Friday is Here! Thanks and Praise

I hope you have all had a good week. I'm happy it is Friday, though. 

Psalm 7:17 says, I will thank the Lord because He is just, I will sing praise to the name of the Most High. 

Stop and think... how often do we thank the Lord for who He is? Do we ever praise His name? 

The scriptures state that we enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. If we aren't walking in thankfulness and full of praise for God, then, we are not walking in His presence. Yes, He will never leave us Or forsake us, however, we cannot experience the joy of His presence first hand without thanks and praise being in our hearts. 

I encourage each and every one of you to try this today... Set some time when you can be alone and thank God for what He has done for you. Count those times He has extended grace and mercy to you. Thank Him for each one. Praise Him for His attributes, love, grace, mercy, patience, faithfulness, persistence, provision, and ever listening ears to hear our cry. Be sincere. And watch how quickly His presence surrounds you. I guarantee that you will experience a joy that you can't explain. For God inhabits the praises of His people. 

May you experience that joy and peace today. May you walk closely with Him and shine as a beacon wherever you are today. --  JP

Patience, Perseverance and Tongue Burn

Recently, I lit a bowl of tobacco and found that I could not taste it.  I tried 3 different blends (two different latakia blends and a straight VA).  Everything just had no taste (like drinking a glass of water).  Even my coffee had no taste.  It was pouring rain at the time, and I was sitting on my front porch trying to smoke a pipe.  I figured that the super high humidity was causing the problem. I went in and brushed my teeth and tongue really well, and realized that I could not taste anything!  Not even the toothpaste.  This was not good, as the taste and smell of the tobacco is one of the things that really make pipe smoking enjoyable.  To say I was devastated is an understatement.  I had finally done what I had only heard about but never experienced.  I had burned my tongue!  In a panic, I posted to a forum I am a member of and asked for advice from those much more knowledgeable that I.  I got advice and a time frame.  Do what I can to avoid or stop a cold from forming, and wait for a minimum of two days.  Ugh!  2 days without a pipe seems like an eternity! I also got advice on how to avoid tongue burn in the future.  Basically, I was most likely smoking my tobacco too wet.  I needed to let it dry out more.  Living in the Houston area, it is very rare for our relative humidity to drop below 60%  This equates to very long tobacco drying times.  I am not a patient person, BTW.  What to do?  What to do?  First, I asked my wife to make some chicken and dumplings.  It is my favorite meal, and chicken soup had been a suggestion for staying healthy.  Second, I pulled out some 'baccy to dry.  I let it dry for a full 24 hrs before my next smoke.  It was a LONG 24 hrs. But, the 'baccy felt bone dry after that time, and I packed it in my pipe.  It wasn't the best smoke, but my tongue was starting to heal.  I could taste a little more of the smoke, and it was very enjoyable.  So, I started pulling out the baccy I wanted to smoke and started letting it dry a minimum of an hour or two before I would pack it in a pipe and light it.  After 3 days of drier than normal tobacco, and very slow sipping, my taste has returned!  I have also enjoyed some wonderful chicken and dumplings that my wife was kind enough to make for me. I have learned a bit more about patience and tongue burn, but also about perseverance.  I didn't give up, I just kept trying different things until I was able to figure out how to fix the problem, not just the burned tongue.  Now, I am letting the baccy dry out more (patience again) before I pack it and light it.  My tongue is thanking me for it with more flavor and better, drier smokes.

I was reading the scriptures tonight and read the verse of the day in my Bible app that I have installed on my Windows 8.1 laptop.  It is Hebrews 10:35-37.

35)Therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward

36) for you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:

37)"For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry"

These few verses reminded me of my road trip I took in June of this year.  I had been really struggling, and basically going through an existential crisis.  I had been praying that God would speak to me and show me what He wanted me to do.  I had been seeking specific direction from God, and didn't have an answer.  I had committed to listening to Him on this trip, and not letting things distract me, like the radio, Cd's, or music player.  I usually listen to music when on the road.  I was driving along through southeastern Oklahoma and praying when I felt that I should turn the radio on.  I came across a Christian talk radio station where a fellow was preaching.  It was on perseverance.  The next sermon was on overcoming, The next, perseverance again.  The whole trip, every sermon or scripture I heard or read happened to be on that same subject.  It finally got through my thick skull what God was trying to tell me.  He wanted me to be patient, and rely on His strength to persevere and overcome the obstacles I was facing at that time.  Duh!  It doesn't take a genius to see that is what He was trying to say to me.  But, I have never been accused of being the sharpest tool in the shed, especially when emotions are involved.  I tend to react swiftly instead of thinking things over when I am calmer.  He then gave me a very clear promise which I hold dear and make sure to thank him for every day.  My part of the promise was to persevere and to take His hand and walk with Him every day.  I try to do so, but fail a lot.  However, thanks to His never ending Grace and Mercy, I can get up and try again.  He is faithful, even when we are not.    The Bible verse I quote most often is Galatians 6:9  "And let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not".  This scripture reminds me that as long as I keep pressing forward, that God will keep His word at the right time.

Faith and Patience

I have been reading a lot lately, and it seems the theme for this week is faith and patience. Patience is one of the hardest things for me to learn. I ran across this passage tonight.

James 1:2-8
Bretheren, Count it all joy when you fall into various trials. Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But, let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like the wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

I find that when I pray and ask God for wisdom, or for Him to do a specific work in my life, or in the lives of others, that I have to vocalize my faith. Vocalizing my faith helps to drive out the doubt. The way I vocalize my faith is to first ask. Even though God knows what we need, or will be asking of Him, the first step of faith is to ask. Once I am done asking and praying about whatever it is, I then thank Him. I thank Him that he will do as I have asked, and that He will honor my prayers in His time. This is the vocalization of faith. The bible says to "pray with thanksgiving" How can we do that, if we never thank Him for His work (even before He has done that work) Faith is believing that what we ask will be done, even before we see it done.
One more thought on this too. When we are falling into various trials, recognize that as the Hand of God working. He is allowing our faith to be tested so that when He does answer our prayers, that we will see his mighty power and have even a stronger faith at the end of the trial.