He sees right through...it's a good thing!

But Jesus knew that these men were really trying to trick him.
Jesus said, "Why are you trying to catch me saying something wrong?
Bring me a silver coin. Let me see it."
They gave Jesus a coin and Jesus asked,
"Whose picture is on the coin?
And whose name is written on it?"
They answered, "It is Caesar's picture and Caesar's name."
~Mark 12:15-16 (ERV)~

KEY THOUGHT:
Jesus' opponents could not play games or trick him.
He knew their hearts.
He knew what was inside people.
He still does!
Rather than trying to play games with Jesus or pretend we are something we are not,why not be honest.
He came so we could be honest with him and with God.
When we are weak, let's be honest about our weakness and vulnerability.
When we are weary, let's go to him for rest.
When we are grief-stricken and sad, let's go to him for comfort.
When we are confused, let's be honest about our confusion and ask for his wisdom and discernment.
When we are angry, let's confess our anger and its source to him.
Jesus knows us.
Let's be honest and come to him for grace and not try to pretend we are something we are not.
Our games may not be based upon the same kind of deceit that his opponents used to try to trick him,
but deceit, dishonesty, and pretension are still tools Satan uses to keep our hearts away from the Savior.

TODAY'S PRAYER:
O LORD God, please forgive me.
I confess to you that I have sometimes tried to be something in your presence that I am not.
Even though I believe you know me through and through, I still sometimes fear bringing you
the darker sides of my personality and the most deeply wounded parts of my heart.
Please cure me of my pretension and deliver me from deception.
I want to be honest as well as reverent in your presence, dear God, my Abba Father.
In Jesus' name I pray.
Amen.

to the Cross...

"Sing, O barren."

~Isaiah 54:1~

Though we have brought forth some fruit unto Christ, and have a joyful hope that we are

"plants of his own right hand planting,"

yet there are times when we feel very barren.

Prayer is lifeless, love is cold, faith is weak, each grace in the garden of our heart languishes and droops.

We are like flowers in the hot sun, requiring the refreshing shower.

In such a condition what are we to do?

The text is addressed to us in just such a state.

"Sing, O barren, break forth and cry aloud."

But what can I sing about?

I cannot talk about the present, and even the past looks full of barrenness.

Ah! I can sing of Jesus Christ.

I can talk of visits which the Redeemer has aforetimes paid to me;

or if not of these, I can magnify the great love wherewith he loved his people when

he came from the heights of heaven for their redemption.

I will go to the cross again.

Come, my soul, heavy laden thou wast once, and thou didst lose thy burden there.

Go to Calvary again.

Perhaps that very cross which gave thee life may give thee fruitfulness.

What is my barrenness?

It is the platform for his fruit-creating power.

What is my desolation?

It is the black setting for the sapphire of his everlasting love.

I will go in poverty, I will go in helplessness, I will go in all my shame and backsliding,

I will tell him that I am still his child, and in confidence in his faithful heart, even I,

the barren one, will sing and cry aloud.

Sing, believer, for it will cheer thine own heart, and the hearts of other desolate ones.

Sing on, for now that thou art really ashamed of being barren, thou wilt be fruitful soon;

now that God makes thee loath to be without fruit he will soon cover thee with clusters.

The experience of our barrenness is painful, but the Lord's visitations are delightful.

A sense of our own poverty drives us to Christ, and that is where we need to be,

for in him is our fruit found.

(Other Charles Spurgeon's devotions can be found at http://www.heartlight.org)

His child...

"If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest."

~Acts 8:37~

These words may answer your scruples, devout reader, concerning the ordinances.

Perhaps you say, "I should be afraid to be baptized;

it is such a solemn thing to avow myself to be dead with Christ, and buried with him.

I should not feel at liberty to come to the Master's table;

I should be afraid of eating and drinking damnation unto myself, not discerning the Lord's body."

Ah! poor trembler, Jesus has given you liberty, be not afraid.

If a stranger came to your house, he would stand at the door, or wait in the hall;

he would not dream of intruding unbidden into your parlour-he is not at home:

but your child makes himself very free about the house;

and so is it with the child of God.

A stranger may not intrude where a child may venture.

