A sacred place for remembrance, prayer, support, love, affirming eachother, honor and praise.
For people from this site, but also for people in your life all around this globe; whom you would like to keep them in our thoughts and prayers. *Please, no cutting and pasting. Providing links is ok. *Avoid long posts. Most people don't read them anyway. *No religious debate please! (avoid trying to state a particular religious point of view and avoid sermonizing)
"Moderators are here for a reason. If a moderator (or Global Moderator or Fencer) requests that a discussion on a certain subject to cease, or be moved elsewhere - for whatever reason - please respect these wishes. Failure to do so may result in being hidden, or banned."
*God bless you! Shalom! Salaam aleikum!
Lista de Fóruns
Não pode escrever mensagens neste fórum. O nível mínimo de inscrição para o fazer neste fórum é Nível Cavaleiro.
Sorry, I didn't get back here for the
update, as I was in the hospital myself.
Kyle is doing very well now since the casts were taken off. I saw him Christmas Day and he walks just like he should. He hated the casts on as when they took them off his legs were dirty and itched from the casts.. He had to be washed off good. He now walks just fine and we are so happy the Dr. tried this. Guess some children do this but not as long as Kyle did. HE still is getting the ear aches but hopefully they will get less, too. Other than that he is a normal little active boy.
Thanks for your prayers..
Poetcomposer: thanks for your message..
I pray that you all have a Happy New Year and better than last..God Bless
BARB
Radiant Aunt:
Relax...Happy Holidays can mean anything from a combined Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to a whatever you are celebrating greeting (hanucka does begin on the 25th this year)...one wayor another it is a well wishing to others. Even Christmas trees owe their origin to Queen Victorias husband who brought the tradition over from Germany...from past pagan rituals. Christ was born in summer, yet we celebrate his birth on the Day that Mithras' birthday had been traditionally celebrated on...Rome's way of squashing Mithras. Christmas is going nowhere. WHat is important is that we use this time to remember Christ and his birth. (okay the book of Matthew makes him about 3 when the Magi show up with gifts, but the exchange of gifts remember there part in his life as well). What is important is that we share the time with our loved ones and remember Christ. Happy holidays or Merry Christmas doesn't change what you celebrate. Many athiests even celebrate Christmas and call it Christmas. TV ads are to Sell things, not push religion. That said and done....
Merry Christmas to you all and Happy Holidays as well. Especially to you Josietta
This Christmas, Christians have been caught in the throes of a war on semantics. We are seeing and hearing more “Happy Holidays” and less “Merry Christmases.” The beloved “Christmas tree” has turned into being a “Holiday tree." One television ad plays regularly with carolers singing: “We Wish You A Happy Holiday” to the tune of “We Wish You A Merry Christmas.”
One can surely see why a general mood of fighting back could prevail. I have seen numerous emails floating around with pictures of Christmas trees lamenting the secularization of Christmas. The underlying tone of these messages so far has been one of anger and partisanship, as if to say: “They can't take our Christmas away from us!”
It's an interesting question and one we need to consider seriously. If this a battle, on what level do we fight it? If someone wishes us “Happy Holidays,” do we respond with a hearty “Merry Christmas,” thus striking a blow for the kingdom of God?
I'm not so sure it's as important as all this. After all, it's Christ that is the issue, not Christmas. I don't even think Jesus cares very much about what we or anyone else call an evergreen with lights on it in December. Jesus never cared much about labels anyway; He always cared more about what was in the heart.
Here's how you put Christ back into Christmas: you celebrate Him as Lord of your life and ruler of your heart, and you love even those who want to take Christmas out of the Holiday equation. Jesus didn't come to condemn the world, but to save it (John 3:17). He came to forgive sins -- mine… yours… everybody's. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. Let's not let religious pride get in the way of the core message of the gospel. It's never been us against them; it's us for them. We mustn't forget that Jesus came to die for the very people who are trying to secularize our country.
In our zeal to keep Christ in Christmas, lets be careful not to alienate the very people who need Him the most -- those who don't know Him. People are more likely to be set on the road to salvation by loving, caring believers who are secure in the hope of the real Christ living in their lives, and whose faith is brighter than any Christmas tree.
It's what's in your heart that really counts this Christmas. Let's not get so taken up with fighting to save a name that we forget to live out the reality of the hope of Christ to the world. If people end up encountering the real Christ of Christmas, it will matter little what we end up calling the holiday itself.
