New Year, same awesome God! ~ December 31st, 2021
Well, I must admit I will be happy to get this year behind me. With that said even though 2021 brought it share of trials, God is still God and is awesome as ever. See, it is not about our trials or tribulations but the awesome fact, He was there with me as I went through them. Was I surprised that I had them? No! Jesus said I would and you will too! Read His Word! (Hint! John 16:33).
I want to share a video I was inspired with today. If you are having trouble knowing that God is awesome or maybe just knowing God it explains a lot of our part.
Now here is a poem that I was blessed with back in 2010. Hmm, seems like only yesterday. Yep, a lot of yesterdays!
Be Silent And Still
I trust in the Lord,
I obey His will,
but what I find hard,
is to be silent and still.
When a heart is broken,
or an answer we need,
to be silent and still
is very hard indeed.
When a body is aching
and relief we need,
God says, “Be silent and still,
then you will receive.”
See, the Lord knows all
that is just right for you.
So if He says, “Be silent and still”,
then that’s what we must do.
11/6/2010
E. P. Shagott
I pray for each and everyone that the New Year we focus on what is truly important to us.
God's love and grace to you all!
The day after Christmas! ~ December 26th, 2021
Well, as they say, another one is in the books. Hmm, some can't say that for this year they left without experiencing Christmas. I pray for all, at least one time in their lives they did realize the "importance" of Christmas. I woke up during the night and the Lord brought to my mind a poem He blessed me with 11 years ago. As a matter of fact, what I want to share on this day after Christmas 2021, is the sequence of the poems I was touched with at the end of 2010. Three poems were written on Christmas Eve, one on Christmas day, and one the day after Christmas.
As you read each poem listen in your heart to what God is saying.
May This Be A Different Christmas
May this be a different Christmas than all the others in the past. May everyone truly understand His love was made to last.
From a manger it was started, to the cross it did lead, on a hill named Calvary, where our Savior died, for you and me.
May this be a different Christmas, where we all will understand, from the tomb our Savior was risen, taken by the Father’s loving hands.
So don’t worry about the presents, or the family and friends that you will see, Christmas is not about that, it’s all about God, and His love for you and me.
So please go to church today, for He will definitely be there. Ask Him to help you understand what Christmas is about this year.
In Bethlehem it started with Jesus, today may He begin in you. May this be a different Christmas, open your heart and believe, is all you must do!
Merry Christmas 2010
E. P. Shagott 12/24/2010 Another Christmas
Another Christmas, what will I do? My empty heart is still looking for You.
Christmas trees and Christmas lights, still don’t give me any peace this night.
People smiling, spreading good cheer. But my empty heart is still searching each year.
Where is the peace, where is the joy? My friends, the answer, is found in Mary’s Baby Boy.
As your heart cries out, where have You been? Jesus is saying, “Right here, waiting for you to ask Me in!”
E. P. Shagott 12/24/2010 Did Anyone See Jesus?
“Where is Jesus?” asked the homeless man on the street. “Yes, where is He?” the addict echoed, “Can someone send Him to me?”
“Where is He?”, said a woman, raising her kids alone. “If He is the God of love, then why hasn’t He come?”
“Where is Jesus?” asked a man from a prison cell. “We all need Him now, can anyone to us please tell?”
“Has anyone seen Jesus?”, asked a business man in a suit. “My business is going under and I don’t know what to do.”
Then they all heard a child singing, “Jesus loves me this I know.” Everyone looking for Jesus asked, “Did you see Jesus, tell us where did He go?”
The child just smiled, and then touched his heart. “There is Jesus”, he said, “He’s been right there from the start!”
So the moral of this poem, wherever you are, or whatever you need, the Answer has always been there, from God’s heart, to mine, to yours indeed!
E. P. Shagott 12/24/2010 Christmas Day 2010
It’s Christmas day once again, through the birth of Christ our life begins! A day that to many will always be, a day of love for you and me.
