As We Have Heard, so Have We Seen...

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Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-17

My brothers, my Sisters,

Greetings in the Name above all names, Jesus.

The tendency is to lose heart during the ‘light’ afflictions that come our way, as we yield to the temptation to focus on our trial, rather than our heavenly Father. But look again, there is a powerful promise to encourage our hearts, in the heat of standing strong in the LORD and in the power of His might!  Our battles here are temporary! Right in the middle of fretting and entertaining anxiety, we need to stop and realize we are making a choice not to trust Him, not to own His promises to us.

I heard it said that anxiety is the result of considering the future without God. Isn’t that exactly what we are doing when we give in to anxiety? The Bible says The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 5-6

Do not miss the beautiful words, “the LORD is near….”  WOW! “thank You for this sweet promise, Abba!” My feet are dancing! Check these promises. Daily God renews our spirit as we trust Him. He promises our troubles are light and momentary, no matter how they ‘feel’. We are to respond in faith, not lean to our own understanding. Where is our song believers?

As we have heard,
    so we have seen
in the city of the Lord Almighty,
    in the city of our God:
God makes her secure
    forever. Psalm 48:8

This Psalm encourages me and lifts me up as it whispers to my heart: believe to see the goodness of the Lord! Even though everything that is happening around me shouts loudly: ‘you shall not see’.

Yes, even in the heat of battle, I am reminded of God’s faithfulness past and present. It reminds me He has never failed. As we have heard so have we seen.

Perhaps we are feeling sad because we think we have been defeated, lost a battle. And we do feel sad at times, but ‘a lost battle is one which one believes lost’. The battle is the Lord’s, not ours. ac

We are told to stand strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, knowing there would be battles. I needed the reminder this week to ‘sing’ His praise during and after the battle, when I least ‘feel’ like it. There is power in praise! The enemy hates our response to be one of faith. Satan prefers whining, sniveling and complaining, complimented by wringing of your hands and deep sighs, for this feeds self pity.

Our thinking dictates our choices and our minds are renewed only by God’s word.

Remember:

He suffers more than necessary, who suffers before it’s necessary. God may not deliver you from a trial, but will always deliver you in the trial. The blessing in this is we are allowed to draw near and ‘know’ Him more intimately. Things too dear to share with anyone.

As we have heard, so have we seen!

God we have heard and we have even experienced your victories. How great Thou art! Fill our hearts with faith to trust You. Feed our hungry souls with Your word that we may bring You glory and honor, standing strong in You. We long for the day when all battles are over and we are forever with You. Until then give endurance and hope and wisdom. This I have heard, that You are the great God! You delight in each one of us. Come soon Lord Jesus, amen

Much love in our Savior,

az

Do Not Be Conformed To This World....

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Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As I was reading and studying, I ask myself, what are the characteristic of the world’s system of thinking and acting? Then, after reading this scripture in Psalm 2:2-3 I saw It begins with hatred. Hatred against God and against Jesus His Son.

The Bible says in Psalm 2:2-3

 The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
 “Let us tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”

The Bible tells us that at the crucifixion the religious rulers and all who were part of the world’s system of thinking and living, expressed it like this: “ But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.” Luke 19:14

When I read this, I felt my heart squeeze with sadness and my eyes filled with tears. They didn’t want anything to do with the holy Son of God, who was the kindest and most courageous and compassionate One. They rejected the very Creator who was giving them breath. Jesus loved the ones who were rejecting Him! These were the ones He came to save.

Have you experienced rejection because you have clashed with those who are in your class at school or part of any group that thinks and acts like the world? You may have felt their hatred because you are a Christian. Rejection hurts a lot but the wonderful thing is that Jesus knows your hurt and cares. If He has allowed it in your life, (as you trust Him) He will use it in your life for good. If you feel hatred toward those who have made fun of you and rejected you because of how you look, or because you love Jesus and live for Him…. Let God take your anger and hatred and turn it to love. Yes! Jesus love can and will burst forth in your heart for the ones you would naturally hate…. But first, before you can experience resurrection power (to love your enemies) you must experience ‘death’ to ‘self’, by denying yourself and taking up your cross daily (death to your flesh) and following the Master even in suffering.

