Merry Christmas 2019

"But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.' Luke 2:10)."

 May the Author of great joy and good news, the God who loved us so much that He gave us His Son, give "us a Christmas centered on Him, filled with His joy" and wrapped in an extra "special dose of the hope that God offers through Christ!" Wishing everyone a crazy good Christmas, and a holiday season of hope, joy, peace, and blessing!

Merry Christmas! Love you—Cassius

A day of purpose, on purpose!

"All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor‬ ‭5:18‬)."

 We have a high and holy calling and anointed destiny! We have a calling to be the people who know the God of Heaven and make Him known. Today, and everyday, may we be about our Father's business— exalting His Name in worship, declaring His majesty in praise, serving one another in love and humility, encouraging the faint hearted, helping the weak, praying without ceasing, and living life with an otherworldly excitement and joy under the Kingdom reign of the Everlasting God.

May today be a great day of purpose, on purpose!

Love you—Cassius

I spy

I spy with my little eye...

"I spy with my little eye," a God who moves mountains, stills storms, raises the dead to life, forgives, restores, renews, rewards the faithful, creates new life, shepherds lost sheep, leads us in right paths, carries the weary, brings justice to the oppressed, sets captives free, gives Light for our voyage, and—and loves us with a ridiculous and steadfast, immovable and unrelenting love!!

Hope you spy Him too as you move through the day and experience countless moments of grace and wonder.

Love you—

Remember! Remember!!

Remember!  Remember!  But, “What shall we remember?”
Remember that you “are a people holy to the Lord your God. [And] the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession.”
Remember “that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.”
Remember that you don’t have to fear or be afraid because “the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.”
Remember that God loves you and so do I.

Have a sensational Saturday.  Love you— Cassius
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭7:6, 9, 18, 21‬ ‭ESV‬‬ 

May the Father give us Himself and His love

May “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory”— the One seated “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come,” our God forever— “give us the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation.”  May the everlasting Lord give us knowledge of Him, eyes with vision and  discernment, hearts filled with purpose and spiritual enlightenment, and a mind of unshakable hope in His Word, His promises, and in Him. May His immeasurable greatness and power work for us and toward us so that we have a fun filled and fabulous Friday. Love you— Cassius
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1:17-19, 21‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Hearing when it is hard and the night has stayed too long

Sometimes "it's hard to hear the ‘voice’ of God reminding of His promises of hope and faithfulness, healing and future strength." Sometimes it hard to hear the ‘voice’ of God calling us beloved, telling us we are loved and valuable, and promising us that this too will pass. Sometimes, night stays too long and winter lingers, and it feels like bitterness and hopelessness is all we have or will ever have.

But, in those moments and days and months, even in those years never, ever forget that God is healer, hope, and victory. Today, I speak the promises of God into your life declaring that your "enemies will be defeated," your battles will be won, your challenges will be conquered, and your darkness will be ended by the light of His "hope and restoration."

My friend, my brother or sister, “Never Forget: God Is the Healer!"


 Love you— Cassius

Good morning Theophilus 4.8.19

Waking up and thanking God for you, praying for you, and praying with you. I am "asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give [us] spiritual wisdom and insight, ...to grow and increase [our] knowledge of [Him]," and to flood our hearts with light, confident hope, and the joy of dwelling in His presence.

May "the incredible greatness of God’s power... the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead," make this a marvelous Monday and superb week.

Love you--- Cassius

Ephesians 1:16‭-‬20 NLT

Worthy of praise

Be encouraged by the truth that the Creator of heaven and earth, the relentless God, is our peace and joy, our hope and victory, our sustainer and provider, and our forever love! Be reminded that the God who set the whole creation in motion never slumbers or sleeps, but is always active, always present, always abounding in compassion, always working things out for our good and His glory, and always worthy of our praise!

Love you— Cassius

Long, but worth reading the whole message through twice!

"None of us deserve a second chance, none of us deserve to be forgiven, and none of us deserve to be loved unconditionally" and relentlessly by God. "But, we are! You are!" And, I am! True, we "don't deserve it, but God gives [and gives and gives and keeps giving] it to us anyway." He gives us lasting forgiveness, second chances and thirds and a billionth chance for that matter. And, on top of it all, He gives us unconditional and steadfast love. "Do not let your past mistakes and failures define you. You aren't what you have done or not done. You are who God says you are." You are God's child. Have a thrilling Thursday. Love you,
Cassius

Quotes from Dave and Jon Ferguson, "Finding your way back to God" Youversion Bible Plan.

