T hanks be to the Lord
R eliable is He in all His ways.
U nchanging from the beginning of time.
S upreme above all created beings is our God.
T ruth Personified
I nviting all those who thirst to drink His Living Water.
N ever forsaking even one of His children.
T rue in all His judgments
H ealing the lost and brokenhearted.
E ver faithful Friend.
L amb Slain before the foundation of the world.
O mniscient, knowing the end from the beginning.
R edeeming by His blood an uncountable number.
D ear Saviour, Master, King and Lord.
copyright 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
What is true love?
Since we are in the month of February and Valentine's Day is just around the corner, let us think for a minute about true love described in I Corinthians 13. These are the verses you hear at every marriage ceremony. They are read, but how many really think that the definition of agape can be carried out in real life?
"Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous, love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly, it does not seek its own, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails...."(I Cor. 13: 4-8a)
If you and I are honest, we have to admit that we just do not have what it takes in and of ourselves to love others the way Paul described above. If we are honest with God, He will not condemn us. He knows we are but dust anyways.(Psalm 103:14) Once we admit that we can't, He can whisper to our hearts, "But I can inside you" "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Phil. 4:13
Once we know that only He inside us can love like that, we can look to the only One who ever lived that love perfectly, without failing once. He is Perfect Love.
"...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Heb. 12:2 This perfect, giving Saviour lives inside us and wants to live His life through us.
Here is agape:
A bundant life freely
G iven at Calvary
A ccomplished perfectly and
P aid in full for
E veryone who believes.
Lord Jesus, I ask you to teach me the way of agape so that I can truly love others the way you want me to. In Your Blessed Name, Amen.
"Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous, love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly, it does not seek its own, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails...."(I Cor. 13: 4-8a)
If you and I are honest, we have to admit that we just do not have what it takes in and of ourselves to love others the way Paul described above. If we are honest with God, He will not condemn us. He knows we are but dust anyways.(Psalm 103:14) Once we admit that we can't, He can whisper to our hearts, "But I can inside you" "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Phil. 4:13
Once we know that only He inside us can love like that, we can look to the only One who ever lived that love perfectly, without failing once. He is Perfect Love.
"...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Heb. 12:2 This perfect, giving Saviour lives inside us and wants to live His life through us.
Here is agape:
A bundant life freely
G iven at Calvary
A ccomplished perfectly and
P aid in full for
E veryone who believes.
Lord Jesus, I ask you to teach me the way of agape so that I can truly love others the way you want me to. In Your Blessed Name, Amen.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Jesus calls us to love one another...
I have a little habit of visiting Christian message boards. Often, I admit that I waste precious time visiting these sites. Time after time, though, one thing comes through. Christians can be unkind to one another, sometimes downright vicious. It does not edify and build up the Body of Christ.
Often unbelievers visit these sites. And often they turn away from Jesus because of what they see there. They see us acting no different than they do. They are searching....searching for the God of the Universe and we turn them away by our lack of love for one another. Jesus said very plainly: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this ALL MEN WILL KNOW that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
(John 13: 34-35).
I have to admit that one of my goals in this new year, indeed for the rest of my life,is to learn and apply what agape love truly is. First to my husband, my family, to the Body of Christ, and finally to all the world. Have you read what true love does in I Cor. 13? I admit that I fall way short of this every single day. But I am starting to get a taste, just a tiny taste of God's agape love toward me. And sometimes it will bring me to tears. That is what will give me the ability to love others, by viewing "what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge..." (Eph. 3: 18-19).
Even the Psalmist knew this when he told us the importance of loving our brethren. He writes an entire Psalm about it.
Psalm 133
1"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, coming down upon the edge of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon, coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing--life forever."
God commands a blessing upon us loving our brethren. I ask the Lord for the rest of my life to truly show me what this means and for the grace to apply it daily.
