Tuesday, February 26, 2013
a quote...
"If you would live in victory over the circumstances great and small that
you come to each day... and if you want God's life and power to well up from
the depths of your being... then you must refuse to be dominated by the seen
and the felt." - Amy Carmichael
moments to remember
What a perfect opportunity to spend some time with Jesus-- under the shadow of His wings... in the warmth of His presence, thinking about His Word, worshiping Him in my heart!
"The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over You with singing."
Zephaniah 3:17
How often do we imagine God as singing? This was a new thought for me. I picture it like a mother soothing her child by singing quietly to him/her... (I remember my mommy singing "'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus" to me when I was little, if I'd had a bad dream or when I was sad. To this day that song brings me very special memories...) Oh the comfort we'd find during difficult seasons if we'd bring our troubles to the Lord and lay them at His feet, and allow Him to quiet us with His love.
Monday, February 18, 2013
God of compassion
“… But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in faithful love, …” Nehemiah 9:17
“…You did not abandon them …because of Your great compassion. " 9:19
“… In Your abundant compassionYou gave them deliverers, …” 9:27
“… You heard from heaven and rescued them many times in Your compassion.” 9:28
“…However, in Your abundant compassion You did not destroy them or abandon them, for You are a gracious and compassionate God.” 9:31
Are you seeing a resounding theme here?! In this one chapter in Nehemiah the word compassion is applied 6 times to God. I encourage you to read the whole chapter on your own to get a fuller picture. I think that you will be overwhelmed, as I was, by this glimpse of God Almighty. Isn’t it wonderful that our God is compassionate! Imagine if the God who created this world were cruel or heartless, unforgiving or merciless. How horrible it would be to live in such a world with such a King, but no! our God is not like that!! In fact He takes great pains in His word to tell us of His graciousness, faithful love, and abundant compassion. Stop for a minute and read those passages again taking time to really think about what they mean.
I think there is a very real reason why God tells us of His compassion so many times in the scriptures. I think He repeats this truth so frequently because somehow it is hard for us to believe. Of course we would never say that we do not believe any part of the Bible and we may even think that we do believe, but the true test is our lives. Do we live as if we serve a God of compassion? Let us take a look at ourselves…
Are we afraid of God? I do not mean do we fear God in the sense of reverence, respect, and awe, all that is rightly due Him. No, but do we shrink from God? Do we run from His presence as one might from an unkind father? Are we afraid to approach His presence in prayer? God does not want that kind of fear from us! (Revelation 1:17) If we are afraid of the Lord our relationship with Him will not grow. After all no one seeks out someone they are afraid of. Our heavenly Father tells us of His compassion so that we will be drawn to Him. He wants us to bring everything to Him and to trust Him with our every need. How different would our walk with Him be if we truly internalized the truth that He is compassionate?
Do we fear God will not forgive us? Do we wrestle with guilt even after we have confessed our sins to Him? Do we think God is like the people in our lives who keep a record of our sin, harbor bitterness against us, and when we fail them one to many times give up on us? How tragic to believe these things about our God when He tells us so many times that He is a forgiving God and He is compassionate!
Are we afraid of the future? Do we fear God’s plan for our lives may involve something that is too hard for us? Are we too fearful to surrender the road that stretches before us because we are just sure that He will send us exactly where we most dread going? Oh we need to often remind ourselves of God’s compassion. How can we tremble at the future when we know a God of compassion holds it in His hands?!
“…You did not abandon them …because of Your great compassion. " 9:19
“… In Your abundant compassionYou gave them deliverers, …” 9:27
“… You heard from heaven and rescued them many times in Your compassion.” 9:28
“…However, in Your abundant compassion You did not destroy them or abandon them, for You are a gracious and compassionate God.” 9:31
Are you seeing a resounding theme here?! In this one chapter in Nehemiah the word compassion is applied 6 times to God. I encourage you to read the whole chapter on your own to get a fuller picture. I think that you will be overwhelmed, as I was, by this glimpse of God Almighty. Isn’t it wonderful that our God is compassionate! Imagine if the God who created this world were cruel or heartless, unforgiving or merciless. How horrible it would be to live in such a world with such a King, but no! our God is not like that!! In fact He takes great pains in His word to tell us of His graciousness, faithful love, and abundant compassion. Stop for a minute and read those passages again taking time to really think about what they mean.
I think there is a very real reason why God tells us of His compassion so many times in the scriptures. I think He repeats this truth so frequently because somehow it is hard for us to believe. Of course we would never say that we do not believe any part of the Bible and we may even think that we do believe, but the true test is our lives. Do we live as if we serve a God of compassion? Let us take a look at ourselves…
Are we afraid of God? I do not mean do we fear God in the sense of reverence, respect, and awe, all that is rightly due Him. No, but do we shrink from God? Do we run from His presence as one might from an unkind father? Are we afraid to approach His presence in prayer? God does not want that kind of fear from us! (Revelation 1:17) If we are afraid of the Lord our relationship with Him will not grow. After all no one seeks out someone they are afraid of. Our heavenly Father tells us of His compassion so that we will be drawn to Him. He wants us to bring everything to Him and to trust Him with our every need. How different would our walk with Him be if we truly internalized the truth that He is compassionate?
