Bitterness in Your Heart
"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive
him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore
is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun
to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord
commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore
fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all."
Matthew 18:21-27 (KJV)
I had to ask the Lord to forgive me this morning. When I woke up I was stewing over something
that happened a week ago! It was something stupid - not even worth the energy - yet, I was still going over it in my
mind. Then I logged on my computer and read an e-mail I received today and that brought up frustration! I thought
OK Lord, I really don't want to have a day like this today. Please take away my bitterness! As I started my quiet
time, I was brought right to the verse - perhaps a sign from God! I definitely would challenge anyone who thinks the
Lord does not still speak to hearts today! When I read this e-mail I got upset with the person who sent it ~ but I was
thinking, I am upset about this situation, but I don't know what I did - so how do I fix it? Again this verse spoke
to me. It says to me, Just let it go.
So many people hold on to bitterness even from years and years ago. It is such a huge waste of energy
and of time. We have so much more going on in our big picture of life to waste time worrying about the small stuff.
Give it to the Lord. Throw away your bitterness.
Have a great Friday. Start the weekend off right - show the love of Jesus ~ show forgiveness to someone.
Have a great weekend and invite someone to church with you this Sunday. If you don't go to church this is a great
time to start :-)
Love, Tracy
Do Not Be Troubled
"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's
house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I
go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the
way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If
ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him." John
14:1-7 (KJV)
Jesus was speaking to His Disciples. We are no different then these men were when Jesus
was ascending to the Father. Like Thomas, we don't understand because we can't see. It reminds me of the song...
Amazing Grace
by John Newton.
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He
will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.
Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
The world shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun refuse to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Shall be forever mine.
When we've been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we'd first begun.
When we face valley's in our lives and our hearts become weak, most people then start to seek God
for answers. This song reminds me of that ... I once was lost, but now I'm found, I was blind but now
I see. It was by God's Grace - which is given to all who serve Him.
Here is a link to a web site that gives John Newtons testimony. http://www.anointedlinks.com/amazing_grace.html
If you are in a valley today, turn to Jesus, remember this -'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved; How precious did that grace appear -The hour I first believed.
Just believe! Have a great Thursday!
Love, Tracy
Lift Each Other Up
"But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and
for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus
Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves
together, and edify one another, even as also ye do." 1 Thessalonians 5:8-11 (KJV)
I love 1 and 2nd Thessalonians. We need to encourage one another in Christ. So many people
are facing valley's today. They are searching and searching for a "better life". We think, oh if I can only have
this my life would be so much easier. But really all most people are missing is one thing. Putting Christ at the
head of their home. Living for Him, turning to Him and desiring a personal walk with Him. As we get into the Word
each day, we learn more and more how to trust Him and how to place our faith in Him. Not to have faith in faith - but
have faith in Jesus - there is a difference. Most people don't go to church - and even some that do go out of habit
not to worship Jesus. Our kids see that time as a social time, instead of the starting of a relationship with the
Lord. How do we expect them to learn if we don't talk to them about it? We talk to our kids about everything
but Jesus sometimes. They know about Him, but don't know Him. If we don't tell them - who will?
 It is our responsibility as Christians to lift each other up - not insult each other. It is our privilege
to tell others about the journey we have been on and how we continue to grow. Encourage someone today in the name of
Jesus. Even if you are in a valley - you have seen a rainbow.
Have a great Wednesday. Love, Tracy
Quiet Time
"Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Withal praying also for
us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: That
I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your
speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." Colossians 4:2-6
(KJV)
I was thinking this morning about my quiet time alone in the house with Jesus in the mornings.
No one is awake but me. I sit down and open up my Bible and for 35 or 40 minutes the house is still. As I
am praying, I listen to the clock ticking - time just ticking away. Today I am thinking about all the people in the
world where their clock is just ticking away. They get up, they go to work, they come home, they eat dinner, they watch
TV and they go to bed. The next day - the cycle starts all over. I wonder why they don't have a desire to start
their day by opening their bible? I know what it takes for me to face the small problems in my life with
Jesus in my life ... how does anyone face a day filled with valley's without opening the bible first to start their day? How can we expect Jesus to work in our lives
and bring us through the valley if we are not dedicated to fulfilling the work He has called us to do?
One of my bibles is about 14 years old, many pages are highlighted, many scriptures underlined,
there are notes written on many pages and some of the pages are torn - and it probably it is even missing a page or two.
I just cannot bear to part with it. I have others, but this old torn Bible is one I frequently use. When
I open it, for some reason (a God thing I guess) it typically will automatically bend to
Galatians 4:15, "What happened to all your joy?" (NIV)
What a great reminder each morning for me - like the Lord saying, I know it is 5:30 AM ... but what happened
to your joy? Wake up, it is a new day. I allowed you to wake up today, go out and face today with a new joy.
This is it. We get one chance here to make a difference. Making a difference for the Glory of Jesus. Not
to boast ourselves. Encourage each other, decide OK Lord, today is the day. Today is the day I make a difference
for you and if I fail Lord, I am sorry, please forgive me and I am going to try again and then again and then again.
Until I make a difference. One difference.
Start your day armed. Start you day full of the Lord's peace. I hope you have a great Tuesday.
Full of the fruit of the Spirit ... love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance
(Galatians 5:22-23).
Love, Tracy
When We Are Mislead
"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that
the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire,
wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not;
and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea
driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double
minded man is unstable in all his ways." James 1:2-8 (KJV)
I love church signs. Many times I will receive e-mails from people with all different church sign
blunders on them. Last night I was driving to church and I read a church sign that said "Nothing  Can Give You Peace But Yourself." I thought about that sign all the way to church. I thought I must have
read it wrong. On the drive home the Lord brought it to my mind again and I stopped and took a picture of if.
Sure enough that is exactly what it said. Boy is that church, (which is across the street from a High School, a Technical
school and a Middle school) sending out the wrong message! We, in and of ourselves, can do nothing
for ourselves. The only "thing" that can give you peace is not a thing at all it is Jesus Christ. Only with Jesus
in our hearts can we feel peace daily. We cannot achieve peace in our hearts any other way.
I am sure most of us try to handle life's worries on our own ... we don't get very far do we? If it
seems like problem solved - oh just wait for it to rear it's ugly head again! The only way to solve any problem is by
laying it at the feet of Jesus. Only then we can say "problem solved!" I pray the Lord gives me boldness each
day to stand on His Word and not to try and achieve peace on my own. I pray that each day we lift each other up
in Jesus name and strive to study God's Word more and more each day so that we can be a witness to those around us and
we cannot only say Jesus is the way, but they can see by our lives - the way we live - that Jesus is the only way. I
hope you all have a blessed Monday.
Love in Him, Tracy
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