MY FAVORITE PSALMS - PART TWENTY EIGHT

                                          MY FAVORITE                                                      PSALMS - PART                                                    TWENTY EIGHT




Sing aloud unto God our strength. Make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.  Take a Psalm and bring hither a timbrel,  the pleasant harp and the psaltery.

Blow up the trumpet in the new moon. In the time appointed.  In our solemn feast day. 

How amiable are Thy tabernacles O Lord of hosts. My soul longeth,  yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Yea, the sparrow hath found a house and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even Thy altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.

Blessed are they who dwell in Thy house, they will still be praising Thee. Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee. In whose heart are the ways them, who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.   They go from strength to strength everyone of them in Zion appeareth  before God.

                                           

 O Lord God of hosts                hear my prayer, give                ear  O God of Jacob.                Selah




Behold O God our shield, and look upon the face of Thine anointed. For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the courts of wickedness.    For the Lord God is a sun and shield;  The Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.

O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusteth in Thee.

Lord Thou hast been favorable unto Thy land. Thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.
Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of Thy people. Thou hast covered all their sin. Selah.

Thou hast taken away all Thy wrath. Thou hast turned Thyself from the fierceness of Thine anger. Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause Thine anger towards us to cease. Wilt Thou be angry with us forever?  Wilt Thou draw out Thine anger to all generations?  Wilt Thou not revive us again so that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?

Shew us Thy mercy O Lord and grant us Thy salvation.


next post  7th October

AWESOME GOD - PLAN OF SALVATION - Part one

                                                   PLAN OF                                                                  SALVATION
             (Part one)
                                                     This whole post                   has been copied                 from the ESV Bible,           which is free to                   download on the                 internet. It fits in               beautifully with my           blog Awesome God.

From the first chapters of Genesis through the closing scenes in Revelation, the Bible is the book of God's Salvation from start to finish, its one unifying theme is one of grace and forgiveness for sinners through God's redeeming work in Jesus Christ.

Whatever else you gain from reading the bible, it would be tragic if you missed the heart of its message for you - God's gracious provision of Jesus Christ as the atonement for sin. 

In the beginning

When God created  the heavens and the earth, His work was perfect and pure. God looked upon all He had created and judged it to be 

 "very good"
(Genesis 1:31)

He took great pleasure in what He had made and the culmination of His creation came with  Adam and Eve. They were made in the very image of God, which made them capable of having fellowship with God and bringing glory to His Name. (Genesis 1:27).

In the Garden of  Eden, however, through deception and disobedience, Adam and Eve sinned against God, causing a break in their relationship with Him. Sin is real and sin in deadly. The guilt that resulted from their disobedience caused Adam and Eve to hide from God and to attempt to cover their personal shame.




 Because they had                  disobeyed God's                  command they                      were now flawed                   and shameful in                   God's presence.






Adam deliberately chose a path of self-will and rebellion, which brought sin and death - including spiritual death - into the world. 

"...sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned." (Romans 5:12) 

 - the whole human race is affected by Adam's  sin.

To cover the shame  and nakedness of Adam and Eve, the Lord made coats from an animal's skin for them to wear. (Genesis 3:21)  God thus made the first sacrifice, and it followed the clear promise of a Redeemer when God pronounced these words of judgement upon the serpent, or Satan. 

"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between her offspring and your offspring, he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel'.    (Genesis 3:15) 

This prophetic word speaks of Jesus Christ and His death on the cross of Calvary.

to be continued...... 
should you not wish to wait for the continuing posts in the Plan of Salvation, you can read it in the ESV Bible on the internet. 



 next post  5th October  -  







                                                                                                                                                   

RECIPE TIME -CHEESE SCONES

                                            

 CHEESE SCONES

          


 Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
pinch salt
1 egg
2 Tblsp margarine or butter
half cup milk
1 teaspoon baking powder



Method;

Mix dry ingredients together. Rub in butter/margarine with fingertips.  Add grated cheese. Beat egg and add milk and beat some more then mix  egg with the dry ingredients.  

Bake in patty pans at 400oF  for plus minus ten minutes.


next post    3rd October

TWENTY SIXTEEN - PART TWENTY SEVEN

                                             PART TWENTY                      SEVEN

 Hello folks,

 Now another setback.              Monday 4th July,                      Anna arrives but not for work. She informs Ruth that she wants her money to go shopping and says she will work tomorrow. Her work days are Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Now suddenly she wants to work on Tuesday, but just for this week. 

Ruth takes her to the bank to draw her money and is then informed that she has to take the money to the bus station as her sister is waiting for it to take it to Malawi.  We owed her R1400 for June and R100 for July - but she tells Ruth we owe her R1500  for June - which Ruth pays her.

This made us wonder whether she will be coming back - was she  the one going to Malawi? We were right. She didn't come back.

5th July - time is flying past.  Not much progress being made in setting up transcription business.

7th July - new domestic - name Irene - fourth one in nine months..  Seems to be a better worker than her predecessors.

Ruth sets up software needed for transcription work on my laptop, but now we find that we have to pay $1.95 (approximately R34.00) in order to have bank account verified. They do pay it back once account is verified but we do not have it due to not yet receiving funds from Steve. 

Steve has now paid the money in so Ruth will sort verification  out tomorrow.

10th July Ruth pays R50 into bank for verification of account. I spent a good few hours transferring data from my tablet to the laptop as the tablet is getting rather full. Managed to get halfway.

11th July - Ruth sits all morning trying to get set up with Paypal to work - we eventually send them an e-mail and are told that we have to wait twenty four hours for approval then there are still more steps needed to be taken before we can look for a transcription job.

The time is flying past.  Our supplies are also diminishing.  We are stretched very thin. 

My heavenly Father is trying to teach me something - I must pay more attention.  The bible verse   "without faith it is impossible to please God." Hebrews  11:6   keeps running through my mind. 

 

 I look it up on google               and find a wonderful               blog written by  Pastor John     Piper





Here is one page of the blog  which really inspired me.  There are nine pages in his post so that it is impossible for me to post his whole blog but  if you also wish to be inspired  go to  "Pastor John Piper and read his whole  blog  - 'Without faith it is impossible to please God.'  "

Faith in Him allows us to stretch out our own belief and hope by making them go beyond the natural boundary of our finite mind and this world.

Having introduced faith in such a fashion, faith is also an indispensable necessity in order to please God. To tell the truth, we'll never be able to fully comprehend as to why faith is such a critical matter to the extent people's own eternity hinges on whether or not they're willing to exercise faith in God on the basis of Christ's finished work on the cross. But even so, we'll take a look at it on the account of what the Word of God has to say about the vitality of faith. 

Let's go over these Scripture verses found in Hebrews chapter 11.

next post  2nd October

JOKES

                                           HOW                              EMBARRASSING
   IS THAT ?


  It is Joe's birthday so       when he gets home from work his wife presents     him with a new set of  golf clubs.  He is thrilled, it is just what he wanted.  She couldn't have given him a better present.

Then she tells him that she has another surprise for him but must blindfold him first.  When this is done she leads him out of the room to the room next door. As they enter the phone rings in the room they have just left so she pulls up a chair and tells him to sit still and wait while she answers the call. 

Joe is feeling a bit bloated after the celebration lunch at work and so it is with immense relief that he lets off a rather loud wind.  Unfortunately it doesn't smell too good so Joe waves his handkerchief around in the air to dispel the smell, thankful that his wife wasn't around to hear it and smell it.

His wife returns to the room and removes the blindfold and Joe is shocked when he discovers that he is sitting in the middle of the room surrounded by guests attending his Surprise birthday party.

next post   1st October

MY FAVORITE PSALMS - PART TWENTY SEVEN

                                             MY FAVORITE              PSALMS - PART            TWENTY SEVEN

                                            

 Therefore the Lord heard this and was wroth. So a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel, because they believed not in God and trusted not in His salvation.

