Thoughts On A Boiled Egg

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." - Psalm 51:17. (NIV).


One day recently, an egg I had boiled for my breakfast evoked my sense of awe. I wondered how anyone could behold the perfection of its shape, the beauty of its construction, and the promise of life within, and yet fail to see the hand of God the Creator at work.


The shell is so thin, yet of a consistent, precise thickness that protects the new life, or the nutritious food within. Yet it is only when the shell is broken from within by the emerging chick, or purposely broken from without to feed and sustain life, that its true value and usefulness can be appreciated. If left untouched, it eventually spoils and is cast aside.


The hatching chick must crack open the shell to enter its new world. I also need to break the resistance of my human self- sufficient "shell" by acknowledging my fallen nature and by inviting God's Holy Spirit into my heart to change me from within, so that I can enter the new world of His Spirit. God stands at the door of our
hearts, awaiting our response. Inviting God's Holy Spirit into our hearts is a matter of choice, for God Himself gave us the gift of free will.


An egg needs to be fertilized in order to become a living creature.Likewise, through the mysterious power of God's Holy Spirit at work within me, I can become a new creature. With the Holy Spirit's help the gifts and skills God has graciously bestowed upon each of us may then be used in His service.


Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come. - Psalms. 51:17. (NIV)

REQUIREMENTS OF ENTRY

What are the requirements of entry into the kingdom of God?



(John 3:5) Jesus answered , "I tell you the truth, unless a man is born of the water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." What did Jesus mean? Let us examine a few possibilities.



(A) SINNERS PRAYER: (Luke 18:13-14) ..."God, have mercy on me a sinner." I tell you this man, rather than the other, went home JUSTIFIED before God.



Question: Was, Jesus announcing the requirements to enter the kingdom of God?



(B) GENEROSITY and RESTITUTION: (Luke 19:8-9) ..."Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." Jesus said to him, " Today SALVATION has come to this house...



Question: Was,Jesus announcing the requirements to enter the kingdom of God?



(C) THE FAITH OF FRIENDS: (Mark 2:5) When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son your sins are FORGIVEN."



Question: Was, Jesus announcing the requirements to enter the kingdom of God?



(D) ASKED TO BE REMEMBERED: (Luke 23:42-43)....remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in PARADISE."



Question: Was, Jesus announcing the requirements to enter the kingdom of God?



When Jesus forgave sinner's was it valid? Yes, absolutely. When Jesus was on earth he had the authority to forgive sins: see (Luke 5:24) However after his death the new covenant was in force. (Heb 9:15-18)...a will is in force only when somebody has died...When Jesus died the requirements of entry were implemented.



When was the kingdom to arrive ? Soon ! (Mark 9:1) And he said unto them, I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power."



The kingdom of God (that is the church on earth) came with power on the day of Pentecost (Acts Chapter 2). Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of God (Matthew 16:19) Peter used the keys on the day of Pentecost.



Peter preached Jesus and told them what to do... (Acts 2:38)FAITH-REPENTANCE-WATER IMMERSION. That was Peter's ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD.



(Acts 2:47) ...And the Lord added daily to their number those being saved.



"GOD'S KINGDOM HERE ON EARTH"

Write your plans in pencil, but give God the eraser~

Today, I saw a facebook post from a new friend of mine from across the globe. He said this " Write your plans in pencil, but give God the eraser, because He will remove the wrong, by replacing it with the best for you." Did you get that? Make all the plans you want, right down to every minute if you want...but write them down in pencil.

You can shave those pencils down to nubs if you want, writing down all every single plan you have for your entire life, BUT, give the Lord the eraser, because He is the one with the final say in your life and mine, whether we want to admit that or not. He is the one with the master plan, not us.

IF, you have the guts to put your faith and trust in Him and do exactly that what the Lord says by seeking His will for your life, everything will turn out just like it's supposed to for you. But, really, how many of us have faith like that? It's hard to put all your marbles in one basket as the saying goes, right? But when your basket is held by the Great I AM, it's an OK thing, don't you think? I strive to have faith like that each day, but I'm human and it's hard. But that is what I want to do and that is what I strive to do, each and every day. I want to embrace the Lord and all of His promises for my life.         

                                                         The Promise by Morgan Weistling

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is from Jeremiah 29:11 and it goes like this:

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

There it is, pure and simple and easy to understand for any one of us. He knows the plans He has for us, he wants to prosper us, He wants to give us hope and a future. What else could we want? What other questions could we have? He states it in the simplest of forms for even a child to understand. If you belong to Him, He wants to watch over you. He wants you to have a prosperous life. He doesn't want harm to come to you. He wants to give you hope.

What in the world could anyone of us ever want that didn't include those 4 words. Plan, prosper, hope and future. Pretty much sums it up, don't you think? Sometimes people say they don't understand the Bible. That it's too complicated. Parts of the Old Testament can get tedious at times, (even I can admit that) but then you come across a knock your sock off kind of verse like Jeremiah 29:11 ~~ He brings you right back down to earth. Anyone can understand the simplicity of that wonderful statement, right?

The key thing though, is our acceptance of that verse. Do we trust the Lord enough to know that He has our back (as they say in the great movie "The Blind Side")? No matter what happens, He will be there to come to our rescue? No matter how we mess up, He'll be there; there is no doubt about that, if you trust and believe.

Life can get really messy. The older I get, the more I realize what a profoundly true statement that is. When we get in trouble, and we will, it's just a matter of when, not if; do we know where to go to get our strength until the storm passes? Psalm 46:1 says"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." I say hold on to that verse with all your might and with everything in you.

                                                        Homeward Bound by Peter Ellenshaw

So that when trouble hits; you can RUN...not walk, out of the storm. Do not pass go, just sprint as fast as you can to the one that can really give you help and give you strength. Pick up your Bible and fall into the arms of Jesus. Go Home. He will never let you down. He will erase all of the bad plans that have fallen apart, and replace them with brand spanking new and more important ones, just the way He wants them. He's got your back and always has~~ if you'll just let Him in.

So, remember, go ahead and dream. Go ahead and make your plans. But write them in pencil, and don't forget to give to eraser to the Creator of the Universe, just where it should be! He holds Our World and the Universe in His Hands. Your simple plans are a piece of cake for him. Trust and Obey, for there's no other way!

                                                            Peace on Earth by Greg Olsen

My verses for today are in Red.

Are you in a preparation to cross the river of Jordan and take over Jericho ?

When people of Israel waited in the banks of the Jordan, they had a growing awareness of the human impossibility of what God was asking them to do. The nation must have wondered what Joshua was working out in this interim period. They certainly couldn't swim across the river. They couldn't build enough boats or rafts to transport almost two million people, women and children, across to the other side.

For forty years they had also cultivated deep fears about the Canaanite inhabitants of the land and people had been trying to imagine what lay beyond that river. In addition, God intentionally brought them to the Jordan at the time of year when the river was swollen by the spring rains and by the melting snows from the Lebanon mountains to show His power of deliverance.

It was at this time, when the people were faced with tremendous difficulties and they knew that they were at the end of their resources, that God would be able to show his power. There must have been a lot of conflicting thoughts going through the minds of the people waiting through those three days, just as there are for us when we're faced with our own inadequacy and impotence to have any effect whatsoever on circumstances.

God bless you abundantly and make you a blessing to so many across the globe.