Saints Are Sinners That Kept On Going! ~Robert Louis Stevenson~

The Power Of Cleansing

The blood of Christ cleanses us from sin, as taught in 1 John 1:9.

The Holy Spirit working in our lives is also an agent of cleansing.

Water is a powerful symbol in Scripture of cleansing and the

Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:26 says....

"that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water

by the word." And Jesus likened the Spirit in us to rivers of water

in John 7:38. "He who believes in Me" as the scripture has said,

out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."

Moving water is a powerful force before which little can stand,

especially as it increases in amount.

Dirt moves, logjams are broken open, objects are swept along,

while the rushing water becomes an unstoppable force.

My prayer today is that as we all seek fresh, daily cleansing
of our sins and experience the inward movings of the Holy Spirit,
that God will begin working in our lives in ever more powerful ways.

Thanks to Pastor Kevin Clarkson



"How Mighty Rivers Become Mighty"

Tributaries: that's what creates great rivers. From all directions, those tributaries contribute to a river, feeding it, enlarging it. That's not just the way rivers grow. It's the way people grow, too, if they're open to the contribution the people in their life can make. And to the contributions they can make, as well. In a sense, you are supposed to be a river, you're enlarged and improved by the people in your world, and you're supposed to be a tributary, building and enlarging the lives of the folks around you.

Paul models that in Romans 1:11-12, our word for today from the Word of God. He says to the believers in Rome, "I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong - that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith." Paul seems to understand this tributary thing. His purpose in wanting to be with these people is so he can give them some help, some encouragement, something that will make them stronger. He also looks forward to how they are going to feed his stream, too, enlarging his spiritual life.

Now, this is an exciting way to view the relationships in your life and the people in your life. You are with those people both to give and to receive. I wonder if your coworkers, your family members, your friends, the folks at church feel richer because of the good things you keep depositing in their life. You're supposed to be one of God's designated tributaries to help them become the mighty river that He's designed them to be. You wouldn't be there with them if He hadn't decided they need someone like you, and that you need someone like them.

Because you're also a river. What you are today is because of some human tributaries who have marked your life in the past: parents, teachers, spiritual leaders, friends, someone who listened to you, even those who've confronted you about things you didn't want to hear about. Maybe it's time to call or write or talk to some of the tributaries who've enlarged the river of your life, just to thank them - encourage them. Don't wait for their funeral to say all those nice things. Say it to them while they can still hear them.

And then, about those tributaries God has put in your life right now. Would you listen to them, would you open yourself up to them, even to those who are critical? Sometimes those people are God's mirrors to help us see things in our blind spot; things we haven't seen and that we might not see otherwise, and things that may be limiting us or tripping us up. A river with no tributaries is going to remain small, it's going to remain stagnant, and so will you.

Mighty rivers become mighty because they are fed and enlarged from many sources that feed into them. You and I are like that, too. So, would you be a tributary every day for other people, and let them help you become a mighty river.



(Jer 51:15-16 KJV)
He(The LORD) hath made the earth by his power,
he hath established the world by his wisdom,
and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.

{16} When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens;
and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth:
he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.

God is at home in the heavens, and "walks on the wings of the wind".

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Gen 1:2



And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Psa 1:3

When thou passest through the waters, I [will be] with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. Isa 43:2



"Every thing shall live whithersoever the river cometh." -- Eze_47:9.

"And He shewed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." -- Rev_22:1 (R.V.).


IN THIS wonderful chapter in Ezekiel the influence of restored Israel is compared to a life-giving stream issuing from the Divine dwelling-Place (Eze_47:1).
When the waters rise in the heart, they flow out, as our Lord promised, in ever-deepening, widening rivers of blessing to mankind (Joh_4:14; Joh_7:37-39).
The ankles may mean the steps of daily life; the knees our prayers and intercessions; the loins our affections and passions.
Our influence for God should perpetually deepen and extend.
In every life, there must be the unfathomable depth of fellowship with God--"a river that cannot be passed" (Eze_47:5).

PRAYER
O God our Father, the Ocean of Love to whom all streams tend, but in whom there is no ebb! The depth of our need calls to the depth of Thy grace, but Thy grace is deeper than our need. May we drink deeply of the river of the water of life and overflow in blessing to the thirsty world around. AMEN.



Ezekiel 34: "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: 'I Myself will search for My sheep and look after them. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak.'" Then, lest the wandering and the falling have caused you to forget who you are and whose you are, He says, "'You (are) My sheep, the sheep of My pasture...and I am your God,' declares the Lord." If you're away from Him, you know that the best days of your life were when you were close to Him. You got away, but you can't stay away. He's come looking for you.

You've been afraid to fly again; afraid to come back to Jesus because you might mess up again or because you think He wouldn't want you back after what you've done.
Not only does He want you back, He's come looking for you!



IMPERFECT SHELLS

God walked by the shores of paradise
As the tides of time raged in
To find the shells for his collection
God would search time and again

And to God, even imperfect shells
Those broken or that didn't shine
Had special value to God, you see
For they stood the test of time

Some were of many colors
Imperfect shells had the greater test
It seemed of all the shells that God found
He loved the imperfect shells best.

But if only I be a grain of sand
On a shore that seems so far
If I can but shine for the light of God
In his eyes, I will be a star.

God loves even imperfect shells
Though we fail God time and again
God is always there, waiting for you
When came the final rain.

So be in Gods collection
No matter how imperfect you may be
For God loves even those who fail
Find heavenly eternity

For imperfect shells God collects
Just try to be on that shore!
Seek daily to be saved by God
As time shall be no more
When time shall be no more.

Ken King
Written for a local newspaper in 1998.

'Of Roses and Thorns' A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully. Before it blossomed, he examined it. He saw a bud that would soon blossom.

He also saw the thorns, and he thought,

"How can any beautiful flower come from a plant,

burdened with so many sharp thorns?"

Saddened by this thought,

he neglected to water the rose,

and before it was ready to bloom, it died.

So it is with many people ...

Within every soul ... there is a Rose.

The "G-d-like" qualities planted in us at birth,

growing amidst the thorns of our faults.

Many of us look at ourselves and

see only the thorns, the defects.

We despair, thinking nothing good

can possibly come from us.

We neglect to water the good within us,

and eventually it dies.

We never realize our potential.

Some don't see the rose within themselves ...

It takes someone else to show it to them.

One of the greatest gifts a person can possess ...

is to be able to reach past the thorns

and find the rose within others.

This is the truest, most innocent,

and gracious characteristic of love -

to know another person,

including their faults,

recognize the nobility in their soul,

and yet still help another to

realize they can overcome their faults.

If we show them the rose,

they will conquer the thorns.

Only then will they blossom,

and most likely, blooming thirty,

sixty, a hundred-fold,

as it is given to them.

Our duty in this world is to help others,

by showing them their roses and not their thorns.



It is then that we achieve the
love we should feel for each other.
Only then can we bloom
in our own garden.
Author Unknown

Fathers Love Letter

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The Full Armor Of God

http://www.geocities.com/elainemarieslittlelantern/ArmorOfGod.htm

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