Love Him lavishly

May we love God lavishly, without hesitation or restraint, so that He may open our eyes to His grandeur and majesty, and raise our hope and expectancy for the riches of grace, the splendors of mercy, and the wonders of Christ Jesus. Have a wonderful day!

Love you— Cassius

Satisfying life

"The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life (John 10:10)." The purposes of God, His plans for our good, our health, and the plans to give us a satisfying life, will prevail today and always. May His promise of a rich and satisfying life give us hope, strength, and the encouragement to make this a magnificent Monday! Have a great week. Love you--- Cassius https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.10.10.NLT

Good morning Theophilus - Happy Wednesday

Happy Wednesday
May our minds and hearts be strengthened, and our souls blessed by the God of hope, grace and abundant life. May the relentless grace of God pursue us, the deep compassion of Christ comfort us, and the immeasurable wisdom of the Spirit guide us so that we have a wonderful Wednesday.  Let us fill our mouths with His praise. Love you— Cassius

What He bought

He “brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5)."  Christ Jesus, the Son of God, "brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5)."   The  One who knew no sin, did no wrong, and lived perfectly with God “brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5)." 

Marinate on the full weight of His love and sacrifice at Calvary.   He brought us peace; we are loved and chosen by God.  We are healed; freed, saved, and raised to new life in Him. Have a glorious day remembering  Calvary's love and the victory of the empty tomb! 

Love you--- Cassius

I dare you 4.5.19

I dare you to live differently... to live boldly for God, placing your hope and trust in Him, giving your very lives to His will--- His good and perfect will, and living a bold life of praise, worship and obedience to Christ Jesus.

I dare you to think differently... to think things that "true, and noble, and just, pure, lovely,  admirable... excellent and worthy of praise (Phil 4.8)," and to think about the extravagant love and grace of God poured out for you.

I dare you to speak differently... to speak words of life and not death,  to speak words of encouragement and uplift, to speak words that build up and not tear down, and to speak from a heart overflowed with gratitude and filled with Gospel truth. 

I dare you to  believe differently... to believe that God has you in the palm of His hands, to believe that all things, even the dark, messy, downright nasty, and the seemingly impossible things will work out for your good and His glory, and most of all to believe that God is good and He loves you relentlessly! 

Have a fabulous day!  Go ahead... I dare you! 

Love you---

Dwell there...

Dwell there.  Where?  Dwell there at the foot of the cross, looking up at the outstretched arms of the One who suffered in your place, who would not let sin separate you from Himself, and at the One who loves you beyond measure and all you can imagine.  

Dwell there.  Where?  At the empty tomb where Life defeated death and Light defeated darkness, where Jesus proved that He is the way and the truth and the life, and where He the resurrection reminds us that not even death can separate us from His love!

Dwell there.  Where? Dwell there in the very presence of Almighty God, remaining "conscious every hour of the day that the bedrock truth of our lives—the core of our identity—is we are loved by Jesus the Christ (Mel Lawrence)." 

Dwell there by the cross and at the empty tomb focused on and remaining "in His love, [the love of the One who] laid down his life for you."  Dwell there!

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead... For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.
Ephesians 2:4‭-‬5‭, ‬14 NLT

Love you---
 

Good morning Theophilus 4.1.19 (B)

"O Lord , what great works you do! And how deep are your thoughts. Only a simpleton would not know, and only a fool would not understand this Psalms 92:5‭-‬6)."

"Fools say to themselves, “There is no God.” Fools are evil and do terrible things;
(~Psalms 14:1)."

It's April fool's day, but it's no joke how much He loves us; He wasn't foolin' around when He said He'd be with us always; and His love and grace and goodness are the truth--- no joke, no kidding, no foolin'!  

May the lavish, seemingly ludicrous, overwhelming, passionately reckless, and dare I say foolish love of God make this a marvelous Monday and an awesome week!

Love you--- Cassius

Good morning Theophilus 4.1.19 (A)

May the Eternal start our week off by changing the way we think of Him, the way we see Him, and the way we live before Him... May the Lord start this week with uncountable blessings, overflowing hope, and unbridled worship... May our God give us the desire to know Him more fully, to praise Him more often, and to trust Him most when we desperately need to know that He still (and always) loves us! Happy Monday. Love you--- Cassius

He and we...

He is "called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)" 

He is "good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation (Psalms 100:5)." 

He is faithful, and "the faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning (Lamentations 3:22‭-‬23)." 

And, we are His "flock, the sheep of [His] pasture.  [We] are [His] people, and [He is our] God (Ezekiel 34:31)." 

