Many stories are told of Paul Gerhardt whose hymns are still sung in Germany. John Wesley translated some of them into English.
Gerhardt's family was very poor. He was the shepherd boy who cared for the small flock of sheep and goats on the edge of the forest. One day a hunter came out from among the trees and asked the lad how far it was to the nearest village. "Six miles, sire," he replied, "but the road is only a sheep track and can easily be missed." "I have lost my way, and I am very tired," returned the hunter. "Leave your sheep and show me the way. I will pay you well." "No, sire," said Gerhardt. "I cannot do that for they would stray into the forest and be stolen or eaten by the wolves." "Never mind; your master would never miss one or two, and I would pay you more than the price of one or two sheep. "But sire, my master trusts me with these sheep, and I have promised not to leave them." "Well," said the hunter, "let me take care of the sheep while you fetch me food from the village and a guide." "The sheep do not know your voice and would not obey you, sir." "Can you not trust me? Do I not look like an honest man?" asked the hunter with a frown. "Sir," said the boy slowly, "You tried to make me false to my trust, and break my word to my master. How do I know that you will keep your word to me?" The hunter could not help laughing. "I see you are an honest lad, and I will not forget you," said the hunter. "Which is the path? I must find my way for myself." But Gerhardt would not let the man depart hungry, so he gave him the humble contents of his scrip. Just at that moment several men came hurrying through the forest uttering shouts of delight as they caught sight of the two of them. Gerhardt had been talking to the Grand Duke, and these were his attendants who had been much alarmed at his disappearance. This was the beginning of Gerhardt's future career of honor and success. Pleased with the lad's honesty, the Duke had him well educated and thus gave him a good state in life. Yes, God wants us to be honest in His sight, and to our fellowman. You will find throughout your life that it pays to be honest. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. Matthew 21:22
This statement of faith cannot be argued away: every prayer of faith will be answered by God. It is very important to learn to apply the Word of God when you pray, because the Word is spirit and life. God’s Word is the truth and will never fail. God watches over His Word to ensure that His promises come to pass. When you pray according to the Word of God, your prayers are in line with the will of God. However, you must be careful not to claim the promises in the Bible without taking notice of the conditions that often accompany those promises. It is no use asking God to fulfill a promise if you are not prepared to obey the conditions that go with it. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. By spending time with the Word daily, your faith will be built up and you will be encouraged. Study and learn to pray according to the Word. Take a portion of Scripture and make it your own. Assume that God is speaking directly to you as one of His children. Pray over every phrase, preferably out loud, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you to absorb the Scripture verses and let them make a difference in your life. You will be amazed at how words you have read so often before will suddenly come to life in your spirit. The Word of God will become a personal revelation to you because you believe! Then the Word and the Holy Spirit will be able to work together and your prayer life will take a new and exciting dimension. “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. John 16:24 I will be with you always. Matthew 28:20
David, the man after God's own heart, said: "I'm asking Yahweh for one thing, only one thing: to live with him in his house my whole life long" … (Psalm 27:4). What is this house of God which David seeks? Is David describing a physical structure? Does he long for a building with four walls and a door through which he can enter but never exit? No. "Our Lord does not live in temples built by human hands" (Acts 17:24). When David says, "I will live in the house of the LORD forever" (Psalm 23:6), he's not saying he wants to get away from people. He's saying that he yearns to be in God's presence, wherever he is. The Great House of God (Max Lucado) "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." Romans 12:2
If the pursuit of happiness is your primary goal, you'll never find it. Happiness is a by-product of being in God's will, and making the most of your gifts and talents. The pursuit of happiness is a selfish thing, and selfishness never leads to happiness. Instead: * Get to know God personally and begin to do His will. * Live in a right relationship with Him and your fellow man. Develop the gifts and abilities He's given you for His glory and for service to your fellow man. In the process, you may discover happiness. But pursuing happiness, well, you'll never find it that way. Pursue God in Christ, and happiness results. “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
Our heavenly Father spoke these words and he meant it. it was never God’s for us to be alone in this world. It all began when God made man and said: “It not good for man to be alone…” Right throughout the Bible we never find a man walking in God will to be alone. God’s desire is for you to know that you don’t have to be alone. God wants you to have fellowship with Him every day, man was made to have communication with God. When Jesus left His disciples after his death and resurrection, he told them, “I will not leave you alone, but I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit.” (John 14:15, 18). Now there’s God’s will for you, “I will not leave you alone.” ACCORDING TO John 14 and John 15, these are the Holy Spirit’s attributes on earth: 1) Convict the world of sin 2) Reveal the truth about God the Father 3) Lead us into all truths 4) Be our help in times of need 5) Be our Comforter 6) Be our Teacher 7) Abide with until the return of Jesus As believers we miss out so much because we do not walk in the perfect will of God. You see, God is a good God and He wants to be with us, walk with us and talk with us, you are His child (whether you are saved or not) you belong to Him because He made you. Remember that we are all descendants of Adam and Eve (not monkeys) and when God breathed life into Adam, He breathed life into us by inheritance. Come on now, I dare you get on your knees and speak with your heavenly Father today and see the response. “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart…” (Hebrews 10:22) “Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near.” (Isaiah 55:6) HEBREWS 