Christian Photographers Community

Morning Devotional...

The Lord Sees Us

Psalm 11:4-7
The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.  The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates.  Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.  For the Lord is righteous;  He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face. 


God is watching His creation.  I am grateful my parents and grandparents instilled this concept in me as a child.  This knowledge, which has created an awareness of His presence in my life, has certainly prevented me from walking down many pain-filled and dead-end roads.

Did you catch what comes next?  It's the age-old question,  "Why do bad things happed to good people?"  Our life on earth is one big test.  And contrary to those who like to promote the idea of reincarnation or past life regression, Hebrews 9:27 states emphatically that we all get just one go-round and after we die comes judgment.

Thanks to a judicial system that protects criminals rather than victims, punishment for evil done upon the earth no longer seems to exist.  But do not mistake this to mean that the wicked will not pay for their deeds.  For to those who choose to obliterate from their minds any notion of a "real hell," God says it does exist.

The flip side of hell, of course, is heaven, the place where the righteous will behold His face.  Life is not only a test, it is a choice.  Where will you choose to spend eternity?

Prayer- Lord, remind me of Your presence throughout the day.  Help me to reflect Your Son Jesus Christ.

Welcome to all the newcomers!  This is great.

Soni, I forgot to tell you....I really like your new photo.  You are beautiful........inside and out!  God Is Watching......that's a great devotional.

Marilyn, we're having your cold weather here too.  It was "slushing" a little while ago.  I guess there's a chance some might turn to snow and stick overnight.  The kids will love that.  Are you having snow yet?

My grandson is in Bend with the wrestling team.  I'm not crazy over them on the highway.  They won't be back until Sunday...left Thursday at 11 am.  I know the drivers know enought to carry chains, in case they need them, but I'll just be glad when they all get home safe and sound.

I had a busy day today.  We finally got the pups bathed.  They were cute before, but now, all whilte and fluffier than ever, they are adorable.   It takes about 3 hours for both.....with drying and brushing, cleaning their ears, etc.   When they've had all their shots, we need to think about a first haircut.  That should be fun for the groomer. haha

Now I'm heading to look at Liz's snow picture.  G'night everyone.

Soni - A wonderful devotional this morning. many in our day as frightened to mentioned the word Hell for fear of offending folk. A timid Gospel will not save anyone. We either accept the whole truth or no truth at all.

Every day God gives us this choice - 'Choose you this day whom you will serve.'

Today I choose to serve Jesus and it is not so much serving as receiving as everything that happens in my life comes from Him. Without Him I can do nothing. Through Christ who strengthens me, I can do all things.

A little tip for us all:-

If ever you are caught in two minds as to what to do in a situation ask yourself what you think Jesus would do.

If we go forward today in His strength we should fear no man. It is this same Jesus who makes our crooked paths straight and our rough places smooth.

Are you dreading facing something today? Is there a mountain in front of you?

Listen to what His Word say to you :- 'Hills at the presence of the Lord, like wax shall melt away.'

Remember the women as they headed towards the tomb where Christ was buried. What was in their minds? It was the question, 'Who shall roll away the stone for us?'

'Before you call I will answer.'

When they arrived at the point of their concern and fear, they found that the stone was already moved!

May all the stones that lie across your path today be removed by the same Hand who took the nails that you and i should have taken.

LOL

Your brother in Christ

Iain

P.S. TBEAR - I love the coffee cup gif. I can almost smell it!

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Good Morning: Thank you brother Iain for your thoughts today.

No snow here yet as far as I can tell, rain yes.  If it has snowed in the nite I do not know about it. But it sure has been cold. Had to put on a hat to sleep in so my head would not be cold. I turned the heater down to 60*  but the head of my bed is against a window.

Have a blessed day. I have to go to work as usual by 8 am. So I will be back to check on y-all later.

TTYL

Great devotion, Sonja.  I, too, love your new profile picture.  How do you stay so young looking since you are so old....123 years!

