God's Riches At Christ's Expense...It's All Grace!

Introduction: The book of Ephesians was written by the apostle Paul, between 60-62 A.D., while he was a prisoner, awaiting trial in Rome.  Ephesus was a capital of the Roman Empire in Asia, located in present day Turkey.  Many in Ephesus worshipped the goddess Diana...in fact the Temple of Diana, was located there and was one of the seven wonders of the world at that time.  Paul visited and ministered at Ephesus toward the end of his second missionary journey and during his third journey he stayed in the city and ministered for three years.  He writes this epistle to them...people who he loved and cared for and shared with them some very great truths.  This letter  has been given such titles as the Believer's Bank, the Christian's Checkbook and the Treasure House of the Bible.  I love these titles.  We so often forget how very rich we are as believers in Christ.  The riches we have are unfathomable...in Him we are filled with all the fullness of God.   We are fellow heirs with Christ and one Spirit with Him.  Jesus calls us His brothers and shares all He possesses with us...in Him we have an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for us.

In this letter Paul reminds us of those riches that are ours in Christ and our standing before God because of what Christ has done for us.  In the first three chapters, Paul teaches truths about the gospel and salvation, about the church and about the body of Christ.  In the last three chapters he gives practical teaching on church, family and work.  He also teaches us how to obtain spiritual victory by putting on the whole armor of God.

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Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.--Ephesians 1:1-2


Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God....Paul is an apostle, or one who is sent forth with orders, of Jesus Christ not by man's will, nor by any credentials or training but by the will of God.  His job as an apostle was to teach the Word of God and build up others in the faith. Paul was who he was by God's grace.  Our lives mean nothing and are for nothing until we can say along with Paul who and what we are by the will of our God.  It is then that we are who our Creator would have us be.  I think it is also important to note that Paul is not boasting here...he is simply stating what his qualifications for speaking on God's behalf.  He has been sent forth with orders...Paul knows who he was without God.  He was an unbeliever, a persecutor of God's people,  and considered himself the chief of sinners.  None of us  is anything until we act in faith and receive Christ as our Lord and Savior. It is then that we are justified before God and are established in our position with God as "in Christ."  Paul counted whatever he was and had before coming to faith in Jesus as dung:


Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:



to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:  As believers we are His saints!!! We are the faithful!! (sometimes that is hard to believe)  Every believer has been set apart and made holy through the righteousness of Christ that has been placed to his account.  When we act in faith to believe and receive Christ as our Lord and Savior, God acts in grace and imputes Christ's perfect righteousness to our account. It is all God and nothing of us.  Our position with God is now "in Christ." We may be physically in the world but have now been made alive spiritually and our true home is now in heaven with our God.  The Spirit of God now resides in our hearts and it is in Him that we live and move and have our being.  We are now identified with Christ and can draw on the riches we have in Him as we sojourn our way through this world toward our permanent home in heaven.

Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  This was a common but beautiful greeting used in the early church that acknowledged the divine grace that has made them members of Christ's body and God's family.   The word grace pictures God's great kindness to us who are undeserving of His favor but have placed our faith in His Son.   I have been grafted in as His child...a member of His body and God's family only by His unmerited and undeserved favor....His grace.  It is because of His grace that I can have peace with my God and can be accepted in His beloved Son as His child.  I am complete in Him and have all that I need for life and godliness.

For next study (Ephesians 1:3) go here

This Is My Infirmity...

And I said, this is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most high.--Psalm 77:10

Asaph, the psalmist, is in great distress and rightly cries out to his God for comfort and deliverance.  He is so troubled that both speech and sleep fail him.  The psalmist makes diligent search for hope...there was no consolation for him in the present so he looks to the past...but the contrast depressed him more.  Even his song that always seemed to be with him in his darkest hours was not to be heard.

Asaph's faith flounders.  He begins to ask questions...questions that arise from his fear.   Will the Lord cast off forever?  Is His mercy clean gone forever?  Hath God forgotten to be gracious?   The answers to these questions are obvious...will the sun never rise again...will spring follow winter?  Speaking his fears aloud help the psalmist see how ridiculous and absurd his unbelief and fear are.  Take each question to its logical conclusion and his unbelief is seen for what it is...total and utter folly!   These questions helped Asaph gain perspective...something that I so often lose when going through a difficult season.  I grow weary and, like Asaph, forget who my God is.  I question his goodness and his grace.  I wonder if His mercy has ceased.   I forget that weeping may endure for the night but that joy does come in the morning.   God gives us manna just for the day and tells us that sufficient for the day is its own troubles.  For me to look further than the moment is foolish.  No one knows what will happen tomorrow, but our God's mercies are new every morning and His word tells us that we can go boldly to His throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of need.

God does not cast off forever.  Though he causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of his mercies for He does not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.  God's mercy endures forever and his grace is seen in the gift of His Son.  If our God is for us, who can be against us.  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things?

