“The RoseBouquet”

Jesus’ ministry takes off in Galilee, and in just these 3 verses we see summed up all that He did; teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, healing every disease and sickness among the people,

News about Him spread all over Syria, (a neighbouring country) and people brought to Him all who were; ill with various diseases, suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, the epileptics, and paralytics, and Jesus healed them.

Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis (Ten Cities), Jerusalem and Judea, and the region across the Jordan, all followed Him.

(And I thought I was busy!)

This means Jesus’ ministry was not just a wandering around looking for things to happen. He had a purpose and plan, and He made room in His life for the success of that plan. That is, Jesus taught, preached and healed, and the more that came to Him, the more He did this.

Now, what are the implications for my busy life? To follow Jesus’ example I need to know what my purposes are, keeping them simple, and then clear my agenda to get just those things done. - Oh-but I LIKE some extraneous details and activities. Can’t I keep a few for my own pleasure and relaxation?

PRAYER: Lord, what exactly is my main purpose in this life and world? I see if I do only that, I should have enough time to get it done. It’s those extras I keep adding which crowd me; I need Your strength to trim them out. The promises and commitment I’ve made make that appear impossible or very painful.

God’s Purpose for me Works I’ve added…
- -
- -
- -

+++++Jesus is my King+++++Jesus is my King+++++

Blessings on you Today! Ruth Marlene Friesen

P.S. Wish You had One Loyal Friend?

The secret is to BE one first. Discover how by watching Ruthe in this book! (You could gain her BEST Friend too).

In these verses Jesus walks along side the Sea of Galilee and calls first Peter and Andrew to follow him, and they drop their fishing nets to follow, but He also calls James and John, sons of Zebedee, who do the same; get out of their boat, leaving their father, to follow Jesus.

What amazes me is that these four men, who may have been teens for all I know, just stopped what they were doing and immediately followed Jesus.

Nor were they idle, just lying on a beach towel sunning themselves and wondering what to do for laughs. Peter, Andrew, James, and John were all busy at the time Jesus called. Busy with real jobs, or in the case of the John and James, helping their dad with his work.

Do you suppose that means Jesus deliberately looks for those who are workers or who know how to work; or that lazy, non-working people just don’t hear His call to follow Him? I bet both are true.

The work ethic has been ingrained in me from my childhood. In fact, some people think I don’t even know how to have fun, though I maintain that enjoying meaningful work is all the pleasure I need most of the time. It’s true too, that I’ve been eager to follow Jesus from a very tender age. Then, when Jesus called me I was found in the right place and attitude?

I can see I have something to be thankful for, but what about those who have not been taught the value of work? Will they find it harder to hear Jesus’ call to discipleship? Or to follow?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I’m so glad I heard Your call to come and follow You! You are a wonderful Teacher and Guide, and I’ve learned so very much already. Thank You.

Grant me the grace and wisdom to know how to make following You appealing enough to others so that they’ll desire to work and obey and give up their own ways.

+++++Jesus is my King+++++Jesus is my King+++++

Blessings on you Today!
Ruth Marlene Friesen

P.S. You will love Ruthe’s Secret Roses if you like;
* walking and talking intimately with God
* stories of compassion and dramatic conversion
* have a bleeding, caring heart of your own
* are a caregiving older sister
* love designing clothes and make-overs
* love giving gifts and surprises
* are a mentor or counseling kind of friend.

I’d really thought it would be a good idea to make our Thanksgiving turkey meal on Sunday and take it to my brother Tom’s apartment in Saskatoon for supper that day. I confess, I was hoping to get time for business work on Monday.

Saturday was busier than usual, because Dad was installing that new sump pump in the potato pit, and he needed help lugging those heavy pails of mud up the stair, and out to the back alley. (He did get John, a neighbour, to come help as both of us found that rather hard).

Then there were the sacks of bulk stuff and all those boxes I had stashed right by the wall where Dad needed to cut a hole so the pump’s exhaust hose could go through, to the sewer drain.

