Today’s thought – The Song of the Lord

nov23 010Cyclamen dress up our pathway, Thanks to the Farmer.

Good Morning

“When the burnt offering began, the Song of the Lord began.”– 2Chronicles 29:27.
“They sing as it were a new Song before the Throne.” — Revelation 14:3.

HEZEKIAH, AT the age of twenty-five, came to the throne, and set himself to reverse his father’s evil policy. The doors of the Temple were re-opened, and under his direction the Levites were commissioned to cleanse the desecrated courts of the rubbish and filth that had been allowed to accumulate. After eight days of strenuous labour, they were able to report that their work was successfully accomplished; that the altar of burnt-offering and the table of shewbread were ready for the renewal of their wonted service. It was good news, and in the early morning of a memorable day, the king, accompanied by his princes and officers of state, took part in a solemn service of re-dedication. Amid the tense expectancy of the vast congregation which had assembled, Hezekiah commanded that the burnt sacrifice should be offered; and “when the burnt-offering began, the song of the Lord began also.”

These ancient sacrifices have passed for ever. “Sacrifice and offering Thou dost not desire; mine ears hast Thou pierced (nailing me to Thy Cross); burnt-offering and sin-offering hast Thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come, I delight to do Thy will, O my God!” To yield up one’s life to the Saviour, to surrender our lives for others for His sake, to maintain the steadfast resolve of self-sacrifice,–this surely fulfils the conception of the burnt-offering, which the king ordered that morning as the symbol of national devotion to the Will of God. Can we wonder that the Song of the Lord began also? Does not that same Song arise in every heart when the sacrifice of love and obedience begins?

It is the self-contained life that has made itself snug within its four walls, sound-proof, sorrow-proof, as it thinks, and love-proof, which is song-less and pitiable.

Our Lord said: “‘Whosoever shall lose his life for My sake shall find it.” That finding is the correlative and source of the “Song of the Lord.'” Unite thyself with Jesus on the Cross, and one day thou wilt find thyself sharing with Him the New Song of accomplished Redemption!   ~~~Meyer

May my life sing . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 25, 2014 at 12:39 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Today’s thought – Stilling Life’s Storms

IMG_8856
Good Afternoon

“He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waters thereof are still. Then they are glad because they be quiet; so He bringeth them unto their desired haven.”– Psalm_107:29-30.

This Psalm contains five wonderful pictures of life.
First, we see the travellers
who have lost their way (Psalm 107:4-9);
next, prisoners and captives
who sit in darkness (Psalm 107:10-16);
we see a sick-room (Psalm 107:17-22);
next, a terrific storm at sea (Psalm 107:23-32);
and finally, the lovely picture of a desert land
being turned into a fertile landscape (Psalm 107:33-38).
The refrain, calling upon men to praise the Lord for His goodness,
is repeated four times,
and the Psalm closes with the fervent thought that all
who are wise will give heed to the various dealings of God,
as shown in these Acts of His loving-kindness.

In all lives there are periods of tumult and storm.
We are whirled about by angry billows, and it seems
as though we shall never reach the harbour of peace and rest.
Some give themselves up to such experiences as a fate
which they cannot avoid, or attempt to drown their fears
and dull their senses to suffering and danger.
But faith cleaves its way through the murky mists
and driving cloud-wrack, and establishes a sure connection
with the throne of the Eternal Father.
This is what the New Testament calls the anchorage of the soul,
and however severe the storm that sweeps over the earth,
the soul that shelters there is safe.
“Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble,
and He delivered them out of their distresses.”

At this moment you may be passing through
a storm of outward trouble.
Wave after wave beats upon you,
as one calamity is followed by another,
until it seems as though the little barque
of your life must be overwhelmed.
Look up to God and cry to Him.
He sees you, and will not allow you to be engulfed.
Or you may be experiencing inward sorrow.
Your affections have been misplaced;
the one you love has deceived and failed you,
and the sky is now dark and stormy.
The one resort of the soul when it is hard driven,
is to look up to Him who holds the winds in His fist,
the waters in the hollow of His hand,
and who cannot forget or forsake those who cry to Him. Meyer

Trust God for His Haven . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 21, 2014 at 2:18 pm  Comments (1)  
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Today’s thought – Three Taverns

tree nove 18I love California’s ‘leaf’ snow.

Good Morning

“Some of the followers in Rome heard about us and came to meet us at the Market of Appius and at the Three Taverns.When Paul saw them, he thanked God and was encouraged.”  Acts 28:15

This is a delightful moment captured forever in the words of Luke, author of The Acts. What makes this moment so special was that it came after a long and arduous struggle against one thing after another. Here’s a recap of what Paul and his fellow travelers had encountered.

First, a mob of religious fanatics rushed upon Paul intending to stone him to death in Jerusalem. Being both a Jew and a Roman citizen, Paul appealed to a Roman jailer who secured him in the local prison. From there he was sent first to Festus, who then passed him up the food chain to Agrippa; who then put him on a ship headed for Rome to appear before Caesar.

The ship, despite Paul’s warnings to the Captain, got caught in a horrific storm at sea; a storm of such force that all hope of their being saved was lost. Breaking apart upon a reef, they were able to make it to land, where Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake, but miraculously survived.

Finally they reach the shores of Italy and head towards Rome — the one City Paul had tried to visit so many times before, but was, in his words, “hindered by Satan” from doing so. And now he is on his way — as a prisoner in chains.

