A BIT OF HUMOR

When I worked as a medical intern in a local hospital, one of my patients was an 
elderly man with a thick accent.

It took me some time to understand that he had no insurance coverage.

One thing he had made clear was that he was a World War II veteran, so I had him 
transported to the Veteran's Administration hospital, where he'd be eligible for 
benefits.

The next day my patient was back, with a note from the VA:  "Right war, wrong 
side."

[forwarded by Steve Sanderson]

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Always be sincere, even if you don't mean it.

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MIKEYSFUNNIES.COM

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ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE DAY

Undeniable Proof That God is Real

Romans 9:4c

…theirs the divine glory…

The word used by Paul for “glory” is the Hebrew word “kabowd”. Kabowd (glory) is the same word used in Exodus to describe the cloud which covered and protected the Israelites from the sun as they traveled by day through the desert (Exodus 16:10: “While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud.”) The glory of the Lord was also in the pillar of fire which led them by night (Exodus 13:21: By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.)

Later, the Lord’s glory filled the tabernacle. (Exodus 40:34: Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.);

And it was this same glory of the Lord filling the temple that Solomon built. (2 Chronicles 7:1 “When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.”)

Kabowd is the glory of the Lord, and is the tangible, visible evidence of the existence of God. It is what people want most. The Israelites experienced it first-hand: They had undeniable proof that God is real.

The Israelites had in their presence the one thing for which every man throughout history has searched — something substantial, something personal — proof that God is real. John 20:27-28: “Then he [Jesus] said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’ Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” And such is our response when our Lord moves from the pages of the Bible into our hearts and lives. When He becomes more than just the subject of an entertaining story, or good advice. Is God real for you? Have you experienced the “kabowd” (glory) of the Lord? Jesus Christ is both real and personal. It’s reflected in Thomas’ response to the resurrected Christ: My Lord, my God. Jesus says to each of us (as He did to Thomas two thousand years ago): “Reach out your hand, touch me, feel me, stop doubting, and BELIEVE! I am the glory of the Lord.”

POCKETPOWER.ORG

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GOD IS THE MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE

GOD IS THE MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE

WRITTEN BY SHIRLEY RHODES

BIG AND SMALL THE LIVING UNIVERSE (PHOTO BY SHIRLEY RHODES)

Today we live in a world that demands a great portion of our energy just to survive and many find it difficult to adapt. Gloom (darkness) of sin and impending judgment lingers within our thoughts, we must never forget, God is the Master of the Universe.  In spite of the tiredness we may feel as the world attempts to drain the very peace from our existence (being) we must journey above the physical and material aspects of this worldly life, determined to joyfully live in the spiritual realm where we learn the meaning of true fellowship with a God who is in control, because he is the Master of the Universe.

When we are able to wrap our minds around this simple fact that He is, “THE MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE” (entirety, all there is) it will truly offer hope for your soul, he is the one you seek for all things, he will take you, mold you and give you rest; then enfold you in grace, love and mercy in such a way you become secure in who you are. In the Master you find acceptance, he will not deny you because of your past, he erases our pains so that we may be able to help others by sharing the same love he gives us.

Our Dependence on him moves us to a place in life where we come to realize that all our needs are met.  What’s important is the manner in which we submit in obedience to his will for “our life” accept him into your heart and cast all your cares upon him because he is the one person in your life that will be there no matter the obstacles you encounter. It’s your life, your journey given to you by the Master of the Universe, so grab hold and embrace yourself, for you are abundantly blessed; don’t allow anyone or anything to cause you to think different.

When feelings of emptiness threaten to drain our lives, we attempt to make peace within ourselves only to find that our own efforts tend to add to the emptiness we already feel.  God is the Master of the Universe,  the greatest source of peace for those who know and place their trust completely in him; for those who do not know him,  it’s impossible to know the  kind of peace he gives; because  he is our peace (Ephesians 2:14).

Many who claim to know such freedom often find themselves struggling with questions about what’s unknown as they strive to live worthy of Gods’ love for them. That is why faith is so important, it is the driving force that bridge the depths between the known and unknown; therefore,  your mind must be open and on the receiving end of the greatest gift of all, God’s Love.

Finally: Oh come, let us worship and bow down:

Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker,

For he is God, and we are the people of his pasture,

And the sheep of His hand: (Psalm 95:6-7).

http://vineandbranchworldministries.com/2013/05/24/god-is-the-master-of-the-universe/

PASTOR DAVIS/MASTER TEACHER

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LUKE 6:19 BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY

Joseph Prince

When Jesus walked on earth, He went about healing the sick and all who came to Him were healed. The Bible records in Luke 6:19 that “the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all”.

