"A man without God is trusting in a spider's web. Everything he counts on WILL collapse."

~ Job 8:14 LAB

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Bible Commentary:  "One of man's basic needs is security and people will do almost anything to feel secure. Eventually, however, our money, possessions, knowledge, and relationships will fail or be gone. Only God can give lasting security. What have we trusted for our security? How lasting is it? If we have a secure foundation with God, then feeling of insecurity cannot uproot us."

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(No Karen's Korner tomorrow as I will be away from my computer. Wednesday's will be sent later in the day!)

GLORY FOLLOWS SUFFERING

"I consider 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 NKJV

"Bad things do happen to those Jesus loves. But remember this spiritual principle:  Glory follows suffering, and life follows death.

"Miss Audrey Wetherell Johnson was a woman greatly beloved of God. Born in England, educated in Europe, delivered from agnosticism, and transformed by God's grace into a gifted Bible teacher and preacher, she answered God's call to the mission field in China during the 1930s. After years of teaching pastors and church leaders in a theological seminary in Beijing, Miss Johnson was scooped up with other missionaries and placed in a Japanese concentration camp for three years of intolerable and unmentionable suffering. Yet once again we glimpse God's glory when we learn that Miss Johnson was finally released, came to America, and began Bible Study Fellowship, an international ministry that now has approximately one million men and women who use her material and format to God's Word each week.

"If something bad has happened to you, would you look forward to the glory that IS coming?!!

~ Anne Graham Lotz

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"in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."

~ Genesis 1:1 KJV

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"Then the Lord said to Noah, 'Go into the ark you and your whole family.....take with you two of every kind of animal, a male and its mate......"

~ Genesis 7:1 & 2 NIV

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Most people are becoming aware of a replica of Noah's Ark and the Creation Museum which are a handful of miles apart in Kentucky. It is becoming a destination for a vacation or a stop on travelers' way to other points of interest.

Several people from the Clarion Church of Christ have put together a short-trip that direction from here in Iowa to Kentucky from Thursday - Sunday, August 10 - 13, and we are inviting you to travel with us, if your schedule allows or if it seems interesting to you.

It should be affordable. Cost is $50 for the round trip, riding on a 15-passenger van; staying for three nights at a motel. Rate is $85 per night which can house up to five people with queen-sized beds complete with a hot breakfast each morning. Two-day tickets (one day at each museum) range in prices of $35 - 60, for children, senior citizens, or adults.

It is about a 10-hour trip from Clarion to our destination. One day out; one day at one museum; another at the other; and then our return trip. Look at a map, we can pick up people along the way. We will be traveling south on I-35 and then east on I-80.

If you'd like more information, let me know and I will direct you to the right person. It will take a $50 payment to secure a seat on the van. All other amounts will be paid when we actually on our trip.

It promises to be an adventure!

Today's entry from Sarah Young's "Jesus Calling:  Enjoying Peace in His Presence":

"As you sit quietly in My Presence, remember that I am a God of abundance. I will never run out of resources; My capacity to bless you is unlimited. You live ina world of supply and demand, where necessary things are often scarce. Even if you personally have enough, you see poverty in the world around you. It is impossible for you to comprehend the lavishness of My provisions:  the fullness of My glorious riches.

"Through spending time in My Presence, you gain glimpses of My overflowing vastness. These glimpses are tiny foretastes of what you will experience eternally in heaven. Even now you have access to as much of Me as you have faith to receive. Rejoice in My abundance---living by faith, not by sight."

~ Taken from Philippians 4:19; 2 Corinthians 5:17

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A couple of weeks ago, for a second time, I ran (not fast, but not walking!) at the Grand Blue Mile (one mile) as part of the Drake Relays....with several thousand of my closest friends!

I couldn't help but think about 'how blessed' I am with good health at my age!

Unless I am hit by a falling meteor (or some other untimely event), some day I will have a decline in my health. So then am I 'unblessed'??

Do we equate blessings with good health? materials successes? happy, growing family members? some other things we 'like'?

What about when we get job losses? financial reverses? less-than-the-best health diagnoses? Are those 'un-blessings'?

I think Jesus was telling his disciples about 'His blessings' from the Beatitudes:

"Looking at His disciples, he said:

"Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

"Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.

"Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

"Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man."

~ taken from Luke 6:20 - 22 NIV

Sometimes when we get things we 'like', we are blessed with God's hand.

Other times when we get things we 'don't like', we are blessed with God's heart

As part of God's Kingdom, everything is doable!

I am blessed (as are you!) today. And we can plan on being blessed by Him tomorrow!!

"Once a leper came and knelt in front of him and begged to be healed. 'If you want to, you can make me well again,' he pled.

"And Jesus, moved with pity, touched him and said, 'I want to! Be healed!'

"Immediately the leprosy was gone---the man was healed!"

~ Mark 1:40 - 42 LAB

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Bible Commentary:  "Jewish leaders declared lepers unclean - unfit to participate in any religious or social activity. Because their law said that contact with any unclean person made them unclean too, some even threw rocks at lepers to keep them at a safe distance. But Jesus touched the leper.

"The real value of a person is inside, not outside. Although a person's body may be diseased or deformed, the person inside is no less valuable to God. No person is too disgusting for his touch. In a sense, we are all lepers, because we have all been deformed by the ugliness of sin. But God, by sending his Son Jesus, has touched us, giving us the opportunity to be healed. When you feel repulsed by someone, stop and remember how God feels about that person-------and about you!"

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Introduction in my Bible to the book of Mark:

"Everyone wants to be a winner. Losers are those who finish any less than first. In direct contrast are the words of Jesus, 'And whoever wants to be greatest of all must be slave of all. For even I, the Messiah, am not here to be served but to help others, and to give my life as a ransom for many'. (10:44,45). Jesus IS the greatest -- God incarnate, our Messiah -- but He entered history as a servant."

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Dear Jesus, Thank You for Who You are and for the standard You have set for the rest of us. Thank You that sometimes we are 'winners', but more times we are 'losers' who come in second place or even farther down the list. Thank You that You have done more than called us to be servants, You were a servant first! Help us always to remember who we are but more importantly Whose we are! Lead us. Guide us, as we celebrate You, today and every day. In Your Name. Amen.

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"For salvation that comes from trusting Christ.....it is at reach within easy reach of each of us. It is as near as our own hearts and mouths.

"For if you tell others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord, and believe in your own heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in his heart that a man becomes right with God, and with his mouth he tells others of his faith, confirming his salvation."

~ Romans 10:8 - 10 LAB

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Bible Commentary:  "Have you ever been asked, 'How do I become a Christian?' These verses give you the beautiful answer---salvation is as close as your own heart and mouth. People think it must be a complicated process, but it is not. If they believe in their hearts and say with their mouths that Christ is the risen Lord, they will be saved."

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Today's writing from Sarah Young and her "Jesus Calling:  Enjoying Peace in His Presence":

"Don't be so hard on yourself. I can bring good even out of your mistakes. Your finite mind tends to look backward, longing to undo decisions you have come to regret. This is a waste of time and energy, leading only to frustration. Instead of floundering in the past, release your mistakes to Me. Look to Me in trust, anticipating that My infinite creativity can weave both good choices and bad into a lovely design.

"Because you are human, you will continue to make mistakes. Thinking that you should live an error-free life is symptomatic of pride. Your failures can be a source of blessing, humbling you and giving you empathy for other people in their weaknesses. Best of all, failure highlights your dependence on Me. I am able to bring beauty out of the morass of your mistakes. Trust Me, and watch to see what I will do."

~ taken from Romans 8:28; Micah 7:7

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