Sat, Apr 22nd - 12:27PM

Today, I Am Fearful

Tomorrow is The Lord's Day ~ I eagerly await.  But today, I'm fearful.  I can't pinpoint it precisely, it just feels like fear.  I'm worried and anxious about a major decision I've made.  The decision will alter life as I know it.  I go to God with my sorrow and pain ~ I wait for confirmation from Him that I'm doing the right thing.... but outside influences prohibit me from hearing Him.  I can't concentrate on Him as much as I can while in church.  So I eagerly await the fellowship, teachings and worship, but most of all ~ The Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit reigns at Calvary Chapel.  I feel Him the second I go through the door and He stays with me all through the week ~ but today, Saturday, He's away from me.  Satan is prevailing and while I rebuke him in the Name of Jesus, he keeps returning ~ so I'm definitely under attack!

I come to the cross humble and gracious, on my knees asking Jesus to release me from this attack.  Bring me back to where I want and need to be ~ constantly in His presence .... asking that He touch the heart of the person that hates me.  To please heal the wounds that bind her. 

I come to my brothers and sisters in Christ to ask for prayer.  Prayer is the greatest gift we can give anyone and I need the strength of a "Prayer War" . . . Christian Soldiers appealing to God for His Mercy and Grace.  That He continue to clear the path for me in what I've decided to do.  That He soften the heart of my sister ~ who is on a 'hate campaign'.  She must be hurting very badly to behave the way she is; only Jesus knows her pain.  And finally, that my beloved mother learn to let go of anger and to forgive others. Amen.

Blessings ~

"TalkerCat"

Fri, Apr 21st - 3:55PM

Ministry of Reconciliation

 God ... has given us the ministry of reconcilation                                ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18 ~

"Lord, grant me the courage to confess my faults to those I've offended, and the grace to accept the confessions of those who have offended me.  May I become a minister of reconcilaiton to bless my family on Your behalf.  Amen."

Thu, Apr 20th - 5:40PM

Relevant Routine

Every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor ~ it is the gift of God. ~ Ecclesiastes 3:13

For many people, Monday represents the start of another monotonous cycle of work.  Maybe it's a mountain of washing and ironing, an endless quota of parts from a machine, the same dull routine on the assembly line, or the tedium of sitting at a computer.

Monotony can be a breeding ground for envy and discontent, or it can be the training ground for the development of character and a life of service.  It all depends on whether we can see God in the ordinary duties of life.

There was a woman in Boston, who for 40 years did the same cleaning tasks in the same office building.  She was interviewed by a reporter who asked her how she could stand the monotony of doing the same thing day in and day out.  The woman said, "I don't get bored.  I use cleaning materials that God made.  I clean objects that belong to people God made and I make life more comfortable for them.  My mop is the hand of God!"

Are you looking for the Creator in your occupation?  He's there.  He uses the hands, bodies and minds of people who accept their tasks and do their work for Him.  Any routine task is relevant to God's work in and through us ~ for time and for eternity.  If you want to leave footprints in the sands of time, wear work shoes.

Tue, Apr 18th - 2:52PM

"... As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem ..."  Isaiah 66:13

"Father God, many of my friends have heartache and carry heavy burdens.  Today, Father I have a heartache and heavy burden.  I need You Father.  I need Your fresh touch, Your comfort and Your love.

Father God, help me to be the encourager of my brother that You have asked me to be; help me to reach out and give Your unconditional love to them.  Please bind up their wounds.  Pour Your healing salve of mercy and understanding into their hearts.  We are a needy people Father, we are lost without You.

I pray that I would be bold and spread the GOOD NEWS to the world.  I thank You so much for sending Jesus to be our Saviour.  I thank You for loving me when I am so unlovely.  Father God, I love You and am grateful for all You've done for me.  I want to serve You my entire life; but Father God, I need Your help ~ I'm nothing without You.

Father God, please comfort my brothers as only You can.  May they feel Your peace; the peace that passes all understanding.

In Jesus' Name.  Amen"

Mon, Apr 17th - 6:12PM

He Comes

Jesus comes to us countless times.  He came to us first as a new born baby.  He came to us yesterday, Easter Sunday, as a risen Christ, and Saviour of the world.  He comes to us and waits for us to open our heart's door to Him so that He may come in and save us for all eternity.  He comes to us every day of our lives in the things He does.  He comes to us in our families, loved ones and the friends He gave us. 

