Thoughts of Grace

Good Morning

1Thessalonians 2:4
But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel,
even so we speak;
not as pleasing men,
but God, which trieth our hearts.

Someone once said,
“God doesn’t call the qualified; He qualifies the called.”
And the process of qualification can be quite exasperating,
for it essentially involves the full execution of selfish desires,
impure motives, hidden agendas, deceitful practices, vain ambitions,
and, uh — let’s see — oh yeah, greed, lust, and anger.
And a whole bunch of other things, too.
Did I mention whining?
Most people want God to use them in some way or another,
but not many appreciate that His motto for every minister is,
“shake well before using.”
Now you may be thinking, “Thank God I’m not a minister!”
But hold on there, junior.
The fact of the matter is undeniably certain —
every man is a minister.
Indeed, each and every member
of the mysterious “Body of Christ” is called into ministry
one way, or the other.
Paul spells it out in his Ephesian epistle:
“for the equipping of the saints,” he says,
“for works of ministry”(ch.4:12).
This means you. So while you may not be a preacher or a priest,
you nevertheless are a minister;
a life-agent in a dying world;
a royal ambassador for Christ.
Think of it this way.
Every member is a minister;
every minister has a ministry;
every ministry has a mission;
and every mission matters!
In other words, God has a specific purpose for you,
and it makes a difference whether or not you respond.
It not only matters to you;
but it matters to all the rest of us as well.
This is why the Lord spares no expense in working us over,
and wearing us out with a shake-shake here,
and a shake-shake there.
He wants each one of us to be thoroughly qualified,
so that every one of us can be fully trusted with the Message —
everywhere we go, each and everyday.
Then it will be said of us,
even as it was said of those first believers —
“And the disciples went everywhere preaching,
the Master working right with them,
validating the Message with indisputable evidence.”
(Mark 16:20, The Message) Rylie

Mark 16:20
And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.KJV

Feeling all shook up. . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

I have a few pictures from here in Az, but I forgot to load them on my computer. Next time. 🙂

Good Morning

Psalm 23:4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

At my father’s house in the country
there is a little closet in the chimney corner
where are kept the canes and walking-sticks
of several generations of our family.
In my visits to the old house,
when my father and I are going out for a walk,
we often to go to the cane closet,
and pick out our sticks
to suit the fancy of the occasion.
In this I have frequently been reminded
that the Word of God is a staff.

During the war, when the season of discouragement
and impending danger was upon us, the verse,
“He shall not be afraid of evil tidings;
his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord,” Psalm 112:7
was a staff to walk with many dark days.

When death took away our child
and left us almost heart-broken.
I found another staff in the promise that
“weeping may endure for the night,
but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalm 30:5

When in impaired health, I was exiled for a year,
not knowing whether I should be permitted
to return to my home and work again,
I took with me this staff which never failed,
“He knoweth the thoughts that he thinketh toward me,
thought s of peace and not of evil.” Jeremiah 29:11

In times of special danger or doubt,
when human judgement has seemed to be set at naught,
I have found it easy to go forward with this staff,
“In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” Isaiah 30:15

And in emergencies,
when there has seemed to be no adequate time
for deliberation or for action,
I have never hound this staff has failed me.
“He that believeth shall not make haste.” Isaiah 28:16
~~Benjamin Vaughn Abott, in The Outlook.

“I had never known,” said Martin Luther’s wife, “what such and such things meant, in such and such
psalms, such and such complaints and workings of spirit; I had never understood the practice of Christian duties , had not God brought me under some affliction.”

Leaning on the staff . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

We live in a fast-paced, busy,
media-saturated, noisy world.
Is it any wonder
that we really do need a quiet time every day?
A time for prayer and God’s Word?
Because it is too easy
to let the noise and activity of modern life
cloud and obscure the reality
that God is present and in our midst.
How different our lives would be
if we walked each step and
breathed each breath
with the knowledge
that God is right beside us.
Rejoicing with us.
Correcting us.
Encouraging us.
Loving us.
Do you slow down long enough
to sense God’s nearness to you? from A Day Book of Grace

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