Hear me dear ones, Jesus said to expect suffering. He said Don’t be surprised by it…. Accept it and on your knees ‘thank’ Him for it, thank Him He will use it to bring glory to His name and He will use it for your good. Thank Him that you have this opportunity to trust Him to work powerfully in your life. We are to walk by faith and see every trial as a gift and an opportunity to trust Him by faith.

There is nothing on earth more powerful or exciting than loving the unlovely. Think about the Truth that we ourselves have nothing to offer God or to make us worthy of His love. Nothing! We do not keep Him loving us because we ‘do spiritual things’. There is not one thing we have that will give God cause to love us.

I am so thankful for this Truth. I know I could never consistently earn His love. He loves you and He loves me because that is who He is. He cannot act apart from who He is and He is love. So our being loved is secure because it depends completely on Christ’s finished work on the Cross. Hallelujah.

A very important step in this process of trusting Christ in our suffering is forgiveness. There are times I just cannot forgive and then the cry of my heart is….”Lord forgive them for me, love them through me.”

ACTION: Pray God will protect your mind and heart. Ask Him to give you discernment. Be aware of the many ways temptation and selfishness open our hearts to embrace the world’s system of thinking and living. The only way to steel up the girders of your mind is to BE IN GOD’S WORD! This is not a game. Satan plays mean and he plays for keeps. Because we are in Christ, we have victory in our Lord Jesus Christ. Here is what I read in the Bible this morning:

‘but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’

I Corintians 15:57

‘Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!’ Romans 7:25

For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. Romans 6:14

Doesn’t it make you want to jump and shout His praise and worth? Dance before Him and thank Him in song?

Namer of the stars… Lover of our souls, You who Keep and protect and provide and redeem! We shout “Glory to Your Holy Name!” You who teach us to trust You for all we do not understand and for the trials that sting and crush, You alone are God and You reign! I do not really understand that! Bt I know You are faithful now and forever. I love you Jesus, Holy One. Thank You for loving us and keeping us and for being filled with loving compassion toward us. We pray in the perfect name above all names, Jesus. amen!

Is Jesus Really, Truly Always' Enough'?

 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.” Matthew 12:35-37

Brothers and Sisters who choose not to be offended by what God allows,

Give me your ears, my feet are dancing. I want to share what God revealed to me this week in hopes that it may help someone else. We all know what it is at times to struggle with unbelief. If I am in a time of faith, I do not understand how I could fall into unbelief ever again. If it is a time of unbelief, a faith walk is nebulous and feels out of reach as I drift back to the world’s system of thinking and I question if I will ever know it again?

How easily we are sucked into the world’s system of thinking especially if we do not balance our life with reading and digesting (applying) God’s word daily.

"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it." niv

Think of Eve… she decided the fruit from a certain tree, the forbidden one, looked to be the answer to meet her immediate need. Notice she didn’t seek out God and spend time with Him nor did she request anything of Him. And where was Adam? Eve was consumed with the fruit before her eyes, it filled her vision clouding her mind, and was coupled with Satan’s trap to capture and enslave.  Not only beautiful fruit full of promise, here was Satan in colorful array, disguised and full of deadly poison and beguiling promises, this was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and she imagined the beautiful looking fruit was as sweet and tasty as it appeared and she desired to be wise! Isn’t that what the serpent had promised? This was a new experience and exciting… quickly decided, she reached for the fruit and without hesitation she tasted the forbidden and turned to beguile Adam to join her, disobeying God’s command. They chose to eat the only thing God had forbidden and thereby chose death.

For the first time there was a burning stench in the garden and an overwhelming feeling of unexplainable confusion, heaviness, and loss and all of which dissipated into the growing darkness. It magnified the strange emptiness and yes, hopelessness they now felt. Adam and Eve knew for the first time they were not only naked, but they knew what it was to have sinned against the Holy God. The excitement they had felt was gone. They knew what it was to feel shame and guilty. They were vulnerable. For the first time they experienced an unwelcome and overpowering sense of fear. And they hid!

