T.J.I.F.A.

 

THANK JESUS IT’S FRIDAY AGAIN!
PASS IT ON …& ON...& ON…& ON.
APRIL 8, 2005

 

THERE WERE SEVERAL HISTORIC DEATHS LAST WEEK. TJIFA JOINS CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILY AND LOVED ONES OF ALL INCLUDING POPE JOHN 11 AND TERRY SCHIAVO

 

SUBJECT:  “CHILD OF GOD”THIS WEEK’S WORD PICTURE IS WRITTEN TO JOG THE MEMORY OF EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER BEEN TEMPTED BY THE WOOING OF SIN. AS WE GROW, SIN BECOMES DIMMER, AND THE TANTALIZING LURE PRESENTS NO SWAY.  “WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I SPAKE AS A CHILD…BUT WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT AWAY CHILDISH THINGS.”  (1COR.13:11)

 

NOTEWORTHY:  WHAT  HAVE  YOU DONE  TO  MAKE PASSING FROM THIS  LIFE  EASIER FOR YOUR LOVED ONES?

 

TJIFA’S BOOK SHELF:  WE’RE STILL READING THE BIBLE, AND “THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE”.  JUST A FEW THINGS TO THINK ABOUT.

 

FRIDAY’S WORD:  CHILDREN OF GOD

 

IN THE MIRROR: THE FAMILIAR “MIRACLE” 

 

O TASTE AND SEE!  BILLY BOO’S 16 BEAN AND OXTAIL SOUP.  WE HAVE TRIED TO EXHAUST THE BEAN POT THIS YEAR.  WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO TRY THIS ONE BEFORE WE START BAR-B-QUEING.  ENJOY!  SUBMITTED BY WS – (BILLY BOO).

 

LOOKING FORWARD

 

SEE YA NEXT TIME!

 

TER

 

 

 

Child of God
A word picture:

 

It was a beautiful morning, I was up early, looking out at the well manicured grass, wet with dew.  There was one triumphant, radiant dandelion which had survived the harsh weeding, a few days earlier.  It was soul moving.   The untouched beauty of the early morning gave way to easy thoughts of spacious reminiscing.   

 

It wasn’t long before the first   travelers hurriedly approached.  It was a young mother with her skipping toddler.  The toddler spied a gift in the dew perfected yard, and broke rank, running as fast as his capable little legs could carry him, to the middle of the lawn.  Before his mother could utter a sound, the toddler had picked the dandelion and held it raised to his mother for acceptance.  The young mother smiled, put the dandelion into one of her books, grabbed the toddler’s hand, and rushed to the corner. 

 

I looked at my lawn, which was now marred by the footprints of the toddler, and his mother.  The appearance of the lawn, looked familiar.  What was it?  While I was thinking; a woman and her harnessed ‘seeing eye dog’ passed.  The dog led her straight down the middle of the sidewalk, right pass my lawn.  I wondered: “Did either of them realize how beautiful the lawn was?  Did the dog, somehow, see the marred majesty of my lawn?”  I guess that was a dumb thought. 

 

The sun was coming up taking the dew away as it climbed.  All of the marks, so evident on the dew, was now gone.  The grass was green with no pertinent substantiation that there had ever been footprints, or a dandelion. 

 

Footprints!  That was it!  Those footprints in the lawn reminded me of the story about the footprints in the sand.  GOD told the man, “My child, when you only saw one set of prints,  I was carrying you.” 

 

But, these footprints told the story of a wayward child, who wandered off the straight path, and had to be manually led back.  How many times have we roamed into sin, without knowing that everyone could track us?  We’ve stolen flowers which was only a weed; no good to anyone and  only fit for the furnace.  We’ve plucked sin, and placed it in our bosom, so that we can pass it around.  No matter where it is thrown, it will grow, and produce weeds (sin). 

 

The obvious markings on the grass were a billboard to anyone who passed the yard; just as our sin is prevalent, screaming volumes to onlookers.        You would think there is no hope; but the sun rose and with its warmth and light took away every unsightly mark. 

 

GOD does the same thing in our lives.  He has given us Jesus to keep us on the right path, and when we wander He leads us back. (He’s neither swayed nor coerced by our corroded, moth eaten gifts; aren’t you glad?) Then when we repent, GOD sends Light into darkness and causes all things to become new. 

 

Oh that we could be like the blind woman, and her faithful canine who were not  tempted or lured  by the well manicured lawn.  But GOD knows our frailties and our weaknesses. He knows that as a spiritual infant, we can’t pass up the temptation to pluck weeds.  But as a spiritual adult, we’ll also be able to pass up the temptation just as the blind woman and her dog. 

