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drifteri

Alfrescian
Loyal
Bible Quotes for January 16



Murder, rape and pillage of the Midianites

"They attacked Midian just as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed all the men. All five of the Midianite kings - Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba - died in the battle. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. Then the Israelite army captured the Midianite women and children and seized their cattle and flocks and all their wealth as plunder. They burned all the towns and villages where the Midianites had lived. After they had gathered the plunder and captives, both people and animals, they brought them all to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to the whole community of Israel, which was camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho."

"Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the people went to meet them outside the camp. But Moses was furious with all the military commanders who had returned from the battle. "Why have you let all the women live?" he demanded. "These are the very ones who followed Balaam's advice and caused the people of Israel to rebel against the LORD at Mount Peor. They are the ones who caused the plague to strike the LORD's people. Now kill all the boys and all the women who have slept with a man. Only the young girls who are virgins may live; you may keep them for yourselves." Numbers 31:7-18 NLT
 

beensetfree

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned
to their first ministry, to reopen a church
in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October
excited about their opportunities. When they saw
their church, it was very run down and needed
much work. They set a goal to have everything
done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve.

They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,
painting, etc, and on December 18
were ahead of schedule and just about finished.

On December 19 a terrible tempest driving
rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.

On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.
His heart sank when he saw that the roof had
leaked, causing a large area of plaster about
20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall
of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit,
beginning about head high.

The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,
and not knowing what else to do but postpone
the Christmas Eve service, headed home.
On the way he noticed that a local business was
having a flea market type sale for charity, so he
stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,

handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work,

fine colors and a Cross
embroidered right in the center. It was just
the right size to cover the hole in the front
wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.

By this time it had started to snow. An older
woman running from the opposite direction was
trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor
while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put
up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor
could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and
it covered up the entire problem area.

Then he noticed the woman walking down the center
aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check
the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into
it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had
made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .

The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor
told how he had just gotten " The Tablecloth". The
woman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .
When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.
Her husband was going to follow her the next week.
He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her
husband or her home again.

The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;
but she made the pastor keep it for the church.
The pastor insisted on driving her home. That
was the least he could do. She lived on the other
side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn
for the day for a housecleaning job.


What a wonderful service they had on Christmas
Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the
spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door
and many said that they would return.

One older man, whom the pastor recognized
from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the
pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't leaving.

The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on
the front wall because it was identical to one
that his wife had made years ago when
they lived in Austria before the war and how
could there be two tablecloths so much alike?

He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he
forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was
supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home
again all the 35 years between.

T he pastor asked him if he would allow him to
take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten
Island and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.

He helped the man climb the three flights of
stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on
the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.
 

drifteri

Alfrescian
Loyal
Bible Quote for January 17


Murder, Rape, Pillage, and Plunder


"As you approach a town to attack it, first offer its people terms for peace. If they accept your terms and open the gates to you, then all the people inside will serve you in forced labor. But if they refuse to make peace and prepare to fight, you must attack the town. When the LORD your God hands it over to you, kill every man in the town. But you may keep for yourselves all the women, children, livestock, and other plunder. You may enjoy the spoils of your enemies that the LORD your God has given you. But these instructions apply only to distant towns, not to the towns of nations nearby. "As for the towns of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as a special possession, destroy every living thing in them. You must completely destroy the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, just as the LORD your God has commanded you. This will keep the people of the land from teaching you their detestable customs in the worship of their gods, which would cause you to sin deeply against the LORD your God." Deuteronomy 20:10-18 NLT
 

beensetfree

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
Took Off


I am blessed to be working for a construction company in the
Lehigh Acres area. One day I was doing punch-out work on a
home - the only home on the street - in a relatively secluded
part of Lehigh.

Quite often while I work I pray that the Lord set up divine
appointments to share God's word with people. This prayer has
been answered many times.

I wrapped up what I was doing, and after loading the truck, was
backing into the street. I glanced in the rear view mirror and
happened to notice a tiny speck that resembled a small child in
a diaper way off down the road. I couldn't believe my eyes, so
I rubbed them and looked again. Yep - a toddler in a diaper!