Asaph then says this in verse 10:  "This is my infirmity:" Asaph's infirmity is not his circumstances...his infirmity is his unbelief.  He acknowledges it here and confesses it. Spurgeon says it could also be understood to mean, this is my appointed sorrow, I will bear it without complaint.  Asaph has regained his perspective.  He sees his affliction now through the eyes of faith...He sees it as the cup the Lord has given him.   His desire now is to be reconciled to it. Asaph remembers who His God is!  In case any of us forget here are the names of God from the Blue Letter Bible:

• El Shaddai (Lord God Almighty)
• El Elyon (The Most High God)
• Adonai (Lord, Master)
• Yahweh (Lord, Jehovah)
• Jehovah Nissi (The Lord My Banner)
• Jehovah-Raah (The Lord My Shepherd)
• Jehovah Rapha (The Lord That Heals)
• Jehovah Shammah (The Lord Is There)
• Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness)
• Jehovah Mekoddishkem (The Lord Who Sanctifies You)
• El Olam (The Everlasting God)
• Elohim (God)
• Qanna (Jealous)
• Jehovah Jireh (The Lord Will Provide)
• Jehovah Shalom (The Lord Is Peace)
• Jehovah Sabaoth (The Lord of Hosts)

 It is the Lord...let Him do as seems good to Him!

Father,

Help my unbelief! Give me eyes of faith in times of trial and grief.  You know me all together...you understand all my ways..and comprehend my path.  You hedge me behind and before...such knowledge is too wonderful for me...it is high, I cannot attain it.  All Your ways, Father, are good and Your right hand holds me continually.  My flesh and heart may fail, my faith may flounder...but Lord, help me to remember that You are the strength of my heart and portion forever.  I, like Asaph, have uttered things that I understood not...things too wonderful for me which I knew not.

All that I face, Lord, is from You, my God.  Help me to bear it without complaint...to be reconciled to it...to not rebel against it.  I want to be content with what You have for me.   You are good to those that wait upon You...You are my God of compassion and do not afflict me willingly.  To grieve right now is my portion...I accept it willingly.   Any change in my circumstances or condition belong to You, my God.  You are the ruler of all and over all and You love me with an everlasting love. Help me to see any problem as an opportunity to walk by faith...as an opportunity to see You!

Everyone Needs A Base...

Everyone Needs a Base by Anna

Everyone needs a base.

I've been seeing the above verse almost everyday now for a long time--my Bible almost always falls open at the same spot, however often I try to correct it--and I knew it would really come in handy someday. Looks like today's the day--I'm writing a study that's been stewing in my head for years now, and this verse is the perfect complement.

Anyway, everyone needs a base. A starting/reference point, a headquarters, a home--a foundation. Everyone. Even people who don't realize it--it's woven into the very fabric of our being. We don't even think about it--it's always there. Even in fiction (when you read something, you usually learn almost as much about the author as as you do the actual book, and I've read quite a few books) it's there. When characters go on the inevitable quests and journeys, all but a very few don't have something they want to get back to, a family, a home, a friend...a base. People who don't have bases naturally want them--want a reason to keep going, to keep living, to keep running on this giant, mudball version of a mouse's wheel that makes no sense--that's not worth it--without a base. 

Unfortunately, just like in baseball (I think, anyway...I've never been very...shall we say...interested in sports) you can lose most bases very easily. In an instant, without warning, all your reasons to keep going, all your bases, all your foundations can get ripped away from you and leave you with nothing. Nothing at all. Everything, everyone you love, you care for, what or who you've invested your very life in...all gone. Irreversibly, irrevocably gone. Car accidents. Falls. Cancer. Bad economy (if your base is money or depends on money, like most things). Fires. Suicides. Homicides. Drownings. There are so many ways people can die. So many ways you can lose everything. So many ways the rug can get yanked out from under you. Loved ones--family and friends--can so very easily die or abandon you. Homes can go up in smoke (literally or figuratively). Riches are a lovely, ever-so-slippery snake, with you today and gone tomorrow. People lose their bases every day. What makes you think you're safe? 

My base used to be my family, my home--where I feel safe. My security blanket. I didn't even think about it--not really--because I couldn't conceive of ever losing them. They are just there. Of course they always will be. I'd always have a starting point, a fall-back position, for life in the world. And if I'd kept thinking that, who knows what would have happened to me when I discovered--the hard way--that that wasn't quite true. (Because, sooner or later, everyone does.) 

Fortunately for me, my parents are thinkers. Realistic thinkers who see the world as it is, see all those horrible possibilities and knows that, from a purely physical, world-wise standpoint, there is absolutely nothing stopping them from happening to us. It's rather depressing. 

I inherited some of that. (Thankfully, only some.) So, after a year or so of hair-pulling and sobbing and yelling and burying my head in the sand, I learned to switch my base. I'm still learning--don't think I'll ever finish learning it, not in this life anyway--but at least now I know losing any/all of what (or those of whom) is now my secondary base wouldn't outright kill me. (However much I might want it to then.) 

I had it easy. I've grown up with God as a member of the family--grown up knowing that I had something no one and no thing could ever possibly take away. I do have a base. A primary base, One who won't die, won't leave me, and will, forever and always, take care of me and my loved ones. And--if He takes them--at least I know I'll see them again. (Though, if you think about it, that's not really a 'least'!) He's my everlasting foundation, my cornerstone, a base no one can take away from me. Someone who'll always love me, no matter what. I can go anywhere, do anything, without fear that when I get back, my base will be gone...because my Base was with me the whole time. Psalm 27:16 "When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me." Psalm 56:3-4 "Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), in God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?" Psalm 48:14 "For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death."