Christmas day with it always brings a new beginning of many things. A stronger faith and love for Him, yes, this is what Christmas day will bring.
So give Him your problems and daily strife, and start a journey that can change your life. Let the past be the past and Christmas the start, once to Him you freely give your heart.
So don’t wait any longer if you are in doubt, pick up a Bible and check it out! Oh what a blessing Christmas day can be, if you will open your heart and finally see.
E. P. Shagott 12/25/2010 The Day After Christmas
It’s the day after Christmas, our journey now truly begins. Just as it did for Jesus, many years ago in Bethlehem.
For once Christ touches your heart, and you truly let Him in, a journey of love, caring and sharing with Him, will then begin.
See it is not about all the glitter, or what we see on our TV’s. It is about our Father God, and His Son’s love for you and me.
So I pray on this day after Christmas, your heart will be filled with peace and joy. May each step you take on your journey, bring you closer to Mary’s baby boy!
E. P. Shagott 12/26/2010
Like most of my Heart blogs I like to share a song or two that I believe ties into the message of the blog. The song I thought was so appropriate is titled "The Perfect Gift". Oh yes it is!
God's love and grace to you all!
True love ways! ~ December 9th, 2021
Mark 12 30-31
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
I love that poem by Janet Mullaly. I do believe it is a missing part of today's lifestyle. Mainly do to the fact we are now living in a "ME" society. As Janet pointed out in her poem and in the scripture above, "God commands us to love one another!" Hard to do when our eyes are always on ourselves.
Now here is picture that states a lot. It's a true message. One that we all need to get back to!
Back in the late 50's Buddy Holly had a song that I thought was a good fit for this blog. the title is "True Love Ways". Some of the lyrics state, "Throughout the years, our "true" love tears, will bring us joys to share, with those who really care"! My friends, we need that again! People that love us for being us!!!
God's love and grace to you all!
The quest! ~ December 8th, 2021
The title for this blog is from Chuck Bassett. I have used many of his writings (with his permission of course) in many postings on this website. Mr. Bassett went to be with the Lord back in 2019. Now whenever I would read any of his Facebook postings I could tell he was a man of God. As I reread this writing of his below I was wondering what he must have been going through before his passing. Pain, worrying not knowing, the same as many of us as we go through life. I love his short sentence "Knowing is not living." then shortly after that in the next paragraph he writes "there is only yielding to Jesus". Yes, yes and yes, I say. For He Himself is our peace…. ~ Ephesians 2:14 Everyone is searching for peace and contentment. We think, “There must be some secret. I will look here and there. Someday I will find that magical place…if it is not a myth.” Yes, even those who know Jesus as Savior have the same longings. “What am I not doing right? I’ve done this and that. I faithfully go to church. I still have these burdens wearying me.” One of the first things we try, even before we are believers, is to try to please everyone around us. Some go decades doing this, draining them in frustration. “What will others think of me?” is one of the first thoughts that come to mind. Eventually, we realize that this effort is a fruitless. We may throw ourselves into Christian work, only to discover that making that our prime priority does not bring peace. How can we escape the pain and enter the peace? Maybe we stumble across our text, but how do we get to the place of experiential resolution? Knowing is not living. Then we may come across Jesus’ great words in Matthew 11:28-30: “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to Me. Get away with Me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly” (The Message). There is no formula; there is only yielding to Jesus, even after believing. Paul emphasizes it: “HE HIMSELF is our peace.” Yes, there is a place in faith where we can abide in the Person of Jesus as our peace, and prayer is an important transport. Wisdom from the old hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”: “O what peace we often forfeit, / O what needless pain we bear, / All because we do not carry / Everything to God in prayer!” ~ Chuck Bassett
I found this picture on Facebook which will help each one to tell who has "inner peace". Hmm, a nice little check list. How many would there be of you?
I always like to share a song in my blogs that I have shared in the God's Love Outreach Western New York. This one is titled "Amazing Grace ~ My Chains Are Gone". Yes, they are my friends.
