Sound Mind Set

ISAIAH 35 Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days.    The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses. Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers    and singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon,    as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon. There the Lord will display his glory,    the splendor of our God. With this news, st...

Matthew 1:18-25 The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they enjoyed their wedding night, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced. While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a drea...

Luke 1:46-56 And Mary said, I’m bursting with God-news;     I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.  God took one good look at me, and look what happened—     I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!  What God has done for me will never be forgotten,     the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.  His mercy flows in wave after wave     on those who are in awe before him.  He bared hi...

Luke 1:26-38 MESSAGE In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin’s name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her: Good morning! You’re beautiful with God’s beauty, Beautiful inside and out! God be with you. She was thoroughly shaken,...

1 John 4  We’ve seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent his Son as Savior of the world. Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God’s Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we’ve embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God.  God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and...

Philippians 2:7-8 (Message)  Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibl...

Zephaniah 3:17 NLT   For the Lord your God is living among you.      He is a mighty savior.   He will take delight in you with gladness.      With his love, he will calm all your fears.[a]      He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”    This prophecy talks about what came to be, what actually, historically happened. It is undisputed by atheists and believers alike… Jesus was born in Bethlehem...

2 Titus 3:4-6 ( Living Bible)  But when the time came for the kindness and Love of God our Savior to appear, then he saved us—not because we were good enough to be saved but because of his kindness and pity—by washing away our sins and giving us the new joy of the indwelling Holy Spirit, whom he poured out upon us with wonderful fullness—and all because of what Jesus Christ our Savior did.  Kindne...

Isaiah 49:13-16 (MESSAGE)  Heavens, raise the roof! Earth, wake the dead!      Mountains, send up cheers!   God has comforted his people.      He has tenderly nursed his beaten-up, beaten-down people.  But Zion said, “I don’t get it. God has left me.      My Master has forgotten I even exist.”  “Can a mother forget the infant at her breast,      walk away from the baby she bore?   But even if moth...

Romans 15:12-13 Isaiah’s word: There’s the root of our ancestor Jesse, breaking through the earth and growing tree tall, Tall enough for everyone everywhere to see and take hope! Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope! The good tidings of great joy from...

Isaiah 9:6-7 A child is born, a son is given and all authority will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The ze...

Isaiah 9:2, The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned. Have you ever turned on a light on your phone in bright sunlight? There is little affect at all. But that same light in pitch darkness illuminates everything around it. There is a direct correlation between the effectiveness of light and darkness. Without darkness t...

Isaiah 7:14 Watch for this: A girl who is presently a virgin will get pregnant. She’ll bear a son and name him Immanuel (God-With-Us). Impossible is a word that comes to mind when reading this passage. God defies, smashes, destroys what we perceive to be impossible. Even in the word impossible are the words I’m Possible. What situation in your life right now seems impossible? Think, a virgin womb....

From now until Christmas we will be focusing each week on a tradition of advent. Advent is a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the birth of Christ at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. This week we focus on the first tradition HOPE. Micah 2-4 But you, Bethlehem, David’s country,    the runt of the litter— From you will come the leader    wh...

Revelation 21:1-7 NLT  Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will...

There are times in these reflections and topics that we address where the best words we can offer you are that of Scripture. Our words fade away, but God ‘s Word stands forever. Once His Word goes out, it always accomplishes what God desires for it to do.  David, before he was king and after, suffered at the hands of many. But the one constant we see in the life of David was no matter how far away...

 Matthew 1:18-24 NLT  This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered...

 As we go through this Christmas season, there are two categories of people and you fall into one.  Those who have been hurt and know grief and sorrow, and now have a compassion and empathy during the Holidays to see those who are hurting and offer help, to be able to speak hope when and where it is so desperately needed. …  Or those who are hurting right now. You look around and see the lights an...

With the countdown to Christmas and New Year’s begun, we set our sights on the true meaning of the season: Immanuel—God With Us.  Have you ever considered how a holy, righteous, omnipotent, omniscient God could have simply said to us, “You’re going to need to figure out a way to get to Me,” … or “You’ll need to meet all these strict requirements to reach me.” But the very fact that we can call Him...

Today, as we close out this week, we will listen to a powerful and popular passage from the Apostle Paul.  Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT  When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your h...

Today we are going to spend all our time in gratefulness. I will mention some prompts and I want you to give your full focus to offering thanksgiving to Your Father for what He has given us.  We praise You for Your Holy presence - For Your power that proceeded our existence - Thank you  For Your sacrificial Son who paid the price for my sins - thank you  We thank you for your complete forgiveness ...

Have you ever thought how death is what makes life so valuable and crucial? The end brings value and purpose to the journey, because we don’t know how much time we have. Every day, any day, could be the last. We just don’t know. This creates an urgency that, honestly, few embrace, in fact, most ignore. So many folks live in denial that the end is coming.  But the real tragedy is not a short-lived...

The world tends to always take any milestone or accomplishment and respond with, “That’s great. So what’s next?” On and on through life, the question comes on constant repeat.  Today, let’s listen to a passage from King Solomon in his frustration with the “What’s next?”  “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!” What do people get for all their hard work under the su...

ISAIAH 32:15-20 NLT  Until at last the Spirit is poured out     on us from heaven.  Then the wilderness will become a fertile field,     and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops.  Justice will rule in the wilderness     and righteousness in the fertile field.  And this righteousness will bring peace.     Yes, it will bring quietness and confidence forever.  My people will live in safety, q...

For our final day this week, we’ll see how, surprisingly, Joseph’s life was brought full circle for a total and complete redemption. Why? Because he followed the purpose and plan of God. Genesis 42:1-3 NLT When Jacob heard that grain was available in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you standing around looking at one another? I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy enough g...