Coffee With Pat Ministries

20 Rules of Wisdom

© 1996/2016 CWP
Author: Pat Aman 12-3-2005

(Proverbs 17:22)
“A Merry Heart Does Good, Like Medicine, But A Broken Spirit Dries The Bones.”

1. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

2. Dear God, I have a problem, it’s me.

3. Growing old is inevitable, growing UP is optional.

4. There is no key to happiness. The door is always open.

5. Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.

6. Do the math….count your blessings.

7. Faith is the ability to not panic.

8. Laugh every day, it’s like inner jogging.

9. If you worry, don’t pray. If you pray…don’t worry.

10. As a child of God, prayer is kind of like calling home everyday.

11. Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape.

12. THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN YOUR HOME ARE THE PEOPLE.

13. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still; God wants us to be still so He can untangle the knot.

14. A grudge is! a heavy thing to carry.

15. He who dies with the most toys is still dead.

16. We do not remember days, but moments. Life is moving too fast – so enjoy your precious moments.

17. Nothing is real to you until you experience it, otherwise it’s just hearsay.

18. It’s all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again. Just be sure to flush when you are done.

19. Surviving and living your life successfully requires courage. The goals and dreams you’re seeking require courage and risk taking. Learn from the turtle, it only makes progress when it sticks out its neck. “We are continually faced with great opportunities disguised as unsolvable problems.”

20. Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

Blessings, Love and Prayers,
Pastor Pat Aman
Also, please know that:
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with Joy.
Philippians 1: 3-4
I end each message with “My Blessings, Love & Prayers,” I truly mean that, and I pray for each of you every morning and evening.
(Nehemiah 8:10)
“The Joy Of The Lord, Is Your Strength.”
(Proverbs 17:22)
“A Merry Heart Does Good, Like Medicine, But A Broken Spirit Dries The Bones.”
Devotion Written By: Pastor Pat Aman Book © 1996/2016 “Coffee With Pat Daily Devotionals”

image

image

“Is God Listening?”
Author: Pat Aman
March 30, 2011 – 3:04 am

“Is God Listening?”

Prayer is the means by which we take our perplexities to the Father. But do you get the feeling that some people have God’s listening ear better than you do? I love the letter the little boy wrote to God in which he admitted he knew God heard prayers, but he wanted to know when God would be listening especially hard to prayers. In other words he was asking God is there a certain day that you handle prayer for different situations?

I think one of the problems we encounter in praying is that we are inclined to dictate to God what our preferences are. If we have already made up our minds, we may not hear Him when He speak!

As Mark 4: 23 -24 says, “If any man have ears to hear, let him hear…Take heed what ye hear.”
“Listen to what you hear,” He is saying, “You think there is a shortage of my messages, my answers to your prayers? Unplug your ears!”Perhaps our biggest problem is not that we haven’t and don’t hear; if we will be honest we might have to confess that we aren’t always ready to listen! We may have heard but we just do not want to obey. The think God may have made a mistake. In other words we are saying, “God are you sure?”

Catherine Marshall in her classic Adventures in Prayer speaks of “The Prayer of Relinquishment.” She say, ” A demanding spirit, with self-will as its rudder, blocks prayer….Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, I come to see, is the pattern for us. Christ could have avoided the cross…. Christ used His free will to turn the decision over to His Father. He said, “Dear Father…all things are possible to you. Let me not have to drink this cup! Yet it is not what I want but what you want.’ She emphasizes that there is no resignation in Prayer of Relinquishment. This kind of praying doesn’t slam the door on hope. It’s called “the pliability of an obedient heart.”

Sometimes you as I also maybe faced with the problem, Lord, I just do not know how to pray about this problem.

Praise God, that is not a problem to God. Thanks to the Holy Spirit everybody is equal before God in prayer. The Holy Spirit helps us in our weaknesses, in our improper understanding, and conveys from our hearts to God’s heart what is really there, that which is impossible for us to put into words anyway!”

Friends, God knows our needs before we ever bring them to Him. He is just waiting for us to see if we are ready to turn our life situations over to Him completely.
In other words, “Lord, here I am, I am yours, and I am willing to follow your ways for my life.

Sending to You and Your Family,
Blessings, Love and Prayers,
Pastor Pat Aman
Devotion Written March 30, 2011- By: Pastor Pat Aman Book © 1996/2017 Coffee With Pat Daily Devotionals”
Study Notes: The New King James Bible

As we travel the life of Jesus this week, I will be sharing poems and writings of things that touch my heart. I will end on Saturday with two poems I have written. One I wrote in 1988 and one in 1993.
Both will be for Saturday and Resurrection Day Sunday, for I will not have excess to Internet or service on Sunday.
I pray God will bless you during Easter Week.

Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you; to the end he may stablish your heart unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
I Thessalonians 3:11-13

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7

Blessings, Love and Prayers,
Elder Joe and Pastor Pat Aman

JOHN SCHLITT
The Road To Calvary Lyrics
Rich Gootee, John Schlitt, Jim Cooper
(Hebrews 12:2-3; Philippians 4:13, 19)

When your back’s about to break
Underneath that heavy load
And you can’t take one more step
On that rough and rocky road
When your burdens bring you to your knees
Think on Him on that road to Calvary

When your friends have turned away
And left you on your own
And you can’t find your way back
Through the darkness all alone
When you want to give up and cry out,
“Lord, why me?”
Think of Him on that road to Calvary

[Chorus]
On that road, He walked for you and me
On that road, through all the pain and misery
He knew when it was finished
We would have the victory
On that road, the road to Calvary

So if you find yourself out walking
Down a lonely, dead end street
Just remember there’s a road
That leads to eternity
Waiting for all who would believe
Believe on Him on that road to Calvary

[Chorus]
Correct these lyrics
these lyrics are submitted by kaan

Songwriter(s): Rich Gootee, John Schlitt
Copyright: Beard Man Music, Word Music LLC
Official lyrics powered by

“Is God Listening?”
Author: Pat Aman
March 30, 2011 – 3:04 am

“Is God Listening?”

Prayer is the means by which we take our perplexities to the Father. But do you get the feeling that some people have God’s listening ear better than you do? I love the letter the little boy wrote to God in which he admitted he knew God heard prayers, but he wanted to know when God would be listening especially hard to prayers. In other words he was asking God is there a certain day that you handle prayer for different situations?

I think one of the problems we encounter in praying is that we are inclined to dictate to God what our preferences are. If we have already made up our minds, we may not hear Him when He speak!

As Mark 4: 23 -24 says, “If any man have ears to hear, let him hear…Take heed what ye hear.”
“Listen to what you hear,” He is saying, “You think there is a shortage of my messages, my answers to your prayers? Unplug your ears!”Perhaps our biggest problem is not that we haven’t and don’t hear; if we will be honest we might have to confess that we aren’t always ready to listen! We may have heard but we just do not want to obey. The think God may have made a mistake. In other words we are saying, “God are you sure?”

Catherine Marshall in her classic Adventures in Prayer speaks of “The Prayer of Relinquishment.” She say, ” A demanding spirit, with self-will as its rudder, blocks prayer….Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, I come to see, is the pattern for us. Christ could have avoided the cross…. Christ used His free will to turn the decision over to His Father. He said, “Dear Father…all things are possible to you. Let me not have to drink this cup! Yet it is not what I want but what you want.’ She emphasizes that there is no resignation in Prayer of Relinquishment. This kind of praying doesn’t slam the door on hope. It’s called “the pliability of an obedient heart.”

Sometimes you as I also maybe faced with the problem, Lord, I just do not know how to pray about this problem.

Praise God, that is not a problem to God. Thanks to the Holy Spirit everybody is equal before God in prayer. The Holy Spirit helps us in our weaknesses, in our improper understanding, and conveys from our hearts to God’s heart what is really there, that which is impossible for us to put into words anyway!”

Friends, God knows our needs before we ever bring them to Him. He is just waiting for us to see if we are ready to turn our life situations over to Him completely.
In other words, “Lord, here I am, I am yours, and I am willing to follow your ways for my life.

Sending to You and Your Family,
Blessings, Love and Prayers,
Pastor Pat Aman
Devotion Written March 30, 2011- By: Pastor Pat Aman Book © 1996/2017 Coffee With Pat Daily Devotionals”
Study Notes: The New King James Bible

Can I say the Lord’s Prayer?
Author: Unknown

I cannot say “Our “,
if I live in a water-tight spiritual compartment;
if I think a special place in Heaven is reserved for my denomination, race or creed.

I cannot say ” Father “,
if I do not demonstrate the relationship in my daily life.
I cannot say ” which art in Heaven “, if I am so occupied with the earth that I am laying up no treasure there.

I cannot say ” Hallowed be Thy Name “, if I, who am called by His name, am not holy.

I cannot say ” Thy Kingdom come “, if I am not doing all in my power to hasten its coming.

I cannot say “Thy will be done “, if I am questioning, resentful of or disobedient to His will for me.

I cannot say ” on earth as it is in Heaven “, if I am not prepared to devote my life here to His service.

I cannot say ” Give us this day our daily bread “, if I’m living on past experiences.

I cannot say ” forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us”, if I harbour a grudge against anyone.

