Mr C and I will be taking a little vacation, Lord willing we will be able to enjoy the waters up in this beautiful place we are so Blessed to live, I will not be blogging for a couple of weeks,I pray we have some great photos to share of our time.

May the Lord Bless you and keep you, May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you, and may the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.Numbers 6:24-26

Love Sandie and Ron

Prayer

“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven...” —2 Chronicles 7:14

There are times when we come to God with legitimate requests and great concerns, but all remains silent from heaven. 

Then we wonder and may even demand… “Where is God when I need Him?” 

The Bible warns of times that God will not answer prayer, Prov 28:9 --15:29 ---Psalms 66:18 Job 35:13--27:8---Matt 6:7

and there are four barriers or conditions we must meet if our prayers are going to be effective. 

God looks strictly upon the heart and sees our motives.Jeremiah 17:10--- 1 Sam 16:7  Prov 15:11 
Are we praying for "God’s glory" or are we "trying to build our own"?
  
John 5:45--Jeremiah 17:5--Gal 5:19-20   Luke 18-9-14

If our motives are self-centered, we may ask, but we won’t receive. 

Secondly, are we harboring sin in our hearts? Psalms 66:18 James 4:3 Isaiah 59:2  

Is there something we know is wrong in the sight of the Lord that we can’t let go of? Persistence in sin will grieve God. David writes, 

“If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” (Psalm 66:18). 

Being sinless is not an option, but we cannot allow ourselves the liberty of retaining sin and expect to hear from God.

Thirdly, are we living in submission to Christ? Are we obedient to Him and pleasing Him? 
1 Thess 4:1-12 Matt 22:37-40  Micah 6:8  John 15:5 John 14:6 Prov 14:12 Matt7:13,14

We cannot bring God in only when it’s convenient for us, and the rest of the time live by our own rules. 

Christ as ‘Savior’ and ‘Lord’ are two different roles, but they are inseparable. 

In submission to Christ, our hearts are right with Him, and we can come with our prayers in confidence before God. 

Lastly, how is our relationship with others? Jesus said, 

“First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:24). He also said, 

“If we do not forgive men their sin, our heavenly Father will not forgive us” (Matthew 6:15). Are our relationships with others set right and thereby right with God? 

Four barriers to prayer life: 

Our attitude to self, 

to sin, 

to submissiveness 

and to others. 

Jesus addresses all of these in the Lord’s Prayer. 

Attitude toward self and submissiveness… 

“Your kingdom come, your will be done.” 

Attitude toward sin… “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” 

Attitude toward others… “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” 

Prayer is serious and we must examine ourselves before we entertain the thought that God does not care. 

He always cares and He requires the same from us. 
It may seem harsh when God doesn't answer our prayers, but in His silence, perhaps He is, and is waiting for us to comply with His will.
The only way to know His will is in His word,through His Son Jesus Christ,His Spirit the "Holy" Spirit teaches us all things.
Do we come before a Holy God with pure hearts and clean hands? confessing all known sin in our life? 
and even asking the Lord to search our hearts of any hidden sin, the sin no one sees!

My brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, I encourage you this is not a time for us to shrink back in our walk with the Lord, but a time we stand firm, be ready in season and out of season to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our walk does not change from Sunday to Monday,

 The Lord allows opportunity to share His good news, where ever and when ever His Spirit moves in and through us.

When we realize the frailty of life and how short this life is---- we know the consequences for those who reject,and have not come into relationship with Jesus Christ. 

Prayer matters-------------it is our lifeline to our Father God......... God is Holy,Righteous,Perfect, Just ---we want Father to hear our prayers, He calls us to be "holy ,blameless", Eph 1:4 
It is to Him we are conformed and transformed, not vise versa!

I Love you------ 

all who take the time to read this blog, my greatest prayer today  is that we have a greater love for one another, and a greater passion and love  for our Lord Jesus Christ ---------Yeshua Messiah-------

that He would be the expression and reflection that people see in our life,and would desire to come into relationship with Him.
While we may not think of ourselves as "holy" we are in fact set apart from the world to be God's servants and representatives. this is what our Lord has called us to live.

We only get this life to make a difference in Christ Jesus.
Amen!

Our Lord God's grace is sufficient.

