Keeping The Glory

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 106. The Psalm is a long one, recounting the struggles and backsliding of Israel. I’m not going to post the whole psalm, but I do want to focus on one verse.

Psalm 106: “They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass.” (ESV) This verse leads us right to the story of Nebuchadnezzar. He went from being one of the most powerful rulers on Earth, to wandering aimlessly through fields and eating grass, like an animal. That very thing can happen to us when we stray from God’s side. We come out from under that glory, and are then ruled by instinct; basically, animal instinct. Instead of the Holy Spirit controlling us, our flesh controls us. It’s not just losing it for a few minutes. It’s not just giving in to the craving for the cookies on occasion. It’s so much more than giving in to temptations. We slip out from under God’s glory when we cultivate and insist on maintaining an attitude that it’s alright to let sin rule over us. “It’s just sex. So what if they’re not married. So, what; everybody cheats on their spouse.” That type of attitude shift pulls us farther and farther away from God’s side, and closer and closer to that dangerous edge of the cliff. “If you are the son of God, throw yourself down; for the scripture says “He’ll give His angels charge of you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” -(Matt. 4:5-6)

Jesus replied to the devil that we are not to tempt the LORD our God. That’s a powerful statement regarding sin. Don’t ever take your salvation for granted. You might not lose your salvation, but I guarantee you God will call you to account. God will never bully you; He is a gentleman. But, He will let you have your way…until your way sends you running back His way. And, it will. He’ll be right there waiting with open arms; but God is not mocked. We reap what we sow. (Gal. 6:7)

The thing some people don’t realize is that you’re really, really playing with fire, when you let the devil get a foothold in your life. that’s why vigilance, diligence, and perseverance are so important. Turning immediately and getting back on the right course is what God wants from us. If we do wrong, correcting it, making it right, is expected of us. God is faithful and just to forgive us when we confess our sins to Him. (1 John 1:9) It is when we don’t do those things immediately, that we find ourselves headed for trouble.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Saturday Silly – March 27, 2021

With Easter Sunday just a week away, I thought I’d share one of my favorite memories. It’s one of those “kids say…” things. It was during Holy Week that this happened. My sister and I went to services, and I took my then three year old daughter with me. I hadn’t really been in attendance there for awhile, but I wanted to go for Holy Week. She was a perfect little angel, sitting quietly during the service as the pastor spoke. Finally, he finished his sermon, and asked us all to kneel in the pews for prayer. My sister and I got on our knees, but my daughter just sat there. I whispered to her, “Honey, get down here, we need to get on the floor now.” Came the response from my little angel-LOUDLY, of course: “Why? What are we looking for, Mommy?” I heard someone in the pew behind me trying with all his might not to laugh out loud. He could hardly contain himself; and when I turned to look at him, he face was just red from the effort. I think it matched mine. I thought my sister was going to fall over right there in the pew.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

He Gave Us The Power

Today’s message comes to us from Psalms and Proverbs 8. Psalm 8 is a psalm King David wrote, glorifying the LORD. King David recognized, not only who God really is (our Heavenly Father), but also, he knew who he was, in the LORD. Verse 1 tells us God’s glory is set above the heavens – over the powers, principalities, and hosts of spiritual wickedness. There’s only so far they can go. Verse 2 tells us that God has ordained praise to silence the enemy and avenger. “Out of the mouths of children and infants” -that’s us when we’re reborn. Right then, the devil is rendered powerless to accuse and exact payment. Verses 5 & 6 tell us that we’re made a little lower than the angels, and crowned with glory and honor. He has made us ruler over the works of His hands! That means, in Jesus’ Name, the powers, principalities and hosts of spiritual wickedness (the spirits) are subject to us; they must obey. Jesus gave us the power to master good and evil, and gave us the same authority He has over the spirits.

The only thing I’m going to tell you about Proverbs 8, in this message, is that Jesus is the wisdom of God personified. You’ll see that in verses 22-31. The whole proverb is a list that shows us the benefits of seeking and embracing wisdom. I encourage you to delve into it. Verses 15 & 16 tell us that it is by wisdom that kings rule. We are kings and queens in the earth. Whether we rule/govern our homes, or our communities, wisdom is what empowers us to do so justly. *Our treasuries are spirit, heart, mind, and soul.

Thank you, Paul Wilbur, for such beautiful praises for me to sing to the LORD/Lord!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

He’s In The Darkness

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to hold fast to our love for, and faith in, Jesus, our Lord. He’s in all the dark places we’ll ever encounter. If you think about it, He’s even in the darkness in our world. If He wasn’t, this really would be Hell on Earth, and we’d never survive it spiritually!

