Grace as new as the dawn

 "As the daystar crowns a new horizon, 
Night's silence is sundered and Light's symphony rings.
Divine rays colour the low-lying clouds 
a veritable plethora of hues, both bright and subtle. Cottonwool-spun gems are arrayed, 
layered and drifting about on the morning wind.
Heaven shows itself in the sky." 

-Dawn beckons by Stephen Purcell  

                            ~*~*~*~

    God has put so much of Himself into His creation. Even the very sunrise is a glimpse of His glory. God freely pours forth His love and grace upon His people every day. Every morning before I even awake, He is there. Waiting, watching. Delighting over me in song. (Zeph. 3:17), eagerly anticipating the moment I wake up so that He can be talk with me and walk with me throughout my day. It doesn't matter that I haven't done anything to deserve this love or grace, and I know I certainly don't deserve His forgiveness. But it's there all the same. I've sinned against Him and walked away from Him more times than I can count.  I've allowed myself to get busy and neglect my relationship with Him, but through it all He never withdrew His grace or love.

The truth is, I will never be able to live up to or deserve this grace, this love. He knows this, but He doesn't care. You see, He loves us not for what we could be or do but rather, for who we are in HIM. God's love and grace is never failing. It is everlasting, infinite, overflowing. It pours forth from His Father's heart towards His children. No matter how badly we sin or how far we stray, He will always be there, ready to forgive and forget. To pour forth his grace and remind you of His love.

               "Your  mercies are new every morning;

 great is Your faithfulness." 

Lamentations 3:23

"For the glory of God!"

A lily of the valley

 "I am the rose of Sharon, The lily of the valleys.

 Like a lily among the thorns.."

 Song of Solomon 2:1-2a

 ~*~*~*~

  For those of you who know me, you know that my favorite color is yellow. I love all things yellow! So naturally, my favorite flower would my yellow rose bush. It is the most beautiful rose, with  petals that range from a soft butter yellow, to a vivid pink! I've seen a rose to pretty! I've been diligently tending this plant for a few months now, but no flowers have yet to grace it's leaves. Tonight, as I was tending it I was reminded of how this rose is like a young lady's life. As a gardener I am eagerly awaiting that first bud opening. I am excited to see the beauty that is hidden in that bud. Now, I can go out there and rip a bud open to see it's glory, but the petals are so delicate they would rip, and all it's beauty would be gone forever. A good gardener knows to let her plant be and when it is ready, it will bloom on it's own. Each bud blooms at it's own time, each one has it's own beauty, none are exactly alike. It is the same with us. 

      Young ladies, somewhere out there is a man of God just waiting to watch us unfold our petals. A man who has eagerly awaited and prayed for a "rose of Sharon, a lily of the valley." A woman who's purity and inward beauty shines forth like a rose newly bloomed. How do you think our man would feel if he came into our lives to find that we had already started blooming before the season was right- to find us torn and tarnished? Once we start blooming, it is too late to undo what has started. Just like a rose cannot fold back into it's self, so too we cannot. What has been given away can never be taken back. 

        Dear sisters, our hearts are "like a garden that needs to be protected and kept clean." (Sarah Maley)

The enemy will do anything to destroy that garden. We must stand strong in our fight to remain pure, to hide our beauty from that which would destroy it. I know this is hard. As we get older, our desire grows to find our "Prince Charming," to be loved with that kind of love. Trust me, I get this. The wait can often seem unending, and that is when Satan sneaks in to whisper his malicious lies into your heart. THAT is when we must guard our hearts more than ever before! But there is nothing more rewarding than the beauty of a God given relationship, in HIS timing.

 

"The sharp thorn often produces delicate roses." -Ovid 

   I believe in arranged marriages, but I believe that GOD is the one doing the arranging and when the time is right we will get our "happy ending," ( or rather, our happy beginning.) "Can you imagine anything better than a couple who is just right for each other coming together in exactly the right way at the right time?? Only GOD can bring about something so perfect!" -Sarah Maley

 
              "You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; 
                   you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain."
                                  Song of Solomon 4:12
                                          "For His glory!"

Suffering for the cross

I recently read a book about a pastor who challenged his congregation to live according to "WWJD" for a year. Everything about their lives was to be measured according to what Jesus would do. At the end of that year each member of that church had their own story of trial and tribulation but the pastor remained untouched. At the end of the book the pastor is challenged to ask himself, "what have I suffered for Christ?"

 

   These words have stuck with me since I read that book. I heard it said once, that if a Christian's life is easy then they're no giving their all to Christ. If a Christian is living luke-warm they are not a threat to Satan, therefore he has no reason to mess with them. However, when someone dedicates their life to Christ and lives each day accordingly, suddenly they're on Satan's radar. They pose a real threat to his evil and darkness. That's when he starts targeting them, and just as we see in Job, God often allows Satan access to our lives to test or strengthen us. As I pondered these words I realized: my life has been very easy this past year. True, I've had a few hiccups along the way, but nothing that has been a result of my faith. What does this say about my faith? If my life is so smooth, then how strong is my faith really? 

 If I was accused of being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict me??

   I want to be the kind of Christian that makes Satan fear the moment I wake up each morning! The kind of prayer warrior that has all of heaven rejoicing. The sojourner with her homeland ever on her mind. But I have to ask myself:

 WHAT HAVE I SUFFERED FOR CHRIST?

Am I ready to take up my cross, whatever that may be, to follow Him in everything I do??

