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Saturday, April 19, 2014

Easter Devotional 2014~ "...no one takes your joy away from you."

I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one takes your joy away from you.” 

John 16:22
Very early in the morning, …when it was yet dark, …behold, there was a great earthquake:  for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.  His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow… and the angel answered and said unto the women, "Fear not!  For I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here, for He is risen, as He said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  Go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead…” 
Matthew 28:2-7

Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.  Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him… 
Luke 24:30-31

Now let the heavens be joyful! Let earth the song begin!
Let the round world keep triumph, and all that is therein!
Let all things seen and unseen their notes in gladness blend,
For Christ the Lord hath risen, our joy that hath no end.           
      The Day of Resurrection
                                                JOHN of DAMASCUS ~760AD                                                                

        If you come to seek His face, not in the empty sepulchre, but in the living power of His presence, as indeed realizing that He has finished His glorious work, and is alive forevermore, then your hearts will be full of true Easter joy, and that joy will shed itself abroad in your homes.  And let your joy not end with the hymns and the prayers and the communions in His house.  Take with you the joy of Easter to the home, and make that home bright with more unselfish love, more hearty service; take it into your work, and do all in the name of the Lord Jesus; take it to your heart, and let that heart rise anew on Easter wings to a higher, a gladder, and fuller life; take it to the dear grave-side and say there the two words, "Jesus lives!" and find in them the secret of calm expectation, and hope of eternal reunion.
JOHN ELLERTON
 ~1826-1893


        There are no marks of the crown of thorns upon His Brow, yet He looks more than ever a King!  The placid sunrise is beautiful, but there is not half so much quiet beauty about it as reigns over that ineffably sweet Face.  O, look into His eyes; what a depth of love, what a tenderness, yet what an overwhelming power of love!  In His Easter joy, He thought of us and of our salvation, of each one of us by name and look; He will know that joy again when we come before Him, to rest forever in His presence.
F. W. FABER
~1815-1863

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Good Friday Devotional ~ "...unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone."

And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”   ~John 12:24-5

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.  I have glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.”  ~John 17:3-4

My Jesus, as Thou wilt! Oh, may Thy will be mine!
Into Thy hand of love I would my all resign;
Through sorrow, or through joy, conduct me as Thine own,
And help me still to say, my Lord, Thy will be done!

My Jesus, as Thou wilt! Though seen through many a tear,
Let not my star of hope grow dim or disappear;
Since Thou on earth hast wept, and sorrowed oft alone,
If I must weep with Thee, my Lord, Thy will be done!
BENJAMIN SCHMOLCK ~1704
                                     

        Was the work of the Master indeed done? Was not its heaviest task yet to come? He had not yet met the dread hour of death.  Why did He say that His work was done?  It was because He knew that, when the will is given, the battle is ended.  He was only in the shadows of the garden; but to conquer these shadows was already to conquer all.  He who has willed to die has already triumphed over death.  All that remains to Him is but the outer husk, the shell.
     The cup which our Father gives us to drink is a cup for the will.  It is easy for the lips to drain it when once the heart has accepted it.  Not on the heights of Calvary, but in the shadows of Gethsemane is the cup presented.  The act is easy after the choice.  The real battlefield is in the silence of the spirit.  Conquer there, and you are crowned.

GEORGE MATHESON

     Continually at every heart He is knocking, asking to be taken in as the supreme object of love.  "Will you have Me," He says to the believer, "to be yours?  Will you follow Me into suffering and loneliness and ask for no reward but My smile of approval and My word of praise?  Will you be content with pleasing Me, and Me only? May I have My way with you in all things?  Will you accept Me for your heavenly Bridegroom and leave all others to cleave only unto Me?"

H.W. SMITH- God is Enough

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

"God hears every word we utter against Himself and one-another."

Yesterday I drove home at dusk during that downpour of cold April rain, trying not to complain about the weather in my thoughts. I have learned that all complaining about weather is murmuring against God Himself. He does what He does after His own wise counsel, and I must be grateful for it all. As I came into my house, I was struck by the loud singing of the birds after such a deluge. The Robins were giving voice with their clear beautiful courting calls to one another~

“Robin to the bare bough clinging,

What can this blithe music mean?

Like a hidden fount, thy singing

Seems to clothe the wood with green.

He who wintry hours hath given,

With the snow gives snowdrops birth:

And while angels sing in heaven

God hears the robins sing on earth.”

