." [Psalm 139:14] [And as you RESPECT and LOVE one another as hard as you can, PLEASE play nice, pray for one another, and have a great week.]

The 23rd Day . . .

~ . . . So the evening and the morning were the 22nd day. Good Morning, Blogger, G+1, Twitter and FB! On this 23rd day of 2015, I pray that your joy is complete, and that God has blessed you as much as, or more than He has blessed me. Just because . . . ==> "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” [Psalm 34:8] [And as you RESPECT and LOVE one another as hard as you can, PLEASE play nice, pray for one another, and have a great weekend.]

For Salema . . .

Please enjoy this loving dedication to my Queen.  Dedicated just because . . .

The 22nd Day . . .

~ . . . So the evening and the morning were the 21st day. Good Morning, Blogger, G+1, Twitter and FB! On this 22nd day of 2015, if you're still wounded on the battlefield, I reach out to encourage you with these words . . . ==> "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” [Deut. 31:6] [And as you RESPECT and LOVE one another as hard as you can, PLEASE play nice, pray for one another, and enjoy your day.]

"A Fireside Kinda Faith"

Sometimes life takes us to places we don't really care to be.  Even as Christians we sometimes find our feet in the fire and our faith on the floor.  We cry, we hurt, we can't eat, we don't want to speak, we can't sleep.  And depending on the size of the flames, we may even find it hard to pray.  Have you never been there before?  Well come.  Stand here next to me on the corner of Fireside Drive and Faith Avenue.  I have something I want to share with you . . . 

[Please Read Daniel 3]

Some time ago, many of you were wondering about my daily posts, which had simply said, "~ · · · Don't call. I will not answer. Please just continue to pray for me, and He will hear . . . Thank you."  Well no it wasn't a contest or some kind of a "chain post" that others would be posting.  I really was in need of your prayer support.   Even as I was writing this, there may have been someone somewhere who was making my furnace "seven times hotter".  A "furnace" that I really didn't care to walk into.  Christian or not, I really don't carry the desire to prove my faith in that fashion.  I've gone through hell before (see my Note "Trusted With Trouble"), and I distinctly remember telling God, "Thank You for bringing me through that.  Should you decide to trust me with trouble again, please don't."  And yet, there I was again . . .

"(13) Then Nebuchadnezzar became very angry and called for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. And they were brought to the king. (14) Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the object of gold that I have set up? (15) Now if you are ready to get down on your knees and worship the object I have made when you hear the sound of the horns and harps and all kinds of music, very well. But if you will not worship, you will be thrown at once into the fire. And what god is able to save you from my hands?”  [Daniel 3: 13-15]

As I've mentioned before, in times like these, and based on experiences I've had in the past, I found it easy- well maybe not easy, but routine- to pray the words of David in Psalm 42, or the words of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3.  But something was different about that furnace.  That furnace had a thermostat that appeared to have been melted and made useless by the flames.  And the blame was partly mine.  And from the very start, it had already felt seven times hotter.  A bit too hot for comfort as I continued to pray, and tried to keep my faith. 

There it is.  Did you catch that?  It's the "trying to keep my faith" that brought me to you today.

"(16) Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer to this question. (17) If we are thrown into the fire, our God Whom we serve is able to save us from it. And He will save us from your hand, O king. (18) But even if He does not . . .”  [Daniel 3:16-18a]

I've come to realize that in my past experiences I've been able to pray the words of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego because I could see and believe that God was gonna bring me through.  I didn't know the WHEN, but I could almost see the HOW He was gonna do it.  But what happens to a Christian's faith when "even if He does not" begins to look more and more like "maybe He WILL not"?  In reading the rest of Daniel 3, you'll see that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were indeed cast into the fiery furnace.  You'll also see that they walked back out of the furnace without even the smell of smoke on them.  But they didn't know they would be walking back out.  Sure, they believed in a God Who could save them.  But they had a "fireside kinda faith" that said, "But even if He does not . . .".  And that's what I prayed for- that "fireside kinda faith".  I thought I had it at the time.  But I was still human enough to be just not too sure.  (In any case, you'll understand that I was still praying that I wouldn't have to find out!) 

So as I asked you to stand there with me on the corner of Fireside Drive and Faith Avenue, I'm asking you to support others who may be going through some kinda furnace.  They don't know if He'll save them from the furnace, or if He'll send them through it.  But they need prayer warriors to pray their strength in the Lord.  They need prayer warriors to strengthen their "fireside kinda faith".  That faith that will stand firm.  Because today, someone's "even if He does not" looks more and more like "maybe He WILL not".  And their tears flow over their feet in the fire, and their faith on the floor . . . 

(vsm 2014)

The 20th Day . . .

~ . . . So the evening and the morning were the 19th day. Good Morning, Blogger, G+1, Twitter and FB! On this 20th day of 2015, you may be hurting spiritually or emotionally.  But keep believing that God CAN work it out for you. And continue your Praise and my Worship . . . ==> “But you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me.” [Psalm 22:19] [And as you RESPECT and LOVE one another as hard as you can, PLEASE play nice, pray for one another, and enjoy your day.]

