If He Doesn’t, We Don’t Either

Today’s message comes from Psalm 5, and from Proverbs 5. Psalm 5 begins with a prayer, actually. “In the morning, you hear my voice; I prepare a sacrifice for you, and watch,” the psalmist says. Beginning your day with God is absolutely revolutionizing to your life! I can tell you that from personal experience. Try it for one month, and make sure you note the changes you begin to experience, in your attitudes, your strength, patience, etc.

Psalm 5:4 -6 tells us: “For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.” If God doesn’t delight in it, we shouldn’t either. And, if you think about it, and are honest with yourself, none of us does delight in wickedness when we’re on the receiving end; do we? Sin, as I’ve said before, comes in three ways: 1. Sin others commit against us. 2. Sin we commit. 3. Sin fallout-which is the way the sin in the world affects us and our lives. But, we have a hope in Christ Jesus. Psalm 5:7-8 say to us, “I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house…” This is a powerful revelation about the power of love and faithfulness. When we exercise love faithfully in our dealings, and are faithful to the Word of God; to His ways, we surround ourselves, and those we deal with, with protection against the sin and wickedness. The last two verses of the psalm are awesome! “But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield.” There is jubilation and rejoicing over being loved. When we walk out our new life with the LORD/Lord, as we walk it out, there is, truly, less and less struggle, and more and more joy and peace.

Proverbs 5 is, again, a father’s admonition to his sons. This warns about “the forbidden woman.” if you think in terms of standards and boundaries, this woman represents false teaching, cults, and ways and practices that are contrary to God’s Word and His Ways. This includes some of those peers who consider themselves “cool,” and those friends who really aren’t your friends in the end. Proverbs 5:5-6 tell us what’s actually going on with them: “Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it.” The rest of the proverb tells us there are consequences to sin and iniquity. Iniquity is your attitude toward sin-be it your own, or someone else’s. Verse 22 tells us: “The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.” Lack of discipline is actually a destroyer. It causes us to struggle needlessly, and sometimes even destroys dreams and goals. That’s a powerful revelation to parents about letting our children just run amok. Lack of discipline makes your child ignorant, foolish, powerless, and easy prey for evil. It makes us easy prey for the devil.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

It’s A Tool & Pavement

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that money is merely a tool, and pavement. (Ecclesiastes 10:19) “Bread is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything.” The streets of Heaven are pure gold. (Rev. 21:21) “And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.”

We are bid not to count monetary gain as success. True success, we’re told, is the measure of God’s will and God’s mind that we are able to convey to others. It is the measure of God’s will working in our lives, that others are able to see, that makes us successful for, and in, the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus said, “but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matt. 6:20) That’s a clue to you…add up all the praying you did for someone today, all the praise and thanksgiving you did, all the little niceties, patience exercised when the little old lady shuffled into the store so slowly in front of you with that shopping cart-and you smiled and said, “God bless you,” etc. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how much treasure you’re laying up in Heaven.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

For The Universal GM In You

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that God exercises great restraint when it comes to interfering in our lives. God’s not a bully; He’s a gentleman. He’d rather be loved than feared.

“Think how tenderly I respect the right of each individual soul. Never forcing upon it My Help, My Salvation. Perhaps in all My suffering for humanity that is the hardest, the restraining of the Divine Impatience and longing to help, until the call of the soul gives Me My right to act. Think of Love shown in this. ”

I’ve been reading this little book for a number of years, now. God never fails to show me something new, or reminds me of something important, just when I need it most. As I read this message today, I think about my sons and daughters, and their mates. I don’t want to be a “smother”, or a “smother in law.” I also remembered a few “General Managers of the Universe,” from times past in my own life. “Thank you, Jesus, for divine restraint, I prayed.” **Emotional blackmail and manipulation are two huge pitfalls in this area. Some people fall victim to them time and time again, until they overcome the need to be in control.

It’s easy to rush in with the answer; easy to take over without really meaning to. This is where that restraint comes in. “Please God, help me stay shut up.” This message ties in well with the one about being humble and serving all. A servant does what he/she is asked to do; he/she doesn’t run the show.

It is pretty hard to bite one’s tongue at times, isn’t it? I remember watching my kids go off on their first days of school. Each time, I cried. Each time I knew I had to let them go out there without me. And one prays they’ll come running for help when they need it, right? No matter how old they are, this is true.

Whenever I think of this, I thank God for the privilege of prayer. I think I’d lose my mind if I couldn’t pray. And I can see God up there smiling, because He’s got it all under control. And, when we exercise divine restraint with our kids, our friends, our mates, etc., relationships tend to be stronger in trust, open communication, and real teamwork and unity. When we always rush right in to the rescue, we reinforce helplessness and undermine self confidence and accountability.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Saturday Silly – September 7, 2019

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My, my, my! Lot of things to celebrate in September. Two of my babies were born in September; one at the beginning of the month, and one at the end of it. The first Miss America, Margaret Gorman, was crowned in New Jersey, on September 7, 1921. Among other things, this is Chicken month, and Self-improvement month. And, September 7th is the great Buddy Holly’s birthday.

Those of you who know me, know that I like to streamline, so often I combine tasks into one smooth operation. That’s what I did with this bit of information. For my self-improvement project, I started working out to get rid of those chicken wings on my arms. I happen to be a Buddy Holly fan. So, I was doing my workout to “Oh, Boy,” one of his hits. Now, being homeless, I don’t have any dumbbells to work out with. Well, not the kind you lift, anyway. Anyway, I do carry a couple of bags that contain my water and stuff. So, here I was, listening to Buddy Holly, and working those arms.

The trouble started when I got to the exercise where you’re reaching behind you with the weights. The very first rep I did, I reached behind me, bags in hand, and some guy snatched one of my bags and ran off with it. One of the guys at Catholic Charities tried to chase him down, but couldn’t catch him. He gave up and came back to where I was standing. He asked, “What were you thinking, anyway? What were you doing, lady?” I said, “I was trying to exercise my arms so I can keep them firm. Older women like to look sexy too, you know.” He broke out in the chorus of, “That’ll be the day.” LOL ** This is a work of fiction. I’d never have let either one of those guys get away with that in real life. LOL

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu