This post is partly from a work by Diane Noble, titled Letters from God for Women, but it can be interpreted to include everyone, not just women. I will say a few words after I make this post, and I hope it is inspiring for you. It inspired me last night to use this as my next post because I think we all need a little tenderness from our Father:
"Beloved"
I watch your hours fill to overflowing with the busy details of your life. I see your concern for your family and friends. So many depend on you, dear one, making your responsibilities seem overwhelming and at times, your weariness soul-deep.
Did you know that I created you to draw strength from My presence? Did you know that I delight in your knowledge of Me? I long to refresh you; I long to open My heart to you.
So come to Me. Learn of Me. You will find rest for your soul, My children, and peace beyond understanding. Come to the still waters of My presence and draw joyously from the wellspring of My riches.''
Waiting for You,
Your Heavenly Father
Matther 11:28-30 The Message
"Come to Me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of Grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly!"
I take these words as directly from Jesus, telling me of His tender mercies and His longing to help us and to lift the load from us. He is the ever flowing water of life. He is always aware, always awake, living an eternal existence with God and He is offering to take the load from our shoulders and help us to solve our problems. He is aware every minute of the day that we need help and are growing weary. He gives us everything we need, when we put Him first. He wants to bless us, to bless you with all good things. Your material needs and the money you need for your living expenses will be fulfilled when you put Christ first in your life. That doesn't mean you have to rush off to church and get on your knees and pray and then put money in the coffer for God and show off for the world that you are pious. Jesus tells us to enter into our closets and pray in secret and the God who made you will reward you openly. He prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies, He annoints us with the oil of the Holy Spirit who helps us on our journey. God has all the Universe in His power. He sustains us. He keeps the heavenly bodies in place and you are made of stardust. Isn't He an amazing God? He created the world perfectly for our use. We have oxygen to breathe, all sorts of foods to eat, the good earth to plant our crops in and gardens, but the garden He is interested in most is the garden of your heart. He knows those who have come to Him. They are His sheep. He loves them all, no matter what their faith. He loves the Catholics, The Presbyterians, The Mormons, The Lutherans, The Episcopalians, The Buddhists, The Zen Masters, the Taoist....all of us.
I imagine God sometimes, as this huge brain that directs all the workings of the Universe. He is all intelligence. He gives us our intelligence and our wisdom to run the world as necessary. What happened? Why is the world in such chaos? It's because we have all gone our separate ways and don't work together to achieve world peace and to feed the hungry and clothe the naked and teach the illiterate. He would do all those things, and yet remain humble.
We sit up on our fancy chairs with out little caps on our heads and a huge gold cross on a heavy chain around our necks.....does that bring to mind a picture of Jesus? Not for me. I know Him as the humble shepherd who has sheep in every nation that hear His voice. Maybe you are in a country where Jesus is not taught, nor accepted, but you have given your heart to Him because someone told you about Him. You have Him in your soul. You don't need to run to church. God will meet you on your knees wherever you are! He will meet you standing, laying down, just when you least expect it. He is aware of all you do and see's the content of your heart.
If you accept Christ, both Christ and His Holy Father will come into your life and help you with everything that is a part of your life. He promised to never leave us nor forsake us. Come to the waters of life and drink your fill. You'll never be sorry that you decided you too needed a good friend. Someone outside of your circumstance that can see better than you what you need because He has a higher view point.
Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, stop for a moment and consider that your Heavenly Father is right beside you....better yet, He's within you. He is your thoughts, your love, your understanding, your intelligence, your body your brain.....all created by Him. Who better to help you? I'm 65, and He has been my best friend since I was 12. I could not have made it this far without Him. I had a heart attack at 43, and a part of my heart died. But here I am 22 years later, have never had another heart attack, and the clogged arteries of my heart have been cleared with medication and faith and life-style changes. He has met me everyday to walk with me and talk with me and advise me on what to do in each difficult circumstance. He is a personal God and I love my Lord and my God. He's there for you too. All you have to do is go wihin your soul and pray to the Father. He will hear you, and I guarantee He will answer you in a way you never expected! "God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform!" Let Him do a wonder in your life and know that your Father is tender and forgiving and He wants to be your best friend too!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Amazing Grace
The title of this post is Amazing Grace, because His Grace is all we need and indeed all we have, to sustain us in this life, and ensure that we have a home in paradise when we pass from this life into eternity. "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind, but now I see!" The Bible tells us that our righteousness is as filthy rags compared to what God has in store for us. His own righteousness fills us when we are born again by the spirit of God. He give us a heart of flesh that can be touched by the sorrow of the world, and the heartbreak of those less fortunate than we ourselves.