Imagine the sick, lame and blind flocking to Jesus. And every time one of them touches Him, His healing virtue is powerfully released. The person is healed and leaps for joy!

Beloved, that’s a powerful image to have in your mind as you meditate on the Lord’s healing promises for you. See His love and compassion for you, and see yourself receiving His power to heal you. Amen!

http://josephprince.com/

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ROSE AND LINDA’S JOURNAL WHO, WHEN, AND WHAT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?

Recently a study guide on the Holy Spirit came across my desk.  It looked good, it sounded good, it came from Pastors I felt comfortable with.  As I began to read though my Spirit said wait a minute.  What seemed innocent at first, included half-truths and untruths.  Before we discuss it with you we have a few questions for you.

1. When you are saved were you filled with the Holy Spirit?

2. Do you have to ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit?

3. Can you only ask once you are saved?

4. How do you  know you are filled with the Holy Spirit?

5. What proof do you have you are filled with the Holy Spirit?

Maybe it would be better to ask:  After you are saved and filled with Holy Spirit, what evidence do you have you are filled?

6. Is God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit the same?

Acts 2:38 ‘Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Let’s look at the entire 2nd Chapter of Acts.  In the fourth verse it tells us all were filled.. and began to speak with other tongues.  this was on the day of Pentecost.  Verse 15 Peter tells us that those over hearing these speaking thought they were drunk. Verses 17b tells us My Spirit will be poured out on all flesh, while verse 18 says  He will pour out My spirit …and they shall prophesy.  In verse 33 speaking of Jesus we are told ‘received from the father the promise of the Holy Spirit.’   And lastly verse 39 tells us the promise is to you, your children, to all afar off, as many as the Lord god will call. [We encourage you to read the entire 2nd Chapter.]  Include in your reading John 4:2 which clearly tells us that Jesus Himself did not baptize anyone.

Now let’s go back to our questions.  1.Yes when you are saved you do receive the gift of the holy Spirit.  2. No, you do not have to ask for it, it is a gift freely given when saved. 3. Again you do not have to ask, it is given.  4.  How do we know?  The Word of God tells us.  5.  The second question better answers this.  If we have a gift but it has not been opened, how then shall we have evidence of this gift.  Verse 18 tells us He shall pour out His Spirit..and they shall prophesy.  Verse 17 tells us they shall prophesy.

It is only in verse 4 that we are told that they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

God Bless

recj/Ljg

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A BIT OF HUMOR

A wise old gentleman retired and purchased a modest home in the summer near a 
junior high school. He spent the first few weeks of his retirement in peace and 
contentment. 

Then a new school year began. The very next afternoon three young boys full of 
youthful afterschool enthusiasm came down his street beating merrily on every 
trash can they encountered. The crashing percussion continued day after day, 
until finally the wise old man decided it was time to take some action. 

The next afternoon, he walked out to meet the young percussionists as they 
banged their way down the street. Stopping them, he said, "You kids are a lot of 
fun. I like to see you express your exuberance like that. I used to do the same 
thing when I was your age. Will you do me a favor? I'll give you each a dollar 
if you'll promise to come around every day and do your thing." 

The kids were elated and continued to do a bang-up job on the trash cans. A few 
days later, the wily retiree approached them again as they drummed their way 
down the street. "Look" he said, "I haven't received my Social Security 
(pension) check yet, so I'm not going to be able to give you more than 25 cents. 
Will that be okay?" 

"A lousy quarter?!" the drum leader exclaimed. "If you think we're going to 
waste our time beating these cans around for a quarter, you're nuts! No way, 
mister. We quit!" 

And the old man enjoyed peace and serenity for the rest of his days.

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Talk is cheap, until you hire a lawyer. 

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MIKEYSFUNNIES.COM

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PUT A ZIPPER ON YOUR MOUTH AND LEARN TO LISTEN

PUT A ZIPPER ON YOUR MOUTH AND LEARNTO LISTEN

Zipper Mouth

WRITTEN BY DR.VIRGINIA MORGAN

Learning to listen to others requires muchdiscipline, and discipline requires patience.  We have gotten so use to babbling that we forgot how to listen and understand what others are saying.  Now if you understood anything about those first two sentences, and are ready to listen to the words that are being  to spoken you today, you might be able to walk in the newest of life and find much morejoy, peace, contentment and happiness in your relationships.

Our mouth and that little thing called ourtongue gets us into a world of trouble at times.  If we would put a zipper on our mouthand be swift to listen and slow to speak, we can transform our lives in ways unimaginable at other times.  For believers, this is a lesson you must practice daily.  For non-believers, you must seek the Lord for guidance and salvation in order to begin the process, because God‘s perfect law must be put into practice in our speech.  Why? Because God’s law is truth, and the law sets people free.  It is only in obeying God that true freedom can be found.  As Christian’s, we are saved by God’s grace, and salvation frees us from sin‘s control, speaking and not listen.  As believers we are free to live as God created us to live.  Of course, this does not mean that we are free to do as we please.

This image was selected as a picture of the week on the Czech Wikipedia for th week, 2007. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Now let us clearly understand this one truth, and that is, we must be swift to listen andslow to speak.  The expression be quick to listen is a beautiful way of capturing the idea of active listening as it is taught in(James 1:19).  James explains to us that we are not simply to refrain from speaking; we are to be ready and willing to listen.  This “quick” listening is obviously to be done with discernment.  We are to check what we hear with God’s word.  If we don’t listen both carefully and quickly, we are liable to be led into all kinds of false teaching and error.

Quick to listen and slow to speak should be taken together as sides of the same coin.  Slowness in speaking means speaking withhumility and patience, not with hasty words or nonstop babbling.  Constraint talking keeps a person from being able to hear.  Wisdom is not always having something to say, it involves listening carefully, consideringprayerfully, and speaking quietly.  When wetalk too much and listen too little, we communicate to others that we think our ideas are much more important than theirs.  James wisely advises us to reverse this process.  We need to put a mental stopwatch on our conversations and keep track of how much we talk and how much we listen.  When people talk to us, do they feel that their viewpoints and ideas have value?

Putting a zipper on one’s mouth and learning to listen requires the same set of skills as an athlete.  In order for an athlete to achieve greatest he must persevere in training in order to improve their abilitiesand endurance for competition, so do we, in order to persevere in spiritual training our senses need to be swift to listen and slow to speak, as we patiently endure testing that will bring maturity andcompleteness.

We must come to a point in our lives where we know that God’s long term goal for us is maturity andcompleteness, but his eternal goal for us is the crown of life, a rich expression of hope.  We can only arrive at this point we learn to be obedient to the word of God.  Know the truth and the truth will set youfree.  Be swift to listen and slow to speak.  PUT A ZIPPER ON YOUR MOUTH AND LEARN TO LISTEN!

http://vineandbranchworldministries.com/2013/05/21/put-a-zipper-on-your-mouth-and-learn-to-listen-2/

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LEADERS IN AMERICA NEED TO DEVELOP THE COURAGE AND STRENGTH OF THEIR CONVICTION TO LEAD THIS NATION

 LEADERS IN AMERICA NEED TO DEVELOP THE COURAGE AND STRENGTH OF THEIR CONVICTION TO LEAD THIS NATION

LEADERSHIP IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM (PHOTO BY PASTOR DAVIS)

In America today, our nation seems to be at a cross road.  We the people elected our individual Representatives from districts in which we live in and sent them to the Nation Capital to join hands with other Representatives from all around the country to become a team of one and lead our Nation in all areas of life as the people’s Representative.  Now we see that theses Representatives have become a body of separative individuals during their own thing with no concern about the people they were elected to represent.

Leadership takes real courage and it takes the strength of ones’ convention to be a bold, strong and courageous leader in difficult times.  Now the question I will ask is simply this, “Where are our elected leaders today?”  

I understand that Leadership is hard work, and in order for any leader to lead a great nation such as this one, he are she  must be strong, have a sound moral character, and develop the courage and strengthof their conviction to do what’s right and show themselves to be the leader the people deserve.  A great number of today’s business leaders, government leaders as well as our spiritual leaders seem to bemorally corrupt and are standing in opposition of what is truly needed in a leader to lead the people out of the wilderness that we now find ourselves in.  Now pause for a moment and watch this short video clip of a true story of courage, compassion and real leadership.

TO SEE VIDEO  http://vineandbranchworldministries.com/2013/05/15/leaders-in-america-need-to-develop-the-courage-and-strength-of-their-conviction-to-lead-this-nation/

We live in the greatest country on the face of this universe, however, we find ourselves falling behind many smaller nations in the way they are developing their young people to become great leaders in their own right.  Our education system, the system that is designed to develop the leadership that can truly accomplish great task is falling apart due mainly to our current crop of leaders that are lacking in theirstrength of courage, to properly fund and develop the type of education system that is now needed in times of trials and tribulation to help develop a new generation of leadership.

Real leaders need real courage to make the tough decisions they will faced every day.  They need to stand on the word of God, and stop being like the motion of the ocean, always going back and forth.  They need to learn how to trust and stand on the word of God.  Know in their hearts that God’s word will never fail them.  Learn to believe without any doubt that they can be assured of good success when they fill their hearts and minds with God’s Word and obey it.

