1 Corinthians 15:1-4

1.Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2.By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3.For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4.And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures..

Born July 24, 2010 at 10:07am CST 19.5" 7.6 lbs

Congrats to my little girl, who has given birth to her 2nd baby boy

Born July 24, 2010 at 10:07am CST 19.5″ 7.6 lbs

Tamara Lowe’s rap video.

The lyrics to this awesome rhyme:

To be a survivor in this Amazing Race with the need for speed you need God’s Grace and if your desperate like housewives watching days of our lives, you can’t cope without hope and that is not on a soap. If your looking to Oprah or Dr. Phil you can shop non-stop or pop a pill, but the void won’t fill and the pain won’t kill until you love the one that hung on a hill. Kicking back in your lazy boy easy chair watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, nah your not gonna find it there. No American Idol or Council Tribal has the final answer that will satisfy ya. C. S. I. ain’t got a clue. S.V.U. Don’t know what to do Not the E R or those seen on a CD TV DVD or MP3 can save you and me. CNN has got no Good News here’s a headline you must choose. It’s not a simple life Paris Hilton, It’s treading on thin ice living in sin. You can be an apprentice for Donald Trump or eat Fear Factor fast food from a dump you can be a heavy hitter or wheel of fortune winner or a Fox news no spin spinner or flat sinner but you better check this life that your livin’ and make sure your sins are forgiven I bet cha 50 cent Elvis done come and went, and eventually every Black-eyed-pea, Gwen Stefani, P-Diddy and Britney. Every wanna-be on M T V with their Icy Bling, every Dixie Chick that Sings, they all gonna see the king of kings. I don’t care if your J-Lo, Leno or Bono. One thing you gotta know. Some day your gonna die, Bro. Then Where are you gonna go. Hey, i’m not talking some punk junk that is irrelevant. Like your Grandma’s church from way back when. It’s not some preacher feature on T B N. that you need to be liking or listening. The real superstar is Jesus Christ. He’s the way, the truth and the life. One day he’s gonna split the sky. He is the brightest light and the highest high and so what I came to say and what I’m telling you is don’t buy that stupid stuff they be selling ya it’s all designed to fill your head and waste your space until your dead here’s the bottom line in my rhyme. Give your life to God while there is still time.

AMEN!!

Relax your mind and humble your heart to focus on Christ. Allow God to be the only person on your mind while you read this prayer.

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Dear Lord, I thank you for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I’m blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you. I ask now for Your forgiveness.

Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You.

Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over. Let me continue to see sin through God’s eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth my wrongdoing, and receive the forgiveness of God.

And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus’ example — to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It’s the best response when I’m pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can’t pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will.

Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak. Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those who are lost and can’t find their way.. I pray for those who are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don’t know You intimately.  I pray for those who don’t believe. But I thank you that I believe.

I believe that God changes people and God changes things. I pray for my  parents,  my children, my sisters and brothers. For every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met. I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight.  I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly..

This is my prayer.

In Jesus’ Name,

AMEN

Letter from Jesus about Christmas –

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking my name out of the season. How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those  of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don’t care what you call the day. If you  want to celebrate my birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Now, having said that let me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn’t allow a scene depicting my birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn.  If all my followers did that there wouldn’t be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks was. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1-8.

If you want to give me a present in remembrance of my birth, here is my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way my birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don’t have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing the President complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don’t you write and tell him that you’ll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up… It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can’t afford and they don’t need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of my birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that some in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don’t know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren’t allowed to wish you a “Merry Christmas” that doesn’t keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn’t make so much money on that day they’d close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary–especially one who takes my love and  Good News to those who have never heard my name.

9. Here’s a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no “Christmas” tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don’t know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in me and they will make the delivery for you.

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to me, then behave like a Christian. Don’t do things in secret that you wouldn’t do in my presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

Don’t forget; I am God and can take care of myself. Just love me and do what I have told you to do. I’ll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I’ll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember:

I LOVE YOU,

JESUS

Following is a repost from a facebook group:
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Good day all my friends,

I have so many people telling me that they are slipping away from God and no matter what they do or how hard they try they can’t get back. One of the many reasons why people get lost along the way is because they believe the lies of the devil. People all over are turning away from God because things keep going wrong and they just don’t have the energy to go on fighting and they lose faith and another thing is simply because things from the world are just too nice to give up. When friends ask us to party or to do something, we just cannot say no.
We as children of God must come to the point where we decide what is more important, God or the world. Do we say no to our friends or do we say no to God?

That is why I want to talk today about discipline….

To be a child of God is a choice and to stay a child of God is very hard work. By that I mean, you have to fight for God. It is amazing that you became a follower of Christ but my dear friend it does not stop there. You have to discipline yourself to read your bible and to pray. You have to make that decision not to fall back.
Let see what the bible says about that….

