It is WRITTEN and waiting to be read:)

Hello to you all:))
I must say that it’s been a busy time this past month!

I want to welcome my recent followers and say “thank you” for checking out my blog.
Do you know that sometimes what we perceive as one way, others may view it entirely different?
I honestly had no idea that my blog was missed to the extent that some of you have said. Today my sweet sister gave me a new book, and on the front cover, she wrote: “ Kimbo, Get to what you love- move in people with your actions, Spirit and deep love of Christ… Get your blog blooming…
I didn’t want to burn people out, but without further ado…LET’S GET BLOOMING FOR CHRIST:))))

I just started reading the book of ACTS and my what a book for us to be well versed in. It is the birth of the Christian faith and the early church. I was thinking about how Peter began to stand up for the faith once Christ was gone. He had witnessed the ascension, and he knew without a doubt that Christ had been indeed whom He Himself  had claimed to be all along.

We as Christians must believe in the Word of God, and stand up for our faith no matter the cost. Peter began telling people in Acts 3:19, that people must repent. When you stop to think about it, we have never been without a direction as how to follow God. In Luke 4 Jesus used the written Word against the devil when tempted in the wilderness.
ACTS 3:19-21
19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

Luke 4:2-4

2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing:and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

FRUITFUL OBSERVATION: We must repent of our sins daily to stay usable for God, and know that the only way that we will defeat the devil is by remembering and quoting God’s authoritative Word toward the devil.

Let’s stand up for God by doing what He commands us to do TODAY AND EVERYDAY!!!

LUKEWARM…EWWW NO THANKS!!

We are starting a five week Bible study this evening on the WAR ROOM movie.

The primary focus is how PRAYER IS A POWERFUL WEAPON!

Jesus invites us into a closer and more intimate fellowship with Him. Prayer is our ultimate conversation with Him, and He wants us to be on fire for Him.

The first lesson addresses LUKEWARMNESS
Revelation 3:14-22
Laodicea was the wealthiest of the seven cities, known for its banking industry, manufacture of wool, and a medical school that produced eye salve. But the city always had a problem with its water supply. At one time an aqueduct was built to bring water to the city from hot springs. But by the time the water reached the city, it was neither hot nor refreshingly cool-only lukewarm. The church had become as bland as the tepid water that came into the city.
Lukewarm water makes a disgusting drink. The church in Laodicea had become lukewarm and thus distasteful and repugnant. The believers didn’t stand for anything; indifference had led them to idleness. By neglecting to do anything for Christ, the church had become hardened and self-satisfied, and it was destroying itself.
FRUITFUL OBSERVATION: God does not want us to be cold, but there is more hope for a rebel to repent than for a halfhearted, in-name-only Christian who is self-sufficient. Don’t settle for following God half way.

Let Christ fire up our faith and get us into the action today and every day!  :))

A HEART CONDITION CAN BE FATAL!!!

How many times have you been having a great day and then allow yourself to lose focus? Scripture tells us that it is important for us to keep our focus on the right things in life.

PROVERBS 4:23-27

23 Keep thy heart with all diligence;
for out of it are the issues of life.
24 Put away from thee a froward mouth,
and perverse lips put far from thee.
25 Let thine eyes look right on,
and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
26 Ponder the path of thy feet,
and let all thy ways be established.
27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left:
remove thy foot from evil.

Our heart-our feeling of love and desire dictates to a great extent how we live, because we always find time to do what we enjoy. Solomon tells us to keep our heart with all diligence, making sure we concentrate on those desires that will keep us on the right path.

Make sure your affections push you in the right direction. Put boundaries on your desires: don’t go after everything you see.

Look straight ahead, keep your eyes fixed on your goal and don’t get sidetracked on detours that lead to temptation.

FRUITFUL OBSERVATION: We all know how quickly that we can let our thoughts get to thinking on negative issues, which produces worry. We must be aware and change our view to the positive things of God. What we harbor in our heart comes out of our mouth

Let’s stay focused on what God’s Word says today and every day!

HIS WORD IS THE POWER THAT WE NEED TO DEFEAT THE DOUBT THAT THE devil BRINGS

Scoffers, READERS and HAPPY ROOTS:))))

Do you ever feel challenged or a little-disappointed when trying to share God’s Word with others? It can seem as though they think that you may be too excited about studying a boring history book of days long ago. I want to encourage you not to get discouraged for one moment:))))))) God is working in our heart and mind! I feel a real sadness for people who don’t show any concern or excitement about our God that they profess to ‘believe’ in for their eternal salvation.

