Unusual Friends

Friends are one of the greatest treasures we have. When friends betray and turn on us - when they talk to others about us before they talk to us, it is one of life's greatest tragedies, and the pain of this kind of loss can be intense. Even Jesus experienced betrayal like this (Ps. 46:9).

These beautiful animals show us how precious friendship can be. You would think that these animals would not be natural friends, and yet they have found a way to enjoy one another.

These scriptures are from the NLT...look at these photos and see how the Lord has placed secrets of kindness and friendship in His creation:

Num. 6: 24 The Lord bless you and keep you 

Ps. 31:20 You hide them in the shelter of your presence,

safe from those who conspire against them.

You shelter them in your presence,

far from accusing tongues.

Eph. 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle;

be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Is. 43:2 When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.

When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.

Ps. 15:1-3 Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?

Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?

Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right,

speaking the truth from sincere hearts.

Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors

or speak evil of their friends.

Eph. 1:8 He has showered his kindness on us,

along with all wisdom and understanding.

Ps. 5:12 For you bless the godly, O Lord;

you surround them with your shield of love.

Ps. 13:5 But I trust in your unfailing love.

I will rejoice because you have rescued me.

Ps. 118:24 This is the day the Lord has made.

We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Prov. 18:24 There are “friends” who destroy each other,

but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.

Ps. 148:7, 10 Praise the Lord from the earth,

you creatures of the ocean depths…

wild animals and all livestock,

small scurrying animals and birds,

Col. 3:12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves,

you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy,

kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Ps. 36:5 Your unfailing love,
O Lord, is as vast as the heavens;

your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.

Is. 40:11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd.

He will carry the lambs in his arms,
holding them close to his heart.

He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.

The Lord Knows...

We know that the Lord knows everything – He is omniscient…but here are 9 things that the Bible says the Lord knows. If you look over this list, you may notice that these things are about us – He is watching us and protecting us at all times; He knows what is in our hearts and thoughts; He knows every path we take and how to bring us through the darkest of trials.

Somehow I find this very comforting today:

• The Lord knows when we are in the wilderness – He is with us all the way and provides for us - Deut. 2:7 For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing." '

• The Lord knows the path we take – we are His righteous ones - Ps. 1:6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.


• The Lord knows all of our days and He leads us to His eternal inheritance - Ps. 37:18 The Lord knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever.


• The Lord knows all the thoughts of man - Ps. 94:11 The Lord knows the thoughts of man, That they are futile.


• The Lord knows who is humble and who is proud - Ps. 138:6 Though the Lord is on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar.


• The Lord knows all those who trust in him and He makes a place of refuge for them - Nah. 1:7 The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.

• The Lord knows when we are lying - 2 Cor. 11:31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.

• The Lord knows all those who follow Him - 2 Tim. 2:19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity."

• The Lord knows how to rescue His people from trials and temptations, and how to bring the ungodly to eternal justice - 2 Pet. 2:9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,

May The Lord bless you and keep you today

Double-Mindedness And Integrity

I was thinking about double-mindedness today – there are only 3 verses in the Bible that mention this word:

Ps. 119:113 I hate the double-minded, But I love Your law.

Heb. ce’eph (Strongs: 5588) divided, destitute of firm faith and persuasion as to divine things, a doubter, skeptic,

The thing that keeps us from being double-minded in this verse is the Law/ways/Word of God

James 1:8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways

Gk. dipsychos (Strongs: 1374) from dis meaning “twice,” and psuche, meaning "mind." It means: wavering, uncertain, doubting, divided in interest.

Here is verse 8 in context – James is telling us to ask for wisdom with faith and not doubting:

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

The thing that keeps us from being double-minded in this verse is the wisdom of God

James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

The thing that keeps us from being double-minded in this verse is the holiness of God

How do you know if you are double-minded?

- Are you the same in public as you are in private?

- Are you the same at church as you are with your family?

- Does your thought life match your testimony?

- Do you maintain your spiritual life when you are with unsaved friends/relatives?

The double-minded person has no integrity. The words “integrated” and “integrity” come from the same root word. Having integrity means that we are the same on the inside as we are on the outside – we are integrated.

The double-minded man lacks integrity. He is not whole, entire, or undiminished. He has no unifying factor that keeps him whole.

Here are five verses on integrity that are worthy of further meditation:

• Integrity clears and justifies us: Ps. 7:8 Let the Lord judge the peoples. Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High.

• Integrity leads us to the presence of God and gives us the authority to stay there: Ps. 41:12 Because of my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.

• Integrity causes us to walk in safety and with a firm footing: Prov. 10:9 Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,
but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.

• Integrity causes us to walk with the guidance of the Lord: Prov. 11:3 The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

* Integrity ensures that we are guarded and protected: Prov. 13:6 Righteousness guards the person of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner.

Integrity is consistently choosing the purity of truth

Integrity is what we do, what we say and what we say we do 

Don Galer

Interesting Facts 2

Just continuing the fun facts...

26. Google is actually the common name for a number with a million zeros.

27. Switching letters is called spoonerism. For example, saying jag of Flapan, instead of flag of Japan.

28. It cost 7 million dollars to build the Titanic and 200 million to make a film about it.

29. The attachment of the human skin to muscles is what causes dimples.

30. There are 1,792 steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

31. The sound you hear when you crack your knuckles is actually the sound of nitrogen gas bubbles bursting.

32. Human hair and fingernails continue to grow after death.

33. It takes about 20 seconds for a red blood cell to circle the whole body.

34. The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.

35. Most soccer players run 7 miles in a game.

36. The only part of the body that has no blood supply is the cornea in the eye. It takes in oxygen directly from the air.

37. Every day 200 million couples make love, 400,000 babies are born, and 140,000 people die.

38. In most watch advertisements the time displayed on the watch is 10:10 because then the arms frame the brand of the watch (and make it look like it 
is smiling).

39. Colgate faced big obstacle marketing toothpaste in Spanish speaking countries. Colgate translates into the command “go hang yourself.”

40. The only 2 animals that can see behind itself without turning its head are the rabbit and the parrot.

41. Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

42. The average person laughs 13 times a day.

43. Do you know the names of the three wise monkeys? They are: Mizaru(See no evil), Mikazaru(Hear no evil), and Mazaru(Speak no evil)

44. Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

45. German Shepherds bite humans more than any other breed of dog.

46. Large kangaroos cover more than 30 feet with each jump.

47. Whip makes a cracking sound because its tip moves faster than the speed of sound.

48. Two animal rights protesters were protesting at the cruelty of sending pigs to a slaughterhouse in Bonn. Suddenly the pigs, all two thousand of them, escaped through a broken fence and stampeded, trampling the two hapless protesters to death.

49. If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural cause.

50. The human heart creates enough pressure while pumping to squirt blood 30 feet!!

Part 1 HERE