As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you. You will be comforted in Jerusalem. ISAIAH 66 : 13
ARE YOUR DAYS GETTING AS DARK AS YOUR NIGHTS ? .. DO YOU SEEM TO HAVE MORE PROBLEMS THAN ANSWERS ? .. DOES IT FEEL AS THOUGH YOU ARE RUNNING INTO BRICK WALL AFTER BRICK WALL ? .. DO YOU FIND YOURSELF FEELING ALONE AND SCARED AS YOU BATTLE THE GIANTS THAT SEEM TO BE WAITING FOR YOU AROUND EVERY CORNER ? .. The world can come across as a very cold, tough, hard place to live in sometimes, and as the days pass by things only seem to be getting harder and harder with no sign of relief or release. For many of us, we have reached the point where it has all just become " too much ". You feel alone and isolated .. a prisoner to your problems and worries .. your soul and spirit is so full of stress and anxiety .. and you are overflowing with pain and fear .. I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU, NOR FORSAKE YOU Hebrews 13 : 5 Such simple words .. BUT ARE THEY REALLY .. NO THEY ARE NOT !! .. There is absolutely nothing simple about the above Scripture .. Why you may ask ? .. because the words are not just words at all .. This is a direct, sincere promise from God to you !! No matter what your circumstance are .. No matter how big your giants might seem .. You will never have to face them alone .. GOD IS WITH YOU and HE WILL ALWAYS BE WITH YOU !! Your Heavenly Father knows very well that you are going to experience and go through periods in your life when it feels as though your situations and circumstances are going to swallow you up .. in fact He has even warned you that it is going to happen .. " While you are in this world, you will have to suffer .. " .. John 16 : 33 So what was God's intention for telling you that you are going to suffer and experience tribulations ? .. Well, He told you so that you might begin to realize that the God you serve is ALL - Mighty, ALL - Powerful and ALL - Knowing. God wants you to know that He does not want you to allow personal trials and tribulations to dictate your life .. He wants you to know that He does not want you to allow earthly issues to control and destroy you .. He wants you to know that He does not want worry, stress and anxiety to become your new best friends .. He wants you to know that He does not want you to carry on trying to change your life and your circumstances all on your own GOD WANTS YOU TO KNOW .. THAT HE KNOWS !! And because He knows .. He wants you to understand that you do not have to continue on your life's journey alone .. He has made you promise after promise that He will be there .. and because God has said it .. SO IT IS !! God is not like people, He tells no lies. He is not like humans. He does not change His mind. When He says something, He does it. When He makes a promise, He keeps it .. Numbers 23 : 19 So the next time you catch your earthly issues trying to overtake you .. When your car breaks down and you can not afford to repair it .. When your electricity bill arrives and you do not have enough money to pay for it .. When you face the possibility of being let go from your job .. When you feel as though you have reached the end of your rope and you wonder where you can go to find help .. HERE IS ANOTHER PROMISE TO STAND FIRM ON .. HE WILL NOT LET YOU FALL. YOUR GUARDIAN WILL NOT FALL ASLEEP .. Psalms 121 : 3 You are a child .. You are not designed to operate on your own .. so trust and believe that your heavenly Father adores you .. trust and believe that you are the apple of your Fathers eye. Have faith enough to know that if you truly allow yourself to be His child and you truly allow God to be your Father .. then you are standing on the foundation of God's never-ending power and goodness, and once you are on His foundation, He will not allow you to be moved .. God will ensure that you are able to stand firm and that you remain safe in His protection. The Lord your God never sleeps .. HE NEVER TAKES HIS EYES OFF YOU !! You may have taken your eyes off Him .. You may have made the choice to struggle and fight alone .. BUT .. God's promises remain .. He has never moved out of your life .. He has never left your side .. He is still standing at the door where you left Him .. Open And Let Him In .. God Does Not Want You To Be Alone Anymore !! THE WORD OF GOD IS A PERSON .. WHEN YOU READ IT DO YOU SEE WORDS ? .. OR .. DO YOU SEE HIM ? You should know that your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit who is in you. You have received the Holy Spirit from God. So you do not belong to yourselves. 1 Co 6:19
You will live forever in this body. It will be different, mind you. What is now crooked will be straightened. What is now faulty will be fixed. Your body will be different, but you won't have a different body. You will have this one. Does that change the view you have of it? I hope so. God has a high regard for your body. You should as well. Respect it. I did not say worship it. But I did say respect it. It is after all the temple of God. Be careful how you feed it, use it, and maintain it. You wouldn't want anyone trashing your home; God doesn't want anyone trashing his. After all, it is his, isn't it? When Christ Comes (by: Max Lucado) "And this hope is what saves us. But if we already have what we hope for, there is no need to keep on hoping." Romans 8:24