If you have children, you love them and would be devastated if anything should happen to them. If you had one son, and he was near and dear to your heart, would you let him sacrifice his life to help some other child? What if your child had perfect health and someone you know has a child that is ailing and may die without help from your child, say a kidney, or a lung, would you risk it? I doubt it. So can you imagine how God felt, to give his only son for people who have gone astray and lived their life in sin? He had to look away when His Son was dying, and Jesus had to have the thought in his mind, I thought you loved me, where are you now when I need you? His exact words were, "My god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me?" That's how we feel sometimes when the battle here on earth get's to be more than we think we can cope with. Where is God when we need Him? He's here. In your heart, in your life. He never promised us a rose garden, but he comforts us in our sorrow and rejoices with us in our gladness. I just think that sometimes we don't love enough. We sometimes don't love ourselves either, and our destructive urges take over and we turn to alcohol or drugs. We live a life of shame and can't even see that we are on the wrong road. But even then, God's Amazing Grace is available to us. His Grace washes us clean and our crimson stains will be turned to a dazzling white as His Grace is applied to our hearts. In this world, we need Him in the worst way. And He is aware of what we need even before we ask.
Today is the day of salvation. If you need help in any way, call on the one who made you. He knows exactly how to deal with your problems because he gave you the mind you have and the soul you have. He knows you need Him and He is available to you and to me today. I received Christ as my Savior at the tender age of 12, and I was not acquainted with the ways of the world and the meaning of Sin. I only knew I needed a friend, and He was willing to be the best friend I could ever ask for.
I don't mean to come across as judgemental. I don't mean to say I've never sinned because I have. Yes, even after He saved my soul I still did things I am sure did not meet with His approval. Yet His Grace has washed me clean and He has walked with me every step of the way I've traveled. In Sickness, in health, He has been there for me and I just want to share the news that He loves you too. Whoever you are out there in the night hours that reads this blog, know that I am only one candle in a dark world. I know the truth and the truth has set me free. Free to live a good life and to have a relationship with the one who made me. I sleep like a baby at night because I know I am in His Tender embrace and that He will be there as soon as I open my eyes to walk my pathway with me and that gives me peace and rest. If you can't sleep, if your mind is churning, turn to Him and ask Him for his Amazing Grace. It's all you need to get you through the portals of Heaven. It's all you need to live a wonderful life right here on earth and to have your future assured in paradise with those you love and the loving God who made you. Your burdens are shared by one who can do something to lift the load you are bearing. It's never too late. "Those who are first will be last, and those who are last will be first." It doesn't matter WHEN you come to Him, but that you just come to Him. He will accept you as you are, today, in the quietness of your own heart. Open the door of your heart and let Him in. He gave His all for you. It's a gift. Accept it today and let Him bathe your soul in His Amazing Grace.
If you have children, you love them and would be devastated if anything should happen to them. If you had one son, and he was near and dear to your heart, would you let him sacrifice his life to help some other child? What if your child had perfect health and someone you know has a child that is ailing and may die without help from your child, say a kidney, or a lung, would you risk it? I doubt it. So can you imagine how God felt, to give his only son for people who have gone astray and lived their life in sin? He had to look away when His Son was dying, and Jesus had to have the thought in his mind, I thought you loved me, where are you now when I need you? His exact words were, "My god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me?" That's how we feel sometimes when the battle here on earth get's to be more than we think we can cope with. Where is God when we need Him? He's here. In your heart, in your life. He never promised us a rose garden, but he comforts us in our sorrow and rejoices with us in our gladness. I just think that sometimes we don't love enough. We sometimes don't love ourselves either, and our destructive urges take over and we turn to alcohol or drugs. We live a life of shame and can't even see that we are on the wrong road. But even then, God's Amazing Grace is available to us. His Grace washes us clean and our crimson stains will be turned to a dazzling white as His Grace is applied to our hearts. In this world, we need Him in the worst way. And He is aware of what we need even before we ask.
