Just sharing.

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Hot, Hot, Hotter​

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[COLOR=revert-layer]Burgers aren’t the only thing getting grilled this 4th of July weekend.​

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[COLOR=revert-layer]Starting today, meteorologists forecast hotter-than-normal (possibly record-breaking) temperatures for ~230M across the Midwest and eastern half of the U.S. High humidity will push many indices into the triple-digits, and experts warn overnight temps will provide little relief, increasing heat-related health risks.[/COLOR]​

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[COLOR=revert-layer]Northeasterners could catch a break by the holiday weekend, but Midwesterners and Southerners should start buying Bomb Pops. (Check your local forecast for the 4th.)[/COLOR]​

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[COLOR=revert-layer]Extreme heat and drought is also fueling the country’s largest current wildfire. The Cottonwood Fire in southern Utah has burned nearly 92k acres and is 0% contained. Gov. Cox declared a state of emergency Friday, restricting personal fireworks through July 5, and Salt Lake City’s NWS issued its first ever “particularly dangerous situation red flag warning.”[/COLOR]​

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[COLOR=revert-layer][COLOR=revert-layer]ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
Massive weather events and natural disasters remind us that all of the world has been broken by sin. But Christians can look forward to an eternity where there’s redemption not just for people, but for creation itself.[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR]​

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[COLOR=revert-layer][COLOR=revert-layer]“For the creation was subjected to futility — not willingly, but because of him who subjected it — in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children.”
Romans 8:20-21 (CSB) (read full passage)[/COLOR][/COLOR]​

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“In thy light shall we see light.”

Psalm 36:9

No lips can tell the love of Christ to the heart till Jesus himself shall speak within. Descriptions all fall flat and tame unless the Holy Ghost fills them with life and power; till our Immanuel reveals himself within, the soul sees him not. If you would see the sun, would you gather together the common means of illumination, and seek in that way to behold the orb of day? No, the wise man knoweth that the sun must reveal itself, and only by its own blaze can that mighty lamp be seen.




It is so with Christ. “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona:” said he to Peter, “for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee.” Purify flesh and blood by any educational process you may select, elevate mental faculties to the highest degree of intellectual power, yet none of these can reveal Christ. The Spirit of God must come with power, and overshadow the man with his wings, and then in that mystic holy of holies the Lord Jesus must display himself to the sanctified eye, as he doth not unto the purblind sons of men. Christ must be his own mirror.

The great mass of this blear-eyed world can see nothing of the ineffable glories of Immanuel. He stands before them without form or comeliness, a root out of a dry ground, rejected by the vain and despised by the proud. Only where the Spirit has touched the eye with eye-salve, quickened the heart with divine life, and educated the soul to a heavenly taste, only there is he understood. “To you that believe he is precious”; to you he is the chief corner-stone, the Rock of your salvation, your all in all; but to others he is “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence.” Happy are those to whom our Lord manifests himself, for his promise to such is that he will make his abode with them. O Jesus, our Lord, our heart is open, come in, and go out no more for ever. Show thyself to us now! Favour us with a glimpse of thine all-conquering charms.

 

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If You Think You Aren’t Good Enough​

The next time you feel like GOD can't use you, just remember...

Noah was a drunk
Abraham was too old
Isaac was a daydreamer
Jacob was a liar

Leah was ugly
Joseph was abused
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid

Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer
Rahab was a prostitute
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a murderer

Elijah was suicidal
Isaiah preached naked
Jonah ran from God
Naomi was a widow

Job went bankrupt
John the Baptist ate bugs
Peter denied Christ
The Disciples fell asleep while praying

Martha worried about everything
The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once
Zaccheus was too small
Paul was too religious
Timothy had an ulcer...

AND

Lazarus was dead!

What do you have that’s worse than that?
So no more excuses!

God can use you to your full potential.
Besides you aren't the message,
you are just the messenger.

 

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A Lesson Learned From a Bug​

I pulled out of my driveway heading for my mom's and noticed a
katydid on my windshield. This is rare for the area I live in
since it is more city than farm or wooded area. For those of
you who do not know what a katydid is, it is similar to a
grasshopper. It is green but has a flat (up-down) body
whereas the grasshopper has a round body and is more brown
colored.

As I accelerated, I noticed the wind was making his body flutter,
but the legs were securely attached to the windshield. I was
sure he would lose his battle to the wind, but he kept hanging
on body fluttering in the wind. He did this for a couple of
miles. As I slowed down one time he tried to re-adjust his
footing. He released his grip on the windshield with just one
leg and it was all over, he was gone.


The wind is our trials.

The windshield is like the word of God.

When we hold on to our "windshield" securely, we are secure.

When things start to settle down we often loosen our grip on
God’s word. We start to rely on our strength and understanding
rather than staying in God’s word. That’s when the trials come
back and catch us unprepared and the trials drag us away.

If we hold firm to God's word, we will be ready for the trials
as they come.

 

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Your Cross​

A young man was at the end of his rope;
seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer.

"Lord, I can't go on," he said.
"I have too heavy a cross to bear."

The Lord replied, "My son, if you can't bear its weight,
just place your cross inside this room.
Then, open that other door and pick out any cross you wish."

The man was filled with relief and said,
"Thank you Lord," and he did as he was told.

Upon entering the other room, he saw many crosses,
some so large the tops were not visible.

Then, he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a far wall.
"I'd like that one, Lord," he whispered.

The Lord replied,
"My son, that is the cross you just brought in."

When life's problems seem overwhelming, it helps to look around
and see what other people are coping with.

You may consider yourself far more fortunate than you imagined.

 

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Gaw Hong​

More than 200 years ago, the Chinese on Formosa were having a
difficult time stamping out the barbaric practice of headhunting
among native Taiwanese inhabitants.

Because of the coming of the Chinese gentleman named Gaw Hong
who had been appointed magistrate to the region, the practice
was almost wiped out except for a few spots here and there.

He was a just man and a kind man. Soon he had won the hearts of
all the people in the area. By his good dealings with the
people, he won their affection. Even the fiercest of the tribes
couldn’t help but love, respect and revere him.

Because he was such an incredibly fine gentleman, he managed to
stamp out this barbaric practice bit by bit. Unfortunately,
when it appeared that he had almost succeeded, a religious
festival approached and the local inhabitants felt that they
needed to appease the Gods by offering human heads.

Gaw Hong appealed to them with every ounce of persuasion he had,
not to do it, but they wore him down.

Eventually, he said to them, “I will give you permission to take
one head, only one. And, you will take it when and where I shall
appoint.”

When the feast came, he told them explicitly what he wanted them
to do. They were to take the first man using a certain path at
dawn the next day. In keeping with his instructions, the
assassins lay in wait for that first person to appear on the
road.

The arrow of the assassin found its target, and they
quickly cut off the head of the victim, put it in a bag and took
it to the tribal chief.

When the sack was opened, it was the head of Gaw Hong.


On that day in Formosa, headhunting ceased forever.