Most important, He came to us when we were in the filth and stench of our sinful lives and lifted us out of the garbage heap of our lives.  He plants His love, mercy, grace and compassion in our hearts, turning us around.  Because He loves us, we can face tomorrow. 

He comes to us in the lonely hours of the long night and whispers in our ear "I love you".  He comes to us as we sit beside the bed of a dying loved one.  He is there when we have to say goodbye.  He puts His loving arms around us and holds us up when our knees and legs grow weak with sorrow. 

Yes, Jesus, the Saviour of the world comes to us over and over again.  He did not have to be born.  He made the choice, just as He made the choice to hang on that cruel Cross of Calvary.  There is no one like Jesus!  There is no one who loves like Jesus!  Do you love Him today? 

Sat, Apr 15th - 9:30PM

The Glorious Sunset

It is wonderful to be young, with clear sight, acute hearing, elastic steps, pulses drumming to the march of exhilarating health.  But old age has glories that youth cannot know.  It's a blessed old age indeed if it ends brightly at evening time.

Old age celebrates the harvest -- youth, the sowing.  Like fruit in the fall, the harvest of old age will either dry up and wither, or grow mellow and sweeter as it ripens.

We cannot escape the advancing years.  Youth stays long enough only to strengthen our shoulders for the burdens ahead.  Life leads inevitably to evening time.  But the best things are the oldest things ~ things that have endured and stood the test of time.  God Himself - though not bound by time - is called the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:9).

So don't be ashamed to own your age.  Everything that abides must become old: mountains, rivers, oceans, stars.

But the evening time of life can be bright only if we have the One who is the Light as our evening Sun.  Nothing is sadder than an aging person facing eternity without Jesus.  And nothing is sweeter than a gently mellowing Christian, still growing and resting in Christ as he faces God's tomorrow with confidence.

"... At evening time it shall happen that it will be light ... " Zechariah 14:7

Wed, Apr 12th - 10:05PM

The Fifth Day

Dear Friends,

I'm honored and pleased to announce that I have been asked to write a Christian's Life Column ("Blessings from TalkerCat") for my friend and brother, Bronzesnake.  His website is educational, enlightening, edifying and FUN.  It also incorporates a spirit-filled discussion forum.  I hope you join, membership is free and simple to do! 

Please visit "The Fifth Day" at: http://www.yorksimcoeinsulation.com/fifthdayhome.html.  You can also link to it from my website, or ChristiansUnite.com

See you all there ~

"TalkerCat"

Wed, Apr 12th - 6:16PM

L'Chayim!

Deliverance from sin is the greatest of all freedoms.

A few years ago, my friends Maxine and David were invited by some Jewish friends to attend their seder dinner.  This is a celebration held by Jewish families to commemorate the first Passover in Egypt. (Exodus 12:24-27)  The entire family becomes involved, including the little children.

Max and David expected a somber evening, but they discovered a joyous celebration.  At the beginning of the meal, a whole loaf of bread was halved.  One half was shared by the guests, the other half was hidden by the youngest family member.  All the adults searched for it, to the child's delight.  When the bread was not discovered, it was ransomed by the child amid great laughter. Then followed an evening of stories and songs, and the often repeated phrase "L'Chayim! To Life!"

Why not a joyous celebration?  The Passover marks the deliverance of Israel from slavery and the "destroyer".

The Passover meal Jesus and His disciples shared the night before His death was a celebration too, but with serious overtones.  It signaled the beginning of the events that led to His sacrifice ~ and our redemption from sin and Satan. 

From spiritual slavery to spiritual freedom.  From death to life.  As we celebrate our deliverance, we too can say with joy to one another, "L'Chayim! To Life!"

" ... The Lord will ... not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you ... " Exodus 12:23

Mon, Apr 10th - 9:43PM

Beyond Amazing

" ... The heavens are the work of Your hands ... " Psalm 102:25

In 1977, the United States launched a rocket into space.  On board was a small craft called Voyager I, a probe that was jettisoned into space to explore the planets.  After Voyager was done sending back photos and data from the planet Jupiter and its neighbors, it didn't stop working.  It just kept going.

