Wisdom from the Lord.

I have started reading the book of Proverbs. I have my place marked by the Lights of Remembrance book mark I got when I went to remember the love ones who were lost in the 2008 year. On the book marker it says " May their souls have peace and be remembered in heaven." That reminds me of a verse. "When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to the soul." Proverbs 2:10 I believe that we have to have wisdom to get to heaven. Everything that the Lord says is the truth and we need to understand what He is preaching and apply that to our daily lives. We have to be wise about the decisions we make, they hold the key to our future. "For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth comes knowledge and understanding." Proverbs 2:6. The Bible is Gods word to us. His word is what we need to live and die by. If we don't live by the Word we will suffer, it tells us in Proverbs 2:22 "But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it." We need to keep the wisdom of the Word close to us and try from the depth of our soul to be a good and devoted Christian. I can promise that it is hard to be a Christian, we get persecuted and ridiculed everyday. "Persecuted but not forsaken, Struck down but not destroyed." 2 Corinthians 4:9 Happiness is what we have in the Lord. "Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding." Proverbs 3:13. The Lord has given us the wisdom to live an eternal life with Him all we have to do is read the Word and gather His wisdom. "I have taught you in the way of wisdom, I have led you in right paths. "When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, And when you run, you will not stumble." Proverbs 4:11-12 I don't try to preach or act like I know everything about the Lord and His word. I could read the Bible cover to cover until I die and I can find something new and wondrous that the Lord has done or promises to do. I read the word to help me learn and to comfort me when I need it. I blog about the things that are happening to me or the things that I feel in my heart I need to work on as a person. It makes me feel close to the Lord to share these experiences and scriptures. No one may read or enjoy my blogs now, but one day by sheer grace of God someone may type the wrong blog spot address and land on mine and read the scriptures that are in my blog and get to thinking about how their life could be better if the Lord were in it. If i help to provide scripture that may help strengthen one persons relationship with the Lord then I believe that it was worth it and all the glory will go to my Lord and Savior. I am getting emotional now so I think it is time I end this one..... If you read my blogs, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope that once in a while what I say puts a smile on your face and in your heart.
All my love in Christ,
Des

God is always with you..

My preacher told a joke in church on Sunday. "There was an old man driving his wife to the store. She started talking about how they use to sit next to each other in the car, hold hands and laugh. Now they don't hold hands or sit next to each other. He looked over at her in the passenger seat and said, who moved?" That same concept applies in our walk with the Lord. In turmoil we always think that the Lord left us or that He is not by our side anymore. It is not the Lord that left our side. "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."Joshua 1:9 We are the ones that leave His side. He walks a straight line, from here to heaven. We need to make sure that we know, when ever we feel like the Lord has left or forsaken us, it is us who have left His side. The worldly lives we lead make it easy to leave Him and hard to get back to Him. In Romans 12:2 it talks about not conforming to the world. "And do not be conformed to this world, , but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Romans 12:2. That is why when we do go astray all we have to do is confess your sins and ask for forgiveness. This comes from 1John 1:8-9 " If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." What an awesome God we serve. Thank you God for sending your only son to die for us so that we have the ability to ask forgiveness and be cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb, Jesus!!! How great He is! "You are my Lord, apart from You, I have no good things." Psalm 16:2 Sorry I can get to rambling on when it comes to what Jesus has done for us!!!! OK, so back to what I was trying to say!!! The Lord is with us always, He is among us in everything we do. Good or Bad........ The last scripture I am going top leave you with is a goodie!! It comes from Revelations 21:3 "And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with then and be their God." In good times and bad the Lord is always with you. If you feel like He's not with you anymore, go back read these scriptures and ask yourself, WHO MOVED?
God Bless You and remember that you are God's greatest!!!
Des

The gift.