When the Holy Ghost has given you to feel the spirit of adoption, you may come

to Christian ordinances without fear.

The same rule holds good of the Christian's inward privileges.

You think, poor seeker, that you are not allowed to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory;

if you are permitted to get inside Christ's door, or sit at the bottom of his table, you will be well content.

Ah! but you shall not have less privileges than the very greatest.

God makes no difference in his love to his children.

A child is a child to him;

he will not make him a hired servant;

but he shall feast upon the fatted calf, and shall have the music and the dancing as much

as if he had never gone astray.

When Jesus comes into the heart, he issues a general licence to be glad in the Lord.

No chains are worn in the court of King Jesus.

Our admission into full privileges may be gradual, but it is sure.

Perhaps our reader is saying, "I wish I could enjoy the promises, and walk at liberty in my Lord's commands."

"If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest."

Loose the chains of thy neck, O captive daughter, for Jesus makes thee free.

(Other Charles Spurgeon's devotions can be found at http://www.heartlight.org)

His victory for us...

"The breaker is come up before them."
~Micah 2:13~

Inasmuch as Jesus has gone before us, things remain not as they would have been had he never passed that way. He has conquered every foe that obstructed the way.
Cheer up now thou faint-hearted warrior.
Not only has Christ travelled the road, but he has slain thine enemies.
Dost thou dread sin?
He has nailed it to his cross.
Dost thou fear death?
He has been the death of Death.

Art thou afraid of hell?

He has barred it against the advent of any of his children;

they shall never see the gulf of perdition.

Whatever foes may be before the Christian, they are all overcome.

There are lions, but their teeth are broken;

there are serpents, but their fangs are extracted;

there are rivers, but they are bridged or fordable;

there are flames, but we wear that matchless garment which renders us invulnerable to fire.

The sword that has been forged against us is already blunted;

the instruments of war which the enemy is preparing have already lost their point.

God has taken away in the person of Christ all the power that anything can have to hurt us.

Well then, the army may safely march on, and you may go joyously along your journey,

for all your enemies are conquered beforehand.

What shall you do but march on to take the prey?

They are beaten, they are vanquished;

all you have to do is to divide the spoil.

You shall, it is true, often engage in combat;

but your fight shall be with a vanquished foe.

His head is broken;

he may attempt to injure you, but his strength shall not be sufficient for his malicious design.

Your victory shall be easy, and your treasure shall be beyond all count.

"Proclaim aloud the Saviour's fame, Who bears the Breaker's wond'rous name;

Sweet name; and it becomes him well, Who breaks down earth, sin, death, and hell."

(Other Charles Spurgeon's devotions can be found at http://www.heartlight.org)

hard words to hear...

"If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn,

or the field, be consumed therewith;

he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution."

~Exodus 22:6~

But what restitution can he make who casts abroad the fire-brands of error, or the coals of lasciviousness, and sets men's souls on a blaze with the fire of hell?

The guilt is beyond estimate, and the result is irretrievable.

If such an offender be forgiven, what grief it will cause him in the retrospect, since he cannot undo the mischief which he has done!

An ill example may kindle a flame which years of amended character cannot quench.

To burn the food of man is bad enough, but how much worse to destroy the soul!

It may be useful to us to reflect how far we may have been guilty in the past, and to enquire whether,

even in the present, there may not be evil in us which has a tendency to bring damage to the souls of

our relatives, friends, or neighbours.

The fire of strife is a terrible evil when it breaks out in a Christian church.

Where converts were multiplied, and God was glorified, jealousy and envy do the devil's work most effectually. Where the golden grain was being housed, to reward the toil of the great Boaz, the fire of enmity comes in and leaves little else but smoke and a heap of blackness.

Woe unto those by whom offences come.

May they never come through us, for although we cannot make restitution, we shall certainly be the

chief sufferers if we are the chief offenders.

Those who feed the fire deserve just censure, but he who first kindles it is most to blame.

Discord usually takes first hold upon the thorns;

it is nurtured among the hypocrites and base professors in the church, and away it goes among

the righteous, blown by the winds of hell, and no one knows where it may end.

O thou Lord and giver of peace, make us peacemakers, and never let us aid and abet the men of strife, or even unintentionally cause the least division among thy people.