The Tragedy of the Wicked...Psalm 73

Psalm 73 is a Psalm of Asaph wherein he wrestles with a question that all of us as believers struggle with from time to time.  Why do the wicked prosper?  Life very often just does not seem fair!  Often the wicked seem to have it so much easier than the righteous.  Here are some excerpts from the first 16 verses of Psalm 73:

Asaph starts off by telling us that he was near to stumbling as he looked upon the prosperity of the wicked and was envious, he says, of the boastful.  Pride serves as their necklace and violence covers them as a garment.  They have more than their hearts could wish...they scoff and speak loftily.  They set their mouths against the heavens and their tongue walks through the earth.  They increase in riches and are always at ease.  But as for Asaph...he says surely he has cleansed his heart in vain...he is plagued all day long and chastened every morning.  (God lets him get away with nothing)  Asaph's wages for doing good were affliction!  Rightly, Asaph was afraid to speak his thoughts...keeping them to himself they would hurt only him but speaking them aloud would hurt and grief so many others....Asaph does not want to grieve, offend or be the cause of discontentment among his brethren...he knew that his speech had consequences, but he wants an answer!

Asaph goes on to say this in verse 16:


When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me;  Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.

Asaph did not understand until he went into the sanctuary of God...until he got the eternal perspective on things.    Setting his mind on things above changed his viewpoint entirely.  It was then that he saw their end.  It was then that he saw how the wicked were brought to desolation in a moment and were utterly consumed in terror.  That in reality they were set in a very slippery place...they were rejectors of God and hung over the precipice of hell every moment of their unbelief.  As Jonathan Edwards wrote...they were sinners in the hands of an angry God.  Asaph's envy was now replaced with a holy horror not only of their impending doom but of the way God dealt with them here on earth.  This was not the way Asaph wanted God to deal with him!


Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.

Now Asaph gets it!  His original sorrow was not that the wicked prospered, but that God had arranged it so they would.  This is what had upset the psalmist...why would God favor them so....it just did not seem fair!  Here he finally sees that God had not placed them in these positions to bless them.  "Surely thou didst set them in slippery places....their positions were dangerous...God placed his enemies in these spots...not his children.  He chose a more difficult path for his beloved here on earth to keep them close to Him.    One where they would be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  Their blessings...which was His presence with them always....would come as they depended on Him in the storms and trials of this life.   As for the wicked who had been raised so high in this life...how great would be their fall.  How dark would hell be in comparison.  The joy they had in this life would make the horror of the next more awful....the contrast marked.  Their fall will be great...without warning, without escape, without hope.  They were like men living in a dream world that disappears upon awakening..coveting the wrong things, they have been fools living for riches that will vanish in a moment.

Asaph now understands and his heart is grieved by his own sin of acting so foolishly as to envy the wicked...even to desire to be like them!  He tells his God that he was like a beast before Him.  He had judged happiness the way men did..by outward appearances...by things attained in this life...how foolish!  His faith had not been his sight.   Asaph confesses his sin and clings to His God saying, "Nevertheless, I am continually with You."  His "old man" might have gotten the best of him but his God upheld him always...his God kept his feet from slipping.  He then goes on to affirm that God shall guide him...no more does he want his own way...he will be content with whatever his God has for him.  O, would I have this attitude, always!! Afterward Asaph knows he would be received up to his Father in glory.  The Lord's guidance would safely deliver him some day directly into the presence of His Father.  Asaph could survive the present knowing that THIS was his future!

Draw Near to Him

But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.--Psalm 73:28

The happiness of man is to be near His God!  It is good to draw near goodness itself.  In fact, not doing so places us in the greatest of dangers...we wrong our own soul. Verse 27 says this:

For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish..

Our God wants our greatest good...He is the source of all good and He loves us at all times.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.--Jeremiah 29:11-12

The greater our nearness to our Creator, the less hold the world has over us...the less affected we are by its cares and its distractions. Access to our Father...going boldly to the throne of grace...entering His presence smooths our path and is a balm for all that might ail us.

Drawing near to God transforms us into His image...when we look to Him we are radiant.  Our character and our walk or conversation becomes more like His as we draw close. Knit your heart together with your Creator...cleave unto Him. Put your trust in God...live, move and have your being in Him.  Your soul will never truly rests until it rests in Him.

When you have done this you will know...you will see His goodness...you will teach and declare all His works and will never be silent because as it says in John 21:25:

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

Prayer of Jabez...

The Beautiful prayer of Jabez...

And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.--1 Chronicles 4:
9-10

The first several chapters of the Book of 1st Chronicles are comprised mostly of genealogies.  As I read quickly through I came here to Jabez.  Some of them men chronicled were characterized as unfaithful, evil or wicked but Jabez is singled out here as being more honorable than his brothers.  Why was he different from his brethren?  Jabez called on His God.  Jabez was a man of prayer...Jabez served God.  Jabez desired to do good and not cause hurt to others.

I want for myself what Jabez wanted.  I desire the honor that comes from my God.  I want to please my Creator...the One who died for me and now lives to make intercession for me!