Have you ever given someone a gift and in the back of your mind said, "I hope I get a good present back?" OK, so you dont have to admit out loud, but we are human so the answer is, of course we have. Me included. So how does the Lord want us to give? "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have recieved, freely give." Matthew 10:8 I believe that when you give with an open heart the gift means that much more to the person who is recieving it.. Its not the quality or quanity of the gift, it is the thought and the love you put in it. It is easy to give someone what they tell you they want but the gift that you put your heart and soul into is the one that will forever hold a place in their heart. Believe me I know..... So give with a good heart and expect nothing in return and you will feel the blessings that come with it. "Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." Galatians 6:9 I hope you dont think that I am preaching to you here but I came across a scripture that opened my eyes to the way I give and recieve gifts, nice words, etc.. It comes from Luke 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." I hope you got the same message from that scripture as I did. Give and recieve with an open, loving and caring heart and it will be given back to you... I am going to leave you with a quote from Helen Pearson, " Jesus' words are as jewels, treasures worth giving up all life's ambitions to find. The Lord can do great things through those who dont care who gets the credit." I am going to start giving like I don't care if I get the credit. The Lord deserves the credit. I want the the Lord to be present when I give and recieve with my whole heart. Is your whole heart in it?
Love in Christ,
Des

Two edged sword.

Has your mom ever told you, "If you don't have anything nice to day then don't say anything at all?" Well that is the same thing the Lord wants you to do. We need to think about what we say before we say it. "He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction." Proverbs 13:3 The Lord wants our words to reflect Him and when our words are hateful or hurtful that is not Christ like. "He who guards his mouth and tongue Keeps his soul from troubles." Proverbs 21:23 OK so in my confession to you, that is something I have to work on everyday. I have blogged about the respond not react. These two blogs go hand in hand. When you respond you are giving yourself time to think of a Christ like answer. Well even when you are just conversing with someone. We need to think of what we are going to say before we let the words escape from our mouths. It says in the word, "Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones." Proverbs 16:24 The way you speak to people has a huge impact on the way they respond to you. My biggest problem is the tone I use with people. I have to keep myself in check on a daily basis. If I am having a stressful day it shows in the tone of my voice and the way I become short with people. I pray for the Lord to help me with my everyday struggle. I know that the Lord wants me to witness to people but no one will listen if I don't speak with the love and compassion that the Lord wants me to. "Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works!" 1 Chronicles 16:9 I know that the Lord is good, kind, and soft spoken to the ones who follow Him. So I am going to keep praying , asking the Lord for His hand of wisdom and kindness to be with me when I am talking to my children, my friends, my family and especially to strangers. You never know who is listening to you trying to learn about the Lord. "As long as my breath is in me, And the breath of God is in my nostrils, My lips will not speak wickedness, Nor my tongue utter deceit." Job 27:3-4
"I have more faith in God's ability to speak to me, than in my own ability to hear Him." quote from Jeanna Tomlinson... So if you wont listen to your mama, listen to what the Lord says in His word!! Think before you speak, your tongue can be a two edged sword. Make sure that you use the "Godly" edge!! God Bless.
Des

Little ways.

Have you ever met someone and felt like you have done something good for them? I had that experience just a couple days ago. I'm not going to go into detail because I met these wonderful people through my job and most of you probably don't want to hear about what I do for a living but what I will tell you, I walked into these peoples home on the worst day of their lives. They knew why I was there, I knew why I was there but I walked in with the mission to give them a sense of security, that their husband, their father and their grandfather was being taken away by someone who had loved and lost just like them. I wanted them to know that he would be taken care of as if I was taking care of my own father or grandfather. And I saw in their eyes that they knew that that was what I was going to do. There were a few of us that could've went to that house but it was Tosha and I. I know that the Lord sent me there to meet these people. I believe that I made an impact on their lives and I know that they made one in mine. The Lord puts people in our paths for a reason. There is no coincidence or chance. Its the Lord divine plan. I try to show people that I am a Christian by the way I do my job, the things I say to the families and by the way I treat their loved one. I meet a lot of people through my job. Like I said before I walk into homes, hospital rooms, or wherever on the worst day of peoples lives. Before I walk in, I say a prayer that the Lord will give me the wisdom and the compassion to know what to say to the people I'm about to meet. If I can give them a piece of the Lords word to comfort them in their time of sorrow, then I feel like I have done something right.

I read a passage today from Charlene Jehle, it says "Every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence." That is a pretty neat line. What you do is noticed by a lot of people whether you know it or not. I am very thankful that I went to that particular house and met that particular family. They made me realize that I truely love my job, I love the families that I serve, and I love seeing the Lords work even in a time of sorrow and grief. I am going to leave you with few more quotes from some wonderful woman.
"What lies within us is far greater than what lies before us or lies behind us." Virginia Otis

"If you can't sleep, don't count sheep- talk to the Shepard" Jo Ann Sutton

"The task ahead of you is not as great as the power behind you" Bunny Constantino

This is my favorite one and SO true. "People and the world can fail you, but God is ever faithful and will never fail you." Mrs. Lucas Halim
I will leave you with that. God is wonderful, God is good, and God loves you. May the Lord bless you and keep you.
Love in Christ,
Des

Life.