Often unbelievers visit these sites. And often they turn away from Jesus because of what they see there. They see us acting no different than they do. They are searching....searching for the God of the Universe and we turn them away by our lack of love for one another. Jesus said very plainly: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this ALL MEN WILL KNOW that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
(John 13: 34-35).
I have to admit that one of my goals in this new year, indeed for the rest of my life,is to learn and apply what agape love truly is. First to my husband, my family, to the Body of Christ, and finally to all the world. Have you read what true love does in I Cor. 13? I admit that I fall way short of this every single day. But I am starting to get a taste, just a tiny taste of God's agape love toward me. And sometimes it will bring me to tears. That is what will give me the ability to love others, by viewing "what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge..." (Eph. 3: 18-19).
Even the Psalmist knew this when he told us the importance of loving our brethren. He writes an entire Psalm about it.
Psalm 133
1"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, coming down upon the edge of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon, coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing--life forever."
God commands a blessing upon us loving our brethren. I ask the Lord for the rest of my life to truly show me what this means and for the grace to apply it daily.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
For Parents with Hurting Hearts
Are you a parent with a broken heart? It seems I have met so many, both online and friends I know. I am one myself. It seems that it is so very hard to raise your children in the Lord these days. Even if you homeschool, or send them to Christian School, there is no guarantee that one of your children will not break your heart. This world is so evil, there are so many influences out there that want to steal our children away from us, but especially away from the Lord. What is a parent to do?
I know good parents who taught their children the Bible. I taught my children the Bible. We took them to church regularly. We homeschooled. And yet we still ended up with a broken family. Yes, there are no guarantees that things will come out rosily.
But today I was reading in my time with the Lord from Andrew Murray's With Christ in the School of Prayer. I was so encouraged as I underlined and even wrote the date in the book because I felt God was speaking to me directly through the words of Mr. Murray. It was in Chapter 8, called The Boldness of God's Friends. He spoke of the parable of the friend at midnight in Luke 11: 5-8 and prayer for the perishing around us. God not only wants us to pray for ourselves but for those around us that have need. What about our children who may be lost to us? He speaks of the threefold cord of Scripture in this way: "Let us securely hold the threefold cord that cannot be broken: the hungry friend needing the help (in my case, my very own flesh and blood), the praying friend seeking the help (that would be me, or any parent that is in my shoes), and the Mighty Friend (Jesus Christ) loving to give us as much help as we need."
He then brought to mind the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15. I read verse 18 where it says the prodigal "came to himself". The word for "came" in the Greek is (#2064 in Strong's Lexicon) "erchomai". It means to recover one's sense or understanding. My prodigal is not living in a pig pen right now, but this child needs to come to this understanding. It is something I cannot do, but the one thing I can do is to pray believing, like the friend at midnight. If you are a hurting parent, it is the one thing you can do as well. Mr. Murray says "even though I don't have what I need, I have already begun the work of love, because I have a FRIEND who will help me. WE DO NOT KNOW HOW EFFECTIVE THIS PLEA IS. When the friendship of earth looks in its need to the friendship of heaven, ...'He will...give him as many as he needeth."
This has been an ongoing trial for me, lasting many years. Yet it is my hope and prayer that in this trial not only will my faith be refined like gold, yet I may somehow be an encouragement to others, who are truly hurting as well. Pray for your children and don't stop until you hear from above. Our heavenly Father is a friend who truly hears and cares.
I know good parents who taught their children the Bible. I taught my children the Bible. We took them to church regularly. We homeschooled. And yet we still ended up with a broken family. Yes, there are no guarantees that things will come out rosily.
But today I was reading in my time with the Lord from Andrew Murray's With Christ in the School of Prayer. I was so encouraged as I underlined and even wrote the date in the book because I felt God was speaking to me directly through the words of Mr. Murray. It was in Chapter 8, called The Boldness of God's Friends. He spoke of the parable of the friend at midnight in Luke 11: 5-8 and prayer for the perishing around us. God not only wants us to pray for ourselves but for those around us that have need. What about our children who may be lost to us? He speaks of the threefold cord of Scripture in this way: "Let us securely hold the threefold cord that cannot be broken: the hungry friend needing the help (in my case, my very own flesh and blood), the praying friend seeking the help (that would be me, or any parent that is in my shoes), and the Mighty Friend (Jesus Christ) loving to give us as much help as we need."
He then brought to mind the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15. I read verse 18 where it says the prodigal "came to himself". The word for "came" in the Greek is (#2064 in Strong's Lexicon) "erchomai". It means to recover one's sense or understanding. My prodigal is not living in a pig pen right now, but this child needs to come to this understanding. It is something I cannot do, but the one thing I can do is to pray believing, like the friend at midnight. If you are a hurting parent, it is the one thing you can do as well. Mr. Murray says "even though I don't have what I need, I have already begun the work of love, because I have a FRIEND who will help me. WE DO NOT KNOW HOW EFFECTIVE THIS PLEA IS. When the friendship of earth looks in its need to the friendship of heaven, ...'He will...give him as many as he needeth."
This has been an ongoing trial for me, lasting many years. Yet it is my hope and prayer that in this trial not only will my faith be refined like gold, yet I may somehow be an encouragement to others, who are truly hurting as well. Pray for your children and don't stop until you hear from above. Our heavenly Father is a friend who truly hears and cares.
Friday, January 1, 2010
I stretch forth mine hands...
The first post for a new year! A new year, full of new beginnings, new possibilities.
Some random thoughts for the new year...
I came across some verses today that impressed me mightily in my spirit as I was considering the new year.
Psalm 143: 6 " I stretch forth my hands unto Thee: my soul thirsteth after Thee, as a thirsty land. Selah." In this year of so many distractions Lord, I want to stretch forth my hands to You. So many things bid me to pay attention, yet Lord you are the only thing in this universe that can give water to a thirsty soul. Indeed, Jesus only gives us water that will cause us never to thirst again. "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:14)
And then I was impressed with these verses. In II Chronicles 13 we have a review of Rehoboam's life. Now Rehoboam was the son of Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived.
You think some of that wisdom might have rubbed off on his son, but sadly that is not the case. Verse 14 somberly tells us that "he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord". In the book of Ezra we have the opposite said of Ezra:
"For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach Israel statutes and judgements." (Ezra 7:10)
In this new year of 2010, though we are on the finished work side of history, we still can prepare our hearts to seek Him with all our hearts. What are some things we can expect if we do so?
The answers, once again, come from the Word of God. Luke 18: 29-30: And He said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in the present time, and in the world to come life everlasting." In the New Living Translation they will be repaid many times over.
And I Corinthians 2:9 tells us "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."
Maybe the idea of a nebulous treasure in heaven seems remote right now, but if it comes from the Maker of heaven and earth, who designed the beauty of a flower and the majesty of a galaxy, we have to take Him at His word that it will all be worth it when we stand before Him in eternity. Amen?
Some random thoughts for the new year...
I came across some verses today that impressed me mightily in my spirit as I was considering the new year.
Psalm 143: 6 " I stretch forth my hands unto Thee: my soul thirsteth after Thee, as a thirsty land. Selah." In this year of so many distractions Lord, I want to stretch forth my hands to You. So many things bid me to pay attention, yet Lord you are the only thing in this universe that can give water to a thirsty soul. Indeed, Jesus only gives us water that will cause us never to thirst again. "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:14)
And then I was impressed with these verses. In II Chronicles 13 we have a review of Rehoboam's life. Now Rehoboam was the son of Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived.
You think some of that wisdom might have rubbed off on his son, but sadly that is not the case. Verse 14 somberly tells us that "he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord". In the book of Ezra we have the opposite said of Ezra:
"For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach Israel statutes and judgements." (Ezra 7:10)
In this new year of 2010, though we are on the finished work side of history, we still can prepare our hearts to seek Him with all our hearts. What are some things we can expect if we do so?
