Dear Family of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Thanks for stopping by for a CUP. The CUP is full this day. We have much to share. We are blessed to have had two write up’s sent to us from Darlene and Leslie. Leslie writes on Restoration.
Today read John 18….the whole chapter………Read the Words of Jesus like our headline today, as Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”
What are you and I doing with the CUP the Father has given us?
verse 6 “I am he.” said Jesus
First these thoughts………
God keeps working in my life and the life of Sharon, these words of Oswald Chamber tell our story…….
“Obey the call of Jesus. Keep yourself before God for this one thing only—-my utmost for his highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone.”
I am on a path that some cannot figure out, but it is the call of Jesus me and Sharon are walking.
Chambers says, “Surrender your will to God absolutely and irrevocably.”
We are completely sold out for Jesus more than ever……..there is so much freedom in this…….
It is quite a journey!
If you’re not the most loving person that the lost people around you know – that’s a fail. Pastor James McDonald
I’ve lived long enough to say without hesitation that only Christʼs perspective can replace our resentment with rejoicing. Chuck Swindoll
Paul sent this in after yesterdays post:
Amen Dewey…… I think we need to step away from churches that tread lightly around issues like abortion and towards those not afraid of Biblical truth. Paul
The Lord has really filled our CUP today……WOW! We have a wonderful write up by Leslie Montgomery on Restoration. Last night I spent time counseling a women in her late 60’s whose family has been torn apart. We are praying for restoration for Carmen’s family, of course this really hit’s home at Christmas time. My heart breaks at all the hurt in the World, all the things that people wish they never did, getting mad, swearing at their loved ones, not talking for years, holding grudges, drugs, alcohol, abuse, etc…….
Let us turn to the Word of God for Restoration……..
Psalm 40:1-17 ESV
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told. …
Psalm 66:12 ESV
You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
Acts 3:19-21 ESV
Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.
God restores, not man or medicine. AMEN!
Let us be Salt and Light to the World and give people hope in our Lord Jesus Christ!
I love my Bible where the Words of Jesus are in Red! if you do not have one, buy yourself an early Christmas gift!
C. S. Lewis shared The Chronicles of Narnia‘s photo.
”And whatever strange things may happen to you, let nothing turn your mind from following the signs.”
~ The Silver Chair
The main object of Christianity is not to get a man into heaven, but to get heaven into him.
Yesterday we talked about the Greed in Sports and Society,,,read this……..
24/7 Wall St. reviewed how Americans spend money. One of the conclusions of this analysis is that consumer spending is relatively alive and well, despite the recession. This may mean that Americans continue to be over-leveraged. US citizens have, in general, brought down their indebtedness. However, holiday spending rose substantially from last year, and the extent to which Americans feel poor has declined now that the recession has ended. Americans spend about 15% of their household incomes on things that they do not need to satisfy their vices or to keep themselves amused.
We examined the changes in spending patterns over the course of one generation–20 years. Americans have certainly not cut back on vices because of the recent difficult economy, with the exception of casinos which were hurt badly by the slowdown. Money spent on alcohol and tobacco is about the same as it was two decades ago. Sin apparently is not beaten down by hard times.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was one of the core sources of information for the 24/7 analysis. We looked spending habits in 1989 and then again in 2009. The average household expenditure two years ago was $49,000. That is measured against household income before taxes of about $63,000. Real incomes have not risen over the course of the last ten years, something that has not happened in any decade since the Depression. Over the course of the last two decades the increase in real income was only 10%.
The patterns of how people spend money on things has changed. People spend much more on television, radio, and sound systems than they did in 1989. They also spend more on pets and toys.
The BLS divides households into nine income groups. The lowest is households with income less than $5,000 a year. It is hard to imagine how such a household could exist. But, the government definition includes people who rent rooms or other living spaces, so in reality a college student or group of college students would qualify. The highest income group contains households with incomes of over $70,000 a year.