(Other Charles Spurgeon's devotions can be found at http://www.heartlight.org)

more & more of Jesus...

"The unsearchable riches of Christ."

~Ephesians 3:8~

My Master has riches beyond the count of arithmetic, the measurement of reason, the dream of imagination, or the eloquence of words.

They are unsearchable!

You may look, and study, and weigh, but Jesus is a greater Saviour than you think him to be

when your thoughts are at the greatest.

My Lord is more ready to pardon than you to sin, more able to forgive than you to transgress.

My Master is more willing to supply your wants than you are to confess them.

Never tolerate low thoughts of my Lord Jesus.

When you put the crown on his head, you will only crown him with silver when he deserves gold.

My Master has riches of happiness to bestow upon you now.

He can make you to lie down in green pastures, and lead you beside still waters.

There is no music like the music of his pipe, when he is the Shepherd and you are the sheep,

and you lie down at his feet.

There is no love like his, neither earth nor heaven can match it.

To know Christ and to be found in him-

oh! this is life, this is joy, this is marrow and fatness,

wine on the lees well refined.

My Master does not treat his servants churlishly; he gives to them as a king giveth to a king;

he gives them two heavens-

a heaven below in serving him here, and a heaven above in delighting in him forever.

His unsearchable riches will be best known in eternity.

He will give you on the way to heaven all you need;

your place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks, your bread shall be given you, and your waters shall be sure; but it is there, THERE, where you shall hear the song of them that triumph,

the shout of them that feast, and shall have a face-to-face view of the glorious and beloved One.

The unsearchable riches of Christ!

This is the tune for the minstrels of earth, and the song for the harpers of heaven.

Lord, teach us more and more of Jesus, and we will tell out the good news to others.

(Other Charles Spurgeon's devotions can be found at http://www.heartlight.org)

nearer to Him...

"I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love."

~Song of Solomon 5:8~

Such is the language of the believer panting after present fellowship with Jesus, he is sick for his Lord.

Gracious souls are never perfectly at ease except they are in a state of nearness to Christ;

for when they are away from him they lose their peace.

The nearer to him, the nearer to the perfect calm of heaven;

the nearer to him, the fuller the heart is,

not only of peace, but of life, and vigour, and joy, for these all depend on constant intercourse with Jesus.

What the sun is to the day, what the moon is to the night, what the dew is to the flower, such is Jesus Christ to us.

What bread is to the hungry, clothing to the naked, the shadow of a great rock to the traveller in a weary land, such is Jesus Christ to us;

and, therefore, if we are not consciously one with him, little marvel if our spirit cries in the words of the Song,

"I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, tell him that I am sick of love."

This earnest longing after Jesus has a blessing attending it:

"Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness";

and therefore, supremely blessed are they who thirst after the Righteous One.

Blessed is that hunger, since it comes from God:

if I may not have the full-blown blessedness of being filled, I would seek the same blessedness in its sweet bud-pining in emptiness and eagerness till I am filled with Christ.

If I may not feed on Jesus, it shall be next door to heaven to hunger and thirst after him.

There is a hallowedness about that hunger, since it sparkles among the beatitudes of our Lord.

But the blessing involves a promise.

Such hungry ones "shall be filled" with what they are desiring.

If Christ thus causes us to long after himself, he will certainly satisfy those longings;

and when he does come to us, as come he will, oh, how sweet it will be!

(Other Charles Spurgeon's devotions can be found at http://www.heartlight.org)

the Great Physician...

"This sickness is not unto death."

John 11:4

From our Lord's words we learn that there is a limit to sickness.

Here is an "unto" within which its ultimate end is restrained, and beyond which it cannot go.

Lazarus might pass through death, but death was not to be the ultimatum of his sickness.

In all sickness, the Lord saith to the waves of pain, "Hitherto shall ye go, but no further."

His fixed purpose is not the destruction, but the instruction of his people.

Wisdom hangs up the thermometer at the furnace mouth, and regulates the heat.

1. The limit is encouragingly comprehensive.

The God of providence has limited the time, manner, intensity, repetition, and effects of all our sicknesses;

each throb is decreed, each sleepless hour predestined, each relapse ordained, each depression of spirit foreknown, and each sanctifying result eternally purposed.