E.C.~Robins and Their Songs

Their hearts sing even in the rain. Jesus said in Luke 6:45, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” One can always tell what is in their heart when they hear what proceeds from their mouth. If there is anger, bitterness, complaining, spite, and strife in the heart; it is very certain those attitudes will formulate into unkind words. (Eph.4:29-32) James echoes Jesus analogy in Luke 6 with the question, “Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs?” No, he asserts. “…the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is won in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3:12, 17-18)

“Thou protesteth too loud!” I love to remark to myself. I hear my own biting words, knowing that I have grieved the Holy Spirit and I am convicted my heart is not right. I have to confess my sin that has found a welcoming niche and ask God to cleanse me from all this unrighteousness. When He forgives so willingly, the Lord will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations. (Isa.61:11)

When I hear other people complaining, making derisive remarks about others, I take heed and say, “It sounds like you are really angry at this person.” The common response is always, “Oh no, I am not that mad. I really do love them deep down!” I muse to myself of how easy it is to deceive oneself. This is their father and mother they are talking about! These are their own siblings! This is their boss who signs their paychecks! This is their own pastor who patiently discipled them in the faith! You should be singing of their praises! They have cared for you, borne with you, hired you, and loved and only served you! Yet, out of treasure of your heart, you bring forth thorns and briars! Clamor and malice that poisons everyone’s ears. “My brethren, these things ought not to be so!”(Jas.3:10) He desires that we be a blessing to others. That our words are seasoned with grace. After all, He is kind to the just and the unjust. 

God hears every word we utter against Himself and one-another. He knows what is in our hearts. He desires to make them clean and pure by His blood.(1 Jn.1:9) Our God will then bless us saying,

“Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along.

For behold, the winter is past, the rain over and gone.

The flowers have already appeared in the land;

The time of singing of the birds has come,

The voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.

The fig tree has ripened its figs,

The vines in blossoms have given forth fragrance.

Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,

And come away!”


Song of Songs 2:10-13

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Waiting on the LORD~"The hardest thing is to stand quiet & wait, while the hail of the enemy’s fire is whistling round..."

Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!
Isaiah 30:18

Lord, what a change within us one short hour
Spent in Thy presence will prevail to make;
What heavy burdens from our bosoms take,
What parchèd fields refresh as with a shower!

We kneel, and all around us seems to lower;
We rise, and all, the distant and the near,
Stands forth in sunny outline, brave and clear;
We kneel, how weak; we rise, how full of power.

Why should we ever weak or heartless be,
Why are we ever overborne with care,
Anxious or troubled, when with us is prayer,
And joy, and strength, and courage are with Thee?
RICHARD TRENCH

Waiting is not an idle and impassive thing. When the Bible speaks of waiting upon God, it means something different from doing nothing. We commonly contrast waiting with working, and there is a sense in which the contrast is a just one; but if it leads to think that waiting is not working, it has done wrong to a great Bible word. Think, for example, of the Cabinet minister whose duty it is to wait upon the king. Is that an idle or sauntering business? Can it be entered on without a thought? Will it not rather claim the whole attention, and make the statesman eager and alert? For him, at any rate, waiting is not idleness; rather it is the crown of all his toil. I have heard soldiers say that in battle the hardest thing is not the final rush. In that wild moment a man forgets himself and is caught into a mad tumult of enthusiasm. The hardest thing is to stand quiet and wait, while the hail of the enemy’s fire is whistling round—to wait in the darkness and in the face of death, and be forbidden to return the fire. It is that which tries the nerves and tests the heart. It is that which shows the stuff that men are made of. In such an hour a man is not asleep—he is intensely and tremendously alive.
You get up in the morning, and before you do anything else, you go and place yourself on your knees, and you “wait” a few minutes for the Father’s blessing. You seek an audience of the King of kings…. You recognize your relationship to God—your dependence upon God—your trust in God. That is “waiting upon the Lord.” Then, all the day, feeling your weakness, and ignorance, and danger, you are constantly in little secret acts of communion—by silent prayer and silent praise. That is carrying on the ‘waiting upon the Lord.” Then, you carry about with you—whatever you are doing—whomever else you are serving—the thought, “I am doing this for Christ. I am serving the Lord Christ. I am waiting upon my own dear Master.” And you like always to have some special work in hand which is immediately done for Christ. It is your privilege, your joy, to do something for anybody’s comfort—something for anybody’s soul—all for Jesus. That is “waiting upon the Lord.” That is service—free, holy, happy service. As true service, as acceptable to God, as the service of an angel—as the service of that blessed company in heaven, where His servants are serving Him indeed.
JAMES HASTINGS
~Isaiah