John Fischer is the Senior Writer for Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotionals. He resides in Southern California with his wife, Marti and son, Chandler. They also have two adult children, Christopher and Anne. John is a published author and popular speaker.
whatdidyousay: Thank you Jeff, for reminding us, that each day each one of us needs the Blood of the Lamb! amen
1Peter 2:24 ...By His Stripes we are healed..
Isaiah 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chatisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His Stripes we are healed.
Keys to Gods Relationships A major emphasis of Jesus' teaching is how to build and maintain right relationships with God and others. He views these relationships as neither unimportant nor extraneous, but as vital components of our Christian lives. Knowing God is our highest priority, but this pursuit should not replace or diminish our interpersonal relationships with others. Rather, our personal interaction with God should produce within us the qualities of character that build and sustain all our relationships.
Scriptural references:
Matthew 5:24,25; Luke 12:57,58:Practice instance reconciliation. Understand that conflicts cause much greater damage to relationships when left unresolved.
Matthew 5:43-48; Luke 6:27, 28, 32-36:Love by choice, not by circumstance. Remember to overcome evil through love.
Matthew 6:14; Mark 11:25:Understand that God forgives us our sins as we forgive others who have sinned against us. Adopt the forgiveness of others into your prayerlife as a daily discipline.
Matthew 7:1-5; Luke 6:37, 38, 41, 42:Refrain from judging others. Be diligent to ask the Lord to examine your own heart, and be faithful to respond to His conviction.
Luke 14:7-11:Avoid striving for public recognition. Seek to walk in humility in every situation.
God, show us how to love the unlovely today. Help us to love others as you love them ---- just as they are. Amen.
Matthew 5:43-48
Love for Enemies
43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
And
Proverbs 15:1
A gentle answer turns away wrath.
The last sefirah is the most important because God uses it to act through His creation.
The tenth and final sefirah is called "malchut" ("kingdom"), and in many ways this is the most important of the sefirot.
In order to understand what malchut is, we must refer back to the original verse that contains the ten sefirot: "To You, God, is greatness, strength, modesty, victory, awe, for all that is in heavens and earth; to You, God, is the kingdom." (1 Chronicles 29:11) We note that the description of malchut is an almost separate sentence and it restarts with the phrase, "to You, God, is..." Why this distinction?
Let us explain this by defining what malchut is.
When we think of a king or a kingdom, we imagine a dictator imposing his will on a helpless populace, draining them of their resources to be used for his own personal aggrandizement. Even if we picture him as a benevolent despot, he is at best an efficient bureaucrat.
But when we speak of God and the concept of kingdom, we refer to a completely different model.
The model we have in mind is of a king who has a picture of good and bad, an ideology of right and wrong, and teaches the society around him those ideas and values. That society is then awakened to what is really right and structures itself and its institutions accordingly. When society has finished this process, it thereby amplifies and proclaims those values that the king had in his heart and mind.
That society is thereby not only expressing the king's norms and values, but showing that these norms and values are really the inner norms and values of the people in the country.
While we do not live with kings and it might be difficult for us to picture this, we can definitely use the illustration of a good teacher. A teacher who allows the students to "do as they wish" is not a teacher at all. The students have not received anything from him.
On the other hand, a teacher who forces his students to do as he says has merely imposed external shackles on them. He has not really affected them in any way, and he is not a teacher. The real teacher is the one who inspires his students, so that they realize that their own real feelings and values are those espoused by their teacher.
This is malchut in the true sense. It is God's actions and attributes - not as expressed by God, but rather as human beings express them. It is as if God's actions have struck a resonant chord in us, and we thereby act in a similar manner.
This requires that we do God's will, and not sin, and that we do so with free will. For if we do not do God's will, then we are not a reflection of the Divine process in the world. But if we do God's will out of fear then we are responding like the students who are forced by their teacher to do the teacher's bidding, and not from an inner sense of connection with God.
KING VS. DICTATOR
The way we respond to God is often expressed by commentators as the contrast of two synonyms:
Malchut meaning monarchial reign, and
Mamlacha meaning dictatorial rule.
Thus we say in our prayers, "...and they accepted (God's) malchut [monarchial reign] willingly." Whereas the verse speaking about the relationship between God and the nations who have not yet accepted Him states, "For onto God is mamlacha [dictatorial rule] and He is ruler over the gentile nations." This means that God really wishes to evoke malchut in the world, but as far as those nations are concerned, He rules over them in a dictatorial way but does not bring about malchut in them.
But, if we are to define the sefirah of malchut correctly, we need to be clear that (unlike the other nine) it is an attribute of God which does not emanate from God directly. Rather it emanates from God's creation -- when that creation reflects and evinces God's glory from within itself.
