LIVE LOVE

THOUGHTS FROM GEORGE WINKELMAN AND SUNRISE MINISTRIES--- Caught up in the pursuit of power and pleasure, Babylon believed in it's own greatness and claimed to be the only power on earth. Babylon felt completely secure, and Nebuchadnezzar, its king, exalted himself as a god. But the true God taught King Nebuchadnezzar a powerful lesson by taking everything away from him. (Daniel 4:28-37). Our society is addicted to pleasure and power, but these can quickly pass away. Look at your own life and ask your self, how can you be more responsible with the talents and possessions God has given you. How can you use your life for God's honor rather than your own? The people of Babylon sought advice from astrologers and star- gazers. But like the idols of wood or gold, they could not even deliver themselves from what was to come from the hands of God. Why rely on those who are powerless ?. The helpless can not help us. Alternatives to God are destined to fail. If you want help, find it in ...

May the mind of Christ, my Savior, Live in me from day to day, By His love and power controlling All I do and say. May the Word of God dwell richly In my heart from hour to hour, So that all may see I triumph Only through His power. May the peace of God my Father Rule my life in everything, That I may be calm to comfort Sick and sorrowing. May the love of Jesus fill me As the waters fill the sea; Him exalting, self abasing, This is victory. May I run the race before me, Strong and brave to face the foe, Looking only unto Jesus As I onward go. May His beauty rest upon me, As I seek the lost to win, And may they forget the channel, Seeing only Him. by Kate B. Wilkinson (1913)

It has been about ten days now since I had finished a good work day and was headed home after picking up a few groceries. A quiet night around 10:20pm and an S.U.V. was suddenly in my lane, headlights were almost as close as the hood of the car I was driving. Lights out for me on impact as I sank into the dark silence. I was unable to speak or hear or see my immediate circumstances. My spirit called out to God, "Please help me, please help my mom." In life and death, our lives are continually effecting others. This was my last request as I took what I thought was my last breath --- I am not sure how much time passed before I remember taking a breath and starting to cry. I was not sure what had happened at first or how long I had been gone, but the tears came as I began to feel the pain, the inability to move, and realized that Jesus gave me life again. Immediately I started thanking God for being with me and for going ahead and comforting my mom upon receiving news that I had...

Possible questions to ask yourself if you have concerns that something could be lacking in your marriage: Am I praying? Have I actually asked God to help me walk through this season? Do I cast my cares on the Lord? Do I bring my problems to God? Do I treat my spouse the way I would like to be treated? Am I focusing too much on what the other person is or is not doing? Am I unconcerned with the load that they have to carry? Am I actively doing something to lighten their load daily? Am I considering myself and my own feelings above my spouses? Do I allow critical and accusing thoughts to frequent my mind? Do I make a habit of encouraging and complimenting or do I have a sarcastic insulting tone, resentful, careless or fault-finding attitude? It is very important to examine yourself and pay attention to your own behaviour, habits, and devotion. All the ways that you are will either positively or negatively effect your relationship and the lives of those observing your relationship. Please...

Toenails are a small part of the body, but if something is the matter with one of them they can affect the whole body. Have you ever stubbed one of your toes, smashed any of your toes enough to rip off one of your toenails? Painful eh? Ouch! Like a stubbed toe, when we complain and argue our words have the power to cause others to stumble or at the very least tremendous discomfort. Our every little word can affect the whole body. The beginning of this verse if very clear instructions, "DO EVERYTHING without complaining or arguing..." Imagine what life would be like if we trained ourselves to think and act in agreement with this verse. "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe. " Philippians 2:14-15

VANITY. Plagues the world. Every age group. The other day I was driving down the road listening to a radio program that was giving the stats on how much money people spend on cosmetics and hair styling products and haircuts. As if that was not disturbing enough, they began talking about how much money is spent on girls under 13 years old on the same thing. Due to sixty second commercials that these little ones and all of the public view, they are impacted enough to go and spend and spend some more to try to become more beautiful or more desirable or more something. ENTERTAINMENT. Unless you live in the mountains (and one day, Lord willing I will) entertainment means constant television, video games, hand held devices, and distractions of all kinds. If we were to take a step back and look at our lives and how we spend our time, it is very sad. Screens and programs replace the people in our lives. Genuine conversation is rare. If ever we do spend time with people it is talking about the ...

A few weeks ago went climbing with a group of wonderful people that I was honored to serve with for a season. The rocks we were climbing were granite boulders. A few of us got a little scratched up, a little bruised, the rock left some marks on our flesh. As I attempted to climb this one rock that required me to put one of my feet about waist high across from where I needed to hold both of my hands...I proceeded to put all of my weight on my fingers and try to quickly shift my weight over to my legs and feet and thighs. After a few tries of attempting this my fingers felt shredded and my upper body drained of any strength. The other climbers began encouraging me to hold on, to keep my grip firm, and to move inch by inch until I was able to put weight on both of my feet and balance came as I kept moving upward. I did touch the top and was thankful for all the different people that made an effort to encourage and to keep me on the rock. I was able to climb to the top and stop and rest an...