Though He had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven. And had rained down manna upon them to eat,  and had given them of the corn of heaven. Man did eat angel's food: He sent them meat to the full.

He caused an East wind to blow in the heaven; and by His power He brought in the South wind. He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as of the sand of the sea; and He let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations.

 So they did eat and were well filled: for He gave them their own desire. They were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat was still in their mouths the wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.

For all this they sinned still; and believed not for His wondrous works. Therefore their days did He consume in vanity and their years in trouble. When He slew them they sought Him and they inquired early after God. And they remembered that God was their Rock and the High God their Redeemer.

Nevertheless they did flatter Him with their mouth; and they lied to Him with their tongues; for their heart was not right with Him, neither were they steadfast in their covenant. 

But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned He His anger away and did not stir up all His wrath. For He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again. 


 

 How oft did they provoke         Him in the dessert?  Yea,         they turned back and               tempted God and limited         the Holy One of Israel.



They remembered not His hand, nor the day when He delivered them from the enemy. 

Thou callest in trouble and I delivered thee. I answered thee in the secret place of thunder. I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.
Hear, O My people, and I will testify unto thee, O Israel. If thou will  hearken unto Me.

There shall no strange god be in thee. Neither shalt thou worship any strange god. I am the Lord your God which brought you out of the Land of Egypt: open your mouth wide and I will fill it. 

But My people would not hearken to My voice. And Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them up to their own heart's lust and they walked in their own councils. O that My people had hearkened unto Me and Israel had walked in My ways!  I should soon have subdued their enemies and turned My hand against their adversaries.


next post  30th September

AWESOME GOD - LAW AND ORDER

                                            AWESOME GOD -           LAW AND ORDER

If you have been                 reading my posts on           Awesome God, you           will have seen that He       is loving, kind, and compassionate. He protects and provides for us. He shelters and cares for us in every aspect of our lives.

Besides all of this He is the Creator of the universe, and all that it contains - you only have to look around you to see what that means.

He is Omnipotent, which means that He is all powerful. Nothing and no one is more powerful than He. 

 "He stops, He stands still for a moment, gazing at the earth, then He stuns the nations, scattering the everlasting mountains and levelling the hills. His awesome power is just the same as always."  Habakuk 3 : 2-6

He is Omnicient. He knows everything.  There is nothing that He does not know. He even knows how many hairs you have growing on your head.

He is Omnipresent.  He is everywhere. Nothing and no one can hide from Him.

He is trustworthy and keeps His promises.

He gives you the very air that you breathe and the ability to breathe it.

 Many pages of His attributes can be filled  that make Him God, for He is God.  He is an Eternal, Magnificent Being. He is so great that no one is fully able to describe Him, or comprehend how truly great He is. 

And as God, the Creator of the universe He is the One Who makes the laws and the rules.  When you create something, it belongs to you. You made it and so you can do with it what you will. 

For example if you were a painter and painted a picture you could sell it, give it away, destroy it, hide it in a cupboard or put it in a museum the choice is yours. 

Yet daily you come across people who have no respect for the awesome God that He is. They have the audacity to criticize, condemn, belittle,  blaspheme and blame Him for everything they consider wrong in their lives. They think they have the right to question His authority.

 
Thousands of years              before they were even          born, God had already  given them answers in his  Holy Book, the Bible.





To those who would question Him, God answers,
"I form the light and make the dark, I send good times and bad. I, Jehovah, am the One Who does these things. Woe to the man who fights with his Creator. Does the pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who forms it, saying, 'stop, you are doing it wrong'  or the pot exclaim, 'how clumsy can you be.? ' 

 Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel says, "What right have you to question what I do?  Who are you to command Me concerning the works of My hands?  I have made the earth and created man upon it. With My hands I have stretched forth the heavens and commanded the vast myriads of stars. I have raised up Cyrus to perform My righteous purpose and I will direct his paths."
Isaiah 45 : 7, 9, 11, + 13

God did not give us laws and commands to harm us, rather He gave them to us so that we could live peaceably with one another.