Marilyn, I downloaded The Font Thing.  Pretty neat.  Now to think about what to do with all my fonts being in one folder.  Change or not to change....that is the question!

My, what a nice bunch of new members!  Let's pray that they post in NEM today and every day.

I woke up to snow this morning.  Not much but enough to cover everything.  Not much that I need help in cleaning off the deck and some of the drive.  Looks like I will have to put on some warm clothes and get out there myself.  But it is cold...29°F. 

I am going to see if I can get offline today.  My neck is starting to bother me since this has been my place of sitting for 3-4 days in a row now...at least, 10-12 hours each day.

"There's a place of renewal and happiness within you.  All you need to do to reach it is withdraw your attention from the outside world and focus on the strength and the energy inside yourself."

Soni, you are truly BEAUTIFUL.... inside and out as Nita says.  Your devotional is very thought-provoking about why bad things happen to good people.  I know Jesus is always there and Ian has the thought well-put to always think how Jesus would act.  Thanks to you both for your thoughts. 

A BIG WELCOME TO ALL THE NEWCOMERS

The satellite men are her and installling a dish for TV..so will get offline.  TTYL

Good morning, friends,

It's so good to welcome all our new friends! Jump right in with your participation.

I'm headed out the door to meet with friends this morning for a brunch. Y'all have a good day.

Ruth Ann

Happy Birthday, Ken.

We have some snow on the ground....lotsa slush on the roads.  I don't think it's supposed to warm up much, so will probably have icy roads tonight.  Lord, protect the drivers.  Jane, do you have snow over where you are?

Marilyn, wearing a hat in bed reminds me of the "old" days when most wore night caps.  I guess I never even thought of why.  I keep mine at 68 at night, but it will go up to 74 before shutting down, so maybe I'll set it to a lower degree.   I've noticed the puppies laying more and more in the kitchen on the tile floor.  Maybe they're trying to tell me it's too warm in their bed.  ANYWAY............Praise the Lord for heat!!

I'm not sure what I'll do today.  If my driveway melts, maybe I'll get out and get some basics and rush back home.  With my grandson coming home tomorrow afternoon, I want t have food for him.  He has wrestled all 4 years of highschool, but he's small. So for some matches, he even has to lose weight (last was down to 125#) to wrestle in the right weight class.  That sure doesn't seem right to make a growing boy lose weight.  His mom was always against......his dad, and coach, said it was ok.  I think it's just because he's good, usually wins, and the coach likes that.  Maybe his dad is the same way.   Kyle won't say one way or another.

Have a blessed day everyone.  Nita

It is 9 A.M. on the island and snow is still falling.  We have had 21 cm. with the threat of another 10 cm. to come.....2.54 cm = 1 inch.  I think!  Never have been good at conversion.  The whole island is snowbound and it seems we have more here than in Toronto, Hamilton or places like Kamloops....I only hope & pray that it doesn't cause the serious damage that happened during the last huge storm...think it was mid 90's.  Seems that the makers of Ice Wine are happy tho' as they are having a perfect and early harvest!  Wouldn't you know

It is so nice to read your devotionals again, Iain.  Also thanks to Sonja.  

Our power went out during the night and is once again restored.  Don't know for how long.  Sorry you are so cold Marilyn.  Fortunately, we have both electric and gas heat here and manage to stay warm.  My suite is colder as it is on the ground floor, but I am still quite comfortable.    Still, very costly and I use it with caution.

Janet, that was an interesting question about Animism and I did some checking.  Probably came up with what you already know.  Tho' I have some personal experience in that my children's grandparents (in-laws) left the Christian Faith to become Faithists.  They also believed that they become Gods when dead and return when needed as Spirits.  Anismists believe many things that are as disturbing and it is one of the most Primitive of faiths.  Early Japanese were probably Animists and it was the early religion in Africa.  Not something one wants or needs to be involved in.  There is an evil conected with all of these things and not to be taken lightly.  My trust lies in the guiding of the Holy Spirit, pure, clean and from God.  I have seen what comes from the other.....

