A Christ Follower: The Journey

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised  to those who love him. James 1:12

"...He is a man of sorrows acquainted with grief."   Isaiah 53:3 Someone once told me, "Life is a pain."  You know what? In many ways they are right.  Sadly, however, our culture tells us pain is something to medicate, as in "Excedrin Headache number 23." As a matter of fact, we have a pill for just about every kind of pain there is.  Some take this further by medicating any pain with alcohol, drugs, sex, food (including multiple eating disorders)  gambling, pornography, cutting,  or over spending-shopping til they drop. Because pain is looked at as "bad" the illogical--conscious/unconscious-- conclusion drawn is "I need to need to stop the pain rather than learn from it and become well."     Now, don't get me wrong, I am NOT saying there are never any times to get help with our pain from the medical community. Palliative Care includes mostly "comfort measures" when there is no way to use curative measu...

              The Priestly Blessing   The Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron and his sons, This is how you are to bless the people:    Say to them:  The Lord bless you   and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace."   Receive This As Your Personal Blessing For Today And You Will Be Blessed Today... Especially This Gift Of Today... Which God Calls... THE PRESENT!       SoJourner    

May The God of Peace, Who Through The Blood Of The Eternal Covenant, Brought Back From The Dead The Lord Jesus, That Great Shepherd Of The Sheep, Equip You With Everything Good For Doing His Will. AND May He Work In Us What Is Pleasing To Him, Through Jesus Christ, To Whom Be Glory For Ever and Ever.   AMEN! 

      Okay, so here is what has happened: Since the early sixties, there has been a concerted effort to redefine our values. It still goes on to this day.  Yup! Since 1962 there has been an intentional move by folks calling themselves "progressives" to change our culture so that "everything is relative" and "there are no absolutes" kind of thinking.  This is especially true regarding  what constitutes marriage and the family.  This has resulted in some definite painful outcomes. You can check out the information below in red anywhere you would like, and your will find the data is right on target.        God set up a plan to provide healthy families and values. In these above mentioned changes virtually all these are being ignored (BTW: In the Bible, healthy and holy are interchangeable; what is healthy is predicated on what is declared holy and the opposite is also true.) Guess I need to quit saying families, in the parag...

                                  Luke 2:1-14       In those days Caesar Augustus  issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.   (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)     And everyone went to their own town to register.      So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem  the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.   He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him  and was expecting a child.   While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,   and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.       And there were shepherds l...

The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,  and saves such as have a humble spirit. Psalm 34:18 Broken hearts are not uncommon during this "season to be jolly."  Grief and loss are a very real part of each holiday (holy day.)  One need only turn on our 24/7 news cycle to know for a fact that the families of 20 children and 6 adults will be journeying through the valley of the shadow of death during this season of Christmas Carols, Choir Cantatas, Christmas parties and Christmas plays. Brightly wrapped presents will be dampened because many of us are missing some very special people who are no longer present this side of eternity. Or we have lost a job... or a family member's health or our health is grieving us.  Yes indeed... a broken heart is a very real part of everyday living. Yet, as we commemorate the birth of the Son of God who is one with God, we might help ourselves to remember that this same baby is the "Wonderful Counselor!"  He ...