SEEMS WE DON’T SAY IT ENOUGH – SO, I’M TRYING TO FIX THAT RIGHT HERE – GOD BLESS THE USA!!!
HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!!
Here we celebrate with a 1776 song…
HARK, hark the sound of war is heard,
And we must all attend;
Take up our arms and go with speed,
Our country to defend.
Our parent state has turned our foe,
Which fills our land with pain;
Her gallant ships, manned out for war,
Come thundering o’er the main.
There’s Charleton, Howe and Clinton too,
And many thousand more,
May cross the sea, but all in vain,
Our rights we’ll ne’er give o’er.
Our pleasant homes they do invade,
Our property devour;
And all because we won’t submit
To their despotic power.
Then let us go against our foe,
We’d better die than yield
We and our sons are all undone,
If Britain wins…
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July 1, 2023 by Connie Terpack
While I was looking up verses in Psalms for another blog, I happened on Psalm 148. It was like the Lord said post this one. I know I don’t praise him often enough. Maybe I got a little carried away when I added the other Psalm and a couple verses besides those two! Connie
Faith Filled Blog: Psalm 148 (KJV)
1 Praise ye the Lord, Praise ye the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights.
2 Praise ye him, all his angels; praise ye him, all his hosts.
3 Praise ye him, sun and moon; praise him, all ye stars of light.
4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord; for he commanded, and they were created.
6 He hath also stablished them for ever and ever; he hath made a decree which shall not pass.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps;
8 Fire, and hail; snow, and vapor; stormy wind fulfilling his word;
9 Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars;
10 Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl;
11 Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and maidens, old men and children;
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord; for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.
14 He also exalteth the horn of his people; the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the Lord.
Just a couple more verses on praising God!!
Psalm 146:1-2 Praise ye the Lord, Praise the Lord, O my soul. While I live will I praise the Lord; I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
Psalm 149:1 Praise ye the Lord, Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.
Psalm 150: 1-6
1 Praise ye the Lord, Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in the firmament of his power.
2 Praise him for his mighty acts; praise him according to his excellent greatness.
3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet; praise him with the psaltery and harp.
4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance; praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals; praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.
June 23, 2023 by Connie Terpack
Article written by Nancy Chapman
God is able to save even the vilest sinner. Saul of Tarsus, a very dedicated Pharisee, is a perfect example. He hated Jesus Christ. He hated those who believed he was the Son of God. He hated the preaching of the resurrection. He hated so much that he did everything in his power to stamp out Christianity at its onset. He was present at the stoning of Stephen, “consenting unto his death.” He had heard Stephen’s sermon before the Sanhedrin (Acts 7), and what a sermon it was! Stephen spoke boldly, calling them on the carpet for being betrayers and murderers of the “Just One,” Jesus Christ. Saul’s blood boiled as he listened to the accusation. Who did this man think he was? THEY were members of the Sanhedrin, promoters and protectors of the traditions of their beloved land, especially the Law and the Prophets. They were all “cut to the heart,” but it only made their hearts harder.
Saul was in total agreement with Stephen’s condemnation by the Sanhedrin. No doubt, he participated in their uncontrolled anger, stopping their ears, and running upon Stephen with one accord. But, Stephen’s reaction was different from anything Saul had ever seen. Stephen’s words, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God,” was more than any of them could handle. Their reaction was to cast Stephen out of the city and stone him, “laying their coats at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.”
“That’s the end of that,” thought Saul. But it wasn’t! Stephen died calling out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he said that, he fell asleep.” Silence fell on that holy scene as angels carried Stephen’s soul and spirit into the very presence of God. Saul’s hard heart was “pricked,” but in pride and arrogance, he refused to acknowledge what he had just witnessed.
“Devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling (dragging) men and women and committed them to prison.” (Acts 7:45-8:3) He was on a mission to eradicate those fanatics who preached the resurrection of an impostor!
But Saul had seen and heard too much! The Holy Spirit kept pricking his heart with Stephen’s dying testimony. The believers he had arrested and thrown in prison who refused to deny Jesus Christ, choosing prison – or even death – rather than renounce their faith, began to haunt him. But, still determined, Saul clung to the belief that those who embraced Jesus as the Christ of God were deceived and delusional. Yet, in the stillness of the night, their faces kept coming before him, and Stephen’s words played over and over in his mind. The “pricks” just kept getting harder and harder to ignore as Saul relentlessly persecuted every Christian he could find.
On the way to Damascus, given permission to bind all the believers he could find and bring them back to Jerusalem, Saul’s journey was interrupted. A light form Heaven, “above the brightness of the sun,” shone around him, blinding him. As he fell to the ground, Saul heard a voice from Heaven, saying “Saul, Saul, why persecuteth thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecuteth: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” (Acts 9:1-5) Trembling with fear and astonishment, Saul gave in to the “pricks” and cried out, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”
That was the beginning of the ministry of the great persecutor becoming the great preacher! What a legacy Saul (later called Paul the Apostle) left as he traveled from country to country, preaching the message he had tried so hard to destroy. He suffered much (2 Corinthians 11:23-28), but never let it deter him from what God had called him to do. He faithfully preached the Gospel he had tried so hard to destroy. Those he had hated became his fellow laborers in spreading the news of the resurrection of Christ.
Follow the ministry of that great apostle in Acts 9 through the end of the book and see the heart of this man who considered himself “chief of the sinners.” He included himself in the statement in Romans 5:8, “God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Ungodly he surely was: hardhearted, full of pride and self-will, and determined not to listen to the Holy Spirit. But when he opened his heart to Christ, he was a totally different man (2 Corinthians 5:17).
There is the story of a totally different conversion in Acts 16. Paul and his companions had been having great success in Asia. “So were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily” (Acts 16:5). Then, the Holy Ghost forbade them to preach any more in Asia. I’m sure Paul did not understand it, but immediately obeyed, heading out of Asia. When they came to Troas, Paul saw a vision of a man, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16:5-9). Immediately, they traveled to Macedonia, coming to the city of Philippi.
Normally Paul would have gone to the synagogue and preached the Gospel, but Philippi had no synagogue. When he heard a group of women met at the riverside every Sabbath day to pray, Paul and his companions joined them and “sat down, and spake unto them.” Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira (in Asia), who believed in the true God, and worshiped Him as best as she knew, joined the group.
As Paul preached the Gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, Lydia listened, and the Lord opened her heart. Like a flower opening to the sun, her tender heart “attended unto the things spoken by Paul.” Her conversion was sweet and gentle, with no resistance, no questions, no waiting. All of her household trusted Christ and were baptized. She insisted Paul and his companions stay at her house while they were in Philippi (Acts 16:12-15).
How very different Lydia was from Paul, but the Bible is very clear: “ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Lydia, just like Paul, was a sinner in need of salvation. God uses different means to reach hearts, but there is only way of salvation. Paul stated it very well in Acts 16:31 – “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” To believe you need a savior is to admit you are a sinner. Paul and Lydia were total opposites, but it has been said, “The ground is level at the foot of the cross!”
“He is ABLE to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him (Jesus Christ)… (Hebrews 7:25). The wicked, evil, and vile – the sweet, helpful, tenderhearted are all sinners in God’s sight. He is absolutely holy, righteous, and just. We are sinful and undone. Our sin stands between us and God. We are helpless to get rid of sin ourselves: salvation must come from an outside source. The “Source” is Calvary. Jesus died there, bearing the righteous judgment of a holy God, not for HIS sins, but for ours.
The Lord said to His people, Israel, through Isaiah many hundreds of years ago, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 45:22). If you will look away from self and to the Lord, you can claim that today. He is ABLE and WILLING to receive you right now!
Lots of love and prayers,
Nancy
I loved the list of humor. I needed that today!
I thought it was time for a humorous post ___ GP
Click to enlarge and get the full effect.
Military Common Sense Rules
From: the Strategy Page
A lot of life’s problems can be explained by the U.S. Military and its applications of common sense …
- “Sometimes I think war is God’s way of teaching us geography.”
(Paul Rodriguez) - “A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what’s left of your unit.”
(Army’s magazine of preventive maintenance ). - “Aim towards the Enemy.”
(Instruction printed on US M79 Rocket Launcher) - When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend.
(U.S. Marine Corps) - Cluster bombing from B-52s is very, very accurate. The bombs always hit the ground.
(U.S. Air Force) - If the enemy is in range, so are you.
(Infantry Journal) - It is generally inadvisable to…
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If you were asked to describe a “soldier,” what kind of image does that word conjure up in your mind? History fails to give recognition to the Asian American women who contributed to the U.S.’s victory by taking on many different roles during World War II to assist the armed forces.
Starting in 1943, Japanese women, known as “Nisei”, were accepted by the Army Nurse Corps (ANC) and the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) to work as nurses and doctors to provide medical care and as Military Intelligence Service officers and linguists.. Though Asian American women served many important functions in World War II, they are still overlooked or completely ignored in modern discourse.
