As The Rain
Hosea 6:1 "Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up."
Whenever we separate ourselves from God, he will chastise us, for we are his children, and he wants us to come back to him. He may tear up something in our lives that will hurt, but he heals us. He may smite us to correct us, but he binds up our wounds. Although he disciplines us, as the loving and kind father that he is, he is always there for us when we choose to turn from our wicked ways. If we would stop running and turn around, we would see that his arms are open wide.
Hosea 6:3 "Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth."
Once we choose to return to the LORD, we can begin to follow on to know the LORD. It is incredibly important, after we turn away from our sin, that we not only turn towards Christ, but that we follow after him! Actively pursuing Christ; for with every step we take towards him, he takes a step closer to us. He shall come unto us as the rain - reviving, refreshing, revitalizing our dry and thristy souls. Saturating us with the water of his word!
Run towards the rain of God; get soaked with his amazing grace!
What Is Your Price?
Hosea 6:1 "Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up."
Whenever we separate ourselves from God, he will chastise us, for we are his children, and he wants us to come back to him. He may tear up something in our lives that will hurt, but he heals us. He may smite us to correct us, but he binds up our wounds. Although he disciplines us, as the loving and kind father that he is, he is always there for us when we choose to turn from our wicked ways. If we would stop running and turn around, we would see that his arms are open wide.
Hosea 6:3 "Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth."
Once we choose to return to the LORD, we can begin to follow on to know the LORD. It is incredibly important, after we turn away from our sin, that we not only turn towards Christ, but that we follow after him! Actively pursuing Christ; for with every step we take towards him, he takes a step closer to us. He shall come unto us as the rain - reviving, refreshing, revitalizing our dry and thristy souls. Saturating us with the water of his word!
Run towards the rain of God; get soaked with his amazing grace!
What Is Your Price?
There are many things that we are willing to spend money and time on
because they are special to us. It might be a friendship, an engagement ring, a
child, a loved one, a house, a car... What price would you give a meek and
quiet spirit? You may not have thought of a value for this particular thing, or
necessarily deemed it important, but you should. God sets his price high, for
such a quality is of immense value and importance to him: 1 Peter 3:4 "But
let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even
the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great
price."
Such an ornament as a meek and quiet spirit isn't usually something that
you can see immediately in someone, it is something inside - hidden in the
heart. Someone who is meek and quiet in spirit is humble and is one who guards
their heart against that which would interfere with their relationship with
God. They are lowly according to Christ's example, they are what we should
strive to be. The quality and characteristic of a meek and quiet spirit is
rarely seen, rarely sought, and rarely achieved. A meek and quiet spirit is
much like a stone whose rarity makes it even more valuable, it is not something
that can be purchased on a whim, it takes careful thought and over time it is
acquired.
What is your price? Is a meek and quiet spirit of as much value to you as
it is to God? This ornament should be something you put on every day along with
the armour of God - truth, righteousness, gospel of peace, faith, salvation,
word of God, prayer, a meek and quiet spirit. An ornament doesn't have to be
worn, but it enhances what you are wearing. An ornament adds value - a meek and
quiet spirit adds value to your Christian life and walk with Christ. What value
does your Christian life and walk with Christ have? What is your price?
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Come Near
Come Near
Take a moment and
think of all the names and adjectives in the Bible that pertain to God and his
holiness…now compare those with all the names and adjectives in the Bible that
describe sinners and their sin. Think about how God has willfully chosen to
associate with sinners – one such as him choosing to be near those such as us!
What does God see in man that we should receive the privilege of his presence?
He sees not a sinner, but whom we put our trust in, his only begotten Son –
Jesus Christ.
Accepting Christ as
our Saviour made us children of God, and as his children, we can become very
near to the Father, if we so choose. God made his choice clear when he sent
Christ to die for our sins…now it is our decision whether or not we want to be
near him. God will never force himself upon anyone, not even his children. Our
free will still exists after salvation and it is our choice to be near or far
from God.
You wouldn’t think
that a child of God who has had their sins forgiven and forgotten forever would
want to leave the side of the One who saved them, but when we feel far from
God, he hasn’t moved – we have moved from, we have rejected, and we have
forsaken God. Many say that they love
God and want to be near him, but their heart is definitely not near God. As
believers, we should strive to be nearer God than in word only. Our actions, as
well as our hearts and our words, should constantly reflect Christ; for when we
reflect him the clearest that is when we are the nearest.
