Quick reminder : Trust God’s timing for your life seasons

• For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. (Habakkuk 2:3)
• But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)
• For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
• Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! (Psalm 27:14)
• For there is a time and a way for everything, although man’s trouble lies heavy on him. (Ecclesiastes 8:6)
• And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)

Quick reminder : Send up your prayers before sleep

• David therefore inquired of God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground. (2 Samuel 12:16)
• When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches (Psalm 63:6)
• My eyes anticipate the night watches, That I may meditate on Your word.(Psalm 119:148)
• O LORD, I remember Your name in the night, And keep Your law. (Psalm 119:55)
• At midnight I shall rise to give thanks to You Because of Your righteous ordinances. (Psalm 119:62)
• But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them (Acts 16:25)

Love the Lord more each day

Love the Lord more each day,
Pay attention to what he does say.
Love the Lord more each day,
Walk with him on the way.

Love the Lord more each day,
And from sin always turn away.
Love the Lord more each day,
Never from the right path go astray.

Love the Lord more each day,
Thank him whether at work or play.
Love the Lord more each day,
Thank him for the morning’s ray.

Love the Lord more each day,
And your worries at his feet you lay.
Love the Lord more each day,
And this love in your actions display.

The World’s perspective of God and the Biblical perspective of God

The World’s perspective of God.

We are down here struggling, many people are suffering, there’s injustice everywhere, wars, diseases, earthquakes, floods, disasters all over the world, and where is god?

He’s in Heaven, enjoying himself, oblivious to all the problems we have down here. Why doesn’t he do something?  Why do bad things happen to good people?  Why doesn’t he take care of his creation?  Is he asleep? Doesn’t he care? And after we go though this miserable life, he sends many people to hell? What kind of god is that?

The natural man loves this perspective because it justifies him, and shows that god is clearly in the wrong.

The Biblical perspective of God.

We are down here living in rebellion to God, we don’t obey His Word, we ignore His warnings, we refuse to repent, we kill His prophets & crucified His Son, we provoke Him to anger, we reject His mercy, we mock those He sends to us, we ridicule His ways and we live our live in accordance with Satan, doing whatever we want, making up our own rules, and continually breaking God commandments.

This rebellion causes God great pain and suffering.  The suffering you see on Christ’s body, represents the suffering of the Father’s heart, because His creation hates Him and rebels against Him.  He patiently holds back His fierce judgment, not punishing people as they deserve, so that some men might repent and be saved, before it is too late. 

The natural man hates this perspective, because it clearly shows that he is in the wrong with no excuse. 

(By Robert Brownell)

Rejoice in the Lord (Video with lyrics)

God never moves without purpose or plan
When trying His servant and molding a man.
Give thanks to the LORD though your testing seems long;
In darkness He giveth a song.

I could not see through the shadows ahead;
So I looked at the cross of my Savior instead.
I bowed to the will of the Master that day;
Then peace came and tears fled away.

Now I can see testing comes from above;
God strengthens His children and purges in love.
My Father knows best, and I trust in His care;
Through purging more fruit I will bear.

O Rejoice in the LORD
He makes no mistake,
He knoweth the end of each path that I take,
For when I am tried
And purified,
I shall come forth as gold.

(The above lyrics are by Ron Hamilton)

Pray big because God can work big wonders

Be available to Jesus the Lord

Be available to Jesus the Lord,
Unto him be of one true accord.
Don’t waiver to the left or right,
But love Christ with all your might.

Be available to the Spirit of God,
And don’t stay in the Babel of Nimrod.
Think of only what is holy, pure and just,
Refrain from all earthly, sensual and demonic lust.

Be available to God our creator,
Don’t worship false gods nor impersonators.
Know that the Lord God does exist,
Believe the Gospel and in his kingdom enlist.

9 Lessons From God Concerning Sickness

Sickness is meant…

1. To make us think, to remind us that we have a soul as well as a body – an immortal soul, a soul that will live forever in happiness or in misery – and that if this soul is not saved we had better never have been born.