God's love and grace to you all!
In every thing! ~ December 4th, 2021
1 Thessalonians 5:18
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
I came across two stories that I thought translated well into "in every thing"! For sure as we go through life it seems at times we have every thing thrown at us (even the kitchen sink, as the saying goes). This first story is about King George!
King George, at the close of the Revolutionary War, in which he had lost thirty colonies, proclaimed a day of thanksgiving because of the return of peace. His chaplain said to him, "For what would your majesty have us give thanks? for the fact that you have lost thirteen of the brightest jewels of your crown?" "No, not for that," said the king. "Because we have added millions to our national debt?" "No, not for that," said the king. "Because tens of thousands of people of the same race and religion have been destroyed?" "No, not for that," said the king. "Why, then," insisted the chaplain, "and for what shall we give thanks?" "Thank God," said the king, with great vehemence — "Thank God, because matters are no worse."
(J. L. Nye.)
I am a little surprised that his chaplain would ask that but King George nailed it, "because matters are no worse."
Ok now on to story #2. This is about a gentleman named Richard Williams!
When Richard Williams, of the Patagonian Mission, wrote in his diary: "I bless and praise God that this day has been, I think, the happiest of my life. The fire of Divine love has been burning on the mean altar of my breast, and the torchlight of faith has been in full trim, so that I have only had to wave it to the right or left in order to discern spiritual things in heavenly places." Later, when severe illness was added to circumstantial distress, he could say: "Not a moment sits wearily upon me. Sweet is the presence of Jesus; and oh, I am happy in His love." Again, though held fast by fatal disease, he wrote: "Ah, I am happy day and night, hour by hour. Asleep or awake, I am happy beyond the poor compass of language to tell. My joys are with Him whose delights have always been with the sons of men; and my heart and spirit are in heaven with the blessed.”
(J. F. B. Tinling, B. A.)
Now this guy, even when he was dying said "My joys are with Him...and my heart and spirit are in heaven with the blessed." Now fast forward to today and you and I. Would we agree with King George and also Richard Williams? Or would we just keep sinking lower and lower. Woe is me, woe is me! Hmm.
and now my story!
I remember one October in Western New York, on a Sunday morning, with a very heavy and disturbed heart, I decided I needed to go to church. When I looked out the window it was a Winter wonderland. Tree branches hanging down due to the ice. Roads were mess. Well, I knew for some reason the peace I needed could be found in church 3 blocks away. I walked and when I got to the church I found it was closed due to weather. Being an Elder of the church I had a key and went inside. What I did next was grab a hymnal and sang a few hymns. I didn't need music for no one else was there, well, the Holy Spirit was. I then opened the pew Bible and read 42 chapters of Job. Now when you read all of Job you will see probably what you or I am going through is like what King George said, "could be worse"!
Job 42:12 So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.
42:16 After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations. 17 So Job died, being old and full of days.Well, what I believe it all comes down to is what do you grab onto when all is or seems lost? For me I believe this song sums it up pretty good. See, God is my Anchor and I will not let go, and He won't either!
God's love and grace to you all!
The heart! ~ December 3rd, 2021
I think this is an excellent topic to start off December's Heart blogs with. I have been blessed with many poems about the heart and to be honest they are all from the heart. When I was to begin publishing God's poems the only title that He put on my heart was "From God's Heart, to Mine, to Yours!" See, "HEART" is very important to Him.
Well, for sure my heart has been broken as probably like so many others. This worldly life will do it to you. One thing I know for sure God will "never" break my heart. He is in the heart "fixing" business!
Yes, for sure I have a heart for God. He is my reason and not just for a season. What it comes down to is, I want that. There is the key to Christianity. "True Christians, are "heart" Christians"! Hearts just for Him. We want that!
Yep, a good way to start off December. This last video was a poem that the Lord put to music and I have sung it just as you hear it many times. Maybe one of these days it can be put to music but for now it is just sung from the heart.
God's love and grace to you all!
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