I roared around like a white tornado, cleaning the house (somewhat), and trimming some geraniums in heavy antique crocks, and then dragging them to new locations through the house. They had been outside all summer.

Oh, I did sit down sometimes! Yessir! I was also installing my new SUSE 10.1, which worked out fine, and I gave some hours in the afternoon and evening to working on a children’s picture book for my great-nephew’s birthday. However, by the evening I was so sleepy, I hung my head and dozed off long minutes at a time.

By phone I confirmed with Tom that we would come Sunday for supper, bringing the whole turkey meal.

Oh, but when I woke Sunday morning I KNEW I couldn’t do it. I had one of my super-duper headaches - the kind I only get when I have exhausted my adrenalin glands to the nth degree. They usually come the day after so much exertion.

Well, I decided as I stumbled to the bathroom, it doesn’t matter to Tom when we do it. I’ll just put it off unto Monday, the actually Thanksgiving Day on our Canadian Calendars. Tom was easy-going about it all. I did manage to go to church, but by the afternoon I just wanted a nap and wind-down rest. I took it, and began to feel better in the evening.

Monday morning I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed again, and our Thanksgiving meal went very well. I have so much for which to thank the Lord!

This last installation of SUSE 10.1 went well! Thank God! There were some tense moments, like when I thought I’d just wiped out the SUSE 9.3, but that’s okay. It has problems with the automatic software updater, but I had been warned about that, and after several tries it has done one thorough updating, but seems stuck again. More challenges to learn from.:)

Taken as a whole these challenges are what adds to my knowledge base. I’ve come a long way since Jan/99!

You might recall that last fall I referred to my new SUSE 9.3 operating system as a Castle. (What’s next larger?) This newer SUSE 10 has a lot more programs, and it is fun to discover them while I’m fine-tuning my personal preferences in the settings. Just for instance; besides Firefox, I have Epiphany, Opera, Konqueror and SeaMonkey, as web browers. It makes my computer much more secure too.

I wish I could guard my web sites that well. A problem on the sites and with my email, is that I’m experiencing waves of spam attacks, much of it through forms that I thought nicely allowed sincere visitors to contact me. Seems nothing is sacrosanct any more.

I’ve been revising my forms, hoping that would help, but it doesn’t slow them down a bit. I’ve tried IP Deny when I can determine their IP addresses, which slows down some because then they can’t “see” my site, but then they find other ways.

I enabled SpamAssassin on my genealogy site since that gets the least good mail, and I wanted to test it on a small site before I tried it on one of my larger ones. All it does is label the S**M - it still gets through. I’m grateful I haven’t had as much trouble with this as others have over a longer time, but I’m on the prowl for better answers.

If you’ve hesitated to buy “Make Your Site SELL 2002″ or “Make Your Content PRE-SELL,” two of the most popular e-books from SiteSell, (my most favourite affiliate program), I have good news for you! Ken Evoy has ripped the price tags off both of them, and they are now yours gratis! That’s French for F R E E.

I am now authorized to give you these books as gifts. I recommend that you download them as soon as possible, and that you schedule for yourself about half an hour a day, to read them. They are bound to revolutionize the way you think about doing business online. Nor are they dry, academic textbooks; they are sprinkled with humour and cute graphics, and the text just draws you along as Dr. Ken Evoy, in his unique teaching style, shows you what your site needs to make it attract visitors and bear financial fruit for you, and how to write the body of your web pages so that people want to check out whatever you recommend.

Here’s where you go to see what these books are about, and to click the DOWNLOAD links; - “Make Your Site SELL 2002″
- “Make Your Content Pre-Sell”

Do you know where your secret golden key is? Have you lost it, or put it away so well you’ve forgotten where you keep it? Do you even remember what it looks like?

Okay, let’s retrace the facts.

We’ve all got this secret golden key. It is to unlock a multitude of problems in every area of our lives, and it pretty well guarantees success where ever we use it, Though it isn’t the only key in the world, it is a sturdy and vital one.

We really can’t depend on someone else to use theirs for us. We need to learn to use our own key. It is crucial that you find and use your own golden key.

