Month: October 2013

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Staying Close

Just finished reading a sermon by one of my favorite authors, Charles Haddon Spurgeon on the merits of reading the Bible.  He called the words of Bible, “…the great things of my law.”  In his treatise, he summarized it as the truth, and love; as engaging as any book ever written, and to neglect delving into the fountain of living water is tantamount to spiritual and eternal suicide.  God’s word is like vast rolls of white linen woven with truth; as you unwind each roll eternity unfolds before you.  The great things of redemption and regeneration; of sacrifice and of love are revealed. Staying close in the word tells how I can be more than a conqueror during storms of doubt and depression. Staying close in the word tells how hope and love came to be, and that I have a promise, a privilege and provision for each day.  Staying close in the word tells how heaven will receive me when I die and that I shall soar beyond all to the throne of God to be with him forever. 

I am grateful for this precious reminder about the wonderful honor of reading God’s word. 

 

What about you?

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Confession of Hope

Hebrews 10: 23-24 (NKJV)
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.”

My husband and I just finished a whirlwind trip through two states seeing family and friends. At every encounter, I was reminded of God’s faithfulness, and provision, particularly during some of the most difficult periods in our lives. His grace markers were evident as I held hands with our first grandson, looked into the faces of family and friends, and saw the delight in their eyes. God has so blessed us. He has been faithful through all the trials and tribulations, and all the wrong decisions made. Through the Prophet Isaiah God said, “…Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me, Hear and your soul shall live;…(Isaiah 55:2b-3a). God promised his plans for us would give us a future and a hope. God promised to never leave us nor forsake us. God promised us to give us the desires of our hearts. These promises and more are a testament to the faithfulness of our Lord. His promises are true; because God does not lie. His grace is sufficient. Hold fast to your hope for our God is faithful. Listen carefully to Him.  Incline yourself to His word. Trust Him. Pursue Him with your whole heart, and encourage others to taste and see that the Lord is good.  For we have a hope, a magnificent hope.

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Trust in God’s Faithfulness

We’ve been studying Genesis for the past several weeks.  Each time I read the accounts of Adam and Eve, Noah and Abraham I see God’s hand miraculously working.  I see the promises, the covenants, and the fulfillment of those promises, and it gives me hope, even when I’m feeling hopeless.   So, despite a world fraught with tragedy, natural disasters, economic upheavals, constant concerns, you and I can exercise faith in God when all seems to be against us. The Bible constantly reminds us that God uses difficult circumstances to show Himself faithful.  Abraham and Sarah are listed in Hebrews Chapter 11 as members of the elite group of faith believers who trusted in the word of the Lord.  Theirs is one of the “trust standards” for us to learn from and to follow.  Just as He promised Abraham and Sarah that they would conceived the “child of promise” in their old age, God is able to do all things according to His divine plan.  He knows the thoughts He has towards us, thoughts of good and not evil, to bring us to an expected end. (Jeremiah 29-11-13 paraphrased).    He promised Noah he would never again destroy the earth with a flood.  He promised Abraham land, nations, a promised child, and blessings.   He promised us a Savior.  Although, today you and I might be struggling with the cares of this world, God is not.  He knows us, and the plans He has for us.  He is the Lord our shepherd, and He makes us to lie down in green pastures; besides the still waters, and He will restore our souls.   Is there anything too hard for God? God asked Sarah this question when she laughed at the thought of her situation.  Has your situation blinded you to the omnipotent, omnipresence, omniscience of God?

Don’t despair.  Don’t doubt even for a moment.  There is nothing in heaven or on this earth that is too hard for our God.  Today, my brothers and sisters trust in the faithfulness of God.

Psalm 19:14

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”

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Morning Meditation

1 John 4: 7-21 NIV

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

 

May your life this day represent the most powerful thing in the universe-love.

Blessings.

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