"Only Life Changes"

The Lord is my strength and my song, and He is become my salvation.
Exodus 15:2
(Prayer)
Lord, make me strong, not for the sake of possessing strength, but to make me sufficient for the crisis moments in my life and in the lives of others who reach out to me in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Revelation 21:6
(Prayer)
Heavenly Father, fill me with Your joy so that there will be a constant overflow to attract others to Yourself in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

Father God, let this touch someone’s heart and let them know they can do anything good with all their heart and soul. I thank You in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

I would like to speak of Artists a few minutes. Artist in their lifetime were rarely appreciated. A few lucky ones had supporters that would sponsor them allowing them to work at their leisure, on their own special talents. If an artist was working it was usually on a consignment basis, when they were able to get paid work, creating something for the church, for businesses, events or a wealthy family back in the day. Most artists were barely able to obtain recognition for their well-deserved talents. Most of them were uncommon, dealing with some form of addiction, physical or mental illness and alcohol problems. Most of the famous artists we know today were not recognized and celebrated within their lifetimes. They may have sold some paintings, but few achieved the state of fame that some of them did after death. They were rarely able to support themselves let alone a family. Most of the artists on this list introduced something new and were not without disagreements surrounding them and their work. This is why many struggled.
The artists on this list below died in poverty and relative unimportant to society but important to God. What is really interesting is researching each one of these artists and their works. Something I love to do.

El Greco known as “The Greek” was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance.
James Barry born in Ireland in 1741
Jean-Honore Fragonard: was a French painter and printmaker whose late Rococo manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism.

Amedeo Modigliani: Was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterized by a surreal elongation of faces, necks, and figures that were not received well during his lifetime.
Johannes Vermeer: Was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately successful provincial genre painter, recognized in Delft and The Hague.
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin: Was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of color and Synthetist style that were distinct from Impressionism. Toward the end of his life, he spent ten years in French Polynesia.
Vincent Van Gogh: Dutch painter, generally considered the greatest after Rembrandt van Rijn, and one of the greatest of the post-Impressionists. The striking color, emphatic brushwork, and contoured forms of his work powerfully influenced the current of Expressionism in modern art.

Gustave C. Langenberg: Was probably one of the most widely traveled painters from the Düsseldorf School of Painting, who, after stints in Munich and Paris, also undertook very productive trips to North and South America.
Rembrandt Harmenszoon Van Rijn: Rembrandt’s portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits and illustrations of scenes from the Bible are regarded as his greatest creative triumphs. His self-portraits form an intimate autobiography. Rembrandt’s foremost contribution in the history of printmaking was his transformation of the etching process from a relatively new reproductive technique into an art form. His reputation as the greatest etcher in the history of the medium was established in his lifetime. Few of his paintings left the Dutch Republic while he lived, but his prints were circulated throughout Europe, and his wider reputation was initially based on them alone. In his works, he exhibited knowledge of classical iconography. A depiction of a biblical scene was informed by Rembrandt’s knowledge of the specific text, his assimilation of classical composition, and his observations of Amsterdam’s Jewish population. Because of his empathy for the human condition, he has been called “one of the great prophets of civilization”. The French sculptor Auguste Rodin said, “Compare me with Rembrandt! What sacrilege! With Rembrandt, the colossus of Art! We should prostrate ourselves before Rembrandt and never compare anyone with him!”

All 10 of these artists let their light shine while they were alive for Christ and when they went into heaven was unable to take pennies with them. But each one of them have a past and have an eternal future with God. It is heartbreaking that they will never see just how celebrated their art and talent has become over the years. It is so amazing how their paintings sell now for millions of dollars and are displayed in museums, galleries, restaurant’s and people’s homes from around the world. People fight to buy them for themselves. See they found that these precious art works are the shade of happiness on the walls of those who appreciate them and their works. God has proved His masterpieces in all ten of these artists. Even an artist cannot paint what God has already created. But God can create master pieces out of all of us.
So, they left behind signs of God’s wonders through their time talent and treasures, if you look on each name and research them, you will find history they kept God’s wisdom in view and their eyes on God’s will for their lives.
Letting your talents and treasures do God’s work.
In all this I hope you see how all that we give or do right is not taken for granted.

“Today is “International Friendship Day” This should be every day, just like Christmas should be everyday where everyone gives of themself and to others in kindness, love and compassion.
God is your best, most perfect friend. He is always available, willing to listen to your complaints and show you a way out, a solution to your problems. He never gets tired, He never exasperates. If you search Him, He will be there for you to patiently assist you. When He is rejected by ignorance or human rebellion, He discreetly awaits.

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace” Numbers 6:24-26
“The Lord bless you and keep you” is a striking blessing that has been used by Jewish people and Christians throughout history. It is a way to invoke and call upon God’s blessing of provision and guarding of those who believe in him and follow him.
God really bless you if you tithe.
The only logical answer is, because tithing isn’t for God. Meaning, the tithe doesn’t benefit God, it benefits you. Tithing Helps You to TRUST God “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Some people will say! I want to see that church’s financials. Usually, it is someone who has no knowledge of what it takes to run a church because they have one wife at home running their household and they think that a church can be run the same way. They don’t see the bills, debts or what the church does to give to the community back what it gets in tithes. It takes a lot of people volunteering and a lot of employees to run a church. Takes a lot of work without giving up.
So, if you live in a home. You have to pay all the bills to keep the home running, clean it and take care of its surroundings. Take care of whoever lives with You also. Whoever lives with you should contribute also?
Same with a church. I have seen church’s open and close cause no one contributed but the people who opened with all they had. I have seen churches built and then the next year tore down. I see a church for the past several years be built by two people who was working making a paycheck and then their family members were doing the same to get that church-built piece by piece. They opened the church had people in it. Services in it. I got to watch bulldozers tear that church down in very little time. I have prayed for those people all these years and I still have been praying for them from my heart. A Spanish church that was on Hwy 242. A church is not a building, but the Children of Christ are the church going the same way eternally. God’s children should meet together as community.
Hear these quotes with me because they are so true.
“A church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.” Whole body of Christians standing on Holy ground with Christ.
“You are no saint,’ says the devil. Well, if I am not, I am a sinner, and Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. Sink or swim, I go to Him; other hope, I have none.”
Quote by Charles Spurgeon
“My evidence that I am saved does not lie in the fact that I preach, or that I do this or that. All my hope lies in this: that Jesus Christ came to save sinners. I am a sinner, I trust Him, then He came to save me, and I am saved.” Quote by Charles Spurgeon
As mentioned in the other answers, when God shines his face on us it means that he is pleased with us, our relationship with him is intimate and personal, plus we are living in obedience to his commands. The bible also says in Exodus 33:11 that “The Lord would speak to Moses’ face to face, as one speaks to a friend. “Make his face shine – This is an enhancement of the preceding benediction. “The face of God” imports not merely God’s good will in general, but his active and special regard. With the “face” or “eye of the Lord accordingly is connected alike the judicial visitation of the wicked. Peoples of the Ancient Near East would speak of the shining face of a king or a god. This image may have been based on the way in which a smile “lights up” one’s face. Or it could have been related to the shining of the sun.
To be gracious means ‘to favor,’ ‘to show kindnesses’ to an inferior, and ‘to be compassionate.’ In the Old Testament of the Bible, this adjective applies to God, indicative of His favor and mercy, His long-suffering and general inclination of favor and kindness. It has three main meanings: to lift up anything, to bear or carry (especially guilt for sin), and to take away (often of removing sin). This phrase, “lift up His countenance upon you” involves God taking us into His presence to see His face.

(Let’s Pray)
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’

{Power Verse}
Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
James 5:16

“Peace, I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
John 14:27
(Prayer)
Lord, let me find the peace of mind promised in your word in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go: I will guide you with My eye.”
Psalm 32:8
(Prayer)
Lord, I am unworthy of all the kindness You have showered upon me in the past. I thank You for Your great love to me. Help me to trust You for what I need in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

Casting all your care on Him; for He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7
(Prayer)
O Lord, help me to find the blessings in the midst of hardships. Thank You for bearing my burdens in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

“The Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keeps covenant and mercy with them that love Him.”
Deuteronomy 7:9
{Prayer}
Lord, so bind our hearts to thee that people will see You and Your church in their beauty in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations.

2 Peter 2:9
{Prayer}
Dear God, help me to withstand the temptation of self-righteousness, and all other temptations that keep me from knowing Your will in Jesus Precious Name Amen.

Father God, let this touch someone’s heart in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
Let’s just say you wake up to a baby crying. You have to get up and take care of that baby because the baby cannot do what you do to take care of it.
Say you have dogs with 4 running paws, and they want to get you up to let them out because they cannot reach the door handle. All this time in doing so it’s like God why do I have to get woke up? This is a gift from God to you. All the stuff we do in this life is like I need 4 feet. So, what about those people who don’t have hands or feet. God is with us all good or bad. God is our hands and feet and when we don’t have these. God guides others in our lives to help us and encourage us. I have heard others say: Well, my friends do more for me than my own family. God don’t expect us to be Him. God don’t expect us to do it all. Man wants others to do it all while man complains wrongfully. God gave us all a mind to do what is right and giving. He didn’t give us this mind to take advantage of others goodness.

God knows everything about you, and he always sees.

Notice that many names for God include “El.” El typically refers to God. But Roi brings another attribute of our Lord to the equation. El Roi means “The God who sees me.”Ro’iy in the original Hebrew can be translated as shepherd, or as seeing, looking, or gazing. In other words, when we feel most invisible and forgotten by everyone else, we can remember that God does see us.
In Genesis 16 an Egyptian servant named Hagar encounters hard times and learns an invaluable lesson that God is the God who sees. He knows our situation, and He is in control and trustworthy. Sheep are a prey animal. When they are faced with danger, their natural instinct is to flee not fight. We should be like sheep and flee from sin.

It reads in Jeremiah 16:17-18 “I see everything they do. They cannot hide from me the things they do; their sin is not hidden from my eyes. I will pay back the people of Judah twice for every one of their sins, because they have made my land unclean.
I was in the hospital in 2002. I felt like I had no hands or feet or voice. I felt God was punishing me for turning someone into the police for hurting someone else. I had no one I felt cared but God and the nurses and staff. When I came to it was not the day that this episode happened. It was a day unknown to me. But I felt that the person I was screaming at because he felt that what I did was not justified. By turning that person in. He had to take matters in his own hands and tell a lie that he saw the person that hurt someone else and say in court that that person didn’t hurt no one. When I was the one that saw everything happen.
It reads in Titus 1:16, ~ They claim to know God, but they deny him by what they do. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit to do anything good. Fake Christians sin on purpose saying, “I’ll just repent later” and disobey God’s teachings.

This was very hard for me to forgive these persons. As time went on this same criminal beat on his own father and the person who stopped the beating 4 times, and his father didn’t turn him in to the police. years later I heard this same guy on the phone beat up his own wife and I couldn’t stop it. I messaged my friend on Facebook. Told him what was happening and to call the police for them to go to this woman’s house. This guy ended up in jail finally. By the grace of God. Justice was served. But was it? God knows and He deals with people accordingly in due time.
It reads in Matthew 12:31-32, ~ And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age
Thing is I didn’t realize I had four feet and 2 minds working in my favor. What I really needed was to connect with the mind of Christ in this situation. God gave me this powerful mind as a gift. I should have let go and let God instead of overworking myself. I forgot that God had been right in the center of it all. That I didn’t have to be worried and get upset and I made the choice to get upset without confronting God first. I can’t take getting upset back at this point and changing the clock back. What was done was done. I had to forgive for my sake.
Here is an idea! If you are feeling crafty or you just want something worthwhile to do, try making a flower pen! Flower pens can be used at a baby or bridal showers, birthday parties or give them away as gifts. Just saying! You can give your regular writing techniques a spirit booster. You can take them and bring joy to others’ lives. You can use fake flowers or duct tape; flower pens are a great way to let your creativity blossom. I know cause when I was in the hospital my sister Rae was making me a bouquet of flowers so I could be creative as she was creative in making them. Think about this for a minute. You see this flower pen? It is 20 years old and has many times been used by my hands and used many ways. I write with it. Fake flowers are temporary. If you take and do this to a living cut flower it will die, because it is only temporarily alive. It can stay strong under the pressure of the tape, but the air flow is cut off. It has to be natural and live its life without stress. If the live flowers are living outside in the ground, they can have the old flowers snipped off and watch new ones grow. When you snip off the old flowers there are dried up seeds that can grow more. God takes our sins and snips them at the dead bud, and we can grow beautiful with Him. The old is buried with Christ and the new has come alive.
God creates us by molding us and letting us be His children. Think about this for a minute. These fake pens have been dusted off, moved to different locations in our home. put in different vases at different times to look good in different surroundings. They have visited funeral sessions, baby showers and just in other hands but always have made their way back in the vase. I have written many things, grocery lists, important things like doctor appointments etc. See these flowers was made by my sister. She picked long lasting pens. She didn’t know they would last these 20 years and still write for me. God knew! But when the pens finally die the flowers still look pretty washed or dusted off but won’t last forever.
(Let’s Pray)
Father God, I thank You and praise You for walking with us in all things that matter most to You, that is Your children. Assist us in giving up our fears, stress’ and anxieties and give ourselves fully to You in all we say and do. Let us forgive quick as You have forgiven us. If there is anyone out there with doubts, denial or just don’t know You and want to get to know You better. Let them pray this prayer with me. Lord, it is my desire to be forgiven of my sins. come into my heart and guide me Your way. I make You my Lord and savior in Jesus Name Amen, if you prayed this prayer Jesus came into your heart. Ask God to guide you to church family who are all taking the same path.

All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me; and him that comes to Me I will in no wise cast out.
John 6:37
{Prayer}
Father, remind us of why we are the objects of Your constant love and care in Jesus Precious Name Amen.