24. November 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our father and from the Lord Jesus Christ:

Hello Everyone: 

Have a wonderful thanksgiving to all my followers in the USA and to all others around the world, make it a great weekend.

I would like to share this familiar passage of scripture with you to reflect on how God desires all the praise due to him.

Luke 17:12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: 13 And they lifted up their voices, and said , Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass , that, as they went , they were cleansed . 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed , turned back , and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks : and he was a Samaritan. 17 And Jesus answering said , Were there not ten cleansed ? but where are the nine? 18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19 And he said unto him, Arise , go thy way : thy faith hath made thee whole . (KJV)

In other words;  “Where is the rest of my praise.”  GIVE HIM THANKS for all things for this is the will of God concerning you.  I Thessalonians 5:18.

Have a wonderful and peaceful holiday weekend and I’ll see you in web land on Monday.

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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14. November 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hello Everyone:

Welcome back from the weekend.   I know I was missing in action last week but I usually get down with sinus really bad about once a year and last week and this week is that time.  I’m on antibiotics but I have lost my voice.  Please keep me in your prayers.  I have a women’s conference to do on this weekend in California and I really don’t want to cancel.   I’ve never had to cancel a speaking engagement and this church is very special to me. 

Thanks for checking on me and for your patience.  I’ll be back posting on tomorrow.

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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7. November 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hello Everyone:

Welcome back from the weekend.  I am so excited about our future in God.  I just feel so empowered and encouraged this morning.  

Today I want to talk to you about conflict.

I was studying the subject matter on this past Friday in a biblical counseling class that I am taking and I was so enlightened by the study.    The bible never ceases to amaze me.  You can have read things before and then all of a sudden when you come across it again, it’s all most like you knew read it yet you are very familiar with it.

I thought I would share with you today some of the notes:

The Bible teaches us in Romans 12:18 “if it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

As you see in the text, you may not always be able to avoid conflict but as far as we are concerned we should not participate in it.    All conflict is a result of sin whether it is a Man/God conflict or a Man/Man conflict. 

Sometimes peace may be outside of your reach.  You cannot make peace at the expense of truth and righteousness. 

There are some people with whom it is impossible to make peace.  I Corinthians 7:15 teaches that if the unbelieving depart let him depart.  A brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.    God does not hold you responsible for the sinful failures of others.

The most inspiring part of the lesson was the part where the speaker was talking about how conflict can be an opportunity to glorify God and be a witness.  People are watching us and our response to someone who is in conflict with us can be an amazing testimony to the change that God has made in our lives.

So glorify God today through your conflict.   Work it out and if the other party is resistant then maintain a stance that will be pleasing to our God.

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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2. November 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hello Everyone:

Today, I was reading an excerpt from Billy Graham’s New Book available now called Nearing Home, Thomas Nelson, October 2011,  102 pages , $19.99 .  I intend to order it as soon as I finish with this blog.   It touched my heart so and made me realize that I can do more, be better, and I must take advantage of each moment of life.  It really just makes you put things in perspective.  I will write more comments on it once I’ve received it and finished reading it.  I encourage you to order it. This man was one of the greatest evangelists of our times.  His message was simply Jesus.   He was a true evangelist.   Even in this except and at the close of his life, you still can hear him calling the lost in. 

Here is the excerpt:

A headline on an Internet site read, “Death, the nation’s #1 killer.” The point was obvious—death is inevitable! No one can outrun death. It will catch up to all of us eventually. When I was interviewed by Newsweek in 2006 and asked to give a statement about death, I commented that I had been taught all of my life how to die, but no one had ever taught me how to grow old. That statement triggered a lot of interest, and I began thinking about a book on the subject.

I am certainly no expert on the subject of growing old, but now that I am gaining some experience, I have to admit that not all things get better with age. I have a newfound appreciation—and understanding—when I read this passage in Ecclesiastes 12:

Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, … Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed. (vv. 1, 6 NKJV)

When I read this passage as a young preacher, I can assure you I did not relate to it as I do now. What impresses me now is that Solomon, the wisest king ever to rule Israel, intended for the young to read it “in the days of … youth, before the difficult days come” (emphasis added).

When I was young, I could not imagine being old. My mother said, and the doctor confirmed, that I had an unusual amount of energy; and it followed me into young adulthood. When middle age set in, I dealt with physical weariness, but my mind was always in high gear, and it never took long for my physical stamina to return after a grueling schedule. It tires me out to dwell on it now, wondering how I ever kept up with such a jam-packed itinerary. I fought growing old in every way. I faithfully exercised and was careful to pace myself as I began to feel the grasp of Old Man Time. This was not a transition that I welcomed, and I began to dread what I knew would follow.

My wife, Ruth, however, was one of those who could lighten heavy hearts, especially mine. I will never forget when she announced what she wanted engraved on her gravestone, and for those who have so respectfully visited her gravesite at the Billy Graham Library, they have noticed that what she planned for was carried out to the letter.