Do we fear God will not forgive us? Do we wrestle with guilt even after we have confessed our sins to Him? Do we think God is like the people in our lives who keep a record of our sin, harbor bitterness against us, and when we fail them one to many times give up on us? How tragic to believe these things about our God when He tells us so many times that He is a forgiving God and He is compassionate!
Are we afraid of the future? Do we fear God’s plan for our lives may involve something that is too hard for us? Are we too fearful to surrender the road that stretches before us because we are just sure that He will send us exactly where we most dread going? Oh we need to often remind ourselves of God’s compassion. How can we tremble at the future when we know a God of compassion holds it in His hands?!
Monday, February 11, 2013
My Refuge, My Stronghold!
Yahweh
roars from Zion, and utters
His voice from Jerusalem,
and the heavens and the earth quake.
But
Yahweh
is a refuge
to His people, a stronghold
to the people of Israel. (Joel 3:16)
What
an amazing thought!
While
the unrepentant
tremble and despair for terror when
the power
of God is manifested, I, His child, find great comfort and security
in His power!
For
those who
reject God, His power
is terrible. The day of judgment is darkness, and not light, and
gloom with no brightness in it (Amos 5:20, 8:9; Joel 3:15).
God
is my refuge,
my stronghold.
The wicked
run
from
Him. I run
to
Him and cling to Him. He surrounds
me with
the power
of His steadfast love!
Psalm
145
declares: “[Your
children] shall speak of the might of Your
awesome
deeds, and I will
declare Your
greatness . . . all Your
saints shall bless You!”
(verses 6 and 10b). God's children rejoice in His power!
It
is my
privilege to praise God for His works and my responsibility to “speak
of the glory of [His] kingdom and tell
of [His] power,
to make
known
to the children of man [His] mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor
of [His] kingdom” (verses 11-12) so that those who sit in darkness
may desire to come into light.
What
are the awesome and mighty deeds of God that I am to speak of?
Let's look at the rest of the Psalm. God's
power
comforts, preserves, and blesses those who
seek Him and fear Him. It enables
Him to remain faithful
in all His words and kind
in all His works. He is able to uphold
all who are falling and raise
up
all who are bowed down. He is able to provide
food for and satisfy
the desire of every living creature. He is able to be
near
to all who call on Him in truth, fulfilling
the desire of those who fear Him, hearing
the cries of His children, saving
and preserving
them
(verses 13b-20).
God
is good! God is mighty! “[He is] not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). He
has forgiven me and poured into me the riches of His grace through
Christ so that I may be a light and a witness to the praise of His
glory (see Ephesians 1:3-14). I must
speak of the goodness of His power
so that those who
tremble may understand
and know
“that
God [in His might] works all things together for good for those who
are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Thursday, February 7, 2013
worry = living as if God is a liar
Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? …Therefore do not worry, … ~Matthew 6:26&31
Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. ~Luke 12:6-7
My thought for you today is very simply expressed in my title - worry equals living as if God is a liar. I think if you stop and think about it you will agree with me. We have so many amazing promises in God’s word of His protection, love, faithfulness, control, etc. that there really is no legitimate excuse for worry. Though it is not pretty I have had to face up to the facts in my own life; when I worry I am calling God a liar with my life. Think how sad that must make my King! Think how unbelievably foolish it is. I do not want to live in worry, but the truth is I fall into it repeatedly. I do not have the power in myself to truly believe God and so banish worry from my mind, so I am asking Him today to purify me and give me a trusting heart.
Said the Robin to the Sparrow
“I should really like to know
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so.”
Said the Sparrow to the Robin
“Friend, I think that it must be
That they have no heavenly Father
Such as cares for you and me.”
~Elizabeth Cheney
Let us rejoice today in the amazing care of our heavenly Father and give all of our worries to Him.
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting ALL your care upon Him, for He cares for you. ~1 Peter 5:6-7
Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. ~Luke 12:6-7
My thought for you today is very simply expressed in my title - worry equals living as if God is a liar. I think if you stop and think about it you will agree with me. We have so many amazing promises in God’s word of His protection, love, faithfulness, control, etc. that there really is no legitimate excuse for worry. Though it is not pretty I have had to face up to the facts in my own life; when I worry I am calling God a liar with my life. Think how sad that must make my King! Think how unbelievably foolish it is. I do not want to live in worry, but the truth is I fall into it repeatedly. I do not have the power in myself to truly believe God and so banish worry from my mind, so I am asking Him today to purify me and give me a trusting heart.
Said the Robin to the Sparrow
“I should really like to know
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so.”
Said the Sparrow to the Robin
“Friend, I think that it must be
That they have no heavenly Father
Such as cares for you and me.”
~Elizabeth Cheney
Let us rejoice today in the amazing care of our heavenly Father and give all of our worries to Him.
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting ALL your care upon Him, for He cares for you. ~1 Peter 5:6-7
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