God wants to be
close to you, Christian! If God thought you worthy enough to send his Son,
don’t you think God is worthy enough for you to give him your all? It pleases
him to fellowship with you and bless you and have you reflect his Son in your
life – is a reflection of perfection asking too much for all that he has done
for you? Our focus should be completely on him, with no need for self – simply
to be near him is true and perfect joy. Answer his call to “Come near!”
Numbers 16:5 “…the LORD will shew who are his, and who is
holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath
chosen will he cause to come near unto him.”
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Rend My Heart
“Lord, rend my heart” is an uncommon prayer, but I believe it is one
that I will be encouraging other believers to start praying. It is so easy to
get caught up in this world and to forget why we are truly here – for the glory
of God. The Almighty God loves his children so much that he never gives up on
us and even provides guidance back to himself when we forsake him. If we are
perfectly honest, Christ does not ask much of us, only that we give him our
whole hearts and hold nothing back. Think about the effects of God’s gracious
will in our lives when we give him our all! It is a daily commitment to serve
God, and we all fail more often than we should, which is why this prayer is so
important for us to remember. The world, the Devil, and your flesh like to have
everything that you would give to God, and all three will do everything to
steal your heart away, simply because all three know what the Bible says: “For
where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:21; Luke
12:34) I understand how easy it is to give in to the enticements of sin, we see
it so often throughout life, but every time I remember what Christ did for me,
the harder I want to try to fight for the glory of God. He has done so much in
my life and in the lives of my fellow believers that anything I can do for him
is so miniscule, how could I take what is his and give it to another? However,
we have all given our hearts away to the enemy in more ways than one. Although
it has been given away, your heart can be returned and placed in the hands of
the one who deserves it. God will fight for your heart, but you have to give
it, he will not take it. I have complete faith and trust in God, and none in
myself, this is why I pray for God to rend my heart rather than attempt to do
it myself. He will tear it away from this petty world and attach it to himself
and his will! Give God your heart, let him rend it, you won’t regret it!
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Don't Leave God
“I will
never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Hebrews 13:5b
We know that God has promised never to leave or forsake his
children, but too often his children leave and forsake him. Believe me when I
say that it is worth nothing to leave God, and worth everything to stay with
God. Sometimes we go through difficult
times and we get discouraged and feel as if Christ has forsaken us despite his
word. The truth of the matter is that we have shifted our focus off of God and
onto ourselves. Trials may be hard to face, disappointments may seem to be
everywhere, and we feel like ‘throwing in the towel’ on God. Allow me to give
you some advice, DON’T LEAVE GOD! When the hard times come and you feel like
you can’t hold on, get a hold on God, he won’t ever let you go. II Corinthians
12:9-10 says, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my
strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory
in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take
pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in
distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” God knows
when you are hurting, when you have troubles and tribulations, when you have
doubts and fears, these things he brings upon us to show, not only us, but
those around us how mighty he truly is. When life gets to be too much, lean on
Christ. When Christianity becomes a burden rather than a blessing, lean on
Christ. When you want to leave God, lean on Christ. There is so much that God
has in store for you, it just isn’t worth forsaking. So when you find yourself
discouraged to the point of quitting, don’t leave God – live for him! Give God
your all; serve him with everything that is in you. Remember his promise, “I
will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Impossible! Not really. Absurd! Check God's word.
The King James Bible...is it God's word??
By now there are some answers flying through each of your heads...
Some are saying:
"Of course!"
Others may say:
"No! The originals are."
There are many other answers too...
Here's another question that should be just as easy to answer:
If God is a God of the impossible, why do you think it's impossible for him to give you a perfect bible in English?
Matthew 19:26
But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Mark 10:27
And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
Luke 1:37
For with God nothing shall be impossible.
Luke 18:27
And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
Hebrews 6:18
...in which it was impossible for God to lie...
Is God going to lie to his children? Don't you think GOD can make a perfect translation with no mistakes? Because you do know that if God has made a mistake in translating the bible from Greek & Hebrew to English that he would then be lying to us. I don't know about you, but I do not want to serve a God who lies. Neither do I want to serve a God who can't give me his perfect word in my own language for me to understand. If you can't believe that your God can give you his word in your language...why are you a believer in a God of the impossible?