Proverbs 27:1-2 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
Psalm 113:1-3 Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD. Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD'S name is to be praised.
Photos taken in Central Texas.
Another yummy recipe from Mary's Nest traditional foods kitchen.
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John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way,
the truth, and the life: no man cometh
unto the Father, but by me.
The Christ of Calvary
Christ does not save men by His life,
Though that was holy, sinless, pure;
Nor even by His tender love,
Though that forever shall endure.
He does not save them by His throne,
Though it shall never pass away;
Nor by His vast creative power
That holds the elements in sway.
He does not save them by His works,
Though He was ever doing good;---
The awful need was greater still,
It took His death, His cross, His blood.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Men preach today a crossless Christ,
A strengthless Saviour, vague and dim;
They will not see their sinful state,
They will not own their need of Him.
They will accept the man made God,
Since for themselves this right they claim,
But not the God sent forth as man
To suffer agony and shame.
They will not know the Lamb of God,
Despised, rejected, crucified,---
That were to humble into dust
Their boasted intellect, their pride.
Yet no man cometh unto God
Save by the Son alone, He saith;
The deathless life for which we long
Can only - ever - come through death.
Not Bethlehem or Nazareth
Stern Justice's lifted hand could stay;
To Calvary the soul must go
And follow Jesus all the way.
Annie Johnson Flint
[altered]
Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
Here are some helpful pointers on how to deal with areas that need help even when you feel emotionally exhausted. Life has been "too much" on so many levels the last couple years that it can make us freeze up on things we see as non-essential. But, over time that can mean that cluttered or problem areas can get out of control and just add to our stress. These tips can help us at least make progress without making emotional decisions.
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Romans 16:17-18 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
1 Corinthians 5:11-13 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
Well, the time has come to address this subject yet again. Aside from the post about not blaming wives for their husband's sin, I have frankly been avoiding it for some time because it is simply so unsavory. But, since I had written about it before and warned readers not to defend the Duggars or put them on a pedestal, it seems like it is time to bring it up again in light of Josh's conviction for possessing and downloading CSAM (child sexual abuse material).
My emotions are mixed. I am sad and disgusted. Sad for the family members who had to learn in a court setting about what Josh had actually done all those years ago to his sisters, and what he has been doing recently. Disgusted with Jim Bob for lying under oath in court during the pre-trial evidential hearing - lying about what happened to his daughters in order to cover for his son, thus showing the world how much he truly values his girls. Disgusted for the way some of the family behaved. Disgusted especially for how Josh's defense team was given reign to pull all kinds of tricks to try to get him off on a mistrial or exonerated without ever addressing the fact that the material was on his hard drive in a place where he had the skills and knowledge to access it.
I was also revolted and sickened at the enormity of his crime, the horror beyond words of what had happened to those children, and that Josh was to all appearances finding enjoyment in this. Also sickened that his parents, in their statement, disassociated him from these crimes and gave only distanced sorrow to "all children" who are victims of CSAM. The children he was watching are real, mostly living people, not a generalized nebulous group.
I'm also a little hopeful. I hope that more of the Duggar kids will break loose through this and that all would learn to follow the Lord Himself and to be doers of the word of God instead of following Jim Bob and doing and believing Jim Bob's word. Again, I'm sad they had to learn all these horrible things in this public way, and that they had to learn that their dad/father-in-law is a liar in such a public manner, but maybe the Lord knows that is the only way some of them would have ever learned it and (hopefully) separated from the ungodliness. And also, I deeply hope that more of them will have the guts and determination to keep Josh away from their own children always and in every way.
So much for my feelings on the subject - for whatever they are worth.
To begin with, it seemed like a good idea to revisit the issue of whether the reality show was ever a good idea for a Christian family in the first place. I have made additions and rewritten parts of this article.
Matthew 6:25-34 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
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All praise to You, my God, this night,
For all the blessings of the light.
Keep me, O keep me, King of kings,
Beneath the shelter of Your wings.
Forgive me, Lord, for this I pray,
The wrong that I have done this day.
May peace with God and neighbor be,
Before I sleep restored to me.
Lord, may I be at rest in You
And sweetly sleep the whole night thro'.
Refresh my strength, for Your own sake,
So I may serve You when I wake.
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav'nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Thomas Ken
Psalm 55:16-17 As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Psalm 127:2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
The story goes something like this: A man believed on the Lord Jesus Christ while he was on his death bed. He had no opportunity to pass on the gospel to even one more soul and he said these words, "Must I go, and empty handed?" His heart's desire was to be able to take someone with him. He did not have that chance, but someone heard those words, whether it was Charles Luther himself or someone else, I cannot remember at the moment. But from them Charles Luther wrote this song.
I can't help wondering if that man won't get a reward in heaven for all the people whose hearts have been touched to reach others with the gospel message because of his dying wish. We don't always get to lead some soul to Christ that we might wish to, but perhaps we can inspire others to greater effort, or pray for someone who does have opportunity, or give a word of encouragement to that missionary or pastor who is struggling with their load and give them new courage for the great harvest work. Even if perhaps we can't do the work we would like to do, let's be aware of that thing that we can do, the words we can speak, and the prayers we can pray to help someone else.
Luke 10:2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Matthew 10:39-42 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
My family got ahold of some loquats when we lived in Arizona years back and we made some jam with them. I remember them smelling something like Fruit Stripe gum when they were fresh, but the jam had a different taste to it. Most boxes of pectin in the U.S. will probably not include instruction for loquat jam, so here is a recipe to help you make it if you happen to have a source for them. Follow the canning instruction that comes with your pectin. I do not remember where this recipe came from.
5 cups loquats
1 box fruit pectin
7 cups sugar
Wash fruit well. Cut off both ends and remove seeds if desired. Place fruit in a saucepan with a small amount of water. Cook slowly and mash with a potato masher occasionally until well done. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
Add the pectin to the fruit and stir well. Let the mixture come to a rolling boil stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Add sugar and boil to a rolling boil for 1 minute.
At this point you will be putting it into jars or containers for storage. If you are canning be sure to have your hot, sterilized jars and lids ready before the jam reaches this stage and then can it according to the usual procedure.
Psalm 90:10-17 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants. O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.
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