May God, "the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End (Rev 21:6‭-‬7)," the One who is bursting with love, gives freely from the springs of the water of life, and is generous with His favor shower us with blessings and love and joy.  May His favor be with us, for us, and upon us both today and always. 

Have a sensational day! 

Love you---

The Goodness of the Good Shepherd

Life... it can be full of joy, new opportunities, beautiful days, and awesome nights.  Like the time we get picked for the team, the day we get our first kiss, the night when the stars are bright, beautiful and so peaceful that the moment takes our very breadth away. Life can be filled with great friends that stick to us like glue, joyous events that make our hearts flutter, and times when all is well and right and full of joy and bursting with excitement.

But life can also have "seasons of disappointment and suffering," episodes and events so devastating "that [they] can sometimes make us lose hope," and there are moments when the many "injustices of the world around us can make us cynical."

It is in these difficult times that we must, we absolutely have to, turn to our Savior "reflecting [long and hard] on Jesus as our good shepherd and remembering that... He laid down his life for us," that He loves us unconditionally and eternally, and that He is always faithful. 

May we have the courage and strength to believe that in every season God is with us, but to believe it even more in the dark, and especially when injustice seems rampant.   May we trust Him as our Good Shepherd, Righteousness, Faithful King, Eternal God, Refuge, and Help in time of storm.  May we remember that He promises one day, "He will wipe every tear from [our] eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things [will be] gone forever (Revelation 21:4)." 

I pray that you and I will be strong and know that He loves us always. 

Love you---

Looking up to the right help

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? (Psalm 121:1)" Our "help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." Our help comes from the One who watches over us, who never falls asleep on the job, and who will "not let [our] foot slip." Our help today, and our hope for tomorrow is in the Lord— who loves us totally, hears our cries, answers our pleas, and has promised to care for us in our "coming and going both now and forevermore." May we turn to Him whenever we need hope, strength, courage, peace, and love. Have a great today and even better tomorrow. Love you---

Saved because of His unfailing love

"Help me, O Lord my God! Save me because of your unfailing love (Psalms 109:26)." 

Let me make this verse personal.  There are moments in my life (and I bet in yours too) when it has felt (and feels) raw, dark, and frustrating, when the hurt is real and the pain is hot and fresh again (like whatever it is was happened just yesterday). In some of these moments, if I'm being honest, I have teatered on the very edge of maybe, just maybe losing hope, giving in to gloom, being swallowed up in doubt and fear, or worse--- just giving up. 

But, then somehow, at just the right moment, I am reminded of the truth of Jesus Christ, that "Christ has always been faithful..., has [always] brought [us] through the many difficulties, and so many seasons of prosperity," and that He will do it again. 

At just the right moment, somehow, His grace steps into my darkness with light, my prison with a key, my problem with the answer, or my confusion with His way and truth and promises of new life--- life eternal.  And then, by "grace alone", I am once again encouraged to live again, to rejoice again, and to be filled with the hope that comes when I trust in Him and receive His unconditional, immeasurable, and steadfast love.

So baby girl, this is me reminding you that: "Christ has always been faithful..., has [always] brought [us] through so many difficulties, and so many seasons of prosperity;" that "overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us (Romans 8:37);" that "the faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease... His mercies begin afresh each morning (Lamentations 3:22‭-‬23);" that "God has said, 'I will never fail you. I will never abandon you' (Hebrews 13:5);” and that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8)."

May "Christ gives us the strength [for] any and every circumstance.  [The] power to conquer every problem the world throws our way."  And, the gentle and ever present reminder of the sure and certain promise of His sustaining presence, no matter [what]!" 

Love you---

3 Keys for calm in the storm

Three keys for calm in the storm:
#1. "Press into scripture and cling to the truth" that He has the power to illuminate our paths, direct our steps, and lead us to victory.  His word is never-failing and unchanging.

#2. Trust that the darkness can never overtake the light, and understand that the power of God shines brilliantly and brightest when we need it most, and especially when the day seems darkest.

#3. Even if we "find it difficult to see God’s work in our lives," He is still very much at work. The key is to keep "our eyes upon Him," embracing "the extravagance of His love," and His infinite compassion.

"And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God."
Ephesians 3:18‭-‬19 NLT

Praise break

B-e-e-p!  B-e-e-p!  B-e-e-p! 

Let's interrupt our regularly scheduled activity for a 15 second praise break!  Thanking Him for His glory, honor, love, favor, blessing, forgiveness, sacrifice, compassion, faithfulness, wisdom, understanding, peace, joy, comfort, strength, help in time of need, friendship, and for His presence with us always.  May the powerful truth that He is with us, loves us, and is better to us than we can ever comprehend make this a wonderful week and a magnificent Monday!  