Certainly, Pastor Al, Papa John and others on this site, can give a clearer explanation.  I hope that by responding, this will not cause any problem.  Simply want to make clear that such things are not from God.

God Bless and stay warm and safe.

Liz

I'm sitting here listening to "There's Power In The Blood" sung by Pure Heart.  I never heard of them before but was given the link.

Maybe you'd like to listen to?

CLICK ON #98

Janet,

Here's a little explanation of Animism.

The word ‘animism’ derives from the Latin word anima, meaning soul or breath. It is usually applied to any religious beliefs which recognise spirits or a spirit world inherent and controlling within the physical world.

Many people following primal religions live in isolated rural areas. Their lives are built around the forces of nature. Birth, death, illness and disaster are not hidden or sanitised as they are in many developed societies. Outside forces such as foreigners or neighbouring peoples may be feared. Some tribal groups are nomadic. It is easier to be aware of a spiritual dimension to life, and when human strengths and frailties are exposed by such environments, there is a need for spiritual support.

Primal animistic religions share essential similarities with world religions: a belief in a powerful spiritual realm which coexists with the physical world; usually prayer, sacrifice or offering as a means to communicate with the spiritual world; shrines, temples or sacred places; priests, shamans or mediums who can help the people to hear from the spirits or gods, and sometimes a belief in a ‘sky god’ who is creator and above all other gods/spirits.

Animistic folk religions usually grow out of primal religions mixed with one or more world religions. This happens when a world religion is introduced to the area where animistic religions are already practised. The world religion may seem to predominate, but often its tenets and practices will be less important than, or followed alongside, folk customs based on spirit belief.

The basis of animism is that the spirit world is stronger than humans. The power of the spirit world infuses everything. Spirits are often believed to dwell in particular objects, such as a tree, or places, such as an area of forest, or a village. Sometimes the spirits move around, even following people if they move.

The Karen people of north Thailand

‘Animists believe everything is animated by spirits. The Karen believe spirits live in houses, fields, water, rice, buffalo, and trees. They all must be given sacrifices of food and kept happy lest they become angry and cause calamity to fall on the people. Often one can see offerings to spirits put out along the paths with bits of tobacco, thread and betel nut placed on a piece of old cloth. Besides spirits, Karen believe in taboos that cause calamities when broken, and curses that will kill other people…

‘Karen believe they have 33 souls â€" one for various parts of the body with the main one behind the ear. These must all be appeased with an offering and tied in with strings around the wrists. If one of these souls leaves, the person becomes sick and must make another sacrifice to call back his soul. If someone dreams, his soul is actually doing the things he dreams about. If someone wakes him up from a deep sleep too quickly, the souls may not have had a chance to get back to the body in time, so they must be called back and tied in.’

Liz, how interesting.  I had never heard of the Animists so was watching for some information on it. 

Thanks for enlightening us.  Sorry about your snow!  We got all kinds of warnings here but the latest storm here passed by a little south of us and so we didn't get really dumped on like Indiana and other places.

Mike, thanks for your outline as well. 

Interesting.

Yes!!  Quite a bit of snow on the ground -- and roofs and trees -- this morning over here, NITA!.  Mix of rain and snow off and on at the moment, though.  You're right about being ice on the roads tonight if it doesn't warm up a little.

My neighbor went with me on Thursday to meet up with my sister and her friend (from Missouri) in the town of Florence.  We had a great time visiting and shopping and browsing the shops ... My sister's birthday is later this month so I got to buy her gift while we were together.  It is so great that we met on Thursday because yesterday was bad weather and today there's snow and they would not have wanted to drive over from Eugene in those conditions.  God truly IS watching...  Our Father knows best -- all the time!