Private Shizuko Shinagawa, 21, of the Women’s Army Corps, who was sent to Denver to recruit Japanese-American women for the WAC. May 22, 1944, Denver, Colorado. Courtesy of WRA no. G-563, War Relocation Authority Photographs of Japanese-American…
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306th HQ Intelligence Detachment, XXIV Corps, Leyte, Philippines, November 1, 1944. Front row, l to r: George Shimotori, Saburo Okamura, Thomas Sasaki, Francis Yamamoto Herbert Nishihara, Warren Tsuneishi. Back row, l to r: Hiroshi Itow, Joe Nishihara, Lt. Richard Kleeman, TSgt George Takabayashi, Lloyd Shimasato.
(Signal Corps photo)
When the first graduates were sent to the Pacific and landed in Australia, they were part of the Americal troops. Many were sent to help with the fighting on Iwo Jima, which MacArthur felt was taking far too long to complete. Some stayed and worked with the Australian troops and others went to British or Canadian units. (Canada also had their own S-20 Japanese Language School in Vancouver, British Columbia to train interpreters.) Only the U.S. Navy rejected the linguists. Admiral Halsey did in fact understand their importance and requested some MIS’ers for his fleet, but as a whole, Nimitz and the…
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Higgins sounds like quite a character and someone I would have enjoyed meeting.
Andrew Jackson Higgins
Andrew Jackson Higgins, the man Dwight D. Eisenhower once credited with winning World War II, was a wild and wily genius.
At the New Orleans plant where his company built the boats that brought troops ashoreat Normandy on June 6, 1944, Higgins hung a sign that said, “Anybody caught stealing tools out of this yard won’t get fired — he’ll go to the hospital.”
Whatever Higgins did, he did it a lot. “His profanity,” Life magazine said, was “famous for its opulence and volume.” So was his thirstfor Old Taylor bourbon, though he curtailed his intake by limiting his sips to a specific location.
“I only drink,” he told Life magazine, “while I’m working.”
“It is Higgins himself who takes your breath away,” Raymond Moley, a former FDR adviser, wrote in Newsweek in 1943. “Higgins is an authentic…
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by Connie Terpack, 6/2/2023
In Genesis, chapter 6, the story of the flood begins. Genesis 6:5-7 says, And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
However, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God told Noah that he planned to destroy the earth, but he would save Noah, his wife, his sons and his sons’ wives. He also told Noah to bring all the animals into the ark. I doubt that Noah did the herding. I think the Lord sent the animals and was merely giving Noah a head’s up to expect them and allow them in. He also told Noah to gather food for the humans as well as the animals.
Noah did as God instructed. They survived the flood and God let them know when it was time to leave the ark. Genesis 9:11 tells us of God’s reassurance that he would never destroy the earth again by a flood: And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. Genesis 9:12-15
A rainbow forms when sunlight, which is made up of many wavelengths (colors) shines on the droplets of water in the air. As the sunlight passes through the droplet, the light bends (refracts), a little, because light travels slower in water, which is denser, than in the air. In order to see the rainbow the sun must be behind you and the clouds cleared away from in front of the sun.
Violet is the shortest wavelength of visible light and bends the most; red is the longest wavelength and bends the least. When the light exits the water droplet, it is separated into all its wavelengths. The light reflects back to you. The colors of the rainbow are: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Violet is on the bottom and red is on the top.
Picture link shows a circular rainbow: https://scijinks.gov/review/rainbow/134114845.jpg
Isn’t it nice for God to give us such a beautiful reminder of his promise?
I love the silly poem! I may not be able to conquer old age, but I plan to laugh in its face often.
It was a memorable day today, as Sam received an invite to claim his state pension. As soon as I saw the look on his face, I felt a poem coming on…
Old Age Blues, by Stevie Turner
Sam stared at the paper
Upon which was writ…
‘Get your state pension‘.
“Oh” says he,
“Does this mean I’m an old git?”
*
“I’m afraid it does,” says I,
“But never mind
At least I’m not
Too far behind.”
*
Yes, I’ll soon get my invite,
My youth is spent,
Time to hang up the NHS headphones
And plan my retirement.
*
It’ll be strange being a pensioner
The butt of comedians’ jokes,
The invisible silver army…
Old folk.
*
I don’t feel old
Inside my head,
Outside’s very different…
The knees…the back…the legs.
*
I’ll keep it all moving though,
On the Isle of Wight,
I’ll race up…
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The Woman With an Issue of Blood
by Nancy Chapman on May 26, 2023
She was SO tired, SO weak, and SO afraid! For such a long time, she had been captive to a terrible disease – an issue of blood. It kept flowing from her body and nothing she did would stop it. Her very life was slipping away. And to make matters worse, she was considered unclean (Leviticus 15:25). That meant her relationship with family and friends was a thing of the past.
It wasn’t that she had sat idly by. For 12 long years she had exhausted everything – every suggestion, every home remedy. She’d earnestly prayed for healing but nothing changed. She’d gone to the best doctor she could find. Then to another one and another one, but instead of getting better, her suffering got worse. She had spent every bit of her money, so now, in addition to being an outcast who was slowly dying, she lived in abject poverty. She knew of nothing else to do. All hope was gone.