 

Lord, keep us ever-ready to yield to the prompting of Your precious Spirit.  AMEN.

 

Looking Forward

 

See Ya Next Time!

 

TER

 

One truth from the Bible is worth more than all the wisdom of man.

 

Faith is an area where growing up means becoming more like a child.

 

 

 

NOTEWORTHY: 
“INTEGRATED MEDICINE – PEACEFUL DYING.”
Many people fear dying more than death itself, or they fear dying in pain, or with unwanted medical interventions.  Preparing advanced directives should ensure that you receive the treatment you desire at the end of life. 

 

Here are some suggestions put together by Dr. Weil:
-Understand your illness.
The more that you and your relatives know about your illness, the better everyone will understand what is happening and what to expect. Get and share information from your doctors, health professionals and associations familiar with the disease process.  (Example: Health Associations, National Cancer Institute &/or American Heart Association). 
-Control Pain.
There are many medications available to control and manage pain.  If you are not getting sufficient pain relief, be open with your physician. You may have to ask him, or her to refer you to a pain control specialist.  
-Plan Ahead.
It is recommended that you prepare advanced directives.   There are two types. 
Living will- What you want when you are incapacitated.  What life prolonging measures you do or do not want. 
Health Care Proxy – Assigns someone to make decisions when you no longer can. 
Perhaps most important is that Advance Directives spur conversations with doctors and relatives before the critical time. 
-Explore Hospice Care.
Hospice Care considers the whole person , with emphases on Physical comfort as well as spiritual and emotional well being.  Hospice care can be in a special facility or in the home of the patient, or family. 
-Tell Your Story.
Tell the story of your life, by writing it down, or making a tape, or by verbally telling your story in person.  This allows you to pass along a legacy to loved ones.  It also jogs your memories, and  sees your life as a whole.  You may include in these sessions photos  and albums.
-Write an Ethical Will.
This will bequeath a spiritual legacy to your loved ones.  Such wills are shared with family and friends while the author is still alive.  It describes the values that the person has ascribed to live by, the lessons they’ve learned, and   their hopes for a future generation. 
For more on this subject; go to  www.ethicalwill,com
-Seek and Offer Forgiveness.
If you need to make amends with someone, now is the time to do it.  Ask forgiveness from those you have harmed; and offer forgiveness to those who have harmed you.  Also, try to forgive yourself for ways that you haven’t lived up to your own expectations. 
-Make Time for Spiritual Issues.
Spirituality, whether through organized religion or not, can offer a sense of spiritual well being.  It lessens feelings of hopelessness. 
From: Dr. Andrew Weil’s Self Healing November 2004.

 

TJIFA’S BOOK SHELF Just a reminder:  Continue to read “The Greatest Book Ever Written.”   Of course, we know that it’s the Bible.  Did you know that the Bible has been printed more than any other book?  It has more versions and translations?  Our claim is Jesus Christ in our hearts as Born Again Believers, and that is the whole council of GOD.  The entire Word of GOD wrapped up in the person of Jesus Christ.  “Christ in you, your hope of Glory.” 

 

FYI – Only eight people survived the great flood. They were Noah, his wife, their three sons and their wives.  From these men and women, GOD populated the whole earth.  Now, that’s awesome!  TER

 

Purpose Driven Life: By Rick Warren
Have you started your book as yet?  Several readers have started this 40 day journey, and so far, it has proven to be a masterful encourager of the faith.  A few notes:  “It is not about you.”  Everything got started in GOD and finds its purpose in Him. 
“You are not an accident.”  You are alive, because GOD wanted to create you.  You are not insignificant.
“What drives my life?”  Everyone is driven by something.  Is it guilt, resentment, fear, materialism, pleasing others?  The key to failure . . .‘Try to please EVERYONE.’

 

Would you consider joining us in this journey through the Purpose Driven Life?  Come on.  You just might improve your present position.

 

FRIDAY’S WORD:  CHILDREN OF GOD

 

CHILDREN (SONS) OF GOD Although the phrase refers at times to heavenly beings (Gen. 6:1-4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Ps. 29:1; 89:6), it usually denotes those people who acknowledge God as the source and goal of their life and who enter into a relationship of trust and love with God. All people are the creation of God, and as such all people bear the image of God and should therefore be treated with the greatest respect and dignity; but not all people can be called the children of God in the sense in which the phrase is used in the Bible. All people are, however, potential children of God.
Jesus was, is, and always shall be the preeminent Child of God. The parent/child relationship with God was completely realized only by Jesus (Matt. 11:27; John 3:35; 13:3). Jesus had an unbroken knowledge of and communion with God (John 17:20-26; see Matt. 3:17; 17:5). For Jesus, being God’s Son meant knowing what God willed and doing what God willed (John 5:19, 30; 8:29; 15:10; 17:4; Phil. 2:8; Heb. 5:8). The parent/child relationship (with the obedience implied in that relationship) so dominated the life and thought of Jesus that being God’s Son was the defining characteristic of Jesus’ being. Jesus was God’s only begotten or unique Son (John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9).
Of course, God intended for all people to be His children. God wanted all people to have an unbroken knowledge of and communion with Him. God wanted all people to know and do His will. God wanted the parent/child relationship to be the dominating characteristic of every life. But people in every place and in every time have rejected God as the source and goal of their lives and have refused to enter into a relationship of complete trust and love with God (Rom. 3:23). People who continue to live in this state of rebellion against God or sin have lost the actuality of being God’s children.
All people (“whosoever,” John 3:15) retain the potentiality of becoming children of God. This is so because God, out of His great love, gave His only Son for the salvation of the world (John 3:16). Jesus, in turn, gave to all who would receive Him the power to become children of God (John 1:12).
Phil Logan
From Holman’s Bible Dictionary 

 

IN THE MIRROR:

 

Title:  Familiar "Miracles"

 

   The electric telegraph, though it be but an invention of man, would have been as hard to believe in a thousand years ago as the resurrection of the dead is now.  Who in the days of packhorses would have believed in flashing a message from England to America? Everything is full of wonder till we are used to it, and resurrection owes the incredible portion of its marvel to our never having come across it in our observation--that is all.  After the resurrection we shall regard it as a divine display of power as familiar to us as creation and providence now are.

 

Charles H. Spurgeon in the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit (Vol.18). 

 

 What Charles Spurgeon  wrote is something every Christian Believer could use to help define their personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I feel I was gifted to learn and review a lot of extra material pertaining the Resurrection of Jesus Christ over the Easter holiday and this is one of the ‘jewels’ that I can’t seem to be able to let go of until I’m allowed to share it with everyone possible because of how it can affect our whole outlook in the Christian perspective.
 One of the simplest reasons I can share with you in the context of “Familiar Miracles” is I’m writing this to you on a product called a ‘Computer’ that even in this day and age I could not ever begin to explain the mechanics of it, and what makes it possible to do the functions that I’ve experienced it capable of doing. All I know is, is that when I follow the instructions provided to operate it . . .  IT WORKS!
 When we look back at the early Church, it’s not difficult to see the ‘Power’ in the lives of the disciples, the early apostles, the martyrs who gave their lives so this message might reach us in the time and day in which we live, was the RESURRECTION. 
 Christian Friend or Non-Christian Friend. I encourage you today to go back over the words, “. . . . its marvel to our never having come across it in our observation–that is all.” The message of the Resurrection is just as valid today as it was two-thousand years ago. God’s decision was made manifest to every living soul at Calvary’s Cross. Now the only one’s left is YOUR’S.
           SLC

 

O TASTE AND SEE!

 

BILLY BOO’S 16 BEAN AND OXTAIL SOUP

 

INGREDIENTS:
PACKAGE OF 16 BEAN SOUP  
1 ONION CHOPPED  
GARLIC SLICED OR CHOPPED  
GREEN PEPPER CHOPPED  
CELERY SLICED THINLY  
BLACK PEPPER AND BAJOU GUMBO SEASONING TO TASTE  
APPROXIMATELY 6 TO 7 OXTAILS WASHED AND BOILED   

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

PREPARE THE 16 BEAN SOUP ACCORDING TO DIRECTIONS ON THE PACKAGE.  ADD TO THE BEAN MIXTURE AFTER ROLLING BOIL IS ESTABLISHED; ONION, GREEN PEPPER, CELERY, GARLIC, AND ALL SEASONINGS.
CONTINUE TO COOK ACCORDING TO INSTRUCTIONS.
BOIL OXTAILS IN SEASONED WATER (SEASONINGS, YOUR CHOICE). WHEN TENDER, REMOVE, DRAIN, AND ADD TO THE ALREADY COOKING BEAN SOUP. 

 

THIS SOUP IS READY IN APPROXIMATELY 2-3 HOURS, AND ACCORDING TO BILLY BOO, YOU COULDN’T ASK FOR A MORE NUTRITIOUS MEAL.  SERVE WITH CORN BREAD. 
WELL, BILLY BOO, IT SOUNDS LIKE A TJIFA WINNER . . . ENJOY!

 

SUBMITTED BY: WS (BILLY BOO)