God Never Sends You Out Alone

FAITH:

When you place your faith in Christ, Christ places his Spirit before, behind, and within you. Not a strange spirit, but the same Spirit: the parakletos. Everything Jesus did for his followers, his Spirit does for you. Jesus taught; the Spirit teaches. Jesus healed; the Spirit heals. Jesus comforted; his Spirit comforts. As Jesus sends you into new seasons, he sends his counselor to go with you.

God treats you the way one mother treated her young son, Timmy. She didn't like the thought of Timmy walking to his first-grade class unaccompanied. But he was too grown-up to be seen with his mother. "Besides," he explained, "I can walk with a friend." So she did her best to stay calm, quoting the Twenty-third Psalm to him every morning: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life..."

One school day she came up with an idea. She asked a neighbor to follow Timmy to school in the mornings, staying at a distance, lest he notice her. The neighbor was happy to oblige. She took her toddler on morning walks anyway.

After several days Timmy's friend noticed the lady and the child.

"Do you know who that woman is who follows us to school?"

"Sure," Timmy answered. "That's Shirley Goodnest and her daughter Marcy."

"Who?"

"My mom reads about them every day in the Twenty-third Psalm. She says, 'Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of my life.' Guess I'll have to get used to them."

You will too. God never sends you out alone. Are you on the eve of change? Do you find yourself looking into a new chapter? Is the foliage of your world showing signs of a new season? Heaven's message for you is clear: when everything else changes, God presence never does. You journey in the company of the Holy Spirit, who "will teach you and will remind you of everything I have told you" (John 14:26 NLT).
by Max Lucado

FRIENDS:

Father, thank you for being with us, supporting us, comforting us, walking with us when we are afraid, preserving us and delivering us. We stand in awe before you. Forgive us for our sins. Guide us and direct us to be all that You want us to be. In the precious name of Jesus, Amen

DAILY BIBLE CHALLENGE

22. LUKE 19:39-48; TITUS 3:1-8; PROVERBS 16:1-16; ESTHER 3-4
23. LUKE 20:1-8; TITUS 3:9-15; PROVERBS 16:17-33; ESTHER 5-6

~ Philemon~

Philemon had every reason to be angry. His slave Onesimus, had stolen from him and run away. He had escaped to Rome, where he met Paul and became a believer.

Now Onesimus is returning to Philemon. Under normal circumstances, Philemon has the right to exact revenge. But these are not normal circumstances, Paul explains. Onesimus fled as a slave, he returns as a believer.

Paul doesn't ask Philemon to free Onesimus from slavery, but to free him from anger. He urges Philemon to offer grace rather than demand justice.

Does this short letter have any application for your life? It does if there is an Onesimus in your world. It does if someone has betrayed you or offended you or turned away from you. What they did wasn't right. And to demand justice is only natural, which is precisely the problem. Getting even is natural, it's not spiritual.

As you consider how to respond, consider a higher law. A law which sets all men, slave or non-slave, free.

FOOD:

BLUEBERRY FRENCH TOAST
CASSEROLE

Serves 12
1 (14 oz) loaf french bread
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, cut into small pieces
1 cup fresh blueberries
12 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Generously butter a 13x9-inch glass baking dish. Tear bread into 1-inch
cubes; place half in prepared dish. Evenly distribute cream cheese pieces over bread; cover with blueberries. Place remaining bread cubes on top.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together eggs, milk, syrup and cinnamon;
pour over bread cubes. Cover with buttered foil and refrigerate over night.
Preheat oven to 350°. Bake, covered, 30 min. Remove foil and continue
baking until lightly bowned and center is set, about 30 min longer. Cut
into squares and serve with additional maple syrup.

FUN:
This is for those of you that think I am a cat lover only....a funny look is funny whether it be dog or cat...