                                                       

                                                        A Thorn in the Flesh
                                                “But he said to me, ‘My grace is
                                               sufficient for you, for my power is
                                                     made perfect in weakness’.”
                                                           2 Corinthians 12:9
There are Christians today who still assume that if we are right with God, then everything will run
smoothly in our lives. That is not true of Scripture and certainly not true of Paul’s life. He gives us a
gift in coming out in the open about a thorn in his flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment him.

Paul doesn't disclose "what" this thorn in his flesh is, but he tells us he has it, not to be transparent in
any way, but to show how these threatening issues become an avenue for God to work in a new and
deeper way.
Paul tells us, “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these
surpassing great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan to
torment me.”
The danger Paul faced was something that might lead him to arrogance and pride.
A few verses earlier, he writes, “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the
third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know – God knows. And I
know that this man…..was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is
not permitted to tell” (2 Corinthians 12:2-4).
It was these surpassing great revelations Paul talks about that caused him to be given a thorn in
his flesh. Though he writes in the third person, it is evident Paul is talking about himself. He goes
on to say,
“I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my
weaknesses.”
Whether it was in the body or out of the body or a vision or something literal he was
physically caught up in is irrelevant. The point is he saw and heard things that he was not permitted
to talk about and for fourteen years had kept it locked inside.
There is always a danger when God does something in our lives or through our lives that we are so
excited about and grateful for that we begin to take credit ourselves.
We like to be recognized and affirmed. The old ego wants to take ownership,  the focus shifts from God onto ourselves.
The temptation to go beyond what God gives is common to all of us. God works. God blesses. God
provides, and we want more.
Great experiences of God are often followed by melancholy and disappointment;
great victories followed by deep valleys and loneliness;
great triumphs by great temptations, and great exaltation to depression.
This is true of leading characters throughout the Bible; Elijah, Moses, David, all the
disciples, and of Jesus, Himself, when after His baptism, He was led by the Spirit into the
wilderness, alone for forty days of testing and trial. Great moments with God can lead to great
battles, "but a holy man or holy woman is always humbled", and the devil’s most prominent tool is to
provoke pride in us to get us to act independently of God.
 The thorn in Paul’s flesh was a trial to protect him from becoming conceited.
It was preventative and intentional…. “given to me,” Paul says. That begs the question: given by whom?
 It was a messenger of Satan, but it was God who permitted it.
Everything Satan does God has allowed and this is a perspective that can only come from knowing God and His ways.

In knowing God, we learn through experiences of Him,
 there is "no better friend than the hardships" that keep us "humble" and dependent" upon Jesus.
There is a great deal of speculation as to what the thorn in Paul’s flesh was. It could have been of a
physical nature; his poor eye sight, ear aches, migraines, gout, a speech impediment or perhaps
something moral, a temptation he struggled with.

Amongst the early church fathers, there was a
prevalent understanding that Paul is actually talking about a besetting sin, because they understood
the word ‘flesh’ to mean the old nature battling against the Spirit. God does not endorse sin, but
neither has He provided sinlessness as an option.

We are all going to fail and if that leads us to a deeper dependence on God, it has served a good purpose.
Maybe the thorn in Paul’s flesh was circumstantial, nothing to do with his health or morality, but
was simply a metaphor of all his trials, because he says, “I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in
hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.” Earlier he listed a whole string of hardships, ranging
from being stoned, to beaten, imprisoned and shipwrecked. Was he wondering when God would
make his way easier?

It’s also possible he’s referring to his past rising up and condemning him as
he did start out as an arch enemy of the Christian faith.
One of the things the devil does is accuse us night and day before God.
However, this is all speculation and it’s a good thing we don’t know,
because had Paul revealed what the thorn in his flesh was, such as his eyesight for example, our
resolve would be limited to just one thing. As it is, one size fits all.
Paul’s perspective is that this thorn in his flesh is going to be what
produces in him a fresh awareness of God’s grace that he would otherwise never have known. He
had pleaded and prayed three times to take it away, but Jesus said, “My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness.” That’s triumph.

When all is well in our lives, our prayer life usually suffers. It’s when we’re faced with trouble that our prayer life is often awakened and deepened. But it cannot drive us to prayer in pride; only humility. To be driven to prayer is already to be humbled in recognizing the fact that “God, I can’t do this. I need you in this situation.”
What occupied Paul was not the incredible visions and experience of God locked up in his mind for
fourteen years, but the thorn in his flesh, because this is the area in which he had to battle. If it
would have been these surpassing great revelations, he would have wanted an audience to hear
about it and be impressed.