24/7 reviewed how American households spend their money and identified categories in which the expenditures are purely discretionary as a way to set its final list of ways people spend money on unnecessary items. We removed all expenses that could be considered essential to maintain a reasonable living, good health and a steady job. Then, we identified the ten categories of unnecessary purchases which accounted for the largest part of U.S. household expenditures. We also broke the data into several demographics, including income before taxes, regions of the country, and the number of people in each household.
The ten categories of unnecessary purchase can be balanced against the ability of Americans to save money or pay off debts. The “average” American household which has an income of $63,000 spends more than $8,000 on goods and services it does not actually need. The credit crisis might not have been so bad if all that money had been put into savings accounts between 1989 and 2009, but the period would not have been nearly as fun.
10. Apparel Products and Services
Annual Amount Spent Per Household: $249
% of Total Annual Expenses: 0.5%
This category includes unnecessary purchases such as clothing rentals and storage, dry cleaning, jewelry, and watch repair. Clothing and shoe repairs, which are also included, are rarely considered a waste, but they account for a relatively modest portion of this category. The average amount spent per household is $249. This is slightly down from the 1989 amount, which was $266.
9. Tobacco
Annual Amount Spent Per Household: $380
% of Total Annual Expenses: 0.8%
The average household spends more than $380 each year on tobacco products and smoking supplies, which includes cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and chewing tobacco. It is worth remembering that this average includes households where no one pays for tobacco products. Despite this fact, tobacco’s portion of the average household’s budget, 0.8%, is larger than what Americans spend on fresh fruit and milk combined. A person who smokes a pack of cigarettes a day in New York state will spend more than $4,000 a year, which is roughly 10% of the average American income before taxes.
8. Entertainment Equipment and Services, Nonessential
Annual Amount Spent Per Household: $400
% of Total Annual Expenses: 0.8%
Products in this category include bicycles, trailers, camping equipment, hunting and fishing equipment, sports equipment, boats, photographic equipment and supplies. The average expenditures dedicated to items in this category among all households is $400. The greatest average amount, $870, occurs among households with a husband, wife, and an eldest child age 6 to 17 years. In households with only one parent and at least one child under 18, the amount drops to $188. In 1989, the average amount for all households was slightly less, at $369.
7. Alcohol
Annual Amount Spent Per Household: $435
% of Total Annual Expenses: 0.9%
In 2009, the average American household spent $435 on beer, wine, hard liquor, and mixed drinks. This is more than the amount spent on all non-alcoholic beverages combined. Despite the higher prices often paid in restaurants and bars, the majority of money spent is on alcohol is for drinks consumed in the home. Households consisting only of a husband and wife spent an average of $582, roughly $400 more than single-parent households. On average, household spending on alcohol increased 35% from 1989, but the percent of their total budget spent on drinks is about the same: 1% in 1989 versus 0.9% in 2009.
6. Fees and Admissions
Annual Amount Spent Per Household: $628
% of Total Annual Expenses: 1.3%
In 2009, the average household spent $628 on fees and admissions for sporting events, films, and concerts. This category also includes club memberships and movie rentals. These costs are more than what the average household spent on personal care products. People in the Northeast spent $780 on this category, about $370 more than those in the South. The average annual expenses for these products are nearly double what they were in 1989, when the average movie ticket cost $4, about half of what people spend today.
5. Lodging, Vacation Homes and Hotels
Annual Amount Spent Per Household: $672
% of Total Annual Expenses: 1.4%
The average American household spent more than $670 on vacation homes and hotels. While this is more than the $485 spent twenty years ago, Americans are actually spending less than they used to on their total budgets – 1.7% in 1989 versus 1.4% in 2009. As might be expected, households which make more than $70,000 each year spent far more than the average American: $1,511 in 2009. Households in the Northeast spent $924 on vacation homes and hotels, nearly double what those in the South pay each year.