Nothing great or small escapes the ordaining hand of him who numbers the hairs of our head.

2. This limit is wisely adjusted to our strength, to the end designed, and to the grace apportioned.

Affliction comes not at haphazard-the weight of every stroke of the rod is accurately measured.

He who made no mistakes in balancing the clouds and meting out the heavens, commits no errors in

measuring out the ingredients which compose the medicine of souls.

We cannot suffer too much nor be relieved too late.

3. The limit is tenderly appointed.

The knife of the heavenly Surgeon never cuts deeper than is absolutely necessary.

"He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men."

A mother's heart cries, "Spare my child";

but no mother is more compassionate than our gracious God.

When we consider how hard-mouthed we are, it is a wonder that we are not driven with a sharper bit.

The thought is full of consolation, that he who has fixed the bounds of our habitation, has also fixed

the bounds of our tribulation.

~this devotion is written by Charles Spurgeon and can be found at www.heartlight.org~

His mercy...

"The mercy of God."

Psalms 52:8

Meditate a little on this mercy of the Lord.

It is tender mercy.

With gentle, loving touch, he heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds.

He is as gracious in the manner of his mercy as in the matter of it.

It is great mercy.

There is nothing little in God;

his mercy is like himself-it is infinite.

You cannot measure it.

His mercy is so great that it forgives great sins to great sinners, after great lengths of time,

and then gives great favours and great privileges, and raises us up to great enjoyments in the

great heaven of the great God.

It is undeserved mercy, as indeed all true mercy must be, for deserved mercy is only a misnomer for justice.

There was no right on the sinner's part to the kind consideration of the Most High;

had the rebel been doomed at once to eternal fire he would have richly merited the doom,

and if delivered from wrath, sovereign love alone has found a cause, for there was none in the sinner himself.

It is rich mercy.

Somethings are great, but have little efficacy in them, but this mercy is a cordial to your drooping spirits;

a golden ointment to your bleeding wounds;

a heavenly bandage to your broken bones;

a royal chariot for your weary feet;

a bosom of love for your trembling heart.

It is manifold mercy.

As Bunyan says, "All the flowers in God's garden are double."

There is no single mercy.

You may think you have but one mercy, but you shall find it to be a whole cluster of mercies.

It is abounding mercy.

Millions have received it, yet far from its being exhausted;

it is as fresh, as full, and as free as ever.

It is unfailing mercy.

It will never leave thee.

If mercy be thy friend, mercy will be with thee in temptation to keep thee from yielding;

with thee in trouble to prevent thee from sinking;

with thee living to be the light and life of thy countenance;

and with thee dying to be the joy of thy soul when earthly comfort is ebbing fast.

~this devotion is written by Charles Spurgeon and can be found at www.heartlight.org~

Have Mercy on Me!

{this devotion is originally from www.heartlight.org}
"Then they came to the town of Jericho.
Jesus was leaving that town with his followers and many other people.
A blind man named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting by the road.
This man was always begging for money.
The blind man heard that Jesus from Nazareth was walking by.
The blind man shouted, "Jesus, Son of David, please help me!"
~Mark 10:46-47 (ERV)~

KEY THOUGHT:
So often we let pride and social convention keep us from asking from God what we most need from Him
and what He is often most willing to give us ~
mercy.
Let's not be shamed into silence.
When we realize we need mercy, grace, and forgiveness, let's not be shy about humbly asking for it
from our generous and loving Father.

TODAY'S PRAYER:
O Father, without Your mercy and grace I would surely fail to find my way into Your holy presence.
Thank You for lavishing Your gifts of grace and the Holy Spirit upon me.
Let me never forget Your mercy, love, and grace.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.

precious, precious Father...

my Father, my Dad, my Daddy...

how many times have i felt utterly alone in the struggles i face day to day?

how many times have i called on Your name and You have saved me?

how can i ever thank You completely for all You have done in my heart and life?

You are literally my Everything.

my All in All.

"Surely this is our God;

we trusted in him, and he saved us.

This is the Lord, we trusted in him;

let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation."

