NEW YEAR -- EXAMINATION - CORRECTION -- REDIRECTION

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, FORGETTING those things which are behind, and REACHING forth unto those things which are before.
Philippians 3:13

TO FORGET:
disregard an offense
remove judgmental spirits within
keep no score of wrongs
ignore all good thing you yourself have preformed and expected thanks or recognition for

FORGETTING reminds me that , too, have flaws which others could emphasize.
FORGETTING enables me to be big and encouraging, not petty and negative.
FORGETTING frees me to live for tomorrow rather than be hung up on yesterdays.

THE ART OF FORGETTING
by Gen. Chapman

Perhaps forgetting is not quite so fundamental as forgiving; for forgiveness is a grace, while forgetting is an art.
One must forgive to be good, but he must forget if he would be wise and useful and happy.

Yes, forgetting is an art implying practices just the opposite of remembering. Repetition, exaggeration, association, & imagination are all involved in memory methods.

But if you want to forget a thing, refuse to dwell upon it, minify it's importance, reduce it's rank, look at if from the perspective of things that really matter, make it inconsequential, finally isolate it, as the scientists do to disease germs in the laboratory.
Refuse to connect it with persons or motives, and positively forbid the imagination to dwell up it.

FORGET IT.
LEARN TO FORGET BY FORGETTING
FORGETTING IS AN ART

2 Corinthians 13
5 Test and evaluate yourselves to see whether you are in the faith and living your lives as [committed] believers. Examine yourselves [not me]! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves [by an ongoing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test and are rejected as counterfeit? 6 But I hope you will acknowledge that we do not fail the test nor are we to be rejected. 7 But I pray to God that you may do nothing wrong. Not so that we [and our teaching] may appear to be approved, but that you may continue doing what is right, even though we [by comparison] may seem to have failed. 8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth [and the gospel—the good news of salvation]. 9 We are glad when we are weak [since God’s power comes freely through us], but you [by comparison] are strong. We also pray for this, that you be made complete [fully restored, growing and maturing in godly character and spirit—pleasing your heavenly Father by the life you live]. 10 For this reason I am writing these things while absent from you, so that when I come, I will not need to deal severely [with you], in my use of the authority which the Lord has given me [to be used] for building you up and not for tearing you down.

11 Finally, believers, rejoice! Be made complete [be what you should be], be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace [enjoy the spiritual well-being experienced by believers who walk closely with God]; and the God of love and peace [the source of lovingkindness] will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a [a]holy kiss. 13 All God’s people greet you.

14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Press on ~ Selah ~ Lyrics

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Disclosure: Much of what is in my posts are things I have compiled through the years and I do not know if they have copyrights. What I do know about origin or website I give credit and have tried to always post a link to the origin. I do not market anything in any way on this blog -- I merely hope it will encourage and inspire others.

Christmas Night by Max Lucado

Christmas Night

It’s Christmas night. The house is quiet. Even the crackle is gone from the fireplace. Warm coals issue a lighthouse glow in the darkened den. Stockings hang empty on the mantle. The tree stands naked in the corner. Christmas cards, tinsel, and memories remind Christmas night of Christmas day.

It’s Christmas night. What a day it has been! Spiced tea. Santa Claus. Cranberry sauce. “Thank you, so much.” “You shouldn’t have!” “Grandma is on the phone.” Knee-deep wrapping paper. “It just fits.” Flashing cameras.

It’s Christmas night. The girls are in bed. Jenna dreams of her talking Big Bird and clutches her new purse. Andrea sleeps in her new Santa pajamas.

It’s Christmas night. The tree that only yesterday grew from soil made of gifts, again grows from the Christmas tree stand. Presents are now possessions. Wrapping paper is bagged and in the dumpsite. The dishes are washed and leftover turkey awaits next week’s sandwiches.

It’s Christmas night. The last of the carolers appeared on the ten o’clock news. The last of the apple pie was eaten by my brother-in-law. And the last of the Christmas albums have been stored away having dutifully performed their annual rendition of chestnuts, white Christmases, and red-nosed reindeer.

It’s Christmas night.

The midnight hour has chimed and I should be asleep, but I’m awake. I’m kept awake by one stunning thought. The world was different this week. It was temporarily transformed.

The magical dust of Christmas glittered on the cheeks of humanity ever so briefly, reminding us of what is worth having and what we were intended to be. We forgot our compulsion with winning, wooing, and warring. We put away our ladders and ledgers, we hung up our stop watches and weapons. We stepped off our racetracks and roller coasters and looked
outward toward the star of Bethlehem.

It’s the season to be jolly because, more than at any other time, we think of him. More than in any other season, his name is on our lips.