Love you--- Cassius

The faith road maybe hard, but it leads to God

Life may have many "twists and turns, detours and traffic jams," bumps, roadblocks, dead ends, and unexpected crashes and accidents, but despite them all our hopes are high, our joy is complete, and our peace is unbroken. 

We are not consumed by the trials and traffic jams or the twists and turns, nor the setbacks because our God is infinite, eternal, almighty, and wise. "He knows the end from the beginning... He knows the right path to get us exactly" where we need to be and where "He wants us to go."  He knows that the narrow road, the hard road shall lead us to Him.

May the God who knows our ways, and loves us even still, lead us to abundant joy, to hope never failing, to love eternal, and life everlasting!  Happy travels.

You can't grasp its depth!

When the scriptures say that the Eternal "is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think," it means take all that you think abundantly means and "multiply it by infinity, take it to the depth of forever, and [then] you will still have barely a glimpse" of what God is talking about, and only just begun to "scratch the [very] surface of the reality that God has prepared for [us]." 

May the infinite and wondrous plans of the Almighty fill us with hope, purpose, joy, and excitement.  Have a sensational day! 

Love you---

Happy Valentine's Day, everyday!

God is love! And not just any kind of love, God is the love that does the best for us, that restores us, that carries us through thick and thin, and the LOVE that was crucified, bled, died, and rose for us.  That is why we have hope "that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love (Rom 8.38)"  May the ever and always, relentless and eternal love of God pursue us, bless us, and make this day magnificent!  Love you--- Cassius
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.8.38.NLT

He is and He brings It

"He brings...," and He is!  He is light that overcomes darkness, life that defeats death, power that works in our weaknesses, hope that beats back despair, and He is joy in the midst of sorrow. 

He is peace in a time of storm, streams in the desert, love in such abundance that hate will never overcome it, courage for the fearful, comfort for the lonely, a way for the lost, and He is the bread of life for the hungry! 

He is truth in a world filled with lies, freedom to those in bondage, wisdom for the foolish, and He is liberty and life and salvation to all! 

In His presence is light, "fullness of joy," and love because He is... and He brings who is to us!

Good morning Theophilus 1.21.2019

May the goodness of the Lord be with us.  May the grace,  love, mercy, and unrelenting joy of the Lord be with us. May the peace of the Lord, the promises of the Lord, and the awe-inspiring presence of Lord be with us.  May this week be a week of praise to the God of heaven and earth,  a week of adventure and excitement, and a week of Happy Monday!  Love you--- Cassius

MLK Day 2019

"But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream (Amos 5:24)." 

May the One, who gave voice, true righteousness, justice and hope to countless multitudes through His Son, through teachers and prophets of old, and through national heroes and heroines, give us renewed hope, incredible courage, and His mighty power to bring justice like a river, and "righteousness like a never failing stream" to this generation and those to come. 

Be bold, brave, and blessed.  Happy Monday, happy MLK day! 

Love you--- Cassius

Happy New Year!!

He said, "forget all that (the trials, difficulties and challenges, even the triumph, victories, and miracles) — it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland (Isaiah 43:18‭-‬19)." 

And what I heard is, "Oh yeah, its about to absolutely pop off!!"  God, the infinite Creator, absolute Author, Most Amazing and Mighty God, He is already at work doing something new... not my words, but His.  And He said, it is bigger than anything we have already seen... something that will make the past (the miracles, the triumph, the breakthroughs and the rescues) seem like nothing... like nothing at all in comparison...  Not my words, but His! 

Can you even imagine how good this day, this week, this month, this year, even the rest of this very life is going to be because He said so?  He says He will give us clarity, vision, and a way to walk, even a way through the wilderness... "And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' (Isaiah 30:21)." He is that Way (John 14:6). 

But wait, there is more.  Then, He says, the dry places will be recreated with rivers... That is rivers, with an 's'!   The wasteland barren and dry and devoid of life, think dust and tumbleweeds, think sand as far as the eye can see devoid of signs of life type dryness.  And yet, He says this dry wasteland, my dry wasteland and your dry wasteland, our places where we've become dry and barren are already becoming springs and fountains; flowing streams of mercy that are never ceasing... pools of grace beyond measure... rich and full waters of life, and health, and wholeness, and teaming abundance.   "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water' (John 7:38)," and  "the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 14:4)."

These are not my words, but His!  So, let's take Him at His Word and believe that He is already at work doing exceedingly, and abundantly more than we can ever ask, think, dare to imagine, or recall has been done before...

Happy New Year!