 We probably do not have to think too hard to bring up a time when we gave in to temptation that ended up changing our lives. We play out a similar scene whenever we are tempted we fall into the world’s system of thinking to solve problems, seek advice or find comfort in shopping, eating or we exercise or often indulge in sin.

Thus is the story of sin. It is powerful. It holds out promises yet is without truth or rewards and ends in death.

 So we rationalize convincing ourselves something is innocent or harmless. Like the Corpse Flower from Sumatra, our sin will grow into full bloom and the putrid fragrance of a dying thing fills our nostrils with regret. We play out the same scene every time we give in to temptation instead of dying to sin.  We will never know resurrection power in and through us without dying daily and taking up our cross! Where there is no death there can be no resurrection!

A young man I know made a very bad choice at 18. It will haunt him, maybe the rest of his life. It has hurt his family. Their are people who are holding on to this to hurt him, they cannot be reached over the Internet. It has split our family and we have experienced great pain and grief. A miracle is the only answer.

 Just as the miracle of the Corpse Flower, God’s amazing creation, it miraculously blooms every 7 to 10 years and is beautiful to look at, this flower gives off the terrible, gagging fragrance of death and rotting things. So too, our words and actions can lead to death; in the end all that attracts us in the world will be disappointing. Instead we are to be the fragrance of Christ. The flowers odor attracts flies and insects but begins to disintegrate after just two days. It is nothing but a big disappointment to the flies and other carrion insects, just as the fruit Eve ate left life rotting and smelling of death. Unlike other plants that offer nectar, there's no real reward here.  Satan offered Eve rewards, but it was lies. The insects want a meal because it smells like something dead and end up without a thing.

My grace IS sufficient for you… … . II Cor 12:9 True? Yes, true.

This is what God has shown me… If we should lose everything we love, friends, health, wealth, even family… and life is profoundly disappointing, is Jesus enough? ‘Yes’ is our automatic answer, the right one, but in the middle of the muddle, and we are in great pain, are we not tempted to live by our feelings? We do not feel like Jesus is enough. But the truth is, Jesus is always enough. It is never a question of Him being sufficient, but a question of my faith, trusting Him to be enough for me. Am I walking in faith and trusting Him even when feelings are masterfully pulling at me?

“Look out for tokens of good, you who are fighting the good fight. The fight is good no doubtful weapons are we ever called upon to use, thank God. Tokens are things we may ask and receive, as we fight on and do not allow ourselves to be dismayed or discouraged by the power of the great adversary.” Ac

Keep your eyes on Christ. (Hebrews 12:2) Wear the whole armor of God. (Ephesians 6:10-18)

Do not miss the daily bread of His blessings, in the press of life! They are Hope and help and comfort! Bless you dear Brothers and Sisters, Fight the good fight of faith! May God’s grace be all over you. Do not be deceived by ‘looks’ or ‘feelings’! Walk by faith. Go to Him with your expectations…. Stay in His Word!

Much love dear ones,

az

http://www.gramzkidz.com

What are the 6 most deadly snakes in the world?

Who designed them and if there is a design, there must be a Designer! 

 Click on Gramz Kidz above and go to 'By Design.

 

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 ( Corpse Flower may grow 10-20 feet tall)

"Change Me"

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; I Peter:2:9

Dear Brothers and Sisters around the world, You are loved by the One who know you best and loves you anyway!

The called out life is a life of daily dying to self and what self wants; a daily turning to our Master with a ‘Yes, Lord” to everything, even to what is most against the grain. Ac

To be earthly minded, living each day moved by self-love, self-pity self-will—is to shut out the Light.