The 16th Day . . .

~ . . . So the evening and the morning were the 15th day. Good Morning, Blogger, G+1, Twitter and FB! On this 16th day of 2015, as we continue walking into this new year, I invite you to join me as I strive to walk yet closer to Him . . . ==> "But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds." [Psalm 73:28] [And as you RESPECT and LOVE one another as hard as you can, PLEASE play nice, pray for one another, and enjoy your weekend.]

The 15th Day . . .

~ . . . So the evening and the morning were the 14th day. Good Morning, Blogger, G+1, Twitter and FB! On this 15th day of 2015, I just want to remind you that just because you have a bad day doesn't mean you have a bad life. If you're reading this today, you're blessed . . . ==> “Give all your worries to Him because He cares for you." [1 Peter 5:7] [And as you RESPECT and LOVE one another as hard as you can, PLEASE play nice, pray for one another, and have a great day.]

The 13th Day . . .

~ . . . So the evening and the morning were the 12th day. Good Morning, Blogger, G+1, Twitter and FB! On this 13th day of 2015, might I submit to you that we are ALL sinners in constant need of receiving (and sharing) God's grace . . . ==> "Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more . . ." [Romans 5:20] [And as you RESPECT and LOVE one another as hard as you can, PLEASE play nice, pray for one another, and have a great day.]

The 12th Day . . .

~ . . . So the evening and the morning were the 11th day. Good Morning, Blogger, G+1, Twitter and FB! On this 12th day of 2015, I STILL say the best decision I ever made was to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. No turning back. No turning back . . . ==> "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good . . . " [Psalm 34:8a] [And as you RESPECT and LOVE one another as hard as you can, PLEASE play nice, pray for one another, and have a great week.]

The 9th Day . . .

~ . . . So the evening and the morning were the 8th day. Good Morning, Blogger, G+1, Twitter and FB! On this 9th day of 2015, as hard as it may seem at times, I challenge you to keep a SMILE on your FAITH . . . ==> ". . . Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today." [Exodus 14:13a] [And as you RESPECT and LOVE one another as hard as you can, PLEASE play nice, pray for one another, and enjoy your day.]

The 8th Day . . .

~ . . . So the evening and the morning were the 7th day. Good Morning, Blogger, G+1, Twitter and FB! On this 8th day of 2015, don't worry about yesterday. We serve a God Who has this habit of reaching back into what we call the past and making it right for our future . . . ==> “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” [Romans 8:28] [Please keep the A.P. family in your prayers at this time. And as you RESPECT and LOVE one another as hard as you can, PLEASE play nice, pray for one another, and enjoy your day.]

The 7th Day . . .

~ . . . So the evening and the morning were the 6th day. Good Morning, Blogger, G+1, Twitter and FB! On this 7th day of 2015, I need you to believe that no matter what kinda hell seems to be ruling your life today, God is still in complete control . . . ==> "For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” [Psalm 30:5] [Please keep the A.P. family in your prayers at this time. And as you RESPECT and LOVE one another as hard as you can, PLEASE play nice, pray for one another, and have a great day.]

The 6th Day . . .

~ . . . So the evening and the morning were the 5th day. Good Morning, Blogger, G+1, Twitter and FB! On this 6th day of 2015, I'm reminded that one of the hardest things to do is to wait on the Lord. But might I suggest to you that the wisest thing to do is to wait on the Lord . . . ==> "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." [Hebrews 11:1] [Please keep the A.P. family in your prayers at this time. And as you RESPECT and LOVE one another as hard as you can, PLEASE play nice, pray for one another, and have a great day.]

The 5th Day . . .

~ . . . So the evening and the morning were the 4th day. Good Morning, Blogger, G+1, Twitter and FB! On this 5th day of 2015, I gotta remind you again that our Savior is always just as close as the mention of His Name . . . ==> "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth." [Psalm 145:18] [Please keep the A.P. family in your prayers at this time.  And as you RESPECT and LOVE one another as hard as you can, PLEASE play nice, pray for one another, and enjoy your week.]

The 3rd Day . . .

~ . . . In Case You Didn't Know . . .
Falling down is not a setback,
But a forward movement into a position of
Remembering where our strength lies.
( . . . In Case You Didn't Know . . . )

The 2nd Day . . .

~ . . . So the evening and the morning were the 1st day. Good Morning, Blogger, G+1, Twitter and FB! On this 2nd day of 2015, I challenge you to focus on the unconditional love of God that carries you through every moment of every day . . . ==> "This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." [1 John 4:10]  [And as you RESPECT and LOVE one another as hard as you can, PLEASE play nice, pray for one another, and enjoy your weekend.]

The 1st Day . . .

~ . . . So the evening and the morning were the 365th day. Good Morning, Blogger, G+1, Twitter and FB! On this 1st day of 2015, once again I want to welcome you into my world. I invite you to follow me throughout 2015, but only as I follow Christ. And together, let's make our lives available to Him . . . ==> “Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom should I send? Who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” [Isaiah 6:8] [And as you RESPECT and LOVE one another as hard as you can, PLEASE play nice, pray for one another, and enjoy prosperous New Year.]