4. Pets, Toys, Hobbies, and Playground Equipment
Annual Amount Spent Per Household: $690
% of Total Annual Expenses: 1.4%
The average household spent nearly $700 on pets, toys, hobbies, and playground equipment. Nearly 80% of the expenses in this category come from pets, including food and veterinary bills. In contrast, households only spent $140 on toys and games. Families with the oldest child under 6 only spent $670. Families with a child older than 18 spent nearly $1,200. Most of this difference comes from significantly more spending on veterinary services. Households in the Western United States spent $800 on pets, toys and games – 20% more than those in the Midwest. These expenses have increased from 0.9% of household budgets in 1989 to 1.4% in 2009.
3. Television, Radio, and Sound Equipment
Amount Spent Per Household: $975
% of Total Annual Expenses: 2%
In 2009, the average household spent $975 on television, radio, and sound equipment, including cable TV, video game hardware, and movie players. This amount is up from $429 in 1989. For comparison, the average amount spent on reading material, which is another household expenditure category, was only $109. The group which spent the greatest portion of their budget in this category, 2.5%, was those who made between $5,000 to $9,999. The group which spent the least was the group making the most. Households earning $70,000 or more spent only 1.7% of their budget on items in this category.
2. Gifts
Amount Spent Per Household: $1,067
% of Total Annual Expenses: 2.2%
Although Americans spend a great deal of money on unnecessary goods and services for themselves, they also spend a large amount on gifts for others. The average amount spent on gifts (including housing, apparel, and entertainment items) per household in 2009 was $1,067. This amount has increased from $887 in 2009. Households with incomes of less than $5,000 spent an average of $479, while households earning between $5,000 and $9,999 spent an average $261, the lowest amount.
1. Food Away From Home
Amount Spent Per Household: $2,619
% of Total Annual Expenses: 5.3%
Food away from home includes all meals at fast food, take-out, delivery, full-service restaurants, and at vending machines and food carts. In 2009, the average household spent $2,619 on food away from home, compared to an average $1,762 in 1989. The group which spent the most in this category, relative to household income, are those which make less than $5,000 a year. This group spent an average 6.2% of their total budget on food away from home. Those making between $5,000 and $9,999 spent 4.7%.
–Douglas McIntyre, Michael Sauter, Charles Stockdale
Let us go into prayer as we read this……….
”A Christian community either lives by the intercessory prayers of its members for one another, or the community will be destroyed. I can no longer condemn or hate other Christians for whom I pray, no matter how much trouble they cause me. In intercessory prayer the face that may have been strange and intolerable to me is transformed into the face of one for whom Christ died, the face of a pardoned sinner. That is a blessed discovery for the Christian who is beginning to offer intercessory prayer for others. As far as we are concerned, there is no dislike, no personal tension, no disunity or strife that cannot be overcome by intercessory prayer. Intercessory prayer is the purifying bath into which the individual and the community must enter every day.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Please pray for 2 year old Elijah who is very sick, pray for Dallas who has West Nile. Got a late night text from Michael Hoffman that his sister-in-law is in serious condition in a Sioux Falls, South Dakota hospital and his wife flew out yesterday to be there. Pray for Carmen’s family to be restored and all families that are struggling, we pray. Pray for Sammy that she will fully see the ways of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray for Karen who suffered brain damage over a year ago and lays in a nursing home with a feeding tube, she is just 27 years of age. Please keep Randy Thom in your prayers and give thanks for what the Lord is doing in his life.
We ask you for your continued prayers for us here at FGGAM. As Sharon and I walk this road, this new road that the Lord has for us, your prayers, your emails, calls mean so much! Thanks to all of you who have made love offerings to the Ministry.
Darlene sent this in and then we have Leslie Montgomery on Restoration……….
The old man sat in his gas station on a cold Christmas Eve. He hadn’t been anywhere in years since his wife had passed away. It was just another day to him. He …
didn’t hate Christmas, just couldn’t find a reason to celebrate. He was sitting there looking at the snow that had been falling for the last hour and wondering what it was all about when the door opened and a homeless man stepped through.
Instead of throwing the man out, Old George as he was known by his customers, told the man to come and sit by the heater and warm up. “Thank you, but I don’t mean to intrude,” said the stranger. “I see you’re busy, I’ll just go.” “Not without something hot in your belly.” George said.