Today is the day of salvation. If you need help in any way, call on the one who made you. He knows exactly how to deal with your problems because he gave you the mind you have and the soul you have. He knows you need Him and He is available to you and to me today. I received Christ as my Savior at the tender age of 12, and I was not acquainted with the ways of the world and the meaning of Sin. I only knew I needed a friend, and He was willing to be the best friend I could ever ask for.
I don't mean to come across as judgemental. I don't mean to say I've never sinned because I have. Yes, even after He saved my soul I still did things I am sure did not meet with His approval. Yet His Grace has washed me clean and He has walked with me every step of the way I've traveled. In Sickness, in health, He has been there for me and I just want to share the news that He loves you too. Whoever you are out there in the night hours that reads this blog, know that I am only one candle in a dark world. I know the truth and the truth has set me free. Free to live a good life and to have a relationship with the one who made me. I sleep like a baby at night because I know I am in His Tender embrace and that He will be there as soon as I open my eyes to walk my pathway with me and that gives me peace and rest. If you can't sleep, if your mind is churning, turn to Him and ask Him for his Amazing Grace. It's all you need to get you through the portals of Heaven. It's all you need to live a wonderful life right here on earth and to have your future assured in paradise with those you love and the loving God who made you. Your burdens are shared by one who can do something to lift the load you are bearing. It's never too late. "Those who are first will be last, and those who are last will be first." It doesn't matter WHEN you come to Him, but that you just come to Him. He will accept you as you are, today, in the quietness of your own heart. Open the door of your heart and let Him in. He gave His all for you. It's a gift. Accept it today and let Him bathe your soul in His Amazing Grace.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Come Unto Me All Ye Who Labor & Are Heavy Laden...I Will Give You Rest
Are you tired of the grind of daily life and wish you could escape for a while? Just take a trip or go to a happy place in your life, a time when all went well and you just lived every day like it was your last? There is a place of perfect peace and rest available to you today. Safe in the arms of the One who made you. In the travels of Jesus, He drew many people who wanted to hear him speak. He took into account that they most likely were hungry, so He fed them. He didn't preach to hungry people to go and be filled and then come back and hear him speak. He fed them. He healed them and then He told them about Himself and the Kingdom of Heaven. He told them that the Kingdom of Heaven is within them. It's in you and in me. If you go within do you find only turmoil and troubles? Then let me introduce you to the One who made you and tell you He still cares about you today as he did in ages past. He sees your troubles and He worries over you when you are in the middle of problems with no answers in sight. He has the answers. He may be the only one who does.
I use to work for the Internal Revenue Service, and one evening as I was waiting for my husband to pick me up from work, I was watching the crowds come out of the buildings and frantically rush to their next destination. They were frowning and looking at their watches and in such a hurry. I was humming a tune to myself, but I was thinking that they were so lost and searching, but not realizing what they were searching for. An elderly man with snow white hair and rosy cheeks stopped where I was standing and smiled at me and said, "They never think about God, do they?" I was stunned for a moment but nodded my head in agreement. They never gave Him a second thought when He wanted so much to comfort them and draw them close to Himself. He waits for us to want to know Him. He's not an ogre and out for revenge for what we did all those aeons ago. He's a kind and benevolent father, that want's to help us with our trials and problems. He has the answers, He's just waiting for you to ask Him to help you. He will.
I was lucky as a child. My parents went to church and my Mom played the piano and she and my Dad would sing. We all went as a family and I really liked the singing, even as a little child. For some reason, over the years they lost their footing and stopped going to church. The arguments over money began when we moved to the city and having our Mom's Mom living with us stirred up conflicts between all 3 adults. But I was very attentive in church and Sunday school and I retained more than anyone thought. At 4 years of age, I prayed one day for God to heal my eyes so I could see like everyone else. I was extremely near-sighted and needed glasses, but no one knew. A few years ago, I developed cataracts and found reading and seeing very difficult. I saw my optometrist and he told me I'd need surgery to replace the lenses in both eyes. I now see almost 20/20. I only need a slight correction now. God answered my prayers in 4th grade when they had my eyes checked and realized I couldn't see well. He answered it again when I thought I was going blind. I didn't have $2,500.00 for each eye, but with the insurance I have had for years, I didn't pay anything. The surgery was done in 2 steps. First the left eye, and 6 weeks later the right eye. To me it was a miracle. I can't believe my good fortune, to have such a loving and tender Heavenly Father.
