The Proper Attitude of a Man under Grace

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

Brothers and Sisters of the God of Grace,

November… a new month, this is a new week and Friday is a new day! A new start, a clean page. I like beginnings and I like a clean page without a mark on it. May be that is the artist in me. I am always reticent to reach out and put that first mark on a clean white sheet of paper or canvas. In my excitement of this new month, the very first of November, I recorded the following prayer in my journal that morning:

Abba, Daddy,

You are God, there is no other God but You. Help me love You with abandon, serve You with hope and faith. I need You to fill my heart with faith to trust You implicitly, trusting You to love through me, serve and bless and nourish whoever is in need. Use me to encourage and comfort those who need Your touch. This is Your day, I am crucified with You.

Question: Have you ever experienced a wonderful Quiet time with the Lord, praising, worshiping, casting all your care on Him and then, moving happily into your day, find that not ten minutes after rising from your knees, your old sin nature makes a strong stand and your flesh kicks in as if newly risen fro the dead? It is humbling. That is exactly what happened on the morning of November 1.  Almost instantly I was annoyed with my husband. I was short, yes, even irritable and my remarks were unloving. Everything that happened next was an oxymoron contradicting all I sang and prayed. AAUUhhh!! Shame wrapped itself around my ankles and with one firm tug, I fell face first into a puddle of guilt.

Is my LORD disappointed in my failure? Does He love me less? The Truth is my words and attitude did not surprise Him in the least, for He knew before creation that I would fail to trust Him fully on Nov 1. Albeit, His love for me remained unchanged as it was never dependent on me, but on Jesus Christ and who He is. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 He can never be less than He is and He is Love. It will free you.

The Truth: I was disappointed in myself. I want to share some things I have learned in the school of failure. Hear Truths concisely recorded by W R. Newell:

The Proper Attitude of Man under Grace:

1. To believe, and to consent to be loved while unworthy, is the great secret.
2. To refuse to make "resolutions" and "vows"; for that, is to trust in the flesh.
3. To expect to be blessed, though realizing more and more lack of worth.
4. To testify of God's goodness, at all times.
5. To be certain of God's future favor

6. To rely on God's chastening hand as a mark of His kindness.

Things Which Gracious Souls Discover:

1. To "hope to be better" is to fail to see yourself in Christ only.
2. To be disappointed with yourself, is to have believed in yourself.
3. To be discouraged is unbelief, --as to God's purpose and plan of blessing for you.
4. To be proud, is to be blind! For we have no standing before God, in ourselves.
5. The lack of Divine blessing, therefore, comes from unbelief, and not from failure of devotion.
6. Real devotion to God arises, not from man's will to show it; but from the discovery that blessing has been received from God while we were yet unworthy and un-devoted.
7. To preach devotion first, and blessing second, is to reverse God's order, and preach law, not grace. The Law made man's blessing depend on devotion; Grace confers undeserved, unconditional blessing: our devotion may follow, but does not always do so, -- in proper measure.

There is nothing in me to recommend myself to a holy God. No cause in me why Grace should be shown… Oh the joy I experienced the day I was set free from such fruitless effort. I am accepted in Christ. He is my standing. I live in Christ and He in me. Why do we always reason from what we are in ourselves? The Holy Spirit always reasons down from what God is to us, not what man is to God. This is huge…. Hear it. We need experience failure again and again until we find nothing to rest upon but the abstract goodness of God.

It is not about my failure; but His  grace.

Not about my lack but His abundant supply.

Nor my weaknesses but His strength

Nor even about my foolishness, but God’s wisdom.

 It is not about my sin, but His sin offering…

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. II Corinthians 5:21

Come learn with me the freedom of Grace. It isn’t about us, but about Him. He teaches us to receive grace and to give grace. The body of Christ needs the healing and hope Grace gives. It sets my feet to dancing and my heart to singing of His greatness. Great is the Lord and worthy to be praised. Blessed are You.

