Category Archives: Bible

On Things Above ~ C.S. Lewis ~ Longing for Heaven

Colossians 3:1-4 (NIV)

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Colossians 3:1-4 (ESV)

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

This quote by C.S. Lewis comes from Mere Christianity

Most of us find it very difficult to want “Heaven” at all – except in so far as “Heaven” means meeting again our friends who have died. One reason for this difficulty is that we have not been trained: our whole education tends to fix our minds on this world. Another reason is that when the real want for Heaven is present in us, we do not recognise it. Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise.”

Future Grace ~ John Piper

There are certain books that I keep on my nightstand that I only read a chapter at a time. Future Grace by John Piper is one of these. This is a quote from Chapter Thirteen.

In God’s Place, At God’s Pace, By Future Grace

Impatience is a form of unbelief. It’s what we begin to feel when we start to doubt the wisdom of God’s timing or the goodness of God’s guidance. It springs up in our hearts when our plan is interrupted or shattered. It may be prompted by a long wait in a checkout line or a sudden blow that knocks out half our dreams. The opposite of impatience is not a glib denial of loss. It’s a deepening, ripening, peaceful willingness to wait for God in the unplanned place of obedience, and to walk with God at the unplanned pace of obedience – to wait in his place, and go at his pace. And the key is faith in future grace.

…God is ruling the world. He is ruling history. And it is all for the good of his people and the glory of his name. ‘From of old they have not heard nor perceived by ear, neither has the eye seen a God besides Thee, who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him’ (Isaiah 64:4) The power of patience flows through faith in the future, sovereign grace of God.”

The Lord is good to those who wait for Him. (Lamentations 3:25)

Blessings on your day as you live in faith for our future grace!

Living The Life of God’s Chosen Ones

 

Colossians 3:12-17 (ESV)

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Here it is in one passage, Christianity 101, 201, 301 and 401! Now to go and do and be what we were chosen to be, holy and beloved ones. Grace and blessings on you today!

Colossians ~ Kierkegaard

 Colossians 1:9-14 (NASB)

“For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) Excerpts From the Prayers of Kierkegaard

To Will One Thing

“Father in Heaven! What are we without You! What is all that we know, vast accumulation though it be, but a chipped fragment if we do not know You! What is all our striving, could it ever encompass a world, but a half-finished work if we do not know You: You the One, who is one thing and who is all!

So may you give to the intellect, wisdom to comprehend that one thing; to the heart, sincerity to receive this understanding; to the will, purity that wills only one thing. In prosperity may You grant perseverance to will one thing: amid distractions, collectedness to will one thing; in suffering, patience to will one thing.

You that gives both the beginning and the completion, may You early, at the dawn of day, give to the young the resolution to will one thing. As the day wanes, may You give to the old a renewed remembrance of their first resolution, that the first may be like the last, the last like the first, in possession of a life that has willed only one thing.”

From: Devotional Classics, Edited by Richard J. Foster and James Bryan Smith

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Dying for want of water

This is the last week of my Women’s Bible Study on Personal Revival. I’m always sad to come to the end of these studies. Over the course you meet new people, develop friendships, learn with each other, pray for each other and then it’s over for the summer. I’ll remind myself and hopefully encourage you to continue in your daily devotion of following God wholeheartedly with these suggestions from my Study Book.

1. Prepare Your Heart

* “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!” (Psalm 100:4). Worship Him; praise Him for who He is; express thanksgiving for what He has done.

* Ask God to show you anything that could hinder your fellowship and communion with Him. Confess any sin He brings to mind.

* Ask God to quiet your heart, to open your ears, and to speak to you through His Word. Ask His Holy Spirit to be your Teacher. Commit yourself to obey whatever He shows you.

“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. “(Psalm 119:18, 34, NIV)

“Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” (Psalm 25:4-5, NIV)

“That which I see not teach thou me: If I have done iniquity, I will do no more.” (Job 34:32, KJV)

2. Listen to God

Select a chapter or passage of Scripture. ….Read through the passages thoughtfully and prayerfully.

[There are all kinds of study suggestions for you to go deeper into a passage or chapter of the Bible. Use the method you like. ]

3. Respond to God

During and following your time in the Word, respond to God in prayer and praise…

“One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4)

Seeking Him ~ Experiencing The Joy Of Personal Revival ~ Nancy Leigh DeMoss & Tim Grissom with Life Action Ministries

I think the point is to start somewhere. Find a place and a method that works for you. Do whatever you can to spend time in God’s Word, intimate time with Him springing from what the Holy Spirit is teaching you from the Word. Seek Him, learn from Him, love Him and spread the Word!

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Michel Quoist ~ The Telephone

 

The Telephone

I have just hung up; why did he telephone? I don’t know…O! I get it…I talked a lot and listened little.

Forgive me, Lord, it was a monologue and not a dialogue. I explained my idea and did not get his; Since I didn’t listen, I learned nothing, Since I didn’t listen, I didn’t help, since I didn’t listen, we didn’t communicate.

Forgive me, Lord, for we were connected, and now we are cut off.”

This piece really convicted me because I have not been a good listener. There is a restless tendency in me that causes me to be distracted and not to listen attentively, especially in a crowded space, gathering, etc. I want to be a better listener. Someone who is at least as concerned about someone else’s thoughts as my own. I want to communicate, to hear the person speaking to me. I want to give them eye contact and heart contact. Help me Lord not to hang up without listening, helping, communicating. Forgive me for allowing distractions to keep me from caring. Forgive me Lord for not loving my neighbor as myself.

I Peter 1:22 (NIV) “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.”