When I read this message, I’m reminded of Peter in prison, when the angel came and woke him up. He must have been a little groggy from sleep, because it seems the angel even had to tell him to dress and put his shoes and cloak on. See, Jesus makes sure every tiny detail is taken care of. The chains even fell off of Peter, and the prison gate opened for them all by itself. When Peter came to himself, he realized this was all really happening-and not just a vision. He said, Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me. (Acts 12:6-11) We are bid, by our Lord, to have that same knowledge; that same trust. We are bid to have full confidence in Him. That will bring us, not only faith, but great joy. Whenever I read that story about Peter, I can just see Peter stum-bumbling around that cell, trying to get dressed and out of there…and trying to figure out what was happening, I have to laugh. See, when I’m groggy from sleep, I’m a stum-bumbler too.

In another account, this one about Paul and Silas, we can see the Lord at work again. (Acts 16:19-30) By the time Jesus was finished here, the jailer got saved. Yay! See how our faith seed brings the fruit of the joy of, and in, the Lord? Paul and Silas just praised the Lord in their dark cell. Suddenly, things began to happen. God’s love is also His light for us. When we hold fast to that love, we will always find the light in the darkness; in any darkness.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

All Of Them Were Written In His Book

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that God is our savior every day! See, even those guardian angels need backup. LOL As I read the message at twolisteners.org, I thought of Psalm 139. It is so incredibly beautiful to me! I just want to throw myself into our Heavenly Father’s arms whenever I read it.

“Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139: 16 (BSB)

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Saturday Silly – July 27, 2019

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I apologize this didn’t make it up at midnight. I was feeling pretty under the weather yesterday, and took the day off. At any rate. Saturday’s here…Thank you, Lord, for another week that you’ve walked with me.

I was on my way from breakfast this morning, and ran into a friend of mine. He preaches on the streets; you may have spotted him near the freeway exits and on-ramps. Anyway, he asked me if I knew how many books in the Bible start with the letter J. I hadn’t had my coffee yet. I have to laugh; I came up with two, and was at a loss for the rest. You see, I ‘m the kind of person that reads the Word, and knows the Word, but I’ll be hanged if I can remember what book, chapter, and verse I read that Word in. It’s all the same to me-God’s Word. Whenever I do my Bible studies and posts, I have to look them up to be sure I’ve got their placements right.

Anyway, I made my way to the park behind the library, and was having my coffee, and thinking about my next Bible study: Your Glory. “You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor” This is the verse that came to me. For the life of me, I could not remember where, in the Bible, I read it. This thought came to me: “coffee.” I thought, “What?” “Coffee,” it came again. OH! HEBREWS! I’m still laughing!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

He’s Only Just Begun

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that Jesus doesn’t stop saving us when we get saved. I hope you’ll all check the twolisteners.org website out and read the entire message, to help you understand what I’m talking about.

Salvation is an ongoing thing. We get saved from death when we come to the Lord, accepting Him as Lord and Savior. (John 5:24) But we also get saved as we’re going along and trying to walk out this new life with Him. I can’t begin to tell you how many times Jesus has saved members of my family…from me. He’s always saving me from myself; you know, the salty fries I’m not supposed to eat, the cookies that I really only need two of…Yeah, and then there are the two sizes too small pants…worked when I was 25. But, if I tried that now, I’d have to call 911 just to get me back out of them. Then again, maybe not. Denim is so thin nowadays, I might be able to just bust out myself. Jesus knows this. So, He sends a little angel to whisper in my ear and remind me I have better sense than that. He’s my Savior every day, all day long, He is.

The point I want to make is this: Guess what, Mr./Mrs/Ms. Christian-you’re not perfect yet. You still need Jesus just as much after 20, 30, 40 years, as you did when you first came running to Him. And guess what else-He loves it! He loves it when you are bold enough to come running and say, “Lord, I need you, cuz I really messed up…” We shame and guilt ourselves out of that quite often, because we get under the mistaken impression that Salvation makes us perfect. It does in God’s eyes, because He sees Jesus when He looks at us. He sees Jesus’ righteousness; we don’t have any outside of Him. (Romans 3:10) But God also remembers that we’re just babies spiritually. That’s why Jesus is our Savior until that great day. (Philippians 1:6) He’s always ready, always willing, and always able, more than able!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Say a Little Thank You for Those Angels

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I chose Alabama’s Angels Among Us for today’s song. I hope it blesses you as much as it does me. It makes me want to thank them, and thank God for them. I don’t even want to think about where I might be without them.

I need to say something here, regarding today’s post about angels. I didn’t actually hear a voice whisper in my ear; that was just a figure of speech. Just want to clear that up for those of you who might think I’m crazy. I am, but only when I’m being “crazy.”

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu