"Is It Impossible To Be Holy?" - Inspirational Weekend

Spring is right around the corner for most of you living on the mainland USA.  Here in Hawaii there is something always in bloom year round.   When I think of Spring I automatically am reminded of its beautiful flowers.   I still miss some of the mainland's flowers that we do not have in Hawaii; like dogwood tree blossoms and azaleas as well as many others.   Flowers make me feel good and I bask in their beauty.    I imagine there will be beautiful plants in Heaven as well.   

Below is a YouTube video of nature in Spring:

I hope you have a very happy weekend and that this information cheers you.  Sometimes I think I get too serious with all this end time prophecy and spiritual information; but then again we live in very serious times filled with turmoil and unrest and we need to turn our attention to God's Word and find comfort there.   A holy life that is pleasing to God is a very serious matter and we need to take heed to what really matters in this life.....pleasing and obeying our Creator.  

When I used to read 1 Peter 1:15-16 I would think that it is impossible to do what it says there. Those verses say:  "But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;  Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."   We are all sinners, and need to repent daily; how can we possibly be holy?   The idea is to pursue holiness, to the best of our ability and with the Lord's help.

We are imperfect creatures and fall short, but we can be holy in the sense that we are "dead to sin" and we "cleanse ourselves from what is dishonorable."   Our focus is on God and Jesus, to obey and follow their guidance to the best of our ability......not to forget that the Lord, by His Holy Spirit, enables us to live a godly and holy life.    This is not perfection of holiness, that will only happen when we reach Heaven.    God in His love and mercy, has made provision for our sin:  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."      -  1 John 1:9    So we need to daily confess and forsake our sins as we pursue holiness.   We cannot deliberately sin with no remorse if we are true followers of Jesus.   

"If you think you can walk in holiness without keeping up perpetual fellowship with Christ, you have made a great mistake.  If you would be holy, you must live close to Jesus."  -  Charles Spurgeon

"No man should desire to be happy who is not at the same time holy.  He should spend his efforts in seeking to know and do the will of God, leaving to Christ the matter of how happy he should be."           - A. W. Tozer  

Sanctification means to be set apart, and that for a holy use; it means to purify.   When you become a Christian, the Holy Spirit regenerates you and indwells you, making you able to live as holy a life as possible.   As Christians, we grow in purity over time....a lifetime.   God and the Holy Spirit are in the process of perfecting us and it takes patience and time.   It takes the power of the Holy Spirit to reach deep inside you to regenerate you; it is impossible by your own human effort.

"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord."  - Hebrews 12:14.  Let me stress that again,  "Without holiness, no one will see the Lord."  You cannot just dismiss your sins and say."Oh, that's just the way I am" and go on about your business as usual.  You need to repent and forsake your sins.

So now I understand better about verses such as 1 Peter 1:15-16 and also Ephesians 1:4 which says,   "According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:"  Be constantly in prayer and read the Bible daily, in order to grow closer to God and Jesus and to have a close, intimate and personal relationship with the Lord.  God speaks to us through His Word, and thereby teaches us to be obedient and holy.   

Being pleasing to the Lord and living as holy a life as possible will determine whether you will be ready when Jesus returns soon to gather "His Bride" - the church, true believers- to Him in the Rapture to Heaven.    Something to look forward to with great expectations!

Below is a sermon by Charles Spurgeon on holiness:

"Holiness, as taught in Scriptures, is not based upon knowledge on our part.  Rather, it is based upon the resurrected Christ in-dwelling us and changing us into His likeness."  -  A. W. Tozer

"By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."       -  Hebrews 10:10

"How To Become Full Of Joy" - Inspirational Weekend

My cactus above bloomed beautifully again the end of January and the first of February this year.  It is always a thrill and a joy to admire its beauty as it only blooms once a year as a rule, although last year it bloomed twice.   Double treat !  But joy such as these soon to fade blossoms bring is rather fleeting and short lived.   True joy comes from the Lord and is yours forever !

Joy is fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  You have to be regenerated, born again, in order to have the Holy Spirit living within you and thereby produce fruit of the Spirit, of which joy is one.   When you stop the lust of the flesh and worldly desires (with the help of the Holy Spirit), you have the joy of knowing you please the Lord and the joy resulting from a clean conscience.  

"And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."  -  Ephesians 4:23-24

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit."  -  Romans 15:13

So to have true joy, we need Jesus as our Savior, to cleanse us and wash us white as snow.  There is joy in the Savior, and joy in knowing you have a heavenly hope.   Before I was converted, there was not any joy to speak of.   Oh , sure, fleeting moments of happiness, but they soon passed.  I have shared with you before how I used to worry constantly, and worry will definitely steal your joy. Thanks to the Lord now, even in the midst of trials, there is still joy for me because I have learned to focus on God and Jesus and I am so grateful for all He has done in my life and in my heart and soul and mind.   That is another key to being full of joy, to have a thankful heart and attitude .

The above image says it all.   So many people are so self-centered and so self-absorbed that they don't take time for Jesus or for other people.  

"The out-and-out Christian is a joyful Christian.  The half-and-half Christian is the kind of Christian that a great many of you are,,,,,,little acquainted with the Lord.  Why should we live halfway up the hill and swathed in the mists, when we might have an unclouded sky and a radiant sun over our heads if we would climb higher and walk in the light of His face."  -  Alexander Maclaren

Below is an old song that makes you joyful just to listen to it,

"Joy is the serious business of heaven."  -  C. S. Lewis

This all reminds me of that quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."  There is much truth in that, but for true joy you need Christ in your life.   You then will lead a more holy life and have a closer, personal and intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ.   What joy !   I intend to do a post here soon about "Holiness", as it is so very important to the Christian in order to see heaven.

Below is a sermon on becoming full of joy by Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

Jesus speaking at John 16:22,  "And ye now therefore have sorrow:  but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you."

"True or False Conversion? - How to Tell Which" - Inspirational Weekend

"Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.  Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?  -  2 Corinthians 13:5

A reprobate is one who is a hardened sinner, a scoundrel, and one who is cast off by God.   It is said that about 80 to 90% of new converts to the Christian faith fall away and leave the faith, primarily because they were not truly converted in the first place.  They may have sincerely believed they were converted,  but were sadly mistaken   They were not taught about the ten commandments and how guilty they were and therefore in need of the Savior Jesus.    If they are not convicted of how guilty a sinner they are, they feel no true remorse and do not truly repent; so it is easy to slip back into sin again.   The sad thing is, most of these false converts think they are truly saved.  Another sad thing is that often they are very worldly and their loose conduct causes the world to think all Christians are hypocrites.  

It is one thing to be a new "babe in Christ" and make mistakes, and another thing to sin without remorse.   A true Christian, when he sins, is saddened by his conduct and feels convicted by the Holy Spirit and will repent and make changes to live more of a godly life.  A true Christian does not make a practice of sin; they do not live in sin. The Holy Spirit is given to those that obey God  (Acts 5:32). If a person feels no conviction when he sins, then he may not even be born again.   In other words, the Holy Spirit is not living in that person at all.

A false convert will likely be guilty of things such as the following:  "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you  before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."  (Galatians 5:19-21).

"By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another."  -  Jesus speaking at  John 13:35 .  Love for people, especially of other believers, is a mark of a true Christian, a true convert.   That would mean you would not gossip about or slander anyone, and that you would always display the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.   (Galatians 5:22-23)  

A true Christian will not love the world and be consumed in its pleasures and lusts, and will watch his associations carefully.   "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?  whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."    -  James 4:4 .    That is pretty plain and is a warning.   See the warning signs in my photograph above?  They are warning of turbulent waters and to be careful ... there may even be rip tides.   The Bible gives us warnings and signs to obey and follow for our own good, and we would be wise to heed them.   The Bible is God's Love Letter to us and also His Instruction Manual.   Yet there are many professing Christians who never read God"s Word; they are spiritually illiterate and therefore weak in faith and not on fire for Jesus.   They live day by day in a spiritual vacuum, never asking God for direction and seldom praying, if at all.   WAKE UP!    Time is short!  Jesus will return soon and so many people are not ready and are not watching for Him like they should.   

"I believe hundreds of Christian people are being deceived by satan now on this point, that they have not got the assurance of salvation just because they are not willing to take God at His Word."  - 

D. L. Moody   

"There was a day when I died, died to self, my opinions, preferences, tastes and will;  died to the world, its approval or censure;  died to the approval or blame even of my brethren or friends; and since then I have studied only to show myself approved unto God."  -  George Mueller

A true Christian, as a follower of Christ, will endeavor to imitate Him.  "He that saith he abideth in Him, ought himself also to walk, even as He walked."  -  1 John 2:6

Following is a You Tube video about  True and False Conversion by Ray Comfort.

Another video that relates to what we have discussed here is below.   It is titled "Hell's Best Kept Secret" and Ray Comfort and the actor Kirk Cameron share biblical truths.

I hope you take the time to view these two videos.   They are excellent for guidance for yourself and for leading others to Jesus.  I am sure you will agree that we live in perilous times now, and even though I am keenly interested in Bible prophecy, I realize the Great Commission of preaching the Gospel is what Jesus told us to do.   (Matthew 28:19-20)   Let us be busy in the Lord's work in these end times we find ourselves living in. 

"Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit."

- 1 John 4:13 

"The Mark of the Beast - 666 - And How to Avoid It" - Inspirational Weekend with Videos

"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.   Here is wisdom.  Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six."  -  Revelation 13:16-18

The above Bible verses are referring to the Antichrist (the beast) who will appear during the 7 year Tribulation period, which occurs sometime after the Rapture of the Church. That statement right there gives you a clue how to escape taking the Mark of the Beast.   More on that later in this post.  

"Anti" means to be against or opposed to; the Antichrist is opposed to Jesus Christ.  Did you know the Bible says there are many antichrists in the world, back in the apostle John's day as well as today? Those of you who are familiar with the Scriptures could probably name one or two today that fit that description.   1 John 2:18 says, "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time."  See also 2 John 7: "For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.   This is a deceiver and an antichrist."   But these antichrists are not the same as the Antichrist.   

But what does 666 mean?   The number 6 is thought to be the number of man.  The Bible often repeats things 3 times for emphasis.  I have heard it (the number 666) explained to mean  "imperfection to the third degree".   In Greek as well as in Hebrew, the letters of the alphabet also may stand for numbers, which makes it possible to add up numbers for every name.     The apostle John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, may have intended the number 666 to be a mystery.  If you have kept up with these things, that number has been applied to several people in the past, including President Ronald Reagan.    Food for thought:  in some ancient Greek manuscripts of Revelation,  the number is written as 616 instead of 666.

To take the Mark of the beast is to give your allegiance to the Antichrist.   So the eternal destiny of those who take the Mark so that they may buy or sell is to spend all eternity in the lake of fire.  Taking the Mark of the Beast (the Antichrist) is the same as worshiping Satan, who is the one who gives the Antichrist his power; in fact the Antichrist is possessed by Satan. So if a person takes the Mark he cannot be forgiven.  To escape hell, you must not take the Mark.  That means you will either starve to death as you will not be able to buy or sell, or that you will be killed.  (Revelation 13:15).   The other key to avoiding the Mark of the Beast is to give your life to Jesus; repent and believe on Jesus and His resurrection (Romans 10:9-10).  If you do that right now, you will not be here during the 7 year Tribulation period.   You will have previously been Raptured to heaven some time before the Tribulation.   Believe me, the horror and the destruction and the plagues and disasters during the Tribulation time will be terrible beyond your imagination; you do not want to be here for that.  Just read the book of Revelation for all of the judgments to come upon those left behind , as well as upon the earth itself.  

Many in the know believe the Mark will be either an RFID (Radio Frequency Indentification  microchip) or possibly a tattoo of some kind on the right hand or the forehead, which stores all information about you and will enable the Antichrist to enforce his powers over the economy as well as other things.   This technology is available now.   It is only a matter of time.

Supposedly, by Agenda 2030 (Google this), the UN plans to have universal biometric identification for all humanity by the year 2030.

Below is an interview with Billy Crone concerning the Mark of the Beast.

It is good to know about what is in store during the Tribulation period, even if you are a true believer and know you will be raptured before that terrible time occurs.    For one, we can tell others about the horrors of that time so they will want to avoid it and turn to Jesus in repentance and with a new heart set on God and Jesus and His will.     If you keep up with Bible Prophecy at all, you will realize that events happening right now, especially in the Middle East, were all prophesied in Ezekiel 38 and 39, and Psalm 83 and Isaiah 17 and many other places in the Word of God.  So time is short.  The Rapture could happen at any moment.  I hope you watch the video above for more information and, if you have time, below is a longer playing video chock full of even more detailed information on the universal matrix  that is leading up to this Mark of the Beast.

"And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:  for the former things are passed away."

Revelation 21:3-4

"Be Alert and Be Ready" - Inspirational Weekend

"Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."       -      Matthew 25:13

Are you ready for the Rapture?  Ready for when Jesus takes His Bride, the Church, true believers, to Heaven right before the seven year tribulation period of horror and judgement and destruction occurs to the left behind ungodly people?   "Give me a break!" some of you may be saying, "The word rapture is not even in the Bible."    Yes it is, in the Latin Vulgate Bible by Jerome in the early 400's !  There the Latin word "Raeptius  or "Rapio" is where the English word "Rapture" developed from.  It means to "seize, snatch, caught up, tear away. "  Rapture in Greek is the word "Harpazo", which means to be taken away or being carried away, to "snatch up" or a "catching away."  This is clearly taught in Scripture:

"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:  and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."  -  1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

The Rapture is not the same as the Lord's Second Coming.  The Rapture happens before the 7 year tribulation and, at the Rapture, the Lord comes "in the clouds" to meet us "in the air."  1 Thessalonians 4:17.     At the Second Coming, which occurs at the end of the 7 year Tribulation period,  the Lord descends all the way to the earth and stands on the Mount of Olives.   This results in a great earthquake, which is followed by a defeat of God's enemies.   Zechariah 14:3-4

The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night to unbelievers.   (1 Thessalonians 5:2).  But those who know Christ as their Savior will be alert and ready and watching for His return.  That is the key:  you have to be a born again believer in the Savior to be ready and alert and to be raptured.  Don't just be a Christian in name only; have a close intimate personal relationship with God and Jesus, and the way to do that is by much prayer and Bible study.  You don't want to be in the position of not being truly saved and have Jesus say to you, "Truly I say to you, I never knew you."

Read your Bible and interpret it literally.   There are over 300 prophecies about the first coming of Jesus (2000 years ago), all of which were literally fulfilled.   So we can be sure the prophecies about the Rapture and His Second Coming will also be literally fulfilled.

Please listen to this lovely song titled "In His Time" :

"For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee.  Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation."  -  2 Corinthians 6:2 .  Don't wait until tomorrow; it may be too late then.   

Did you know there is a crown waiting for all those who are longing for Jesus' return; a crown of righteousness.   2 Timothy 4:8.   Revelation 4:10 tells us that we will cast our crowns at Jesus' feet when we see Him.    

Following is a duet by Celine Dion and Josh Groban  "The Prayer":

Remember, a person who knows and trusts God is free from anxiety and worry concerning the future.  "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."   -  Isaiah 26:3

"Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;"  -  Titus 2:13

"Pride or Humility? Distant From God or Close to God?" (Charles Spurgeon's Sermon on Humility) - Inspirational Weekend

"Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility."  -  Proverbs 18:12

Believe me, I know how to spell "honor", but the above Scripture is from the King James Version of the Bible and they spelled some words differently back then than we do now.   But more than being able to spell honor, do we know how to live a life of honor ......to bring honor and glory to our Lord?

Let me say up front, that some of my blog posts here are triggered by what happens to me personally; I look up Scriptures and information on the subject to help myself in whatever area I am having difficulty in and then I realize it is good information to post here.   So what about pride ?   It is something that affects us all from time to time.   We have to be on guard because our adversary the devil is seeking to devour us; to influence us for the bad.   Remember, pride was satan's downfall; he wanted to be equal to God or to put God entirely out of the picture; the devil thought more highly of himself than he should have and exalted himself above the Lord God Almighty.   Is it any surprise that satan would try to bring about a person's downfall by inflating that person with pride?  As Christians we do not want to imitate the devil but instead to follow and imitate Jesus Christ.   Most of you are thinking, "Well, that's a no-brainer!"   But pride can sneak up on you without you realizing it for what it is.   If you feel proud of your humility, then you are not humble.

"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."  -  1 John 2:16

Below is a song about the "poison of pride"; it is a prayer to God for deliverance.

One way to avoid the sin of pride, besides prayer, is to remind yourself that all you are and all you may have is a gift from God;  even your very salvation is a gift from our Creator.   Who are we to exalt ourselves above anyone or anything ?!!  We are but dust and our life is like a mist, which soon disappears.   Another way to avoid pride is to spend time in serving others, especially the poor and the infirm and those who cannot help themselves.   Jesus is speaking here at Matthew 23:11-12,   "But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant;   And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. "   

"A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and of course, as long as you're looking down you can't see something that's above you."  -  C. S. Lewis

"But He giveth more grace.  Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.  Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." -       James 4:6-7

"Though the LORD be high, yet hath He respect unto the lowly:  but the proud he knoweth afar off."  -  Psalm 138:6

So if God seems far away from you and your fellowship with Him is now broken, ask yourself if the reason might be the sin of pride.   

