Nan's Calendar

by  Nan Forehand,  Statesville, NC

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.  For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20

God is all authority above heaven and earth.  He appointed heaven and earth as witnesses in this scripture as an illustration of His sovereign authority.  According to the explanation in my Bible, this was a way God reminded Israel that if they broke the covenant, there was a very real possibility of natural disasters, etc.  Moses believed the Israelites would be threatened with the wrath of God if they turned their hearts away from God and were disobedient to God's will.
I encourage you to to go your Bible and read this section of Deuteronomy from chapter 30, verses 11-20.  It speaks of The Offer of Life or Death.  We, all mankind, need to be quiet and listen for God's voice, though it may not be audible to our human ears, it is audible to the ears our spirit.  His voice speaks to the mind of the spirit.  Hear and now.

I wrote a poem that can actually be sung, though no music has been written for it.

My Spirit Opened for Thee

mind of my spirit - teach me today
now I beseech you - teach me to pray
ears of my spirit - oh, let me hear
footsteps of Jesus - He is near
eyes of my spirit - open for me
to see my Savior - oh, let it be
feet of my spirit - don't fail me now
take me to Jesus - take me somehow
heart of my spirit - open wide
please, Jesus enter - come inside
hands of my spirit - lift high in praise
ready to praise You - all of my days
voice of my spirit - teach me to speak
though I am humble - lowly and meek
others must know, dear - others must know
My love for others - you must show
teach them to love me - teach them today
so lost and lonely - show them the way

Copyright 02-12-08 written by Nan Forehand
To get the full effect of the message, sing the words as the Lord speaks to your heart.  As you do, you will create your own melody.  I promise you will be touched. I'd love to know what you think!

Daily Jewel

by   Pastor J.T. Carnell, McAlester, OK

“In the Cover of Darkness” 

“As I stood at the window of my house looking out through the shutters, watching the mindless crowd stroll by, I spotted a young man without any sense.  Arriving at the corner of the street where she lived, then turning up the path to her house.  It was dusk, the evening coming on.  The darkness thickening into night.” – Proverbs 7:6-9 (MSG)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.  In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” – John 1:1-5 (NIV)

“God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light; and God saw that the light was good.”

– Genesis 1:3 (New English Bible)

I remember as a young teen living in Colorado playing games with my neighborhood friends—one of which was something similar to “hide-and-go-seek” only it was in teams.  To play this game properly it had to be played at night.  The fact that it was played at night meant that it also was the cause of a number of injuries.  I recall one guy who ran into an electric post line.  He wound up with about ten stitches—and yet once he was healed was back at again.

The battle between darkness and light has raged from the world’s very inception.  This battle has been of two natures:  physical and spiritual.

Statistics show that 65% of crimes are committed at night—in the cover of darkness.  Gang activity, theft, murders occur mostly during the evening hours.

Although most car accidents occur during the day when there is more traffic, a national insurance oversight group reports that the risk of serious injuries increases more than 50% at night and the vast majority of accidents involving cars and pedestrians occur at night.

In the scene that Solomon is describing, be it fictional or real, we see how this alliance between darkness and the deeds of evil work together.  They have been partners from the beginning so why would we think it would be any different today? 

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world!”  (John 8:12)  If you think about it, that can apply to both our spiritual and physical natures!  Spiritually speaking, that should be a “no-brainer!”  We are being by the power, laws and principals of God—which are elements of “The Light.”  Physically speaking, when we follow God’s Spiritual guidelines there is a safety factor that cannot be ignored. 

Charles Colson, one of the nation's finest Christian writers, tells a story from the childhood of a biologist named Benno Muller-Hill.

"One day, Muller-Hill's teacher set up a telescope to show the students a planet and its moons.  One by one the students looked through the telescope and said, 'yes, they could see the planet.'  Finally, one student said, "I can't see anything!'  The teacher angrily told him to adjust the lenses.  Still, the student saw nothing.  Finally the teacher himself leaned over and looked.  When he stood up, he had a strange expression on his face.  He glanced at the end of the telescope and saw that the lens cap was still on.  The students had not seen a thing!"

Just as most of the students saw what they were told to see, many people are the same way with their religion.  They see what others want them to see instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to work through them!

Do not be fooled into thinking that there is safety in “the cover of darkness.”  The light will always expose its deeds. 

Good Things

by    Everett Christian,  McAlester, OK  

 
GOD SPEAKS TO US THROUGH HIS HOLY WORD
 
1 In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News (Gospel), your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over 2 by observing your pure and reverent lives.  - 1 Peter 3:1-2(New Living Translation).
 
 
 
GOD'S PROMISE TO US FROM HIS HOLY WORD
 
1 You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. 2 For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. 3 They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. 4 They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. 5 They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!  - 2 Timothy 3:1-5(New Living Translation).
 
 
 
A QUOTE
 
You can triumph over trouble when you trust in Jesus.
- W. E. McCumber -
 
 
 
THOUGHTS TO REMEMBER
 
Thanksgiving begins in the heart.
- From Reminisce Magazine -
 
When you help someone up a hill, you'll find yourself that much closer to the top.
- From Reminisce Magazine -
 
 
 
NOTES
 
The day started with cloudy skies but the sun was out around 9:00 a.m. and has been mostly sunny the rest of the day. High temperature today was 63 degrees. Low temperature this morning was 40 degrees. I had lunch with Charley and Bill. I went to the post office. After my nap I went to Walmart about 3:30 p.m. At 6:00 p.m. I went to Bishop Funeral Home where they were having family visitation for little 2 year old Jacob Rich who went to be with Jesus on Friday after being in an automobile wreck on last Wednesday. His funeral will be tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. at Kings House Church at the expo center. Jacob's parents, Jeff and Amanda Rich, attend Kings House. Jacob's grandparents, Curtis and Debra Schock, attend the church that I attend.
 