We received this key at birth, but like being potty-trained, it takes a while to learn to use it. It sure helps if our parents and family, or caregivers gave us training by setting boundaries and rules for us.

If they always let you have your way, they have in fact kept your key from you. It’s time you insist on using it yourself.

Now, it’s possible that someone gave you a fake key. You thought that asserting yourself, saying what you want when you want, and making everyone yield to you was the use of your golden key. No-no! That’s not your golden key. Feel free to toss it. It only really opens Pandora’s box. Believe me, you don’t want that trouble!

You golden key will keep you from doing wrong, from blatant sins, in fact, like pride, gluttony, drunkenness, immorality, foolishness of all grades, hatred, most quarrels, wars, and from stealing, and perjury. Things of that ilk. Just staying out of those trouble areas is a great step towards success.

But your gold key can also help you have a tidy desk, or home, and it can help you get a multitude of things done that others think are impossible to fit into one day or week.

[To finish this article go to; Your Secret Golden Key]

“When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali - to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:…”

The next two verses repeat a prophecy in Isaiah 9:1-2, which promised that this area which was in great spiritual darkness, would see a light dawning on them.

In going back to that passage in Isaiah and reading the verses before, I find that Israel had begun to consult mediums and listen to spiritists whisper and mutter. This is back in Isaiah’s life time. He then said that if they consulted the dead rather than God’s law and testimony their land would fall into great gloom and utter darkness. Did Jesus deliberately move there because of that prophecy?

I notice too (Matt. 4:12) that when John the Baptist was put in prison, and when Jesus heard of it, it seemed to be Jesus’ cue to start his ministry. I get the impression that Jesus did not wander through His life with child-like serendipity, waiting to see what would befall Him next.

Did He have an advantage over the rest of us that is unfair? I mean seeing the future ahead of time? Since Jesus was fully human and we are to follow His example, are we to live in a similar pattern according to some rhyme and reason?

If Jesus was limited to finding these things out like we are, through studying God’s Word, and through intimate prayer fellowship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, then it follows that we can know what to do at the right times too. Assuming we really study the Bible, and spend precious intimate time with the Spirit of God, so we can hear and take direction.

PRAYER: Lord, today I want to take time out to study Your Word, and consult with Your Spirit about the next steps and activities of my life. Let’s sort out Your plan for my life. I’d rather do that.

+++++Jesus is my King+++++Jesus is my King+++++

Blessings on you Today!
Ruth Marlene Friesen

P.S. Ruthe is afraid to tell her family back home for reasons of her own, and this leads her to live a double life. The pressures build. Sooner or later she has to take some of the advice she gives others, for she’s getting into serious trouble! Ruthe’s Secret Roses.

The devil made a third attempt to tempt Jesus to sin. This time he gave Jesus a view of all the kingdoms of the world, and their splendor. Satan promised Jesus all of those if He would only bow down and worship him, that is Satan. What? In other words, Jesus would place Himself beneath his arch enemy from Heaven?

But Jesus did not yield to that temptation. He cried out, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’.”

We can rejoice that He did because we would have no salvation, no Christianity, if Jesus had submitted to the devil. - Whoa! God’s plan would have been thwarted by His own Son, or, we might say rebellion in the Godhead; no-way! Impossible!

We experience this temptation ourselves whenever we desire the things of this world, and the temporary powers and honours that come with doing things Satan’s way. He is the prince of this world, and still has control over lots of people and of nations.

Although I began my campaign to learn to do business on the Internet with lofty goals of doing it all for the Lord, I must confess that there are times the idea of having unlimited finances is so appealing. Then I could sign up or buy whatever looks good to me, without consulting the Lord, or asking for it.

What do you say? Are you also drawn to some worldly standards and pleasures? Do you recognize how loving them is worship to Satan? And rejection of God as the one True God to worship and obey?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, share some of Your strength in saying no to Satan’s temptation to worship him, to get the sparkles of this world. Please help us to remember to worship and serve only the Lord God.

Also to know and believe the Word as given us through the Holy Spirit’s inspiration. That’s how You resisted, isn’t it, dear Jesus?

