Jesus, the One and Only

 ONE day the believer will reign with Christ, but here on earth - the way may still be laden with troubles ... but take heart - Jesus has overcome them all ...

believe in Jesus ...

 " ... I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day."

2 Timothy 1:12

God WILL always help ...

 Paul wrote, “There was given me a thorn in my flesh, from Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness'” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).

The cancer in the body. The sorrow in the heart. The child in the rehab center. The craving for whiskey in the middle of the day. The tears in the middle of the night. The thorn in the flesh. “Take it away!” you’ve pleaded. Not once, twice, or even three times. You’ve out-prayed the apostle Paul, and you’re about to hit the wall. But what you hear Jesus say is this: “My grace is sufficient for you.”

Sustaining grace. Grace that meets us at our point of need and equips us with courage and wisdom and strength. Sustaining grace. It doesn’t promise the absence of struggle, but it does promise the presence of God.  

- Max Lucado's devotional

HE IS RISEN INDEED!

 this message is always the BEST MESSAGE ... the tomb is empty - HE IS RISEN! 

early morning dream ...

 i had this "interesting" dream last night ... 

it had to do with a house remodel (like HGTV) ... and i was there, plus another guest was there also ... this guest was a medium ... my Spirit (the Holy Spirit) and her spirit (NOT the Holy Spirit) were in conflict ... as i stood at the doorway to her room, the whole area filled with smoke (not a choking kind of smoke but a Presence) ... we locked eyes ...  she finally stood up and we continued to stare at each other (she was a really tall lady) ... then she asked me (without speaking) what i wanted ... i answered that i wanted her to know that the GOD i serve is the FIRST above all  ... the smoke left the room and she nodded - and even tho' she was much taller than i was, every time we met she seemed smaller ... 

now the freaky part ... this morning as i opened up my scripture reading... which was in my Daily Light reading for this  day ... it said: "Do not be afraid, I am the First and the Last."    Revelations 1:17 ... THE FIRST ... the words from my dream ...

i don't know what to make of  it - and the real world follow up this morning ... but i personally  KNOW that God is the FIRST in everything and above any other spirit that this world holds ... and Jesus is the First born from the dead ... Jesus is also the Author and Finisher of our faith.  The Holy Spirit makes intercession .. 

i continue pondering this dream ... 

 "Streams in the Desert" ... filled with so many profound insights ... worth reading this century old devotional ... again and again ... 

learning faith through trials

 "Never try to live your life with God in any other way than His way. ... Showing no concern for the uncertainties that lie ahead is the secret of walking with Jesus."

~ Oswald Chambers

"I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able."
2 Timothy 1:12

"Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord." "According to your faith let it be to you."
Matthew 9:28-29

Jesus still saves ...

                               BE RECONCILED TO GOD ....

" ... if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."  Romans 10:9

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."  John 3:16-17

GOD is our REFUGE in times of trouble ...

 our old world is creaking and groaning ... people have no peace, vision is skewed, and satan is happy ... BUT - for those of us who know Jesus - we know Who to turn to ... and we know that God has a plan - that is so perfect that we will be amazed when HE reveals it ... have faith - and always always know that our God is our place of refuge while the storms of life beat at our door ... 

                         Every day should hold LOVE in it ...

always with us ...

winter morning

 I start my day with  bible reading ... then a devotional ... as i chat with the LORD ... knowing me, it's work to get my mind going in the direction God points out ... rather than sluggishly take the "seemingly" easier road ... but when the Holy Spirit leads - WOW, the day is good!

the LORD is with you, wherever you go ...

 

Keep on, God has given you the strength for the task

 An oldie from one of my favourite places ... South Mountain in Arizona ... it has always been a place of rest for me ... but with covid - no travelling to warmer climates - at the moment ... that doesn't mean i can't have that place of rest "within"  ... it is just a prayer away ...  
 

January blues

 When the winter blues hit ... the LORD rescues the helpless from even that!  The strength of the storm abates when King Jesus steps through the gate!

Happy New Year 2022

 May GOD be your strength and joy in the months ahead!

when Love came down

 For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only begotten Son ... that's when love came down ... so that whosoever believes in Him - might be saved ... Thank you LORD!

the SEASON of Praise and Worship

 Counsellor, Mighty God, King of Kings ... Immanuel ... thank you LORD for all that you endured to save us from our sins ... and the angel choirs sang and sang ... the long awaited King had come ...

Immanuel

 Christmas reminds me, that GOD came to be "with us" ... the "us" that rejected Him, wanted things our own way - the "us" who thought we knew best ... yet GOD wanted to be "with us" ... thank you LORD for loving us, despite of "us" ... thank you for the gift of salvation, through Jesus Christ. .... God with us - Immanuel.

Jesus, the answer to prayer

 "God did what we wouldn’t dare dream. He did what we couldn’t imagine. He became a man so we could trust him. He became a sacrifice so we could know him. And he defeated death so we could follow him.

It defies logic. It’s a divine insanity. Yet, it is the very impossibility of it all that makes it possible. For only God could create a plan this mad. Only a Creator beyond the fence of logic could offer such a gift of love. What man cannot do, God does.

So, when it comes to goodies and candy, cherub cheeks and red noses, go to the North Pole. But when it comes to eternity, forgiveness, purpose, and truth, go to the manger. Kneel with the shepherds. Worship the God who dared to do what man dared not dream."

~ Max Lucado

 

Is Jesus the One you walk with?

 God is the strength of my life ... He makes a way for me in the wilderness ... He prepares a table for me in the presence of my enemies ... even tho' i walk through the valley of the shadow of death - even there He walks with me and comforts me ... there is no other Friend like Jesus ... 