Bless me indeed Father... with the knowledge of Your love...I want to be filled with all the goodness of who You are!  Enlarge my territory...my area of service.  My desire is to leave the fragrance of Your Son wherever I go.  How beautiful are the feet of those who share your gospel! May many see and place their trust in You!

May Your righteous right hand guide and direct my steps....I want You to uphold me...I want You to keep me from falling.  I want your hand upon me always!  Keep me from evil and allow me not to grieve and hurt those around me.  Work all together in my life for good...even the evil intended by others.  Transform my sorrows into blessings!

Answer my prayer, Father!  Keep me close to Your heart so I can pray Your desires.  Like Jabez, I am calling on You my God, in humility and brokenness...."Lord bless me!"

Divine Providence...

Thinking on divine providence this morning...something I so need to remember in the trials that I face.  Our God orders some things and permits others.  When He permits affliction to come into the lives of one of His (even though it originates in an evil mind intent on evil) He always goes before such events and it becomes to the believer of God, His providence to them.  And God's providence to His saints is ALWAYS a good thing!  It is what allows us as believers to say in the midst of all our misery and pain here on this earth,

"it is the Lord; let him do what seemeth him good.:"  

Look at Job...his name has become synomous with the word patience throughout history.  Why?  Job did not charge what was happening to him as an accident, blind chance or even to Satan...he accepted them as from his God...his God whom he loved and trusted and said this when his life as he knew it lay in ruins before him:

"The Lord hath given, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

Read Job's conversation with his wife directly after he had been smote from his head to the souls of his feet with boils and had taken a potsherd to his skin.

 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.

 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

Job saw the hand of His God in everything.  Job's faith and patience has been an encouragement to saints throughout history. God took hold of the evil works of Satan in Job's life and worked them into His plan and brought great good out of them.  In effect Job said with Paul, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purposes."

The end of Job's story is that he received back more in the end than he had ever lost.  He came through his trials victoriously having trusted His God through them.

This same story is evidenced over and over again throughout God's word with the most magnificent being the overruling of the darkest of evil seen at the cross...the place where our redemption was secured.

E.M. Bounds sums it up nicely: "The providence of God goes before his saints, opens the way, removes difficulties, solves problems and brings deliverances when escape seems hopeless."

Fear not then, beloved of God....Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord!

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;--2nd Corinthians 4:17

Unto God, My Exceeding Joy...

My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.--Psalm 84:2


Father,


My soul longeth for You, my God!  My soul thirsts and my flesh cries out for the living God!  Bring me into Your presence...into Your holy habitation...into full communion with You.  I will seek You early in this dry and thirsty land. I want to see Your power and Your glory in my life.  I give it all to You....my soul shall be satisfied in You as with the richest of food.  With joyful lips I will praise You as I meditate on You all the day long and my eyes will wait on You in the night watches.  You are my help and in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.  My soul follows hard after You.  It is good for me to draw near to You.  My hands are stretched forth unto You.  I hope in Your word...my eyes search it and find comfort.  My flesh and my heart fails, but my God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever 


Life at its very best, Father, is empty without You.   Life apart from You is without purpose...it is meaningless.  I want to drink always from Your cistern and be refreshed.  I want to walk through this life in You...relying on You...depending on You...going from strength to strength.  Be my sun,  my shield and my defense.  My trust is in You, Father and I will not be ashamed.  You will give me grace and glory and no good thing will You withhold from me.




O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.  Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God--Psalm 43:3-4

DEATH COMES TO ALL...

Death comes to us all.  Both high and low and rich and poor together.  The wise, the foolish and the senseless all perish and leave their wealth to others.  None of them can by any means redeem their brother nor give God a ransom for him.  The redemption of souls is costly...and it ceases at death forever.   1 Peter 1:18 is below...

"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:"

Man without God is like the beast that perishes.  They live in a body conscious state taking no thought for their souls. Like the animal they are thinking about the next meal...following after the lusts of the flesh.  But of those who have been born again by the Spirit of Christ, who live and believe in Jesus Christ, Jesus said, "He that liveth and believeth in Me shall never die" (John 11:26). God will revive them and their dwelling place will be with him.

The sons of Korah said this about it in Psalm 49:

"Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?....BUT GOD will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, For He shall receive me."

How beautiful is that.  You can spend your life trying to get the approval of men or spend your life serving God knowing that He will receive you saying: "Well done, good and faithful servant....Enter into the joy of Your Lord."

Read Psalm 49 in its entirety....every line is like a well driven nail.

Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world:

 Both low and high, rich and poor, together.

 My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.

 I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.

 Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?

 They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;

 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:

 (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)

 That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.

 For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.

 Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.

 Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.

 This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.

 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.

 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.

 Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;

 For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.

 Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.

 He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.

 Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.

Show Me Your Lovingkindness...

Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.--Psalm 17:7


Father,

Your lovingkindness is better than life...It is the rejoicing of my heart.  You are my God who comforts me when my soul is downcast.  One glimpse of You and Your kindness to me in Christ Jesus and my heart is lifted up and my spirit renewed within me.  Blessed be my God, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;  who comfort me in all my tribulation.  You turn my mourning into dancing and lead  me always in triumph.