Pro 12:1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.
Pro 5:23 He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.

Temptation will always knock on your door and difficult times will always be there, things will never be just ok. We go trough seasons in our lives with everything. Now you feel strong in your faith and in a weeks time you feel so depressed you just want to give up. My friends God wants to see if you stay faithful to Him in Good and bad times. Some bad times go on for months but your reward at the end will be so much bigger. Once you are a child of God you are His forever, but its your duty to seek Him…to want Him…to go after Him.

Discipline yourself in your faith….God is worth your time and effort…His deserves is that you give up all the things of the world…

We as Christians will always have tough times…but heaven is worth it. Please hang in there, you are not alone!

Trust only in God, He will never let you down
Psa 118:8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.

Through Christ, all things are possble

DID YOU KNOW THESE FACTS?

Death is certain but the Bible speaks about untimely death!

Make a personal reflection about this……

It is written in the Bible (Galatians 6:7):

‘Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for
whatsoever a man sow, that shall he also reap..

Here are some men and women who mocked God :

John Lennon (Singer):
Some years before, during his interview with an American Magazine,
he said: ‘Christianity will end, it will disappear. I do
not have to argue about that.. I am certain.
Jesus was ok, but his subjects were too simple, today we are more
famous than Him’ (1966).
Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ,
was shot six times.

Tancredo Neves (President of Brazil):
During the Presidential campaign, he said if he got 500,000 votes
from his party, not even God would remove him from Presidency.
Sure he got the votes, but he got sick a day before being made President,
then he died.

Cazuza (Bi-sexual Brazilian composer, singer and poet):
During A show in Canecio ( Rio de Janeiro ), while
smoking his cigarette, he puffed out some smoke into the air
and said:’God, that’s for you.’
He died at the age of 32 of LUNG CANCER in a horrible manner.

The man who built the Titanic:
After the construction of Titanic, a reporter asked him how safe the
Titanic would be. With an ironic tone he said:
‘Not even God can sink it’
The result: I think you all know what happened to the Titanic

Marilyn Monroe (Actress)
She was visited by Billy Graham during a presentation of a
show. He said the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to her.
After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said:
‘I don’t need your Jesus’. A week later,
she was found dead in her apartment

Bon Scott(Singer)
The ex-vocalist of the AC/DC. On one of his 1979 songs he
sang: ‘Don’t stop me; I’m going down all the way, down the highway to
hell’.
On the 19th of February 1980, Bon Scott was found dead, he had been choked
by his own vomit.

Campinas (IN 2005)
In Campinas , Brazil a group of friends, drunk, went to pick up a
friend….. The mother accompanied her to the car and was so
worried about the drunkenness of her friends and she said
to the daughter holding her hand, who was already seated in the car:
‘My Daughter, Go With God And May He Protect You.’
She responded: ‘Only If He (God) Travels In The Trunk, Cause
Inside Here…..It’s Already Full ‘
Hours later, news came by that they had been involved in a fatal accident,
everyone had died, the car could not be recognized what type of car
it had been, but surprisingly, the trunk was intact.
The police said there was no way the trunk could have remained intact. To
their surprise, inside the trunk was a crate of eggs, none was broken

Christine Hewitt (Jamaican Journalist and entertainer)
said the Bible (Word of God) was the worst book ever written.
In June 2006 she was found burnt beyond recognition in her motor
vehicle.

Many more important people have forgotten that there is no other name
that was given so much authority as the name of Jesus.
Many have died, but only Jesus died and rose again, and he is still
alive.
‘Jesus’

Jesus said
‘If you are embarrassed about me,
I will also be embarrassed about you before my father.’

Bishop T.D. Jakes ’8 Second Prayer.’ Just
repeat this prayer and see how God moves!!
‘Lord,
I love you and I need you, come into my heart, and bless me,
my family, my home, and my friends, in Jesus’ name.
Amen.’

Baltimore Orioles’ Luke Scott faithful to ‘planting seeds’ while hitting ‘lefties’ & ‘righties’

By JOSHUA COOLEY
Special to Florida Baptist Witness

BALTIMORE (FBW)—Aaron Cole vividly remembers the first time he met Baltimore Orioles slugger Luke Scott.

It was a cold winter morning nine years ago. Scott was a junior outfielder on the Oklahoma State University baseball team with a nose for trouble. He and Darren Heal, his best friend and teammate, loved to carouse. When the two of them got together, they were “ornery,” as Cole recalls.

Days before the meeting, Scott’s mother, Jennifer, called Cole out of the blue. She and her husband, David—residents of DeLeon, where they attended First Assembly of God church—had become Christians several years earlier and now felt a deep spiritual burden for their son. Though Luke had been reading the Bible Jennifer gave him two years earlier, there was no discernable fruit in his life.