~Isaiah 25:9~

"O Lord, you are my God;

I will exalt you and praise your name,

for in perfect faithfulness

you have done marvelous things,

things planned long ago."

~Isaiah 25:1~

these words seem so inadequate but they are all i have:

thank You, thank You, thank You...

for all of time, my Father,

i will thank You...

when we cannot see...

The View from a Troubled Heart,
by Bill Sherrill

"O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!"
(Deuteronomy 32:29 KJV).
"And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich."
(Ruth 3:10).
"So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses"
(Job 42:12).

Have you ever had the feeling that no matter what you tried to do nothing ever seemed to turn out alright?
Most of us have felt that at one time or another.
Some continually feel this way because life has been so difficult for them...

Jeremiah was distressed because the righteous seemed to suffer and the wicked prospered (Jeremiah 12:1).
Job, in his terrible trials, forgot all the good he had enjoyed and became so focused on his tragedies that he wished to have never been born.
The prophet Elijah cried out that he would be better off dead since he was hunted by his enemies and "I,only I am left."
To which the LORD replied, "I have 7,000 left who have not bowed their knees to Baal" (1 Kings 19:18).
The truth is, that until these "considered their latter end" of God's work, they could not make any sense of the affairs of their lives.
It is not possible to see, from our limited viewpoint, just what God has in store for us or how He will use us in His service.
Through God's providence they found joy!

One of the best told and most beautiful stories found in the Bible is about just such a situation...

An Israelite wife and mother, Naomi left her homeland with her husband and two sons because there was a great famine in their land.
After arriving in a foreign land, her husband died and left her with the two sons. After a time, the sons married and then they also died without children.
Naomi had heard that her homeland was once again reaping harvests so she determined to return to a place where she had kin. After her two daughters-in-law had traveled with her for a distance, she implored them to return to their own houses in the hope that they, being young, might find other husbands and raise families.
When they pleaded with her to let them continue with her, in the accumulation of misery that had befallen her,
Naomi said "My life is much too sad for you to share, because the LORD has been against me!" (Ruth 1:13).
"The LORD has been against me!"
How bitter Naomi must have felt! After all, nothing of value in her entire life remained; she was old and alone. But that for which she could never have dreamed was in the making. One of the young women who were her daughters-in-law refused to leave her and under her direction married the wealthy and kind Boaz.
And beyond any one's wildest dreams, Naomi's faithful daughter-in-law became one of three foreign women in the line which produced the Lord Jesus the Christ!
Through God's providence, Naomi and Ruth found joy in the present world and have gone down in history as two of the most famous women of all time!

Perhaps we -- like King David, Job, Elijah, and Naomi -- need to wait to see the "latter end"
before we assume that the LORD is unfair.

When we look back at our lives from the Eternal Kingdom, I suspect we might just find a few things of real glory in the life which seemed so empty.I guess "hind sight" will always be clearer than our present view.
Perhaps that is one of the most important reasons to trust in God's providence.
God didn't make anyone who is not important in His eyes
--no matter how it may look at the moment from our own point of view!---------

(c) 2008 Bill Sherrill
this article is originally from www.heartlight.org

forgiveness...

Forgiveness?,

by Ron Rose

{this devotion can be found at http://www.heartlight.org}

She came in complaining about my sermons always being about forgiveness and grace ...

I needed to come down harder on the sinners and in her words, "nail them."

After her rant, I asked, "So, you've got forgiveness and grace all worked out in your own life?"

"Well, Ron, there are some things you can't turn loose of, things that don't deserve grace, or forgiveness.

That's just the way it is. I know it's that way in my family."

She leaned over my desk and revealed a heart hardened by resentment and bitterness,

"No, forgiveness is not an option. I've been hurt too much."

The grudge was too embedded.

And her spiritual life was powerless and trapped in the wilderness.

Lack of forgiveness had turned in a critical, spirit of judgment.

She wanted me to make everyone else as miserable as she was ...

as long as she was in charge, of course.

A year later she left the church ... looking for harder preaching.

On the other side of her story is Reginald Denny.

Remember him?

Forgiveness doesn't make sense!

