Meeting God in Quiet Places ~ F. LaGard Smith

Wherever we are, God is always close. But as Jesus himself demonstrated, there is something about quiet times and quiet places that helps us to get closer to God. That special solitude provides a time of rest and renewal from a secular world that is busily ignoring God. It is a time of remembering who we are and why we are.

In the Cotswolds, I experience daily the words of that great hymn written by I. B. Sergei:

My God and I go through the fields together.
We walk and talk, as good friends should and do.
We clasp our hands, our voices ring with laughter.
My God and I walk through the meadow’s hue.

He tells me of the years that went before me,
When heavenly plans were made for me to be.
When all was but a dream of dim conception,
To come to life, earth’s verdant glory see.

For those who walk hand in hand with Jesus, every day is a holiday – a holy day before God. Some of us are specially blessed to have a life more conducive to the peace and quiet of holy days before God. But as someone who finds himself thrust back each year into the harsh reality of big-city madness, I know that the greater challenge is to find God in the midst of a metropolis. To see his hand in the inner city and among the urban sprawl; to find time for him in an already-overbooked schedule; to find a quiet place amid a constant bedlam of noise.

If we don’t take the time to remember, we’re in danger of forgetting his blessings. Therefore, take a few moments every day, if possible, or perhaps plan ahead to spend an afternoon walking in prayer with him. Whenever you feel your hand slipping from his, take some extra time to remember all that he has meant to you. And why not write down some of his special blessings throughout the year?”

This is the village of Buckland in the Cotswolds. I was so excited to stumble upon it with “Dear” and Katie in 2004 after reading this devotional by F. LaGard Smith. The book is “Dedicated to the people of Buckland, who have opened their hearts and homes to make me feel a part of the village.” We strolled around Buckland and it made me want to re-read the book. This book was one of those “treasures” that I happened upon in my thrift store shopping. I found it at the Senior thrift shop on Whidbey Island in the little village of Langley, Washington. If you ever visit Washington take a ferry to Whidbey Island and enjoy the many quaint towns and beautiful scenery this Island affords. Whidbey Island is one of those places on earth that you can feel closer to the Lord just by being there. May you walk hand in hand with Jesus wherever you are today, in the hustle and bustle, or in a serene and quiet place.

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!

The Four Loves ~ C.S. Lewis ~ Quote

This quote is from The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis. My friend Jan sent it to Jody and I as it describes what happens in close friendships between 3 or more people. I love this quote and I hope it will augment your idea of friendship. I chose this book to illustrate this quote because the 3 friends Lewis speaks of are pictured on the cover.

Lamb says somewhere that if, of three friends (A, B, and C), A should die, then B loses not only A but “A’s part in C,” while C loses not only A but “A’s part in B.” In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all his facets. Now that Charles is dead, I shall never again see Ronald’s reaction to a specifically Caroline joke. Far from having more of Ronald, having him “to myself” now that Charles is away, I have less of Ronald. Hence true Friendship is the least jealous of loves. Two friends delight to be joined by a third, and three by a fourth, if only the newcomer is qualified to become a real friend. They can then say, as the blessed souls say in Dante, “Here comes one who will augment our loves.” For in this love “to divide is not to take away.” Of course the scarcity of kindred souls – not to mention practical considerations about the size of rooms and the audibility of voices – set limits to the enlargement of the circle; but within those limits we possess each friend not less but more as the number of those with whom we share him increases. In this, Friendship exhibits a glorious “nearness by resemblance” to Heaven itself where the very multitude of the blessed (which no man can number) increases the fruition which each has of God. For every soul, seeing Him in her own way, doubtless communicates that unique vision to all the rest. That, says an old author, is why the Seraphim in Isaiah’s vision are crying “Holy, Holy, Holy” to one another (Isaiah VI, 3) The more we thus share the Heavenly Bread between us, the more we shall all have.”