PSALMS 1:1-3
1 Blessed is the man
that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

God doesn’t judge people by race, sex, or national origin. He Judges them by their faith in Him and their response to His revealed Will. Those who diligently try to obey God’s Will are like healthy, fruit-bearing trees with strong roots (Jeremiah 17:5-8) And God promises to watch over them. God’s wisdom guides their lives. In contrast, those who don’t obey God have meaningless lives that blow like dust.

FRUITFUL OBSERVATION: As a tree soaks up water and bears luscious fruit, we also are to soak up God’s Word, producing actions and attitudes that honor God. To achieve anything worthwhile, we must have God’s Word in our heart.

Let’s soak up God’s Word today and every day! Man-made sources are temporary…But salvation is FOREVER:)) We NEED the correct WATER SOURCE:)

We shall be like trees planted by a river NOT like an overflowed puddle that leaves our roots compromised

An EMPTY chair, Bagged garbage, and a Rolled up RUSTY fence:)

I get SO EXCITED when I see something that speaks “OH, THIS IS AN excellent PICTURE FOR A BLOG!”

Today is a BEAUTIFUL DAY to SIT QUIETLY and decide if you have a RUSTY FENCE that needs to be rolled up and some GARBAGE that needs to be BAGGED !

PHILIPPIANS 3:7-9
7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

After Paul considered everything he had accomplished in his life, he said that it was all worthless when compared with knowing Christ. This is a profound statement about values: a person’s relationship with Christ is more important than anything else. To know, Christ should be our ultimate goal.
Sometimes, we can allow worldly things to accumulate in our lives, and that can lead to placing our security and confidence in the wrong areas. After a while, God will remove the rusty fence of protection that we built around what we thought was OUR INDEPENDENCE.
God demands a TOTAL SURRENDER of our lives to Him
We need to SIT QUIETLY before him and BAG UP THE GARBAGE that keeps us from being one hundred percent usable and ROLL UP THE RUSTY FENCE that we’ve put up around our OWN INDEPENDENCE.

FRUITFUL OBSERVATION: We need to consider our values and not place anything above or around our relationship with Christ. Our independence should be depended  COMPLETLY  UPON HIM!

Let’s DEPEND ONLY UPON CHRIST today and every day:))

Washed, Emptied, and NO RECORDS to file:)))

OH MY!!!!!! You all know me by now that I can’t pass a picture like this up without a blog post:)))))

NO RECORDS OF SIN, ONCE WASHED AND CLEANED

PSALMS 51:1-4
1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness:
according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions:
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,
and done this evil in thy sight:
that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest,
and be clear when thou judgest.

We see that David was truly sorry for his adultery with Bath-sheba and for murdering her husband to cover it up. He knew his actions had hurt many people. But because David repented of those sins, God mercifully forgave him. No sin is too great to be forgiven!
While God forgives us, however, He does not always erase the natural consequences of our sin-David’s life, and family were never the same as a result of his sin (2 Samuel 12:1-23).

We are also told in Scripture that God does not keep a record of our sins.
HEBREWS 10:17
17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

The writer concludes his argument with this powerful statement that God will never remember our sins. Christ forgives completely, so there is no need to confess our past sins repeatedly.

We are told in REVELATION 21:27

27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie:but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

FRUITFUL OBSERVATION: As believers, we can be confident that the sins we confess and renounce are forgiven and forgotten.

Let’s live our life today and every day knowing that God keeps NO RECORDS of our past and forgiven sins! STAY CLEAN IN HIS SIGHT:))

SOMETHING MORE HARMFUL THAN A PINECONE!

Our WORDS, like  a pine cone can do GREAT HARM to OTHERS... LET’S LEARN HOW TO DROP THEM QUICKLY before they can do damage!

Hello Readers and HAPPY Monday! 🙂
I have been successful for seven days on Weight Watchers. It can be difficult keeping track of everything that goes into our mouths. Better yet, the REAL challenge for us as Christians, may be what escapes out of our mouth due to what we are holding in our heart.
JAMES 3:2-6
2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
3 Behold, we put bits in the horses ‘mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.
4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. (wherever the pilot desires)
5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
What you say and what you don’t say are both important. Proper speech is not only saying the right words at the right time but controlling your desire to say what you shouldn’t.
James compares the damage the tongue can do to a raging fire-the tongue’s wickedness has its source in hell itself. The uncontrolled tongue can do terrible harm. satan uses the tongue to divide people and pit them against one another. Idle words are damaging because they spread destruction quickly, and no one can stop the results once they are spoken.
A few words spoken in anger can destroy a relationship that took years to build. Before we speak, remember that words are like fire-you can neither control nor reverse the damage they can do.
We can still learn enough control to reduce the damage “it” (gossiping, putting others down, bragging, manipulating, false teaching, exaggerating, complaining, flattering, and lying) can do. It is better to fight a fire than to go around setting new ones!