This is the reason why it is stated separately in the verse -- "To You, God, is greatness, strength, modesty, victory, awe, for all that is in heavens and earth; to You, God, is the kingdom" -- for there is a great gap between the first nine sefirot and the last one. The first nine are a continuous stream of God's actions which strike humanity and affect us. When we then absorb these influences of God, find them in ourselves, change and thereby reflect God's glory - then we evince malchut.
It is in this sense that this is the most important sefirah. In malchut, God does not act merely by Himself, but rather God acts through us.
Malchut is the goal that God had in mind when He created the world. All of the other sefirot are only the means to see malchut emerge.
In relating to the first nine sefirot, we are outside observers - admiring God's handiwork objectively. We may be impressed but somehow it never quite becomes an overwhelming experience. It is only when we hear the voice of God echoing from within us - which is malchut - that we are truly transformed.
Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before Him, singing with joy.
Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are His.
We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with Thanksgiving;
Go into His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him and praise His name.
For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
And His faithfulness continues to each generation.
- Psalm 100
It’s really pretty simple.
He is God; we are not. He made us and so we belong to Him. We don’t really experience our own fulfillment until we are in a position to praise Him and offer Him thanks. Any other posture is arrogance and sheer folly, not because He is unkind or lording it over us, but because He is who He is, and we are who we are. We don’t get the point of our existence until we get this.
Whether you are in prison or in a mansion, alone or with family and friends – whether you are poor or rich, at war or at peace – this is true about you and it is true about me. This is not constraint. It is not praise on demand. It is sensible and true, the holy and right thing to do.
We were made for this – for the giving of thanks and the whole-hearted acknowledging of our Creator. We will do this forever. We are never really happy until we are doing this. This is not just one day out of the year to give thanks. It is our way of life every day – our lifeline with sanity, our tie to the real reason we are alive.
So while a country stops and gives thanks over an abundance of food, give thanks, not only because it is Thanksgiving Day, but because it is the right thing to do – the only thing to do.
Bluesday: I hope all is well now with lamby, she is a very special person to me... always been there to listen :)
I would think Dylan will be here by now as she wasn't on last night. My thoughts are with her and the family.
This wonderful Christian organisation has a relief center for the poor and needy in Atlanta and is forming several teams to take New Orleans in for His Kingdom. Please check this website and JOIN in going, in prayer, in giving!!!
Isaiah 58:6-7
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen…to loose the chains of injustice…to set the oppressed free…to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter.”
For more information please visit: www.bloodnfire.com
There are teams going from Minnesota, Dallas, Florida...... and Holland!! Yup My wish is to join, but the Lord is asking me stay here and pray! For more information, contact me by private message!
Modificado por ScarletRose (20. Outubro 2005, 06:13:34)
I sure hope you get yourselves to shelter.. it could be a big one.. and there won't be any excuses this time.. we just don't wanna worry about anyone..
So please take shelter when they tell ya to!
This hurricane as it stands right now is a catagory 5. It is headed right for our area as did Charle that did so much damage to our area..Just keep us here in Florida once again in your thoughts and prayers..Hopefully if it hits landfall it will weaken. Thanks
BARB
Bluesday: Kyle is doing pretty good with the casts and boots . His walking looks better,but with casts on there is no way he can walk on his toes. Will just wait until the casts come off. He has to be in them 3 more weeks.
PLEASE PRAY FOR MY GRANDSON KYLE
Kyle is our youngest daughters twin..age 3. He stopped breathing at birth. God saw fit that Kyle was to be with us. Drs. brought Kyle back to us. He was a little smaller than Blake..but has caught up pretty much now.
He seems like any other little boy..except when he started walking he started on his tip toes in his bare feet. First it looked like maybe a baby thing or habit. Then it started to get worse and now even with shoes he walks and runs on his toes. Really, he is so fast its hard to catch him sometimes. He always has been more senstive, hyper and still crys alot. My daughter and son in law took him to the Dr. yesterday. The Dr. said it could be muliplesclerosis.. another one he mentioned or maybe just a habit.. They have now put casts on both legs. This will be very hard on Kyle but the casts have to be done. Through this trying time for Kyle, my daughter, her family and our family please keep all of us in your thoughts and prayers. I know that thru God's help Kyle will have the best of care.
Thank You and God Bless you all..
BARB
My prayers are with all of those in Pakistan who have lost loved ones and friends. I hope that they are able to find peace in the midst of their troubles.