Thanks Soni for the wonderful devotional and all the other things you do here on CP.  I have admired your new profile photo, too.  I just seldom get my comments posted in time to be noticed.  

I want to also add my big WELCOME to all the newbies (notice there's one from southern Oregon!) and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Ken!  

As for heat ... I have tried to keep my wood fire going at night, but it went out last night, so it was a bit chilly until I could get it going again this morning.  I seldom use the electric for heat just because I'm cautious about the cost.  I did turn it on a while this morning though.  

Interesting explanation about Animism, Mike and Liz ...

Well, I'm off to see what I need to get into done today ... I'll see y'all later.

Jane, that sounds a bit like when I lived in Ireland.  As long as the fireplace was lit and even smoldering a bit, we had heat but it if went out, what a chilly start to the day until I got it going again.

And of course, back when I lived in Ireland, there were few who had central heating and all of the homes were heated by coal fireplace heat.

Thanks everyone for the lovely comments on my new photo. I did read what you said the other day to about it. Thanks!

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Love
Soni

I cannot improve on what Slkief said about animism.  It just finds spirits in everything, physical or immaterial.

Hi everyone.  I don't want to rub it in about the weather but we are enjoying very warm weather for this time of year.  It is suppose to get to 70 today and be nice the next several days.  I figure everyday in January and February we have that is nice is just one less day where we will have some winter weather.  I did some errands this morning but tried not to overdo it.  I am watching some college basketball and later will watch the pro football games that are on today while enjoying my easychair with the laptop on my lap. 

Sonja, thanks for the fine devotional this morning.  I also like your new photo.  Is this a self-portrait?

Welcome to our newcomers today and Happy Birthday, Ken.

Jane, glad you were able to see your sister before the weather got bad.

Hope everyone has a nice day.

Thank you Marilyn, and others for your warm welcome!

That's an interesting devotional. So many times we think of the wicked being those that do things that our society in general abhors and that are punishable by law.
There are so many other sins that are detestable when held up to the purity and righteousness of our Holy God, things we usually might dismiss as "not that bad".
For example, when we don't show love to others. If we see someone hurting or in need of God and we don't respond, it's the equivalent of passing by a starving child while you're eating a plate of steak and potatos. Jesus said "whatever you have done to the least of these, you have done unto me".
Our main focus as Christians is to share the Word. There's a desperate need for it all around us. People are starving, and God has given us the power, through Christ, to change that. Let's all remember to use it.
Gina

January 8   

Personal Life: People Follow Leaders

Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. 
--1 Corinthians 11:1

The history of Israel and Judah points up a truth taught clearly
enough by all history, viz., that the masses are or soon will be
what their leaders are. The kings set the moral pace for the
people....

Whatever sort of man the king turned out to be the people were
soon following his leadership. They followed David in the worship
of Jehovah, Solomon in the building of the Temple, Jeroboam in the
making of a calf and Hezekiah in the restoration of the temple
worship.

It is not complimentary to the masses that they are so easily led,
but we are not interested in praising or blaming; we are concerned
for truth, and the truth is that for better or for worse religious
people follow leaders. A good man may change the moral complexion
of a whole nation; or a corrupt and worldly clergy may lead a
nation into bondage....

Today Christianity in the Western world is what its leaders were
in the recent past and is becoming what its present leaders are.
The local church soon becomes like its pastor. God Tells the Man
Who Cares, 59-60.

"That's a heavy responsibility for any leader to bear, Lord, but
it's one I realize we have to carry. That makes moral failure or
even carelessness and lax discipline so tragic. Strengthen me in
the power of Your Holy Spirit today, that I might be a leader
worth following. Amen."

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You are receiving this recurring mailing because you subscribed to
the daily Tozer devotionals from Literature Ministries International.

By the way, you'll see that our Member Total at the bottom of the page has gone down by about 10.