Long before she became bedridden, she was driving along a highway through a construction site. Carefully following the detours and mile-by-mile cautionary signs, she came to the last one that said, “End of Construction. Thank you for your patience.” She arrived home, chuckling and telling the family about the posting. “When I die,” she said, “I want that engraved on my stone.” She was lighthearted but serious about her request. She even wrote it out so that we wouldn’t forget. While we found the humor enlightening, we appreciated the truth she conveyed through those few words. Every human being is under construction from conception to death. Each life is made up of mistakes and learning, waiting and growing, practicing patience and being persistent. At the end of construction—death—we have completed the process.

You formed my inward parts; …
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought. …
The days fashioned for me. (Psalm 139:13, 15–16 NKJV)

Death says, “This is the finality of accomplishment.” While we cannot add anything more to our experience, believers in Christ have the hope of hearing the Savior say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21 NKJV).

The apostle Paul spoke of the Christian being “rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith” (Colossians 2:7 NKJV). This is part of our ongoing construction in this life. But the Bible assures us that “if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1 NKJV). When Ruth was separated from her pain-stricken body and earthly construction was complete, she found lasting peace. Her dwelling now is eternal.

There is a stretch of highway going up into the mountains of western North Carolina that has been under construction for many years. It is rugged terrain. The North Carolina Department of Transportation has the task of blasting through boulders and mangled tree roots to carve a smooth pathway into the high country. Vehicles have been caught in rockslides and temporary road closings. Signs flash through the night, Proceed with Caution, as the road winds and twists through the hills, guiding drivers through the maze. When travelers living at the top of the mountain see the welcomed sign, End of Construction, they know they are nearing home. I have known many parents who live in that part of the state and who pace the floor knowing their teenagers are up and down that mountain all the time. Reaching their destinations safely brings relief.

Life can be like traveling a treacherous road. There are potholes that jolt us, detours that get us off course, and signs warning us of danger ahead. The destination of the soul and spirit is of utmost importance to God, so He offers us daily guidance. Some pay close attention to God’s directions; others ignore them and speed past the flashing lights. But everyone eventually arrives at the final destination: death’s door. This is where the soul is separated from the body.

Even on the cross, Jesus taught that death was a passage for the spirit into the presence of God (Luke 23:46). The psalmist declared, “God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave” (Psalm 49:15 NKJV). Have you committed your soul into the hands of its Maker? Are you following the caution signs that God has posted throughout His Guidebook, the Bible? “The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who keeps his way preserves his soul” (Proverbs 16:17 NKJV).

You may find yourself saying, “But, Billy, I’m nearing the end of life. I haven’t been a bad person.” There are many, young and old, who have said this as they have contemplated death, but it is my duty to speak the truth from God’s Word: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 NKJV).

As people grow older, the less surprised we are by their deaths, which often come only after an extended period of declining health. There even may be time for family members to gather and be with the dying person in the final hours. That is the way it was with Ruth. “Her body is beginning to shut down,” her doctor told me frankly. “Her death may still be some days away, but the process has begun, and you need to be prepared.” Two weeks later we gathered around her bedside as her breathing grew more shallow. I was seated by Ruth’s bedside holding her hand, and our daughter Anne was standing beside me. Suddenly Anne said, “She is in Heaven.”

Her breathing had stopped, and her hand slipped from mine. Her years of suffering were over; Ruth had entered her final home. Memories of those final months will remain with me the rest of my life: her growing frailty, her suffering, her expressions of love, our times of prayer, her certainty—and even joy—that soon she would be in the presence of the Lord she had loved and served for so many years. As I think back over those days, the familiar words of Psalm 23 come to me with new meaning, for they exemplify Ruth’s confidence as she sensed her time on earth was drawing to a close: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. … Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever” (vv. 4, 6 KJV).

Excerpted from Nearing Home by Billy Graham.

Nearing Home is available from ChristianBook.com and other book retailers.

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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1. November 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our father and from the Lord Jesus Christ:

Hello Everyone: 

Today I was thinking on Grace.  To be honest, it was from a message that Bishop TD Jakes preached at our church on this past Sunday and it is still ringing in my ears.  He was talking about Paul’s opening address to the church at Ephesus using the Christian Greeting Grace and Peace that I always use at the beginning of my lessons.

The word grace comes from a word that means favor.  While he touched on so many things the part that really sticks out for me is the statement that he made that no matter what we are going through, God has already given us the “grace” to handle or go through.   While I know that we have all heard this statement before it was something about hearing it on this past Sunday that encouraged my heart so.   My mind seemed to click and all the things that I am going through just seemed so trivial in light of the awesome God I serve and the fact that he has graced me with all I need to be victorious.   I love this life in Christ.

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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