Then one day she heard something that made her dare to hope. A man called Jesus was performing astonishing miracles. He turned water to wine! He healed a centurion’s paralyzed servant! He fed 5,000 people with five little loaves of bread and two small fish! He calmed a raging storm on the Sea of Galilee! He even healed a man with leprosy! Hope grew and her faith strengthened. If Jesus could heal a leper, surely He could heal her. She had to get to him!
She found where Jesus was and started out. She was so weak and tired that she began to despair of making it. NO, she would not give up. As she got closer, she realized there was a big problem. Jesus was surrounded by a huge crowd. Getting near him seemed impossible, but she was determined that nothing – no one – would stop her. If she were recognized, it could mean public humiliation and ridicule, and even the possibility of being stoned. None of that mattered. If she could get close enough to touch the hem of his robe, she knew she would be made whole. She pressed on through the crowd.
Some of the people saw the weak little woman and had compassion on her, letting her go ahead of them. Then she saw Jesus! Her desperation and faith spurred her on. Finally she got close enough to touch the hem of his robe. She stretched out her arm and touched his robe.
Immediately she felt the change in her body and knew she was healed! Oh, how glorious! Joy flooded her heart. While she was still trying to process what had happened, Jesus stopped talking and asked his disciples “Who touched my clothes?”
Dumbfounded they exclaimed, “What, Lord? You see this throng about you and ask who touched you?
But Jesus knew it was no ordinary touch; it was a touch of desperate faith. He turned around to see her that had touched him. He already knew all about her.
Shaking and trembling with fear, the woman fell at his feet and told him the whole story of her 12 years of hopelessness, pain, and suffering. She told of her hopelessness turning to hope when she heard about Him. With a voice filled with tenderness, Jesus declared, “Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace.”
Her fear vanished, replaced by the peace of God like a mighty river, washing away all the years of pain, suffering, and disappointment. What a story she had to tell!
What can we learn from this compelling story of the power of Jesus Christ and of the reward of the faith of a helpless woman?
1. She recognized she had a problem – a loathsome disease that had robbed her of everything good.
2. She knew she could not help herself. She had absolutely no power over the issue of blood that had ravaged her body.
3. When she heard about the power of Jesus she believed that he could heal her. Her faith gave her strength.
4. She knew that her knowledge was not enough. She needed to act on what she knew. When she did her life changed forever.
Read the Biblical account in Mark 5:25-34. It is also found in Matthew 9:1-26 and Luke 8:40-56.
That woman is a picture of every lost sinner. Her problem was a physical one. If you’re not saved, your problem is a spiritual one and that is far more serious. Your problem is SIN. God’s Word is clear: “There is none righteous, no not one.” -Romans 3:10 “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” -Romans 3:23
We are all born with a sinful nature that expresses itself in acts of sin or disobedience to God’s laws. God is perfectly holy and has an absolute standard or code of behavior. Failure to live up to that standard is sin and sin always has consequences. Ezekiel 18:20 says, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Since “all have sinned,” everyone is under a sentence of death, not only physical death, but eternal death, which is separation from God forever in the Lake of Fire. -Revelation 20:11-15 Those who will be consigned to the Lake of Fire are found in Revelation 21:8, all the way from the fearful and those who did not believe, to the most notorious sinners.
Thankfully, there’s more! Jesus Christ, the perfect, sinless Son of God, came into the world for the express purpose of going to Calvary. Though he did many wonderful things along the way, his heart was always fixed on one supreme purpose – “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” -Luke 19:10 How did he do that? “He [God] hath made Him [Jesus] to be sin FOR US. Who knew no sin… Jesus that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” -2 Corinthians
Jesus took YOUR place on the cross, suffering God’s condemnation and wrath in YOUR place. Calvary is all about substitution – Jesus dying so you do not have to face the Great White Throne Judgment and eternal destruction.
The question is: How do you make that effectual in your life? Just like the woman with the issue of blood, you recognize your problem, admit you can’t do anything about it by yourself, and get to know the only One who can help you. By faith, she acted on what she had heard about Jesus, and that is what you must do also. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt BELIEVE in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, SHALL BE SAVED.” -Romans 19:9-10, 13
God, through the sacrifice of His son, has provided a way to be saved from sin and be made His child. “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son [to die for your sins] that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” -John 3:16
It is as simple as admitting your hopelessness, turning from sin and by faith, receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. I pray if you have not already done that, you will not wait. Do it now! God gives you encouragement with this verse: “Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will harken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when you search for me with all your heart. -Jeremiah 29:12-13
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