‘This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” John 3:19-21

Sometimes there is a great deal to be done in us before God can come upon us in the Holy Spirit’s power and transform us. But if only we will ask Him to change us and allow Him to sweep away every particle of unlove, of pride, of resentment or unforgiveness, He will. My prayer is that everyone reading  these words will in deep humility and courage, invite Him to search the depths of our heart and mind. Every place that only the Holy Spirit can … for He knows all that is base and hidden in the darkness there. Only then can He begin to do what He longs to do in and through us. For He is the Light!

Many times on my walks I have dropped to my knees and cried out “Change me, LORD!”  For though I long to see those I love … change, I know I cannot change anyone else, not even myself. I need to allow God transform my life, a clean sweep. I am learning that the moment ‘self’ is exposed I must look to Jesus. And when I fail I must refuse to be discouraged, realizing the more you hunger to be like Him, the greater the battle. The enemy uses discouragement as his ‘never fail’ tool in the lives of believers. Remember the work is Christ’s. The battle is the LORD’s and He has already won the Victory; we need only to receive it by faith.

This cannot be hurried. It requires failure enough, to cause a ravenous hunger to be free. A longing strong enough that we more than ‘want to’ turn away from the flesh, but are at last willing to stop courting ourselves when we must instead be counting ourselves dead to sin, crucified with Christ and risen with Christ. Do not let these truths become the ‘same ole, same ole’. It cost God Calvary to forgive our smallest sin! Our sin never surprises Him, but He provided armor for us for a reason.

He allows many trials to come upon us, for when we decide to go deeper with Jesus we walk straight into the crucible. Failure to succeed in our own strength is strong motivation for us to become so sick and tired of struggling to live the Christian life, that we throw our hands up and shout,” I give up! I can’t do it! It is impossible! I think God smiles and says, ‘finally!’

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 2 Cor 4:4-6  WOW!

Now, all the sweetness of knowing Him more and more intimately begins to be reality. Then comes the blessings of being divinely loved and the sweet taste of freedom when we die to self and find the rest and peace that awaits us as we trust in Him.  My feet are dancing! Words fall far short of explaining this! And then exposed, for all that are courageous enough to follow, is the truth that the worlds offerings are nothing but maggot filled deceit, meant to blind and maim. The world’s offerings are empty and foreign and impossible to be compared to what God has planned and provided.

Oh soul are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness to see
There's a light for a look at the Savior
And life more abundant and free

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of Earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace

The one who surrenders all, feeding on God’s word and applying it daily, will not only begin well, but finish well. The things of earth will grow strangely dim in the Light of His glory and grace.

Light of the world, Divine Father, reign over us in spite of our passions! How could we find anything to love outside of You? May the fire of Your love extinguish any other fire! Give us the grace to love You and no other. And we will continue to love You throughout eternity.FF  Only You satisfy Jesus. In Your name I pray, amen. 

May Jesus Christ be praised!

az

 http://www.gramzkidz.com

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Set Apart Unto the Holy Spirit

 While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”        Acts 13:2

Brothers and Sisters pursuing our Great God,

God wants more than your service, more than your best and more than you’re your sacrifice. God wants you! You are to be set apart unto the Holy Spirit. Put your name in this verse, “Set apart for Me ____________for the work to which I have called them.” We have a covenant calling with the living God. All are called to pray first and foremost.

How often we delay an intimate relationship with our heavenly Father, because we are busy serving Him. Even our ‘work’ interferes with His command to separate us to the Holy Spirit. He wants so much more…  hear the words of Andrew Murray: I am sure there are workers who often cry to God for the Holy Spirit to come upon them as a Spirit of power for their work, and when they feel that measure of power, and get blessing, they thank God for it. But God wants something more and something higher. God wants us to seek for the Holy Spirit as a Spirit of power in our own heart and life, to conquer self and cast out sin, and to work the blessed and beautiful image of Jesus into us.”

What is the difference between the power of the Spirit as a gift and the power of the Spirit for the grace of a holy life? Is my work just the means of conversion? (only because God’s word will not return void) But in truth it will never help anyone to a higher standard of grace and holiness? God forbid! For then, I am not yet separated to the Holy Spirit. The crux is, separation to the Holy Spirit requires dying! Our old sin nature avoids this at any cost. Our OSN can be comfortable serving in church, singing in the choir, teaching a S.S. class and will fool a majority of people, but at what cost?  Incalculable!

