‘Two are better than one;…. For if they fall, the one will lift the other up.”
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
Monthly Archives: November 2016
With Thanksgiving
“O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms.
For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth:
the strength of the hills is His also.
The sea is His, and He made it: and His Hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.”
Psalm 95:1-6
O Give Thanks
“O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good: for His mercy endures for ever.”
Psalm 136:10
Dancing
” You have turned for me my mourning into dancing:
You have put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.
To the end that my glory may sing praise to You, and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.”
Psalm 30:11-12
The Key
“Delight yourself also in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” -Psalm 37:4
“The key is not in chasing the desires of your heart. The key is in chasing the Lord.”
-Charles Spurgeon
Bold
Proverbs 28:1 says, “… the righteous are bold as a lion.” and in Hebrews 4:16 we’re told to come boldly before God’s throne in prayer. This is what Caleb did.
You can read about Caleb in Joshua chapter 14 verses 7-14 , and interestingly enough, the name Caleb means “bold”. Here’s his story…
Caleb was 85 years old when the Israelites reached the promised land. He was one of only two men who had survived the 40 year wanderings in the desert. After being freed from slavery in Egypt, he and Joshua were chosen by Moses to spy out the land that God had promised them. There were 12 men in all, one for each tribe. When they returned from their travels, 10 of the spies were terrified, and reported that it would be impossible to defeat these cities because they considered themselves and their own people to be too small in comparison. But Joshua and Caleb believed that God had led them to this good land and had faith that He would give them the victory.
The people believed the 10 spies. God was angry with them and because of their unbelief, they would have to spend the next 40 years walking around the desert until they all died off, leaving only their children and grandchildren to be the ones who would inherit the promised land. But God honored the faith of Caleb and Joshua.
Joshua became the leader of his people after the death of Moses, leading them into the promised land, dividing the Jordan River, and marching onto victory in the battle of Jericho. Caleb now 85 years old had remained strong in faith, and courageous in battle. In the face of battle over the land that Moses had promised would be his inheritance, Caleb boldly responded, saying:
“… the LORD hath kept me alive, as He said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake His word to Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now lo, I am now eighty-five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: As my strength was then, even so is my strength now… Now therefore give me this mountain,… the LORD will be with me, then I will be able to drive (the inhabitants) out, as the LORD said…Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb.”
He got what he wanted. Caleb was bold in his faith as a young man, and even as an old man. He knew that there was nothing too big to ask God for, and his boldness is evidence of that faith.
By faith, we are the righteousness of God in Christ, and “the righteous are as bold as a lion.”
You Can Count On It
You can count on God’s Word.
If God said it, you can count on it to come to pass.
His Word is absolutely trustworthy.
God never breaks His Word.
In Him there are no broken promises.
“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should change His mind.”
“Does He speak and then not act?”
“Does He promise and not fulfill? “
Numbers 23:19
On Life’s Path
“Preserve me, O God: for in You do I put my trust…
I will bless the LORD, who has given me counsel: my heart also instructs me
in the night seasons.
I have set the LORD always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices: my flesh also shall rest in hope…
You will show me the path of life:
In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.”
Psalm 16
The Faith Factor
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
…”Daughter, your faith has made you whole….” Luke 8:48
These are the words that the LORD spoke into my heart, on this day, November 11, 1985. Like the woman mentioned here in this story, I had seen many doctors and suffered many things. I was in need of a touch from Jesus to heal me and make me whole. I needed a miracle.
At sunrise, on that beautiful fall morning , the Lord heard my quiet cry, and took me from barrenness to motherhood. Little did I know that this was only the beginning. Miraculously, He blessed me to give birth to three children, when the doctors, and the condition of my body, said that I’d never have one.
Forever grateful…
Blessed be His Name!
“He settles the barren woman in her home as a joyful mother of children”
Psalm 113:9 – TLV
The Power of One
“I am only one; but still I am one.
I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.
I will not refuse to do something I can do.”
Helen Keller
Happiness
“A cheerful heart is good medicine. “
Proverbs 17:22
Tomorrow
“Don’t be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow shall be anxious for itself” Matthew 6:34
“Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.”
Charles Spurgeon
True Love
“This is love:
Not that we loved God, but that He loved us,
and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
I John 4:10
Turbulence
A few days ago, a friend of mine encouraged me with these words…
She said, “When a pilot is flying and sees turbulence ahead, he approaches it head on. He does not go around it, over it, or under it; he goes right through it. The pilot can’t see beyond the limited view of his cockpit, so he must rely totally on the instrument panel for guidance. He goes right through the turbulence, difficult as it may be, and presses through until he reaches the beautiful clear sky on the other side.”
This life, as we know, can bring us to turbulent times that cannot be avoided. We’d rather go around them, but we must press through. As we rely on and put our complete trust in the LORD, even when it gets rocky, He will lead us through to the beautiful clear skies on the other side.
Faithrises 