Years ago, Reginald Denny drove his truck into the riots of South Central Los Angeles

and the video cameras captured every detail of two men smashing his truck window with a brick,

hauling him from the cab and beating him with a broken bottle and kicking him until the side of his face was caved in.

Then at the trial, in spite of protests from his own lawyers, Denny walked over to the

mothers of the two defendants, hugged them and told them he forgave them.

The mothers responded with hugs and tears.

How could he do that?

One commentator stated, "Well you know, Denny did suffer some brain damage."

Forgiveness doesn't make sense:

sometimes it just seems like nothing is more important than hanging on to the grudge ...

sometimes "turning loose" is nothing but a slogan.

But, then God steps in and a miracle happens ... Turning loose becomes an experience.

Don't forget three basics:

1. Forgiveness doesn't mean that you condone what was done.

2. Forgiveness doesn't depend on the other person's apology ... it's the experience of finding inner peace.

3. Forgiveness is a gift for you ... by offering it, your life is no longer controlled by what someone else has done.

The weight of hurt and resentment and bitterness are released and you are finally free.

God has forgiven ... so what are you going to do?

His promises...and waiting on Him

MORNING:
"Tell me I pray thee wherein thy great strength lies."
-- Judges 16:6

Where lies the secret strength of faith?
It lies in the food it feeds on; for faith studies what the promise is-
an emanation of divine grace,an overflowing of the great heart of God;
and faith says, "My God could not have given this promise, except from love and grace;
therefore it is quite certain his Word will be fulfilled."
Then faith thinks, "Who gave this promise?"
It considers not so much its greatness, as, "Who is the author of it?"
She remembers that it is God who cannot lie-God omnipotent, God immutable; and
therefore concludes that the promise must be fulfilled; and forward she advances in this firm conviction.
She remembers, why the promise was given,-namely, for God's glory,
and she feels perfectly sure that God's glory is safe, that he will never stain his own escutcheon,
nor mar the lustre of his own crown;
and therefore the promise must and will stand.
Then faith also considers the amazing work of Christ as being a clear proof of the Father's intention
to fulfil his word.
"He that spared not his own Son, but freely delivered him up for us all,
how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"
Moreover faith looks back upon the past,for her battles have strengthened her, and her victories have given her courage.
She remembers that God never has failed her;
nay, that whenever did once fail any of his children.
She recollected times of great peril, when deliverance came; hours of awful need,
when as her day her strength was found, and she cries,
"No, I never will be led to think that he can change and leave his servant now.
Hitherto the Lord hath helped me, and he will help me still."
Thus faith views each promise in its connection with the promise-giver, and,
because she does so, can with assurance say,
"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life!"

EVENING:

"Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation;
on thee do I wait all the day."
-- Psalms 25:5

When the believer has begun with trembling feet to walk in the way of the Lord,
he asks to be still led onward like a little child upheld by its parent's helping hand,
and he craves to be further instructed in the alphabet of truth.
Experimental teaching is the burden of this prayer.
David knew much, but he felt his ignorance, and desired to be still in the Lord's school:
four times over in two verses he applies for a scholarship in the college of grace.
It were well for many professors if instead of following their own devices, and
cutting out new paths of thought for themselves, they would enquire for the good old ways
of God's own truth, and beseech the Holy Ghost to give them sanctified understandings
and teachable spirits.
"For thou art the God of my salvation."
The Three-One Jehovah is the Author and Perfecter of salvation to his people.
Reader, is he the God of your salvation? Do you find in the Father's election, in the Son's atonement,
and in the Spirit's quickening, all the grounds of your eternal hopes?
If so, you may use this as an argument for obtaining further blessings;
if the Lord has ordained to save you, surely he will not refuse to instruct you in his ways.
It is a happy thing when we can address the Lord with the confidence which David here manifests,
it gives us great power in prayer, and comfort in trial.
"On thee do I wait all the day."
Patience is the fair handmaid and daughter of faith; we cheerfully wait when we are certain that
we shall not wait in vain.
It is our duty and our privilege to wait upon the Lord in service, in worship, in expectancy,
in trust all the days of our life.
Our faith will be tried faith, and if it be of the true kind, it will bear continued trial without yielding.
We shall not grow weary of waiting upon God if we remember how long and how graciously
he once waited for us...