Today, almost 30-years later, that tiny vehicle is still going---travelling at a speed of over 38,000 miles per hour.  And it's nearly 9 billion miles from the sun.  That's mind boggling!  Brilliant scientists have sent a ship to the edge of our solar system.  It's astounding.  It's amazing.  But it's absolutely puny when compared to what God has done.  It would be like hearing someone brag to an architect of the Empire State Building that he had travelled to the second floor. 

We have barely begun to explore the vastness of God's creation.  But every small step by  mankind should continue to put us in absolute awe of God's power and creativity.  Think of this: While we have left the realm of one star with a spaceship, the Creator of the stars "calls them all by name" (Isaiah 40:26), afterall, He named them.

Exploring the universe is amazing.  But exploring the God who made it all: that's BEYOND AMAZING!  The wonder of it all ~ just to think that God loves me! 

I have an interesting link to a page on my website.  Go to: http://geocities.com/talkercatbiscuits/Talkers_Chatter.  From the homepage click on "Talkers Faith".  On this page you will find a link to a NASA simulator that gives us a tiny, little, itty-bitty minute idea of how vast His creation really is. I hope you enjoy the website and go back often ~ I promise to keep it uplifting, edifying and FUN!

"TalkerCat" 

Sun, Apr 9th - 3:49PM

When The Pressure Is On

What makes a shiny apple look so delicious?  The skin, of course.  But what is it about an apple that actually makes it delicious??  The juice and substance inside ~ that's the apple's real "character".

I learned this as a small girl watching my auntie make applesauce.  With a wooden spoon, she would mash all the soft, boiled pieces of apple through a metal colander and into a bowl, until all that remained in the colander were the drab, flattened skins.  But oh!  The sauce tasted sooooo good!

God uses life's pressures to bring out the sweetness of Christlike character in us.  Tribulation (which means "pressure" in Greek) also helps us realize the awful potential of our sin nature and see it for what it is ~ ugly and tasteless.  Under pressure, all kinds of sins begin to surface ~ greed, selfishness, lust, pride.  Pressure, whether from without, or from an unrealistic perfectionism within, is in fact of our fallen world.  God controls its intensity and duration so that we can recognize, confess, and renounce those fleshly "skins" that obscure Christ's character in us.

Tribulation is not something anyone seeks.  But when it comes, the Holy Spirit will use it to create in us perseverance, character and hope (Romans 5:3-4). 

The gem of Christlike character is formed by pressure and refined by friction.

"...We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance..."

Romans 5:3

Sat, Apr 8th - 3:20PM

"Naomi"

A wise person once told me, "Never be quick to judge whether something is a blessing or a curse."  The story of Naomi reminds me of this.

The name Naomi means "my delight".  But when bad things happened to her , Naomi wanted to change her name to match her circumstances.  After her husband and sons died Naomi concluded , "The hand of the Lord has gone out against me." (Ruth 1:13).  When people greeted her, she said, "Do not call me Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me." (v.20).

Rather than judge her circumstances in light of her identity as a follower of the one true God who had proclaimed unfailing love for His people, Naomi did what most of us tend to do: she judged God in light of her circumstances.  And she judged wrongly.  The hand of the Lord had not gone out against her .  In fact, Naomi had a God given treasure she had not yet discovered.  Although Naomi lost her husband and two sons, she was given something totally unexpected ~ a devoted daughter-in-law and a grandchild who would be in the lineage of the Messiah.

As Naomi's life shows us, sometimes the worst thing that happens to us can open the door for the best that God has to give us.  God's purpose for today's events may not be seen until tomorrow.

"... The women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative...." Ruth 4:14

Thu, Apr 6th - 5:12PM

A Lonely Walk

".... And when they had mocked Him, they took off the purple from Him, and put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him .... " Mark 15:20

Sometimes in our lives we feel lonely and like nobody cares.  But when we have Jesus in our hearts, we're never alone.  When Jesus was led away to be crucified on that horrible, tragic day, He was totally alone even though He was in a crowd.  Even God had turned away from Him because God is Holy and can't look on sin.  Our Blessed Saviour had taken our rotten, stinking sins upon Himself.

Jesus had gone through everything that we face in this life; otherwise He wouldn't have been able to feel our pain like He does.  Yes, He understands, because even though He is equal to God, in His humanity He felt what we feel.

