Scout’s Tail: A Note from Hope

scout-tail

This is Scout’s tail…. I know it looks like every other dog’s tail, but it’s not! It’s special, just like she is. You might not be able to tell by the picture, but her tail is black at the end – it looks like someone dipped her tail in ink.

She is very smart- I’m teaching her how to chase and play with the kittens, and how to get under the truck when you don’t want Mom to catch you.  I’m also teaching her how to jump on the sofa so we can take our naps; it’s so much more comfortable than the floor. The most important thing I’m teaching her, though, is that Jesus loves everybody, even little dogs like us.  I love Him too, so I want to do what He wants me to.

Mom says she is very proud of us, and she calls us her Thunder Girls –  she says some of Jesus’ friends were called “Sons of Thunder” because of their fiery tempers; she says we’re going to work for Jesus too, but we’re going to temper our “thunder” with love and grace.

Mark 3:13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons. 16 He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Proverbs 1:17-19

Proverbs 1:17 Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
18 And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.
19 So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
 
As a person sins they never think of getting caught but just like a bird that flies into a net if a sinner continues in his ways he will eventually get caught. As they continue on they are only setting themselves up for their own destruction. When people are greedy for what other people have this is where the sin begins for them and against their fellowman.You know too many times when we know we have done something wrong, number one we do not usually think of it as a sin, and number two do not consider who this wrong might have affected. Most of the time the consequences of sin affects more people than we think and not just ourselves. It is hard to live each day and not sin in some way that is why we need to stay focused on God in everything we do and always be ready to ask for forgiveness from God and whoever we might offend.

Proverbs 1:10-16

Proverbs 1:10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
 
This scripture is one that really applies to us all in that we all make the choices in our lives that affects how we spend our life. The sinner mentioned here is the one who has hardened their heat to point that they only know how to entice people to stray from
God. The force of peer pressure is often the most enticing way to get people to sin. These scriptures seems to focus on murder but it is really about the “little” sins that get us started. These sins can if we continue to listen to those that try to lead us astray cause us to get caught up in almost anything to the point of murder. They will entice to the to show how great the rewards can be, that all can share in the bounty. Then verse 15 tells us to avoid sin at the onset, do all you can to never take that first temptation. Because in verse 16 it shows us again they are only there to keep us from having what has been promised by God, Eternal life in heaven with Him.

Proverbs 1:8-9

Proverbs 1:8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
9 For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
 
These verses help us to see that the best instruction anyone can get is from a loving father and mother. These two people , and it should be a man and a woman, only want the best for their children and if they are following the Lord they will give only the best instructions. Most of what parents try to teach their kids is to help them not make the same mistakes. If children listen the parents instruction they will have a lot less headaches to deal with. The greatest gift a parent can give to a child is the gift of good moral teaching, this grace above, I believe, is just that. These parents have set high moral standards and passed them on to their children. The chains about thy neck: are talking about a thing of beauty in one’s life. This helps to see that parents only want to give the best to their children.

Proverbs 1: 5-7

Proverbs 1:5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
 
When we are young we do not like to listen to older people but as we grow older we learn if we listen more and talk less then we learn more. The more we listen we tend to listen to people with wise counsel rather than just anybody. The best way to learn also is to listen to someone who has experienced what you trying to learn about. Jesus said that now we look through a dark glass. We cannot understand the secrets of proverbs and parables now. We understand them to the extent that the Holy Spirit reveals them to us. Even the disciples had Jesus interpret his parables. The Holy Spirit, working as a teacher, helps us interpret the hidden meanings. Proverbs seeks to sharpen the mind to things that need reflection and interpretation. Verse 7, this verse we all have heard more than once so there is very little left to say about this statement. We know the fear of anything other than God is lack of faith. This type of fear of God will cause reverent worship of him. When we fear the Lord it means we submit ourselves to Him.This fear is a healthy fear. And even though it states the beginning of knowledge does not mean we stop fearing as we get older because it is a continuing process to obtain wisdom. Those who do not fear the Lord need to be careful even though they may be a knowledgeable person if they do not have the wisdom of the Lord they will fail.

