Ode to a Beautiful woman!

I would like to take a moment to mention what a wonderful, Godly woman the Lord has BLESSED me with!!!!! I venture to say that not many women would be able to put up with me for very long, but Patty not only does this, but she is also kind and thoughtful, always conscious of others and their needs. She is sensitive and loving, a dedicated employee on her job, sometimes to to point of tears for want of a way to be able to accomplish the impossible demands of her position. She has taken on my three sons as her own and shown them the love many birth mothers don't even give. We have been married for 17 wonderful years and I can honestly say we have not had any real fights which totally amazes me! Don't get me wrong, we are human, after all, we do have times when we may get on each others nerves! But I guess God has given us both the wisdom to be able to read the signs of frustrations at the time so that we give each other space at these times and come back to it later if it needs discussion, and not if it doesn't. All this to say, I love Patty dearly and I thank God for Blessing me with an angel in disguise!
A grateful husband,
Bill, aka cdcwilly

Posted by Bills blog stop at 8:42 AM

Guidelines

I recommend the link for this site below for your own devotions! Bill

10 October 2008

THE ONGOING WORK OF RESTORATION

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Suppose you found a painting in your attic covered with dust and grime, but as you gently wiped it off, you begin to see a beautiful picture much obscured by the dirt and filth that has accumulated with the passing of time. But sensing that this is something which might be worth a great deal, you take it to an art dealer and ask for his help. In a few days, you receive a phone call from the art dealer. He's almost breathless with excitement as he informs you that what you found in your old attic is an old masterpiece, and should be hanging in one of the great art galleries of the world, not buried in your attic.

I will never forget my first visit to the Sistine Chapel to view the great work of Michelangelo. Yes, the paintings were profound but they were dark and dingy. The grime of several centuries covered their beautiful tones. Then came the restoration done by the world's leading experts. On my next visit, the paintings had come alive. Yes, they were the same ones painted by the great artist, but the restoration and cleansing made the difference.

Restoration, of course, is not without a price to pay. It is much easier to just leave something alone than to go to the work of restoring it, applying cleansers in just the right amounts, with just the right pressure which will not permanently destroy the original.

In a real sense, spiritual restoration was the great work of Jesus Christ, a work so important that God sent His Son to accomplish the cleansing and healing of the masterpiece which God made at creation.

Jesus' character showed us what God intended us to be, and His ministry, which cut to the core of human nature, began stripping off the veneer of hypocrisy and the superficiality of religion which had built up over the centuries. What man had corrupted, Jesus restored.

Yes, it was painful. Men much preferred that He not disturb the status quo, that He not lay bare the corrupted hearts of humankind, that He not condemn the religious establishment which had made a pretense of worship and holiness.

Jesus' most scathing words of condemnation were directed not to the homeless, or the woman taken in the act of adultery, nor the blind beggars who sat by the side of the road asking for a morsel of bread, but to the religious establishment, to those whose lives should have been given to bringing men back to the path that leads to God instead of making them twice the sons of hell.

Jesus also showed us what God is like: a loving God who wills restoration for all of his creatures. Frankly, the work of restoration which God sent His Son to begin continues. It's the great work of the Church, touching the lives of people wherever they are, as God's Holy Spirit cleanses the grime and the filth and brings restoration and healing.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,” says Paul, “he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). That's restoration.

A closing thought. No person is ever beyond the point of restoration and reconciliation with a loving God. No, regardless of what your conscience tells you, or what others may tell you, God still considers you to be a person worth saving. There's hope, friend. In reality, your feelings of worthlessness and your fears are your own worst enemies.

May I suggest that you read John 3 from the New Testament and there see yourself included in the "Whoever” of John 3:16? Remember those familiar words, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Ah, yes, that is what restoration is all about.

Resource reading : John 3:1-17

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New changes on this blog

Hello to all!

It's been awhile since I have added any personal communication to my blog. I have tried to maintain this as a predominately Christian web page. I hope some of my liberties in the spirit of freedom from the "Law" have not offended anybody, in spite of it's seeming impossibility! However, I have enabled a comments link under each entry and have yet to receive more than one comment and it was positive! I have recently edited my links list at the bottom of the web page and invite you to check them out, there are a lot of good resources on the list, and I am adding to it as I come across more sites. A little disclaimer: some of the little video clips are from public sites and after it plays, there may be access to other clips that may offend, I have no intention that anybody follow or click on these. If you will simply continue to the next article and move on down to the next item posted, you will only see the original clip I intended to share.
My wife Patty and I are both Christians and we Love Jesus and strive to honor God with our lives and endeavors !
I welcome your feedback and comments, however, please keep them constructive and reasonable, not judgmental and vindictive. I would also like to invite you to peruse through the archives back to the beginning at your leisure and enjoy yourself. I also have included several players with different types of music for individual tastes. If you listen while you look at the site, you may need to scroll back to the player and pause it while you open a video clip so you don't hear both audio tracks at the same time. Also, if you want to use one of the links at the bottom, you can right click to open it in a new tab and the music should keep playing unless you don't want it to play while on the other site, then just pause it first as described above.

Just one more thing I would like to add, if you will look down the sidebar on the right, you will come across my wife listed as a contributor, if you will click on her name"Pattycakes", she has her own site, please open it and check it out! I think you will like it!

With all that said, "more than I intended", please let us know what you think in the comments and may we encourage you to keep your faith in "The Way" and be strong in the Lord!!

In Christ, Bill, aka: cdcwilly