And the result? For a few precious hours our heavenly yearnings intermesh and we become a chorus. A ragtag chorus of longshoremen, Boston lawyers, illegal immigrants, housewives, and a thousand other peculiar persons who are banking that Bethlehem’s mystery is in reality, a reality. “Come and behold him” we sing, stirring even the sleepiest of shepherds and pointing them toward the Christ-child.

For a few precious hours, he is beheld. Christ the Lord. Those who pass the year without seeing him, suddenly see him. People who have been accustomed to using his name in vain, pause to use it in praise. Eyes, now free of the blinders of self, marvel at his majesty. All of a sudden he’s everywhere.

In the grin of the policeman as he drives his paddy wagon full of presents to the orphanage.

In the twinkle in the eyes of the Taiwanese waiter as he tells of his upcoming Christmas trip to see his children.

In the emotion of the father who is too thankful to finish the dinner table prayer.

He’s in the tears of the mother as she welcomes home her son from overseas.

He’s in the heart of the man who spent Christmas morning on skid row giving away cold baloney sandwiches and warm wishes.

And he’s in the solemn silence of the crowd of shopping mall shoppers as the elementary school chorus sings “Away in a Manger.”

Emmanuel. He is with us. God came near.

It’s Christmas night. In a few hours the cleanup will begin—lights will come down, trees will be thrown out. Size 36 will be exchanged for size 40, eggnog will be on sale for half-price. Soon life will be normal again. December’s generosity will become January’s payments and the magic will begin to fade.

But for the moment, the magic is still in the air. Maybe that’s why I’m still awake. I want to savor the spirit just a bit more. I want to pray that those who beheld him today will look for him next August. And I can’t help but linger on one fanciful thought: if he can do so much with such timid prayers lamely offered in December, how much more could he do if we thought of him every day?

It Began in a Manger
Published by Word Publishing
© 1995 by Max Lucado

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4fvMgNfN0I&list=PL8XWvl3KzkJgQyx94wfPz8VDAfJbnuTkQ&index=7&fbclid=IwAR2-Hp5hHhL5VpylrK-aqngKnqEBkVH4Hd1SBSdbiS1mB36mqqF099Tf1fM

"O Holy Night" (Official Music Video) | GENTRI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smaLF8WcGLk

Neil Diamond - Christmas Dream - 2009

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Disclosure: Much of what is in my posts are things I have compiled through the years and I do not know if they have copyrights. What I do know about origin or website I have tried to always post a link to the origin. I do not market anything in any way on this blog -- I merely hope it will encourage and inspire others.
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THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS IS IN KEEPING CHRISTMAS

THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS IS IN KEEPING CHRISTMAS

"It is a good thing to observe Christmas day. The mere marking of times and seasons, when men agree to stop work and make merry together, is a wise and wholesome custom. It helps one to feel the supremacy of the common life over the individual life. It reminds a man to set his own little watch, now and then, by the great clock of humanity which runs on sun time.

But there is a better thing than the observance of Christmas day, and that is, keeping Christmas.

Are you willing to forget what you have done for other people, and to remember what other people have done for you; to ignore what the world owes you, and to think what you owe the world; to put your rights in the background, and your duties in the middle distance, and your chances to do a little more than your duty in the foreground; to see that your fellow-men are just as real as you are, and try to look behind their faces to their hearts, hungry for joy; to own that probably the only good reason for your existence is not what you are going to get out of life, but what you are going to give to life; to close your book of complaints against the management of the universe, and look around you for a place where you can sow a few seeds of happiness are you willing to do these things even for a day? Then you can keep Christmas.

Are you willing to stoop down and consider the needs and the desires of little children; to remember the weakness and loneliness of people who are growing old; to stop asking how much your friends love you, and ask yourself whether you love them enough; to bear in mind the things that other people have to bear on their hearts; to try to understand what those who live in the same house with you really want, without waiting for them to tell you; to trim your lamp so that it will give more light and less smoke, and to carry it in front so that your shadow will fall behind you; to make a grave for your ugly thoughts, and a garden for your kindly feelings, with the gate open are you willing to do these things even for a day? Then you can keep Christmas.

Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death and that the blessed life which began in Bethlehem nineteen hundred years ago is the image and brightness of the Eternal Love? Then you can keep Christmas.

And if you keep it for a day, why not always?

