Thoughts of Grace

Stock and Tulip

“They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.” (Joshua 5:12)

Joshua was born a captive in Egypt,and as a young boy
watched with wonder as God parted the Red Sea
and made a way in the wilderness.
He was with Moses as a young man
throughout the wilderness wanderings, all the while
being groomed by God for his future assignment.

Perhaps even now the Lord is grooming you for some future mission.

It was Joshua who led the spies into the Promised Land
and saw for himself what others only dreamed about.
He alone, with Caleb, argued the case for Faith when all others
caved in to doubt, fear, and unbelief.
And it was Joshua, the man of faith,
whom God anointed to lead the children of Israel
into Canaan to experience the fulfillment of promises
made by the Faithful God,
and to finish the business at hand of reclaiming the Land
from those who had been stolen by the powers of darkness.

These recollections serve as a great encouragement
to us today as we face a similar opportunities
for making progress in the things of God.
Just as the Lord rescued His people from Egyptian bondage,
so He has marked us by His love and redeemed us unto Himself
out of the fallen and faulted world system,
wherein we were held captive under the heavy hand of task-masters
who drove us with whip and stick in the lustful pursuit
of power, sex, and money.
Our lives were marred by corruption,
stained with shame,
and marked for death.
But God, who is rich in mercy
and unfailing in His faithfulness, redeemed us!

And now the Faithful God stands before us,
and beckons us to follow Him onward and
He takes us inward that we might go upward.
The challenges are not over,
nor are the changes complete,
but our hearts are lifted
with a sense of imminent breakthroughs;
things oft dreamed about,
and long-awaited,
seem to be so very close at hand.
The smell of rain is in the air.

Come, friend, take heart
and renew your trust in the Faithful God.
For it will be said of us as it was of our predecessors —

“They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year” (Jos.5:12).

From Egyptian bondage, through desert dryness and testing,
to a land that flowed with milk and honey —
the Faithful God has ever been there for us, as He was with them. Rylie

Take heart . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Never leave a glass unattended.

“They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.” (Joshua 5:12)

We have each traveled a long and laborious pathway
during these past few years as the World and the Church
have both undergone unprecedented challenge and change.
It seems that everything that can be shaken is being shaken,
and ultimately only those things that are unshakable will remain.

O to us may grace be given to stand in the unshakable Kingdom.

Sadly, some have not made the journey.
Having been turned aside by the lure of lesser things,
or backed down by the threat of difficult things,
or held captive by the hollow hope of nostalgic things —
not all who started out on this trek have made it this far.
We look around and they are gone.
“Demas hath forsaken me,” wrote the apostle Paul,
“having loved this present world” (2 Tim.4:10).

But not all who are gone from us have fallen.
There are those happy souls who have finished
their race with joy and been transported to the City,
whose builder and maker is God;
and we rejoice with them as we hope for heaven ourselves.
And our hope is not in vain,
nor will our longings be left unrewarded.
For we are neither lethargic nor nostalgic;
we are full of life and filled with dreams.

Today belongs to those who live by a faith
that sees beyond the limitations of human reason and effort;
a faith that trusts in the unfailing love of the Faithful God
who alone has brought us safe thus far;
and who alone will carry us all the way to our Hope of Glory.

Joshua serves as a splendid example of those who survive
and prevail by placing their faith in the Faithful God.
We’ll look at him in detail tomorrow. Rylie

Stand . . .Today in grace
With my prayers, desiring yours. Leslie

Tulip

Good Morning,

Nathanael said to Philip,
“Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Philip answered, “Come and see.” John 1:46

Nathanael’s question still lingers,
even tow thousand years later. . .
Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

Come and see.

Come and see the changed lives:

the alcoholic now dry,
the embittered now joyful,
the shamed now forgiven. . .
marriages rebuilt,
the orphans embraced
the imprisoned inspired . .

Come and see the pierced hand of God
touch the most common heart,
wipe the tear from the wrinkled face,
and forgive the ugliest sin.
Come and see.

He avoids no seeker.
He ignores no problem.
He fears no search.

Come and see.
Max Lucado ~~A Gentle Thunder

Come and See . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Spring’s a coming!

Good Morning

Here are the typical components of a
“faith under fire”; a very troubling event,
an element of injustice or unfairness
(Why me?),
a silent God who could have intervened
but didn’t and a million unanswered questions.
Have you ever been there?