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Preaching The Cross

My husband and I have decided it’s time to stop dancing between our church in Seattle and our church in Southern California. We are going to settle into reality. Although I’ve been traveling back and forth we live in Southern California because that’s where “Dear” is working full-time. To make our departure official we gave our two pastors whom we love dearly a copy of Preaching the Cross by Mark Dever, J. Ligon Duncan III, R.Albert Mohler Jr., C. J. Mahaney with contributions by John MacArthur, John Piper, R.C. Sproul. It was hard to “join” another church after 18 years of being faithful to our church in Seattle.

We love this body of believers and we have grown significantly through our experiences here. Our very closest friends and children have gone to this church. “Dear” was an elder at this church, I was a deaconness. But…God is calling us to something new, a change, something different. We choose to be obedient and though it’s hard we look forward to what new thing God will do with us for His Kingdom and we hope we can be faithful servants in this new thing. There is a quote by A.W. Tozer in the introduction to Preaching the Cross that I thought was very good reminder to all of us in the Body of Christ.

“Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.” -A.W. Tozer

Thank you Lord for Sunrise, where we learned to love you more, love your people, we learned through experience what true forgiveness and reconciliation look like, and learned that suffering makes us more like you.

My prayer is that we all bow the knee to Jesus and keep our eyes on Christ, our Standard, so we can truly become nearer to each other as the Body of Christ.

Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ ~ John Piper

Yesterday I went to the dentist. My dentist is a sweet lovely young lady but I do not like going to the dentist! They put this thing in my mouth to hold it open and I thought I was going to die…I couldn’t flex enough to swallow.

I, being the shy person I am, pulled it out of my mouth and handed it to the dentist and said, “This isn’t working for me, I’ll just open my mouth wide for ya!” Since I made it through the appointment without crying or passing out I decided to reward myself with a trip to my favorite store in Washington, Goodwill. What’s the point of this story… “wait for it.”

Goodwill has afforded me many books I wouldn’t be able to pay full price for (at least in the quantity that I hoard books) Yesterday I gleaned several good books. One of them was Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ by John Piper. I just have to share part of his Acknowledgements with you. It’s something we can all identify with if we belong to Christ.

I owe the writing of this book to Jesus Christ. He died in my place, the righteous for the unrighteous. God counted him, who was sinless, to be a sinner, so that in him I, who am a sinner, could be counted righteous. He opened the blind eyes of my heart and brought me to faith and repentance. By his Spirit he has come to live in my heart through faith, and is slowly working his character into my stubborn will. Not only that, but this Jesus Christ created the world, including me, and holds it in being by the word of his power. Every breath I take, every beat of my heart, every moment of seeing and hearing, every movement of my mind, is owing to the sustaining grace and creative power of Jesus. All other acknowledgments and thanks are secondary and dependent on this one.”

I actually had bought and paid full price for this book in Camarillo 2 weeks ago. Before I cracked it open to read, I found out one of the ladies in my Bible Study group was going to be baptized. I decided to gift the book to her for her baptism. A book called Seeing and Savoring Christ seemed like an appropriate Baptism gift. I’m “tickled pink” that I got to replace my copy today at a bargain price. I also picked up 3 devotional books by Hannah Hurnard and a book called “What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew ~From Fox Hunting to Whist ~ the Facts of Daily Life in 19th~Century England by Daniel Pool. Ahh, but I digress…”all of this is secondary and dependent on this one.”

Colossians 1:15-20 (NIV)

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the fistborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

Blessings on you as you See and Savor Christ 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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Tolkien ~ The Shire ~ Quotes

Bilbo Baggins – The Hobbit, Chapter 2
“Bother burgling and everything to do with it! I wish I was at home in my nice hole by the fire with the kettle just beginning to sing!”

Elrond
“This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they arise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and the counsels of the Great.”

Still round the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate
And though I oft have passed them by
The day will come at last when I
Shall take the hidden paths that run
West of the Moon and East of the Sun

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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The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Quotes