God of Grace, I long to be like Jesus and I am nothing like Him. You are the potter and I am the clay. Clay needs water to remain supple and pliable and when I mix clay that has been a without water for a long time, it is useless, broken and hardened… a waste. Do not let me become fruitless and hopeless. You are the water of life and I am like the dried clay, broken in little pieces without the life-giving blood of Christ and the water of life that You alone give. I want to be a woman of faith, faith like Father Abraham! I pray for my sisters and brothers asking you to work in them these freeing Truths. Renew us, revive us, restore us until Your will is all we want and know. I pray in the wondrous Name of Jesus my Lord.

All is Grace,       az

http://www.gramzkidz.com 

(Ever see a glass butterfly? go to Gramz Kidz page "By Design")

The Simple Gospel (Good News) Message

The Gospel (or Good News) message of Jesus Christ is so simple that it almost defies understanding. By evidenceofdesign| 1 video Watch

Keep on Rejoicing

I will praise the name of God with song
And magnify Him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:30

Brothers and Sisters,

David so often pours out his soul in tears before the Lord. Brutally honest. David, the greatest song writer to ever live, who writes out of life’s stress. Yet many of the Psalms begin with ‘Bless the LORD, O my soul. And Sing to the LORD… or Our LORD reigns. Praise and honor pour from his heart but this does not stop David from casting his cares on God or from crying out for God to teach him. God called David a man after God’s own heart.

He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will. Acts 13:22

Can you imagine God saying that about you! Replace David’s name with your name as you speak this verse aloud. Hear what you are saying. Though David pours out his troubles and struggles, Amy Carmichael points out David ends most of his Psalms with an up-look, that ends in praise. I desire to live this! Let my day begin with praise as long as I can speak and let it end in praise no matter how it has unfolded or ended.

In Psalm 69 David wept soul-tears (Kay translation) and many a day I have wept soul tears, often for a family member who after much prayer seems un-helped and I am tempted to see it as failure. Tempted to be discouraged. But even so,  

I will praise the name of God with song
And magnify Him with thanksgiving.  

Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. Psalm 126:5

In NAS I caught something wonderful… in I Peter 4:1-2

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the (day of Christ) revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.

This assumes you are already rejoicing, in Christ, in the midst of your trials. It spoke to my heart saying, ‘Have a heart of worship, in a deep, private intimacy now with Lord Jesus. Sweeter even than our rejoicing in the company of brothers and sisters. The deeper your suffering… the more you are to ‘keep on rejoicing’. My feet were dancing and tears filled my eyes at the thought of this and then the next verse lifted me higher telling me I will rejoice with exultation when I am with my LORD on that day His glory is revealed before all the world. Our rejoicing here is a precursor to the rejoicing that is coming. I am to rejoice now whether reviled or suffering as a Christian, even in subtle ways (according to the will of God) Yes! It says that in verse 19 of I Peter 4! I am to rejoice.

To prepare me to exalt Him in my sorrow and heartache, I have learned the necessity of counting myself crucified with Christ; for only then can I expect Christ to His life in me, by His Spirit. His death is my title to be free. I must appropriate His death as that which severs me from all that I was in Adam and severs me from my old sin nature’s power over me. I am so thankful.  I do not have to keep myself!

The Lord Jesus will make it His business to keep us alive and fruitful, if we will make it our business to rely on Him.  We do not have to keep ourselves… Every fear to go down into daily death, every clinging too that which belongs to us, every grasp on our own personal position or ministry, will only hinder the manifestation of His life. It is to be life out of death. Even if our trust in Him brings us into the most helpless and impossible situations, we must rest assured that all will be well, for He is indeed the God of resurrection. HF

‘The LORD keeps those who love Him’ Psalm 145:20

Father-God, I bow. I have tasted and You are sweet and You are enough. I exalt You. Give me an undivided heart that I might bring You glory. Keep me from my finite childishness of dictating to You what is best or what You should or shouldn’t do, who You should heal, or what You should provide as if I can see tomorrow, or am in some way wise! Forgive my arrogance and pride and give me faith to believe You are doing what is right, allowing what will ultimately bring You glory. Most certainly Your ways are above my ways and You are all wise and never make a mistake. You are God, I am not. Thank You for drawing me to Yourself and loving me perfectly. I pray the perfect prayer: “Your will be done in Jesus Name.”