We all know that ungovernable homes, towns, cities, states and countries result in chaos. Laws and rules are needed to keep unruly mobs under control. We just have to look at history to see that if there were no rules what a mess that becomes.
We are already living in a pretty chaotic world because people are becoming more and more ungovernable.

If everyone on this planet only kept the one great commandment that God has given us 

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself."  Luke  10:27

there would never have been a war, or  a murder, or a theft, or a lie, or any of the other multitudes of sins. 

But God in His mercy, knowing our weaknesses and that we could not do this provided us with the answer to our dilemma  He sent His beloved Son the Lord Jesus Christ as a sacrifice to set us free from our sins.

 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
John 3:16

Next week we will discuss God's Plan of Salvation.


next post   27th September

RECIPE TIME - CHICKEN WITH MAYO AND CHUTNEY

                                                 CHICKEN, with
       MAYONNAISE 
       AND CHUTNEY








Ingredients:

1 chicken
6 Tbls mayonnaise
chutney
salt
pepper


Method:


Wash and Cut chicken into number of portions desired (usually eight to ten pieces).  Put in single layer in roasting dish and season with salt and pepper.  I have used two roasting dishes.









Mix mayonnaise with a little water to thin it and spread it on the chicken pieces, then put small blobs of chutney on each piece and bake for  about one and a half hours or until done.

Serve with rice and vegetables.

next post   26th September






  

TWENTY SIXTEEN - PART twen

TWENTY SIXTEEN PART TWENTY SIX


                                          Hello folks,


          it is now the 1st July -              Andy has paid his                      monthly contribution.                                                                Steve also promised to              pay his monthly as                    weekly was becoming              too much of a nuisance           for him.

But due to a banking problem (limited amount he is able to send at any one time) was not able to do so.  Had to prod him a few times as he is so busy he doesn't have time to worry about little things like our needs.

Unfortunately it restricts our plans and we have to apply other contingencies which do not always fit in. For example having to  make our domestic wait for her money, which does not make her very happy.

Andy said I should find out what the earphones and foot pedals cost and he will try to help. so that I can start doing transcription work.

Early hours,  4th July, 5.30am.

I have not slept enough, but the fear overwhelms me, prodding me awake. It has been going on for weeks now. I fight it, I cry out to God for help, but it persists. I beg God to take it from me. I know it is wrong. God's word tells us over and over and over to trust Him.   Worry is actually a sin. It means I am not trusting my heavenly Father.

He has done so much for me. I see His miracles daily, yet my faith is so weak.  All I see is the time rushing past and the deadline approaching. 

We have less than two months left to start producing our rent. It increases by 8% on 1st September, bringing it to R7,020.  Where will it come from if I don't start doing transcription work but every thing I do gets blocked in some way or another. 

 Now my eyes are giving me trouble.  They are red, itchy and swollen. I have tried eye ointments and cucumber slices but nothing seems to help. 



During the day I keep my mind occupied with daily tasks and when the fear tries to overpower me I say over and over  


"whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are excellent, whatsoever things are admirable, whatsoever things are of good report, think on these things."
Phillipians  4.8

The fear is kept at bay because I block it from my mind, but when I sleep I can no longer control it and it eats me up alive.  I wake in terror, I feel sick with it. It is like a heavy black cloud pressing me down and squeezing the life out of me.

I think back to my early childhood. I was very young, probably three or four years old, and I remember my earthly dad putting me up on a wall in the presence of his friend and asking me to jump into his arms. I could not. The fear was too great.  My dad wanted his friend to see that I trusted him.  Oh how I let him down that day. 

Now on this 4th day of July I finally realize that God has provided me with the weapons I need to win this battle.  He does not wave a magic wand. He want us to be warriors not worriers.

So now I stand up and say "be gone Satan, you no longer have any power over me. God is in control and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ  I command you to leave, go back to where you came from.  I belong to Jesus. Nothing you can say or do can harm me. God's word says

"Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed. I will help you, I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Isaiah 41:10

The fear is gone and Satan with it. The enemy of my soul must leave when I quote God's word to him. I have known this for so many years, but how easy it is to forget. From now on I will remember and  just as I keep the enemy at bay during the day I will also do so at night.

God has given us the power to fight the enemy of our soul and when we do not use it we remain defeated. 

I do not yet know what God's plan is for my situation. What I do know though is that He will provide. He has never let me down before. He is training me to wait upon Him. and Him alone.

next post  25th September.

JOKES

                                           BLONDE JOKE



A blind guy  shouts         across the room to the     bartender:  




" Hey Joe, want to hear a blonde joke?"

In a hushed voice the guy next to him says, 

"Before you tell that joke, you need to know that the bartender is blonde,  the bouncer is blonde, I am blond and I weigh 200 lbs, the guy sitting next to me is blond, six feet tall and weighs 300 lbs and the fellow on your right is blonde pushing 250 lbs and is a wrestler.   Think about it carefully, do you still wish to tell your blonde joke?"

The blind guy says  

"No. Not if I am going to have to repeat it five times." 

MY FAVORITE PSALMS - PART TWENTY SIX

                                             MY FAVORITE              PSALMS - PART           TWENTY SIX




I will open my mouth in a parable, I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and have known and our fathers have told us.

We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord and His strength and His wonderful works which He has done.

For He has established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel which He commanded our fathers that they should make them known to their children. 

That the generations to come might know them, even the children which should be born, who should arise and declare them to their children that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments.

And not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God.

The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle, they kept not the covenant of God and refused to walk in His law; and forgot His work and His wonders that He had shown them. Marvellous things did He in the sight of their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.



He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; and He made the waters to stand as a heap. 

 In the daytime also, he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.


He clave the rock in the wilderness and gave them drink as out of the great depths.  He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.

And they sinned yet more against Him, by provoking the Most High in the wilderness. And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust. Yea, they spoke against God, they said,  Can God establish a table in the wilderness?

Behold He smote the rock that the waters rushed out, and the streams overflowed; can He give bread also?  Can He provide flesh for His people?

Therefore the Lord heard this and was wroth. So a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel, because they believed not in God and trusted not in His salvation.

Though He had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven and had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them the corn of heaven. Man did eat angel's food. He sent them meat to the full.

He caused the East wind to blow in the heaven; and by His power He brought in the South wind. He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls as the sands of the sea; and He let it fall in the midst of their camp , round about their habitations.  

So they did eat and were well filled; for He gave them their own desire. They were now estranged from their lust. But while their meat was still in their mouths the wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.

For all this they sinned still, and believed not for His wondrous works. Therefore their days did He consume in vanity and their years in trouble.

When they He slew them then they sought Him; and they inquired early after God. And they remembered that God was their rock and the High God their Redeemer.

Nevertheless they did flatter Him with their mouth and they lied unto Him with their tongues. For their heart was not right with Him, neither were they steadfast in His covenant.

But He being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not; yea, many a time turned He His anger away and did not stir  up all His wrath; for He remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passes  away, and cometh not again. How oft did they provoke Him in the wilderness and grieve Him in the dessert? Yea, they turned back and tempted God and limited the Holy One of Israel.

They remembered not His hand, nor the day when He delivered them from the enemy. How He had wrought His signs in Egypt and His wonders in the field of Zoan. And He turned their rivers into blood and their floods, that they could not drink.


next post  23rd September 

AWESOME GOD - GOD OUR PROVIDER

                                           GOD  OUR  PROVIDER

  Right from the                   beginning, God has             provided for His                 people's needs. He put       them in a beautiful             garden and they lacked       for nothing. 