And when the chief Shepherd shall appear,
ye shall receive a crown of glory
that fadeth not away. 1Peter 5:4

Sometimes the Lord offers no explanation or interpretation
of His response to our requests and cries,
except by inference.
“This is My will for you.”

The LORD is good unto them
that wait for him,
to the soul that seeketh him.
Lamentations 3:25

There are purposes that you cannot perceive or comprehend,
you may never understand—
at least not in this life—
but you must never let go of your faith.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrew 11:1

The laws of physics tells us
that energy in the universe is never lost.
It is simply transformed from one state to another.
So it is with human experience.
Nothing is ever lost entirely.
God uses every happening to accomplish His divine purpose.

But we all, with open face
beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord,
are changed into the same image from glory to glory,
even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
2 Corinthians 3:18

When we submit ourselves to the sovereign will of the Lord,
we can say with confidence that in all things
—yes, in all things—
God works for the good of them who love Him,
who have been called according to his purpose.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
and cometh down from the Father of lights,
with whom is no variableness,
neither shadow of turning.
James 1:17

Rev. Reubin Welch, minister and author, once said
“With God,
even when nothing is happening—
something is happening.”
It is true.

I wait for the LORD,
my soul doth wait,
and in his word do I hope.
Psalm 130:5

Scripture tells us
that we lack the capacity to grasp
God’s infinite mind or
the way He intervenes in our lives.

The secret things belong unto the LORD our God:
but those things which are revealed belong unto us
and to our children for ever,
that we may do all the words of this law.
Deuteronomy 29:29

Jehovah didn’t explain to Joseph
what he was doing through years of heartache
(he was hated by his brothers,
sold as a slave,
imprisoned,
falsely accused of attempted rape,
threatened with execution).
He was expected,
like you and me,
to live out each day in something less
than complete understanding.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
Isaiah 55:8

We can say with confidence that while God’s purposes
and plans are very different from ours,
He is infinitely just and His timing is always perfect.

And now, O Lord GOD, thou art that God,
and thy words be true,
and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:
Therefore now let it please thee
to bless the house of thy servant,
that it may continue for ever before thee:
for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it:
and with thy blessing
let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.
2 Samuel 7:28-29

If human intelligence
and perception are undependable
in assessing everyday reality,
which can be seen,
touched,
heard,
tasted,
and smelled.
How much less capable are they
of evaluation the unfathomable God of the universe?

While we look not at the things which are seen,
but at the things which are not seen:
for the things which are seen are temporal;
but the things which are not seen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:18

Sooner or later our intellect will pose questions
we cannot possibly answer.
At that point,
we would be wise to remember
God’s ways are higher than ours.

And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD:
it shall rejoice in his salvation.
All my bones shall say,
LORD, who is like unto thee,
which deliverest the poor
from him that is too strong for him,
yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?
Psalm 35:9-10

One of the greatest destroyers of faith is timing
that doesn’t fit our preconceived notions.
We live in a fast paced world
where we have come to expect instant responses
to every desire and need.
But God doesn’t operate that way. He is never in a hurry.

And he said unto them,
It is not for you to know the times or the seasons,
which the Father hath put in his own power.
Acts 1:7

Even Jesus, who lived thirty-three years on earth,
spent only three in active ministry!
Think of how many more people
He could have healed—
and how many mare divine truths
He could have imparted—
in another decade or two.
But He, too, ministered according to God’s schedule.

To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

James Dobson~~In the Arms of God

Trust God’s plan . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Blubs are blooming at Grandma Crain’s

Good Morning

Nathanael said to Philip, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Philip answered, “Come and see.”  John 1:46

Nathanael’s question still lingers, even tow thousand years later. . .
Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

Come and see.
Come and see the changed lives:

the alcoholic now dry,
the embittered now joyful,
the shamed now forgiven. . .
marriages rebuilt,
the orphans embraced
the imprisoned inspired . .

Come and see the pierced hand of God
touch the most common heart,
wipe the tear from the wrinkled fance,
and forgive the ugliest sin.
Come and see.

He avoids no seeker.
He ignores no problem.
He fears no search.

Come and see.

Max Lucado ~~A Gentle Thunder

Come . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie