hunger

The days are surely coming, says the Lord God, when I will send hunger and thirst on the land; neither a hunger for bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the Lord ’s words. They will wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they will roam all around, seeking the Lord’s word, but they won’t find it.

- Amos 8:11-12 (CEB)

 

End times are near.

We may be living in end times now in fact.

Since at least the 1970’s people have been standing on street corners holding signs that say, “The End of the world is upon us”.

Nostradamus predicted many events that proved to be accurate as well as predicting end times which scientists say we very well may be seeing the end of the world in our lifetime.

We’ve lost God in our lives by the choices that we’ve made.

We no longer hear His word, or we twist what He said to fit our needs, our lifestyle.

We wander looking for God, but we don’t find Him.

The sad thing is that He has been right in front of us the whole time.

We need to start living like we believe that we are facing end times.

We need to stop the hatred and evil to simply love.

God loves us, we should return His love by loving His children.

ALL His children.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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foolish hearts

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

- Romans 1:21 (ESV)

 

A couple of years ago, I borrowed the Message translation of Romans 1:18-32 and my pastor’s sermon as one of my “daily bread” blogs.

I borrowed it because well, the truth hurts.

He referenced current culture and social media saying that if you are on social media, what are you reading and more importantly what are you posting?

At the beginning of his sermon on this verse my pastor said, “When you try to counter anger with anger, there is never a time that you look less like Christ.”

Ouch.

I am guilty of arguing with people on Facebook, and I have lost friends over those petty arguments.

People say things on social media that they would never say to someone’s face.

No matter what you say or do, Jesus loves you, but He still hates your sin.

Don’t forget who you are – look in the mirror – you are a child of God.

To quote my pastor once more, Jesus became truth and love by reaching into people’s lives, Jesus continues to be truth and love by sending us into people’s lives.

Will you go where He sends you?

Not everything on social media is bad.

I follow a gentleman on Facebook (I hope to meet him in person some day – he is a pretty cool and knowledgeable dude!) that posts every day a weather report for his area, some humor, some trivia, new vocabulary words, historical things and fun things, he really is a hoot.

Recently he posted this verse along with some wise words: “I am not a preacher and I refuse to tell anyone how to live their life.  I will offer that when I am futile and foolish life is sure tougher. There is a reason for that.  Give it some thought.” 

I sure am lucky to have wise people in my life to remind me of these things.

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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great things

Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.

- Joel 2:21 (KJV)

 

The future is a scary place.

We all know someone with children who will graduate from high school or college this year, or we know someone that is getting married or having a child.

Change is scary.

We have loved ones that are going through the loss of a family member or the end of a relationship.

New things are frightening.

We do not have to be afraid.

Raise your voice in praise and prayer when you are struggling, God is there for you!

We must endure hardship to appreciate the good times and even the bad things maybe aren’t as bad as they may seem.

We do not have to be afraid – God’s got this.

He will do great things – after all, He created you and you are pretty wonderful!  

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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still strong

It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.

- 2 Samuel 22:33 (NIV)

 

At some point in our lives everyone of us will be dealt a crushing blow, probably more than one.

It could be the death of a loved one, the end of a career a huge health scare.

Often these things keep us stressed out and feeling pretty defeated.

How about a song reference:

Hey, heard you were up all night

Thinking about how your world ain't right

And you wonder if things will ever get better

And you're asking, why is it always raining on you

When all you want is just a little good news

Instead of standing there stuck out in the weather

Oh, don't hang your head

It's gonna end

God's right there

Even if it's hard to see Him

I promise you that He still cares

When the waves are taking you under

Hold on just a little bit longer

He knows that this is gonna make you stronger, stronger

The pain ain't gonna last forever

And things can only get better

Believe me

This is gonna make you stronger

Gonna make you stronger, stronger, stronger

Believe me, this is gonna make you

Try and do the best you can

Hold on and let Him hold your hand

Go on and fall into the arms of Jesus

Oh, lift your head it's gonna end

God's right there

Even when you just can't feel Him

I promise you that He still cares

When the waves are taking you under

Hold on just a little bit longer

He knows that this is gonna make you stronger, stronger

The pain ain't gonna last forever

Things can only get better

Believe me

This is gonna make you stronger

'Cause if He started this work in your life

He will be faithful to complete it

If only you believe it

He knows how much it hurts

And I'm sure that He's gonna help you get through this

When the waves are taking you under

Hold on just a little bit longer

He knows that this is gonna make you stronger, stronger

The pain ain't gonna last forever

Things can only get better

Believe me

This is gonna make you stronger

God will give us the strength we need to endure what ever life throws at us.