The Lord commanded the man, saying, "from every tree in the garden you may eat freely. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
Genesis 2:17

And even when Adam and Eve sinned by breaking  God's commandment and realized they were naked,  God still made clothes for them out of animal skins. 

"And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife, garments of skins and clothed them."
Genesis 3:21

And later, when God rescued the Israelites from the Egyptian captivity they travelled in the wilderness for forty years and their shoes and their clothing never wore out. 

"I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet."
Deuteronomy  29: 5

They always had food and water, a cloud to keep them cool during the day and a pillar of fire to keep them warm at night.

Here are some more scripture verses showing God's provision for His people:

"I the Lord am your God, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide and I will fill it."
Psalm  81:10

"The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the Lord, shall not be in want of any good thing."
Psalm 34:10

"Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you: I give all to you, as I gave the green plant."
Genesis  9:




The sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
Exodus  14:22


"Come to Me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest."
Matthew 11:28

"And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
Philipians 4:19

"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?"

"And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him."
1 John  3:22

These scriptures show us how much God loves us and how He provides for our every need.  We cannot hope for a better Father.  

It may be that you are in a bad stage of life,  where you just don't know where to turn. Maybe you are in over your head financially, or emotionally, or even spiritually.  I pray that these scriptures encourage you  to trust in God and wait upon Him. Be sure that He has a plan for your life . He will provide for you. He will never leave you nor forsake you.

 I know because I am going through a similar experience at the moment, and He is always there just when I need Him.

We don't always know what the road ahead holds for us but we can be sure when we belong to Him we do not have to know, because He is always there ahead of us.  What we do have to do is Trust Him, and only Him.  All else will fail.  Never trust the arm of flesh.  People will always fail you. God never will.


next post  21st September

RECIPE TIME - GENERAL HERTZOG COOKIES

                                                  GENERAL                   HERTZOG                   COOKIES

                                                
 Ingredients:

3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup coconut
3 eggs
a little bit of milk
half cup butter or margarine
3 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt

Method:

Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and half the sugar together. Rub in the butter.

 Beat egg yolks with the milk and add to the mixture, mix well.  

Roll out, cut into circles with cookie cutter  and line into greased patty pans. Put a little bit of apricot jam onto dough in  each patty pan (approx small teaspoon). Set aside.

Beat whites of eggs stiffly, add coconut and rest of sugar, stir well  and pour into patty pans on top of the apricot jam.

Bake at 450o for ten minutes.


next post    19th September

TWENTY SIXTEEN - PART TWENTY SIX

TWENTY SIXTEEN PART TWENTY SIX


                                          Hello folks,


          it is now the 1st July -              Andy has paid his                      monthly contribution.                                                                Steve also promised to              pay his monthly as                    weekly was becoming              too much of a nuisance           for him.

But due to a banking problem (limited amount he is able to send at any one time) was not able to do so.  Had to prod him a few times as he is so busy he doesn't have time to worry about little things like our needs.

Unfortunately it restricts our plans and we have to apply other contingencies which do not always fit in. For example having to  make our domestic wait for her money, which does not make her very happy.

Andy said I should find out what the earphones and foot pedals cost and he will try to help. so that I can start doing transcription work.

Early hours,  4th July, 5.30am.

I have not slept enough, but the fear overwhelms me, prodding me awake. It has been going on for weeks now. I fight it, I cry out to God for help, but it persists. I beg God to take it from me. I know it is wrong. God's word tells us over and over and over to trust Him.   Worry is actually a sin. It means I am not trusting my heavenly Father.

He has done so much for me. I see His miracles daily, yet my faith is so weak.  All I see is the time rushing past and the deadline approaching. 

We have less than two months left to start producing our rent. It increases by 8% on 1st September, bringing it to R7,020.  Where will it come from if I don't start doing transcription work but every thing I do gets blocked in some way or another. 

 Now my eyes are giving me trouble.  They are red, itchy and swollen. I have tried eye ointments and cucumber slices but nothing seems to help. 



During the day I keep my mind occupied with daily tasks and when the fear tries to overpower me I say over and over  


"whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are excellent, whatsoever things are admirable, whatsoever things are of good report, think on these things."
Phillipians  4.8

The fear is kept at bay because I block it from my mind, but when I sleep I can no longer control it and it eats me up alive.  I wake in terror, I feel sick with it. It is like a heavy black cloud pressing me down and squeezing the life out of me.

I think back to my early childhood. I was very young, probably three or four years old, and I remember my earthly dad putting me up on a wall in the presence of his friend and asking me to jump into his arms. I could not. The fear was too great.  My dad wanted his friend to see that I trusted him.  Oh how I let him down that day. 

Now on this 4th day of July I finally realize that God has provided me with the weapons I need to win this battle.  He does not wave a magic wand. He want us to be warriors not worriers.

So now I stand up and say "be gone Satan, you no longer have any power over me. God is in control and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ  I command you to leave, go back to where you came from.  I belong to Jesus. Nothing you can say or do can harm me. God's word says

"Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed. I will help you, I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Isaiah 41:10

The fear is gone and Satan with it. The enemy of my soul must leave when I quote God's word to him. I have known this for so many years, but how easy it is to forget. From now on I will remember and  just as I keep the enemy at bay during the day I will also do so at night.

God has given us the power to fight the enemy of our soul and when we do not use it we remain defeated. 

I do not yet know what God's plan is for my situation. What I do know though is that He will provide. He has never let me down before. He is training me to wait upon Him. and Him alone.

next post  18th September.

BLONDE JOKE

                                               BLONDE JOKE


 A blonde wanting to        earn some money,          decides to hire                herself out as a handyman type and started canvassing a wealthy neighborhood. 

She went to the first house and asked the owner whether he had any jobs for her to do.

"Well, what will you charge me to paint my front porch?" 

The blonde says  :  "$50"

The man agrees,  and tells her that the paint and ladders are in the garage  The man's wife, inside the house, asks him:

"Does she realize that the porch goes all the way around the house?"

"She should do. She was standing on the porch."



A short while later the blonde came to the front door to collect her money. Very impressed the man reaches into his pocket for the money, and says

"Finished already. That was quick."

"Yes,"  says the blonde    "and I had paint left over so I gave it a second coat.  And by the way that's not a Porshe in the garage it's a Ferrari."

MY FAVORITE PSALMS - PART TWENTY FIVE

 MY FAVORITE PSALMS                                        - PART TWENTY FIVE

                                            
 Truly God is good to      Israel, even to such        as are of a clean            heart.

                                         Nevertheless I am continually withThee, Thou hast holden my right hand. Thou shalt  guide me with Thy councel and afterward receive me  to glory.

Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee.

My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.
But is it good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I might declare all Thy works.

For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. Thou didst divide the sea by Thy strength. Thou breakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.

Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: Thou driedst up mighty rivers. The day is Thine and the night also is Thine. Thou hast prepared the light and the sun.

Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: Thou hast made summer and winter.

Unto Thee, O God do we give thanks. I cried out to God with my voice, even unto God with my voice, and He gave ear unto me. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord.

 
  I will remember the works of the Lord:  surely I will        remember Thy wonders of   old. I will meditate also of    all Thy work and talk of          Thy doings.



Thy way, O Lord, is in the sanctuary. Who is so great a God as our God?

Thou art the God that doest wonders. Thou hast declared Thy strength among the people.

Thou hast with Thy right arm redeemed Thy people, Jacob and Joseph. Selah

The waters saw Thee, O God, the waters saw Thee and were afraid. The depths also were troubled.

The clouds poured out water. The skies sent out a sound. Thy arrows also went abroad. The voice of thunder was in the heaven. The lightnings lightened the world; the earth trembled and shook.

Thy way is in the sea, and Thy path in the great waters and Thy footsteps are not known.

Thou leddest Thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Give ear, O my people to My law. Incline your ears to the words of My mouth.



next post   15th September