I cannot say ” Lead us not into temptation “, if I deliberately place myself,
or remain in a position where I am likely to be tempted.

I cannot say ” Deliver us from evil “, if I am not prepared to fight in the spiritual realm with the weapon of prayer.

I cannot say ” Thine is the Kingdom “, if I do not accord the King the disciplined obedience of a loyal subject.

I cannot say ” Thine is the power “, if I fear what men may do; or what my neighbour may think.

I cannot say ” Thine is the glory “, if I am seeking glory for myself.

I cannot say ” Forever and forever “, if my horizon is bounded by the things of time.

I cannot say ” In Jesus Name. Amen “, if I do not also add, ” Cost what it may, ” for to say this prayer will cost EVERYTHING.

This poem is inspired by “The Lord’s Prayer” found in Matthew 6:9-13.Indeed prayer is not only an act of speaking, but it also means that we pray to ourloving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. (Matthew 22:37)

Blessings, Love and Prayers,
Pastor Pat

Pastor Pat Aman/©1996/2016
CWPM1996/2016

Sleeping Through The Storm
A Parable-like Story — Author Unknown

A young man applied for a job as a farmhand. When the farmer asked for his qualifications, he said, “I can sleep through a storm.”

This puzzled the farmer… but he liked the young man. So he hired him.

A few weeks later, the farmer and his wife were awakened in the night by a violent storm ripping through the valley. He leapt out of bed and called for his new hired hand, but the young man was sleeping soundly.

So they quickly began to check things to see if all was secure. They found that the shutters of the farmhouse had been securely fastened. A good supply of logs had been set next to the fireplace.

The farmer and his wife then inspected their property. They found that the farm tools had been placed in the storage shed, safe from the elements. He sees that the bales of wheat had been bound and wrapped in tarpaulins.

The tractor had been moved into its garage. The barn was properly locked tight. Even the animals were calm and had plenty of feed. All was well.

The farmer then understood the meaning of the young man’s words, “I can sleep through a storm.”

Because the farmhand did his work loyally and faithfully when the skies were clear, he was prepared for any storm. So when the storm did actually break, he was not concerned or afraid. He could sleep in peace.

If we tend to the things that are important in life, if we are right with those we love and behave in line with our faith, our lives will not be cursed with the aching throb of unfulfilled business.

Our words will always be sincere, our embraces will be tight.

We will never wallow in the agony of ‘I could have, I should have.’

We can sleep in a storm.
And when it’s our time to go, our good-byes will be complete.

The History and a Story Legend of the Poinsettia

The popular Christmas flower know in this country as the poinsettia was first called a cuetlaxochitl by the Aztecs. It represented purity, and its name signified “Flower that withers, mortal flower that perishes like all that is pure”.

Beautiful botanical gardens existed throughout the Aztec empire in pre-Hispanic times. Flowers and herbal plants were cultivated for their beauty and medicinal purposes. From October to mid-May, the cuetlaxochitl was admired because of its beauty.

One legend from sixteenth-century Mexico explains the flower’s origin. Franciscan friars evangelizing the area of Taxco celebrated one Christmas with a lavishly decorated nativity scene. The rosary and a litany were prayed, a pinata was broken, gifts were exchanged, and a mass was held, during which a miracle occurred: the flower decorating the nativity scene turned red. After that night, the flower was named flor de nochbuena, Flower of the Blessed Night.

A charming story is told of Pepita, a poor Mexican girl who had no gift to present the Christ Child at Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked slowly to the chapel with her cousin Pedro, her heart was filled with sadness rather than joy.
“I am sure, Pepita, that even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes,” said Pedro consolingly.

Not knowing what else to do, Pepita knelt by the roadside and gathered a handful of common weeds, fashioning them into a small bouquet. Looking at the scraggly bunch of weeds, she felt more saddened and embarrassed than ever by the humbleness of her offering. She fought back a tear as she entered the small village chapel.

As she approached the alter, she remembered Pedro’s kind words: “Even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes.” She felt her spirit lift as she knelt to lay the bouquet at the foot of the nativity scene.

Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into blooms of brilliant red, and all who saw them were certain that they had witnessed a Christmas miracle right before their eyes.

From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the Holy Night, for they bloomed each year during the Christmas season.

Come on over. The coffee is hot. Well, it will be when you get here. My Keurig bit the dust a couple of days ago but, I have a 10 cup maker.

We can talk and enjoy the fellowship.

We had a great Thanksgiving. We enjoyed the girls being home. Joe and I still pray that in God’s timing, He will send them a sold out Man of God to fall in love with and have a happy and blessed life. As parents we want our children happy.
I guess I know that one day Joe and I will not be here. (Well, that is 50+ years from now) and we just do not want them to be alone. But, again, all in God’s timing.

Remember, what and whom the CHRISTmas season is all about, as you are out shopping.

Jesus, the most important gift of all.

Take the time to smile and wish all a Merry Christmas. Let everyone see the true meaning of Christmas in you.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke 2:8-14)

Blessings, Love and Prayers,
Pastor Pat

Author: Pastor Pat Aman
Nov. 30, 2015
©1996/2015
CWPM1996/2015

Revelations 2: 2 – 5

2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place.

Isaiah 40:

28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Are You Eeyore?
Can you be thankful while trying to find your tail…
Author: Pat Aman
November 21,2003
Pastor Pat Aman/©1996/2015
CWPM1996/2015

Have you ever felt like Eeyore. You know the little gray patched up donkey in the Winnie the Pooh series. They lived in a beautiful 100 acre woods Eeyore use to say, “Is my tail still on?” Then he would say, “let’s have a look, and he turned slowly round to the place where his tail had been a little while ago, and then, finding that he couldn’t catch it up, he turned round the other way, until he came back to where he was at first, and then he put his head down and looked between his front legs, and at last he said, with a long, sad sigh, “I believe you’re right, Pooh, it is still there.”

Sometimes I feel the same way, I feel I have lost my tail, and cannot find it. I think that we sometimes go to that 100 acre woods, a beautiful place, but it becomes our gloomy place just like Eeyore.

When you are in that gloomy place it is hard to give praise and thanks when we feel like Eeyore that we have lost our tail.

Even though Eeyore had great compassion for others, and was always trying to help people, he still at times felt, Oh, poor me. See, he lost his love for life. He some how lost the sense of a positive attitude. His fire had gone out.

In our lives we all at times may think, I am burned out, woe is me. We still truck along trying to do our best, but we have to continually put patches on our lives just to hold us together.

See, God speaks of this very thing in Revelation chapter two. He tells the church at Ephesus, that He knows all their good deeds, but He is getting a little disappointed in them, because they have lost their first love. “Him.”

Again, I myself sometimes feel tired, even though I keep getting up from being knock down, that my first love is getting depleted from my life. I need to get that fire back, the fire that helps build my faith up. Yes, that is when I need to get down on my knees and look up to God and find my tail.

God promises to give strength to the weary, and I tell you now, I have to stand on that promise.

So, if today, you are feeling like Eeyore, and you have lost your tail, and are sitting in your gloomy place look up to the Heavenly Father.

Yes, get back on your knees, and look up to God and say, “I think you are right God, I still have it together.” And then begin singing, praising and thanking God and see your life turn around, as we become Thankful instead of woe is me.

In others words, you may have to be like Eeyore, turn around, check things out, and see if you may have to let some things go that maybe clouding up your way. The way God wants you to go. You may as Eeyore, have to get in a downward position on your knees, so God can show you that your tail is still on and your headed in just the way He wants you to go.

You just need to turn around and follow God with Thankfulness and Praise.

Between now and Thanksgiving, I will be posting devotions that I have written through the years on being thankful and what is thankfulness.

I hope you enjoy.
Blessings, Love and Prayers,
Pastor Pat.

Stop Grumbling
Author: Pat Aman
November 16, 2001
Pastor Pat Aman/©1996/2015
CWPM1996/2015

If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared. (Psalm 130:3)

What should inform the thankfulness of a Christian? What should be its motive? The common remedy against grumbling for many is the “it could be worse” attitude. The mother says to her ungrateful eater, there are starving children who don’t get to eat. The unhappy employee sees the rising unemployment rates and complains a little less. Reader’s Digest recently gave 10 Reasons to be Thankful, which included larger homes compared to forty years ago, rising literacy among young people, and hundreds of television channels to watch anything we want, anytime we want.

As Christians, we should be thankful for God’s common grace. Our Lord cares for us and provides for our needs and we should increase in our thankfulness for his provision. John Calvin wrote that “thankfulness is the soil to which pride does not easily grow.” For Christians, there is a more fundamental level to our thankfulness: We no longer stand in God’s judgment. Our sins are forgiven. Someone else bore the wrath for our unrighteousness. The forgiveness of sins should make our hearts swell in thankfulness more than the two cars we have in our garage.

In fact, if our thankfulness is only informed by our material increase, then it is difficult to be thankful in times of great suffering. Yet, if our thankfulness is informed by the Gospel, then we can endure much poverty or affliction, awaiting our blessed hope.

Also, if the Gospel does not inform our thankfulness, it is difficult to forgive others when they sin against us. However, if our hearts are adorned with thankfulness for God’s saving work on our behalf, we will be quick to forgive. It is only with a Gospel-thankful heart that we can obey Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”