"God~joined"

"God has joined those two people together. So no person should separate them."
~Mark 10:9

KEY THOUGHT:

God has the power to make two people one.
Marriage is not about a wedding, but about a man and a woman entering into a covenant relationship
with God.
God is the greater party in the covenant.
The man and the woman give their highest allegiance and commitment to God when they marry.
There will be times when their spouse will unfortunately disappoint them or let them down.
But, God wants them to remember that their highest priority is not treating their spouse as he
or she deserves, but as God would have them be treated.
Honoring God in the way they treat each other is the key to marriage as God sees it.
God wants husbands and wives to understand that breaking a marriage apart is an offense
against God --
he is the one who makes couples one and the one with whom they enter into covenant relationship.
God hates covenants made with him to be broken.

TODAY'S PRAYER:

O God, please give your people a deeper appreciation of what it means to enter into covenant with you when they marry.
Help me, O God, to be a covenant-keeper and a person who encourages others to be loyal to you and the covenants they make with you.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

trusting You, dear Abba...

i don't really know how to say this...

i am afraid.

there, i guess that's the best way.

i am afraid that i won't live to see my children's high school graduations.

i am afraid of the moment they move out and i am left behind with my Petey and all the silence.

i am afraid of the moment i will lose my Mom.

i am afraid that my 'family' will never again be reunited.

i am afraid that when i cry out to God, in a very critical moment, that He won't save me...

and that last fear is the most important one:

my Abba Father always asks me:

Elaine, do you trust Me?

i don't...not always...He knows the truth of it.

and that particular question of His is so very loaded...

do you trust Me, Elaine? . . .

to be in control of how and when you die from this liver disease?

to love and care for you when your children move out and onward?

to be your surrogate "Ma" when she eventually passes?

to reunite all those in repentance as I have foretold?

to save you, My little girl, when you call on My Name?

i sit here, as tears fall down my cheeks, and i pray:

dearest Father, i so want to trust in You completely ~

please save me from my unbelief!

You are my refuge and my strength...

i put my tiny hand in Your Omnipotent one

as i put my trust in You...

"if i should lose it all dear Lord, and still have You,

then in the end, i've not lost a thing..."

e.e.e.

His artistry...

this is a recent pic from my front porch...and all of this sky is from God's own 'paintbrush'!

amazing, isn't it?

a new start...

{click on image above to see original article and
daily devotions from Heartlight.org}

Am I Beyond God’s Forgiveness?

by Jim Clark

Did you ever think you were beyond God’s forgiveness?

Russell Ford has befriended hundreds of men who believed that lie. Yet God’s grace showed them otherwise. When I read his story this summer I was struck with the beauty of Christ’s forgiveness and the miracle of God’s awesome grace.

Russell Ford has watched many of his friends die. It’s an integral part of his most unusual ministry. Ford is a chaplain for Death Row inmates in Boydton, Virginia. He knows he can’t save men’s lives. But he can lead them to the One who saves souls.

Ford works with men who have committed gruesome murders. Some of them refuse to accept Christ’s forgiveness. But thankfully, some do. He has helped several brutal murderers become repentant pilgrims.

Men like Alton Waye. He was convicted for killing a sixty-one year old woman. Even other death row inmates found Waye to be particularly mean. As with others, Russell Ford taught this man the gospel. Months passed and yet Waye didn’t seemed to change.

Then days before his 1989 execution, this murderer’s demeanor had suddenly reversed. Ford walked Waye’s cell and found him singing spirituals. He had decided to accept the pardon from Jesus. The night before he was executed Alton Waye, the murderer, confessed his faith in Jesus and was baptized. Twelve members of the death squad witnessed God’s miracle of redemption. After the baptism, they all joined hands, singing “Amazing Grace” and reciting the Lord’s prayer.

No one is beyond Christ’s forgiveness.

You may think, “But I feel so unworthy. I’ve failed God so terribly.”

Listen, we’ve all failed.

We’re all sinners.

The great apostle Paul called himself the worst of sinners.

