Trail Mix - 9.2.18

9.2.18 – “God’s grace is not only amazing; it is also abundant grace, attractive grace and active grace! “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us…” is John’s declaration of astonishment at this grace that is never ending, unfailing, unconditional, unilateral, and uplifting. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see…” Hallelujah, what a Savior! Grace is the “bridge” between a holy God and sinful man.” S. E. Trail

My prayer for you today that you would have a great appreciation for God’s amazing grace!

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. KJV

“There is a story about two friends who were walking through the desert. Halfway through the journey they had an argument and one friend slapped the other in the face. The one who was slapped felt hurt, but without saying anything he wrote in the sand: "Today my best friend slapped me in the face." They kept on walking until they found an oasis where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped began to drown and his friend saved him. When he recovered from the ordeal, he wrote on a stone: "Today my best friend saved my life." His friend asked him, "Why, after I hurt you, did you write in the sand and now you write on a stone?" The man, smiling, replied: "When a friend hurts us, we should write it down in the sand, where the winds of forgiveness can erase it away. And when something great happens, we should engrave it on the stone of the memory of our heart, where no wind can erase it."

Bible Reading Schedule for today - Ezekiel 20-21

Trail Mix - 9.1.18

Trail Mix - 9.1.18 – “Jesus said that to enter the kingdom we had to be like little children. How is that possible when we have so much cluttering up our lives? How do we achieve the “simplicity” of a child? Notice that He did not say childishness but childlikeness! We become childlike with our hearts not our heads. It is not a mountain to climb but a valley to walk. When we are willing to humble ourselves we find the childlike heart Jesus spoke about. “Blessed are the meek…” for they shall be the most childlike and the most Christlike! S. E. Trail

My prayer for you today is for you to hold to the Father’s hand and stay close to the Father’s heart.

Matthew 23:12  And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. KJV

“When we get to heaven, there will be no contest to see who was the most deserving of God’s grace because no one deserves it. There will only be one contest in heaven. When we look back and see what we were before, when we see the pit from which he rescued us, when we recall how confused we were, when we remember how God reached out and hired us into His family, and how he held us in his hand, and when we see Jesus who loved us and gave himself for us, the only contest will be to see which of us will sing the loudest: “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.” Brian Bill

Bible Reading Schedule for today - Ezekiel 17-19

Trail Mix - 8.31.18

8.31.18 – Vance Havner wrote, “What a difference a conjunction makes! Joseph spoke to his brothers and said, “Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it for good.” What men proposed, God disposed. They thought but HE wrought! We have a potent adversary but we also have an all powerful ALLY! Joseph went from prisoner to prime minister. Despised by his brothers, he was decorated by GOD! Thank GOD for the conjunctions in HIS Word.” Trust in the providence of God my friend; He cannot fail! S. E. Trail  

My prayer for you today is that you will never give up hope for there is always “God!”

Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. KJV

“John was driving home late one night when he picked up a hitchhiker. As they rode along, he began to be suspicious of his passenger. John checked to see if his wallet was safe in the pocket of his coat that was on the seat between them, but it wasn’t there! So he slammed on the brakes, ordered the hitchhiker out, and said, “Hand over the wallet immediately!” The frightened hitchhiker handed over a billfold, and John drove off. When he arrived home, he started to tell his wife about the experience, but she interrupted him, saying, “Before I forget, John, do you know that you left your wallet at home this morning?”

Bible Reading Schedule for today - Ezekiel 16

Trail Mix - 8.30.18

8.30.18 – “Vance Havner said, “If you love His appearing you are not in love with this present world.” Have we set our sights higher than this old world? The love of the world and the love of the Father simply cannot coexist in the same heart! Paul wrote about a member of his missions team that left, “…having loved this present world.” It makes a great difference whether we love this age or the one to come. Remember friend, your heart is wherever your treasure is! We must keep a loose grip on this world and its possessions. If God chooses He can pry our hands off the things of this world that we hold dear but it’s gonna hurt if He has to!” S. E. Trail

My prayer for you today is a heart that longs for it’s true home!

Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. KJV

“J. Edwin Orr, a professor of Church history has described the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit during the Welsh Revivals of the nineteenth century. As people sought to be filled with the Spirit, they did all they could to confess their wrong doing and to make restitution. But it unexpectedly created serious problems for the shipyards along the coast of Wales. Over the years workers had stolen all kinds of things, from wheelbarrows to hammers. However, as people sought to be right with God they started to return what they had taken, with the result that soon the shipyards of Wales were overwhelmed with returned property. There were such huge piles of returned tools that several of the yards put up signs that read, "If you have been led by God to return what you have stolen, Please know that the management Forgives you and wishes you to keep what you have taken."

Bible Reading Schedule for today - Ezekiel 13-15

Trail Mis - 8.29.18

8.29.18 – “John Wesley was the “Knight with a Burning Heart!” After his Aldersgate experience he said he awoke with "Jesus, Master," in his heart and in his mouth. If you really get what Jesus is offering He will be both Savior and Lord to you. The church world is full of professors who are not possessors. The offer of salvation is to those who will believe on the LORD JESUS CHRIST. Each of these titles has significance for those who believe in Him. Count the cost my friend, Jesus would be Lord of all in your life or He is not Lord at all!’ S. E. Trail

My prayer for you is for you to “wave the white flag of surrender” to the Lord of Lords!

Philippians 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, KJV

“At a church meeting a very wealthy man rose to tell the rest of those present about his Christian faith. "I'm a millionaire," he said, "and I attribute it all to the rich blessings of God in my life. I remember that turning point in my faith. I had just earned my first dollar and I went to a church meeting that night. The speaker was a missionary who told about his work. I knew that I only had a dollar bill and had to either give it all to God's work or nothing at all. So at that moment I decided to give my whole dollar to God. I believe that God blessed that decision, and that is why I am a rich man today." He finished and there was an awed silence at his testimony as he moved toward his seat. As he sat down a little old lady sitting in the same pew leaned over and said to him: "I dare you to do it again."

Bible Reading Schedule for today -Ezekiel 9-12

Trail MIx - 8.28.18

8.28.18 – “What happens to a people who forget God? Psalms 9:17 says, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." What an awful price to pay to go your own way and do your own thing without God. They used to say God was dead. They don't say that now, they just say He is irrelevant; that the Creator just does not matter. One day men will know how wrong they were. One day He’s coming and it will be too late to change, too late to make a choice, too late to say I’m sorry! An eternity filled with regret and grief because all hope is gone.” S. E. Trail

My prayer is for all of us to never forget that there is One who has created all things and controls all things and one day will come to settle all things.

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. KJV

“The story is told of a policeman who stopped a car for failing to come to a complete stop at a stop sign. The man in the car pitched a fit and explained that he had slowed to practically a halt and reasoned that it was practically the same as stopping. Not good enough said the officer and he ticketed the fellow. That afternoon, the officer stopped the fellow a second time and the same scene unfolded. The man pleaded that his habit of slowing down was adequate and just the same as stopping completely. He got another ticket. You guessed it. It happened a third time that night and the fellow yelled at the officer and called him a choice name or two. Finally the officer lost his composure and took action unbecoming an officer of the law. He yanked the fellow half of the way out of the driver’s window and began hitting him with his night stick. The officer yelled, “Ok, do you want me to stop or slow down?” He got the point. Discerning how things really are is important to the believer. What they may seem to be may not be what they are.” - adapted from John Hagee, San Antonio, TX

 

Bible Reading Schedule for today - Ezekiel 5-8

Trail Mix - 8.27.18

8.27.18 – “Most of us go to church with all kinds of things on our minds. We are thinking about what happened last week or that morning prior to the service or even what we might be doing for lunch after the last amen. We need to think about the implications for a real worship experience when we are focused on these distractions and not on the Lord. Worship is not about us, it’s all about HIM! The God who created everything is worthy of all that we have to give, our time, our talents, and our treasure, nothing less!” S. E. Trail  

My prayer for today is that we all might lay aside our wants, worries, and wanderings and keep our hearts and heads focused on the One who is worthy of worship!

Psalms 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. KJV

“Two boys were walking home from Sunday school after hearing a strong preaching on the devil. One said to the other, 'What do you think about all this Satan stuff?' The other boy replied, 'Well, you know how Santa Claus turned out. It's probably just your Dad.'”

Bible Reading Schedule for today - Ezekiel 1-4