Jennifer looked up the First Assembly of God congregation in Stillwater, just a few miles from Oklahoma State’s campus, and dialed the number. Cole, the church’s longtime senior pastor, answered her call, and after listening to her story agreed to contact Luke.

He didn’t have to. Two days later, Luke walked into the church unannounced and introduced himself: “Hi, I’m Luke Scott. My mom said I need to talk to you.”

And so began the radical spiritual transformation of one of baseball’s most outspoken Christians.

On June 9, 2001—a year and a half after he met Cole—Scott placed his faith in Christ.

“God has worked miracles in my life and brought me here, and I’m very thankful,” Scott said. “It’s the best decision I’ve ever made.”

The Orioles, it appears, made a pretty good decision by acquiring Scott. He came to Baltimore in the December 2007 blockbuster trade that sent five-time All-Star shortstop Miguel Tejada to the Houston Astros for five players. In his second full major league season last year, Scott, 30, hit .257 with 23 home runs and 65 RBI in 148 games playing mostly left field.

“I was very pleased to see the talent and the power and the ability to play every day,” said Orioles hitting coach Terry Crowley. “I don’t say that lightly. He can hit lefties, and he can hit righties.”

For Scott, the climb to everyday-player status was arduous. Drafted in 2001 by Cleveland, he spent his first three years in the minors, got traded to Houston shortly before the 2004 season and didn’t enjoy a full big-league season until age 28, when he batted .255 with 18 home runs and 64 RBI in 132 games in 2007. But the Astros, with a glut of outfield talent in Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence, considered Scott expendable.

Scott’s first season in the American League was a wild roller-coaster ride. He hit. 279 in March/April, .212 in May, .333 in June, .185 in July, .326 in August and .181 in September/October. He is hoping to rediscover his 2006 comfort zone, when he hit .336 with 10 home runs and a .621 slugging percentage in 65 games after being called up for good by Houston.

“God had a big test for me [in 2008],” said Scott, who still resides in DeLeon Springs for part of the offseason and attends his parents’ church. “It’s the same with 2007. I had an Achilles’ [heel] injury, and I kind of changed my batting stance a little. I was locked in during 2006. I haven’t felt that the last two years. I kind of miss it, but I have the potential to do so much better.”

The Orioles acknowledged the potential by avoiding arbitration and signing Scott to a one-year, $2.4 million deal in January. He is an extremely diligent player who takes notes on every pitcher he faces and religiously reviews video footage of his at-bats, looking for any helpful morsel of information.

“He’s one of those guys that when he gets hot, he can carry you for awhile,” said Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail.

But Scott’s one-year contract also sends a signal that the Orioles aren’t fully convinced that he is a long-term solution to their rebuilding project. Despite his solid play in left field last year—he only made two errors in 205 total chances—he will likely be relegated to mostly DH duties this season thanks to Baltimore’s acquisition of 24-year-old prospect Felix Pie this offseason. Nick Markakis, 25, who just signed a six-year, $66 million contract in January, is entrenched in right field, and rising star Adam Jones, 23, looks like a keeper in center.

Scott is taking everything in stride.

“I’d like to stay healthy throughout the year and maximize the potential the Lord has given me,” he said. “I’d like to get back to 2006. That would be nice. I’ve worked hard to get here.”

Spiritually speaking, Scott’s clubhouse presence is a boon to any team. He’s a faithful prayer warrior and a winsome ambassador of Christ, according to those who know him well. In fact, Scott led Cincinnati Reds center fielder Willy Taveras to the Lord when they were roommates during their time in Houston’s organization, according to Cole.

“It’s amazing to me how many people in pro baseball have been affected by Luke,” Cole said.

Chris Adomanis, the Orioles’ Baseball Chapel leader, will be relying mainly on Scott and second baseman Brian Roberts to be strong spiritual influences on the team and invite players to Bible studies.

“We are to be in the world and not of the world, and that’s what they’re doing,” Adomanis said of Scott and Roberts. “We want to really focus with those guys this year on being a witness for Christ.”

Ultimately, Scott sees this season through the lens of a biblical allegory. He is a farmer who has worked his fields and is anticipating a bountiful spiritual crop, both on the diamond and in his relationship with God.

“I’ve been planting seeds,” Scott said. “Now I’m waiting for the harvest to come. There are a lot of things I don’t understand. God’s ways are higher than mine. But whatever he wants me to do, I’ll do. He is faithful.”

Original Article: http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/10182.article

Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes when she pulled open the florist shop door, against a November gust of wind. Her life had been as sweet as a spring breeze and then, in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a “minor” automobile accident stole her joy. This was Thanksgiving week and the time she should have delivered their infant son.. She grieved over their loss.

Troubles had multiplied.