1 John 2.6, "Who ever "claims" to live in him, must walk as Jesus walked."
Lord God, creator of the heavens and the universe and every thing upon this Earth, help us Father, to walk as Jesus walked in Love, Compassion, patience and Forgiveness. As You know we are all sinners and weak; help us daily to focus on You and to grow more and more in You. Thank You Jesus.. For You are the Only Perfect One. We praise You and adore You. Help us to keep You first in everything we do. Halleluyah. In Jesus' Name we pray - AMEN
Dear Father Lord, thank You for Your Presence.. thank You for Your Faithfulness and Thank You for Your Holy Spirit ablazing through this gamesite! Father Lord, we bless You indeed. I would like to lift up all the angels who play here and do good to others. People who love their neighbour as they love themselves. People who are reflecting His Love towards eachother. And Lord I wish to lift up that special angel who couldn't wait to serve You in a wonderfully blessed way! Thank You Father! Bless Your Holy Name! I pray all this in Your Son's Precious Name - Name above all Names! Halleluyah - AMEN
Assunto: Re: Hurricane relief numbers and shelters(Katrina)
Other numbers:
Road close Hotline:1800-469-4828
Military Info line:1888-777-7731
Coast guard rescue: 1800-323-7237
NO Health Department:504-658-2500
Family info:www.firstgov.gov
Large numbe of airlifts today. Gas crisis causing havock with all the refugees. Hotels from LA to Florida booked solid by refugees. Along the way gas stations out of Gas...over six hour lines of stalled cars waiting for fuel. Many stores along the route completely empty of goods. Military airlifts more than 47 flights today. Huge numbers still at convention center in NO. Heat, lack of water,lack of food,lack of diapers,lack of medicine,lack of just about everything causing deaths. The dead lying next to the living inside the dome. People still trapped inside various parts of the city.
Medical volunteers visit: www.hhs.gov, www.nih.gov, www.medicalreservecorps.gov
Shallow draft boats such as the swampers aka. fan boats perhaps the best means of transport in many parts of the city.
For more information: www.redcross.org, www.fema.gov
No matter what part of the US or even foreign aid welcome. But please go through the red cross, salvation army, and other sites I have listed. Official sites. There is a little progress, but the situation is still dire. Every prayer and every hand that helps is needed. Families are shattered, seperated, and starving. It is a tide of displaced humanity that has nowhere to go and everything they own in a single car or a single bag. If you ask what can I do? Visit the red cross sites, call the shelters...For now aid is the most important factor.
Assunto: *this devotional gave me tears in eyes...
Solo Violin
by John Fischer
In Atlanta, a killer on a rampage was stopped in his tracks by a single mom wielding Day 33 of The Purpose Driven Life. I wonder if any purpose can be found in New Orleans right now. At first glance it looks like chaos and anarchy with loss and despair higher than the high water mark in town.
But there are bound to be a number of believers in that mass of homeless humanity, and by that I don’t mean good, regular churchgoers, I mean people who know Jesus, and because they know Jesus, they have strength of character, fortitude and purpose that nothing in this world can faze.
This is a time when truth is tested, and real character prevails. You either lose it or you stand solid like a well-rooted tree when all around is giving way. People who have a purpose in life beyond their possessions or their place – people who know that a relationship with God is their most valued possession and nothing can take that away – will rise to the occasion. These people will continue to worship God even when their church is under water. They will grow leaps and bounds in their faith because faith becomes tangible in moments like this. They will bond immediately with others who know Christ, and serve those around them because that’s all you can do – that or complain, and they will be too buoyed by the reality of their faith to complain about anything. And they will realize a mission to spread the love of Jesus like never before.
Pray for these people, and know they are there. They are all over the place, and their time has come. Like Ashley Smith’s time came alone with a killer in her apartment, the time for a calm, steady faith, and even suitable humor has come.
There’s a story already out about a man in the Superdome who managed to escape the youth hostel where he was staying with his violin, and surrounded by the stench of human waste and the press of crowded suffering, he took his instrument out and began to play the Adagio of Bach’s “Sonata No. 1 in G Minor.”
“These people have nothing,” he said. “I have a violin. And I should play for them. They should have something.”
Pray for the believers who escaped with their faith and now have something to share with those who have nothing. It is their time to stand out like a violin in an overcrowded arena.
John Fischer is the Senior Writer for Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotionals. He resides in Southern California with his wife, Marti and son, Chandler. They also have two adult children, Christopher and Anne. John is a published author and popular speaker.
There are about a half a million people displaced, 150,000 of them from below the poverty line. WHat's left of the city is covered not only in water and sewage, but industrial waste, corpses, etc. This is not Just about New Orleans, but also other areas like Mississippi and other parts of Louisianna that have been hit. another number is www.give.org.