But you can never keep it alone."
by Henry van Dyke

He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto
the Lord. Romans 14:6

CHRISTMAS IS A CONSPIRACY OF LOVE

SHAME ON THE ASHAMED R U A DENIER OR BELIEVER? Romans 1:16-17 Matthew 10: 32-33

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." Romans 1:16-17

But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11:16

Then I shall not be ashamed When I look upon all Your commandments. Psalm 119:6

For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed. Isaiah 50:7

"You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; Then My people will never be put to shame. Joel 2:26

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, 2 Timothy 1:8

but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. 1 Peter 4:16

Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. 1 John 2:28

Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed; Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.
Psalm 25:3

Guard my soul and deliver me; Do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in You. Psalm 25:20

In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed; In Your righteousness deliver me. Psalm 31:1

KNOCK - KNOCK
If Jesus came to your house
To spend some time with you,
If He came unexpected,
I wonder what you'd do.

Oh, I know you'd give your nicest room
To such an honored guest
And all the food you'd give to Him
Would be the very best.

And you would keep assuring Him
You're glad to have Him there—
That serving Him in your home
Is joy beyond compare.

But when you saw Him coming,
Would you meet Him at the door
With arms outstretched in welcome
To your heavenly visitor?

Or would you have to change your clothes
Before you let Him in
Or hide some magazines
And put the Bible where they'd been?

Would you hide your worldly music
and put some hymn books out?
Could you let Jesus walk right
in, or would you rush about?

And I wonder—if the Savior
spent a day or two with you,
Would you go right on doing, the
things you always do?

Would you go right on saying, the
things you always say?
Or would life for you continue
as it does from day to day?

Would you take Jesus with you
everywhere you go?
Or would you maybe change your
plans for just a day or so?

Would you be glad to have Him
meet your closest friends?
Or would you hope they stay away,
until His visit ends?

Would you be glad to have Him
stay forever on and on?
Or would you sigh with great
relief when He at last was gone?

It might be interesting to know,
the things that you would do,
If Jesus came in person, to spend
some time with you.

Living Sacrifices to God

Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

SERIOUS WARNING:

THIS KNOCK KNOCK IS NOT A JOKE

Revelation 3:20Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

https://youtu.be/tjqlkWhz-aA

Maranatha Singers - Unto Thee O Lord [with lyrics]

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Disclosure: Much of what is in my posts are things I have compiled through the years and I do not know if they have copyrights. What I do know about origin or website I give credit and have tried to always post a link to the origin. I do not market anything in any way on this blog -- I merely hope it will encourage and inspire others.
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SHAME ON THE ASHAMED

SANTA SAYS: TEACH THE CHILDREN THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS

A VISIT FROM SANTA ABOUT THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS
TEACH THE CHILDREN!

Late one Christmas Eve, I sank back, tired but content, into my easy chair. The kids were in bed, the gifts were wrapped, the milk and cookies waited by the fireplace for Santa. As I sat back admiring the tree with its decorations, I couldn’t help feeling that something important was missing. It wasn’t long before the tiny... twinkling tree lights lulled me to sleep.

I don’t know how long I slept, but all of a sudden I knew that I wasn’t alone. I opened my eyes, and you can imagine my surprise when I saw Santa Claus himself standing next to my Christmas tree. He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot just as the poem described him, but he was not the “jolly old elf” of Christmas legend. The man who stood before me looked sad and disappointed, and there were tears in his eyes.

“Santa, what’s wrong?” I asked, “Why are you crying?”
“It’s the children,” Santa replied sadly.
“But Santa, the children love you,” I said.

“Oh, I know they love me, and they love the gifts I bring them,” Santa said, “but the children of today seem to have somehow missed out on the true spirit of Christmas. It’s not their fault. It’s just that the adults, many of them not having been taught themselves, have forgotten to teach the children.” “Teach them what?” I asked.

Santa’s kind old face became soft, more gentle. His eyes began to shine with something more than tears. He spoke softly. “Teach the children the true meaning of Christmas. Teach them that the part of Christmas we can see, hear, and touch is much more than meets the eye. Teach them the symbolism behind the customs and traditions of Christmas which we now observe. Teach them what it is they truly represent.”

Santa reached into his bag and pulled out a tiny Christmas tree and set it on my mantle. “Teach them about the Christmas tree. Green is the second color of Christmas. The stately evergreen, with its unchanging color, represents the hope of eternal life in Jesus. Its needles point heavenward as a reminder that mankind’s thoughts should turn heavenward as well.”

Santa reached into his bag again and pulled out a shiny star and placed it at the top of the small tree. “The star was the heavenly sign of promise. God promised a Savior for the world and the star was the sign of the fulfillment of that promise on the night that Jesus Christ was born. Teach the children that God always fulfills His promises, and that wise men still seek Him.”