Following is a wonderful song titled "Who Am I"  :

As we all know, humility is the opposite of pride. Humility has been described as "a prominent Christian grace.  It is a state of mind well pleasing to God; it preserves the soul in tranquility and makes us patient under trials."

Remember, even Jesus was humble.   "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many."  -  Mark 10:45 .    As followers of Christ, we should imitate His humility, in all sincerity and with a pure heart.   "And being found in fashion as a man, He (Jesus) humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. "

-  Philippians 2:8

One of the hindrances to humility is the fact that most people want to feel in control of everything.  That sometimes includes spouses, which can lead to big trouble.   The key is to surrender all to God and Jesus because, after all, He is the only one in absolute control of everything.   Pray for Him to teach you how to surrender all to Him; to guide you in the choices you make and in everyday affairs.  It is really your choice to be distant from God or to be close to Him .    

Below is a 4 part sermon on humility by Charles H. Spurgeon.  Each part is only about 11 minutes long, so the entire sermon is around 45 minutes.   It is well worth the time to listen to it.

"By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life."  -  Proverbs 22:4

"Time Heals All Wounds - Or Does It?" - Inspirational Weekend

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."  -  Romans 8:18

True believers realize and hope for the time when we will be in heaven with the Lord and "...God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:  for the former things are passed away."  Revelation 21:4

Just contemplating on that verse makes you feel good and gives you hope and patience to endure various trials here on earth right now.    But what if the emotional or physical pain seems impossible to overcome ?  Or to endure?  What if the hurt and the reason for the hurt keeps playing over and over in your mind......even years after it first occurred?   "Time heals all wounds". so the saying goes, right?    Or, as some would say, "Time will tell" when we cannot comprehend the outcome of a situation.    

When I was in my senior year in high school,  I wrote an essay titled "Time Heals No Wounds".  It was rather negative in content as I was going through (and had previously gone through) some very difficult and heartbreaking times at that young age.   My English teacher liked the essay, however, and insisted that I read it in front of the class, to my horror, as I was extremely shy about things like that.    I did as she asked, and kept that essay for several years and then it got lost in moving to another state.   

My relationship with the Lord has grown and He has "renewed my mind" (Romans 12:2 and Ephesians 4:23) in these latter years of my life.   However, time may not heal all wounds, but it can make the memory of past hurts dull with time, if you will let it and not be bitter and resentful and nurse the hurt for years and not let go of it.    Forgiveness is the key.   Actually, the good Lord is the key!

"Leave the broken, irreversible past in God's hands, and step out into the invincible future with God."

- Oswald Chambers.

"God uses broken things.  It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength.   It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume.  It is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever."  - Vance Havner

So if you are broken, God can still use you.   You can use your experience to help others in their afflictions; to share your faith of how, if God can help you,  He can help them as well.   God can heal our broken hearts.   Psalm 147:3 says,  "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds."  It is God's great and merciful love that heals us.   If you focus on God and Jesus and pray about your situation, you are taking positive action towards leaving the brokenheartedness behind you.   

"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, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."  -  Philippians 3:13-14

Following is a song for the broken hearted.  Just pretend it is God speaking in the verses.

We must also remember that sometimes God uses heartbreak and afflictions to shape and mold us and teach us some lessons.....the number one lesson is that we turn to Him in prayer and in total surrender to Him and to His will.   Hardships and trials and heartache will cause us to look to God for help and guidance.   God is our Healer, the Master Physician.   If we handle suffering God's way, we bear witness to the Lord more so than we could have otherwise.  Remember the apostle Paul's thorn in the flesh :  "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."            -  2 Corinthians 12:9      Whatever Paul's thorn in the flesh was,  God still powerfully used Paul.   

"Afflictions, though they seem severe, in mercy oft are sent."  -  Unknown

A few months ago, I painted a landscape scene from one of my reference photos, which is shown below:

This is the reference photograph I took of Wind River in Dubois, Wyoming.  I titled the finished painting  "Brokenness Amid Beauty."   The brokenness of course refers to the broken log in the foreground.    Our life can still be beautiful, despite some brokenness in it from time to time.   Keep a close relationship with God and Jesus and you then can always see the sunshine poking through the dark clouds.

"A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance:  but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken."  -       Proverbs 15:13

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."  -  Romans 8:28