A brave love

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.  He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

John 10:11-13

Love, true love, makes you brave. This is the thought that came to mind when I read these verses this morning. It made me think of David’s bravery as a shepherd, which we heard nothing of until he recounted his experiences to Saul while preparing to face Goliath. He said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” Goodness! I have never faced a lion or a bear – but I can tell you that if I heard they were even within 10 miles of me, I would be long gone! Oh, I would definitely try to alert and possibly save my family too but oh brother!

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A song in the night

By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
Psalms 42:8

JC ©2018

Old Friends

So heartwarming.
I wish this for all my friendships someday 🙂

Mitch Teemley

I had dinner yesterday with an old high school friend, Jeff. We reminisced about our teenage years, and then went on to talk about the times we’ve gotten together since. I couldn’t help smiling because when I was 17, thinking about our “long” 2 1/2 year friendship, I’d written,

“Old friends sit and talk about the good times they used to have. But really old friends sit and talk about the good times they used to have sitting and talking about the good times they used to have.”

It took a few decades, but that youthful prophecy finally came true. ;>)

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Making God Famous

Today, go. Make God famous!

The Focused Heart

Making God famous, what’s that like?

You see, God needs no introduction. Trust and believe, His creation knows who He is.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.”

Psalms 19:1-3

Making God famous is not so much about God being unpopular, especially in today’s society. It is that we have the rare opportunity of getting to know this King on a personal level, and then being able to tell the world what He is like.

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Launched!

Earlier this week, I launched a t-shirt line: Focused Heart Apparel.

Please feel free to stop by the website and purchase any items you love. I have posted just a few photos below for your viewing.

JC ©2018

#Juxtapose

Jonah’s Rage – Giving Up Control

Reposting this today, just because. Our feelings are not always right but God acknowledges them; and, if we let Him, He can teach us through those moments when it seems our feelings and personal opinions get the better of us.

The Focused Heart

But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”
Jonah 4:9-11

A quick background story: God had sent Jonah on a sort of ‘special op’ – into dangerous territory, to deliver a not-so-friendlymessage.

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Comparing themselves…

For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

2 Corinthians 10:12

Truth is, you always have some advantage. But, you will never discover what it is if you live your whole life comparing yourself to and competing with others.

JC ©2018

#Notable