Coffee ☕️ And Conversation A Ray Of Hope

Guarding Your Tongue

Proverbs 18:21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Everyone uses words to communicate. Some of us love to use words, but what words are we going to use? Every day we can use words to give others life. We can use words to give others hope. We can use words to give others joy. We can use words to tell others how much we love them. We can use words to tell others we accept them and we forgive them. Our world is filled with words of death, hatred, ego, greed, and lust. We must use Christ's words of light to counter the words of darkness filling up our world.

The words we send out come back to us. The words we send out can store up treasures for us in heaven or dig our grave so deep down our grave descends into the pits of Satan's hell. What we send out in words has consequences for others and for ourselves…eternal consequences for others and for ourselves. What kind of words will you send out today and in the days to come?

Coffee ☕️ And Conversation A Ray Of Hope

Power To Control

We all want power. We all want to be able to control the events in our life. Realistically, there are some parts of our life we cannot control. Our power over the events in our life is determined not so much when we control the events in our life but when we control ourselves. We cannot exchange our life for another person. To change all of who we are we need to be able to do the impossible. We need to be able to make an exchange of who we are now with a new person. However, with God, all things are possible. In a most personal way, in a way applicable to you, the new person you can become is the person God has always wanted you to be. To make this exchange, or to completely change yourself, you have to see Jesus and see the love in His eyes for you. Everyone needs love. No person on earth can escape the need for love. Even the evilest of persons need love. The evilest persons are the persons who need love the most. In His eyes, as you repent of your sins, you become a new person because of Him and through Him.

Coffee☕️And Conversation A Ray Of Hope

Something Better.

A visiting Pastor was attending a men's breakfast in a Mississippi Farm County. He asked one of the impressive older farmers in attendance to say grace that morning. After all, were seated, the older farmer began------"Lord, I hate buttermilk. The Pastor opened one eye and wondered to himself where this was going. Then the farmer loudly proclaimed, "Lord, I hate lard." Now the Pastor was worried. However, without missing a beat, the farmer prayed on, "And Lord, you know I don't care much for raw white flour." Just as the Pastor was ready to stand and stop everything, the farmer continued, "But Lord, when you mix 'em all together and bake 'em up, I do love fresh biscuits. So, Lord, when things come up we don't like, when life gets hard, when we just don't understand what you are sayin' to us, we just need to relax and wait 'till You are done mixin', and probably it will be somethin' even better than biscuits.

Coffee☕️And Conversation A Ray Of Hope

Quietness for A Troubled Soul

The fear of pain is often worse than the pain itself. The fear of future pain often aggravates the present pain and makes the present pain even worse. Fear makes us tense. Fear disables our immune system. Fear activates our body to run when running may not be necessary. To conquer your fear, place your fear in the palm of God's hand. To conquer your fear, place what makes you afraid in the palm of God's hand. By making these overt acts of placing your pain in God's hands, you begin to take charge of your pain instead of letting your pain take charge of you. To conquer your fear, identify the fear and summon the courage. Learn from your recent minutes in the past you can face your pain. Remember you have faced your pain just a few minutes ago and you are now like you have always been. Because you have faced your pain in the past and remained like you have always been, you can find the courage to face your pain again and again and again without fear.

Coffee ☕️ And Conversation A Ray Of Hope

Never Forget?

We say we will never forget 9-11-2001 but look at the condition our nation is in now. No airplanes are hitting anything but it appears we are crumbling at our very foundation. When this tragedy came about in 2001 it brought unity to this Nation that is indescribable. Some may be asking why and the answer is simple. It caused this Nation once again to call out to God. Sad to say but will it take another tragedy to bring us back together? I certainly hope we never have to face another tragedy like 911.

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles Chapter 7:14)

Coffee ☕️ And Conversation A Ray Of Hope

What Jesus Can Do

If you pray for something outside of yourself like more money, or a new job, or a material thing, Jesus is not going to float it down to you. What Jesus can do is put His love in your heart and give you the power and energy to do His will in your life. What Jesus can do is burn holes in your conscience so your wants and needs for money, career, and material things become less important. Jesus can fill you with His love and grace so you can pass on His love and grace to others in your life. Given enough passing on of His power by you to others, other people may be able to help you achieve what you want to achieve but only if He wills other people to help you. Jesus supplies the power. You supply the sweat. Jesus answers prayer according to His will, not according to our will or according to our wants and needs. Jesus answers prayer according to what He wants in our life not according to what we want. You may work to get what you want in life but what you want in life and what you finally get may not be what God wants for you. Most of us go to God wanting Him to fix things in our life. God supplies the love we supply the muscle and action helping us fix things the hard way by working on our issues day by day and week by week. Over time, with patience and faith in His divine will and mercy, our issues, our wants, and our needs all get resolved. Eventually, when we live with Christ in our heart, all our earthly wants, needs, issues, and problems get washed away as we sail home to see Him face to face.

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Battling In Prayer

We all have egos. We all have our inner voice in us screaming out, "I", "me", and "mine". When we pray, we must pray for a diminished ego before God. When you are consumed by your own worries and consumed by your own problems, then prayer becomes all about you instead of all about others, all about Christ, and doing what God wants you to do. In these times when you are consumed with your own life, your mission is to pray in an unselfish way. You are to pray even when you cannot pray in the abandonment of your ego. At any time, when you cannot pray, you are to pray anyway. When you are not in the mood to pray, when you are too sick to pray, when you have lost touch with God, pray anyway. God knows what you are going through and He also hears you whether you think He hears you or not. One of the difficult things to do when you don't want to pray is to pray. No matter what the circumstances might be, you are to pray. Even if it seems like you are just going through the motions, go through the motions anyway. The Lord hears you and He is near to you even when you are not near to Him. Hard to believe, but God is more glorified by those who struggle for Him than those who find it easy to always do godly things.

Coffee ☕️ And Conversation