Steps of Faith ~Advent week 1

Advent week 1

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Jer. 33:14-16

Ps. 25:1-10

1 Thess. 3:9-13

Luke 21:25-36

Jer. 33:14-16-Promise of Jesus' coming

Ps.25:1-10- When we cry out to God for forgiveness, he forgives and blesses us with direction in His way, & h\His ways are loving and kind.

I Thess. 3:9-13- Paul wrote the Thessalonians telling them how he rejoiced i n the fact that they showed love to each other. Then he went on to encourage them to increase in their love. 

Luke 21:25-36- Jesus prophecies of his 2ed coming.

The Bible tells us, that God is love. As I read this weeks verses, I thought of that. You see, When Jesus first came to earth, he came because he loved us. He also showed us by example what love looked like. Then he endured the pain of having his beard pulled out, the beatings, and the cross, all the while taking the emotional pain of the mean and cutting words that was being said to him and around him. Why? so that we could be forgiven and have God lead us in paths of love. God is pleased when we allow him to lead us into those paths, and he wants us to increase in the path of love. 

The challenge: 

This week let us go to God asking for forgiveness for our sins and experience God's love for us, then  show that love to others through out our week. Write who you could show love to this week?

This week's accomplishment: Who were you able to show love to this week? How?

Welcome to the Advent season!

Welcome to the advent season!

I was confused about which calendar year we are on this year. So I will be writing my first book to a set of 3 of the calendar years. I call it~ "Steps of Faith.

Comforting hugs 38

"I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined to me, and heard my cry, He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon the rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth~Praise to our God; Many shall see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord" (Ps.40: 1-3). 

Ever felt that you were in a situation that you could not see a way out of. Or in a rut in your life, where you seem to be making the same mistakes that gets you into the same bad situations? You are not alone, many people do. 

Ever wonder why it is so hard to stop and change it? You see, there is only one way out of that out of that horrible pit that has you stuck in miry clay? It is because Jesus is the only one that can pull you out of that pit and PUT YOU ON A ROCK. For Jesus IS the rock. If you would just cry out to him and trust him to get you out. He will hear and he will bring you out of that pit or rut and put you on himself who will be a solid place to stand. If you stand on Him, you will will no longer be prisoner to those things that drags you down and holds you captive.Then you can sing the new song of praise to God for delivering you. Will you call to him today?

Chaplain Toni

Comforting hugs 37

"Whatsoever things are true...noble...just...pure...lovely...of good report...think on these things" (Phil. 4:8). 

I sat in church one Sunday as a Pastor instructed us all to look up at the celling. He told us that if he had removed a couple of the tiles from it, we all would have noticed that they were missing and thought only about that fact. Why? Because it seems to be human nature to focus on what is missing in our lives and not on what is IN our lives. And he was right! None of us noticed the tiles that was still on the celling. But we would be so much happier if we choose to focus on the good things in life, instead of what is wrong, or missing. You see, it's all in the way we choose to look at things. Choosing to think about the good things can change your whole out look on life. 

Try it! You just might find that you like it.

Comforting hugs!

Chaplain Toni

Comforting hugs 36

Comforting hugs 36 "..so I was given a physical condition which has been a thorn in the flesh, a messenger from Satan to hurt and bother me, and prick my pride. Three different times I begged God to make me well again. Each time he said, "NO, But I am with you: that is all you need. My power shows up best in weak people." Now I am glad to boast about how weak I am; I am glad to be a living demonstration of Christ's power, instead of showing off my own power and abilities. Since I know that it is all for Christ's good, I am quite happy about "the thorn," and about insults and hardships, persecutions and difficulties, for when I am weak, then I am strong~the less I have, the more I depend on Him" (2 Cor. 12:7-10). We live in a world that tells us that we can not appear to be weak. So it is very hard when something comes into your life that seems to knock your feet out from under you, like an illness. This illness can be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. Or a situation in your life, like an end of a job, lifestyle, or relationship. Many people will hide themselves away for fear of being seen as weak. I've heard people say, "Don't come visit me in the hospital, I don't want to be seen like this." Have you ever thought that in doing so, you are robbing yourself and others the gift of love, and comfort from God? Maybe you should. You see, God may be allowing this to come into your life, so that he can show his power through your illness or situation. But He will not be able to do that, if you don't allow him to.  You see, if you will allow God to bring power into the situation, He will give you the strength to endure it. I have seen it happen many times. I have watched people who are ill with conditions that they will not get well from, show great strength as they endure their illness. I have also seen people who have been dealt with very hard situations or loss, fight their way through it and into a new normal for themselves. All the while, these people gained wisdom and maturity that they did not have before hand.  I understand that none of likes pain, but we must remember that like pain when exercising brings strength to the muscles, pain can also bring strength to our minds, and souls, and both makes us stronger people in the end. So if you are experiencing pain of one type or another, today, please think about what I have said, and allow Jesus turn your weakness into strength.  Comforting hugs! Chaplain Toni Click here to Reply or Forward 0.67 GB (4%) of 15 GB used Manage Terms - Privacy Last account activity: 33 minutes ago Details

Comforting hugs 35

"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:3-4). This scene, will happen in heaven when all God's children are gathered home. In heaven there will be no more death. because of that, there will be no more  heartache that comes with the pain of mourning, and crying. Also because there will be no more diseases and illness in heaven. There will also be no more painful bodies. I praise God for that, and look forward to that day, while walking through the valleys of illness, deceases, pain, and heartache, of this life on earth. For I know that it will not always be like this, for this too will pass away. And when it does, I will stand in heaven at the feet of Jesus thanking him for making all this possible when he came to earth as a Baby, grew up to be a man,  died to be our Savior, and rose as the King who won over sin and death! Why? Because he loved us too much to let us die and go to hell. So he paid to bail us out of hell. All we have to do is ask him to forgive us for the wrong that we have done (that will make him our Savior).; give him your life to control (that makes him our King), all of that gives us that ticket to heaven, while we are working for him to take others there with us.  For me, knowing that he did that for me gives me hope for the future, here on earth, and later in heaven forever. I pray that it will give you hope too. Chaplain Toni  Click here to Reply or Forward 0.66 GB (4%) of 15 GB used Manage Terms - Privacy Last account activity: 1 hour ago Details

note from the author

Greeting in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

I will be starting a new devotional the last week of November 2015. This Bible study is the one of 3 books. I will be writing devotionals using the Christian Calendar. This calendar is a three year calendar. 3 of the verses follows the Catholic calendar. There is one more verse that follows the Methodist calendar. In doing this I pray that I can minister to a wide range of people. The books will be called," Steps of Faith", "Digging Deeper" , "Climbing Higher". I will be starting with "Steps of Faith".

I encourage you to be active in these Bible studies by writing down your answers to the weekly challenge, and the weekly accomplishment. This way, you will be able to see how you are growing in your own steps of faith.

I pray that you will be blessed, encouraged and find something that will help you to grow in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Writing for Him,

Chaplain Toni