Life can be so unfair sometimes. We have all lived through heartache, heartbreak and dark times. At that moment we think that we will never get over it, never get through it, or never see the light. But we were wrong weren't we. We all got over, got through it and the light did shine again. So I guess my question is, "Do you know how you got over it, got through it, and found that light in the darkness?" Well, I cant answer that for you but I can answer that for me.. I turned it over to the Lord!! I asked the Lord for a lot of things to happen, for it to go this way or that, but in the end, He was my answer. He knew what I needed and when I needed it. He will give us the tools to get through anything. Those tools can be in the form of your Bible, a direct answer from Him, or friends that you find where you lease expect them. Those are gifts from God. Those are the answers to prayers. Those were the answers to my prayers. "In my distress I called to the Lord, and He answered me. I called for help and you listened to my cry." Jonah 2:2 So here is my testimony...

I found myself in a dark place. I was down, out and broken hearted. I needed the light of my Lord to shine on me and bring me out of the darkness. I found this scripture and I prayed and I prayed. This is in 2 Samuel 22:29 "You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light." What a power verse. I know that my broken heart is real and believe me it hurts but with scriptures like that and a Lord that I have complete faith in. I know that He will help me through it. I will never walk alone, as long I continue to walk with Him. "Jesus replied, Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:20 I still have a broken heart but as for the darkness, His eternal light will forever guide me out. " I have come into this world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." John 12:46
So remember that NO matter what you are going through the Lord is with you, He is ready to help you get over it, get through it, and lead you out of the darkness. In John 8:12 Jesus spoke to them saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." The glorious light of the Lord is only a question away. Pray to Him, ask Him to shine His light of Love, His light of Hope and His light of Everlasting Life upon you. We all find ourselves in some kind of darkness at some point or another in our lives. But with the Lord in our hearts, we never have to stay in the dark. I praise and thank Him everyday for shining His light on me in my time of darkness. If you are in the dark open your heart and let Him fill you with His Light!!!!
Love in Christ,
Des

What About Tomorrow??

I have a question. Have you heard the phrase, " if tomorrow never comes."? Doesn't that sound like a cheesy Garth Brooks song? Anyway!! Have you ever really thought about it? I have been thinking about those 4 word? I'm not trying to be morbid but the Lord is the only One who knows when we are going to be called home. We all are actually living on borrowed time if you think about it. The lord gives us to our parents and He gives our children to us. He can also choose to take anyone of us at any time. OK so that the reality but we cant dwell on that fact. What I have come to realize is that tomorrow might not come, and if it doesn't come for me, will I be okay with that. Have I lived my life according to the Lord?Am I pleased with what I've done in my 26 years? Have I loved my kids enough to last them the rest of their lives? Have I wrapped my arms around them enough so that they will remember what my hugs feel like? Did I teach them enough about the Lord to ensure their place in heaven ? Have I told all the people in my life what I wanted them to know? Will my family and friends remember me for the good I've done? Does Vern know that I love him and have loved him since the moment I saw him? But in all those questions, the question I ask the most is , Will I go to heaven?I asked the Lord in to my heart, to be my Lord and Savior, and was baptised when I was 15. I am 26 and I remember that day like it was yesterday. That day saved my life!!! I pray often and I ask for forgiveness often. I serve such a forgiving and loving God that when I mess up all I need to do is ask for His forgiveness, and He hears me!! Psalm 3:4 "I cried to the Lord with my voice, And He heard me from His holy hill." No matter where you are take a moment and talk to Him, He can hear you. With forgiveness in mind, I go one to my next verse. 1 Corinthians 5:6 " Therefore we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord." That means to me that if we are saved and repent and try to live according to His perfect will. Then when we leave these worldly bodies we are going to be in the presence of the Lord... That in itself gives me all the comfort I need. So I am going to keep telling people what I want them to know, teaching my kids about Jesus, hug them every chance I get, tell Vern I love him, live for the Lord, ask for His forgiveness and live every tomorrow He gives me, to the fullest.. What are you going to do with your tomorrows? Make them count.
Love in Christ,
Des