The Harper Collins Book of Prayers, comp. by Robert Van de Weyer (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1993)

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“Like a Cedar in Lebanon” ~ Blenheim Palace

All my photos for this post are being held hostage at Photobucket.

This is Blenheim Palace in England. It is home to 11th Duke of Marlborough, and was the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. Set in 2100 acres of beautiful parkland landscaped by ‘Capability’ Brown, the exquisite Baroque Palace is surrounded by sweeping lawns, formal gardens and the magnificent Lake.

 

 

On the grounds of this beautiful palace are the most magnificent Cedars of Lebanon. Our daughter Katie is standing at one so you can get a better perspective on just how huge these trees are. In the verses below the righteous are compared to this amazing tree. Because of Christ’s righteousness in us we flourish and we are planted in the house of the Lord! How amazing is that!!!

Psalm 92: 1-8, 12-15: (ESV)

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre. For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy. How great are your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep! The stupid man cannot know; the fool cannot understand this: that though the wicked sprout like grass and evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever; but you, O Lord are on high forever.

…The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”

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God’s Power In You ~ The Holy Spirit

 

My weekly Bible Study using the book Seeking Him (Experiencing The Joy Of Personal Revival) by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Tim Grissom is down to the final 2 lessons. This week’s lesson is on the Holy Spirit. I wanted to share some of the material here.

Whether you realize it or not, the Holy Spirit is actively involved in every dimension of your Christian life, from before the point of your conversion until you get to heaven. We were never intended to live our lives apart from Him. In fact we cannot live the Christian life apart from Him!”

“Christian maturity cannot be attained by trying harder or doing more. God has not dangled the prospect of an abundant life before us then set us loose in a maze to try to find our way through. The Holy Spirit acts as our guide and our companion – the One sent from heaven to lead us home. He enables us to obey God, empowers us to become like Jesus, and fills us with supernatural power for work and for witness. We should, therefore, learn how to listen to Him, how to follow Him, how to rely on His power, and how to walk in His fullness.

I especially love the phrase…”the One sent from heaven to lead us home.” What a comforting thought that is for me. I like to have someone that I trust to lead me. I need help to get home. Praise God Almighty he has me covered from the start to the finish. That gives me lots of hope.

Here are a couple quotes from C.H. Spurgeon on the subject of the Holy Spirit:

“Blessed Spirit of the Lord, forgive us that we have done such despite to you, by our forgetfulness of you, by our proud self-sufficiency, by resisting your influences, and quenching your fire!”

“We must have the Holy Spirit’s power and presence, otherwise our religion will become a mockery before God, and a misery to ourselves.”

May we learn to rely on the One sent from heaven to help us here on Earth.

John 14: 15-17 (ESV)

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

Here are some great passages on the Holy Spirit. Check them out and be encouraged!

Ezekial 36:27, John 14:26; 16:13, Acts 1:8, Romans 5:5, Romans 8:26-27, Romans 15:13, 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 11, Galatians 5:22-23

Testimony Tuesday ~ Beth

The following testimony is from my friend Beth. We met after her son Jamie and my son Dan became close friends in elementary school in Washington. Both Beth and her husband Dave are relational people who care about others and are always willing and ready to help those in need. We have been ministered to by them in so many ways. We truly treasure their friendship. Beth and Dave have three sons who are all our dear friends, too. Here’s Beth’s testimony in her own words.

In 1951, God chose to give me physical birth, into a non practicing Catholic family. From my earliest years I  believed in God and knew He loved me. I spent a lot of time with my grandmother who took her Catholic religion VERY seriously. With her I spent a lot of time at church, which I didn’t like, but what was comforting was her love for God. My parents divorced when I was 9.  I ended up going to quite a few different schools, one of them being Bellevue Christian. Mr. Fredricks was my 8th grade teacher. He was an ex-drinker and smoker who loved to tell how God reached down and saved him. I was so drawn to his passion, but didn’t understand the message. My sophomore year I went to a Seventh Day Adventist boarding school. They believe Saturday is the Sabbath, so from sundown Friday till sundown Saturday, we could either study the Bible or go to church services. Up to that point, I had heard the story of Jesus many times in many ways by many different people. I wasn’t seeking, and thought I already knew how much Jesus loved me. But one night in 1967, He chose to give me spiritual birth. He pierced my heart, opened my spiritual eyes and completely overwhelmed me with His love.

         ” The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making  wise the simple.”  Psalm 19:7

 Looking back I have seen how even before I was saved God placed people in my life to nurture, protect & direct me to Him. He has shown time and time again how faithful, how merciful, and how lovingly patient He is. His truth is what I continually seek.

             “In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.”       Psalm 62:7,8

“With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.”     Psalm 119: 10-16

                                       

These are Dave and Beth’s three sons in Jamie, Aaron, and Matt.      

All We Will Get Is Mercy ~ Piper

 

From Life As a Vapor (Thirty ~ One Meditations for Your Faith) by John Piper

 

Let us make crystal clear at the beginning of each new day, all we will get from God as believers in Jesus is mercy. Whatever pleasures or pains may come our way in this day, they will all be mercy. This is why Christ came into the world – “in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his great mercy” (Romans 15:9). We were born again “according to his great mercy” (I Peter 1:3); we pray daily “that we may receive mercy” (Hebrews 4:16); and we are now “waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life” (Jude 1:21). If any Christian prove trustworthy, it is “by the Lord’s mercy [he] is trustworthy” (I Corinthians 7:25). In the end, when all is said and done, we will confess, “So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Romans 9:16).

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