Her husband’s company “threatened” to transfer his job to a new location. Her sister had called to say that she could not come for her long awaited holiday visit. What’s worse, Sandra’s friend suggested that Sandra’s grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer.

“She has no idea what I’m feeling,” thought Sandra with a shudder “Thanksgiving? Thankful for what?” she wondered.. “For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended me? For an airbag that saved my life, but took my child’s?”

“Good afternoon, can I help you?”

Sandra was startled by the approach of the shop clerk. “I . . . I need an arrangement,” stammered Sandra.

“For Thanksgiving? I’m convinced that flowers tell stories, ”

she continued.. “Are you looking for something that conveys ‘gratitude’ this Thanksgiving?”

“Not exactly!” Sandra blurted out. “In the last five months, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong.”

Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the clerk said, “I have the perfect arrangement for you..”

Then the bell on the door rang, and the clerk greeted the new customer….

“Hi, Barbara, let me get your order.” She excused herself and walked back to a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of greenery, bows, and what appeared to be long-stemmed thorny roses. Except the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped; there were no flowers.

“Do you want these in a box?” asked the clerk. Sandra watched was this a joke? Who would want rose stems with no flowers! She waited for laughter, but neither woman laughed.

“Yes, please,” Barbara replied with an appreciative smile.

“You’d think after three years of getting the special, I wouldn’t be so moved by its significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again,” she said, as she gently tapped her chest.

Sandra stammered, “Ah, that lady just left with . . . uh . . ..

she left with no flowers!”

“That’s right,” said the clerk. “I cut off the flowers. That’s the ‘Special’. I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet. Barbara came into the shop three years ago, feeling much as you do today,” explained the clerk.. ” She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had just lost her father; the family business was failing; her son had gotten into drugs; and she was facing major surgery. That same year I had lost my husband,” continued the clerk. “For the first time in my life, I had to spend the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too much debt to allow any travel..”

“So what did you do?” asked Sandra.

“I learned to be thankful for thorns,” answered the clerk quietly.

“I’ve always thanked God for the good things in my life and I never questioned Him why those good things happened to me, but when the bad stuff hit, I cried out, ‘Why? Why me?!’

It took time for me to learn that the dark times are important to our faith! I have always enjoyed the ‘flowers’ of my life, but it took the thorns to show me the beauty of God’s comfort! You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we’re afflicted, and from His consolation we learn to comfort others.”

Sandra sucked in her breath, as she thought about what her friend had tried to tell her. “I guess the truth is I don’t want comfort. I’ve lost a baby and I’m angry with God.”

Just then someone else walked in the shop.

“Hey, Phil!” the clerk greeted the balding, rotund man.

“My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving arrangement, twelve thorny, long-stemmed stems!” laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a tissue wrapped arrangement from the refrigerator..

“Those are for your wife?” asked Sandra incredulously.

“Do you mind telling me why she wants a bouquet that looks like that?”

“Four years ago, my wife and I nearly divorced,” Phil replied. “After forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the Lord’s grace and guidance, we trudged through problem after problem, the Lord rescued our marriage. Jenny here (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of rose stems to remind her of what she had learned from “thorny” times. That was good enough for me.

I took home some of those stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific “problem” and give thanks for what that problem taught us.”

As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra, “I highly recommend the Special!”

“I don’t know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life” Sandra said to the clerk. “It’s all too . . fresh.”

“Well,” the clerk replied carefully, “my experience has shown me that the thorns make the roses more precious. We treasure God’s providential care more during trouble than at any other time.. Remember that it was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love…. Don’t resent the thorns.”

Tears rolled down Sandra’s cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on her resentment. “I’ll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please,” she managed to choke out.

“I hoped you would,” said the clerk gently. “I’ll have them ready in a minute.”

“Thank you. What do I owe you?”

“Nothing. Nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart… The first year’s arrangement is always on me.”

The clerk smiled and handed a card to Sandra. “I’ll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you would like to read it first.”

It read:
“My God, I have never thanked You for my thorns. I have thanked You a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed closer to You along the path of pain. Show me that, through my tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more brilliant.”

Praise Him for the roses;

thank Him for the thorns.

God Bless all of you.

Be thankful for all that the Lord does for you.
“Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly,
and leave the rest to God..”

New  Pledge of Allegiance

Now  I sit me down in school
Where praying is against  the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.

If  Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.

Our  hair can be purple, orange or green,
That’s no offense; it’s a freedom thing..
The law is specific, the law is precise..
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate,
God’s name is prohibited by the state.

We’re allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks..
We can carry smut, but not the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me  liable.

We  can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the ‘unwed  daddy,’ our Senior King.
It’s ‘inappropriate’ to teach right from wrong,
We’re taught that such ‘judgments’ do not belong..

We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.

It’s scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school’s a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!
Amen