"...Anyone who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me." 

Matthew 10:38 

"For the glory of God!" 

                            

 

Changing the world through love

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but     no one thinks of changing himself."-Leo Tolstoy 

~*~*~*~

A tree does not grow without water and sunlight. A flower cannot bloom until the weather is right.  In the same way, change cannot happen until someone rises up to set it in motion.

So many people desire to be world changers, to make a difference in this life, but very few of them are willing to make the effort to do so. Being a world changer does not always mean being a Mother Theresa or Bill Gates. It simply means loving those God brings to us. The things we do do not need to be great things, they just need to be done with great love. We might not always see the difference we make in this life, but when we're loving those around us we can be assured that we ARE making a difference.

    ~ SELFLESS LOVE WILL CHANGE THE WORLD~

God has not called us to understand everyone and everything, nor does He call everyone to be a great leader, but He calls all of us to love those around us.

"You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving." 

-Amy Carmichael

         "For the glory of God!"

How wonderful are His gifts

Life is not a spinning wheel of repetition. Rather, it is like a good book. Each chapter is new and exciting, filled with blessings and gifts that God is just waiting for us to notice. God's gifts come in many different sizes, but all of them are precious in His sight. None of them should be taken for granted or passed over. Some of His gifts come into our lives for a short time then quietly pass out of the door they came through. Quite often we get so caught up in the big things in life that we miss those precious, little, moments that He gives us.

Everything in our lives is a gift from God. Each person in our lives is there for a reason and a season. Each day is a blessing. Every smile, every laugh, every conversation, is a passing gift that will never be repeated. We must take advantage of those. We must learn to see those moments in life, for the small and insignificant things are often the most beautiful gifts of all.

Our Father delights to bless us with His precious gifts. We cannot let them pass by without thanking Him.

  

"For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD;

  I sing for joy at what  your hands have done."

 Psalm 92:4 

"For the glory of God!"

Footprints of LOVE

“A heart to love, and in that heart, courage, to make love known”
-  Shakespeare

~  ~  ~

        It takes courage to selflessly love others, does it not? Selfless love is not part of our nature, rather it is part of Christ's nature. It was that very love that moved Him to die for us. The same love that He commands us to walk in, so that the world might see Him through us. When we love others we are dieing to ourselves; we are denying who we are without Christ so that we may live more fully in Him.

           "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.

           Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." 

1 John 4:7
   

      Everyday, we must learn to kill our flesh to walk in His love. It takes courage to do this. It takes faith. It takes prayer. One cannot slay the dragon in a single day. It takes weeks of practice before that knight becomes skilled in his swordsmanship. It is the same in our lives. We cannot expect to have our perspective changed over night. Because we were born into this world, our flesh is OF this world. Therefore, it is a daily fight to learn His ways.We must learn to seek out opportunities to practice this great love.

    When that mother gives up her sleep to care for her sick child; when that father works overtime to bring in extra income for his family; when that ministry diligently cares for HIS orphaned children, that is Christ's love. All life is like a song. A beautiful orchestra that God is conducting. Only when we love as He loved us, will we begin playing to the rhythm that He wrote, long before time began. That's when we will truly walk in HIS footsteps: the footprints of an everlasting LOVE. 

 "And walk in love as Christ also has loved us
 and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice
 to God for a sweet-smelling aroma."
Ephesians 5:2
"For the glory of God!"

His beloved

"Then God said, "Let Us make mankind in Our image, 

in Our likeness......
So God created mankind in His own image, 

in the image of God He created them;

Genesis 1:26-27

~*~*~*~

          In the very beginning of time GOD created the earth. For those of us who have read the Bible, we know how the story goes: "then God said....let there be light....let there be an expanse between the water above and the water below...let the water under the sky be gathered in one place...etc." All through the first chapter of Genesis we see the phrase "then God said." God had the power to simply speak the earth and all that is in it, into existence, but there is one creation He didn't speak into being: MAN. In all other areas of creation God said the word and it was. But with mankind He took the time to hand create us, to breath His very breathe into us, to make us part of Him. 

          What does that say about His heart for His people??

         God did not want to speak us into being because He wanted to us to feel His love, to be in communion with Him. To God, we are not just another part of creation, we HIS PEOPLE. We are His beloved, His children, His heart song. 

"I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine;" Song of Solomon 6:31

 WE ARE HIS!!!

 

     In His chest beats a heart so full of love towards His children that even with all eternity, we will never be able to comprehend that great love. HE created us FOR HIMSELF: to love, honor and obey Him in all areas of our lives. He GAVE us live, LEADS US in life, and AWAITS US AT OUR LIFE'S END. Like a father that eagerly awaits His child's return, like a groom at the alter, so too is the heart of our Father towards us. 

    There will come a day for all of us when our strength fails. We will kiss this world good bye, and with our final heart beat be carried to the realm eternal. There, at the celestial gate our KING will be waiting for us. With all the joy of a lover, He will welcome us into the realm of light, of love, and of joy: HOME.

       I think of a dearly beloved friend who has passed on into heaven's splendor. Such a blessed woman is she to be partaking of heaven's delights! Oh, what joy divine! What everlasting delight! What peace unending and laughter abounding, awaits the faithful when we are gathered into heaven's folds!!!!

    

"My Beloved spoke and said to me, 

"Arise, My darling, My beautiful one,  

come with Me."

 Song of Solomon 2:10