“Red,” said Santa, “is the first color of Christmas.” He pulled forth a red ornament for the tiny tree. “Red is deep, intense, vivid. It is the color of the life-giving blood that flows through our veins. It is the symbol of God’s greatest gift. Teach the children that Christ gave His life and shed His blood for them that they might have eternal life. When they see the color red, it should remind them of that most wonderful Gift.”

Santa found a silver bell in his pack and placed it on the tree. “Just as lost sheep are guided to safety by the sound of the bell, it continues to ring today for all to be guided to the fold. Teach the children to follow the true Shepherd, who gave His life for the sheep.”

Santa placed a candle on the mantle and lit it. The soft glow from its one tiny flame brightened the room. “The glow of the candle represents how people can show their thanks for the gift of God’s Son that Christmas Eve long ago. Teach the children to follow in Christ’s foot steps… to go about doing good. Teach them to let their light so shine before people that all may see it and glorify God. This is what is symbolized when the twinkling lights shine on the tree like hundreds of bright, shining candles, each of them representing one of God’s precious children, their light shining for all to see.”

Again Santa reached into his bag and this time he brought forth a tiny red and white striped cane. As he hung it on the tree he spoke softly. “The candy cane is a stick of hard white candy: white to symbolize the virgin birth and sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock the foundation of the church, and the firmness of God’s promises. The candy cane is in the form of a ‘J’ to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth. It also represents the Good Shepherd’s crook, which He uses to reach down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs who, like all sheep, have gone astray. The original candy cane had three small red stripes, which are the stripes of the scourging Jesus received by which we are healed, and a large red stripe that represents the shed blood of Jesus, so that we can have the promise of eternal life.”
“Teach these things to the children.”

Santa brought out a beautiful wreath made of fresh, fragrant greenery tied with a bright red bow. “The bow reminds us of the bond of perfection, which is love. The wreath embodies all the good things about Christmas for those with eyes to see and hearts to understand. It contains the colors of red and green and the heaven-turned needles of the evergreen. The bow tells the story of good will towards all and its color reminds us of Christ’s sacrifice. Even its very shape is symbolic, representing eternity and the eternal nature of Christ’s love. It is a circle, without beginning and without end. These are the things you must teach the children.”

I asked, “But where does that leave you, Santa?”

The tears gone now from his eyes, a smile broke over Santa’s face. “Why bless you, my dear,” he laughed, “I’m only a symbol myself. I represent the spirit of family fun and the joy of giving and receiving. If the children are taught these other things, there is no danger that I’ll ever be forgotten.”

“I think I’m beginning to understand.”

“That’s why I came,” said Santa. “You’re an adult. If you don’t teach the children these things, then who will?”

(Author Unknown)

JESUS vs. SANTA

Santa lives at the North Pole…
JESUS is everywhere.

Santa rides in a sleigh…
JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.

Santa comes but once a year…
JESUS is an ever present help.

Santa fills your stockings with goodies…
JESUS supplies all your needs.

Santa comes down your chimney uninvited…
JESUS stands at your door and knocks, and then enters your heart when invited.

You have to wait in line to see Santa…
JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.

Santa lets you sit on his lap…
JESUS lets you rest in His arms.

Santa doesn’t know your name, all he can say is “Hi little boy or girl, what’s your name?”…
JESUS knew our name before we were born. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.

Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly…
JESUS has a heart full of love

All Santa can offer is HO HO HO…
JESUS offers health, help and hope.

Santa says “You better not cry”…
JESUS says “Cast all your cares on me for I care for you.”

Santa’s little helpers make toys…
JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.

Santa may make you chuckle but…
JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.

While Santa puts gifts under your tree…
JESUS became our gift and died on a tree…the cross.

We need to put Christ back in CHRISTmas, Jesus is still the reason for the season.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Romans 14:11For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

Philippians 2:10-11 “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”!

http://prophets-see-all.tripod.com/46516.htm

VIEW THE IN-DEPTH STUDY

EXTREME COMPARISON

something to think on!

SANTA CLAUS VERSUS JESUS CHRIST

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THE BIBLE -- HOW READEST THOU?

HOW READEST THOU?

‘Tis one thing friend, to read the Bible through
Another thing to read, to learn to do.
‘Tis one thing, too, to read it with delight
And quite another thing to read it right.

Some read it with design to learn to read,
But to the subject pay but little heed;
Some read it as their duty once a week,
But no instruction from the Bible seek.

Some read to bring themselves into repute,
By showing others how they can dispute;
While others read because their neighbors do,
To see how long ’twill take to read it through.

Some read the blessed Book, they know not why—-
It sometimes happens in the way to lie;
While others read it with uncommon care;
But all to find some contradiction there.