Now listen to how God gave his word to his servant Joshua.  He said to Joshua, “Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lordyour God will be with you wherever you go.”  (Joshua 1:9 NIV)  These are the words that every leader or wanted to be leader should study and meditate on day and night.

Let me share with you the true leadership and success of Joshua, God’s Servant as he chose to obeyGod, trust God, lean and depend on God and God created in him one of the world’s great military leaders of all times.  You too can become a Joshua.

Joshua faced crisis in his leadership role, just like many of the crisis we face in our leadership roles today.  Not only did he have to contend with the military powers rooted in the Promised Land, but he also had to face them with an untrained band of nomadic shepherds.

God realized Joshua’s need for courage and gave him guidance that would strengthen his faith.

First, he reminded Joshua of his faithfulness to keep all of his promises.  God had pledged to give the land to his people and he would fulfill that pledge.  Joshua’s success did not rest on a military strategyor well trained army, but on the faithfulness of God.

Second, God commanded Joshua to meditate on his words that Moses recorded in the five books of thePentateuch.  The “Book of the Law” would give the wisdom and encouragement Joshua would need to courageously lead the nation.

Third, God promised to be personally present with Joshua.  No matter how intimidating the enemy or how rebellious the people, Joshua would not have to face them alone.  God would always be at his side.

The same sources of courage that empowered Joshua are available today for any leader who will accept them.  When faced with a risky business decision, the godly leader will look to God in prayer and to God’s revealed Word for the perspective and courage needed to make the right choice.  What situation are you now facing that requires courageous leadership and risk taking?  Let God’s words toJoshua supply you with the courage you need.

Now as we conclude this lesson for today, it is our hope that it will ignite the spark needed for you as aleader to be strong and courageous, take the word of God on leadership serious and do what’s right and pleasing in God sight.  We as the children of God and America need strong and courageous leaders.  Leaders who are willing to put Country first and come boldly before the throne of grace and speak truth to power, be a real leader by developing the strength of courage and the conviction of yourcharacter and lead this country in the right direction.

We minister to you today from a position of peace, purpose, power and prosperity.  I remain your brother in CHRIST JESUS, PASTOR DAVIS/MASTER TEACHER!

http://vineandbranchworldministries.com/2013/05/15/leaders-in-america-need-to-develop-the-courage-and-strength-of-their-conviction-to-lead-this-nation/

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PROVERBS 3:11-12 BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY

My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

– Proverbs 3:11-12 (NIV)

Today’s commentary
by Dave Whitehead, Senior Pastor, GraceNYC.org

God has a purpose for every trial that you and I go through. Because of the work of Jesus upon the cross, we are not set up for judgment but for growth, even if the struggles that we face are great. This may cut against the grain of our quest for comfort and convenience, but God is interested in more than having us feel good about ourselves—He is a faithful and loving father who delights in bringing us into what He has made us to be and do

DAILYBIBLEVERSE.ORG

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ROSE AND LINDA’S JOURNAL EXCUSE ME LORD, YOU NEED TO CHANGE WITH THE TIMES

[ OR LISTEN TO THE FLESH TALKING]

Yes the times have changed, we are no longer living in the dark ages.  As much as we respect and reverence You Lord, in this day and age we need to be policality correct.  We have freedom of choice to live our lifes the way we want.  Not only us but everyone has the freedom to do as they wish, to make themselves happy.  You did create us the way we are, didn’t You?

That does sound totally stupid doesn’t it?  Or does it?  We claim to know and love God, to follow His teachings, well as long as they line up with what we think is right.

What should be happening in our lifes, in our walk, with the Lord, is an awareness that we need to line up with Him, not Him with us.

God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  He does not change, He does not have it wrong.

We want to pick and choose what we will be obedient to.  It is no different then sitting down with Ten Commandments and saying okay Lord today I will follow 3, 4, 7, 8 and 10.  The rest I do not agree with so I will not follow them.

This is nothing but our flesh speaking.  Remember the flesh, that part of you that lived in the world and sought something better.  Now being saved, having found the freedom and peace that God gives us by Himself becoming flesh and dying on the cross so that we could have said freedom, NOW we want to play it by our own rules.  Only agreeing with that which we want to agree.

God this wonderful creator, the only creator, who became Jesus Christ to save us, left the Holy Spirit within us to guide us, Yes we want to change Him.  What fools we are.

Oh Lord help us to surrender this flesh,  it ideals and views, to walk in Your Word, according to Your truths, which cannot and will not be changed.  To know Lord that You and only You are Right and Just.  To yield to Your path and not our own desires.  Bring our flesh under subjection, Lord, let us line up with You and only You, the Light of the World, and not the ways of this earth.  In Jesus Name Amen. So Be It.

God Bless

recj/LJG

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