4:15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Imagine meeting the new politician who is to represent your district or neighborhood only to discover that he is not familiar with your neighborhood’s needs and problems. You will wonder, “Can this guy really represent us? Does he know anything about our living conditions? Is he familiar with the various challenges that families here are facing? Can he help me get my child into one of the schools here?” I am sure that you would prefer someone who truly understands your challenges to represent you! In the same way, I am so glad that right now at the Father’s right hand, we have someone who came as a Man to redeem us, and who fully understands what man goes through. When Jesus walked on earth, He went through every human emotion so that He could identify with us in all points. Jesus is God, but He is in the Father’s presence as a Man, representing us. My friend, you may feel that no one understands your struggles. Listen, while this may be true of man, it is not true of Jesus. He knows exactly what you are going through and He can sympathize with your weaknesses because He was “in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin”. None of us have been tempted in all points. But God allowed Jesus to be tempted in all points so that He can understand and identify with the struggles of every single person on this earth. He can be touched by our humanity—our weaknesses, tears, disappointments, griefs...all points! There is no trial, difficulty, challenge or temptation that you face that Jesus cannot identify with. My friend, the moment you go through it, right there and then, He feels it too. That is the kind of representative you have in Jesus! That is the love of God so that you will draw near to His throne of grace (not judgment) to find mercy and grace in time of need! (Hebrews 4:15–16) MATTHEW 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Do you know that it was at the cross that Jesus addressed His Father as “God” for the first time? He had always addressed His Father as “Father”. But at Calvary’s tree, He addressed His Father as “God”. Jesus lost that Father-Son relationship when He was representing you and carrying your sins at the cross so that today, you can call God “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15) and have a loving father-son relationship with God forever. Jesus was forsaken by God and His world became very dark on that lonely hill so that in your darkest hour, God will always say to you, “I will never leave you nor forsake you!” (Hebrews 13:5) At the time when Jesus needed God most, God turned His back on Him. God had to turn His back on His Son because His eyes are too holy to behold all the sin that was in His Son’s body. And because God turned His back on Jesus, He will never turn His back on you. Instead, you will see God’s face of favor shining on you all the time! Jesus also took your place of no protection at the cross. For the first time, He gave up divine protection so that you can have it every day of your life! And because He became sin, He took your curse at the cross so that today, as you take His gift of righteousness, you receive only blessings from God. Jesus received the full brunt of God’s wrath in His body once and for all when He carried your sins. All of God’s anger and condemnation fell on Him, consuming all your sins until God’s wrath was exhausted. Today, God is not angry with you. The body of Jesus absorbed everything—your sins, curses, and God’s anger and condemnation. So live life expecting to see not the judgment, but the goodness and blessings of God! Psalm 16:11 You will show me the path of life, in Your Presence is fullness of joy, at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.
“... because of the extraordinary grace God has shown you.” 2Co 9:14, NIV
King David wrote, "The entrance of Your words give light; it gives understanding to the simple" (Psalm 119:130). I like the way Eugene Peterson puts this in The Message, "Every word You give me is a miracle word— how could I help but obey? Break open Your words, let the light shine out, let ordinary people see the meaning.” Elsewhere the Bible says, "This man, Daniel, distinguished himself among the other officials and rulers because there was an extraordinary spirit in him" (Daniel 6:3). God is in the business of making ordinary people into extraordinary individuals. He does it through the transforming power of His Word, and by the extraordinary grace He gives to each one of us. This is what He wants to do with you. "Follow Me," Jesus said to Simon Peter, "and I will make you a fisher of men." Peter did so and stepped into history. We may do the same today. While you may not regard yourself as an extraordinary individual, you can nevertheless witness many extraordinary things in your life as you seek to faithfully follow Jesus, our extraordinary Savior. God did extraordinary miracles through Paul" (Acts 19:11), whose to say He can't do the same through you? And, besides, why not wait until it's all said and done before you sell yourself short. You may very well be much more extraordinary than you think...because of the extraordinary grace God has shown you. Ephesians 5:4 ‘Remind each other of God’s goodness, and be thankful.’ We need to encourage each other to be thankful. How do we do this? We can do this as we remind each other of how good God has been and as we remind each other of His goodness for the future. God has been good in so many ways. Sometimes when we become consumed with the worries and cares of life we forget just how good God has been. Even with this very thought that you are reading, I am endeavoring to remind you of God’s goodness. In the same way we should remind one another to be thankful. The scripture says; ‘and be thankful’. It sounds pretty decisive to me. Perhaps that because it includes a quality decision that we will be thankful. This also speaks of a lifestyle of thankfulness towards God for His goodness and loving kindness towards us. As I read this verse I see a determination that needs to be in our hearts. We need to be determinedly thankful. We must settle it in our hearts that we will be thankful people no matter what everyone else is talking about. Begin to speak out your thankfulness towards God. Thank Him for His faithfulness, Thank Him for His enduring love for us. Thank Him for the answers to prayer and thank Him for those things that you are still trusting and believing Him for. This is only the beginning of your lifestyle of thankfulness. Each day we can be thankful and remind each other to be thankful. PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You for Your faithfulness towards me. I love You! Amen. |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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