Year: 2023

James 3:8-10,13

8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.

9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God.

10 From the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.

No one can tame the tongue even though it is put in a cage behind teeth and lips. Only by abiding in Christ, walking with Him daily, can the tongue be tamed by the Holy Spirit. But Christians can quench the Holy Spirit and allow a poison of hate to flow from their tongue and grievous gossip. The tongue hurts the very people Christ died for.

Remember what Christ said in Acts 9:4. “Sau, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” So, if we do something to another Christian, we do it to Jesus Christ. They are one with Christ.

Back in James 3. I love verse 13. “Who among you is wise and understanding. Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.”

Beloved, gentleness means power under control, spiritual control. Wisdom is measured by deeds and applying truth to life while being humble.

I have mentioned in the past, that the Holy Spirit is our engagement ring to Jesus Christ. Oh, Beloved, I hope you have learned to remain close to Him. The Holy Spirit is the breath of God within us. One can not learn the truth and awe of the scripture without Him. The Holy Spirit is the one that takes scripture from the head and moves it to the heart. There He gives those words illumination to light our path.

The Holy Spirit helps us to pray in the Father’s will. The Holy Spirit helps us to lay them at the feet of Jesus. I imagine then they are discussed with the Father.

Now I do not understand the complete workings of God and how He moves. But this past week I traveled to New Mexico by plane with my husband. I pray for safe travel when flying. On the return home, my husband and I boarded a new plane. The door was closed and we waited to start taxing to the runway. At some point in time, we were suddenly told that the plane was no longer in service and we were to exit the plane and go to a different gate and wait. After everyone left, my husband went to the exit and waited there for my scooter to be brought up from the belly of the plane. I waited in my seat on the third roll. My husband overheard someone talking from near the cockpit. They said, “I could not release the plane with a Code F (something).

Beloved, pray without ceasing. Then in between those breaths, give thanks.

Beloved, God seeks you. He wants to restore what sin has damaged. In His mercy, He wants to rescue you. Oh, how He wants to have sweet fellowship with you for all eternity. Can you feel Him tugging at your heart? He loves you so much.

When God created us, He made a place for the Holy Spirit to dwell within us so that we could fellowship with Him. We can feel this empty place within us. Some describe it as being lonely or incomplete. Some try to fill this empty, unhappy feeling with material things or drugs. Those things will not satisfy that empty place within you.

God has a free gift for all that want to fill that place within them with love for Him.

Beloved, God decided long ago, that He would come to earth in the form of a man. This man was called Jesus, the Christ, or Emmanuel, which means, God is with us. Jesus never sinned. Everyone that lived on earth before He died and after He died, did sin. God is Holy. He can not look upon sin.

I will not pretend I understand all of this, because I do not. Maybe in heaven, in His spirit form, in all His glory, God can not sook upon sin. When God came to earth, He left so much of Himself there to become Jesus. Jesus was the part of God that man murdered.

This was God’s decision. I don’t know how or why Jesus’ blood paid for our sins, but when we accept Jesus’ payment for our sins, God accepts us and can look upon us. Instead of seeing sin, God sees the blood of Jesus.

Remember me telling you about that empty space within you and if you accepted Jesus’ payment for your sin, that space will be filled. Well, a part of God, known as the Holy Spirit, comes and lives within you. The Holy Spirit is like an engagement ring. You become a bride of Christ. Someday He will return for you in all His glory. No one can take that ring from you.

You may ask me, “How do I know all of this is true?” I know because the Holy Spirit lives within me. He tells me it is true.

I must believe that God loves me so much that He came to earth by being born of a virgin and died on the cross for my sins. Then tell God that you are sorry for all the bad things you have done and that you believe that Jesus came and suffered and died for your sins. Thank Him for making a way for you to come to Him and saving you. Commit your life to live for Him. He will return one day and will reign as King. If you do this and believe it with all your being, you will have a glorious eternal life with God in perfect love. So, commit your life to Jesus Christ.

God not only dwells in our hearts, in a church but in homes worldwide. There are anointed places where the heavens open up. An area that has been saturated with worship and love for the Lord. A place of prayer. Mayer just your prayers or your family’s prayers. If you don’t have a place in your home, find one. The Holy Spirit can lead you to that place. If you don’t feel God there at first, be consistent and let God know you are serious. Serious about developing a relationship, a place for the two of you, a place to worship Him, a place that He will anoint and bless.

I used to have two places. One was in my bedroom. The other one was down the hill at the barn. The Lord chose that without me thinking about a place there. I guess I was more relaxed and could hear Him better. If He called me to Him and I was at the far end of the pasture, I would hurry and get to the barn. I can’t walk to the barn now, so I only have a place in my bedroom.

If you heard something that touched your heart or some scripture, read it softly to the Lord during this time. The Lord can take this and make it a part of the very essence of your soul. When you see how that small sentence can become so much more than what it was, His Word becomes a lifelong desire.