We were in the woods on a deserted road with no houses in sight!
I didn't want to scare the child, so I slowly backed down the
road to where he was playing. There were still no houses in
sight except the one I had been working on moments ago. It was
a very hot day and the sun was beaming down on this shoeless boy
who was clothed in nothing but the diaper.

He took little notice of me other than to show me the stick he
was playing with. There was absolutely no fear in him. With no
houses, and no people in sight, and this child all alone,
a thousand things were running through my mind. What was I
going to do to help this helpless boy?

I prayed for the Lord to guide me and help me to find this
child's home. Sure enough the answer came: "Go to this street,
turn left, and it's the second house on the right, the one with
the garage door open."

I nervously picked the boy up (still no fear; he came right to
me) and placed him on my lap while I drove him home. Upon
arriving at the house, I saw a teenager frantically looking
around the yard.

After verifying that this was the boy's home, I learned that the
young toddler had recently learned how to open doors and was
supposed to be down for a nap, but instead opened the door and
took off. I gave the family our church card with an open
invitation to attend, and I thanked God that He had used me and
that no harm had come to this precious and innocent child.

This was a MountainWings Moment. For anyone out there who may
have doubts about their being needed in this hectic and
confusing world, rest assured, you are here for a reason.

There are no accidents in God's kingdom. Praise God continually,
He is worthy!
 
D

Deleted member 18975

Guest
Gaze upon this symbol.. the symbol.jpg
 

beensetfree

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
Our Way Back to Thanks


Regarding the issue "Thank You":

I am constantly amazed at how some respond to a simple
acknowledgment of what they have done.

If you don't believe me, stop a soldier in uniform next time you
are in a mall or out in public and offer him your hand while
saying, "Thank you for what you have done for our country."
Over 50% of the ones I do that to these days will get a tear in
their eyes.

Closer to home: I work in a fast food restaurant. A VERY BUSY
one! Have any employee other than the manager thank a fellow
employee for the excellent job they did that day and they will
look at you like you're from another planet, especially if you go
out of your way to do so.

Example: When they are about to go home or on break, say,
"Don't leave, I need to tell you something!" When they get to
you, look at them and say, "Thanks for the job you did today.
It really made a difference!" They'll be dumbfounded!

Have we gotten that far away from simple acknowledgment?
We need to find our way back.
THANKS AGAIN for listening!
 

drifteri

Alfrescian
Loyal
Bible Quote for January 17

Murder, Rape, Pillage, and Plunder

"As you approach a town to attack it, first offer its people terms for peace. If they accept your terms and open the gates to you, then all the people inside will serve you in forced labor. But if they refuse to make peace and prepare to fight, you must attack the town. When the LORD your God hands it over to you, kill every man in the town. But you may keep for yourselves all the women, children, livestock, and other plunder. You may enjoy the spoils of your enemies that the LORD your God has given you. But these instructions apply only to distant towns, not to the towns of nations nearby. "As for the towns of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as a special possession, destroy every living thing in them. You must completely destroy the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, just as the LORD your God has commanded you. This will keep the people of the land from teaching you their detestable customs in the worship of their gods, which would cause you to sin deeply against the LORD your God." Deuteronomy 20:10-18 NLT
 

beensetfree

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
Thorns and Thistles

Today was one of those days when life's struggles piled up and
ran over.

There is so much work to do to fix up the house and out
buildings. The projects that have been finished needed
repairing again. Bills are piling up and the money coming in
does not meet their demands. Family relationships need
improvement too.

We are asking God for direction for our future, but He is
silent. Does He care? Is He listening? Don't think about that
now - the lawn needs mowing.

So, I was mowing the grass and on the other side of fence in the
cow pasture, there was a large bunch of thistles. I related to
them; I was feeling kind of prickly myself.