2. To teach us that there is a world beyond the grave, and that the world we now live in is only a training place for another dwelling, where there will be no decay, no sorrow, no tears, no misery, and no sin.

3. To make us look at our past lives honestly, fairly, and conscientiously. Am I ready for my great change if I should not get better? Do I repent truly of my sins? Are my sins forgiven and washed away in Christ’s blood? Am I prepared to meet God?

4. To make us see the emptiness of the world and its utter inability to satisfy the highest and deepest needs of the soul.

5. To send us to our Bibles. That blessed Book, in the days of health, is too often left on the shelf, becomes the safest place in which to put a bank-note, and is never opened from January to December. But sickness often brings it down from the shelf and throws new light on its pages.

6. To make us pray. Too many, I fear, never pray at all, or they only rattle over a few hurried words morning and evening without thinking what they do. But prayer often becomes a reality when the valley of the shadow of death is in sight.

7. To make us repent and break off our sins. If we will not hear the voice of mercies, God sometimes makes us “hear the rod.”

8. To draw us to Christ. Naturally we do not see the full value of that blessed Savior. We secretly imagine that our prayers, good deeds, and sacrament-receiving will save our souls. But when flesh begins to fail, the absolute necessity of a Redeemer, a Mediator, and an Advocate with the Father, stands out before men’s eyes like fire, and makes them understand those words, “Simply to Your cross I cling,” as they never did before. Sickness has done this for many – they have found Christ in the sick room.

9. To make us feeling and sympathizing towards others. By nature we are all far below our blessed Master’s example, who had not only a hand to help all, but a heart to feel for all. None, I suspect, are so unable to sympathize as those who have never had trouble themselves – and none are so able to feel as those who have drunk most deeply the cup of pain and sorrow.

Summary: Beware of fretting, murmuring, complaining, and giving way to an impatient spirit. Regard your sickness as a blessing in disguise – a good and not an evil – a friend and not an enemy. No doubt we should all prefer to learn spiritual lessons in the school of ease and not under the rod. But rest assured that God knows better than we do how to teach us. The light of the last day will show you that there was a meaning and a “need be” in all your bodily ailments. The lessons that we learn on a sick-bed, when we are shut out from the world, are often lessons which we should never learn elsewhere.

~ J.C. Ryle

Prayers leading to Christmas – 28

O Lord God, I thank you for the gift of new life that you have given me, by your Son Jesus Christ. I believe that by his death on the cross and by his glorious resurrection, I am set free from the bondage of sin, hell and death. So I praise you for revealing to me, your life giving Holy Word and the Gospel. I desire of my free will, that you cause me to live, a life worthy of being a believer in you, and also crucify the flesh. Preserve my life and those of my family and friends, against the evil plans of the Enemy of my soul. By my faith in Jesus, who is true God and true man, I know I have a hope and a future which is secure and full of salvation. Let your abundant life flow in me, by the Holy Spirit to all I preach the Gospel to. Let me never be lacking in understanding, in preaching it to anyone. Also, O Almighty Lord, please take care of my physical and mental frame, so that I’m not overcome by evil at anytime. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Prayers leading to Christmas – 16

O God the Almighty One I give you the glory and praise, for your miracles in my life and in those who believe in you. No one can do miracles greater than you. I thank you for the greatest miracle of all, which is salvation by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, for those who believe. I pray for great and greater miracles, to be done all over the world, so that your Holy Name is glorified. By your Holy Spirit, lead your worshipper’s all over the world, to follow your Son Jesus Christ, in both word and action so they reach the fullness of the faith. I plead that you rescue and protect, my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, all around the world from all dangers both seen and unseen at all times. I pray especially for those in the Christian faith, who are actively targeted for their trust in Jesus, so that you give them hope and courage and relief, and by that they adore you even more. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen