Your Efforts

Good Morning Everyone,
I pray that you have been doing well these last few days while I have been off here. Is was a bad week for me but I am still kicking, just not very high. (smile) It is so good to be able to come back into your homes this morning and present some of God’s word with you all... We have had a house full these last few days and yesterday we celebrated my youngest son, Eric’s birthday. Scott and Renee brought back my little 1 Ton Dodge and trailer from their moving to Louisville. He has had it borrowed for the last two weeks. Aaron, Will, Kourtney, Mattie, Eric, Melanie, Jimmy, Kim, Dianne, Mom, my sister, Rosanne, and John Thomas were all here. Scott and Renee spent the night with Will and Aaron camping out on the living room floor.
Well the ole ‘ house is beginning to come alive now and I hear my grand sons are up and jabbering and the TV going. I made the first pot of coffee, good and strong, and on my second cup... mmmm, mmmm, good... LOL Connie and I race every morning to make the coffee.. She likes it weak... I tell her you can read a newspaper through it. LOL As for me? I like it to jump out of the pot into your cup and it meets you half way.. A real eye opener... (smile) Well Connie girl is up and getting one of the boys headed for the shower.. They smell like Panda this morning so they get their shower first.. LOL Every one will be getting ready for church for the next little bit so I figured the best place for me was in here out of the way.. (smile)
Gonna head back to the ole easy chair in a few minutes but thought we’d share some of God’s word with you all first thing this morning... Probably won’t get to be on here very long but maybe latter today I’ll see if I can get back in here and check the mail and answer some letters...
Psalms 37: 1, 11
1. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
2. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
3. Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4. Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
7. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
8. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
9. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
10. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
11. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

Fretting and Anticipating trouble makes trifles unduly large, and the trouble which was expected but didn’t come causes an imagined burden which crushes the spirit.. You have then spent your strength and haven’t accomplished the constructive work or services in fighting problems which didn’t even exist in the first place... And that would be like sitting in your car with the wheels jacked off the ground, racing the motor and spinning the wheels but going nowhere...
And I am afraid that I must admit that I have been guilty of this at times.. Haven’t you? Should we not then strive to, as the verses say. 1. fret not thyself.. 2.Trust in. 3. Delight thyself also in.. 4. Rest in.. and this last one may be the hardest, 5. wait upon the Lord... Instead of spinning your wheels, use your efforts to accomplish a goal or purpose of worth.. And then as we look back we shall have something to show for our efforts.. Well Glory!
May your Day be Blessed

Attention, What does it take?

Good Afternoon Little flock,
I hope that you all are entering this week with prayers for those who lost loved ones in the 911 tragedy last year.. I know that I have received many things, (articles, pictures, stories. etc.) in the e-mail reminding us of last year... I’m sure that you have received and are mindful as we reflect on the happenings of 911. I am not one for rehashing all the events as I am sure you’ll be hearing and reading enough in the next few days.. I am only going to ask that as we are reminded of last year that we pray for everyone concerned and for this nation... I do believe that if prayers hadn’t gone up to God as this tragedy unfolded that it might have, as bad as it was, been more tragic.. I believe that only by God’s intervention did we forgo what would have been an un-surmountable plight, as there were many more places targeted. If a country or people ever needed God and needed to get right in God’s eyes, we are that nation...
I’ve been listening to a song, “Prayer is the Key to Heaven but Faith Unlocks the Door.” My what a powerfully worded song... That tune has been going through my head all day and I can’t help but pondering on some of the great Bible stories of great men of prayer but not only the praying but the faith to see those prayers miraculously answered.
Well Good Morning, (smile) I started this two days ago and I would like to finish it. Had some chest pains and just had to quit. Spent the day yesterday in my ole easy chair... It is still dark out this morning and in the 50’s but as I stood on the back porch this morning it was like looking at one of those penny post cards with the trees almost black with the sky outline in a light shade of blue turning black the higher you looked... What a truly beautiful sight God allowed me to enjoy this morning... Well let’s see if we can pick up where we left off the other day and get back into the flow of the thought for today..
Oh yea, Prayer is the key to heaven but faith unlocks the door... I hope that you listened to our president’s speech last evening.. I was pleased that he mentioned God and prayer and referred to God several times.. I watched a little of Larry King who had our first lady, Laura Bush... I believe we are most fortunate to have this godly couple in the Whitehouse.. I also listened to Lisa Beamer and she mentioned God several times and wasn’t ashamed to let her feelings and love for God shine forth..
hmmmm, The Bible is full of men of faith praying to God and miracles taking place but the story of Paul and Silas is the example I would like to share with you today. These two men who weren’t ashamed to pray and sing praises as others listened to them and because of their faith, God preformed a miracle and some mighty impressive things took place. Try and picture this scene in your minds eye as you read..
Acts 16, 22, 31
[22] And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.
[23] And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:
[24] Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
[25] And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
[26] And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.
[27] And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.[28] But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
[29] Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
[30] And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
[31] And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

