Tag: Trust

Hidden Diamonds

A friend gives me a beautifully wrapped present, a 4″x4″ square but quite heavy. Why did she give me a gift, I wondered? It’s not my birthday or anything special. Excitedly, I open it and know she can see the disappointment on my face. But I can’t help it; I’m almost crying. Inside the gorgeous box was a dirty, ugly rock. I wished she had not given me anything rather than something like that. What must she think of our friendship?

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Yet Will I Praise Him

Famine, near starvation. What could be worse? That makes my problems seem not quite so bad. How about yours? Yes, they don’t go away because someone else’s are worse; they don’t even lessen. But it does help me gain perspective. Poor Habakkuh. His situation could not get any worse, but look at what he did! Continue reading →

You Afflicted Me in Faithfulness

Ever experience a situation that’s a real pain in the neck? Certainly you have. Three years ago I felt the same way. ‘Unfair and undeserved,’ I called it; something completely unnecessary for me to endure.

Whether the circumstance is a literal pain, a relationship development, a problem on the job or a financial issue, you want it to disappear! Possibly you’ve prayed about it; maybe numerous times, just like I did. My past prayers did me no good at all, as far as I could see. Nothing had changed. Continue reading →

The Terrible Waiting Time

“Lord, I don’t care which way we go, just move us!” I prayed one day after my husband and I talked about putting our home on the market and moving. After two years passed, I didn’t really care if we moved or not, I simply wanted off that fence. Many pros and cons made us undecided which would be the better course for our family. My husband was unhappy in his job and didn’t find similar work in Austin. We were looking at other options out-of-town and even considering moving back to our hometown where our four parents lived and we had a few rentals. The more we looked the more confused the picture became. Sitting on the fence for so long became unbearable. I simply wanted a decision, at that time not really caring what the consequences were. Continue reading →

My Destiny

Joy unspeakable!
How can I describe this blessedness?
So far surpassing all I imagined
The greatest words cannot do it justice.

“What joy,” you ask,
“What brings such rapture?”

The sign of my Jesus’ face!
How can I picture such love
Such compassion, even for me?
What word describes His glory?
The glory of the only begotten Son!

Then I see my Father!
Abba, Father.
The tears fall down my face
Tears of humility, adoration and love.
I kneel at His feet and worship
Almighty God!

No eye has seen
No ear has heard
No mind has conceived
What God has prepared
For those who love Him.
(1 Corinthians 2:9)

I cannot tell you all this wonder; 
Truly, you must see it for yourself!

Abide in Christ

 

In many species of birds a mother bird lays one egg per day and they hatch in that order. The mother, and sometimes the father, feed the newborns with digested food. With wood ducks, however, the eggs all hatch on the same day. Since eating their way through the shell is such hard work, they become exhausted and rest in their nest high in a tree until the next morning. Then one by one, they make their way out of the nest, falling – since they’re still unable to fly – into the water below. There they feed themselves wherever the mother shows them while she carefully watches for any danger. God puts this instinct into them as they form in the eggs. I wouldn’t characterize abiding in Christ exactly like this, but in some ways it might be similar. Continue reading →

The Fight of Faith

Stepping out in faith never comes easily, but sometimes the battle turns long and drawn out. I think faith costs more dearly during those times. Look at Abraham, “the Father of Faith,” for an example. Abraham’s father Terah with Abraham and Sarah left Ur of the Chaldeans, where his family had lived for generations, to go to Haran. There they made their home and Terah died after a number of years. God told Abraham to leave there and go to a land He would show him. So Abraham took all his servants and all his possessions, including many cattle and sheep, and left without any idea of where he was going. Taking giant steps of faith, Abraham started walking. Continue reading →

Bulldog Faith

Luke 18:35-41 tells the story of a blind man who shouted at Jesus when he heard the Messiah was coming into Jericho. Although the crowd told him to stop and tried to ignore him, the man yelled louder still until Jesus noticed him. When asked what he wanted, the man replied, “I want to see.” Immediately Jesus said, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” This kind of faith demonstrates the bulldog principle because the man had to ignore the crowd and continue shouting until Jesus heard him. An even better example is in verses 1-5 of the same chapter where Jesus tells the parable of the woman crying out for justice before the unjust judge. After repeated requests from the woman, the judge finally gives in simply to get rid of her, admitting that he didn’t care anything about the laws of God or the rights of people; he grew tired of putting up with her. Now the point is that our heavenly Father is nothing like the unjust judge in not caring about us. He loves us more than we can imagine; however, sometimes for reasons we don’t understand, God will delay answers to our fervent prayers. Continue reading →

Aggressive Faith

What is Aggressive Faith? Do we simply believe and patiently wait, or do we need to go after it and do something to help that faith be accomplished? Definitely I think there are times we need to patiently wait on God. Psalm 27:14 tells us: Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord! This is like a little child eagerly awaiting a special birthday present; though he wants the day to quickly come, he must wait until it does. Sometimes God has set times to manifest the answer to whatever we’re praying for in faith. Whether He has to work with other people or other circumstances, we may not know, but in His time, it will come without any help from us. Continue reading →

Circumstances against You? Keep on Trusting in Your God!

