Devotional

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"We know that all things work together for good to them that love God."
--Romans 8:28

Upon some points a believer is absolutely sure. He knows, for instance,
that God sits in the stern-sheets of the vessel when it rocks most. He
believes that an invisible hand is always on the world's tiller, and that
wherever providence may drift, Jehovah steers it. That re-assuring
knowledge prepares him for everything. He looks over the raging waters and
sees the spirit of Jesus treading the billows, and he hears a voice
saying,  "It is I, be not afraid." He knows too that God is always wise,
and, knowing this, he is confident that there can be no accidents, no
mistakes; that nothing can occur which ought not to arise. He can say, "If
I should lose all I have, it is better that I should lose than have, if
God so wills: the worst calamity is the wisest and the kindest thing that
could befall to me if God ordains it."

If we allow it, it is a great comfort to know that we belong to a God who is in control of the universe.  We see this life; God sees into eternity.

In the midst of pain and trial, it can be so hard to see that, yet it is true...there is nothing that happens that God does not have a hand in - and He will use it to bring us closer to Him.

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Quietly contemplate the Lamb as the light of heaven. Light in Scripture is
the emblem of joy. The joy of the saints in heaven is comprised in this:
Jesus chose us, loved us, bought us, cleansed us, robed us, kept us,
glorified us: we are here entirely through the Lord Jesus.

And the quote of the day (Spurgeon)

Let us draw nigh to Him, and in Him find joy and peace in believing.  Let us wrap ourselves in the warm garments of His promises, and go forth to labors which befit the season, for it were ill to be as the sluggard who will not plough by reason of the cold; for he shall beg in summer and have nothing.

What comfort it is to dwell in God's promises!

A promise is only as good as the one who makes it...and yet, when we are brought to Christ, when we are called, we are also called to a mission.  To fail to do that mission is to misuse the grace of Christ.

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Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. -Deut 7:9

...continue reading →

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I'm reading in Hebrews 4...

God's Sabbath rest.

1Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.

some manuscripts say because it did not meet with faith in the hearers.

It is not that we lose our salvation, it's that the promise of rest did not join with our faith in the first place.  We are united by faith with those who listened to the gospel and believe.

This is also cross referenced to Romans 3:3

Even though there are those who do not listen and there are those who do not believe, that does not mean that the promises of God are not true.  God is faithful to His promises, even when we are not faithful to Him.

3For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,

"As I swore in my wrath,'They shall not enter my rest,'"

That's a direct quote from Psa. 95.  Matthew Henry says, "Let us be aware of the evils of our hearts, which lead us to wander from the Lord. There is a rest ordained for believers, the rest of everlasting refreshment, begun in this life, and perfected in the life to come. This is the rest which God calls his rest."

although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all his works."

Exodus31:17, "It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.'"

We long for that rest.

I long for that rest.

Humans are designed for a Sabbath and I feel as though I have not had one for a long time.

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I found a piece of napkin in my Bible.  I must have been at a luncheon or something in order to have a napkin.

God works by contraries so that a man feels himself los tin the very moment when he is on the verge of being saved.  When God is almost ready to justify a man, He damns him.  Whom he would make alive, He must first kill...Man must first cry out that there is no health in him...when a man believes himself to be utterly lost, light breaks.  Peace comes in the Word of God through faith.

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I'm currently knitting my first ever sock.  I've knitted a lot, but never socks or mittens (double pointed needles).  My newest most favorite yarn shop showed me a new method that really works...but...

I started the thing many times (Tom doesn't know how many times.)  I ripped it apart, wound the yarn back up and started again.

Each time I used the same pattern, the same needles, the same yarn.   I kept doing it and doing it and doing it and each time I discovered a little something that was giving me trouble.

Eventually, it clicked.  And I think I'm going to find socks quite rewarding.

It struck me that my walk with God is something like that.  I have the right tools.  He has given me what I need and He will continue to do so.

Each time I get a little further.  Each time I discover something I didn't "get" before. But each time I end up unraveling and beginning anew.

Each and every day, I end up with a greater understanding of my own sin, my failure, my need for a Saviour.

Each and every day, He provides what I need.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
"therefore I will hope in him." (Lam 3:22-24)