Proverbs 1:1-4

Proverbs 1:1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
 
Well I think it is time we we get a little wisdom from God through the book of Proverbs. I will not say that this is going to be a complete study on Proverbs but we will see how it goes. Of course we begin knowing that this is written by Solomon, son of David, and he is king of Israel. A proverb is considered to be a comparison but with a definite message that is strait and to the point, and usually not what we want here. Verses 2 through 4 are dealing basically with obtaining wisdom. Wisdom also gives us the skills to live. Instruction refers to moral discipline of one’s life and understanding means the capability to distinguish between true and false, good and bad, what matters most, and what does not matter at all. Verse 3 expands on wisdom which means discreet counsel or the ability to govern oneself by choice, justice, the ability to conform to the will and standard of God, judgment, the application of true righteousness in dealing with others, and equity, the living of life in a fair, pleasing way. Verse 4 the purpose is to give to the simple, or to someone who is an open door, discernment of what to keep in or out of their minds. Also to the young, knowledge and discretion, to make one ponder before sinning, thus to make a responsible choice.
Again I will ask at anytime if someone would like to comment or even disagree we me I welcome your remarks. I do hope anyone who reads these posts while we are Proverbs gains the knowledge and wisdom you desire from God.

Psalms 150: 1-6

Psalms 150:1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.
2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.
3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.
4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
 
This scripture is all about how we are to praise God. Where should we praise Him? Everywhere, not just in church but everywhere we go even all the way to heaven. Why should we praise Him? For everything He has done for us and for His mighty greatness, also for giving us the greatest gift of all and that is eternal life though His son Jesus Christ. How should we praise Him? With any and everything that makes a sound, musical and by your own mouth and by your own kind of physical movements. Who should praise the Lord? The scripture says everything that that has breath, that means everybody and all creatures on the earth, yes I believe even animals have their own way of praising God. So today I again ask you to find a church where you can praise God to your fullest ability, if you can not make it to church praise Him where you are at but not just today but everyday. You will be welcomed and loved if you like to come and worship with us today at Luverne First Assembly of God, we our celebrating our Homecoming service today with lunch to follow.

Philippians 2:14-16

Philippians 2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
 
We see now that after we found out we are responsible for our own salvation we are not to complain or question why some things happen. When the children of Israel were freed from Egypt one of the main problems God had with them was their complaining. This raises the question why do we complain about anything since God set us free with His son Jesus. We still have a battle to fight with the world we live in today but because we are sons of God we should be able to live blameless and harmless without rebuke. If we can live the life Christ ask of us we can give what we have to others helping us to rejoice in the day Christ returns and know that our work has not been in vain. Sometimes we feel we are beating our head up against a wall and that is when we want to murmur and complain but we should be praising God for the trials He puts us through because they help to make us stronger.

Philippians 2:12-13

Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
 
Have you really thought about YOUR salvation? Paul was actually asking if his followers had obeyed his teachings of salvation in his absence or just in his presence. In other words are we depending on a person for our salvation rather than ourselves. To many times we see people that follow a preacher wherever he goes because they think their salvation depends on being where he is. But not so, it tells us to work out own salvation with fear and trembling. If we depend on man for salvation we are in trouble cause man will let us down. A lot of times this hard to do cause we get in a church and think things should go our way because of how we believe and think our ways are the best ways to salvation. Well we can not cannot control someone else salvation just like they have no control over ours. Verse 13 tells us it is God that does the work in us to do His will and good pleasure. If we let someone cause us to have hurt feelings we are letting them affect our salvation and likewise if we cause someone hurt we are affecting our salvation and theirs. So again it is to us work out our own salvation with fear and trembling and do not worry about whether other people are for you or against you. You need to be in church where you going to fed to sustain your salvation.

I’m a Big Sister! A Note from Hope

This is my new baby sister, Scout. She’s not very big right now, so I’m teaching her lots of stuff.  Mom says I can’t call her my little sister, because she’s going to grow until she’s bigger than me. Mom says she’s a “pibble “. At least I think that’s what she said- I was busy smelling of her and making sure it was OK for her to come in the house.

Mom says I’m part “pibble” too.  She says the part that isn’t pibble is terror. (She laughs when she says that – I don’t know why).

This was our first nap together; we played hard until we got tired. She likes chewing on my lip and I like grabbing her tail or leg. She lays on her back and bites my belly and then I try to  lay on top of her but I had to stop because Mom says that’s not nice. So we just had to lay like this.

20160919_130240Scout sleeps in a big tote by the bed – she’s not grown up enough like me, to sleep up on the bed yet.  She’s just a baby.

Mom says I’m going to have to share my stuff with her. She likes laying on MY blanket, and chewing MY tennis ball, and trying to eat MY bottle and MY brush… but I showed her.  She can’t get up on the sofa yet, so I picked up my brush and walked around her so she could see it – then I jumped on the sofa so I could chew it and she couldn’t.

But when Mom had to get back to work, we went to the office to play. Scout got my tennis ball, and when I tried to take it away from her, we both tried pulling on it.

Mom says that Scout and I are both good dogs, and that we’ll take care of business.  She says we have to be a team and work together.  I don’t know what she means, but I think it means that we’re gonna have to love one another and watch out for each other.

20160921_080551How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up? Deut.  32:30

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