And yet Christ showed him mercy “as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.“ (1 Timothy 1:16, NIV)

When you’ve really blown it with your life. When you just can’t shake this feeling that God won’t forgive you, the place to go is Jesus. As I think of the stories of Jesus interacting with “sinners” and religious leaders, I’m reminded of the stark contrast between His interaction with each group. So often those who knew they were wrong before God were often the ones most attracted to the Lord. While those who believed their religious balance sheet put them in the black locked horns with this One who claimed to be the Messiah.

Jesus extended the realm of God’s mercy.

I’ve just finished an outstanding book on Jesus by my favorite author, Philip Yancey.

It’s entitled "The Jesus I never knew".

His chapter on the revolution of grace unearthed for me a fresh new glimpse at the approachable nature of Jesus. As he peruses the various encounters Jesus had with the unsavory people of his day, Yancey makes these observations:

“In word and deed Jesus was proclaiming a radically new gospel of grace...In short, Jesus moved the emphasis from God’s holiness (exclusive) to God’s mercy (inclusive). Instead of the message ‘No undesirables allowed,’ he proclaimed, ‘In God’s kingdom there are no undesirables.’ By going out of his way to meet with Gentiles, eat with sinners, and touch the sick, he extended the realm of God’s mercy.”

As I read of the grisly crimes of these death row inmates, I caught myself thinking the words of the pious Pharisee in Luke 18. Then I read Chaplain Ford’s reminder: “Christ died for all of our sins. These men committed terrible sin, but they are not beyond God’s love.“

Aren’t we all guilty?

Paul states clearly that the ground is level at the foot of the cross.

“For there is no distinction to be made anywhere: everyone has sinned, everyone falls short of the God’s plan.“ (Romans 3:23)

In a sense, everyone of us is on death row. Until Jesus opens the door locked by our sin and acquits us of our crime against the Holy One. We all can be pardoned because Jesus “went to the chair” for us. Everyone of us.

“A man who has faith is freely acquitted in the eyes of God by his generous dealing in the redemptive act of Christ Jesus.“ (Romans 3:24)

We can learn a lot from Alton Waye, the death row inmate. He discovered that the grace of God was not out of his reach, no matter how badly he sinned. And neither is it out of reach for all of us. Look again at Jesus. Look again to Jesus. His life and sacrifice for us shout out the timeless good news-an eternal pardon is awaiting anyone who comes to the Father through faith in His Son. He’s the author of radical grace, the grace that truly can set our souls free.

When you feel you’ve outsinned God’s grace, remember this:

your forgiveness doesn’t depend on your worthiness, but on what Christ has done for you at the cross.

He loves you.

Receive that love and new start today...

what compassion can do...

{click on image above to see original article and

daily devotions from Heartlight.org}

More than One Way to Hit a Homerun,
by Steve Higginbotham

You've probably already heard what happened recently when Central Washington and Western Oregon faced off against each other in a softball game --

At stake was a bid to the NCAA's Division II playoffs.
Western Oregon's, Sara Tucholsky came to the plate with two runners on base.
Tucholsky was a lifetime .153 hitter and had never hit a homerun.
However, things were about to change.
She connected on a pitch and hit a three run homer!
Due to her excitement, she missed first base.
So she stopped and turned to go back to the base.
But when she made the sudden stop and turn, she collapsed to the ground, having torn her ACL.
The people in the stands were shedding tears.
That's when things got interesting.
Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace, two players on the opposing team offered to carry her around
the bases so that her homerun would not be counted as a single.
So these two players gently picked up Tucholsky, and carried her around the bases,
allowing her to tap each base along the way.
After reaching home plate,these two girls handed Tucholsky off to her own teammates.
The players, the coaches, and the people in the stands were applauding and shedding tears
because of this act of compassion.
When asked later why she did it, Mallory Holtman said that it was senior day and that if it
had happened to her, she would have wanted someone to come to her aid.
In other words, she was practicing the "Golden Rule" --

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"

(Matthew 7:12 paraphrased).
Isn't it amazing how following the common principles of Jesus makes such an impact for good in our world?
Open your eyes to the possibilities before you.
You may not have the opportunity to carry someone around the bases;
but if you look around at school, your job or your neighborhood, you will find things you can do that can have just as much impact on the lives of others.
---------
(c) 2008 Steve Higginbotham