WOW!… Where did August go?  Time is flying!

OK, so this weekend I got to spend some time with family members I had not seen in ages.  It was awesome!  It is a blessing to spend time with genuinely nice people — who just happen to be family.  I know all to well, that not everyone can lay claim to that testimony.  Family members that are also friends… wow, what a concept!  That is what Jesus was saying.  We have been engrafted into His Family, and we are also friends.  It makes a big difference.  Relationship.  I heard a preacher say once that, “rules, without relationship leads to rebellion”.  God led by example on this one.  He developed a relationship with Adam in the garden.  He only gave Adam one rule… just one… ‘don’t eat from that tree over there’.  He did not spend all His time ‘beatin’ on Adam and telling him what he could and could not do.  It was literally ‘all good’.  He walked with Adam.  He enjoyed being in his presence and the feeling was mutual… until the fall.  When Adam sinned, he did not want to face God.  We do the same.  When we fall short, we tend to run from God instead of running toward Him for help.  God wants the same relationship with us that He had with Adam before.    Remember when He said, 

“Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”  [Isaiah 1:18]

A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother.  [Proverbs 18:24]

“Teach Me”, Antwaun Stanley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlcUS7FaCPI

***

“Worship You”, Antwaun Stanley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRYsGYB7nGo

 ***

“Friend of God“, Israel Houghton

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwTSOXXrzDQ

“You Called Me Friend”, Fred Hammond & RFC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJy16T1BF_c

 ***

“Thank You, I Won’t Complain”, Fred Hammond

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXED4w5qS3M

 ***

“Marvelous”, David “Mr. Brown” Mann

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISk4mPMpLu0

 ***

“A Friend Above All Others”, Sam Cooke and The Soul Stirrers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ty79kbqNz0

 ***

“Nearer My God To Thee”, Sam Cooke and The Soul Stirrers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEXlTes-HEU

Thursday, March 5, 2009

A man that has friends must show himself friendly: and there is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother.

[Proverbs 18:24]

******

Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends, if you do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knows not what his lord is doing: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you.

[John 15:13-15]

Good Morning Beloved,

I heard a song this morning that captured my soul.  You know when your soul is captured, you just can’t shake the thing.  The thought that got me was by Rance Allen “Closest Friend”…

Closest Friend to the end through thick and thin You have been

there for me

You’re my closest Friend

It is a blessing to have good friends.  You have probably have heard me say that many times.  I have some of the best in the world.  What is even better is that we have an eternal Friend, who happens to also be our Lord and Savior.  The real Master of the Universe… King of all kings.. completely Sovereign Ruler of Heaven and earth… He died to make us free, and He is not ashamed to call us His friends.  I received an email yesterday from ‘Classmates.com’.. you know them right?…. they can connect you –for a small fee of course– to old school chums.  I thought about the friends I had in high school.  The sweet motley crew of ‘unacceptables’.  They were cool to me because they were completely comfortable in their own skin, and if others did not like them because the didn’t wear the latest, or fit into some ‘thing’ like everyone else… oh well.  Really nice people.  They made a situation that could have be completely miserable bearable, but I haven’t seen those folks in many, many years.  I moved and we lost touch.  That is the way it is sometimes.  People come and people go.  Jesus is the only friend who can actually make good on His promise to “never leave nor forsake us”, and one day, sooner than we think, He is going to take us by the hand, lead us to God and say, “Father, meet My friend… this is the one We’ve been waiting for”…

….. and that Beloved … is Good News!

U Blessed

Have A Fabulous Day

Regina

“Closest Friend” by Rance Allen Group on Rhapsody:

http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.14926360&variant=play&lsrc=RN_im

“Friend of God”, Israel & New Breed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty0SO7IvtXM

Carry Your Books? -1 Peter 5:7 30 of 113   Don’t try to carry the weight of all of your problems yourself. Roll that care over on to Jesus.

Walk In The Light -1 John 1:7 50 of 113   The world around us is dark & scary & full of sin. But if we stay close to Jesus, we will be safe in His light. October 14, 2007

 Thursday, October 30, 2008

 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our LORD has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.  When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.  Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.  But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.  And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.  For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of His Son while we were still His enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of His Son.  So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

Good Morning Beloved,

I feel great today!  I have a sense of excitement and expectation.  First of all, today is my birthday (Yea!!!) and I’m grateful to be alive.  I’m grateful for my mother, Elnora, my daughter Jah, my fabulous friends, church family, and the whole Regal One crew.  I know that I am blessed.  I do not take anything for granted.  Life is a precious gift.  It is even more precious because I have ‘double life’.  I am physically alive and well, and I am a born-again believer, purchased with the blood of the Lamb of God, sealed, filled, and anointed with the Holy Spirit of God, watched over by the Father, guarded by the Angels….. BLESSED!  Life can be rocky, unpredictable, even scary.  During those times words like “trust in the Lord“, and “the joy of the Lord is our strength“, and “Beloved I would above all things that you prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers“…. rise up in our hearts and give us the strength to know that a better day is coming.

That dearly Beloved is Good News!

U Blessed

Have A Fabulous Day!

Regina

Tadpole -Matthew 18:3 99 of 99   Maybe it has been a while since you’ve experienced the goodness and grace of God, maybe not since childhood. It is never too late to jump back in to God’s love and mercy. October 26, 2008

Welcome Back!  Happy Tuesday!!!   Hope your weekend was as blessed as mine.  I talk a lot about the power of encouragement.  I experienced that this weekend.  Sometimes we’re on the mountain, kickin‘ butt and taking no prisoner’s, joy overflowing, speaking the Word in faith, strong, excited, ….grrrrrrrr! …. other times, we find ourselves in the valley, tired, dazed, confused, irritated, mad, fearful, frustrated you name it.  Maybe even at the point where we don’t wanna hear a sermon (gasp!), scripture (double-gasp!) or anything else spiritual (!).  We probably know the verse that fits the occasion anyway.  When we’re the special guest at our very own ‘worry-pity-mad fest’…. it is amazing how God will invite Himself… remember He said He would, “never leave us or forsake us“(Hebrews 13:5)… that means He is always there.  In the times where we can’t hear Him, He always has a “ram in the bush”.  During that time, He will send someone to us that we can hear… a friend, that “loves at all times“. (Proverbs 17:17).  I really appreciate my friends, people in whom God has placed, grace, overflowing compassion, love, and encouragement.  I’m grateful to have been blessed with a family, that I am also privileged to call friends.  When they see me heading towards dangerous territory, they step in my path and help me get back on track…. God’s Hands in action!… His Love truly does encompass us!… it’s all around us!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmP7R93Aga4

Cartoonist’s Comment:

When you are facing a mountain that seems impossible to move, you don’t have to face it alone. We have a family of brothers and sisters that can add their faith to yours, and together you can get the job done.

Good Morning Beloved,

Happy Friday!  

The Lord is a Friend to those who fear Him. He teaches them His covenant.  [Psalm 25:14]

There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.  [Prov. 18:24]

Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy. [Prov. 27:6]

As iron sharpens iron,so a friend sharpens a friend. [Prov. 27:17]

http://www.thefaithspot.com/videos/id_1277/

Israel Houghton has a wonderful music ministry.  God has gifted him with a wonderful ability to “hear” a Word from God, and articulate it beautifully in the earth.  His song “Friend of God”, has reached into the heavenlies, and tapped into the heart of God.  Just think, of all that God is, King, Supreme Ruler, Judge… He also classifies Himself as our Friend. There is no better person than a true friend.  “A friend loves at all times…”  [Proverbs 17:17].  I believe that God shows us things in the natural, so that we can understand Him a little better in the Spirit.  Having a friend, teaches us something of the nature and character of God.  Love doesn’t always feel good and sweet.  Sometimes, your friends will “tell you about yourself”, and although it may make you angry or sad, if done from a heart of love, it will help you in the long run.  If not careful, we can fall into a trap of ‘believing our own press’ and take ourselves too seriously.  A good friend is anointed to help us grow.  Anyone that is stunting your growth is not good for you.  Every living thing grows…. death comes out of stagnation.  Well meaning folks can suck the life out of you.  Should you cut them off?  Depends on the situation.  Prayer is key.  We cannot control people (and we shouldn’t want to), but we can control how much access they have to our spirit. How much influence we allow them to have over us.  What we will accept in our heart.  I remember being about 4 months pregnant and miserable.  I had a serious attitude.  I went to a church service, not because I wanted to go, but because I knew I’d have to ”hear” it later.  I didn’t like the preacher… I thought he was fake… it was July and HOT, and there was no air condition, …..I was mad!  No, I mean I was really mad.  I took my anger and frustration out on sweet, unsuspecting strangers.  Anybody who came across my path that day, felt the heat of my wrath!  Tina.. my sweet best friend since High School, who I’d never seen raise her voice, or get angry at me ever… took me outside and let me HAVE IT.  She, as the old folks used to say, “laid me out”.  She made me see that nobody in that church had anything to do with my being pregnant and miserable, and that my attitude hurt the feelings of some really decent people who were only trying to be nice.  Well, I pulled myself together and “shook off” my ‘tude’, and ended up having a nice time, and being much more pleasant to be around.  Now, she could have continued to let me run rough-shod over people like a Tasmanian Devil, but she chose to do the right thing for me… and everybody else that was there.  She chose to be a friend… with the bitter pill I needed to swallow.  God is the same way.  He really does love us.  However, He won’t always tell us what we want to hear, but He will always tell us what we need to hear….
 

Cartoonist’s Comment:

Temptation may seem harmless, but it will lead to sin, which is not harmless at all. If we confess our sin, we will be forgiven (I John 1:9), but that doesn’t mean that we will escape all of the consequences for our sin.

U Blessed,

Have A Fabulous Day and a Wonderful Weekend

Regina

I hope you have a really great day… really great.  I love music.  A good song will express in words and melody, what the heart can not articulate.

LIGHT OF THE WORLD YOU
STEPPED DOWN INTO DARKNESS
OPENED MY EYES LET ME SEE
BEAUTY THAT MADE THIS HEART ADORE YOUHOPE OF A LIFE SPENT WITH YOU

CHORUS:
HERE I AM TO WORSHIP

HERE I AM TO BOW DOWN

HERE I AM TO SAY
THAT YOU’RE MY GOD
YOU’RE ALTOGETHER LOVELY
ALTOGETHER WORTHY
ALTOGETHER WONDERFUL TO ME

LEAD: KING OF ALL DAYS OH SO HIGHLY EXALTED, GLORIOUS IN HEAVEN ABOVE, HUMBLY YOU CAME TO THE EARTH YOU CREATED, ALL FOR LOVE’S SAKE BECAME POOR

(CHORUS )

VAMP:

I’LL NEVER KNOW HOW MUCH IT COST
TO SEE MY SIN UPON THAT CROSS

NO GREATER LOVE THAN ONE THAT WOULD LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR A FRIEND

(CHORUS)

“Here I Am To Worship” Israel and New Breed (Live From Another Level)

…. No greater love than one that would lay down his life for a friend… What makes Jesus so amazing is that,

While we were yet in weakness [powerless to help ourselves], at the fitting time Christ died for (in behalf of) the ungodly. Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to give his life even for an upright man, though perhaps for a noble and lovable and generous benefactor someone might even dare to die. But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us. Therefore, since we are now justified (acquitted, made righteous, and brought into right relationship with God) by Christ’s Blood, how much more [certain is it that] we shall be saved by Him from the indignation and wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more [certain], now that we are reconciled, that we shall be saved (daily delivered from sin’s dominion) through His [resurrection] life.  (Romans 5:6-10)

Cartoonist’s Comment:

The Good News is that the pardon for your sins has already been given. But you need to accept it by faith.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today I wanted to remember another great Christian Cartoonist .  Johnny Hart, B.C. Cartoonist, who went home to be with the Lord the day before Easter, 2007.  Johnny Hart’s widow has been quoted as saying, “he is in a better place.” But with a laugh, Bobby Hart she says she’s “mad at him,” because she “wanted to be there first.” She adds that they had hoped to go to heaven together in the Rapture.

The 76-year-old Hart often incorporated his Christian faith into his comic strip, including the one that appeared on Easter Sunday, the morning after his death.

Hart’s pastor says it’s appropriate that the Easter strip contained Jesus’ promise of resurrection and eternal life.

In March 1996, The Los Angeles Times refused to run his Palm Sunday strip, and a national uproar ensued, reaching even the Washington, D.C., talk show circuit. The strip had Wiley—a brooding, poet-wannabe in B.C.’s cast of characters—sitting against a tree, tablet in hand, writing a poem entitled “The Suffering Prince” —

Picture yourself tied to a tree,
condemned of the sins of eternity.
Then picture a spear,
parting the air,
seeking your heart to cut your despair.
Suddenly—a Knight, in Armor of White,
stands in the gap betwixt you and its flight,
And shedding His ‘Armor of God’ for you—
bears the lance that runs Him through.
His Heart has been pierced that yours may beat,
and the Blood of His Corpse washes your feet.
Picture yourself in raiment white,
cleansed by the blood of the lifeless knight.
Never to mourn, the Prince who was downed,
For He is not lost!
It is you who are found. 

U BLESSED,

Have A Wonderful Day

Regina