+++++Jesus is my King+++++Jesus is my King+++++

Blessings on you Today!
Ruth Marlene Friesen

P.S. Just graduating from high school in a small town in Saskatchewan, Canada, Ruthe commutes to the city of Saskatoon as a telephone operator. BUT in her off hours, she gets involved in the lives of the abused, bereaved, dying and spiritually hungry. Read Ruthe’s Story

The devil took Jesus to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. Then Satan suggested that Jesus could throw Himself down, trusting God’s promise that angels would protect him from so much as hitting a foot against a stone.

Jesus answered with another Scripture, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” In plainer language, don’t give God dares.

Well, we rarely ever hear of anyone trying to do that, so surely we are never guilty of this. Right?

Let’s be humble enough for a minute or two to consider if there is anything in our lives that is like a dare to God.

Have we ever trusted God to protect us when we were out to get some recognition from the world? Especially if doing something along the lines of a publicity stunt?

Ah, I wonder if I haven’t been trying to strike awe in the hearts of my friends and acquaintances by telling them how I trust in the Lord to provide my financial needs. I mean, I certainly ought to do that, but have I been daring God to give me miracles so that I can show off, “look what God does for ME”? I’m afraid at times that has been true. I do hope my motives have been pure other times.

How about when we allow ourselves some little sins, and think, “God won’t notice. Nothing will happen in the way of punishment. In today’s world it’s okay to indulge yourself, even if you get a little over-weight. Nothing Terrible happens.” It’s like we think God has forgotten how holy He is, and how He hates sin, and how careful He is with details.

PRAYER: Oh God, I’m afraid I have yielded to Satan’s temptation to dare You. I have believed his lie.

How astonishingly slow You are, Lord, to punish us. You give us time to repent and renounce our sins. If we don’t, I’m sure You will still keep Your Word. I do repent and accept Your salvation.

+++++Jesus is my King+++++Jesus is my King+++++ Jesus is my King+++++

Blessings on you Today!
Ruth Marlene Friesen

P.S. Today is our Canadian Thanksgiving. I had meant to make our big meal yesterday and take it to share with my brother Tom, but I woke up with a crazy headache. I’m thankful I could put it off and we’re doing it today instead. Not everyone can be so flexible.

This morning I found these very applicable verses in Psalm 9. The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in You, for You, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek You. (vs. 9-10).

…He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted. (vs.12b.) But the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish. (vs.18). If you need these comforting verses today, claim them for your own!

After Jesus was baptized, He was led by the Spirit, who had lighted on Him like a dove, into the desert - specifically to be tempted by the devil.

Jesus’ response, or perhaps His purpose and view of the time spent there, was to fast and pray for forty days and nights.

After that, when He was hungry, the tempter came and suggested that if He was the Son of God, He should turn the stones into bread. (Would that be like a little confirmation fleece, to make sure He really was the Son of God?)

Jesus answered using God’s Word, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

I can spot several points to ponder, or meanings, here.

1. The start of a new filling of the Holy Spirit, and a new ministry will probably involve a period of temptation. The best way to deal with it is in fasting and prayer.

2. Maybe when I ask God for a little confirmation fleece to reassure me I’m really on the right track, it is a temptation from Satan too. I’d never thought of it in this light before.

3. The best answer to temptation is to know and quote the Word of God as it applies to that situation.

What we need most then, is to discern and recognize temptation, and to have God’s Word at the ready to answer before we have time to yield to the disobedient thing suggested to us.

PRAYER: Oh Lord God, so often the temptation to just look after our own personal needs hits us so strong. Our culture teaches us to take care of ourselves, so it seems perfectly natural. Here You show us that we are to make doing Your will a higher priority than feeding our personal needs. Help me to keep Your Word first and foremost!

+++++Jesus is my King+++++Jesus is my King+++++

Blessings on you Today!
Ruth Marlene Friesen

P.S. Need a Friend? You’ll soon think of Ruthe as your friend, when you read Ruthe’s Secret Roses