My desire is for You, Father.  Show me your tender mercies.  Hear my cry and bring me up out of the pit.  Set my feet upon a rock and establish my steps.  Put your song in my heart.


Let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

Valley of Tears....

Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee. Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.As they pass through the Valley of Baca, They make it a spring; The rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; Each one appears before God in Zion.--Psalm 84:6-7

These are some of my most favorite verses in Scripture.

The blessings of being in the presence of our God and worshiping Him during our earthly pilgrimage here are not for the divided or half-hearted. No, the blessings come to those whose heart is completely surrendered to Him. Whose minds, hearts and actions are full of His ways. Whose eyes are focused always on Him. Blessed is the man who loves HIs God with all of His heart, with all his mind, with all his soul and with all his strength. This is the man whose heart can be filled with joy and find refreshment even as he walks through the most difficult times here on this earth. This is the man who can look back over the difficult valleys that he has passed through and can see the beauty the Lord has wrought through them by his surrender. This is the man who finds His all in His God and can comfort others with the comfort He Himself has received. His strength is spent in His God and he does not grow weary but finds both his strength and joy increasing as he journeys. The path shines ever brighter as he walks. His hope is in His God..and His God will receive Him when his time here is done. He will awake in His likeness and will see His face in righteousness and his joy will be unending.

This is what I want as I go through my Valley of Tears here on my earthly pilgrimage. I want to make it a spring...I want to surrender to His Spirit inside and trust the All Sufficient One in my time of trouble. I want my journey to encourage others in their own walk with the Lord. We all need times of barrenness and trouble to grow strong in Him. Strengthen your inner man by spending time with God and you will begin to see your adversity as an opportunity from Him to experience His faithfulness even more. Sing in your time of sorrow. Triumph in tragedy. Look for the rainbows. Our Lord will bear you up on wings like eagles. Immerse yourself in the water of His word and go from strength to strength on your own journey to Zion.

Your Statutes Are the Rejoicing of My Heart...

The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart:--Psalm 19:8


Feeling as David did this morning, when he penned Psalm 119.  My God's law is my delight...truly they are the rejoicing of my heart.  They are my counsellors, my songs, and my necessary food. Without my God and His word I would have perished in my affliction.  Thank you Father that I am Yours and called by Your name!


I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.--Psalm 40:8


I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.  I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.  I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.--Psalm 119:14-16


Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.--Psalm 119:24


Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.--Psalm 119:54


Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction.--Psalm 119:92


Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights.--Psalm 119:143


And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.--Nehemiah 8:12


Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.--Jeremiah 15:16


For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:--Romans 7:22

When Doubts Assail...

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.--Psalm 16:11


Father,


Many doubts assail and my cares multiply epidemically!  I am distracted and drawn in many directions at once.  When, Lord, will I get it...when will I learn to leave it all in Your hands and rest?  When will I be anxious for nothing?  O Father, when my spirit becomes disturbed within me and in need of You...lead me...draw me to You with Your gentle cords of love.  Remind me to take no thought for tomorrow, but to trust in Your faithfulness and goodness right at that moment.  Help me to just, in that very moment, commit my way to You.  Help me to take the manna that is just for today.  


Your word tells me I am to be anxious or careful for NOT one thing.  I am to be troubled for NOT anything.  My cares divide my heart!  They are fatal to my peace and my quietness of spirit.  Worse yet, they make me doubt your faithfulness and goodness and start me down paths that are not Yours.  Remind me to pray when doubts assail, billows roll and storms brew.  Remind me to give each and every anxious, careworn thought to You.  


Help me to rejoice in You...to let my gentleness (my sweet reasonableness...my gracious humility) be known to all men....help me to remember that You, Lord, are near.  This is how I want to live, Father!  Moment by moment, rejoicing in You...living simply, by faith, day by day.  Praying that You do that work in my heart.  I want Your joy to be my strength.  I want to cast all my cares to You and rejoice knowing You care for me.  As I do this, Father, You will show me the paths of life.  In your presence I will find fullness of joy and at Your right hand pleasure for evermore.

David's Example of Humility...

And the king said unto his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel? And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me: the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.--2 Samuel 3:39


"And I am this day weak, though anointed king;"  Wow..I will not go into any detail about the circumstances of David that brought him to this point, because for this study what matters is what this statement made by David, says about the kind of man he was.  David understood who he was and who His God was (is).  He admitted his weakness not only to His God but to the people as well.  What an example of humility and dependence on God he gives us!!  I believe it is this kind of humility of heart exampled here by David that prompted Solomon, David's son, to humbly express to God his own inability to govern the people and his need of wisdom and guidance.  Here is an excerpt from 1 Kings 3 after God appears to Solomon in a dream and tells him to ask for the one thing he desires above all others. 


"Ask! What shall I give you?"


And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.  And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.  Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?


Solomon wanted an understanding heart in order to rule God's people well. God was pleased with Solomon's request and not only gave him wisdom but also riches and honor because he did not ask for them.  It is so good to know that when we feel overwhelmed, we too, can do as David and Solomon did.  We can ask for wisdom.  We can turn it all over to our God who is never overwhelmed and allow Him to handle it.  David's trust in God and his humility were truly the secret of his greatness.  He knew it was "not about him."  2nd Samuel 5:12 says this:



And David perceived that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake.