There are a couple of points I would like to bring out.. First, the jailor saw them stripped of their clothes and beaten.. Second he was charged with their care.. Should he fail in this charge it meant certain death for him and this is why he was so careful to place them in the most secure part of the prison and to make positive he put them in steel cuffs chained to the walls.. There was no way for Paul and Silas to escape and this is why the jailor could go to sleep.
But let’s look at Paul and Silas. They were in a cold and damp place, naked, bloody from the beating, no doubt in pain, and chained to the walls... It is midnight. The darkest hour and what would you be doing in their situation? Praying for sure but singing? Yea, they were singing praises and it must have been loud because the other prisoners heard them, vs 25... And suddenly there was, I would like to insert the word ‘God the miracle maker’ right here. vs.26.. Yes, God comes on the scene in the form of an earthquake. Now the earthquake might be explained away but not along with the doors becoming unlocked and the steel cuffs being loosed. That would require keys..
Can you imagine the look of horror on the jailors face as he was jarred awake by the earthquake and saw the prison doors unlocked which meant a torturous and certain death for him? So he decides to kill himself, taking the easy way out. But his prisoners hadn’t run away.. Paul and Silas definitely had the jailor’s attention when they cried out that they were still there. Right here is what I wonder about.. The jailor called for a light... Who brought him the light? Another jailor or prison guard? If so why didn’t he recognize the miracle and asked to be saved also? Maybe it was because he wasn’t in charge and he wouldn’t have lost his life. Perhaps because it just wasn’t as personal to him as it was to the jailor in charge. And finding Jesus and being saved is a personal relationship and sometimes it takes an earthquake in one’s life before they are willing to receive Him...
At any rate, it is at this point the jailor sprang in, trembling, and falls before Paul and Silas. Now comes the biggie question... ”Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” In essence, You have my attention, with the praying and singing, the miracle of the unlocked doors, the chains unlocked, your not running away as any other prisoner would have done.. I now recognize your God... What must I do to be saved??? Now comes the answer; Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. If you read the rest of the story you’ll see that the jailor takes Paul and Silas home washes their wounds, feeds them, and he and his family are all saved.... They rejoice and are baptized that very night..
My question to you is; What dose it take to get your attention? Not only for the lost person but for you who are saved... What does God have to do to get us to realize that we not only need Him for salvation but every minute of every day in our lives... You know what is sad? Most of you who will read this are close to God and the ones who need to read this, won’t or will never even see it. Let’s not wait for a tragedy, personal or one such as 911, to come into our lives before we set our attention towards God. I am praying and believing God, that today’s message will fall into the hands of someone, perhaps YOU, who will place your trust in Jesus. Will you join with me today in reaching out to someone who is lost? And if you’re a lost person, won’t you repent of your sins and call on Jesus to forgive you of your sins, Believing that Jesus was born of a virgin, died on the cross as sacrifice for our sins but arose from the grave, alive, and then ask Him to come into your heart and save your soul. You’ll never be sorry you made this decision, Well, Glory!
May your day be blessed

Choices and Attitudes

A Very Early Good Morning,

I received this story today from Tammy and I wish to thank her for sharing it with me.. I rested for awhile and remembered this story and want to pass this thought on to you today. I know that you’ll receive a blessing from reading it but then maybe you won’t.. Whether you do or not will be your choice. The blessing is there if you chose to receive it. (smile)

The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.


After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. "I love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

"Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room, just wait." "That doesn't have anything to do with it," she replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ...it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it ... "It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed counting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.

Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away ... just for this time in my life. Old age is like a bank account ... you withdraw from what you've put in .. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories. Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing.


Acts 15: 7, 11

[7] And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
[8] And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
[9] And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
[10] Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
[11] But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.


Just as the Little Lady in our story we, that is you and I have choices to make each and every day. Sometimes we chose correctly sometimes not. But we make that choice right or wrong because God has given that right to us. This is what Peter is telling his fellow Jews, God’s chosen people that He chose to give the gentiles the opportunity of becoming His children. We who have chosen to accept Christ have been adopted into the family of God and will spend eternity in Heaven. But this choice doesn’t end there... Every single morning we must chose how our day is going to go. Will we be cheerful children of God? Will we be obedient to Him? Will we follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit? Will we set aside a time for praying or a time to read our Bible?

OR and this is where the attitude part comes in, will we get up and begin our day grumbling because it’s raining outside, or because we have aches and pains? Will we look at the new day with optimism and expect good things to happen.. And the days they don’t will we just smile and praise God anyway or will we be grouchy all day? We have that choice but the right attitude will help us to make the right choices. Ever notice when you wake up happy and smiling how your whole day just seems to go right for you. But on days you get up mad at the world it seem as though everything you do turns to sour grapes?

Just as the lady in our story, there are circumstances sometime beyond our control. This lady chose to accept a bad circumstance and make the best of it. Let’s put a smile on our face with an attitude. Let the world see that a child of God has more to be happy about regardless of the circumstance we find our self in.. After all anyone can smile when all is well but it is a remarkable thing to smile when everything is amiss.. I believe I’ll chose to walk with God each day with a smile on my face and a positive attitude in my pocket... What about you? Well Glory!

May your day be blessed with the right choices and proper attitude,

The King is Coming!

Good Afternoon Little Flock,

Guess that you had given up on me for today didn't you??... I have set the milk back into the fridge and have a powerful meat and taters message for you all today.. I believe it will bless you, encourage you, and challenge you... (smile) I am not putting it in the mail because it is a tad long and these servers have been acting up and bouncing mail.. I have put it in the sermon's section of the Allegre church site.. Which by the way has music on most of the pages once more.. Was up until 2 this morning working on it.. (smile)

I got up this morning and have just now finished with today's message and putting it on the church site (with music), making sure the links all worked and everything.. I have been working on it for over 7 hours now. (smile)

I hope, No, I pray that you will, after reading it, send today's message to ALL your family and friends for it is deffinately one which needs to be read... May the Holy Spirit touch you and I pray that you receive a blessing from the message and my feeble efforts of serving Our Lord and Saviour..

Here is the URL addy.. Just click on it, Please

http://www.geocities.com/ambc202000/sermon_The_King_Is_Coming.html

May your day be heaped with blessings,

Jim

PS. I'll not be working on the church site for the rest of today because you wouldn't be able to view the page if I did... I am headed to the Heaven bound site and begin the near impossible of straightening it out some.. eeeeeeeeeek! what a mess it is right now.. LOL Have a great day..