WHAT a DAY! I go to work, and I am ALL prepared. Everything went SOOO smooth (even though I was an hour late getting off work). Got off work thinking, "God is SOOO good!"
Took my co-worker home, then went and picked up my friend Dallas to drive to church. Didn't even stop at home. Had to get to prayer service!
THEN, on the way, we stop at the stop sign. Look both ways. Go. My car shifts out of first gear with a big BUMP. Uh OH. 2nd Gear BUMP.
hmmmm. Transmission fluid low?
Get to church, open the hood, check it, the stick is dry. I call my step dad and ask him if he will help me out. I'm off work tomorrow. I don't have money for anything right now, until Thursday and I am not driving my car in this shape that long. I plan to drive the car home and let it sit until I can get Transmission fluid, but I don't feel comfortable even with that, and I need to get Dallas home, too.
Sister Kristie offered to drive Dallas and to follow me home if necessary. A couple of guys dug around in the back of his truck and found some Transmission fluid. I gave him one of my plastic bottles I use to carry tea in for a funnel. Everything is good. I call my step-dad and tell him never mind.
THEN, I get home and there is water all over the floor. I thought Milo must have peeed all over the house. But that was a LOT of water. Upon closer inspection I notice there is water dripping off my kitchen table. I look up at the ceiling...run out and get the apartment manager, who is NOT in a good mood!
She sees the problem and runs to get her plumber. They come back and unclog the air conditioner hose in the ceiling.
I am just now starting to relax after cleaning up the mess.
But, hey, God is STILL SOOO Good!
WHEW.
Shonda Ponder
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
God Speaks Through Dreams...Even Today!
I have issue with something that Dr. J. Vernon McGee just said in one of his recorded sermons (he has since passed, but his preaching is still heard on Christian Radio KHCB).
He said he didn't believe that God speaks to people in Dreams today. I find issue with that. I don't believe anywhere in the Bible is says that God will one day no longer speak to people any way He wishes to do so. Just because the majority of people are not receiving prophetic dreams does not mean that people do not receive them. Many receive them and throw them away, because they don't know how to interpret them, and don't want to make the effort.
People, the point I am making is that if God wants to speak to you, He is going to find a way to speak to you where He will be heard. And if that means He has to speak to you through a wrinkle in your shirt, He will do so.
I believe that God speaks through any way God wishes to speak...dreams included--and Dr. J. Vernon McGee was wrong.
God is not limited as to what He can do.
He said he didn't believe that God speaks to people in Dreams today. I find issue with that. I don't believe anywhere in the Bible is says that God will one day no longer speak to people any way He wishes to do so. Just because the majority of people are not receiving prophetic dreams does not mean that people do not receive them. Many receive them and throw them away, because they don't know how to interpret them, and don't want to make the effort.
People, the point I am making is that if God wants to speak to you, He is going to find a way to speak to you where He will be heard. And if that means He has to speak to you through a wrinkle in your shirt, He will do so.
I believe that God speaks through any way God wishes to speak...dreams included--and Dr. J. Vernon McGee was wrong.
God is not limited as to what He can do.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst
It's my opinion that while we should all "grab a sword", our preparedness should be more in the tune of preparing for a world in which Jesus is King, than in fighting a one world government. If everyone did that, do you realize the peace there would be in the world (and no need for the sword we carry)? We should not be fighting against armies of terrorists, but rather against the evil they represent: Ephesians 6:12 says, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
The forces of evil can do nothing we don't allow. Pray with your legs. In other words, you don't pray that God will give you a job if you are looking for employment by just sitting at home waiting for one to come to you. You pray while you are looking. Pray while you vote. Pray while you take action of some kind. And, be prepared for the worst.
For those who are thinking that the rapture will save you before the worst happens, is the rapture pre, mid, or post tribulation? As a Baptist, we are taught pre-trib rapture, but as a realist, nothing in the Bible specifies this. Therefore, while we hope for the best, I think it is wise to prepare for the worst.
In truth, I think it was left out of the Bible for a reason. God did not want us to live too comfortably, with the belief that we are all going to be saved from the persecution that is to come, because it would facilitate apathy.
The forces of evil can do nothing we don't allow. Pray with your legs. In other words, you don't pray that God will give you a job if you are looking for employment by just sitting at home waiting for one to come to you. You pray while you are looking. Pray while you vote. Pray while you take action of some kind. And, be prepared for the worst.
For those who are thinking that the rapture will save you before the worst happens, is the rapture pre, mid, or post tribulation? As a Baptist, we are taught pre-trib rapture, but as a realist, nothing in the Bible specifies this. Therefore, while we hope for the best, I think it is wise to prepare for the worst.