One reads with father’s specs’ upon his head,
And sees the things just as his father did;
Another reads through Luther, Wesley, and Scott,
And thinks it means just what they thought.

Some read to prove a pre-adopted creed,
Thus understanding little that they read;
And every passage in the Book they bend
To make it suit that all-important end.

Some people read, as I have often thought,
To teach the Book, instead of being taught.

Abilene Christian College Lectures, 1919, F.L. Rowe, Publisher, Cincinnati, OH, p. 125-26, in the lecture from G. Dallas Smith, entitled: “How to Study the Bible.”

Kitty Wells Dust On The Bible YouTube

HOW READEST THOU

http://www.tracts.ukgo.com/ryle_how_readest_thou.pdf

This is a link to the full 43 page book

BY THE REV. J. C. RYLE, B.A., from 1853.

“How Readest Thou?” “What is written in the law? How readest thou?” LUKE X. 26. READER, The question before your eyes is 1800 years old. It was asked by our Lord Jesus Christ. It was asked concerning the Bible. I invite you to consider this question. I warn you, it is just as mighty and important now as it was on the day when it came from our Lord’s lips. I want to apply it to the conscience of everyone who reads this tract, and to knock at the door of his heart. I would fain sound a trumpet in the ear of everyone who speaks English, and cry aloud, “How readest thou? Dost thou read the Bible?” Why do I hold this question to be of such mighty importance? Why do I press it on the notice of every man, as a matter of life and death? Give me your attention for a few minutes, and you shall see. Follow me through the pages of this tract, and you shall hear why I ask, “HOW READEST THOU?—DOST THOU READ THE BIBLE?”

O GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER

Psalm 136 HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.

1 O GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.
2 O GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.
3 O GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.

4 To him who alone doeth great wonders: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.
5 To him that by wisdom made the heavens: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.
6 To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.
7 To him that made great lights: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.

8 The sun to rule by day: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.
9 The moon and stars to rule by night: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.

10 To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.
11 And brought out Israel from among them: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.
12 With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.
13 To him which divided the Red sea into parts: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.
14 And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.
15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.

16 To him which led his people through the wilderness: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.
17 To him which smote great kings: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.
18 And slew famous kings: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.
20 And Og the king of Bashan: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.
21 And gave their land for an heritage: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.
22 Even an heritage unto Israel his servant:FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.

23 Who remembered us in our low estate: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.
24 And hath redeemed us from our enemies: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.
25 Who giveth food to all flesh: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.

26 O GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOR EVER.

Thank You Lord - Don Moen

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.

FRUIT OF OUR LIPS

From the FRUIT OF THEIR LIPS people enjoy good things, but the unfaithful have an appetite for violence. Proverbs 13:2

I create the FRUIT OF THE LIPS; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him Isaiah 57:19

“By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the FRUIT OF OUR LIPS giving thanks to his name.” Hebrews 13:15

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

Hebrews 13:7-15 The instructions and examples of ministers, who honourably and comfortably closed their testimony, should be particularly remembered by survivors. And though their ministers were some dead, others dying, yet the great Head and High Priest of the church, the Bishop of their souls, ever lives, and is ever the same.

Christ is the same in the Old Testament day. as in the gospel day, and will be so to his people for ever, equally merciful, powerful, and all-sufficient. Still he fills the hungry, encourages the trembling, and welcomes repenting sinners: still he rejects the proud and self-righteous, abhors mere profession, and teaches all whom he saves, to love righteousness, and to hate iniquity.

Believers should seek to have their hearts established in simple dependence on free grace, by the Holy Spirit, which would comfort their hearts, and render them proof against delusion.

Christ is both our Altar and our Sacrifice; he sanctifies the gift. The Lord's supper is the feast of the gospel passover. Having showed that keeping to the Levitical law would, according to its own rules, keep men from the Christian altar, the apostle adds, Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp; go forth from the ceremonial law, from sin, from the world, and from ourselves. Living by faith in Christ, set apart to God through his blood, let us willingly separate from this evil world. Sin, sinners, nor death, will not suffer us to continue long here; therefore let us go forth now by faith and seek in Christ the rest and peace which this world cannot afford us.

Let us bring our sacrifices to this altar, and to this our High Priest, and offer them up by him.

The sacrifice of praise to God, we should offer always. In this are worship and prayer, as well as thanksgiving.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwM4214SRYU

The Horse & Rider - I Will Sing Unto The Lord For He Has Triumphed Gloriously

(Exodus 15:1-18)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CKn1_QhF80

Judges 5 (Song of Deborah & Barak)

Matthew Chapter 12

33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by [his] fruit.

34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

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MANUFACTURER'S HANDBOOK