tysthatbind

"Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.   And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.   And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.    And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:  And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,  Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.  And they remembered his   "words..."         -" Luke 24:1-8 Dear Friends, Christian gospel artist Daryl Coley recorded a song entitled "When Sunday Comes."  He sings:  " When Sunday comes, my trouble gone,

"Great is the  Lord , and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.    Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.  God is known in her palaces for a refuge."  Psalms 48:1-3 Dear Friends, The   hymn "How Great Thou Art" written by Stuart K. Hine is one of the most popular hymns in the country.  Hine's and his wife were missionaries in Poland in the early 1920's.  For me and my family both immediate and extended, the hymn has been made greater by memories of my sister Gretchen singing it.  Gretchen with her anointed voice bellowed out the words each time she sang the hymn with conviction and assurance.  Why? It was because she took ownership through her unfaltering faith in the One and Only True God.  She knew that He Was, He Is and Always Will Be Great.   Meditating on the greatness of Our Heavenly Father gives rise to praise. Hi

" But Zion said, The   Lord   hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.   Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."  - Isaiah 49:14-16 Dear Friends, I recently purchased a new printer. A couple of weeks ago the old one abruptly stopped working.  I love the new printer.  It wasn't very expensive. Its wireless and allows me to complete tasks more efficiently.  The only issue I was having was that it seemed to take a long time to warm up. I refused to believe it was defective.   I already tossed the box and sending it back would be challenging. I imagined the Lord taking this all in. The Holy Spirit whispered "Stephanie pray about it." I did.  I was then led to the control panel and realized that because I failed to delete the old printer and make t

"This  is  the day  which  the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." - Psalms 118:24 Dear Friends, Here we are 27 days into the new year.  Time to take a look at our spiritual thermostat.  How are we approaching our days.  Rejoice or not to rejoice? That is the question.  Framing the day with God's word allows the spiritual tenor of our day to hold steady.  This day that we are experiencing right now still full with multitudes of minutes, seconds and several remaining hours was made by God.  The Psalmist is intentional in his approach and brings us along: WE WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!  That's powerful.  Of course, we have the option of going contrary and choosing not to have a good day.  Frankly,  "not rejoicing" is not an option.  While  it took me a long time  to grow in this area, rejoicing in the Lord is now a part of who I am. There is the Holy Spirit on the inside that stirs me up.  He is always present ready to remind,

"But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive."        - Genesis 50:20 KJV Dear Friends, God has said:  " For  I   know   the   thoughts  that  I  think toward you, saith  the   Lord , thoughts  of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."  - Jeremiah 29:11 "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." - St. Matthew 10:29-31 In the Book of Genesis chapters 37-50 we follow events in the life  of Joseph. Joseph found himself in a many perplexing situations.  He was betrayed by his own brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused and thrown in prison. He was found interpreting dreams, being disregarded and then being remembered with favor. How did he end up having exp

"Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong." Dear Friends, As you begin your work week whether working outside out of the home, home office, homemaker, retired or student, I encourage you to consider this.  Let this be the beginning of your WORK STRONG!  Of course, we know the traditional saying is,  Monday is the beginning of the work week .  However, words have power and just a shift in what we call something, a shift in what we identify it as can and does make a difference. WORK STRONG!  Whatever the task, whatever the situation, apply the Strength to it. The Lord Jesus Christ is Strength .   " And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him ."  -  Colossians 3:17 WORK STRONG!  "... for this day is holy unto our  Lord : neither be ye sorry; for  the   joy   of   the   Lord  is your strength." - Nehemiah 8:10 cf WO

"Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book!That with an iron stylus and lead They were engraved in the rock forever As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth".  - Job 19:23-25 Dear Friends, Most of us are familiar with the story of Job.  Job a man who pursued righteousness and fled from evil. In so doing he captured the attention of the enemy.  The enemy presented himself before God seeking an opportunity to lay traps for Job in an attempt to turn him away from God.  However, God set boundaries.  The enemy could only push so far.   God still sets boundaries.  There is no free for all on the life of a Christian.  The enemy cannot attack at will. He has to get permission from God.  In that permission limits  are set.  Our souls are secure in Christ. They are not up for negotiation.  Tests present themselves for the purpose of producing testimonies. God has already given us the study guid