Learning to rejoice dear brothers and sister, You are so loved and prayed for,

az

 http://www.gramzkidz.com

The Simple Gospel (Good News) Message

The Gospel (or Good News) message of Jesus Christ is so simple that it almost defies understanding. By evidenceofdesign|

A Servant?

Deal with your servant according to your love and teach me your decrees. Psalm 119:124

May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant. Psalm 119:76

Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, you his servants; praise the name of the LORD. Psalm 113:1

Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you. Psalm 86:4

Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. Psalm 31:16

Precious ones, servants of the Most High God!            October 19, 2012

The word servant has haunted me all week, questioning me, nagging at me! After weeks of study in the book of Philippians, I was unexpectedly at the mercy of rushing thoughts invading my days and nights, as they rudely jockeyed for position, uninvited!  After this week the term ‘servant’ has a deeper meaning. When you hear the word Servant, what comes to mind? Bond-servant? Slave? Paul called himself a ‘servant’ of Christ Jesus.

Imagine asking a young boy, ‘what do you want to be when you grow-up? His excitement spills over as he fires his list at you: Fireman! Astronaut! NBA player! But have you ever heard anyone state unequivocally, ‘I want very much to be a servant.’ Who wants to grow up to be a servant? We like being served. We sit back and wait for someone to serve us and wash our smelly feet. If the service we receive is not what we consider acceptable, we complain self-righteously. Jesus own disciples argued about which of them was the greatest! Hear the words of our holy Servant-King Jesus, all you who know Him:
“and whoever wishes to be first among you (desires to be served) shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28 We are called to be a servant for Jesus. Marked by His love, for His glory. We are not home yet.

We profess to be strangers and pilgrims, seeking after a country of our own, yet we settle down in the most un-stranger-like fashion, exactly as if we were quite at home and meant to stay as long as we could. I don't wonder apostolic miracles have died. Apostolic living certainly has.” ac

Thoughts on being a servant:
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore I am a servant of Love.
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore I am a servant of Truth.
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore I am not my own and have no rights.
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore it is for me to obey my Master.
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore it is His will, not my will that matters.
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore life is not about me, but Him always.
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore I walk by faith & do not live by feelings.
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore I live to please Him.
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore I am crucified and risen with Christ.
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore His love flows through me to others.
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore I am cleansed in His blood, from all sin.
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore I daily take up my cross.
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore the world hates me, for it hated Him.
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore I will have trouble in this world.
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore I reckon myself dead to sin each day.
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore I feed on the Word of God each day.
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore I am called to absolute obedience.
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore I refuse self-pity and unbelief.
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore I stand strong in the Lord’s power.
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore I believe His ways are perfect.
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore I trust He makes my way perfect.
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore for me to live is Christ and die is gain!
I am a servant of Jesus Christ, therefore I do not insist He explain Himself to me.

“And shall I pray Thee change Thy will, my Father,
Until it be according unto mine?
But, no, Lord, no, that never shall be, rather
I pray Thee blend my human will with Thine.