FRUITFUL OBSERVATION: Before we speak, ask, “Is what I want to say true? Is it necessary? Is it kind? Keeping track of everything that comes out of mouth is far more challenging to me than my Weight Watchers after all, and MORE important to the Father.

Let’s remember to ask ourselves the three questions listed above- today and every day! 🙂

The sign of our witness for Christ should never become RUSTY and UNREADABLE!

Don’t STOP AHEAD and let your witness for CHRIST become unreadable, not to mention RUSTY

Hello and HAPPY Saturday! 🙂
Since I started blogging, I find it hard to pass up a great picture that can lead to an encouraging blog:))
Today’s lesson references how as Christians, we are to share the Good News of what Christ has done for us.
I believe as Christians, we have a fine line to balance along the way. We never want to come across as a fanatic, (a person filled with excessive and single-minded zeal, especially for an extreme religious or political cause.) For all of you that know me, I’m passionate about learning and helping others to grow in their knowledge of Christ. And since retiring, I have more time, but I’ve not gone “over the top” so that you know:))

Paul is a great example of being a witness for Christ.

ROMANS 1:5-6
5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ.

Christians have both privilege and a great responsibility. Paul and the apostles received forgiveness (“Grace“) as an undeserved privilege. But they also received the responsibility to share the message of God’s forgiveness with others (“obedience to the faith among nations)). God also graciously forgives our sins when we believe in Him as Lord. In doing this, we are committing ourselves to begin a new life. Paul’s new life also involved a God-given responsibility-to witness of God’s Good News to the world as a missionary. God may or may not call you to be an overseas missionary, but He does call you (and all believers) to witness and be an example of the changed life Jesus Christ has begun in you.

FRUITFUL OBSERVATION: We all have a great responsibility to live a Christ centered life and be the example that He has called each one of us to be for Him.
Let’s not STOP AHEAD of the time that He has for us, Because we may find ourselves standing alone and RUSTY!

Don’t let your GOAL become “almost used up”…

“ALMOST” USED UP GOALS STILL HAVE POTENTIAL!

Good Wednesday Morning 🙂

Some days are harder than others when it comes to keeping our focus on the “GOALS” that we have set for ourselves toward Christ.
I believe that we can all agree that the stresses of life can cause distractions. We must remember that God is always with us and that He has the best plan for our lives. We must trust that whatever the day brings, He knows about it and is guiding it.
Our responsibility is to acknowledge Him in all that we do, and ask for the strength that is needed to conduct ourselves in a manner that is pleasing to Him.

Hebrew 12:1,2
1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

A FRUITFUL NOTE:
We are aware that Scripture is referring to a runner or athlete, but when I saw this “almost” used up goal, it reminded me that our Spiritual goals for Christ can sometimes become “almost” used up if we take our eyes off of Him.

When we face hardship and discouragement, it is easy to lose sight of the big picture, But we’re not alone, there is help.
Many have already made it through life enduring far more difficult circumstances than we have experienced. Suffering is the training ground for Christian maturity. It develops our patience and makes our final victory sweet.

FRUITFUL OBSERVATION:
The “great cloud of witnesses” is composed of the people described in Hebrews chapter 11. Their faithfulness is a constant encouragement to us, just as we are to be to others.
Let us keep our eyes focused on the GOAL today and every day!

COME ON, GET IN THE RED WAGON…

We all know how to fly right, but sometimes we have to be pulled in the right direction!

Hello and Happy Tuesday to you all:)

Have you ever had a day when you felt like you needed to be pulled along in the right direction to avoid what comes naturally?

PSALMS 34:11-14
11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me:
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 What man is he that desireth life,
and loveth many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep thy tongue from evil,
and thy lips from speaking guile.
14 Depart from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it.

The Bible often connects the fear of the Lord (love and reverence for him) with obedience. “Fear God, and keep his commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13); If a man love me, he will keep my words” (John 14:23). David said that a person who fears the Lord doesn’t lie, turns from sin, does good, and promotes peace.
Reverence is much more than sitting quietly in church. It includes obeying God in the way we speak and the way we treat others.
David encouraged others to trust and fear God and to exemplify faith, truth, obedience, and goodness in their lives.

Somehow we think that peace should come to us with no effort. But David explained that we are to seek and pursue peace. Paul echoed this thought in Romans 12:18. A person who wants peace cannot be argumentative and contentious.
Since peaceful relationships come from our efforts at peacemaking, work hard at living in peace with others each day.

FRUITFUL OBSERVATION:
As humans, our natural tendency is not always in line with God’s Word. Let’s try to make a real effort today and every day to do what He commands. Depart from evil and do good.