David did not seek his own glory...He did not seek his own will.  He sought his God's!  He was a man after God's own heart!  He knew it was all about God.  God had redeemed him!  God had made him king!  God had exalted him. David also understood that it was not for the sake of David that God did this, but for the sake of Israel.  God loves his people and desires His best for them.  If God is using any of us, it is despite of who we are.  God, in His infinite mercy and love, uses the foolish things of the world (us) to fulfill His purposes, and to reveal to those He has placed in our lives His great love for them and His plan for their lives.  So walk in the works that He has prepared specifically for you, and share His love with those He has placed in your life.  

Shepherd of My Soul...

And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”--1 Kings 3:7-9


So often, Father, I feel overwhelmed by my responsibilities and circumstances. Beaten and battered....tired, scared and definitely the wrong person for the job you have given me.  So much that I face in this world just seems too much for me to handle.  A line from on of my favorite children's book comes to mind.  


“And this mess is so big  And so deep and so tall,   We cannot pick it up.  There is no way at all!” --Dr. Seuss - The Cat in the Hat



My kids know this quote well.  I have said it often when I am thinking they are feeling this way.  It is my way of telling them that I understand...life is hard.  Getting through it sometimes seems impossible.  And then I point them to their God and remind them of who He is.  My prayer for me and for them is below...


Father,


You change the times and the seasons.  You remove kings and establish them.  You give wisdom to the wise and knowledge to them that know understanding.  You, Lord, reveal the deep and secret things.  You know what is in the darkness....light dwells in You.  You, God, rule in the kingdom of men.  All any of us have is from You.  Your inspiration, Father, gives me understanding.  


I am like a little child before You.  I do not know how to come in or go out.  Like Solomon, I seek You....I seek Your wisdom.  I seek Your understanding.  I commit to You, both my way and my cause.  You, O God, do great things...unsearchable and marvelous things without number.  Open my ears, Father, to hear your direction.  Open my heart always to desire Your presence.  You make me whole...Without You I go astray and am like a sheep without a shepherd.  I need You to lead me and go in and out before me.  You are the Shepherd of my soul. You provide me with all I need and give me abundant life.  You, O Lord, can pick up any mess...no matter how big or tall...You bring beauty from ashes.   


  

Christophobia: Malchus Flattened

Christophobia: Malchus Flattened: "I AM!" The voice was loud in a way that went beyond sound, into the realm of primal physical force. It blew us backward and knocked us al...

The Fruit of Persistence...by Rebecca

“Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: ‘There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, “Get justice for me from my adversary.” And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, “Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.”’ Then the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”’ ~ Luke 18:1-8, NKJV


Not so long ago I read the parable of the unjust judge and was completely at a loss to understand how it could be encouraging. I should have just read Luke, where Jesus explains the parable Himself. Jesus is always the best commentator on His own words! Though the judge was unjust, did not fear God, and did not regard man, he was still capable of avenging the widow for his own sake - lest she annoy him with her persistence. So then, as Jesus points out, HOW MUCH MORE will the Lord, who is just, righteous, and loving, avenge us, His beloved children, when we are persistent? He will avenge us SPEEDILY! Oh, yes, He does bear long with us. He tarries His coming. That is not negligence; that is love. He is waiting for the fullness of those who will be saved to come in, and in the meantime, He is working in the hearts of His children and preparing them for glory. This in-between time, the age of grace, is for the best. However - once the time has come, and this age is over, He will waste NO TIME in fulfilling His word and answering His children's prayers. He will avenge His saints speedily. (Psalm 2, especially Psalm 2:10-12) Nevertheless, when He comes, will He really find faith on the earth? The whole parable of the unjust judge has to do with faith that endures and does not give up, not even when it doesn't see the answer it wants right away. But when the Lord does come at last, with the armies of the saints, ready to restore righteousness and justice on the earth, will He still find faith among those who are left? (This will be after the Church has been snatched up.) There will be the 144,000 witnesses, but who else? Precious few, Scripture seems to indicate. Many, many believers will have been killed for their faith. The earth will be all but devoid of it. There will be no one understands, who seeks God. And tragically, we can already see that day approaching.

But it is not here yet. God's Spirit is still active. There is still time for faith and faithfulness! What I can do today, while the Lord tarries, is persistently pour out my heart before Him in prayer. He hears. He cares. He answers. Persistence bears fruit beyond that of the answer to the persistent plea. Its blessings are manifold! As I cast my cares upon the Lord - talking to Him, looking to Him, drawing closer to Him - I am blessed, because He cares for me and relieves my distress. (1 Peter 5:7) As Paul wrote: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7, NKJV)

May each one of us be found faithful in the day of Jesus Christ.

Rejoice Not When Thine Enemy Falleth...

Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:--Proverbs 24:17

Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep....Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved,avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.--Romans 12:14-17, 19-21

David truly understood these verses...he lived them.

"Do the sorrows of your adversaries make you happy?" Do you rejoice when an ill wind blows their way? Sadly in my flesh, I am very guilty of this...but then I remember my God. I remember His great love and mercy towards me. I remember that He loved me and died for me when I was yet His enemy..when I was dead in trespasses and sins. If this is you also, take heart and look to David's example.

