A White After-Christmas (Whiter Than Snow)

Well, at our home, we are watching the snow come down pretty heavily. Yes it's going to be a white after-Christmas for sure. It is beautiful. To look out the window and see a pure, snow-laden landscape on the Day after we just celebrated the Birth of our Savior is quite inspirational, indeed.

Jesus came from Heaven to earth to wash us and to make us whiter than snow. Yes, The Christ Child came to pardon our sins -- to wash away our acts and deeds of rebellion. He also came to purify our hearts from all Sin -- to cleanse our attitudes and dispositions of rebellion.

Wash me clean from my guilt.
Purify me from my sin.
-- Psalm 51:2 (NLT)

“Come on now, let’s discuss this!” says the Lord.
“Though your sins are bright red,
they will become as white as snow.
Though they are dark red,
they will become as white as wool."
-- Isaiah 1:18 (GWT)

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
-- 1 John 1:9 (NIV 1984)

Click here: Kirk Franklin - Jesus Paid It All [White As Snow] - YouTube
 

Deo Volente -- Whatever God Wants! (Jesus Paid it All!)

Grateful 

To Pardon And Sanctify Me

This verse from the old hymn, The Old Rugged Cross, offers powerful hope for our earthly lives and for our eternal souls:

In the old rugged Cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For the dear Lamb of God, left his Glory above,
To pardon and sanctify me.

Jesus died to pardon our sins -- our acts and deeds of rebellion -- and to purify our Sin -- our attitudes and dispositions of rebellion.

But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
-- 1 John 1:9 (NLT)

Lord, thanks for saving and for sanctifying me.
Grateful

When I Am Overwhelmed...

When I am overwhelmed,
You alone know the way I should turn.
-- Psalm 142:3a (NLT)

My personal edit of a powerful prayer adapted from John and Charles Wesley's Covenant Service:

Lord Jesus, here we are, lost creatures apart from You, and enemies to God, under His wrath and curse. Lord, undertake for us, reconcile us to God, and save our souls. You have promised not to refuse us, for we have nowhere else to go. If we had come in our own righteousness, you would with good reason have sent us away; but since we come at the command of the Father, and because of Your great love, we know You will not reject us. We come, Lord. We believe, Lord. We throw ourselves upon Your grace and mercy. We cast ourselves upon Your blood. Do not refuse us. We have nowhere else to go. We need nowhere else to go. Here in Your presence is where we belong. Here in Your presence is where we will remain. On You we will trust, and rest. On You we lay our hope for pardon, for purity, for life, and for salvation. If we perish, we perish on Your shoulders. If we sink, we sink in Your ship. If we die, we die on Your doorstep. Do not ask us to leave, for we will not leave. We will abandon ourselves to You, not from You. You alone are our Life, our Lord, our Everything.

God, I (We) Need You!
Grateful

Prayer of Saint Francis for Saint Kathleen

I just received a call that a dear 89-year-old saint, Kathleen, passed from this life to the next. She was a saint, in that she belonged exclusively to God. She was also like a grandmother to our children, always cooking snicker-doodle cookies for them up until she entered the rest home.

Saint Kathleen's favorite prayer was the Prayer attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi. I post it below for the glory of God and as a tribute to His Life in hers:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light; and...
where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and...
it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen

See you soon, Kathleen. Thanks for leaving me with a lovely last memory of yourself -- the smile of JESUS glowing from within you. It will inspire me until we meet again.

ALL JOY!
Grateful