Blessed Assurance

                            What Comfort!

expect the unexpected!

 i know that "expect the unexpected" is a term used on some reality shows ... but that is also kind of how God operates too ... tho' He does warn us ahead of time, using examples of His work in the lives of others (the Bible) - yet when our "normal" goes out the window (to accomplish God's purposes) we get nervous, worried and fearful ... i like "normal" ... "safe, cozy" ... "predictable" ... perfectly good words in my world ... yet, i know i need my normal to be shaken - so that God can be made known ... 

just something i was thinking about ... blessings on your November!

an old term ... backslider ... yet, sadly, not an old situation ...

"The covenant of grace has no stipulations whatsoever. We, without any worthiness, may venture on the promise of God that was made to us in Christ Jesus, when He said, "He that believeth on Him is not condemned" (John 3:18). It is a blessing to know that the grace of God is free to us at all times, without preparation, without suitability, without money, and without price! "I will love them freely." These words invite backsliders to return indeed, the text was especially written for such– "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely." Backslider, surely the generosity of the promise will at once break your heart, and you will return and seek your injured Father's face."
~ Charles Spurgeon

                There's joy in the house of the LORD ... 

Trust God, He hasn't failed yet ...

 "Has He once failed to justify our trust? Ah, no! Our God has not left us at any time. We have had dark nights, but the star of love has shown forth amid the blackness ... We have gone through many trials, but never to our detriment, always to our advantage. The conclusion from our past experiences is that He who has been with us in six troubles will not forsake us in the seventh. What we have known of our faithful God proves that He will keep us to the end."

Charles Spurgeon

Teach me O Lord ... Lead me Lord ... thank you Jesus for loving me.

One of our on-line Pastors said this:  "God is an export at bringing GOOD out of bad" ... the bible is full of examples to prove just this point ... HE is always always always a GOOD Father  .... 

Canadian Thanksgiving ...

 

Regardless of circumstances, we do have a choice in how to respond ... being thankful always looks good on anyone, it wears well in every season of life.

Encourage each other ...

 There is nothing more encouraging for a believer then the thought of Jesus return ... live each day with that HOPE ... FOCUS on JESUS and our earthly cares will seem smaller ... get to know the ONE who we will spend eternity with ... even so, "come Lord Jesus" ...

Where do you find comfort?

 Where does our help come from?  

It comes from the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth ...

Autumn 2021

While the earth remains,

seed time and harvest,

cold and heat,

winter and summer,

and day and night shall not cease.

                                                                                        ~ Genesis  8:22

 

Where to turn ...

 Jesus, always waiting for the sinner to return ... for the lost one to be found ... it is never too late while you have breath in your body ... NOW is the time ... 

John 3:16

do all to God's glory ...

 

Redeem the time ... do not worry ... God IS in control.

One of my fav authors, CS Lewis, wrote this in 1948:

“How are we to live in an atomic age? I am tempted to reply: ‘Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of chronic pain, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.’

In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. Believe me, dear sir or madam, you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death before the atomic bomb was invented: and quite a high percentage of us were going to die in unpleasant ways.

It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of painful and premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty.

The first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about death. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.

 

Resting in the only place there is REST ...

 Isaiah 40:28-29 28Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Jesus, the One and Only

 

oh Believer, stand up for Jesus, He stands up in Heaven for you ...

The Living Word ... read it to grow ...

 Study to show yourself approved unto God, a worker who needs not be ashamed ... 

LIVE in the MOMENT ...

As i was enjoying my morning coffee and farmer's market flowers, i was reminded again that we live in the present ... we only have today ... all things in it are new ... it will then roll over and become tomorrow's memory, never to be savoured in quite the same way again. something that absolutely thrilled us yesterday, may only bring a brief smile today ... so enjoy the newness of this very moment ... live in the present ... it's nice to dust off yesterday's memories to look at - but ENJOY the dust free moment you are in ...

it's time ...

 

Wisdom from Proverbs

 

it ain't easy!

 i want to be forgiven ... but oh how hard to forgive someone else ...  thankfully God helps us  do that ... in fact HE gave us a great example to follow ... Jesus ... 

HOPE

 

GOD is always waiting for us to seek Him out ...

         .... in the morning when i rise ... give me Jesus ... 

grace grace, God's grace ...

"Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."        1 Thessalonians 5:18 ...

my thought is that for those of us who are redeemed by the blood and living daily for Jesus - everything we encounter is there for a purpose ... 

a passing shadow ...

 we are only guaranteed  the moment we currently occupy  ... and that is all ... like the grass that grows, then withers ... a mere moment in time ... but GOD, gave us His only Son Jesus - that by believing in Him - we might have more than just that wisp of time ... we can have eternity with Him.

the WHOLE armour of GOD

The day will dawn SOON that sin will be done away with ... we won't be battling each other because of the devil's planted seeds on the earth ... God will totally eradicate it, and we will only know His Presence & love ... sinless ... imagine!  But until that day ... put on the whole armour of God ... 

Ephesians 6:10-18   Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.   Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,  and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;  praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints

such great love ...

 

Living Word, Unchanging Word, GOD's Word

 in our day and age of untruth passing for truth ... of right being proclaimed wrong ... stay the course, read the bible ... as Billy Graham once said, " “I’ve read the last page of the Bible. It’s all going to turn out all right.” " ... 

God's eye is always on His children

 i remind myself that tho' life seems confining at times ... God has the larger - eternal view of all things ... everything will work out according to His perfect plan ... thank you Jesus.