God never promised that our lives would be void of trials and
tribulations. Each little sticker on those stems represents
trials and frustrations. They represent "dry" times in our
spiritual walk, or times when we are ridiculed and condemned by
others. They can stand for many different things to different
people. But have you ever seen the beautiful flower at the top?
It's lovely! And it's sitting on a crown of thorns.

We are called to carry our cross and wear a crown of thorns,
just like Jesus did on this earth. He is molding us, prodding
us on, testing us to see what we are made of. The next time you
see those thistles, remember that God in His loving mercy
created them to remind us that our lives may seem full of thorns
and thistles, but there is beauty in the midst of them all.

Thank God for the thorns and thistles.
 

beensetfree

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he
started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and
shot him…….The moral: When you’re full of bull, keep your
mouth shut.

.
 

beensetfree

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
The Tea Cup
===========

There was a couple who used to go to England to shop in the
beautiful stores. They both liked antiques and pottery and
especially teacups. This was their twenty-fifth wedding
anniversary and the shop they visited had a beautiful teacup.

They said to the shop assistant, "May we see that? We've never
seen one quite so beautiful." As the lady handed it over to them,
the teacup spoke suddenly.

"You don't understand," it said. "I haven't always been a teacup.
There was a time when I was red and I was clay. My master took
me, rolled me, patted me over and over and I yelled out,
'Let me alone' but he only smiled, 'Not yet.'

"Then I was placed on a spinning wheel," the teacup said,
"and suddenly I was spun around. 'Stop it! I'm getting dizzy!'
I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, 'Not yet.'

Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I wondered
why he wanted to burn me, and I yelled and knocked at the door.
I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as
he shook his head, 'Not yet.'

Finally the door opened, he put me on the shelf, and I began to
cool. 'There, that's better', I said. And he brushed and painted
me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag.
'Stop it, stop it!' I cried. He only nodded, 'Not yet.'

Then suddenly he put me back into the oven, not like the first
one. This was twice as hot and I knew I would suffocate.
I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. All the time I could
see him through the opening nodding his head saying, 'Not yet.'

Then I knew there wasn't any hope. I would never make it.
I was ready to give up. But the door opened and he took me out
and placed me on the shelf. One hour later he handed me a
mirror and I couldn't believe it was me.
'It's beautiful. I'm beautiful.'

'I want you to remember, then,' he said, 'I know it hurts to be
rolled and patted, but if I had left you alone, you would have
dried up.

I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I
had stopped, you would have crumbled.

I knew it hurt and was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if
I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked.

I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all
over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened;
you would not have had any color in your life.

And if I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't
survive for very long because the hardness would not have held.

Now you are a finished product.

You are what I had in mind when I first began with you.

Moral: God knows what He's doing for all of us. He is the
potter and we are His clay. He will mold us so that we may be
made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill His good,
pleasing, and perfect will.

Let this story remind you that God has a perfect plan for your
life. He may need to place some obstacles in your life to
strengthen your character, so that you may be strong in the days
of greater adversity. Don't get discouraged when you feel like
the heat of the struggle is going to burn you. God knows
exactly when to pull you out and deliver you from that problem
and when He does you will be much wiser and stronger than you
were before.

God knows your inner strength and ability to be strong even in
the midst of a problem.
 

chloe1023

New Member
My friend told me that a report from CNN said that the world's largest HIV dating and support site http://www.Pozspaces.com (he told me that it's powered by plenty of fish) now has more than 550,000 members! The report also indicated that HIV rates soar worldwide and CDC had granted CSU $1.9M for HIV/AIDS education to lower the rates of HIV transmission.
 

drifteri

Alfrescian
Loyal
Bible Quote for January 18

Laws of Rape

"If a man is caught in the act of raping a young woman who is not engaged, he must pay fifty pieces of silver to her father. Then he must marry the young woman because he violated her, and he will never be allowed to divorce her." Deuteronomy 22:28-29
 

beensetfree

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
A Boss


If a man works faithfully eight hours a day
he may eventually get to be a boss

...and work twelve hours a day.

~Robert Frost~
 
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