Many separated from the world Christians are not separated from themselves!

Remember when God has given you little holy sweetness’s too precious to even share with others. This ‘holy’ is born of time at His feet and time in His word and prayer. To hear His voice we must hear His word. To speak His language we must believe His word and absorb it until it fills us to overflowing.

Abba, Daddy, You who call us to be separated unto You and see in our heart our great longing to be like You, have provided a way to ‘know’ you, beyond my understanding, beyond salvation truths, so that You are Lord of my life. I pray You will Rule over me by Your Holy Spirit, have supremacy over my thoughts, and all that I am. I want to know a holy intimacy by Your Spirit. I do not want to miss anything You have for me. You are God and I long for You. In His name I pray and praise.

I have been moved deeply this week by His gentle touches and loving provision! God’s faithfulness has thrown me to my knees in wonder, as His Presence fills me with fear and reverence. He allowed me to be sensitive to His working in me, albeit because of the Holy Spirit’s presence there was revealed in me that which is vile and fleshly. As His sweet Presence worked repentance in me I found myself on my face before His throne, there under His wings, there under His pinions hidden in the shadows, I found refuge and cleansing and restoration. He met me there. Where else would I want to be? Brothers and Sisters you are loved and prayed for by Jesus Himself. You are called to be separated unto the Holy Spirit.

Separated unto the Holy Spirit,

az 

http://www.gramzkidz.com

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Wise and Blessed

Teach me to number my days aright, that I may gain a heart of wisdom… Satisfy me in the morning with your unfailing love, that I may sing for joy and be glad all my days. Psalm 90:12, 14

Brothers and Sisters,

I was thinking about desire to live a life that brings God glory. This would mean I would live victoriously in my circumstances, albeit great or small. I long for the Holy Spirit to fill me with power to the deepest part of me. (Romans 12:1-2) I refuse to let circumstances bully me by putting me in an arm-lock. I will not be dominated by the tactile, the world of feelings,  held captive by all that is ‘seen’ and ‘felt’! In Christ's strength I will choose to live by faith that I might be living proof my Father is continually faithful, His grace sufficient.

Psalm 84:5: Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee… not partially in ‘God’ and partially in myself or in something is temporal, earthy! The enemy can make me strong, strong in myself to move and think as the world does, to unknowingly operate by the world’s system of thinking, as I begin to rationalize and reason in the flesh. Too late I realize I have embraced the good, missing the best.

I long to ‘feel’ strong but God makes His servants weak that we might see our nothingness! This is a life-long lesson. When I fail and miss the way, I am to run to Him, not from Him! My natural inclination, like Adam and Eve, is to hide grasping a futile handful of leaves to cover my sin and shame. That is one of the worst things about sin, its power to rob us of fellowship with the One who knows all about our sin, despite our hiding in plain sight. We must learn to run to Him… His arms are open wide.

“Faith counts on the Word of God outside and apart from everything and everyone here. When you are in faith your life is centered in the Lord Jesus. The moment the heart is detained by anything here, faith is obstructed. If you walk in the Spirit you will be sensible of this in a moment; the effects and influences of the visible are counter to the invisible.” jbs

Eve lost faith when she saw the tree was good for food and pleasant to the eye. If she had kept faith with her focus on Jesus, dependent on Him, she would not have looked. It changed everything.

Once we fully accept His purpose for our lives His will becomes our will. How God will work to bring about His will for us and in us, ceases to be an issue.  His one great purpose is to conform us to the image of His Son, Yeshua. Even the mundane, the boring and the daily repetition of duties matters and is of eternal value to Him. He does not over look anything no matter how small. O to trust Him and find rest! We will sing his praise. Victory is a matter of receiving the daily bread of His provison, not working to produce our version of trust and rest.