He turned and opened a wide mouth Thermos and handed it to the stranger. “It ain’t much, but it’s hot and tasty. Stew … Made it myself. When you’re done, there’s coffee and it’s fresh.”
Just at that moment he heard the “ding” of the driveway bell. “Excuse me, be right back,” George said. There in the driveway was an old ’53 Chevy. Steam was rolling out of the front. The driver was panicked. “Mister can you help me!” said the driver, with a deep Spanish accent. “My wife is with child and my car is broken.” George opened the hood. It was bad. The block looked cracked from the cold, the car was dead. “You ain’t going in this thing,” George said as he turned away.
“But Mister, please help …” The door of the office closed behind George as he went inside. He went to the office wall and got the keys to his old truck, and went back outside. He walked around the building, opened the garage, started the truck and drove it around to where the couple was waiting. “Here, take my truck,” he said. “She ain’t the best thing you ever looked at, but she runs real good.”
George helped put the woman in the truck and watched as it sped off into the night. He turned and walked back inside the office. “Glad I gave ’em the truck, their tires were shot too. That ‘ol truck has brand new .” George thought he was talking to the stranger, but the man had gone. The Thermos was on the desk, empty, with a used coffee cup beside it. “Well, at least he got something in his belly,” George thought.
George went back outside to see if the old Chevy would start. It cranked slowly, but it started. He pulled it into the garage where the truck had been. He thought he would tinker with it for something to do. Christmas Eve meant no customers. He discovered the block hadn’t cracked, it was just the bottom hose on the radiator. “Well, shoot, I can fix this,” he said to
himself. So he put a new one on.
“Those tires ain’t gonna get ’em through the winter either.” He took the snow treads off of his wife’s old Lincoln. They were like new and he wasn’t going to drive the car anyway.
As he was working, he heard shots being fired. He ran outside and beside a police car an officer lay on the cold ground. Bleeding from the left shoulder, the officer moaned, “Please help me.”
George helped the officer inside as he remembered the training he had received in the Army as a medic. He knew the wound needed attention. “Pressure to stop the bleeding,” he thought. The uniform company had been there that morning and had left clean shop towels. He used those and duct tape to bind the wound. “Hey, they say duct tape can fix anythin’,” he said, trying to make the policeman feel at ease.
“Something for pain,” George thought. All he had was the pills he used for his back. “These ought to work.” He put some water in a cup and gave the policeman the pills. “You hang in there, I’m going to get you an ambulance.”
The phone was dead. “Maybe I can get one of your buddies on that there talk box out in your car.” He went out only to find that a bullet had gone into the dashboard destroying the two way radio.
He went back in to find the policeman sitting up. “Thanks,” said the officer. “You could have left me there. The guy that shot me is still in the area.”
George sat down beside him, “I would never leave an injured man in the Army and I ain’t gonna leave you.” George pulled back the bandage to check for bleeding. “Looks worse than what it is. Bullet passed right through ‘ya. Good thing it missed the important stuff though. I think with time your gonna be right as rain.”
George got up and poured a cup of coffee. “How do you take it?” he asked. “None for me,” said the officer. “Oh, yer gonna drink this. Best in the city. Too bad I ain’t got no donuts.” The officer laughed and winced at the same time.
The front door of the office flew open. In burst a young man with a gun. “Give me all your cash! Do it now!” the young man yelled. His hand was shaking and George could tell that he had never done anything like this before.
“That’s the guy that shot me!” exclaimed the officer.
“Son, why are you doing this?” asked George, “You need to put the cannon away. Somebody else might get hurt.”
The young man was confused. “Shut up old man, or I’ll shoot you, too. Now give me the cash!”
The cop was reaching for his gun. “Put that thing away,” George said to the cop, “we got one too many in here now.”
He turned his attention to the young man. “Son, it’s Christmas Eve. If you need money, well then, here. It ain’t much but it’s all I got. Now put that pea shooter away.”