" So teach  us  to number our days, that we may apply  our  hearts unto    wisdom." - Psalms 90:12 Dear Friends, My oldest daughter has an exceptional ability to recall dates.  She remembers birthdays of most family members, the year that events took place and who was there.  She remembers the dates when several loved ones passed away.  She can recollect the date of the home going celebration.  She remembers graduation years.  Some would call it uncanny.  I call it a gift. A gift aligned with today's scripture. At this point in my life there are the usual dates that rise to the surface.  I too can recall the birthdays of immediate family and anniversaries.  However at this moment two dates are entrenched in my memory, September 16, 2012 and November 12, 2015.  In 2012 my mother went home to be with the Lord and it will soon be three months since my sister went home.  It is more than the recall of dates that causes me to pause.It is also upon reflecting on the lif

"   And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.   If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?    Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion.    If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" - St. Luke 11:9-13 Dear Friends, On Monday my father will turn 81!  On January 25, 1935 my father made his entrance into the world. My grandmother, "Grama" gave birth to her baby boy destined to make a difference. The dynamic duo, my parents, Ma and Daddy raised four children -- two boys and two girls.   Daddy always took time to listen and talk to me.  He took me to th

"Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and  maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place."      II Corinthians 2:14 Dear Friends, In verse 13 of II Corinthians 2,  Paul is discouraged because he cannot locate his friend.  However, very quickly his attitude changes from despair to hope in verse 14. Why?  He shifted his focus from the perceived problem to the reality.  There is no loss in Christ.  Always He is victorious.  There is a saying the Lord placed in my spirit many years ago. "It don't matter what it looks like it only matters what it is!"  This saying while not indicated in standard English is the standard of faith response.  "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen." - Hebrews 11:1 When we keep ourselves fixed on the truth of God's word, thanking Him in advance for victory that is sure in every circumstance, we find  we can live triumphan

"Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honour. Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth  another hath fulfilled the law. - Romans 13:7-8 Dear Friend, Today I was introduced to a Christian friend a sister in Christ who no longer lives here. Her name has been changed and her  current address is:                         Street:"2 B Present With the Lord. City: On High  State: Heaven Zip: 3 (The Trinity) Her son introduced me. In my spirit I received, "I would like you to meet my mom", as he presented me with a CD that he and his sister compiled.  The CD features their mother reading some of her original poetry.   The anointed voice, the God inspired words, the conviction with which each poem was read blessed my soul. I was honored to meet this strong soldier. Honored. It is a privilege to serve the Lord and to witness daily the miracles God perform

"For the body is not one member, but many. I f the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?   If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?   But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him."      - I Corinthians 12:14-18 Dear Friends, The Body of Christ has been set in place by God. One body with many members is what the scripture lesson teaches us.  We are not all the same. We look different on the outside.  We possess different gifts.  Yet, all are important.  No one more important than another.   Being one body in Christ is a blessing.  It is a magnificent opportunity to function on earth as representatives of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  His Body set in place member by member to accomplish His work.  His

"For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled."  - Colossians 1:19-21 Dear Friends, It is a good feeling when I  reconcile my bank statement to find everything matches up. No surprises. The deposits and expenditures are in order. No overdraft fees, no penalties.  When I few this example through the spiritual truth of Colossians 1:19-21  I am filled with joy and gratitude. Jesus paid it all.  No penalties.  I realize that God is concerned about all things that touch concern our lives.  However, He is most concerned about positioning us to get in "right relationship" with Him. Reconciled! Thank you Jesus!  God knew that there were deficiencies present. He knew that my

"Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness."           - Psalms 29:2 "Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness." - I Chronicles 16:29 "Not to us, LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness."        - Psalms 115:1 Dear Friends, Why should we give glory to God?  The right response is "He is Worthy."  Only He is worthy.  When we "ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name" I Chronicles 16:29, we are honoring Him.  To give glory to God is to stand in agreement and acknowledgement of His Majesty.   When we praise God, when we worship Him we are in fact making a declaration and a testimony of Who God is. There is a song by R. Roger Holland that I love.  It is titled "Worthy God."   "Worthy God is who you are to me, set