Faith is a power, and Hope is a promise. For Hope is always about that which is yet to come; never about what we currently possess. Faith reaches into the future and brings into the present a borrowed power that enables us to live today in the strength of tomorrow; to posses this earth with heaven in mind; to live in the presence of the "not yet." But Hope differs in this regard: it knows what is promised, even though it cannot see it, and though it will never lay hold of it until the day it actually arrives — Hope holds firm without wavering. Faith is for this world; Hope is for the next. There will be no need for Faith in Heaven once we are there, so we should spend all that we have while we are here. But our Hope will pay off huge on That Day when we cross the threshold of Time into Eternity and see what our hearts have only imagined. Hope is a promise that holds our hearts forward to a better day, that lifts us above the present darkness of a bad stretch and keeps us buoyant in the midst of turbulence and trouble. But sometimes Hope flags in the face of delays; and Hope deferred can make the heart sick. Thus weakened with soul-sickness, our hearts may lose their grip on what is promised; our Hope may fade and our passion to keep a forward view can diminish in the dusk of uncertain turns. That's when Love steps in to lift Hope back on its feet — for Love never fails. Love is a Person . Jesus said, "If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible." Matthew 17:20, NLT
Faith is a power. It is the nitroglycerine of the Kingdom. Just a single drop, no bigger than a mustard seed, can move mountains. And why is this? Because faith moves God — it is one thing He delights most to see active in our hearts. And when He finds faith at work, He is moved to do His great and extraordinary work in us and through us. Yes, Faith is a power. It can move mountains, stop the mouths of lions, conquer kingdoms and raise the dead. But, sometimes its power wanes, in the same manner that the tides of the sea ebb and flow. Some days our faith is strong and unflappable; but on other days it needs strengthening. Jesus prayed for Simon Peter that his faith fail not. Sometimes Faith fails; its steps become uncertain and halting. For this reason, Faith must always have a renewable source of energy; a never failing supply of invigorating strength to bolster it when it is close to tapping out. That one unfailing source is LOVE. Not even Hell itself in all its unleashed hatred can rock a man or woman who is rooted and grounded in the unfailing Love of God. Though Faith may fail, and Hope falter under the relentless blows of continued misfortune — Love never fails. Now abides Faith, Hope, and Love — and the greatest of these is Love. Tomorrow we'll take a look at Hope. Proverbs 28:25 He who is greedy stirs up strife, But he who trusts in YHVH prospers.
1 Titus 6: 7 - 10 For we brought naught into the world, and it is impossible to take any out. When we have food and covering, we shall be satisfied with these. But those wishing to be rich fall into trial and a snare, and into many foolish and injurious lusts which plunge men in ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some, by longing for it, have strayed from the belief, and pierced themselves through with many pains. These are wise words indeed. If you have read this before, it is worthwhile reading again. A boat docked in a tiny Mexican fishing village. A tourist complimented the local fishermen on the quality of their fish and asked how long it took him to catch them. "Not very long." they answered in unison. "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" The fishermen explained that their small catches were sufficient to meet their needs and those of their families. "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" "We sleep late, fish a little, play with our children, and take siestas with our wives. In the evenings, we go into the village to see our friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs. We have a full life." The tourist interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat." "And after that?" "With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City !!! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise." "How long would that take?" "Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years." replied the tourist. "And after that?" "Afterwards? Well my friend, that's when it gets really interesting, "answered the tourist, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start buying and selling stocks and make millions!" "Millions? Really? And after that?" asked the fishermen. "After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends." "With all due respect sir, but that's exactly what we are doing now. So what's the point wasting twenty-five years?" asked the Mexicans. And the moral of this story is: Know where you're going in life ...’cos you may already be there. The LORD will always lead you. Isa 58:11
You've been there. You've escaped the sandy foundations of the valley and ascended his grand outcropping of granite. You've turned your back on the noise and sought his voice. You've stepped away from the masses and followed the Master as he led you up the winding path to the summit… Gently your guide invites you to sit on the rock above the tree line and look out with him at the ancient peaks that will never erode. "What is necessary is still what is sure," he confides. "Just remember: "You'll go nowhere tomorrow that I haven't already been. "Truth will still triumph… "The victory is yours…" The sacred summit. A place of permanence in a world of transition. The Applause of Heaven (by: Max Lucado) |
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