Have you ever thought about the people left behind after the Rapture? Have you ever prayed for the ones that would come into your house after the Rapture? Surely, I am not the only one. They may stop stealing and stay awhile. God, and maybe with your help, may help this person and their family.

The main thing to leave is information on how to be saved. You might want to leave tracks in jewelry boxes. Leave tracks in things that people will snatch and run with initially. Maybe tape some tracks on the back of packaged food with long shelf life. Pray hard about these things. God knows who He will send and your house, location, and all the work needed to get someone there.

Also, you may want to think about a book or some device that explains the book of Revelation verse by verse in a prominent place. At least a timeline of things to come.

You might want to leave them a letter, telling them of your thoughts and prayers for them.

A good medical bag is always good to have on hand, not only for you but others to come. My antibiotic ointment is rotated easily.

Beloved, pray and ask God what He wants you to do. Be sure to wait after you ask God for Him to respond. Be still and quiet. If he does not answer the first time, He may be waiting to see if you are serious. So ask again tomorrow. God always hears our prayers. We do not need to look to others to know He is with us. We only need to look within our own hearts. Others help to teach and encourage us. Even teachers need others.

Remember, the great “I AM” loves you and those during the tribulation period.

My Bible, NAS Study Bible, is being rebound. I purchased this dear friend in the 1980’s. Sometime between 5-10 years ago, I used duct tape to hold the pages together. That failed about a year ago. I stopped writting notes in it about 10 years ago because it became fragile. I should have rebounded this bible, again, sooner.

The bible I will be using is new and a Christian Standard Bible published by Holman. It is called Experiencing God. I believe Henry Blackaby, wrote the questions in it. I have gone through Blackaby’s course, “Experiencing God,” and heard him speak and read his books. I recommend anything he is a part of to take note and learn from him.

The “Forward” in this Bible is so beautiful. It starts off with the words, “Every time I open my Bible, I tremble (Is. 66:2, 5). I do so because I realize that when I open the pages of Scripture, I don’t just encounter great writing, profound truths, and timeless wisdom. I come face-to-face with the Author.” This can cause all of us to look within ourselves.

I have not trembled before I have started reading my Bible. I have trembled once I have gotten deeper into the word. I have trembled and cried because of sin, or being humbled. I have cried when I have found refuge and rest in my LORD’S words. I have cried quiet tears when our love went deep within our hearts. Those quiet tears of complete peace, rest, and bliss. Do you ever have tears when you read God’s Word?

Beloved, if you do not experience God, do what is necessary to experience Him. I want experience before I have gone to heaven to begin my eternity with my Almighty GOD.

Verse 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

Verse 9 The the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

Verse 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

So, here you can see that our relationship with the LORD God has changed. Adam and Eve knew they had done wrong, so they hid. Most of the time we know when we have done wrong, unless we have harden our heart to the sin. Generally that happens when we do the same sin over and over again. Eve’s sin are those of self-deception. The same ones listed in I John 2:16. I can be easily be deceived, but not in the same way. I have the gift of mercy, so a person can give me a sad story, true or not, and I can be deceived. My husband can judge character, so I depend upon him to keep things in check for me.

Adam’s sins came about differently. Adam knew what he was doing. He understood. He wanted what he thought the fruit would provide. Adam put what he wanted above what God wanted for him.

When God called out to Adam and asked “Where are you?”, it was not because God did not know where he was. God is all-knowing. The question that God was asking is done in order for Adam to repent. Adam disobeyed God’s revealed word to him.

Verse 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

Again, God is asking a question to give Adam the chance to repent.

Verse 12 And the man said, “The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.”

So now Adam is blaming God for what he did wrong. God made the woman, so it was God’s fault.

We try to blame others for our sin. Adult children will blame parents saying, “Because of them, I am this way.” Or someone use to go to church, but do not want to have anything to do with church because someone hurt their feelings. We have a choice everyday if we will obey God or if we will disobey God.

Adam did not want to accept responsibility for his sin.

Verse 13 The the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

A question was once again asked and no repentence was found in Eve. She blamed God and rationalized her sin.

Beloved, do not do as Adam and Eve. Confess you sin as soon as you realize the sin. Do not allow your fellowship with God to be broken.

Verse 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

Eve deceived herself (I Timothy 2:14). To this day, women still self-deceive themselves. Together, Adam and Eve disobeyed the word of God that He explained. Personal ambition found a place in Eve’s heart. She would have had it all by choosing God’s way and in His timing. Also, personal sin hurts those we love.

Adam ate knowingly. They decided to put their will first when they believed Satan’s lies.

Remember in verse 5, Satan said, “you will be like God.” God shared wisdom with them on their walks but they wanted more. They wanted to be like God. God added this sin, covet, to the Ten Commandments.

Verse 7 The eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.

I assumed immediately after eating the fruit, they felt guilty. Probably the glory of God, His out shining, that clothed them and the world left. Leaves do not take the place of a garment of righteousness. They realized that Satan’s words would not come true, but God’s words would come true. They died spiritually.