Month: December 2020

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Our Awesome Creator

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is filled with His glory.” Isaiah 6:3

The Lord, our God, makes glorious days. He crafts each one in splendor

Within each hour, He imparts endless opportunities to rejoice in the beauty He has formed all around us

May we praise Him in quiet thanksgiving for all that He has done

Our God, the maker of all things, crafts each night to reflect His wisdom. He moves the stars silently across the sky in shining testimony to His power

How great is He who made each day and each night. What He reveals to us through what He has done, increases our faith as we revel in the glory of His works

When we gaze out in wonder at the vastness of the night sky, and when we view the beauty of all He has created that lies before us, we speak out to Him… and He listens

How great then, must be the love of God for us, that He formed this incredible earth that rests within the endless reaches of His universe

And we, who have been made in His image, yet fallen, filled with sin, but continually uplifted through His Spirit, are blessed with all good things to overflowing

By His grace and through His mercy, we are filled with an abiding sense of peace and understanding

How great is the Lord, who crafts each day that we live and gives them as gifts, filled with both joy and eternal promise

What love He blesses us with, that we who come before Him in faith, stand forgiven, and obtain the sure promise of everlasting life

In light of this, no day should ever be filled with dread and no night so filled with darkness that we cry our in fear. For the maker of both the heavens and the earth has come to us

In Jesus Christ, we rejoice, because the God of all is trustworthy. Our hearts are filled with joy, because of the glorious magnitude of His promises

For the maker of each day and every night, from the beginning of time, until forever, has come to us

It is God’s invitation to each of us who call upon His name, to go forth and fulfill what we were created for, and to come live within His awesome presence

How great is the splendor of all creation. But, how much more awesome is He who made all there is. Could anything be more wonderful than knowing Him?   11/12/2006

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Love

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

Do you sense God at work in your life today? Does His still calm voice call out to you when you pray?

Love

Love, the single most important quality that God has imparted to the universe. Love, do you hear His whisper in your ears? Does the song of His love play on your internal soundtrack?

Love; it’s what makes us Christians. It is the difference between good and evil. Has it seeped into your pores and changed you from within? Will you give it a chance this day to work wonders within your heart?

Love is patient, it endures and is willing to wait for what it hopes for. It bears only good intentions in all that it inspires within us

Love is not envious of others, because it seeks the best for everyone. Love does not exist in those when they boast, or in those, when they let their pride rule their behavior; for those actions only manifest self-seeking for personal benefit

Love transcends all selfish action. It remains apart from evil, because love exists as God’s most basic principal

It overcomes all doubt and fear. It believes in the truth behind all things, because that is where God is at work in the most fundamental ways

Love gives us hope to overcome all things that come against it. It empowers us to endure and persevere, even when things are most difficult

Love overcomes all things, because of its perfect goodness. It upholds us, even though we may suffer. It convinces us to act out in kindness, though we may have been provoked

Love is a miracle

It is the essential nature of our God, and His Son, Jesus Christ. It is the common thread found throughout His Word, and the intent of every message He gives to us by His Holy Spirit

Love is a resounding note that sounds and echoes throughout all the creation. Because of love, we were made and have our being and through the outworking of its power in creation, this place was made to be our home

We were made to know and deeply understand what love is. It is our purpose to live a life that abounds in love, so that we might rightfully rejoice in our life and all the goodness that love brings

Our God is a God of love. He is the one true God, and He loves without measure. By His love, He forgives us. Through His love, He offers us a more perfect way

In His love, we can rejoice in living our lives no matter what may happen. For by God’s love, and through God’s love, we become connected to the greatest and most powerful force there is.   11/21/2020

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God is Our Treasure

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21

How Precious is our God, my life is sustained through Him. He is my treasure, the one of unsurpassed value

My life is fed by His Spirit, it takes nourishment from His Word and draws from the deep well of His goodness

For I am without any real strength, my life hangs by a thread; even when I was in the fullness of youth, I had very little power, the control I thought I had was mistaken

But our God has always sustained me. He has blessed my life in the multitude of His mercies and given to me richly, things of real value

Truly, He is the one my heart treasures. He fills me to overflowing, and gives to each of my days blessed purpose

What could be greater than our God? Is there anything in all of creation superior to Him?

Indeed, there is nothing that could ever compare, nor, anything that could even come close. The sum of all riches and pleasure combined, have no value in comparison to Him

Therefore, I will open my heart wide and deep, and clear a place for Him throughout my entire life, so that He may fill me and live through me, activating my life for the purposes of His perfect will

Apart from God, I can do nothing

If I seek my own glory, I will fail

When I strike off in my own direction, I stray into dry and desolate places, where my soul starves and withers, bringing me to desperation

But with God, I am only filled with good things

He quenches my thirst and dispels every hunger. My life is made strong in Him; His love and Spirit bring abundant peace and joy

God is my treasure, the One whom my soul longs for each day. His presence is greater than all earthly blessing and His Words of truth, more valued than diamonds or gold

For He has given my life blessings of eternal abundance and a richness that will last well beyond the end of time.  4/26/2006

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A Flower For Each Season

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

Last month I replaced the flowers growing in some large planters at the entrance of a commercial office. It was time to pull out the summer Zinnias that were still blooming in order to plant flowers that would do well in the coming winter. A receptionist came out and was upset with me for tearing out ‘those perfectly beautiful flowers’. What she did not understand was that it was getting into late in fall and I needed to have the winter flowers established before the cold weather set in. If I waited any longer, they would be limited in producing beautiful flowers during the next five months. As it turned out, we had a hard frost two days later and those Zinnias would have died anyway.

There are times and seasons that come and go throughout everything in life. It is God’s will for us that we be prepared to react appropriately to everything that lies ahead. We must respond by using every bit of knowledge we have gained through living, with the perfect wisdom of God’s Word, and through the careful leading of His Spirit.

When we stay rightly related to God, and found our choices upon His Word and principals, we will keep to the best path for our lives. Seasons will come and go, some good and others not, but He will always keep our souls safe and secure. Therefore, continue to be a person of prayer; spend time with Him daily, in solitude, where He can instruct you in the preparations for the upcoming season. Ask for His advice, and God will by no means keep it from you. Be a student of His Word. Don’t give up.

There are times when God will show you something difficult. A way that we should go, a person we need to talk to, a relationship we must cut off, or, to make a change in our life that is easier said than done. We may balk and say to ourselves, “how can we ever do that”? The Lord won’t demand that we do so, but He may bring it up time and time again until we either obey, or its season passes and the opportunity that it held is lost forever. “Oh ye of little faith”; It must grieve the Spirit of God every time we step back and make the safe and easy choice, at the expense of our growth and life in Him.

God knows what is best for our lives. He sees the frosts that are coming in a few days. He can sense when we are protecting a weakness in our lives or when we’re putting up a front that only serves to keep us longer in chains. He knows that other people may not always approve of the way He has laid out for us, but His Spirit continues, nonetheless, to remind us and coax us towards His perfect way. How great is the love and direction of God. He works so that we may grow in our faith and realize that His way is really the best and most joyous road we could have ever taken.