In truth, I think it was left out of the Bible for a reason. God did not want us to live too comfortably, with the belief that we are all going to be saved from the persecution that is to come, because it would facilitate apathy.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
When God Talked Back
Reading the book, "When God Talks Back", by T.M. Luhrmann, I thought back to the first time that I "heard God's voice" and "recognized" it as a clear concise answer to a question.
I was a lonely child with few friends and lot's of trust issues. One day, when I was twelve years old, I looked around the school yard and wondered why I was so alone, and others always had companions around them. I felt that God must have wanted me to go through this loneliness for a reason. I wrote a little poem on my book cover to commemorate what I was feeling. It started like this:
and ask the Lord above so high
"Why me?"...
"Because, my child, you are YOU."
and ask the Lord above so high
"Why me?" Then came from the blue
"Because, my child, you are YOU."
"Because I'm me?", I asked God, a little perplexed. "What do you mean by that?" But, I couldn't shake this feeling that it was God who put those words down.
Because I'm me.
I decided to put that answer away in the back of my mind and wait for God to explain Himself to me. Over the years, I believe He has.
I am me. I am the only me God made. I have talents and abilities that were given to me for a purpose; and, only I can fulfill that purpose for God. I may not know or understand the purpose for which God created me, but my goal should ever be to live my life to glorify God as if no one else can live my life -- because no one else can.
And finally, I wake up each morning now, and I thank God for creating me to be who I am. I look back on my life and I am thankful for all of the experiences I have had. I feel special, because those experiences, good and bad, were my own and no one else's.
God gave them to ME.
Thursday, August 08, 2013
Hypocrite
I have noticed that when people use the term "hypocrite", it is usually because they do not fully understand it's meaning and wish to insult the person to whom they are referring. A hypocrite is someone who claims to be sinless while judging others for the same sins that they, themselves, are guilty of.
As a matter of practice, I personally have never claimed to be sinless; nor do I judge others. I do, however, state facts. I do not dare tell someone who is homosexual that they are going to hell. As a matter of fact, homosexuals are just as qualified to see the Kingdom of Heaven as I am, if they have accepted Christ into their life and are seeking to better themselves and lead others to Christ. However, I will tell them that practicing homosexuality is a sin. The Bible says it is a sin. That is not judging, that is stating a fact. I could tell a good, Bible going woman that homosexuality is a sin and it would not offend her. Then why is it that if I tell someone who is a homosexual that homosexuality is a sin they get offended? Truth is truth, whether you want to hear it or not.
On the same note, I am not judging the homosexual by saying that homosexuality is a sin. What he or she does with that information is entirely their business. I am to love the sinner and hate the sin.
When I refer to the Bible, I am pointing as much to myself as I am anyone else. I am constantly working to better myself. God may not expect me to be perfect or sinless (after all, we wouldn't NEED Jesus if that were the case), but He does expect me to strive to achieve perfection. So, when I quote the Bible, it is usually to remind myself that what I am saying is backed by Biblical principle.
Proverbs 11:9 says, "The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor but through knowledge the righteous will be delivered." Therefore, someone who calls someone a hypocrite is, him or herself a hypocrite because he or she passes judgment on someone else.
The righteous are not people without sin. They are people who are doing their best to be without sin, yet being imperfect are humble enough to admit their own faults and attempt to right their evil ways. Their dependence is more fully on Christ's redeeming power and God's Grace because of their imperfection. Only one who is immature in their walk with God would dare try to pull a speck out of someone else's eye when they have a plank in their own. (Matthew 7:3)
One who is mature is willing to accept their limitations, and then glorify in God's infinite lack of them.
As a matter of practice, I personally have never claimed to be sinless; nor do I judge others. I do, however, state facts. I do not dare tell someone who is homosexual that they are going to hell. As a matter of fact, homosexuals are just as qualified to see the Kingdom of Heaven as I am, if they have accepted Christ into their life and are seeking to better themselves and lead others to Christ. However, I will tell them that practicing homosexuality is a sin. The Bible says it is a sin. That is not judging, that is stating a fact. I could tell a good, Bible going woman that homosexuality is a sin and it would not offend her. Then why is it that if I tell someone who is a homosexual that homosexuality is a sin they get offended? Truth is truth, whether you want to hear it or not.
On the same note, I am not judging the homosexual by saying that homosexuality is a sin. What he or she does with that information is entirely their business. I am to love the sinner and hate the sin.
When I refer to the Bible, I am pointing as much to myself as I am anyone else. I am constantly working to better myself. God may not expect me to be perfect or sinless (after all, we wouldn't NEED Jesus if that were the case), but He does expect me to strive to achieve perfection. So, when I quote the Bible, it is usually to remind myself that what I am saying is backed by Biblical principle.