The thorn in his flesh didn't drive him to an audience, but to God.
Despite the fact that it torments him, there was something much greater in this, which can only be
learned through hardship, and it is experiencing the grace of God.

The grace of God is simply the presence of God. Though ‘grace’ can be defined in a number of ways, whatever else it may be, it is God doing what we cannot do, and God being what we cannot be in ourselves.
The surpassing great revelations in Paul’s life are offset by the great tribulation, and they balance
his life.

It’s the things that hurt us that humble us, and the things that weaken us that make us
dependent upon God. And that’s why Paul says he delights in weaknesses, hardships, persecutions
because when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
The best experiences in our lives are the ones that drive
us back to God with a fresh sense of dependence on Him and need of His grace and His working.

“This is what the LORD says: ‘Let not the wise man boast
of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man
boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me…”
Jeremiah 9:23

I can only say that in our walk with Our Lord Jesus we can not boast in our self, for you see our life is only complete today,and we are only alive today because of who our Lord Jesus Christ is in us.
What ever your thorn is---- may it draw you into a greater dependence and trust in our Lord Jesus to make you all that He created you to be in Him and He alone.
To God be all the Glory.

A Day of Refreshing

What a beautiful day the Lord has given us to wake up to His beauty,His presence upon us, His new Mercies and grace He graciously pours out , we have nothing to complain about, only to rejoice in the fact that we have a Perfect Father who shines His face upon us daily giving us opportunity to Magnify Him in all we do, acknowledging Him in everything.

Here are some of His beautiful creations, and provisions for us to enjoy and Glorify Him in thanking Jesus for giving us another day to live in Him.

The Valley is beautiful and all the land is being hayed,the lavender is in full bloom so very Blessed for today.
The Lord continues to keep Dad strong each day,we have our challenges,but today we are thankful for this day the Lord has given us.

When it comes to where the rubber meets the road a" phony, man-centered, market-oriented,religious, spirituality, "have your best life now"------- Jesus just won’t cut it".

When it comes to dealing with" real eternal issues" "only faith in the "only one" who can save us from our self, is the "person of Jesus Christ" 

 not the “man-made jesus” that falls back on our self, believing we have our life under control will do.

We do not Despair,---- Is there Sadness at times? Yes,  concern? Yes, Pain? Yes,

Our lives are constantly put through the testing of this life,"who" we put our faith and trust in.---man who is but a breath? Or Jesus God himself incarnate,who draped himself in humanity in flesh?

Our faith is not in a religious system or in any man, but in "Christ himself" who promised to build His Church (those who put all their trust, faith) and the gates of Hell would never be able to prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). Therefore, when the fires of tribulation come, and they do, we bend, but do not break. 

Our knowledge of Jesus Christ is becoming deeper through our affliction ,Brain Tumor as our faith grows stronger as it is" tried in the fire".

God Himself gives the right knowledge of Jesus Christ to those whom He saves. Through this knowledge He works in us to wean us away from slavery to the flesh and the things in this world that are only distractions with no eternal value. How does this work?

17 Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; They will behold a far-distant land. (Isaiah 33:17)

This is a quote from Charles Spurgeon: 

The more you know about Christ the less will you be satisfied with superficial views of Him; and the more deeply you study His transactions in the eternal covenant, His engagements on your behalf as the eternal Surety, and the fullness of His grace which shines in all His offices, the more truly will you see the King in His beauty. Be much in such outlooks. Long more and more to see Jesus. Meditation and contemplation are often like windows of agate, and gates of carbuncle, through which we behold the Redeemer. Meditation puts the telescope to the eye, and enables us to see Jesus after a better sort than we could have seen Him if we had lived in the days of His flesh. Would that our conversation were more in heaven, and that we were more taken up with the person, the work, the beauty of our incarnate Lord. More meditation, and the beauty of the King would flash upon us with more resplendence. Beloved, it is very probable that we shall have such a sight of our glorious King as we never had before, when we come to die. Many saints in dying have looked up from amidst the stormy waters, and have seen Jesus walking on the waves of the sea, and heard Him say, “It is I, be not afraid.” Ah, yes! when the tenement begins to shake, and the clay falls away, we see Christ through the rifts, and between the rafters the sunlight of heaven comes streaming in. But if we want to see face to face the “King in His beauty” we must go to heaven for the sight, or the King must come here in person. O that He would come on the wings of the wind! He is our Husband, and we are widowed by His absence; He is our Brother dear and fair, and we are lonely without Him. Thick veils and clouds hang between our souls and their true life: when shall the day break and the shadows flee away? Oh, long-expected day, begin! – C.H. Spurgeon

The ones truly in love with their Savior want to know everything about Him and the more they know about Him, the more they know Him, and the more they want to be with Him.  

