Loved Before Time

“So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him,
because Jesus was going to pass that way.” — Luke 19:4

Photo by Larry Koester

God’s love for us goes before the moment we realise the beauty of it. Like how He loves Zacchaeus, the Sycamore tree has already been there all along awaiting for Zachaeus’
“God moment”.

 

Hymns from the Dungeon

Hope-bound faith is when you boast of what God can do

even if the world’s been throwing its bombs at you.

 

The Happiest Feeling…

…is when God takes away something you dearly love…but your heart remains at peace.

“I give you peace, peace that you will never find in the world…”

                                                  —John 14:27

If My grace fills your heart, your heart may be broken, but your faith will not be shaken.

 

I Offer My Life to You

Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

— Romans 3:27-28 (NLT)

Reckless abandon trumps overconfident religiosity.

 

All For You

Thank you, God for everything…
The big things and the small,
For “every good gift comes from God,”
The Giver of them all.

And all too often we accept
Without any thanks or praise,
The gifts God sends as blessings
Each day in many ways.

And so at this Thanksgiving time,
We offer up a prayer,
To thank You, God, for giving us
A lot more than our share.

First, thank You for the little things
That often come our way,
The things we take for granted,
But don’t mention when we pray.

The unexpected courtesy,
The thoughtful, kindly deed,
A hand reached out to help us
In the time of sudden need.

Oh, make us more aware, dear God,
Of little daily graces
That come to us with “sweet surprise”
From never-dreamed-of places.
 
Then, thank You for the “miracles”
We are much too blind to see,
And give us new awareness
Of our many gifts from Thee.

And help us to remember
That the key to life and living,
Is to make each prayer a prayer of thanks
And every day Thanksgiving.

~ Helen Steiner Rice ~

“Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
    but to your name goes all the glory
    for your unfailing love and faithfulness.”

—Psalm 115:1 (NLT)

 

Dunamis

       In 1866 Alfred Nobel invented an explosive made of nitroglycerin absorbed in a porous material. It was by far the most powerful explosive that had so far been invented.

      When Nobel and his friends saw what his invention could do, and had to decide on a name, they sought for the strongest possible word for power–in any language. The word they finally chose was the Greek word “dunamis”, from which our word dynamite is derived.

      This word, in Greek also the strongest word for power, is used again and again in the New Testament for the power of Christ, the Gospel and the Christian life.

— Paul Lee Tan ({4536}, “Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations”)

       

Philip Yancey grasped the very essence of why dunamis was used for Christ when he affirmed that “no one who meets Jesus ever stays the same.” For the strongest power one could ever imagine belongs to the One who created it. 

“I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.

Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”

(Ephesians 3:16-19, NLT)

 

The Whole Armor of God

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Ephesians 6:10-11 (ESV)

Life is a battlefield. If we go out to war inadequately equipped and protected, it would be difficult to survive; hence, it is imperative that we as God’s soldiers take up His Whole Armor for us—

The Belt of Truth, The Breastplate of Righteousness, The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace, The Shield of Faith, The Helmet of Salvation and The Sword of the Spirit. 

…then pray at all times!

 

Do I Look Good Enough?

Kids nowadays are more worried about their swag, than professing Jesus’ name.

— Tumblr Post

Better not be vain than to have one’s faith be in vain.

 

When God says “NO”

When God says “No” to us, it is for our own best.

For “God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.”

What a God! His road stretches straight and smooth. Every God-direction is road-tested. Everyone who runs toward Him makes it. 

“Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. It is the belief that God will do what is right.”

― Max Lucado, He Still Moves Stones

 

Stairway To Heaven

“In a palace, everyone knows the King but not everyone is known by the King.”

Do you have the FAITH that allows you to step on the stairway to heaven?

 

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” 

— Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV)

 

Faith

“The smallest seed of faith is better than the largest fruit of happiness.”
-Henry David Thoreau

 

Faith Talk

“Faith in the biblical sense is substantive, based on the knowledge that the One in whom that faith is placed has proven that He is worthy of that trust.

In its essence, faith is a confidence in the person of Jesus Christ and in His power, so that even when His power does not serve my end, my confidence in Him remains because of who He is.” 

— Ravi Zacharias

“…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” 

—Hebrews 12:1-2 NASB

 

How Well Did You Run?

“Life is a race. If you don’t run fast, you will be like a broken unda (egg).”

~3 Idiots~

We are all running in a race called Life.

 On this track, survival is everything. Kill or be killed. Cheat or be cheated.

We all run frantically towards the finish line, degrading our very beings to the extent that we’re nothing more than shrieking and screaming rodents who don’t know a thing about etiquette nor morality. Then when we get trampled on, we screech bloody murder.

Running on the racetrack of Life is hard.

However, the question that will be presented to us when we get to the finish line is not “How fast did you run?”

God gives the crowns only to those who “have kept the faith”.

Instead, we’d surely be asked…

How well did you run?

 

“I have fought the good fight. I have completed the race. I have kept the faith.”

— 2 Timothy 4:7 GW

 

Dear God

To the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, we praise You
because during times of joy and triumph
You are God

And to same God who is our comforter and the author of peace, we praise you
because during times of trouble and distress
You are still God

And because you are the God who never changes,
the God who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow,
We find no reason for why our faith in you should change
even if the situation in our life demands it to

Teach us, Lord, that You ways are not our ways
and Your thoughts, not our thoughts
And more often than not, remind us
that Your answers are always wiser than our prayers

And when the night is long and the sky is dark
And no sight is left for our eyes to see,
Teach us, Father, teach us
To trust in Your heart

For in any and every way,
You have always known the better.

Amen.