There is nobody living, has ever lived, or ever will live that will know the depths of sorrow and heartache that Jesus knew.  Jesus was completely alone.  He had no friends to turn to in His hour of need.  He asked His friends to watch and pray with Him in the garden, but they fell asleep ~ a true friend would have stayed awake!

It's very painful for me to think about my best friend, Jesus dying for me.  When I think about how they spit on Him, ridiculed Him and tortured Him for me, tears roll down my face.  He died for you too.  What have you done for Him today?

Wed, Apr 5th - 2:20PM

Life is Real

In the comic strip Peanuts, Lucy had just broken the news to Linus that children cannot live at home forever.  Eventually they grow up and move away.  Then she said that when he left she would get his room.  But Linus quickly reminded her that at some time she too would have to leave home.  When this realization hit Lucy, she was shocked, but she quickly came up with a solution.  She turned the TV up loud, crawled into her beanbag chair with a bowl of ice cream, and refused to think about it.

Avoiding unpleasant circumstances is not as easy as Lucy thinks.  Life's realities cannot be avoided.  We may try to run and hide, but struggles and trials have a way of dogging our foot-steps and eventually catching up with us.

Instead, we should face up to our problems.  The psalmist David did this when surrounded by enemies and false friends.  He didn't try to minimize his danger; he acknowledged the storm that was raging around him and looked to the Lord.  He wrote, "In God I have put my trust" (Psalm 56:4).

Let's follow David's example ~ not Lucy's.  Facing up to life's difficulties may be a frightening experience, but when we trust God and draw close to Him, we'll experience real deliverance.  When troubles call on you, call on God.  Whatever life brings each hour of every day, throughout the months and years ~ the Lord cares for you.

"....Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You...." Psa 56:3

Mon, Apr 3rd - 5:01PM

Prayers

I've been blessed by many comments to my 'blog' and I'm taking this moment to thank you for all your prayers and uplifting messages. . . . this journey is leading me down a narrow path and I'm edified by my Christian Brothers and Sisters who visit my website, read my blog and feel that they too, are blessed by the direction in which the Holy Spirit is leading me.  My prayers are for all of us ~ that we continue walking with God and allow Him to govern our lives.  I'll serve Jesus as long as I have breath ~ and will continue to share my blessings with you.

Your Friend and Sister in Christ,

TalkerCat

Mon, Apr 3rd - 4:48PM

The Shepherd's Voice

" ... A day is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out ~ those who have done good will rise to live .... " John 5:28~29

A day is coming when everyone will hear Jesus' voice.  A day is coming when all the other voices will be silenced: His voice ~ and His voice only ~ will be heard.  Some will hear His voice for the very first time.  It's not that He never spoke, it's just that they never listened.  For these, God's voice will be the voice of a stranger.  They will hear it once ~ and never hear it again.  They will spend eternity fending off the voices they followed on earth.

But others will be called from their graves by a familiar voice.  For they are sheep who know their shepherd.  They are servants who opened the door when Jesus knocked.  Now the door will open again.  Only this time, it won't be Jesus who walks into our house; it will be we, who walk into His.

from "In The Eye Of The Storm" by Max Lucado

Sat, Apr 1st - 12:19PM

God's Emotions

I was just sitting here listening to a song called "Butterfly Kisses" about a father's love for his daughter . . . the vocalist chokes up with emotion as he sings.  I'm sure God gets very emotional when He thinks about us.  He created us to fellowship with Him yet, many times we don't even give Him an hour a day.

I think God wept the day that He saw His Beloved Son hanging on the cross.  I think He wept because he had to turn His back on His Son because He can't look on sin, and Jesus had taken all our sins upon Himself.  I think God wept when He saw Jesus spat upon, cursed, mocked, ridiculed, deserted and scorned.

Today, as God looks upon us, I wonder if He still weeps at the way we treat His Son, and the way we treat one another.  He loves us so much that He gave His Only Son to die for us and all we have to do is trust Jesus as personal Saviour and we will have a happy and victorious life here on earth.

I'm sure God cries when He sees someone abused.  He loves us! How could He not cry?  When you love someone then you cry when they are sick or hurting.  Yes, God has emotions that come from His heart of Love and Mercy.

Are you making God cry today because of the way you treat His Son and your families and loved ones?  Does His heart break every day because you ignore His Son?  We need to make the Heart of God happy by the way we show our love to His Son, to Him and to each other.