He who testifies to these things says, ”Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. (Revelation 22:20)

This should be our prayer to our Lord every day. If, however, it causes you to fear or dread His return then this is a sign or marker that your knowledge and love of our Saviour is not where it needs to be. The true disciple of Christ is one who is crucified with Him. He has taken up his or her own cross and followed Him.

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, ”If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 ”For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 ”For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26 )

The disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ has the viewpoint that he or she is apprehended by our Lord and their entire purpose in this life is to serve Him and be part of the triumph in Christ. It is enough to be in the train of the conqueror.

14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. 15 For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; 16 to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? 17 For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God. (2 Corinthians 2:14-17 )

The proper perspective of a servant of God must not simply be as near to the highest as he can get, but it must be the highest. Be careful that you vigorously maintain God’s perspective, and remember that it must be done every day, little by little. Don’t think on a finite level. No outside power can touch the proper perspective.

The proper perspective to maintain is that we are here for only one purpose— to be captives marching in the procession of Christ’s triumphs. We are not on display in God’s showcase— we are here to exhibit only one thing— the “captivity [of our lives] to the obedience of Christ” ( 2 Corinthians 10:5 ). How small all the other perspectives are! For example, the ones that say, “I am standing all alone, battling for Jesus,” or, “I have to maintain the cause of Christ and hold down this fort for Him.” But Paul said, in essence, “I am in the procession of a conqueror, and it doesn't matter what the difficulties are, for I am always led in triumph.” Is this idea being worked out practically in us? Paul’s secret joy was that God took him as a blatant rebel against Jesus Christ, and made him a captive— and that became his purpose. It was Paul’s joy to be a captive of the Lord, and he had no other interest in heaven or on earth. It is a shameful thing for a Christian to talk about getting the victory. We should belong so completely to the Victor that it is always His victory, and “we are more than conquerors through Him . . .” ( Romans 8:37 ).

“We are to God the fragrance of Christ . . .” ( 2 Corinthians 2:15 ). We are encompassed with the sweet aroma of Jesus, and wherever we go we are a wonderful refreshment to God. – Oswald Chambers from My Utmost For His Highest for October 24.

Chambers hit this nail on the head perfectly. This is the right obedience based upon the right knowledge of God that comes only to those who are crucified with Him, held captive by Him, and live accordingly. This is the triumph in Christ because He is going to return in the perfect point in His timing and it will be glorious. I deeply desire to be one of those simply in the train of the conqueror, being found obedient to Him in all parts of my life for my life belongs totally to Him.

Iron sharpens Iron may we continue to sharpen each other By the word of God daily,encouraging each other on to fight the good fight in Christ Jesus. 

Encouragement

Wow! I did not realize how long it has been since I have written on the blog, until a very sweet letter came in the mail.
I have to apologize to those who do read this blog ,please forgive me.
Writing is a great outlet for me, we have had "no computer" both of our computers crashed in early May. Thank the Lord we now have another

.
We are so blessed to be doing so good,and we consider good being alive, and enjoying what the Lord has given us for this day.
Dad is doing remarkably well, He takes steroids to keep the inner cranial pressure from causing Him the debilitating pain he suffered in February and March. We Bless the Lord Jesus for His merciful gracious hand over our lives.
As you can see we are enjoying a day on the water eating ice cream............. yummy, yummy!
Our buddy Mr Starr captained the boat this day, giving us a chance to just enjoy being on the boat. And we did.
I want to thank a very precious, kind, selfless, compassionate, tender, loving reader of this blog for His incredible encouragement to Dad and I. as I read His letter I wept over His genuine loving words,
I felt His heart  lifting off the pages, of his hand written letter to Dad and I-----
 We are deeply touched and blessed by the love,words, prayers and great encouragement and time to write us this letter personally`."I will cherish this letter" Thank you.with all our love
Our words have power to heal or wound,---
Thoughtless words can wound as deeply as any sword, but wisely words can heal-- Prov 12:18

Gentle words are a tree of life.
I Love you Charlie, my brother