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And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Psalms 1:3 & Ecclesiastes 9:10

Written by Chalsey Dooley 10/13

When I started mapping out my goals eighteen months ago, achieving them seemed daunting. But I claimed the promise, “God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful,”1 and with His help, I went forward. My plan was to write and create thousands of pages of good-quality, faith-building books for children.

Here are the difficulties I was facing:

• Caring full time for my young children with special needs meant I had hardly any time to call my own.
• Lack of professional training.
• No friends or relatives living nearby for hands-on help.
• Health-related challenges.
• Limited resources.

I did have some assets, however:

• Equipment: a laptop and Internet connection, a dictaphone, and a camera.
• A supportive husband.
• Children with an endless craving for new stories to read together daily.
• Online friends who support my project and help all they can with proofreading, writing, art, and photography.
• Staying positive and content, and finding the opportunities that await me, discovering each day.

I came up with the following methods for tackling the job:

• Prayer and more prayer, and enlisting the prayer support of others. (When I pray, things happen. When I don’t, and instead think progress will happen naturally, things come to a standstill.)
• Thomas Edison once credited his success to “not looking at the clock.” Whenever there was a moment to spare—even just a couple of minutes—I jumped in and got working, regardless of my mood or the time of day or night.
• Visualizing the end goal and being convinced that it could be achieved, reminding myself of the passing time.
• Learning as I went by considering the observations, concerns, and suggestions of children, critics, professionals, old-time friends, and even people I had never met in person but who were keeping in touch online.
• Keeping my focus.
• Not setting hard plans, because those tended to fall through, but letting Jesus lead me.

Outcome:

The first 50 children’s and adult books, ranging from 20–200 pages each, are almost completed! They have been written and illustrated, and my website is up and running!

1. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 NLT.

*Chalsey Dooley is a writer of inspirational material for children and caregivers and is a full-time edu-mom living in Australia... nurture-inspire-teach.
**
EVERY CALLING IS GREAT WHEN GREATLY PURSUED FOR GOD'S GLORY!

God can inspire you in anything you do! No matter what it is, you can do it in the Spirit! And every task, whatever it is, He can make glorious! Even if perhaps you don't have the most talent or experience God can use you! In fact, that is the way the Lord usually works--He takes the weak things to confound the mighty and He takes the people that really aren't the best in a worldly sense, so He can show what He can do! (1Cor.1:26-28). Though you may not be the greatest in the eyes of the world, you're the greatest in the eyes of the Lord because you're serving and obeying Him!--And He can make you strong when you're weak, to show it's His strength and His miraculous power!

The Lord is going to do great miracles in your ministry, you need to realize that it is nothing of you and it is only a gift from Him! What makes you really great is the greatness God gives you--the spirit, the inspiration! It's the Lord behind it all!--Behind and above and underneath and on all sides. He does all of it through you! When you acknowledge this to yourself and others, then He'll be able to show what great things He can do! GBY!




Activated TFI [Video Posted - The Gospel of John]

On Sunday, Christians all over the world will celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross for the remission (forgiveness) of our sins, He was buried, and was raised from the dead by the power of God.
Easter translated means Passover. Easter (Passover) is celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox, the date of Easter is between March 22 and April 23.

This Sunday School lesson is for your spiritual edification.

A Commentary On The International Sunday School Lesson for Sunday April 5, 2015

“Guaranteed Resurrection”

Scripture Text: I Corinthians 15:Verses 1-11; 20-22
Time of the Action: 55 A.D.
Place of the Action: Paul writes to the church at Corinth from Ephesus

Golden Text: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (I Corinthians 15:22).

I. INTRODUCTION. In this week’s lesson, Paul explained the meaning of Christ’s resurrection to the Corinthian believers. He stressed that the glorious future resurrection of Christians is guaranteed by Christ’s resurrection. This Easter morning, as we study this lesson we have the opportunity to glory in the understanding and blessings of Christ’s resurrection.

II. BACKGROUND FOR THE LESSON.As Greeks, the people of Corinth were most likely influenced by Greek philosophers, who scoffed, or made fun of the very idea of a resurrection (see Acts 17:32). While it is unlikely that the Corinthian believers doubted the resurrection of Christ, it was apparent from I Corinthians 15:12 that they had doubts concerning the future resurrection of Christians. This prompted Paul to write fully about the resurrection in I Corinthians chapter 15.