The answers, once again, come from the Word of God. Luke 18: 29-30: And He said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, Who shall not receive manifold more in the present time, and in the world to come life everlasting." In the New Living Translation they will be repaid many times over.
And I Corinthians 2:9 tells us "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."
Maybe the idea of a nebulous treasure in heaven seems remote right now, but if it comes from the Maker of heaven and earth, who designed the beauty of a flower and the majesty of a galaxy, we have to take Him at His word that it will all be worth it when we stand before Him in eternity. Amen?
Monday, December 28, 2009
Today is the day of His visitation!
Every day is a new gift from God. Whether you are saved or unsaved, every day is a gift. Every day God is calling to each one of us.
When I was in my teens, I got depressed because I didn't understand the love of God which I am beginning to understand now. (I am only beginning, however, I don't believe we will ever be able to plummet the depths of His love, even in eternity.)
The love of God was demonstrated two thousand years ago when the Son of God was lifted high on the cross at Calvary. As a blameless Lamb with no sin and no spot (I Pet. 1: 18-19), He became the sacrifice that God required to atone for all the sin that has committed been by every single one of us on this planet, except for Jesus of course. For those of us who have believed on Him, He knocks every day on the door of our hearts (Rev. 3:20), and wants to fellowship with us, moment by moment, each and every day. What if the President of the United States called us on the phone and told us he wanted to meet with us personally? How privileged would we feel? And yet every single day without fail the One who put every single molecule in place and holds them all together (Heb. 1:3, Col. 1: 17) is knocking on the door of our hearts. Could there be any higher privilege than that? Today is the day to answer Him!
I think of the words of Jesus as He wept over Jerusalem about the Jews missing the day of their visitation.(Luke 19: 41-44) In a way, we can apply this to our own lives. It is not in eternity that we will decide our level of reward, but right now, every day we choose. Whether we will be an overcomer in the next life or not is by our day to day choices to let Him live His life through us or to live for ourselves, which by the way, I have discovered is a very miserable way to live. I am reading an excellent book called The Overcomer's Handbook by Chuck and Nancy Missler.
They are explaining that not all believers will be overcomers and reign with Christ in the Millenial Kingdom yet to come. It is sobering, yet now is the time to effect a change if we are not going in God's direction. And as long as you are alive, it is never too late.
If you have stumbled upon this blog and you don't know Christ as your Saviour, there is no time like the present to receive Him. ("Behold, now is the accepted time: behold, now is the day of salvation. II Cor. 6: 2b) He came down to this earth in the form of a baby although He was God of very God. (John 1:14) He willingly took your sins and mine when He was nailed to the cross 2,000 years ago.(Heb. 2:9) He took the punishment we each deserved when He died there. God was very, very pleased with what His Son accomplished and is now forever satisfied with Christ's payment for sin (Heb. 10: 12-14). He extends an open invitation for anyone, anyone at all to believe on Him. "For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10: 13. Simply believe that Jesus was who He said He was, the Son of God, that died in your place. Surely there could be no greater thing you could do for yourself this day.
When I was in my teens, I got depressed because I didn't understand the love of God which I am beginning to understand now. (I am only beginning, however, I don't believe we will ever be able to plummet the depths of His love, even in eternity.)
The love of God was demonstrated two thousand years ago when the Son of God was lifted high on the cross at Calvary. As a blameless Lamb with no sin and no spot (I Pet. 1: 18-19), He became the sacrifice that God required to atone for all the sin that has committed been by every single one of us on this planet, except for Jesus of course. For those of us who have believed on Him, He knocks every day on the door of our hearts (Rev. 3:20), and wants to fellowship with us, moment by moment, each and every day. What if the President of the United States called us on the phone and told us he wanted to meet with us personally? How privileged would we feel? And yet every single day without fail the One who put every single molecule in place and holds them all together (Heb. 1:3, Col. 1: 17) is knocking on the door of our hearts. Could there be any higher privilege than that? Today is the day to answer Him!