Know His Word. Know His work. Know His voice. Know His touch.

Father God,

Redeemer of all my failings, and good intentions gone awry, I hunger to draw near to You. Give me a teachable spirit…  and teach me, that I may gain a heart of wisdom. What is it that You have given me to do daily in my work, that is of eternal value to You? Let me see through Your eyes and value what You value. Keeper of the stars, sustaining them by Your great power, lift me eyes to focus on You, even when I am hurting, for only You can redeem my messes and my brokenness and all the ways I fall short of Your glory. Forgive, cleanse, restore and purify me with the precious blood of the Lamb. You leave me in awe of who You are, I love You Lord and pray in Your name.

az 

The Hem of His Garment

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…and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole. Mark 6:56

Hi Brothers and Sisters,

Have you ever longed for the Lord Jesus to be so near you could fall on your face and touch His robe and have your world be ‘made whole’? Oh how I long for this again and again.

It happens when reading His word and He gives you something. You know it has occurred but you would not be able to explain how it happened. All we know is something has passed from Him to you!

It may be the courage you need for something yet unknown or patience  to bear with a certain difficult person or inner strength to go on when we are sure we cannot. It may be the sweet inner freshness in our spirit as a precious, renewing gift!

God’s way of passing by, of letting His ‘hem’ come near us, is to take some single word in His Book and make it breathe spirit and life into us. Then, relying upon His word- meditating, feeding our soul on it- we find it is suddenly possible to go from strength to strength.” ac

And so whether the struggle that engages us has to do with our inner life, or our outward circumstances there is nothing to fear, “For your Father is pleased to give you the Kingdom.” ac

I received an email from my mentor and feel led to share it with you.
Arlene, these are quotes from David Roper’s book 
 “The God who walks beside us.”

God’s call to serve is a call to suffer. Deep wounds seem the norm for those whom God is determined to use. Pain is needful, not for our sake alone, but also for those we are destined to serve.

As Paul put it, “We who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you” (II Corinthians 4:11-12,)

“These are the channels by which our souls are enlarged and our sympathies deepened.”

“Death” (to our old sin nature) is the inevitable, earthly lot of those whom God has called, the lonely, invisible burden of those whom God is using. Sickness, loneliness, clamor, unrequited love, incessant demands, and mundane duties---all conditions that seem to epitomize the frustrations of life---become the means by which the spirit of sacrifice and service begins to emerge in us.

Arlene, is God using His plan to bring salvation to the earth through your ministry and life?  I believe so.

“God uses everything---suffering, sorrow, even sin---to draw us to Him and remake us in His image.”

Dear Father in heaven, You who give Yourself to us, I long for you. I come to You most often with requests to do something ‘for’ me… yet You  want to do something ‘in’ me! I yield myself to You today, to work Your will in me by the power of Your Spirit, work the likeness of Your Son, the Lord Jesus in me. I believe You have me in the place You want me right now… even if I got here by because of other people’s sin and wrong choices or rebellion or indifference You are incorporating them into Your plan to draw me near and mold me in Your image. Thank You for Your Sovereign will and wisdom and power and goodness that can take all of my past mistakes and failures and work Truth and Hope and love in and through me for Your glory. I rest in the truth that You have me here in this place right now for Your perfect purposes. I praise Your holy name, now and forever.

Love in Christ,

az

When God wants to drill a man

And thrill a man and skill a man,

When God wants to mold a man

To play the noblest part;

When He yearns with all his heart

To create so bold a man

That all the world will be amazed,

Watch his methods, watch his ways;

How God relentlessly perfects

Whom he royally elects;

How he hammers us and hurts us

And with mighty blows converts us

Into trial shapes of clay

Which only God can understand,

While our tortured heart is crying

And we lift beseeching hands.

How God bends, but never breaks

When his good he undertakes;

How he uses whom he chooses

And with every purpose fuses us;

By every act induces us

To try his splendor out---

God knows what he’s about!

---Dale Martin Stone

http://www.gramzkidz.com

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