III. THE GOSPEL AND CHRIST’S RESURRECTION (I Corinthians 15:1-4)

A. The gospel and salvation (I Corinthians 15:1-2).
1. (Verse. 1). In our first verse Paul says “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand.” The word “Moreover” indicates a change from what Paul wrote in chapter 14 to what he was about to write now. Of course he called the Corinthian believers “brethren” because they were all members of the same family, the church of God (see I Corinthians 1:2). He went on to say “I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you.” Paul was about to remind the Corinthian believers of the gospel that he had preached to them on his second missionary journey (see Acts 18:1, 4). The word “gospel” means good news. Paul told them that the gospel he preached “ye have received, and wherein ye stand.” In other words, by faith they had accepted the message of the gospel, which included the resurrection. However, false teaching had entered in saying that there was no resurrection for Christians who had died, even though they accepted Christ’s resurrection (see I Corinthians 15:12). With the words “wherein ye stand,” Paul affirmed their faith as they stood firmly in that same gospel he preached.

Continued below...

John 13:1-15

Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet
1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him,

3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside His outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around His waist. 5 Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.

6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?”
7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For He knew who was to betray Him; that was why He said, “NOT ALL OF YOU ARE CLEAN.”

12 When He had washed their feet and put on His outer garments and resumed His place, He said to them, “DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I HAVE DONE TO YOU? 13 YOU CALL ME TEACHER AND LORD, AND YOU ARE RIGHT, FOR SO I AM. 14 IF I THEN, YOUR LORD AND TEACHER, HAVE WASHED YOUR FEET, YOU ALSO OUGHT TO WASH ONE ANOTHER'S FEET. 15 FOR I HAVE GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, THAT YOU ALSO SHOULD DO JUST AS I HAVE DONE TO YOU.”



Thank you in advance for reading and commenting

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:29-32

By Maria Fontaine August 28, 2012

When faced with a close friend moving away, some of us can find ourselves asking, “If God loves me so much, why does He allow my close friends to leave me? I really need that person in my life. Now that I don’t have them, I feel lost and not complete. Lord, why couldn’t You have worked things out a different way?”

Jesus’ disciples probably felt the same. After all, imagine their sense of loss when Jesus left them. Jesus, God’s Son, who had been with them day in and day out, teaching them to love, pouring into them, showing them how to interact in wisdom with others and carry on the mission, supporting them, helping them, listening to them, comforting them, being everything to them, sharing all that He was with them! How much greater a loss could there have been? They must have felt a heartrending sense of loss and uncertainty about how they could go on without Him.

I’m sure that those days in the upper room were times of deep soul-searching, trying to come to grips with the questions that must have weighed so heavily on their hearts. But when they looked to the Holy Spirit for their comfort, whom Jesus had told them He would send, they found the faith and courage to carry out what Jesus was depending on them to do. They knew they couldn’t fail Him even though He was gone from them physically and even though they felt the loss so intensely. With the Holy Spirit’s help, they found comfort and the anointing to carry on His work. Look what happened when His disciples started ministering to those who needed the love and life that Jesus had given them! The Spirit worked mightily through them. Through this they actually grew closer than ever to Jesus, because all that He had given to them began to grow and overflow on others through them.

Our friendships are mini versions of the same principle. When God allows the circle to be broken for a while—sometimes even until heaven—our friendships have the potential to start their own chain reaction that can touch and better many lives, and our own life many times over. The bond of friendship you have with someone is a manifestation of Jesus’ love—His Spirit flowing through you to them, and through them to you.

The greatest thing you can do to show your love for your friend is to make your life a living example of all that person means to you and all that your friendship has been worth. When you use all the beauty, goodness, kindness and lessons you learned together, it becomes a living testimony of your friendship that draws others in and causes that friendship to take on an even greater meaning.

The Lord gave some beautiful and comforting words about friendship, which I want to share with you.

Jesus says,

“That’s one reason why there is such powerful unity in heaven. All the bonds of friendship and love that you are creating on earth become an eternal joy for you in heaven. You’ll realize there that you never lost a single friend, but that each parting in the physical only brought others into connection, both with you and through you, to all the friends you have gained in this life.





Anchor TFI [Posted Video - True Friendship Never Ends]

Your Kingdom come



Here's a news flash: Heaven once did exist on earth! But it didn't last for long.


The first human beings sinned and succeeded in dooming the planet. The rest of history has been a war between two kingdoms. In the City of God Augustine describes these kingdoms as the kingdom of God and the kingdom of man. "Each of these two kingdoms has it's own ruler, it's own people, it's own desire, and it's own destiny."

In the fullness of time, God sent His Son into the world to overthrow the Devil's domain by driving out demons, performing miracles, preaching the good news of the coming kingdom, and ultimately sacrificing Himself upon a cross. While Jesus came to establish an eternal kingdom, his subjects merely wanted an earthly king who would overthrow their enemies by military might.

Thus, when the Savior said, "My kingdom is not of this world" (Jn.18:36), the shouts of "Hosanna! Blessed is the king of Israel!" (Jn.12:13) changed to screams of "Crucify him! We have no king but Caesar" (Jn. 19:15). They wanted an earthly king who would expand their earthly territory. Jesus however, had come to take His rightful place on the throne of their lives.

In teaching us to pray "your kingdom come," Jesus was teaching us to ask our heavenly Father to rule over the territory of our hearts. It is an invitation to us to bring the kingdom of Christ into every part of our lives. These words also say something else, too: "A pledge of allegiance!" When we pray "your kingdom come," we are choosing sides! We are "signing up" on God's team. Like Stone in The Devil and Daniel Webster, we are called to renounce our deal with the Devil and pledge to expand Christ kingdom rather then our own.


Further, to pray "Your kingdom come" is to pray that God would use our witness for the expansion of His kingdom. C.S. Lewis describes this world as "enemy occupied territory" and Christianity as "the story of how the rightful king has landed in disguise and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage."(C.S. Lewis , Mere Christianity, 36).


Finally, to pray "Your kingdom come" is to recognize that Christ has already won the war, but the reality of His reign is not yet fully realized. For Jesus "officially" defeated evil at the cross (He payed our sin debt, conquered the grave, and secured a place for us in heaven), and one day, He will "actually" defeat evil, at His second coming, as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev. 19:15-16).

History is hurtling towards a glorious and climactic end when the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord. Jesus not only taught the Apostle John to pray "your kingdom come" but also gave him a glimpse of that kingdom on the Isle of Patmos. Says John:


"I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away"(Rev. 21:2-4). On that day, heaven will once again exist on earth.



The Prayer of Jesus: Hank Hanegraaff




God's love and blessing to all at CS! Serendipity

John 18-19:42

Jesus Arrested
18 When He had finished praying, Jesus left with His disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and He and His disciples went into it.

2 Now Judas, who betrayed Him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. 3 So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.

4 Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to Him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”

5 “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.

“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6 When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

7 Again He asked them, “Who is it you want?”

“Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.

8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” 9 This happened so that the words He had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”

10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)

11 Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

12 Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him 13 and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14 Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jewish leaders that it would be good if one man died for the people.

(Will continue in the commenting sections)

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. John 1:29 KJV

By David Brandt Berg Apr 03, 2015

Tonight Christians around the world are celebrating the Lord’s Supper and the Lord’s Passion. On this day, known worldwide as Good Friday, there are many celebrations and observances of the Lord’s last day here on earth before His crucifixion. Literally hundreds of millions of Christians, at least professing Christians, have been celebrating this day and especially this night. Some have been celebrating all week, beginning last Sunday with Palm Sunday, the commemoration of our Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Thanks to Jesus’ death and resurrection, you and I were brought into the kingdom, and the kingdom moved its headquarters to the New Jerusalem on high. He was no longer a mere king of the city of Jerusalem and the little kingdom of Israel, but the King of the whole universe, the kingdom of God!

He was the King of kings and Lord of lords and the King of the entire universe, as well as the whole world and heavenly Jerusalem—rather than a mere earthly, physical, ancient little Middle Eastern city called Jerusalem. He became the King that He was and showed His power by dying on a cross, crucified like a common criminal. But even in that moment of His death, God showed His power that this was His Son in whom He was well pleased, as the earth shook and heaven thundered and people trembled at the manifestation of the wrath of God over their iniquity.1

Nearly the whole world is compelled to honor Jesus’ birthday and His death day, the two most outstanding events in His life, and one more, Easter Sunday, His rising day, Resurrection day, to live aloft forever in an immortal, eternal body, which shall live forever—like us—in the heavens. “We know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.”2

Hundreds of millions of professing Christians around the globe—be they Catholic, Protestant, or nondenominational—are celebrating the last day of Christ’s life here on Earth before His mortal death, as well as the Last Supper. The Feast of the Passover was a celebration, a feast in which the Jews were celebrating an event of their salvation from death by the blood of a lamb killed in a certain ceremonial way that night, cooked in a certain ceremonial way, and eaten with joy and thanksgiving that God had saved them from annihilation in Egypt.

The original Passover event was a happy occasion, a feast, a holiday. Jews came from all over the world, and Gentile believers as well, to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem. It was a happy occasion, not at all sad. It was only going to be sad for one small group eventually, but at first it wasn’t necessarily sad. The Lord found His disciples a place to have the supper by a miracle, and I’m sure provided the food for them, and they sat down and enjoyed a good meal. And then they had the first Communion or Eucharist.

They even had lamb stew that night. We know it was a kind of a soup, otherwise they wouldn’t have been sopping the bread in it.3 They drank wine that night too. And it wasn’t until they were through eating and drinking that the Lord suddenly took more of a sober bent and train of thought and began to predict what was going to happen and to somewhat solemnly lead them into a ceremony, one of the few that the Lord commended. It seemed to be something which He considered believers would want to observe to commemorate His death. “As oft as ye do this, ye do it in remembrance of Me.” And Paul said, “Ye do show the Lord’s death till He comes.”4

1 Matthew 27:51.
2 1 John 3:2.
3 John 13:26.
4 1 Corinthians 11:25–26.




Anchor TFI [Video Posted - AMAZING LOVE]

Mark 16:1-8

The Resurrection
16 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.
3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”
4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed.
6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”
8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.



Thank you in advance for reading and commenting

Neither shall they say, See here! or, see there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. - For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Luke 17:21 & Matthew 18:20 KJV

The Lord was beginning to illustrate for them what He was about to do. That night His body was to be broken, scarred, torn, pierced, lacerated, His blood shed and finally His life given. His body was broken for us. He suffered pain and agony of the physical body, as some suffer today in sickness and in pain, that He might bear our sufferings in His own body. “For by His stripes ye are healed.”5 Not by His death on the cross, not by His final shedding of His blood in His life; that was for our salvation.

He had to suffer not only all His life for 33 years all of the things that we go through, so He could sympathize with us and empathize with us and feel what we feel, but He also had to suffer the final excruciating agony of the physical body to heal our human ills, as well as save us from our sins. He said, “Take, eat, this is My body which is broken for you.” “He bore our infirmities in His own body,” God’s Word says, “and by His stripes ye are healed.”

And He said, “Take, drink, after the same manner the cup. This is My blood of the New Testament shed for the remission of your sins. Drink ye all of it.”6

In other words, He was saying, “I’m also going to suffer agony and pain and illness in My body to empathize with you and your physical troubles and distresses and afflictions to let you know that I know how you feel. I’ve been through it. I know the pain. I know the agony. I know the suffering! I’ve been through it all, even worse than you. I know what you’re going through, so don’t worry.”

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.”7 He was as good as saying, “You need all these afflictions. You’re going to have to have them to keep you righteous. But I will deliver you from them all, one after the other, time after time.” You and I are no exceptions; we have our ups and downs, even discouragement sometimes.

The common people had heard Jesus gladly!8 Thousands upon thousands had heard and believed His message, received it, been healed and fed, and they loved Him. But where were they that night when the religious leaders and their paid mercenaries were shouting, “Crucify Him!”? They must have been home watching television—they certainly weren’t there to stick up for Him. No doubt quite a few of them were even deceived by the lies and figured they had been deluded and deceived and it had turned out He was a false prophet. They thought He was true, thought He was right, but they were so easily deluded and deceived and misled.

The seed had fallen on shallow or stony ground, and had been choked out by thorns and bore no fruit, and they were led astray and led away.9 Perhaps afterward some of them were sorry when they saw how far the enemies of Christ went and how horrible it was. Let’s hope they were convicted and repented and came back, and a lot of people did. There were lots of Christians led by the apostles and disciples who were left, so that on the Day of Pentecost 3,000 got saved with one sermon, and a few days later 5,000 with one healing!10

The ground had been sown and watered and softened and prepared, so that even after Jesus was crucified, many were prepared to understand, comprehend, believe, and receive the whole truth, to then know that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, and to receive Him as their Savior.

5 Isaiah 53:5.
6 1 Corinthians 11:24–25; 1 Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:5.
7 Psalm 34:19.
8 Mark 12:37.
9 Matthew 13:7.
10 Acts 2:41 and 4:4.




Anchor TFI [Video Posted - The Lord's Prayer - Wherever Two or More are Gathered]

In the bible, it is said that Jesus rose on the crack of dawn (or early) Sunday morning. That is when the women and then some of his followers when to the grave site and found it empty.

So a basic math that any child can do brings us to a different day for the death (crucifixion) of this amazing man.

Jesus and the texts say that he was to be in the grave for 3 days and 3 nights.

So lets count back,

Previous Saturday night - 1
Previous Saturday - 1
Previous Friday night - 2
Previous Friday - 2
Previous Thursday night - 3
Previous Thursday - 3

I don't think that my math is incorrect. Of course I am open to those who have a different calculation method that fits three days and three nights into Easter from Easter Friday to Easter Sunday....

This brings us to the ultimate conclusion that Easter is not the time or accurate reflection of this momentous event remembered by so many, and also loathed by so many.

It is, instead, the substitution and observance of the pagan festival still, with Christ slapped as a thin paint job over the top of it.

Happy holiday everyone.