Jonah 2:8

My morning verse was Jonah 2:8-9 KJVA

"They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. "

At first I wasn't quite sure what the Lord might wanna say to me today, but the more I thought about it  the truth for me became clearer...
When you trust in your own foolish ways and thoughts, you are turning away the free gift of God's mercy...
So often I get discouraged because I don't trust God completely. Somehow I equate what He is  capable and willing to do with what man might do. Soooo wrong...it's a lie that robs me... Just because man may not forgive or because a feat is impossible for man to do does NOT mean this holds true for the Lord ...it's actually the complete opposite...the bible tells me so... "with God, all things are possible" 
Leaning unto my own understanding leaves me feeling frustrated and defeated...but wow, when I realize He is Holy and perfect, and He's all I need and that His mercy is my own, my heart and spirit then find peace... 
I love my verse for today...He's so awesome!! :-)

Sunday School Lesson ... Puppets of Purpose :)

Story Passage used this week.

Mark 6:17-28 KJV

Last week we talked about being Ambassadors for Christ; how Daniel and his three friends, even with threat of death, didn't give in to what everyone else was doing...they stayed true to God! They represented Him with all their  hearts! Loving Him always ! 

Today we are gonna talk about another man whose name was King Herod.  He didn't listen to the right way of things...he gave in to peer pressure. And afterwards felt sorry.

Have you ever done that? Done something you knew was wrong but someone else told ya it was ok and when you did it you felt so sorry for it?? That is peer pressure and the bible tells us to not worry what the world thinks of us, only what God cares is what's important. 

For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10)

So listen for His voice to tell you what is good and right to do. He speaks to us in our spirit. We can always trust His word, the Bible, to tell us what is pleasing to Him for us to do! 

Let's talk now a minute about King Herod, and his story...

John the Baptist was Jesus's  cousin.  He had been preaching and teaching that Jesus was on His way and that He was the Savior of the world! He always told it like it was...he taught and stood for what was right.  Now, the bible in Mark 6:20 said King Herod liked listening to John preach.

"For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly."

But King Herod's wife did not because she knew when John had told them that she and Herod were living sinfully, he was speaking the truth because they were.   John was put in prison for telling the truth and because Herod wanted to please his wife...(even if it was wrong.)  Eventually, he did something even worse.  You see, Queen Herodious wanted John the Baptist dead and because she knew she couldn't do it herself, she had her daughter to ask this request of King Herod, knowing he wouldn't deny her.  He wasn't a man who was known for doing what was right ...he gave way to the outside ways of the world....he gave way to peer pressure.  Even though he knew John was a godly man and gladly listened to his teachings, he still had him killed, all because he was being pleasing to the queen and her daughter. 

"And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother.  (Mark 6:27)

The bible says in verse that Herod was so so sorry for giving in to her request...

"And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her."  (Mark 6:26)

Bad things  happen when we are so easily led astray from the right ways of God...other folks can suffer too when we do wrong and give in to the world.  Just look at what happened to John because Herod wasn't able to stand up for right. 

God wants us to listen and live for Him! 

When we love him how? With all our hearts our mind our soul and our strength...

 we will stop and think the next time someone tries to persuade us to do something that is wrong and against God's will. We don't want to be puppets to the world ...we wanna be willing servants  of Christ, PUPPETS OF PURPOSE...instruments of His peace...his hand leading us and his truth speaking through our lives! Truly being those loving Ambassadors for Him!   We will glorify God when we do what He tells us and not what the world tells us!  Jesus says "...and I,  if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." (John 12:32)

So let's be those puppets of purpose, living lives of praise and honor to Him, always telling others about what he did for them, how he came and died on the cross so that we all might be saved and have eternal life! How it is AWESOME to have a heart that belongs to Jesus! 

"Be ye followers of God..." (Eph. 5:1a)