daily light on the daily path ...

"God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering."

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. - But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength.

So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continues to do good.

GEN 41:52, 2Cor. 1:3-5, 1Peter 1:6-7, 2Time. 4:17, 1 Peter 4:19

taken from today's reading in Daily Light on the Daily Path - short scripture readings for the morning and the evening ... it has blessed the socks right off my feet ...

the harvest ...

Why do you wait, dear brother?

The harvest is passing away;

Your Savior is longing to bless you,

There's danger and death in delay.

~ Root

"My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying 'One sows and another reaps' is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor."

~ John 4:34-38

a prayer request (an exciting one!) from billy graham assoc. ... here is the e-mail:

Follow Franklin Graham’s Footsteps through North Korea

Billygraham.org and FOX News covering developments

Touching ground this morning [july 31, 2008] for an historic four-day trip, Rev. Franklin Graham, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and Samaritan’s Purse, is now visiting Pyongyang, North Korea. He is being accompanied by Greta Van Susteren of FOX News.

In addition to meeting with government officials and church leaders, Graham will visit medical, dental, and development projects. He will preach Sunday at the newly constructed Protestant Church in the capital city of Pyongyang.

Be sure to visit www.billygraham.org throughout the weekend for the latest news and features. The projected air date for “On the Record” with Greta Van Susteren is Monday, Aug. 4. Check www.foxnews.com/ontherecord to verify the specific date and time.

the lost ...

sometimes i forget that it's not all about me ... my problems and difficulties and growth in Christ ... it's ALSO and foremost, about those who don't know Him ... Jesus ... my Redeemer and Comforter ... those who are on the outside, not even realizing that Jesus loves them and wants to FREE them ...

it's about the ones who have never heard ... have never understood ... who are rebelling against the God of heaven ...


Romans 5 says ...

6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9 The blood of Christ has made us right with God. So we are even more sure that Jesus will save us from God's anger.

10 Once we were God's enemies. But we have been brought back to him because his Son has died for us. Now that God has brought us back, we are even more secure. We know that we will be saved because Christ lives.

11 And that is not all. We are full of joy in God because of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of him, God has brought us back to himself.

psalm 103 ...

i received this picture in an e-mail from my sister this morning ...

i saw it and thought "WOW"!

she captured such a simple truth in this haunting photo ... you see the wild california poppies blooming ... and the graves of those long gone, stand silently in the background ... making the brevity of life so apparent ...

our devotions for today included psalm 103 ... and the words echoed the sentiments of this photo ... my sister graciously let me use it, to share with you ...

let today count for Jesus, because today is all we have ...

Psalm 103: 14-17

14 For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust.

15 As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.

16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.

17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness unto children's children,

to read the whole psalm, click HERE

my picture and verse for the day ...

spring rain ...

God's loyal love couldn't have run out,
his merciful love couldn't have dried up.
They're created new every morning.
How great your faithfulness!
I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over).
He's all I've got left.
God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
to the woman who diligently seeks.
It's a good thing to quietly hope,
quietly hope for help from God.
Lamentations 3:22-26 (the message)