Isaiah 50:10-11 (Amplified Bible) states: “Who is among you who [reverently] fears the Lord, who obeys the voice of His Servant, yet who walks in darkness and deep trouble and has no shining splendor [in his heart]? Let him rely on, trust in, and be confident in the name of the Lord, and let him lean upon and be supported by his God. Behold, all you [enemies of your own selves] who attempt to kindle your own fires [and work out your own plans of salvation], who surround and gird yourselves with momentary sparks, darts, and firebrands that you set aflame! — walk by the light of your self-made fire and of the sparks that you have kindled [for yourself, if you will]! But this shall you have from My hand: you shall lie down in grief and in torment. [Isa 66:24.]” Continue reading →

Faith versus Hope

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1 NKJV[1]).

He [Peter] came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. 13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. 15 But they said to her, “You are beside yourself!” Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, “It is his angel.” 16 Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished (Acts 12:12-17). Continue reading →

Rules and Faith

At the end of “The Three Chickadees” I stated I wished I had rules so that if you were a chickadee, every time you went to my feeder, you’d be guaranteed to get seed. In this case, however, the chickadees are believers and the feeder is God. Let’s consider the difference between living by rules and living by abiding in our Lord Jesus Christ. Rules are easier, I think, because then you can check off the boxes and be assured you’ve done all you need to. The Pharisees of the New Testament kept all the outward rules but didn’t have compassion for anyone and were the ones Jesus rebuked most because of that. They liked to be highly praised by men but that was all they gained from their religion. They didn’t have a clue about what God wanted from them. And they had no joy. Continue reading →

The Three Chickadees

           As I watched my bird feeder at breakfast, I saw three chickadees trying to get some seed, which they were sure was inside the feeder. They went all around the tray on the outside but to no avail. Then two of them even pecked at the plastic sides of the feeder. They could see the seeds inside, but they would not come out. Why not? Continue reading →

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Sometimes life is simply hard, isn’t it? Email prayer requests come daily, and some cause me to realize anew just how hard life can be. But take heart! The NIV Bible on my phone sends me a chapter early every morning, and today’s was Isaiah 43. This chapter has been dear to my heart for years and at the end of this message you’ll find a poem I wrote a long time ago. Today, however, I turned on my computer and read that selection from The Message Bible[1]. How directly it speaks to us when life’s hard places hit us and try to overcome us! Continue reading →

How Does God See You?

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Your Father God sees you far differently than you may see yourself. Sometimes I’m my own worst critic; aren’t you? At least I used to be until I learned that no matter how I view myself, my Father dearly loves me. Then He gave me a love for myself that quit believing all the lies Satan would tell me. I now recognize when I do wrong and admit it, apologizing to whomever I have hurt. I ask my loving Father to forgive me and know He has wiped my slate clean; therefore, I don’t have to carry that guilt any longer. Continue reading →

The Luxury of Psalm 23

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As I sat simply enjoying the presence of the Lord, I felt wrapped in luxury as Psalm 23 came to mind. Repeating that beloved Psalm to myself, I quickly saw the reason it popped up. This word from our heavenly Father assures us of all we need at any time. Let me give you my short interpretation of its wealth of contentment. Twice I have written extensively about this Psalm, going phrase by phrase. One so beloved we continually return to, don’t we? (The endnotes contain Scriptures for my descriptions in the Psalm.) Continue reading →

Positive Thoughts for Hard Times

 

Thinking positively isn’t simply trying to fool yourself into believing good is coming instead of evil. Rather, it is a strategy for defeating Satan, who tries to get us to think the worst in every situation. He is the enemy of our souls – our minds, wills and emotions. The Bible tells us the devil comes only to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10). Yet, so often we listen to his lies instead of believing the truth of God’s Word, which says our Father gives us good gifts (Matthew 7:11). James 1:17 even goes so far as to say that “every good and perfect gift” comes from Him. Continue reading →

Part 4: Pergamum

 

Revelation 2:12-17: “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13 I know where you live — where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city — where Satan lives.

          14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who ta”ught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. 15 Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

          17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it. Continue reading →