Saul's treatment of David was demonic and yet David praised him and treated him with respect and kindness. David did not do evil to those who did evil to him. He overcame evil with good and left vengeance and retribution to His God. The psalmist believed God's promise that he would be the King of Israel some day and obeyed even when all told him otherwise ....even when darkness and despair surrounded him. David understood that he could not control the people or his circumstances, but he could control his responses to them. David placed His trust in God and went from strength to strength. I so want to walk as David walked, by faith and not by sight...obeying and waiting on His Lord.

The most encouraging part of David's story, however, is that he did not do this perfectly...and that in itself provides me (us) with yet another great example. When David failed and fell, he sought His God...He sought His mercy, forgiveness and grace.  In His weakness, David allowed the Lord to be strong and God in His infinite mercy and grace used him to fulfill HIs purposes and to reveal Himself to not only the people around David but to us as well. 

“If It Had Not Been the Lord Who Was On Our Side."

"If it had not been the Lord who was on our "my" side,"--Psalm 124:1


I read the verses posted below last night before bed and began to think about Israel and how much they have faced over the course of their history...There have been many attempts to annilihate them as a people. All have failed. Israel has maintained its national identity despite being scattered throughout the world for almost 1900 years. No other nation of people have done this. Their very existence today is a testimony to our God...to His sovereignty, to His providential care and to the inerrancy and truthfulness of His Word.

Then I began to think of all the Lord has done in my own life. How He reached down and saved me when I cried out in helpless desperation and brought such beauty from the ashes that was my life. How He has been my strength, my song and my comfort as I face the many physical and emotional setbacks that plague us all in this fallen world. How would I get through them without my God by my side. Where would I be without Him.

I echo then David's words..."If it had not been the Lord who was on our "my" side,"

“If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,”
Let Israel now say—
“If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
When men rose up against us,
Then they would have swallowed us alive,
When their wrath was kindled against us;
Then the waters would have overwhelmed us,
The stream would have gone over our soul;
Then the swollen waters
Would have gone over our soul.”

Treasuring up Iniquity...

If you Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?--Psalm 130:3

What a blessing and a comfort this verse is for each of us! Our God does not mark iniquity!!!! As I read this verse I wanted to know what the word marked really meant. It is from the Hebrew word shamar and its biblical usage is the following:

1) to keep, have charge of
2) to keep, guard, keep watch and ward, protect, save life
a) watch, watchman (participle)
3) to watch for, wait for
4) to watch, observe
5) to keep, retain, treasure up (in memory)
6) to keep (within bounds), restrain
7) to observe, celebrate, keep (sabbath or covenant or commands), perform (vow)
8) to keep, preserve, protect
9) to keep, reserve

Now we, as humans, sometimes treasure up and remember one another's iniquities but God does not! Sometimes when we go through night seasons and heavy trials we may think or feel that it is God's judgment on us. Condemnation hits us hard when we are weak. But the truth is that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

David rightly says, O Lord, if you should mark iniquity who could stand? If God dealt with us according to our sins we would all be toast. Psalm 103 tells me that my God does not deal with me, His child, according to my sins, nor punish me according to my iniquities.

No, here is the truth...Jesus already paid the penalty for my sin. "The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" Jesus was "marked" for our iniquity. What a beautiful verse of comfort!

From Whence Comes My Help?

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.  My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.  He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.  Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. .The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.  The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.  The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.  The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.--Psalm 121



I lift my eyes unto You that dwellest in the heavens.  You are my refuge and my strength...my very present help in time of trouble.  You are the One who holds my right hand and says, "Fear not; I will help thee."  The Lord is with me as a mighty terrible One, therefore, my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed...and their disgrace will not be forgotten.

I can boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do to me. You, my God, will bear me up in Your hands.  I walk in the way safely and my foot does not stumble.  You are my confidence....I am kept by Your power!

You also, are my Watchman.  You, My God, never sleep .  You are always there when I need You.  Your hand of protection is on me always.  My eyes look up to You who is the shade at my right hand, my light and the One who goes before me always.  You guide me with Your eye.  You keep me night and day and satisfy all my needs.  You are the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  You do not faint nor grow weary.  Your understanding is unsearchable.  You give power to me when I am ready to faint and when I have no might You increase my strength.  When I wait upon You, my strength is renewed and I can run and not grow weary...I can walk and not faint.  


Oh Father, You are my tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat and for a place of refuge at night.  You are my covert from the storm and from the rain.  I am your beloved....Your hand is aways upon me and because I have set You before me always, I shall not be moved.  I will never hunger nor thirst, for You, who has mercy, leads me...even by springs of water, you guide me. You my God will not forget me...I am inscribed on the palms of Your hands and am continually before You.  Therefore, my heart is glad and my flesh rests in hope.  You never leave me nor forsake me O God of my salvation! 

Your Gentleness Has Made Me Great...