I pray Thee hush the hurrying, eager longing,
I pray Thee soothe the pangs of keen desire—
See in my quiet places, wishes thronging—
Forbid them, Lord, purge, though it be with fire.” ac
May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, “The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant.”  Psalm 35:27

Father-God, Servant King, You who care about our well-being, make us like Your Son who came to serve even to the extreme of laying down His life for us. Search us and reveal all that is in us which is not that of being a servant. Living Grace, You left the glory of heaven to come to earth and serve us by becoming a sin offering. Teach us the humility that will enable us to serve You acceptably. Thank you is just not enough.  Give us an opportunity this very day to serve You by serving others, smelly feet and all. I pray in the Name above all names, Jesus


Learning to be Christ’s Servant,
az

Suffering- Not If, But When

Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:17

 

Dearest Sisters and Brothers in suffering for the Kingdom,

 

For many of you, my salutation describes what you have experienced in the last few years or may be longer. God seems to be purifying His church and preparing us for the time He will separate His sheep from the goats. Suffering is often what He uses to prepare us for the work He wants to do in us. We must know our position in the Lord Jesus in order for us to understand His ways and rest in His means. Daily submission is an act of faith. In our trials we may surrender because our back is against the wall and our choices have vanished. How often have I stiffened my spine in pride, resisting the Holy Spirit? Look at the end of Stephen’s testimony in Acts 7:51 denouncing and infuriating the religious of his day. His words condemned their stiff-necked resistance against the Holy Spirit. Then they stoned him to death.

You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.

 

Being stoned for my faith this week is doubtful, suffering is a given! It will come and either I will choose to trust Him and surrender in an act of faith or I will stiffen myself in pride and anger, opening the door to unrest, self-pity and fear as I insist on understanding why it was allowed. You may have lost much, you may have buried a loved one, and are numb with the daily-ness of suffering, but we are told to expect it. One of my hero’s, Amy Carmichael, spent the last 35 years of her life in bed in constant pain. The world is rich with her writings, born in a bed of suffering. When God calls you to share in Christ’s suffering, will you say with Paul:

All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death…  Philippians 3:10

 

During my Quiet this morning I read a verse that jumped out because of the unusual use of the word ‘accomplished’. What do you think of when you hear that word? Success? A task strived after and completed? That’s my thoughts.

 

Accomplish: verb, achieve or to complete successfully. It is used in the strengthened form meaning to accomplish perfectly. What is so unusual is that it is being used in reference to suffering!! Whooaa….. what?

 

But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. I Peter 5:9

 

God’s perspective is light years away from ours. Look at James 1:2-4 This is so great my feet area dancing! Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Read it again with the definition of ‘accomplish’ in mind! Wow!

 

God sees our suffering not as something to run from or avoid at all costs, but as  a positive accomplishment, because we share in Christ’s sufferings. We are not alone in our suffering. He knows the way you take and when He has tried you, you will come forth as gold. Find comfort in this living word…. He is in control and knows every detail, sees every tear, hears the cries of your heart that no human ear can hear.

 

We are to walk by faith and submission is an act of faith. Faith is strengthened by feeding on God’s word. No excuses! A counselor said this week ‘most of the people I counsel who are struggling in marriage, or relationships or in dealing with trials were NOT in God’s Word.

 

Only in submission is there rest. Are you running from God or running around trying to solve your own problems? Are you frantic in your pride trying to ‘fix’ every thing (or everyone) as if it depended on you? Instead of rest or relief you find you are wearing yourself out? You daily lose your wrestling-match with pride and are broken and weary! I know. I have graduated from the school of failure. The true test of humility is found in Philippians 2:1-1 and then in Proverbs 6:16-17, 8:13 we are given a convicting list. . simply, God resists the proud, because He hates the sin of pride.

 

Humility is not demeaning ourselves and thinking poorly of ourselves. It is simply not thinking of ourselves at all. W.W.

 

There are seven things that the Lord hates and cannot tolerate:

• A proud look,
• a lying tongue,
• hands that kill innocent people,
• a mind that thinks up wicked plans,
• feet that hurry off to do evil,
• a witness who tells one lie after another,
• and someone who stirs up trouble among friends.