Please pray for my nephew, Fred Renfro, of Mesa, Arizona, who will be having tumors removed from his bladder on Thursday.
 
I will continue to do the Good Things for the present. I never hear from a lot of people who receive the Good Things but there are some that I hear from regularly. The Good Things continue to encourage and help some people so I will continue them since it helps me also to send out the Good Things.
 
I mentioned last time that I would send pictures of each of my cats so you could print them and then know what they look like when I mention them. I couldn't find a picture of Beau by himself so the picture tonight is Beau and Smokey. Beau is the gray tabby. I will send another picture of Smokey later. The cats are fine tonight. Little Girl and Rascal in their favorite places.
 
At 9:55 p.m. skies are mostly cloudy with a temperature of 54 degrees. I will see you next time.
 
In Christian Love, Everett.

Nan's Calendar

by   Nan Forehand,  Statesville, NC

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13

Faith, Hope and Love - an acrostic

by: Nan Forehand
F ully
A rmed
I nside
T hrough
H im

H earts
O f
P raise
E verlasting

L iving
O ne
V ision
E ternity

When we are clothed in faith, we are prepared and fully armed inside through Him to withstand and overcome any obstacle that would attempt to hinder our progress.
As we develop a habit to deliberately praise God for His presence in every aspect of our lives, whether in a small way or a big way, whether in good times or bad, our hearts are opened to an endless supply of hope.
Live in love.  Do more than exist.  Thrive.  When I think of heaven and hell, I focus my energy on heaven.  An eternity in heaven is my one vision.  I want to go to heaven when I take my last breath of air on this earth.  I think we all want the same basic things in life; basic, yes, but essential to a life well lived.  We all want to have faith.  We all want to have hope and we all want to have love. You have faith, share it. You have hope, share it.  You have love to give, give it.  God gave us, one and all, these three in abundant supply.  The more we give, the more we receive.  Remember, God does love a cheerful giver and it is more blessed to give than to receive.  Sound familiar?
And remember to share that beautiful smile of yours today with someone.  It may be the only smile that person sees today.  When you share a smile, it doesn't cost a dime.  But the benefits are priceless!
Take care and exercise your faith, praise the Lord and focus on your most important vision.
Love, Nan

Daily Jewel

by  Pastor  J.T. Carnell,   McAlester, OK

“Saved”

“…do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you…” – Proverbs 4:6

“Wisdom is the quality that keeps you from getting into situations where you need it.” – Doug Larson 

Great advice…both from Solomon and from Doug Larson.  Now here is the million dollar question…How do you follow through with this?  How do you use God’s wisdom for your benefit?  Or…how do you know you are using it?

Actually the key from my perspective in this verse is that of “protection.”  The purpose of wisdom is not to make us smarter—richer—stronger—but safer! 

I want to take this to a bit of a different level here.  In Christianity we have a number of different words to describe the work that Christ does in our lives.  Our salvation experience is intended to redeem us—restore our hearts and souls back to the condition where they were intended to be in their original state.  When I think of being saved I picture someone being “rescued” from a hopeless situation.  After the recent earthquake in Haiti we witnessed a number of people being rescued from the rubble.  After the rescue the person is taken to a place that is safe where they can heal.

A life without Christ is a hopeless life.  It offers no direction—purpose—hope.  Living life in this way is not a “safe” existence.  To better illustrate this I want to give an example from a pastor friend of mine.

“The young mother was serious when she asked me the question. At first, it caught me off guard. She had called to ask if I could meet with her. She said she had some questions about what Christians believe. I was happy to visit with her. Here was the question she asked: “What does it mean to be saved?”

She was not a member of any church. In fact, she didn’t attend church. She had not been raised in a family that attended church. She said she didn’t know anything about the Bible. She had enrolled her daughter in a church-run pre-school near where they lived. When her daughter repeated at home things she had learned at school, the mother became interested. As simply as possible, I shared with her what the Bible taught about finding peace with God. We prayed together. She left. I placed her on my email list where I send out regular notes of encouragement to a number of people.

Two years passed. Several months ago this young mother became depressed and attempted suicide. She entered counseling in her home town. She decided it was time to try church. She visited the church where her daughter attended pre-school. Here is how she describes the experience:

“When I entered the church that day, my feelings of fear, ignorance, anxiety, and hopelessness lifted and were gone. The pastor spoke about accepting Christ as Savior and gave an invitation. I responded on that very first Sunday, with my daughter’s teacher by my side and two other teachers following. I accepted Christ as Savior. I started a new life that day—I had no prior knowledge of the Bible or church. I had feared for 30 years that people would scorn me for my ignorance of the Bible. I now know the only thing that matters is inside me and my open desire to learn from the Lord and to follow the path he has for me.”

Last Sunday—two months after accepting Jesus Christ into her life—she was baptized. I was there. She is on her way. In her testimony read during her baptism, this is how she concluded her statement of belief: “Now I am active in all church functions. I am going to Sunday school and starting a discipleship class soon. I am eager to learn from God’s word and become the best Christian wife and mother I can be.”

In his book, To Timothy and All Other Disciples, Reuben Welch said, “I wish there was a way to take the word saved and spread it out and make it bigger than we normally think about it. Behind the word saved is the big word salvation, which I have come to believe is about the biggest word in God’s Book.”

Wisdom is accepting Jesus!  The wisest decision we will ever make.  That acceptance will then protect our soul from ultimate destruction.  In Him, we have a safe harbor that no storm can harm.