Proverbs 11:9 says, "The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor but through knowledge the righteous will be delivered." Therefore, someone who calls someone a hypocrite is, him or herself a hypocrite because he or she passes judgment on someone else.
The righteous are not people without sin. They are people who are doing their best to be without sin, yet being imperfect are humble enough to admit their own faults and attempt to right their evil ways. Their dependence is more fully on Christ's redeeming power and God's Grace because of their imperfection. Only one who is immature in their walk with God would dare try to pull a speck out of someone else's eye when they have a plank in their own. (Matthew 7:3)
One who is mature is willing to accept their limitations, and then glorify in God's infinite lack of them.
Thursday, November 08, 2012
Joshua and Caleb wouldn't give up...
Today I feel like I am Joshua or Caleb when they went to scout out the promised land. Ten men were sent. Only two came back with optimism. No one wanted to hear it, so God let them wander in the wilderness for forty years until someone finally listened.
This is how I see it:
We now have four years of fighting to do. We have to make sure our Representatives in the Senate and House are doing their jobs. We have to publicize every time the President picks up his EO pen to write, and we have to watch his every move with scrutiny and common sense.
If we fail to educate the public about what they have done, they will be just as careless if there is a next time. There will be, and next time is going to be a whole lot nastier on their part, because they got away with it this time.
As a mother, I'm a firm believer in "nipping it" in the bud. So we need to show them that no matter who is president, WE THE PEOPLE still rule this land!
Who cares if the main stream media doesn't want to publicize the truth. Social media has already proven to be a viable competitor. We build on what we have. And, we work on creating our own networks. Sources? I got plenty of them. It doesn’t take much, just the effort. The main stream networks are already worried about their ratings due to social media.
We can do this. Don’t doubt. God is with us and He has provided a way. AND...you cannot assume God’s will in this. God has never told anyone to give up. God has never said, “Well, it’s lost, so don’t try”. He has said “Wait.” and “Watch” and “Do not fear” and “they will know I AM THE LORD!” So, let's show those anti-God pansies that our God is faithful to do all He has set out to do.
Whatever you do, giving up is giving in and letting them have it. God will not tolerate that. He will punish us even more if we do that. But if we stand for righteousness God will bless our efforts in the end. We are called to endure, to fight the good fight. To let the world know that our God is God and He will not be mocked. We do that by keep fighting, until we are called home if need be.
None of this is new. We’ve done it before. We create alternative media sources and we advertise them. We build our own lists, we start our own newspapers and we network with alternative media personalities: anyone who has a web site, talks on radio, owns or writes in a newspaper or magazine, or books. We supply them with information, they get it out, and we promote them. That’s how it works. It CAN BE DONE. I’m telling you, STAND. God is still with us. We may be in the wilderness, but HE IS STILL IN CONTROL.
This is how I see it:
We now have four years of fighting to do. We have to make sure our Representatives in the Senate and House are doing their jobs. We have to publicize every time the President picks up his EO pen to write, and we have to watch his every move with scrutiny and common sense.
If we fail to educate the public about what they have done, they will be just as careless if there is a next time. There will be, and next time is going to be a whole lot nastier on their part, because they got away with it this time.
As a mother, I'm a firm believer in "nipping it" in the bud. So we need to show them that no matter who is president, WE THE PEOPLE still rule this land!
Who cares if the main stream media doesn't want to publicize the truth. Social media has already proven to be a viable competitor. We build on what we have. And, we work on creating our own networks. Sources? I got plenty of them. It doesn’t take much, just the effort. The main stream networks are already worried about their ratings due to social media.
We can do this. Don’t doubt. God is with us and He has provided a way. AND...you cannot assume God’s will in this. God has never told anyone to give up. God has never said, “Well, it’s lost, so don’t try”. He has said “Wait.” and “Watch” and “Do not fear” and “they will know I AM THE LORD!” So, let's show those anti-God pansies that our God is faithful to do all He has set out to do.
Whatever you do, giving up is giving in and letting them have it. God will not tolerate that. He will punish us even more if we do that. But if we stand for righteousness God will bless our efforts in the end. We are called to endure, to fight the good fight. To let the world know that our God is God and He will not be mocked. We do that by keep fighting, until we are called home if need be.
None of this is new. We’ve done it before. We create alternative media sources and we advertise them. We build our own lists, we start our own newspapers and we network with alternative media personalities: anyone who has a web site, talks on radio, owns or writes in a newspaper or magazine, or books. We supply them with information, they get it out, and we promote them. That’s how it works. It CAN BE DONE. I’m telling you, STAND. God is still with us. We may be in the wilderness, but HE IS STILL IN CONTROL.
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
Bad Day? Praise God!
by Shonda M. Ponder
It is so much easier to praise God when things are going right. But, when things are going wrong is when we should praise Him the most. It is when things go wrong that we should be most assured that everything is in control. We should have faith that God knows what He is doing, and we should let God be God and do what God does.
When the Israelites were travelling to the Promised Land, they would sometimes worry and fret. They worried about food. They worried about water. They worried about their potential enemies. If there is one thing that gets on God's nerves, it's a child, who is supposed to be His, who worries.
Every time the Israelites would whine to Moses, Moses would tell them, "Why are you whining to ME? I'm not God!" It doesn't do any good to whine about things to other people. All that does is show other people how little faith you have in your God. But, the people demanded that Moses get them out of the situation that they perceived he got them into. Moses could never make them understand that he didn't get them into that situation, God did. God was leading the way. God was holding the reins. God was in the driver's seat.
God gave Moses the task of leading His people out of bondage because Moses did understand that. Moses may have felt inadequate, or insecure, or unsure of how to proceed or what to say at times, but he knew who was in control; and, he knew where to go when things got tough. The people saw that Moses was always calm (except when he got angry with them, and he had a temper!), always collected, and always willing to do what it took to get where he was going. So, naturally, they came to him when things went wrong. And, because he was something they could see, touch, feel, and talk to and listen to audibly, they blamed him when things seemed to go wrong.
Moses did what he was supposed to do, he pointed them to God. He gave God the credit for all that happened. He directed them to follow God's instructions. However, Moses didn't like repeating himself over and over again, and God is a God of patience. God will do anything for as long as it takes to see to it that His children are safe and cared for. So, when Moses lost his temper with them, God punished him by letting him see the Promised Land, but not letting him enter it.
When things seem to be with-in your grasp, but somehow alluding you, it is always best to reflect on how you are acting and what you are doing wrong. Maybe it's time to make a change in your own attitude, and praise God for getting you as far as He has, and be patient with those around you who don't understand the pressure that you are under to stay with-in God's will.
Psalms 100:2 says, "Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. " God wants you to serve Him joyfully, not in contempt or bad humor or impatient grumblings.
Remember, your job is to lead by example. If you are worrying and fretting, you are not a Moses. You are an Israelite. Try to be a Moses, with your feet going forward, your head held high and, remembering that the Great I Am is leading the way, "I can" should be your motto.
It is so much easier to praise God when things are going right. But, when things are going wrong is when we should praise Him the most. It is when things go wrong that we should be most assured that everything is in control. We should have faith that God knows what He is doing, and we should let God be God and do what God does.
When the Israelites were travelling to the Promised Land, they would sometimes worry and fret. They worried about food. They worried about water. They worried about their potential enemies. If there is one thing that gets on God's nerves, it's a child, who is supposed to be His, who worries.
Every time the Israelites would whine to Moses, Moses would tell them, "Why are you whining to ME? I'm not God!" It doesn't do any good to whine about things to other people. All that does is show other people how little faith you have in your God. But, the people demanded that Moses get them out of the situation that they perceived he got them into. Moses could never make them understand that he didn't get them into that situation, God did. God was leading the way. God was holding the reins. God was in the driver's seat.
God gave Moses the task of leading His people out of bondage because Moses did understand that. Moses may have felt inadequate, or insecure, or unsure of how to proceed or what to say at times, but he knew who was in control; and, he knew where to go when things got tough. The people saw that Moses was always calm (except when he got angry with them, and he had a temper!), always collected, and always willing to do what it took to get where he was going. So, naturally, they came to him when things went wrong. And, because he was something they could see, touch, feel, and talk to and listen to audibly, they blamed him when things seemed to go wrong.
Moses did what he was supposed to do, he pointed them to God. He gave God the credit for all that happened. He directed them to follow God's instructions. However, Moses didn't like repeating himself over and over again, and God is a God of patience. God will do anything for as long as it takes to see to it that His children are safe and cared for. So, when Moses lost his temper with them, God punished him by letting him see the Promised Land, but not letting him enter it.
When things seem to be with-in your grasp, but somehow alluding you, it is always best to reflect on how you are acting and what you are doing wrong. Maybe it's time to make a change in your own attitude, and praise God for getting you as far as He has, and be patient with those around you who don't understand the pressure that you are under to stay with-in God's will.
Psalms 100:2 says, "Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. " God wants you to serve Him joyfully, not in contempt or bad humor or impatient grumblings.
Remember, your job is to lead by example. If you are worrying and fretting, you are not a Moses. You are an Israelite. Try to be a Moses, with your feet going forward, your head held high and, remembering that the Great I Am is leading the way, "I can" should be your motto.
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