 

Father-God, It is such comfort to know that You know the way I take and when You have tried me I shall come forth as gold. Thank You. LORD, teach me how I can actually consider it all joy, as I deal with suffering. You alone are my strength.  I do not have it in me. I am inclined to grumble and complain. You are Sovereign and in control, I surrender to You. Be my joy and rest. I am thankful there is purpose in suffering for You cause it to serve You. I want the word ‘accomplish’ to apply to me, that I might bring You glory. I pray this for all my brothers and sisters around the world some who are imprisoned and deeply suffer for You. Give them endurance and hope and let them sense Your Presence and love today. In Jesus I pray. Amen

 

For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 2 Corinthians  1:5

    
Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 2:3
        
az

http://www.gramzkidz.com

The Simple Gospel (Good News) Message

The Gospel (or Good News) message of Jesus Christ is so simple that it almost defies understanding. By evidenceofdesign| 1 video

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Love Paid the Ultimate Price

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear     I John 4:17-18

My Sisters and Brothers ‘in’ the Lord,

 One beautiful summer day, a young girl picked a wild, white daisy. As she held it gently in her left hand, with her right hand she deftly plucked off one petal at a time. Her rhythmic pattern matching her sing-song ditty: “He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not. As she ends with ‘he loves me’…”  a playful smile tugged at her lips.

When I exhaust everything else I always end up with…”He loves me.”

It is nice to be liked but so much better to ‘be’ loved. We will never need to turn His Truth, into a singsong ditty about God’s love. The Word of God may not say God likes us, but we stand on the unmovable Rock of His Love, revealed in John 3:16. Focus on these familiar, living words letting them go deep in your heart until they quicken your spirit with an internal and eternal impact! Jesus lived Love and it was Love of you which took Him to His death. Believe it. No one took His life, but He gave it out of Love.

 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:16-18

Believing our heavenly Father loves us perfectly and is Sovereign in our lives results in fear being replaced with peace. God's word relates His love is forever. Immeasurable and unconditional!  He is never critical, never wearies of us and never ignores our needs. Have you ever found Him gone, for a few days on vacation, when you cried out for help? Was He ever sick and unable to attend you? Will He die leaving you bitter and lonely and fearful? Are you in danger of condemnation? Will He state His great disappointment with you and rehearse your failure to live up to the standard of Christ Jesus? No…. you are loved by Love.

Amazingly, He knows all about us, every nasty little detail, every failure, every lust and lie, every time we grumbled and complained! Every time our arrogant heart was polluted with pride refusing to die! And all of this before He saved us and placed us in Christ. Even our pride and arrogance cannot stop Him from loving us, even when we flee or are neck-deep in unbelief, He loves and pursues us always. Love is who He is. When we are broken and cannot lift our head, will our Shepherd not carry us? For He choose us before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) to be His own and did not turn away but purchased us at great cost. He is not surprised at our continual failure and is patiently working out His plan and purpose in your life.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. I Corinthians 6:19-20

What was the price? Check Acts 20:28

Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth!
Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains!
For the Lord has comforted His people
And will have compassion on His afflicted. Isaiah 49:13

When we trust in our flesh He disciplines us, and measures into our lives what will recapture our hearts from the wanderlust that leads us away from His cross, from our reckoning ourselves crucified with Christ. When we choose to trust Him with our heart He allows us to draw near and He, in turn, draws near to us. He turns our failure, our sickness, our struggles and our rebellion, to serve His purpose. When we hurt He comforts us by surrounding us with Grace and Mercy He always acts out of lovingkindness. He does not turn away or forsake us or give up on us. Hallelujah! He who is our Strength and Refuge will not let us go!

He took us to the Cross- we died with Him.

He took us to the tomb- we are buried with Him.

He took us from the grave- we are risen with Him. And when we take our last breath we will dwell  with Him. Forever.

“When we try to focus our thought upon One who is pure uncreated being we may see nothing at all, for He dwelleth in light that no man can approach unto. Only by faith and love are we able to glimpse Him as He passes by our shelter in the cleft of the rock.” AWT

I will at last, be all He ever intended me to be, free from sins presence. I want to shout and dance when I try to imagine what it will be like to finally be with Him. I can not fathom the moment when I will lock eyes with purest love and see the scars earned when Love died for me. It may not say God likes me, but I know He loves me. It is nice to be liked, but far better to be loved by a Savior who never tires of loving. Glory Hallelujah!