I think of the words of Jesus as He wept over Jerusalem about the Jews missing the day of their visitation.(Luke 19: 41-44) In a way, we can apply this to our own lives. It is not in eternity that we will decide our level of reward, but right now, every day we choose. Whether we will be an overcomer in the next life or not is by our day to day choices to let Him live His life through us or to live for ourselves, which by the way, I have discovered is a very miserable way to live. I am reading an excellent book called The Overcomer's Handbook by Chuck and Nancy Missler.
They are explaining that not all believers will be overcomers and reign with Christ in the Millenial Kingdom yet to come. It is sobering, yet now is the time to effect a change if we are not going in God's direction. And as long as you are alive, it is never too late.
If you have stumbled upon this blog and you don't know Christ as your Saviour, there is no time like the present to receive Him. ("Behold, now is the accepted time: behold, now is the day of salvation. II Cor. 6: 2b) He came down to this earth in the form of a baby although He was God of very God. (John 1:14) He willingly took your sins and mine when He was nailed to the cross 2,000 years ago.(Heb. 2:9) He took the punishment we each deserved when He died there. God was very, very pleased with what His Son accomplished and is now forever satisfied with Christ's payment for sin (Heb. 10: 12-14). He extends an open invitation for anyone, anyone at all to believe on Him. "For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10: 13. Simply believe that Jesus was who He said He was, the Son of God, that died in your place. Surely there could be no greater thing you could do for yourself this day.
Monday, November 23, 2009
I am Undone
God has been showing me the depths of my depravity lately. The words of Isaiah come to mind when He saw the Lord on His throne, "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the KIng, the Lord of hosts." (Is. 6:5)
Bullinger in the Companion Bible says that this is figure of speech called ecphonesis,which is an "outburst of words,prompted by emotion." About the word "undone", he says: "The essence of true conviction is a concern for what I AM, not for what I have done or not done."
Why did Jesus come down here for us? Did we deserve Him to come? I only know about myself. Romans 3:10 says "As it is written, 'There is none righteous, no, not one..."This verse and the following ones give me a sense of understanding about the human condition. Why do I look to people for help when the Word of God makes clear that leaning upon the flesh for help is like leaning on a sharp stick.
Rom. 3: 12 says"They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no not one." The word for unprofitable means worthless.
By myself I am worthless. There was not one shred of goodness in me that caused Christ to come down from His glory in heaven. Yet He valued us. He placed our needs higher than His own and humbled Himself more than any other man ever in human history. (Phil. 2:5-11) It is for this reason that we bow in awe before Him.
As Thanksgiving day approaches, I give thanks to the Lord that even though there was not one thing to commend Him to save me, He gladly bore all my sin and even though I was undone before Him. For me and all others who have believed on Him that He states about us now that: "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us."
Thank you Jesus for this above all else this Thanksgiving!
Bullinger in the Companion Bible says that this is figure of speech called ecphonesis,which is an "outburst of words,prompted by emotion." About the word "undone", he says: "The essence of true conviction is a concern for what I AM, not for what I have done or not done."
Why did Jesus come down here for us? Did we deserve Him to come? I only know about myself. Romans 3:10 says "As it is written, 'There is none righteous, no, not one..."This verse and the following ones give me a sense of understanding about the human condition. Why do I look to people for help when the Word of God makes clear that leaning upon the flesh for help is like leaning on a sharp stick.
Rom. 3: 12 says"They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no not one." The word for unprofitable means worthless.
By myself I am worthless. There was not one shred of goodness in me that caused Christ to come down from His glory in heaven. Yet He valued us. He placed our needs higher than His own and humbled Himself more than any other man ever in human history. (Phil. 2:5-11) It is for this reason that we bow in awe before Him.
As Thanksgiving day approaches, I give thanks to the Lord that even though there was not one thing to commend Him to save me, He gladly bore all my sin and even though I was undone before Him. For me and all others who have believed on Him that He states about us now that: "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us."
Thank you Jesus for this above all else this Thanksgiving!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)