Luke 23:43

 

And he said to him, 

“Truly, I say to you, 

today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Luke 23:43 ESV 

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Please join me this week in praying for the Church. Pray that we focus our attention on our purpose and goal in this life. Pray that we keep our eye on the prize. Everyone, every single person will live forever, will have eternal life, but it's where they will spend eternity that needs to motivate our action each and every day.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#ThisIsMyHallelujah #7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerse #bible #eternallife #eternity #heaven #home #greatcommission #gospel #life #death #revival #church #purpose #spiritualgift 

John 14:2

 

In my Father's house are many rooms. 

If it were not so, would I have told you 

that I go to prepare a place for you? 

John 14:2 ESV

I'll post a follow-up next week regarding the "scam" I wrote about yesterday. 

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Please join me this week in praying for the Church. Pray that we focus our attention on our purpose and goal in this life. Pray that we keep our eye on the prize. Everyone, every single person will live forever, will have eternal life, but it's where they will spend eternity that needs to motivate our action each and every day.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#ThisIsMyHallelujah #7thHourPrayerPower #eternallife #eternity #heaven #home #greatcommission #gospel #life #death #revival #church #purpose #spiritualgift

Journey and a scam

 

Words aren't really coming to me this morning "on topic" so I thought I'd just tell you about something that happened yesterday and see if the rabbit trail makes it back around to the main theme.
     I've been getting to know people on Twitter, mostly Christians. We praise God, share Bible verses, and lift each other up. Last week a woman reached out to me through Twitter's private messaging system, asking about my faith, about being saved. She is supposedly from Switzerland, and supposedly only has a few weeks to a few months to live. I was thrilled about this opportunity and shared my testimony with her.
     We wrote back and forth for several days, always talking about God and faith. She asked me to pray for her daily as well as people in other countries who are fighting Covid. Then, she asked me to email her because she was wanting to step away from Twitter. I was praying that she wouldn't ask me for money, that this wasn't all a scheme of some sort. Imagine my disappointment when I received an email from her that was obviously a form letter she has sent out countless times before, talking about "funds".
     Most people would just walk away at this point, but I feel compelled to find out more. How can someone try to scam others under the guise of loving Jesus? It sickens me. Then I think of all of the prosperity gospel "leaders" and I realize what their horrible example tells the world: 'it's okay to turn the gospel around for your own financial gain.'
     I let this really bring me down yesterday but today, I'm giving it up to God, asking Him to guide whatever words I use to respond to her. Circling back around from the rabbit trail...God put us here to build relationships with one another and to bring glory to Him. It's going to include meeting people who misrepresent His love and grace. We need to pray for them and love on them as well. This is our journey. This is our hallelujah.

Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heavens!

Praise him for his mighty deeds;

praise him according to his excellent greatness!

Praise him with trumpet sound;

praise him with lute and harp!

Praise him with tambourine and dance;

praise him with strings and pipe!

Praise him with sounding cymbals;

praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 150:1-6 ESV


You may also like:
"Record Your Days" January 3, 2018

The Preacher spoke about this life and about time as a commodity, measured in days. He was speaking on Psalm 90 and suggested that we record each day as a means of numbering our days "that we may gain a heart of wisdom". This is my new project for the New Year. It will bring focus to accomplishing something each day, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, ...

"Seen or unseen" April 24, 2019 

I've read these verses several times over the years but still, this morning got something different from them. It probably has to do with reading scripture in light of what's happening in life at this moment. That's how we find answers to life's questions...

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Please join me this week in praying for the Church. Pray that we focus our attention on our purpose and goal in this life. Pray that we keep our eye on the prize. Everyone, every single person will live forever, will have eternal life, but it's where they will spend eternity that needs to motivate our action each and every day.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#ThisIsMyHallelujah #7thHourPrayerPower #eternallife #eternity #heaven #home #greatcommission #gospel #life #death #revival #church #purpose #spiritualgift #scam #socalledChristian #prosperitygospel

Every day is a hallelujah!

 

I'm focused on Donnie Allen this week. His life and his ministry are inspirational to everyone who knew him. A friend posted, "I never met someone who had such a strong desire to preach the gospel to everybody you came in contact with. I pray that I can receive that passion as well." This is also my prayer.
     I'm also focused on his #ThisIsMyHallelujah (See Monday's post). To be able to turn such a difficult journey into a hallelujah is so awesome, and so Christlike. Donnie was such a true image-bearer for the Lord.
     According to dictionary.com "Hallelujah" means, "God be praised." As a noun, it is an "expression of worship or rejoicing."
     Every day we should shout, "Hallelujah!" Every day is a hallelujah!

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, 

nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, 

what God has prepared for those who love him”—

1 Corinthians 2:9 ESV

I'm sharing this song, "Hallelujah." It is not the original one written by Leonard Cohen, that mixes religion and sex. Kelley Mooney rewrote the lyrics, with the permission of the original author to tell the story of the Gospel. This rendition is sung by sisters Callahan and Cassandra Star Armstrong. All of the links in this paragraph tell the story of the song and video.

You may also like:

"Jesus, thank You for loving me" (the video doesn't work, but the words are still relevant.)

"For the terminally ill"

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Please join me this week in praying for the Church. Pray that we focus our attention on our purpose and goal in this life. Pray that we keep our eye on the prize. Everyone, every single person will live forever, will have eternal life, but it's where they will spend eternity that needs to motivate our action each and every day.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#ThisIsMyHallelujah #7thHourPrayerPower #eternallife #eternity #heaven #home #greatcommission #gospel #life #death #revival #church #purpose #spiritualgift

Waking up

 

How do you wake up each morning? Do you wake up to an alarm clock, cursing the day for dragging you out of bed? Do you postpone the inevitable by hitting the snooze countless times? Do you just generally hate mornings?

     Or, do you wake up praising God for giving you another day? Do you say a prayer of thanksgiving for the possibilities that lie ahead?

     I used to be the first set of examples above. I would wake up angry; sometimes even singing the old WWII song, "Oh how I hate to get up in the morning. Oh, how I'd love to remain in bed..." Then, I realized there are people who are bedridden who would love nothing more than to be able to get up in the morning. My problem wasn't the morning, it was that I needed more sleep, and a major tweak in my attitude.

     It makes me think of the movie "Groundhog Day." Bill Murray's character woke up angry every morning; he went through the day feeling defeated, bitter, and hopeless. He lived his life full of dread. After the turning point of the movie, his attitude changed; he found purpose and hope. He learned to make the most of his situation and woke up each day with anticipation. 

     Now I wake up saying, "Thank You, Lord!" I ask God to guide me as to His will for my day. It has helped tremendously. I no longer feel (as) overwhelmed (it's a work-in-progress), and therefore I don't have those feelings of being defeated.

     I don't want to come across like I have anything figured out, but I do want to share when I have that "aha" moment that not only makes my life a little easier but also draws me closer to God.

     My challenge for you is this, wake up every morning and say, "Hallelujah!" Say it like you mean it! Say a prayer of praise and thanksgiving and ask God for direction for your day. If you'd like to share what happens, let me know. I'm excited for you and for your week ahead.

     Our Father and Jesus and the Holy Spirit deserve nothing short of our continual praise and love.

“For God so loved the world, 

that he gave his only Son, 

that whoever believes in him should not perish 

but have eternal life.

John 3:16 ESV

You may also like: "Pray for a widow or widower" from January 14, 2019

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Please join me this week in praying for the Church. Pray that we focus our attention on our purpose and goal in this life. Pray that we keep our eye on the prize. Everyone, every single person will live forever, will have eternal life, but it's where they will spend eternity that needs to motivate our action each and every day.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#ThisIsMyHallelujah #7thHourPrayerPower #mornings #attitude #wakeup #praise #challenge #hope

Our permanent home

 

I would love to be able to capture this Bible passage in a picture and share it with all of you, but I would never be able to do it justice. The glory of our permanent home, the place our loving Father has prepared for us is beyond our human comprehension. John described it to the best of his ability (and did a wonderful job, I might add). I love reading this passage and imagining what he saw, and what we will all someday see:

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Revelation 22:1-5 ESV

You may also like: "Grieve as one with hope" from January 17, 2019

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Please join me this week in praying for the Church. Pray that we focus our attention on our purpose and goal in this life. Pray that we keep our eye on the prize. Everyone, every single person will live forever, will have eternal life, but it's where they will spend eternity that needs to motivate our action each and every day.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#ThisIsMyHallelujah #7thHourPrayerPower #eternallife #eternity #heaven #home #blog #blogpost #blogger

This Is My Hallelujah

 

Our dear brother in Christ, Donnie Allen, passed away yesterday afternoon. He will be deeply missed. Words just cannot express how much. He touched so many lives during his stay here on earth that I am in awe of him. To live a life that dedicated and focused on Christ should be an inspiration to us all. We have this real-life example of why we're here and how we're to live.

     Donnie and Amanda created a Facebook group when they started this bone marrow transplant journey in order to keep all of us informed.  Its hashtag is #ThisIsMyHallelujah and Donnie used it as a means to inspire and share his passion for Jesus. It was as much a means to share his spiritual journey as it was his physical one. Even with everything he went through, he put Jesus first. The group has over 1,000 followers. 

     Additionally, those posts have been shared in other groups, and by other individuals. I can only imagine the breadth and scope of people that Donnie reached through this platform. He and Amanda shared the gospel with countless people in Cleveland, as well. What a testimony to God's plan for our lives that He uses situations both good and bad to secure more souls for heaven! 

Amanda wrote:

It is with a very painful heart that I tell you all that Donnie Allen passed peacefully today Sunday May 16 at 430pm surrounded by his family. 

Donnie’s journey is now complete and he has been healed and is in the arms of Jesus. 

I thank you all for the many hours of prayers said on our behalf and ask that you now shift your prayers towards our family and the coming days ahead.

     I feel like I've written often about grief and dying over the past fourteen months, but like I've said, it's a clear sign for the Church to get serious about revival and bringing as many people to Christ as possible. This week I would like for us to focus our thoughts and prayers on "the hope." It is my hope that this will remind us why we're here. This is just a pitstop in our lives because Earth is NOT our home. 

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Revelation 21:4 ESV

See also: "Widows" from July 11, 2020

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Please join me this week in praying for the Church. Pray that we focus our attention on our purpose and goal in this life. Pray that we keep our eye on the prize. Everyone, every single person will live forever, will have eternal life, but it's where they will spend eternity that needs to motivate our action each and every day.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#ThisIsMyHallelujah #7thHourPrayerPower #eternallife #eternity #heaven #greatcommission #gospel #life #death #revival #church #purpose #spiritualgift