 Abba, Daddy, You, who are Love. You who have our names written on the palm of your hand, (Isaiah 49:16) literally meaning, You hacked out our names in the palm of Your hand. Where would we be without Your love? Thank You uncreated One for loving me so perfectly and faithfully. You are all I ever need. There is no discrepancy, no unfaithfulness, no ignorance, no fear or misplaced emotions, but You are Love that is totally pure and satisfying!! You are all we need. Help us to believe this and live this for we are so needy. In my small way Lord, I love You. I pray in the name of Jesus and His Love, amen.

                              His Love is written in His own blood

In the cleft of the Rock,

az 

 http://www.gramzkidz.com

The Simple Gospel (Good News) Message

The Gospel (or Good News) message of Jesus Christ is so simple that it almost defies understanding. By evidenceofdesign| 1 video

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Rest a reality?

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I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.
 “Behold, I would wander far away, I would lodge in the wilderness. Selah.

 “I would hasten to my place of refuge from the stormy wind and tempest.” Psalm 55:6-8

When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. Psalm 56:3 replace afraid with other words: anxious, restless, hurt, stressed, faithless, hopeless, weary, needy, angry,

My beloved Sisters and Brothers in the LORD,

Have we not all cried out, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!  Behold, I would wander far away and be at rest?” The word rest means to reside permanently.  A dove mates for life and never attacks an enemy. This gentle bird is a picture of peace. David too, felt like running and found himself fleeing for his life again and again, from an unbalanced and enraged king Saul. But David never attacked King Saul though he had opportunity. Do you think at times David’s prayer songs were written and sung with tears? I do… hear his words in verse 4-5 of Psalm 55:

My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me. Doesn’t sound restful! We all know what it is to have our hearts filled with anguish and to taste the bitterness of life and experience the desire to fly away and be at rest!

Rest: to repose, be exempt, remain, by implication: refresh.

Jesus words in Matthew 11:28 are balm to our weary selves. I know this is probably familiar and I ask you to ‘hear’ what you read, place your name* in Jesus words and embrace His promise of rest. “Come to Me, *all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give *you rest. Take My yoke upon *you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and *you will find rest for *your souls.

Whatever wears you down, the oppression of the enemy, life’s struggles with forgiveness, trusting Him who has never failed, or just plain feeling sorry for yourself, stop and remember, Christ Himself is our Peace and He is our Rest. I know when I focus on my trials, rest makes itself wings and flies away! We cannot make rest happen by ‘willing’ it but we can choose our focus, Christ Jesus, and rest will come. Why? because He is gracious and good beyond imagining.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  II Cor 1:3-4

So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:9-11 (unbelief)

On my knees I thank Him for the needs that will not allow the my hungry heart to stop short of finding the rest that is only found in Christ. paraphrase MS

As hard as it is for a believer to finally come to rest  concerning his struggles and even his spiritual growth; it seems to be even more difficult for him to simply rest in the Lord Jesus for his life and victory. God allows many a painful failure when we deal with life in our flesh until we enter the rest God provides. Romans 7 to reveals Paul’s struggle. Resting in utter turmoil is a faith choice: trust God or not trust God.

“Truly to rest in God is to yield oneself up to the highest activity. Entering the rest of God is the ceasing from self-effort, and the yielding of oneself in the full surrender of faith to God’s working.” AM

Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him. Psalm 37:7

God of rest and peace, You know how I have wanted to ‘fly away’ this week, I run to You, Prince of Peace, You who are my Rest. You know all my ways and are not surprised that my spirit cries for wings to fly away, opening a door for unbelief to enter and oppress. Help! You live in me and I desire You to be the motivating object in my life, not my flesh or my desire for relief. Deliver me from unbelief. Teach me to rest in You and You alone. You who love me, in spite of my unbelief, delight to deliver me. You are my new center and Source. I trust You to move me from a self-centered life of living by feelings, to a Christ centered life of faith. I worship You this very moment, for I am so in awe of You and of Your life-giving word. Hallelujah to You my Savior. Amen

Each of you are prayed for and loved,

az

 email devotional: http://az-doveseye.blogspot.com/

 http://www.gramzkidz.com 

Check out 'By Design/ at Gramz Kidz, it is about the stick insect

Hang On!

Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

My precious Sisters and Brothers,

Growing up I often heard: 'Laugh before breakfast and you will cry before supper' and 'He  suffers more than necessary, who suffers before it is necessary.' This is often true as tears are part of life here and tears of unrestrained joy will be part of our experience in heaven. Whatever hassles us here, our besetting sins: pride, fear, unbelief, selfishness or anything that trips us up will be forever gone. No mirrors to promote dissatisfaction and taunt us into dieting, no worldly attack shaming our person, no one declaring what salary or measure of success one should have to be considered successful in the world's eyes. The world’s deadly lies of how we should look, or act will be extinct. Total freedom from the world’s system of thinking and a holy freedom from every lie the enemy shoves down your throat each day, including the lies about what will satisfy you. The enemy used these lies effectively, regardless of how often it left our cup empty and nurtured that niggling feeling of discouragement. I praise God that our mental list of exactly what makes us acceptable, whether true of not, will no longer be an issue. God’s word will reign forever.

Consider Paul’s words in Romans, he who suffered throughout his ministry, was even beaten and left for dead. (Acts 14:19)  I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Romans 8:18

All of us who are unhappy with our bodies or those who struggle with all that aging brings or takes, hang on!  And brothers and sisters who deal with illness and disease, hang on… tears may be our daily food, but our eternal day of wholeness and rejoicing is on the way! “God’s sovereign will is not at the whim and mercy of our person and individual responses to it.” ― R.C. Sproul 
I know that my Redeemer  lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet  in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! Job 19:25-27 (my feet are dancing!)
 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Philippians 3:20-22

Joni E. Tada was speaking about heaven to a group of mentally handicapped Christians. She shared her excitement about the day she will get a new body and then added ‘and You will get new minds.’ They broke into cheers, clapping loudly. They were well aware of what they looked forward to most. Think of it, our resurrected bodies will be like His glorious body! That is beyond comprehension. Meditate on this Truth and you too will be dancing.  As she spoke with a disabled believer about the freedom from fatigue, and paralysis, and pain and how we would worship unhindered before the throne! Joni asked her the standard question: You must look forward to walking and running? She answered, ‘True, but what I look forward to most is kneeling.’ When I read this it moved me to tears. We will kneel! We will worship!

Save us, O Lord our God, And gather us…
To give thanks to Your holy name. And glory in Your praise. Psalm 106:47

Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name, Make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad. I Chronicles 16: 8-10

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.
I Chronicles 16:29

Job faced immense trials without explanation. Hear me… God loved Job and trusted him with great loss and sorrow. Some of us feel overwhelmed but in our struggle we have a choice: Trust God or not. And remember unbelief is sin.
‘Too many think lightly of sin, and therefore think lightly of the Savior.’ cs

Jesus is coming again of this you can be sure. ‘Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again, rejoice.’ Philippians 4:4
Lord of heaven and earth, how sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! From Your word I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have inherited Your testimonies forever, for they are the joy of my heart. I have inclined my heart to perform Your word forever, even to the end. Your word is Your great gift to me, the joy and rejoicing of my heart. I am in awe of You and provokes me to pray and rejoice in Your holy Name, Jesus, amen

…my heart stands in awe of Your words. I rejoice at Your words as one who finds great spoil. Psalm 119:161-162

I look forward to kneeling before the throne lost in the wonder of Him!
az

http://www.gramzkidz.com

The Simple Gospel (Good News) Message

The Gospel (or Good News) message of Jesus Christ is so simple that it almost defies understanding. By evidenceofdesign| 1 videoWatch