No Record

This is a devotional I recently read, written by Eric Capaci, and I wanted to share it with you! 

"I recently read about a man in England years ago who bought a brand new Rolls Royce. He had an upcoming trip that would take him all the way to Eastern Europe. He couldn't bear to leave his new car at home so he shipped it tothe mainland and drove all the way to Eastern Europe. He had almost reached his destination when, on a regular stop to fill up with gas, the car would not start back up. He called the dealer where he had bought the car and they flew a mechanic all the way to Europe to fix it. "Wow", he thought. "That is good service!" 

As his trip went on, he began to wonder how much they were going to bill him. He called the dealer again and said, "my car broke down; you flew a mechanic out to fix it; and I want to know how much it is going to cost me." 

There was a long pause and the dealer said, "Sir, there are no records in our files of anything ever going wrong with a Rolls Royce." 

The devil accuses us of wrong. Maybe our friends accuse us. Maybe we accuse ourselves. But if we have achieved the righteousness of Jesus Christ, God says, "There is no record in My file that My child has ever done anything wrong."  Praise God today, that in Christ, you are never guilty in His eyes. Thank God for the wonderful salvation we have in Jesus Christ.  

I remember a day when I was bent low by the burden of sin and strife.  But Jesus came and rescued me and He gave me a brand new life. And now as I thank Him day after day for washing my sins away, it seems I can almost hear the voice of my blessed Saviour say:

What sins are you talking about? I don't remember them anymore. From the Book of Life they've all been torn out. I don't remember them anymore. 

When the flesh becomes weak, it's then I can speak to the Saviour Who's with me each day. "Oh, Father forgive me, hear my plea" and He washes my sin away. Each time that I bow and give Him thanks for removing my guilt and shame. He cannot recall what I'm talking about for His answer is always the same. 

What sins are you talking about? I don't remember them anymore. From the Book of Life they've all been torn out. I don't remember them anymore. 

Things That Bring A Smile To My Face

~ little notes from friends 

~ flowers (no, no boy... :) from my best friend) 

~ God bringing me little bits if encouragement each day to carry me through. Always just what I need when I need. 

~ having a job and getting paid!! 

~ paying off bills 

~ fall clothing (even if it's still hot out!) 

~ working out

~ practicing music

~ a three day babysitting job with my favorite little guy!! 

Psalms 5

Psalm 5:1-12 

Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.

 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. 

My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. 

For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. 

The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. 

Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

 But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. 

Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. 

For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue. 

Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee. 

But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. 

For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield. 

The Rock

I started out to build a house of my dreams

On life's shifting sands. 

With no thought of the wind, or the rains that would come,

With haste, I began. 

I gathered pleasures of every kind, every thrill that I could find,

Till, at last, the house of my dreams was finally done. 

I was so proud of the house that I had built, 

I wanted all to see. 

Just what I had made out of my life, 

It looked so good to me. 

Until one day when the rains began, 

From my house I quickly ran. 

In time to see my shattered dreams fall to the sand. 

So now I'm building again, but not as before

My foolish dreams are all gone. 

I found it's not so important the house that you build,

But what your build it upon.

And now I found me a Rock that's sure,

It shall forever more endure. 

Through every storm of life I'm sheltered,

Safe and secure. 

And now I'm building on the Rock,

Upon the Solid Rock. 

The Rock that shall forever more endure. 

So let the storm clouds rise, 

The strong winds blow. 

Let the rains come and go. 

For in Jesus I am safe,

In Jesus I am safe,

For in Jesus I am safe,

Forevermore. 

What Lesson...?

"What lesson is God trying to teach you? Did you learn something valuable and probably painful through some misdeed? While you were hurting, you said that you would never do it again. But time has passed and you may be finding yourself slipping back into the old ways of sin. Don't let the verse 'those that walk in pride he is able to abase' be a description of you. (Excerpt from a devotional by Charles Brown) 

I read this the other day and it immediately touched my heart. I've been through trials that I have put myself in because of things I've done and because I had gotten away from God. Through lots of prayer and intercession from my mom and pastor I've gotten my life right and I too have said "I will never do it again", but this devotional was a great reminder that I need to humble myself and stick to my promise, or God will bring me down again. I hope that this will be an encouragement to some one else as well :) 

The Bible... The KING JAMES Bible

I've been studying and rereading my old notes from when I took a Bibliology class in college.  Although I'm still far from being ready to make a full post on it, I did want to share these few points quickly :) 

Miraculous Nature of Scripture

1. Unity – Luke 24:44: “And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.” (The Bible repeats itself over and over again, the same stories from different writers... prophecies that were given in the Old Testament and manifested in the New.) 
2. Formation – 1,500 years; Three languages
3. Duration (It has been read and used for many centuries) 
4. Sale – Most popular book ever written
5. Interest – Transcends culture (applies to anyone, not just a certain time period or culture.  World wide interest) 
6. Language 
7. Perseverance – Withstood persecution  
   
   
   
   
   The Anvil of God's Word
   
   
   Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith’s door
   And heard the anvil sing the vesper chime;
   Then, looking in, I saw upon the floor
   Old hammers, worn with blasting years of time.
   
   
   “How many anvils have you had,” said I,
   “To wear and batter all these hammers so?”
   “Just one,” said he and then, with twinkling eye,
   “The anvil wears the hammers out, you know.”
   
   
   And so I thought, the anvil of God’s Word
   For ages, skeptic blows have beat upon.
   Yet tho’ the noise of falling blows was heard
   The anvil is unharmed—the hammers gone.
   ~John Clifford