I've had many problems with my health since I was about 17 years of age and I've kept my relationship with God open and honest for as long as I can remember. I'm not just quoting things from the Bible to be saying something profound. I have a daily walk with Jesus and I want to share the news that He is as real today as in the past, and He still does miracles. He uses the skills of his children to help us and He needs our hands and feet and a dedicated heart and mind. He can do miracles without us, as He did in days of old. But if you want a real purpose to pursue in your life, take time to cultivate a relationship with the One who made you. He says, come to the water and drink your fill without money. It's free. The water of life is Jesus and it's free. He never passed around a collection plate, he never asked for money. He told those who tried to trick Him, to give to Ceasar what belonged to Ceasar
and to God what belonged to God. God gave us a soul. We need to fill it with good things if we want to have a successful life.
Give your life to the One who made you. He's the only one that can fill that vacant spot in your soul reserved for Him. He stands at the door and knocks.... Answer Him, and He will come in and stay with you for the rest of your days. He has a place reserved for you in Heaven. Look within and find it. It's real, and it is yours, today, if you ask.
I use to work for the Internal Revenue Service, and one evening as I was waiting for my husband to pick me up from work, I was watching the crowds come out of the buildings and frantically rush to their next destination. They were frowning and looking at their watches and in such a hurry. I was humming a tune to myself, but I was thinking that they were so lost and searching, but not realizing what they were searching for. An elderly man with snow white hair and rosy cheeks stopped where I was standing and smiled at me and said, "They never think about God, do they?" I was stunned for a moment but nodded my head in agreement. They never gave Him a second thought when He wanted so much to comfort them and draw them close to Himself. He waits for us to want to know Him. He's not an ogre and out for revenge for what we did all those aeons ago. He's a kind and benevolent father, that want's to help us with our trials and problems. He has the answers, He's just waiting for you to ask Him to help you. He will.
I was lucky as a child. My parents went to church and my Mom played the piano and she and my Dad would sing. We all went as a family and I really liked the singing, even as a little child. For some reason, over the years they lost their footing and stopped going to church. The arguments over money began when we moved to the city and having our Mom's Mom living with us stirred up conflicts between all 3 adults. But I was very attentive in church and Sunday school and I retained more than anyone thought. At 4 years of age, I prayed one day for God to heal my eyes so I could see like everyone else. I was extremely near-sighted and needed glasses, but no one knew. A few years ago, I developed cataracts and found reading and seeing very difficult. I saw my optometrist and he told me I'd need surgery to replace the lenses in both eyes. I now see almost 20/20. I only need a slight correction now. God answered my prayers in 4th grade when they had my eyes checked and realized I couldn't see well. He answered it again when I thought I was going blind. I didn't have $2,500.00 for each eye, but with the insurance I have had for years, I didn't pay anything. The surgery was done in 2 steps. First the left eye, and 6 weeks later the right eye. To me it was a miracle. I can't believe my good fortune, to have such a loving and tender Heavenly Father.
I've had many problems with my health since I was about 17 years of age and I've kept my relationship with God open and honest for as long as I can remember. I'm not just quoting things from the Bible to be saying something profound. I have a daily walk with Jesus and I want to share the news that He is as real today as in the past, and He still does miracles. He uses the skills of his children to help us and He needs our hands and feet and a dedicated heart and mind. He can do miracles without us, as He did in days of old. But if you want a real purpose to pursue in your life, take time to cultivate a relationship with the One who made you. He says, come to the water and drink your fill without money. It's free. The water of life is Jesus and it's free. He never passed around a collection plate, he never asked for money. He told those who tried to trick Him, to give to Ceasar what belonged to Ceasar
and to God what belonged to God. God gave us a soul. We need to fill it with good things if we want to have a successful life.
Give your life to the One who made you. He's the only one that can fill that vacant spot in your soul reserved for Him. He stands at the door and knocks.... Answer Him, and He will come in and stay with you for the rest of your days. He has a place reserved for you in Heaven. Look within and find it. It's real, and it is yours, today, if you ask.
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