I am back!

Today I am sharing acouple short verses from John. People are told to read the book of John, if they haven't begun in earnest reading the Bible. I have read it before but I haven't for a long time. I am finding I really enjoy it.

This tells about Jesus using several loaves of bread and a few fish to feed the thousands:

"Then Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up,

'There's a youngster here with five barley loaves and a couple of fish!

But what good is that with all this mob?'"

~ John 6:8 & 9 LAB

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Bible Commentary:  "The disciples are contrasted with the youngster who brought what he had. They certainly had more resources than he did, but they knew they didn't have enough, so they didn't give anything at all. The youngster gave what little he had, and it made all the difference. If we offer nothing to God, He will have nothing to use. But He can take what little we have and make it great."

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For fun!

Side Notes, vertical sayings in the margins of the current edition (August/September) of Our Iowa magazine. Installment #1 of 2:

"The trouble with
weather forecasting
is that
it's right too often
to ignore it
and wrong too often
to rely on it."

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"He who sows courtesy
reaps friendship,
and he who
plants kindness 
gathers love."

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"The best way 
to get your tomatoes
to ripen
is to go on vacation."

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*"We could learn
a lot from crayons.
Some are sharp,
some are dull
and all are 
different colors,
but they have to 
live in the same box."

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"What can you do
to promote world peace?
Go home
and love your family."
~ Mother Teresa

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An entry from Sarah Young and her “Jesus Calling:  Enjoying Peace in His Presence”:
 
 “In a world of unrelenting changes, I am the One who never changes. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Find in Me the stability for which you have yearned.

 
“I created a beautifully ordered world:  One that reflected My perfection. Now, however, the world is under the bondage of sin and evil. Every person on the planet faces gaping jaws of uncertainty. The only antidote to this poisonous threat is drawing closer to Me. In My Presence you can face uncertainty with perfect Peace.”

~ Taken from Revelation 22:13; John 16:33 (AMP)
 
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FEAR!!

Have you ever noticed that most of our fears are for the future? What about my job? Our money? The next health exam? Ours? Or that of a loved one? Will my children, grandchildren make wise choices? What does my future look like as I age? The world situation? 

I have heard it said that the Bible has 365 'fear nots'! One for every day of the year! God must know we'd have a tendency to fear!

 "Fear not,
for I am with you.
Do not be discouraged.
I am your God.
I will strengthen you.
I will help you.
I will uphold you
with my victorious right hand."
~ Isaiah 41:10 LAB

Bible commentary on this verse (in part) says: 

 "We need not fear because
1) God's presence is with us;
2) God has established a relationship with us.
3) God's assurance of strength,
help,
and victory
over sin and death is certain."

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Something by Max Lucado in my inbox several weeks ago:

IS GOD IN YOUR CRISIS?

"Do you recite your woes more naturally than you do heaven’s strength? No wonder life’s tough. You’re assuming God isn’t in this crisis.

"Isabel spent her first three and a half years in a Nicaraguan orphanage. As with all orphans, her odds of adoption diminished with time. And then the door slammed on her finger. Why would God permit this innocent girl to feel even more pain? Might he be calling the attention of Ryan Schnoke sitting in the playroom nearby? He and his wife had been trying to adopt a child for months. Ryan walked over, picked her up, and comforted her. Several months later, Ryan and Christina were close to giving up, and Ryan remembered Isabel. Little Isabel is growing up now in a happy, healthy home.

"A finger in the door? God doesn’t manufacture pain, but he certainly puts it to use! Your crisis? You’ll get through this."

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Installment #2 of 2; Side Notes in the current edition of OUR IOWA magazine:

"It doesn't matter
where you are going.
It matters
who is beside you."

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"True friends
are never apart,
maybe in distance
but never in
heart."

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"'Show me a 
family of readers,
and I will show 
you people
who move the world.'"
~ Napolean Bonaparte

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"it's not true
that nice guys
finish last.
Nice guys are
winners
before the game
even starts."

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"Peace is not
the absence of trouble.
Peace is
the presence 
of God."

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