Already there are scam sites on the web, so it is encouraged to make donations to the redcross website provided and other official sites here like the Salvation Army.
Remember its not just those trapped in the city that need help. One half of a million people uprooted. Food, water, etc. are needed desparately. People are fighting over supplies. In the stadium holding more than 30,000 people there was no power,no facilities, no water, and many died within that shelter with nothing done to remove the bodies. People are looting for basic needs and shooting at each other and rescue helicopters. Stealing boats from those who go in to save others and worse. It is a horrible scene where rescue workers are attacked by the very people they are trying to help. It will be years in cleaning up if ever. At least a year before any of these people return home. If they ever do. How do you get rid of the toxins? Please help in any way you can. Even the surrounding states are not equipped to help a half a million people.
Assunto: Hurricane relief numbers and shelters(Katrina)
Red Cross:1800-HELPNOW
Feed the Children:1800-525-7575
Salvation Army: 1800-SALARMY
websites for info:www.fema.gov, www.redcross.org
Special Needs shelters In LA:
Alexandria:1800-841-5778
Baton Rouge:1800-349-1372
Houma/Thibodeux:1800-228-940 9
LaFayette: 1800-901-3210
Lake Charles:1800-280-2711
Shreveport:1800-841-5776
Parrishes in La equipped for shelter:
Allen, Aucylles,Beauregard,Bienville,Bossier,Caddo,Caldw ell, Catahoula, Clairborne, DeSoto, E. Baton Rouge, E. Carrol, E. Feliiciana, w. Feliciana,
Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee, Ouachita, Vernon, St Landry, St Helen, Sabine, Winn, WEbster, Richland, Rapides
mississipi counties able to assist:
Covington, Forest, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Lamar, Marrion, Pearl River, Stone
Message
Subject: Do Not Break - it is 4 years strong
This has not been broken since 9/11/01, please keep it going...
This has been kept alive and moving since 9/11. In memory of all those
who perished this morning; the passengers and the pilots on the United Air and
AA flights, the workers in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and all the
innocent bystanders. Our prayers go out to the friends and families of the
deceased.
IF I KNEW
If I knew it would be the last time
That I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly
and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.
If I knew it would be the last time
that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss
and call you back for one more.
If I knew it would be the last time
I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each action and word,
so I could play them back day after day.
If I knew it would be the last time,
I could spare an extra minute
to stop and say "I love you,"
instead of assuming you would KNOW I do.
If I knew it would be the last time
I would be there to share your day,
Well I'm sure you'll have so many more,
so I can let just this one slip away.
For surely there's always tomorrow
to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance
to make everything just right.
There will always be another day
to say "I love you,"
And certainly there's another chance
to say our "Anything I can do?"
But just in case I might be wrong,
and today is all! I get,
I'd lik! e to say how much I love you
and I hope we ne ver forget.
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance
you get to hold your loved one tight.
So if you're waiting for tomorrow,
why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
you'll surely regret the day,
That you didn't take that extra time
for a smile, a hug, or a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone,
what turned out to be their one last wish.
So hold your loved ones close today,
and whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them
and that you'll always hold them dear
Take time to say "I'm sorry,"
"Please forgive me," "Thank you," or "It's okay."
And if tomorrow never comes,
you'll have no regrets about today.
The pastor's church was called Almighty God Tabernacle. On a Saturday night sevral weeks ago,the pastor was working late, and decided to call his wife before he left for the house.It was about 10:00 PM , but his wife didn't answer the phone.
The pastor let it ring many times. He thought it was odd that she did not answer, but decided to wrap up a few more things and try again in a few minutes. When he tried agin she answered right away.away. He asked her why she hadn't answered before, and she said that it hadn't rung in their house. They brushed it off as a fluke and went on their merry ways.
The following Minday, the pastor received a call atthe church office, which was the phone that he'd call on Saturday night. The man that he spoke with wanted to know why he'd called on Saturday night. The pastor could not figure out what the guy was talking about.Ihen the guy said,"It rang and rang,but i didn't answer." The pastor remembered the mishap and apologized for disturbing him, that he'd intended to call his wife.
The man said, " Thats Ok.Let me tell you my story You see i was planning to commit suicide on Saturday night, but before i did, I prayed, 'God if you're out there, and you don't want me to do this, give me a sign now'
At that point the phone started to ring. i looked at the caller id and it said Almighty God'. I was afraid to answer
(esconder) Se procura uma mensagem mais antiga de um dado utilizador clique no seu Perfil e use a opção "mostrar mensagensdeste utilizador", no topo da página. (konec) (mostrar todas as dicas)