I've been doing some "housecleaning" on here and I deleted some users.  Their email address wouldn't work and most have never posted a message for over a year and whenever I send out a mailing to the whole membership, I get so many, many returned as not being a correct email address and to participate on Christian Photographers, a proper email address is required.

So, just thought I'd let you know why our total has gone DOWN instead of UP with all of our new members joining.

http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/c/c057.html

WEll Oregon has snow on the coast where Jane and Nita are so far I haven't seen any snow where I am but I have seen Hail. This came down in like a 10  minute period and scared the dogs silly with the noise on the roof.

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TBEAR LIVES !! I am finally here. Sorry that it's taken me so long to get here today but my dear husband wanted 2 get somethings done in town today so ... I had to go along to help out so I am finally sitting down to get caught up w/ all of the boards that I am a part of & the first stop of course had to be here.



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   I took a bite of Iain and Larry's cookie....YUMM - You are a good baker, TBEAR!

Some of the discussion in previous posts was too deep for me...so I'll not comment further, but will go back and read again to see if I can understand it a little more!

Nita:  Please post some "doggy pictures"....OK?  I'd sure love to see them.
Kathy:  I always love hearing from you.  Now, there was something I wanted to ask you, and of course, I didn't write it down, and now I forget   I'll go back and read your post again., and see what it was tthat I wanted to know.

Supper was a "hit and miss" here in our kitchen...First, I dropped a pitcher of milk., then just got that all cleaned up when I dropped 2 eggs n the floor.  Boy, does that floor ever get slippery!

After all that was cleaned up, I told Norm that I thought we'd be better off if we went out for supper,....so we did!    .....and I didn't order eggs!...LOL

Sonja, thanks for the good thoughts for the devotional today.

It is good to see each one of you:  Marilyn, Nita, Iain, Etta Sue, Kathy, Ruth Ann, Pat Scott, Liz, Skief (Thanks for the notes on Animism), Jane, Al, Larry, Gina, Chris and Margit, T Bear, and Judy Mc.

There is still a lot of Animism in Papua New Guinea where we worked some years ago.  Even among those who have been converted to Christianity it is hard for many to completely separate themselves from these superstitions.

Rom 1:14-17
14   I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
15   So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
16   For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17   For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.  (KJV)

--- Papa John          <)))><<   
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Hi, Y'all!   I went to my once a month painting meeting today.  I had a good time, and we painted a pretty ceramic butterfly.

Sonja, I've been meaning to tell you how much I love your new photo.  Did you take that yourself?  Great devotional today, too.  (((hugs)))

Liz, thanks for the explanation of animism---that's pretty much what I was thinking they believe; and by way of explanation, the reason I asked the question is that the Karens in Thailand are animists.  (See my Thailand Photos Vol. 6.)  I have been thinking of these people so much; even to the extent of dreaming of them at night.  I wonder if there is a significance to that?  Am I to return there?  Hmmm.......

Mike, thanks for further expounding on the beliefs of the animists.  Our tour guide is Buddhist, and she said that Buddhists also keep adding to what they believe, and to the gods they serve....and I could see why it is difficult to reach them for the Lord.  They really don't feel they need Him, or just try to add him to the mix of things they already believe.  Of course, we know He is the ONLY TRUE God.

Beth says she wants to go to church in the morning, and I'm so happy she thinks she will be feeling well enough to go.  Praise God.

See you another day.

Judy, I'll try to get some of the puppies up soon.  They haven't changed a bit.....just bigger. lol

My son-in-law isn't much of a dog person.  They came over tonight, and when he sat down, the first thing the pups did was come to him, settle in....one on each side of his feet, and went to sleep.  It must be a man thing.   They stayed right there with Paul for most of the time.  He just smiled.

Time for me to be in bed!

I'm meeting some friends to go to church together in the morning so here's a quick link for you to tomorrow's New Every Morning

Have a wonderful day!

God bless you all.