For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried; he is a buckler to all those that trust in Him--Psalm 18:29-30

Blessed be the Lord, my strength.  You are my goodness and my fortress, my high tower and my deliverer, my shield and Him in whom I trust;  Father, it is by Your grace that I am who I am.  Help me Lord to take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, and in distress for Your, Son's sake....for when I am weak, then I am strong.  Your grace is sufficient for me...Your strength is made perfect in my weakness.  Help me, Father, to glory in my infirmities that Your power may rest upon me.  My heart trusts in You and I am helped.  You are my heart's rejoicing and I will praise You with my song.  My sufficiency is from You!

As for You, God, Your word is perfect.  Your word changes hearts and converts souls.  It is living and powerful, making the simple wise.  It enlightens our eyes and directs us into Your paths which are mercy and truth to those who love You and obey your commandments.

You are a buckler to me...a strong tower.  You keep me as the apple of Your eye and hide me under the shadow of Your wings.  You, my God, enlarge the path under me so my feet do not slip. You, O Lord, are my sun and my shield.  You give grace and glory and do not withhold any good thing from them that walk uprightly.  It is You who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.  Truly there is none like You. You make my feet like those of a deer and set me on my high places.  Your gentleness has made me great.

David at His Lowest...

David had backslidden and found himself in a place where he thought he would never be.  He was among the ungodly Philistines and preparing for war against God's people. By God's grace he was rejected by the Philistines.  He goes back to his city and finds that it has been burned with fire and wives, sons and daughters taken captive.  David was distressed and the people thought of stoning him because their souls were so very grieved at their loss.  David has reached his lowest point but what an example he is for us!  What do we read that David does?  He turns to God for strength...

"But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God."

AND GOD IN HIS MERCY AND GRACE GIVES DAVID THE GUIDANCE HE NEEDED!  God in his mercy allowed David to hit rock bottom.  He knew what it would take for David to turn back to Him...God does the same for us.  He removes those things we are trusting in instead of Him until we have no other place to turn. Praying that God does not have to lead me this way...My desire is that I would not be like a horse or a mule who have no understanding and need a bit and bridle to make them draw near.  Praying that I  would surrender to His instruction and allow Him to teach me in the way that I should go...Father...draw me near and guide me with your eye.

My Darkness Light....

For You will light my lamp; The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. --Psalm 18: 28

Father,

Thank you for your word!  Thank you that You have magnified it above your name!  What a comfort it is to me always.  What a blessing to know that when I sit in darkness You will be a light to me.  In the multitude of my anxieties within this verse in particular has brought me so much peace.    Unto those who open their heart to You and believe there arises light in the darkness of this world. You give light to those who sit in the shadow of death and guide their feet in the way of peace.  You are gracious, full of compassion and righteous.  You make even the night light about us!  This is not so for those who reject Your word.  Who look to themselves and the things of the world rather than their Maker.  The light of the wicked shall be put out and the spark of his fire will not shine.  The light shall be dark where he dwells and his candle put out with him.  Even the light they enjoy, Father, is dark without You.

We all have the sentence of death in us.  But You, in Your goodness,  provide a way out.  The wages of sin is death...and all of us sin and fall short of Your glory....but the gift of eternal life that You have given us in Your Son, Jesus, brings us an everlasting hope and life with you forever.

When I walk in darkness, Father, You are my lamp. It is by Your light that I walk.  You brought me, a woman blinded by her own sin and selfishness, in a way that I knew not.  You made my path which was darkness light and my crooked places straight.  You, Father, do this for me always and never leave me nor forsake me.  You are my great and awesome God.

Revelation 21:22:5 Our Heavenly Country...

Revelation 21

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”
And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things,and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”


Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to meand talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.


Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.


But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.


Revelation 22:1-5

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

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His Hand is Upon Me...

I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication. I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.  I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.  I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.--Psalm 142


Lord,

I cry out to you with my voice.  I make my supplication to You.  Hear me, Father.  I am seeking You, my God, in my trouble.  Listen to my complaint...hear my heart.  My circumstances overwhelm me and grief has filled my heart.  You are my refuge.  So often I forget You during the day and go in my own will and strength.  Forgive me!  Only please, hear my heart that wants to do Your will always.  Hear my heart, Father, that always wants Your presence.  Father, help me by your Spirit to understand what to pray for.  Help me by your Spirit to give up my will and desire Yours.

My heart is so often overwhelmed....but you know my path.  You know my sitting down and my rising up.  You understand my thoughts afar off and are acquainted with all my ways. There is not a word on my tongue that You do not know.  You hedge me behind and before and have laid your hand upon me.  Guide me always.

Father, knowing that you know the way I take...that You go before me...fills me with such comfort.  You not only hedge me behind and before, but You lay your hand upon me.  You keep me safe.  You, the eternal God, are my refuge and underneath are Your everlasting arms.  There is no where I can go from Your presence.  Direct my path and guide my steps...smooth my way  and keep me from the snares of the enemy.

My flesh and my heart fails, Father, but You are the strength of my heart and my my portion here and forever.  My hope is in You.  Attend to my cry for I am in need.  Encompass me about with those who love Your name.  My boast is in You, my God, for You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears and my feet from falling.  I sought You and You heard me....You will deal bountifully with me.

Christophobia: Sin and Stupidity; Faith and Sacrifice

Christophobia: Sin and Stupidity; Faith and Sacrifice: And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the...