Nothing Distracted Jesus

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles

BIBLE 1“Jesus clearly understood the reason for His coming to earth and never allowed popularity, success, opposition, threats, or even dissention within His ranks to distract Him. He remained steadfastly focused on that mission, though not without due care for those around Him. He worked hard to make the truth plain. He often repeated the invitation to embrace the truth. But He never allowed the failure of others to pull Him off course.” -Charles R. Swindoll (Walk With Jesus: A Forty-Day Journey to the Cross and Beyond)

I am so thankful nothing stopped Jesus from completing His mission.

Where would you be without the love of Christ? Without the love of Christ, I do NOT even want to think of where I would be today. I am grateful Jesus has given us life, that He paid the ransom in full (Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45), no longer bound to sin (Romans 8:12). And out of the abundance of thankful hearts, let us not forget to give all glory and praise to Him who has redeemed us (Hebrews 13:15), loving Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.” -Hebrews 12:1-3

Nothing distracted Him from His mission, and so let us not get distracted but each of us should continue doing whatever task God has set before us to do. Do not look to the right or the left. Do not get caught up in the temporal. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, and with grateful hearts, press forward and do that which you have been called to do. The grace of God will sustain you. His love will uphold you, and His mercy will not fail you.

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L.A.Knowles

MY ETHNICITY DNA TEST

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles

Southern Europe 2

I grew up in an Italian/Sicilian family, and as far as my family knew, they could trace our ethnicity to Italy and Sicily; however, thanks to my parents’ genetic makeup and my receiving whatever they had, I found out my ethnicity, my family’s ethnicity is not just Italian/Sicilian.

ASIA MINORBack a few months ago, my husband and I received two Ethnicity DNA kits as a gift.  I made sure I followed the instructions to the letter with the help of my husband so I didn’t miss a beat, and he completed his kit; we sent both DNA kits off to the center.

It took awhile, but in the last two weeks, I FINALLY got my results.  And while it was not surprising based on Italy’s history, it was most definitely an eye opener.

HERE ARE THE RESULTS OF MY ETHNICITY DNA TEST

Eastern Middle East61% SOUTHERN EUROPEAN

39% MIDDLE EASTERN (Breakdown):

19% Asia Minor

16% Eastern Middle East

4% North African

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DNA is absolutely amazing!

North Africa

We Will Not Back Down

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles

WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN

Written By Linda A. Knowles

ARMOR 1

We pledge allegiance to God Almighty,

Creator of the Heavens and the Earth.

Representing Him who holds our citizenship in Heaven,

we will strap on the full armor of God

so our loyalty will not waver as we stand firm

in the face of opposition.

We will be strong and courageous,

without fear,

without dismay.

Leaving everything behind,

we offer our lives as a living sacrifice

unto Him who spared no expense to rescue us.

As we are striving to serve Him wholeheartedly,

we know the battle is not ours, but God’s.

With a steadfast determination and the strength He gives,

we will not back down.

Mere Mortal Words Escape

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles

BREAK AWAY 1…And I cry, “Abba, Father”

Mere mortal words escape me;

And I cannot express

nor convey the depths of this soul.

…And I cannot speak

But only in unknown tongue

not known to mere man,

But, You, Abba, and only You

can truly comprehend.

 

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L.A. Knowles

Deeper Still

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles

Magnolia Tree 3

DEEPER STILL

Written By Linda A. Knowles

Deeper still,

where He leads,

In His ways,

Where He treads,

There I shall go.

One of these sheep is not like the other….

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles

MASK 6

“Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

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“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.  You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act.  Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.   A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.  So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.  Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” –Matthew 7:15-20

Much Love To You All,

L.A. Knowles

Get Ready To Throw & Then Do So

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles

“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.” -Maya Angelou

 

When we give of ourselves to help those around us, we demonstrate the love of Christ; and in the Gospels, when we see our Savior being moved with compassion, we also should be moved with compassion as we follow His example and help those around us.

May we always remember to be His hands extended.

Much love to you all,

L.A. Knowles

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BLESS 1

“Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” -Luke 6:38

“For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do.” -Hebrews 6:10

“And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.” -Hebrews 13:16

 

 

 

Standing Alone?

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles

CHAIN 4

You may be left standing alone as you stand for what you believe.

You do NOT need man’s approval.

You need God’s approval because

His approval is the only thing that matters.

DO NOT COMPROMISE FOR ANYONE.  Mankind is as temporal as everything else.  First John 2:15-17 states, “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.  For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.  And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.”

alone 1

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Just like everything else, mankind is temporal, not eternal.

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Even if you were deserted by family and friends and neighbors, be assured you are NOT standing alone, God is The One Who Has Got You Covered all around.   He is your Hedge of Protection, your Strength, your Shield, your Portion.  He is your All and All; He is Everything.

“‘I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning!  I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished.  Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other!  From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against—or two in favor and three against.  ‘Father will be divided against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’  Then Jesus turned to the crowd and said, ‘When you see clouds beginning to form in the west, you say, ‘Here comes a shower.’ And you are right.  When the south wind blows, you say, ‘Today will be a scorcher.’ And it is.  You fools! You know how to interpret the weather signs of the earth and sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the present times.  ‘Why can’t you decide for yourselves what is right?  When you are on the way to court with your accuser, try to settle the matter before you get there. Otherwise, your accuser may drag you before the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, who will throw you into prison.  And if that happens, you won’t be free again until you have paid the very last penny.'”-Luke 12:49-59

Much love to you all,

L.A. Knowles