It may not feel that way at the moment but once we get over the mountain and look back at this situation, we will know that God had us in His arms the entire time giving us strength and keeping us secure.   

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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stronger than that

Weapons made to attack you won't be successful; words spoken against you won't hurt at all.

- Isaiah 54:17a (CEV)

 

One thing that I have learned in this lifetime is that people can be very mean, sometimes they are mean without even trying.

Over the years I have held roles in different organizations ranging from small group leadership to praise bands, from military auxiliary support groups and motorcycle associations, to cat rescue and to the various positions I have held at work. 

There is something that seems to never change no matter what sort of role we have and that is people we have to deal with on a regular basis can be vicious and dramatic.

I’ve had people use words as weapons against me and it did hurt.

I’ve been told the choices and decisions I made were wrong for a group I was leading, that I was not making the group a priority, that I was no longer needed in a role that truly made my heart glad. 
I’ve been given an ultimatum on my participation and on more than one occasion I have left groups that I loved based on someone else’s behavior.

I know that I am not the only one that sees this happening and I know I am not the only one experiencing these sort of weapons.

I also know this: wounds heal.

Scars may remain but we can pull ourselves together and know that we are strong in the Lord. 
For those that use their words and actions as weapons I implore you to think before you speak or act and if you have wronged someone – even if you feel that you were right – apologize for your behavior, a true heartfelt apology – not “I’m sorry if your feelings were hurt” but “I am sorry for what I said or did and for hurting you”, we are stronger than that.

#dailybreadbykitty

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daddy’s hands

I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters,

says the Lord Almighty.

- 2 Corinthians 6:18 (NIV)

 

Yesterday would have been my dad’s 95^th birthday on earth, the last 37 years he has celebrated his birthday with the almighty Father in heaven.

He died when I was 15 and as I have aged there are things that are not quite as clear as they used to be, but one thing will always stand out as what made my dad so special is that he adopted me. 

He didn’t have to raise me, he didn’t have to love me, he chose to bring me up as his child and he wanted to be my daddy.

God is the very same in that He wants to be our Dad, He wants us to run to Him when we are hurt or crying.   

Here is a secular song reference for you: 
I remember daddy's hands folded silently in prayer

And reachin' out to hold me, when I had a nightmare

You could read quite a story in the callous' and lines

Years of work and worry had left their mark behind

I remember daddy's hands how they held my mama tight

And patted my back for something done right

There are things that I'd forgotten that I loved about the man

But I'll always remember the love in daddy's hands

Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin'

Daddy's hands were hard as steel when I'd done wrong

Daddy's hands weren't always gentle but I've come to understand

There was always love in daddy's hands

I remember daddy's hands workin' 'til they bled

Sacrificed unselfishly just to keep us all fed

If I could do things over, I'd live my life again

And never take for granted the love in daddy's hands

Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin'

Daddy's hands were hard as steel when I'd done wrong

Daddy's hands weren't always gentle but I've come to understand

There was always love in daddy's hands

We sometimes feel that God is hard on us, maybe He has us going through some really tough times that make us feel like He isn’t gentle.

That is when we need to remember that He did sacrifice for us by sending His one and only Son to die for our sin, so we could be closer to Him. 
I don’t want to take for granted the love in our Father’s hands.  

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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He’s no fool

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

- 1 Corinthians 1:25 (NIV)

 

April 1^st used to be a scary day in my house, you never knew what shenanigans we would be up to, whether it was my husband trying to get me or the kids trying to get each other or us getting the kids, someone was going to get pranked. 

It was bad enough that one year when my husband and I didn’t do anything, the kids were terrified that we were pulling the all time biggest prank (in all honesty we had forgotten!) 
Some people believe that God was foolish to send His only Son to die for humankind. 
Some people believe that in doing so God was setting Himself up for the greatest disappointment.

There are a lot of people out there that don’t appreciate the sacrifice that God made but you might be surprised at how many people do appreciate Him.

God knew what He was doing, He still does. 
I’m glad that my wisdom and strength are in Him. 

 

#dailybreadbykitty

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