George pulled $150 out of his pocket and handed it to the young man, reaching for the barrel of the gun at the same time. The young man released his grip on the gun, fell to his knees and began to cry. “I’m not very good at this am I? All I wanted was to buy something for my wife and son,” he went on. “I’ve lost my job, my rent is due, my car got repossessed last week.”
George handed the gun to the cop. “Son, we all get in a bit of squeeze now and then. The road gets hard sometimes, but we make it through the best we can.”
He got the young man to his feet, and sat him down on a chair across from the cop. “Sometimes we do stupid things.” George handed the young man a cup of coffee. “Bein’ stupid is one of the things that makes us human. Comin’ in here with a gun ain’t the answer. Now sit there and get warm and we’ll sort this thing out.”
The young man had stopped crying. He looked over to the cop. “Sorry I shot you. It just went off. I’m sorry officer.” “Shut up and drink your coffee ” the cop said. George could hear the sounds of sirens outside. A police car and an ambulance skidded to a halt. Two cops came through the door, guns drawn. “Chuck! You ok?” one of the cops asked the wounded officer.
“Not bad for a guy who took a bullet. How did you find me?”
“GPS locator in the car. Best thing since sliced bread. Who did this?” the other cop asked as he approached the young man.
Chuck answered him, “I don’t know. The guy ran off into the dark. Just dropped his gun and ran.”
George and the young man both looked puzzled at each other.
“That guy work here?” the wounded cop continued. “Yep,” George said, “just hired him this morning. Boy lost his job.”
The paramedics came in and loaded Chuck onto the stretcher. The young man leaned over the wounded cop and whispered, “Why?”
Chuck just said, “Merry Christmas boy … and you too, George, and thanks for everything.”
“Well, looks like you got one doozy of a break there. That ought to solve some of your problems.”
George went into the back room and came out with a box. He pulled out a ring box. “Here you go, something for the little woman. I don’t think Martha would mind. She said it would come in handy some day.”
The young man looked inside to see the biggest diamond ring he ever saw. “I can’t take this,” said the young man. “It means something to you.”
“And now it means something to you,” replied George. “I got my memories. That’s all I need.”
George reached into the box again. An airplane, a car and a truck appeared next. They were toys that the oil company had left for him to sell. “Here’s something for that little man of yours.”
The young man began to cry again as he handed back the $150 that the old man had handed him earlier.
“And what are you supposed to buy Christmas dinner with? You keep that too,” George said. “Now git home to your family.”
The young man turned with tears streaming down his face. “I’ll be here in the morning for work, if that job offer is still good.”
“Nope. I’m closed Christmas day,” George said. “See ya the day after.”
George turned around to find that the stranger had returned. “Where’d you come from? I thought you left?”
“I have been here. I have always been here,” said the stranger. “You say you don’t celebrate Christmas. Why?”
“Well, after my wife passed away, I just couldn’t see what all the bother was. Puttin’ up a tree and all seemed a waste of a good pine tree. Bakin’ cookies like I used to with Martha just wasn’t the same by myself and besides I was gettin’ a little chubby.”
The stranger put his hand on George’s shoulder. “But you do celebrate the holiday, George. You gave me food and drink and warmed me when I was cold and hungry. The woman with child will bear a son and he will become a great doctor.
The policeman you helped will go on to save 19 people from being killed by terrorists. The young man who tried to rob you will make you a rich man and not take any for himself. “That is the spirit of the season and you keep it as good as any man.”
George was taken aback by all this stranger had said. “And how do you know all this?” asked the old man.
“Trust me, George. I have the inside track on this sort of thing. And when your days are done you will be with Martha again.”
The stranger moved toward the door. “If you will excuse me, George, I have to go now. I have to go home where there is a big celebration planned.”
George watched as the old leather jacket and the torn pants that the stranger was wearing turned into a white robe. A golden light began to fill the room.
“You see, George … it’s My birthday. Merry Christmas.”
George fell to his knees and replied, “Happy Birthday, Lord Jesus”
Merry Christmas!!
This story is better than any greeting card.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND GOD BLESS!
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Thank you,
Dewey Moede
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