That’s when this scene unfolds. Believers in Rome had somehow heard that Paul was enroute, and traveled almost fifty miles out of the City to not only meet him on the way at a place called The Three Taverns, but to escort him into the City as if he were a visiting dignitary. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and was encouraged. One translation says, “his spirits rose.”

My friend, if the road you travel is beset with one blow after the other, and yet you are pressing on in faithfulness to the Lord — take heart. The Three Taverns are yet ahead, and a band of brothers will greet you there, lifting your spirits and filling your heart with praise! ~~Rylie

Philippians 3:13-14 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended:but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Press on . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 20, 2014 at 11:50 am  Leave a Comment  
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Today’s thought – The Mountain Climber

a_woman_climbing_a_mountain
Good Morning

1 Kings 19:11
And he said, Go forth,
and stand upon the mount before the Lord.

Make be Thy mountaineer; I would not linger on the lower slope.
Fill me afresh with hope, O God of Hope.
That undefeated I may climb the hill
As seeing Him who is invisible.

Make be to be Thy happy mountaineer, O God most high;
My climbing soul would welcome the austere; Lord, crucify
On rock or scree, ice-cliff or field of snow,
The softness that would sink to things below.

Thou are my Guide;
where Thy sure feet have trod Shall mine be set;
Thy lightest word my law of life, O God; Lest I forget.
And slip and fall, teach me to do Thy will,
Thy mountaineer upon Thy holy hill.
~~Amy Wilson Carmichael, from Mountain Trailways

Lead me to higher ground . . .Today
With my prayers, desring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 18, 2014 at 4:09 am  Leave a Comment  
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Today’s thought – The Word of God

482012 001My HOPE is built on nothing less . . .

Good Morning

Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth shall pass away,
but my words shall not pass away.

Priscilla Howe once described the Word of God as the Book that contains

the mind of God,
the state of man,
the way of salvation
the doom of sinners,
and the happiness of believers.
Its doctrines are holy,
its precepts are binding,
its histories are true,
and its decisions are immutable.

Therefore,
how can it ever fade from the grasp of man?
Read it to be wise,
believe it to be safe,
and practice it to be holy.
It contains
light to direct you,
food to support you,
and comfort to cheer you.
It is the traveler’s map,
the pilgrim’s staff,
the soldier’s sword,
and the Christian’s charter.
Here paradise is restored,
heaven opened,
and the gates of hell disclosed.
Christ is its grand object,
our good its design,
and the glory of God its end.
It should fill the memory,
rule the heart,
and guide the feet.
Read it slowly,
frequently,
and prayerfully.
It is a mine of wealth,
a paradise of glory,
and a river of pleasure.
It is given you in life,
will be opened in the judgment,
and be remembered forever.
It involves the highest responsibility,
will reward the greatest labor,
and will condemn all who trifle
with its sacred content.

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

Published in: on November 17, 2014 at 12:07 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Today’s thought – Coincidences?

july 24 flowers 011Zinnias still blooming.

Good Afternoon

1Kings 17:11-15
And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

What marvelous “coincidences”
are prepared by providential grace!
The poor widow is unconsciously ordained
to entertain the prophet!
The raven will be guided to the brook Cherith!
“I have commanded them to feed thee there.”
Our road is full of surprises.
We see the browning, precipitous hill,
and we fear it,
but when we arrive at its base we find a refreshing spring!
The Lord of the way had gone before the pilgrim.
“I go to prepare . . . for you.”

But how strange that a widow with only “a handful of meal”
should be “commanded to offer hospitality!
It is once again “the impossible” which is set before us.
It would have been a dull commonplace to have fed the prophet
from the overflowing larder of the rich man’s palace.
But to work from an almost empty cupboard!
That is the surprising way of the Lord.
He delights to hang great weights on apparently slender wires,
to have great events turn on seeming trifles,
and to make poverty the minister of
“the indescribable riches of Christ.”

The poor widow sacrificed her “handful of meal,”
and received an unfailing supply.
And this, too, is the way of the Lord.
~~~J.H. Jowett, from My Daily Meditation

Can even I be used . . . Today?
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 14, 2014 at 2:25 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Today’s thought -The Comforter Comes to Abide

Good Afternoon

Hosea 2:16
And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord,
that thou shalt call me Ishi;(my husband)

The coming of the Comforter is a holy thing,
a solemn act,
and must be preceded by an intelligent and solemn covenant
between the soul and God.
It is the marriage of the soul to the Redeemer,
and it is not a “trial marriage.”
No true marriage is rushed into carelessly.
It is carefully considered,
and it is based upon complete separation
and consecration and the most solemn pledges and vows.
So, if the Comforter is come to abide,
to be with us and in us evermore,
we must come out an be separate for Him,
we must consecrate ourselves to Jesus fully and forever,
and we must covenant to be the Lord’s
“for better or for worse,”
and we must trust Him.
The soul that thus truly and solemnly dedicates itself to Him
become His, and He will come to that soul to abide forever
to be its “shield and exceeding great reward.”

Hosea 3:3
And I said unto her,
Thou shalt abide for me many days;
thou shalt not play the harlot,
and thou shalt not be for another man:
so will I also be for thee.

Consider our vows . . .Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 12, 2014 at 1:22 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Today’s thought – My Peace I Give

july 14 001I find peace here,
even in the midst of the storm.

Good Morning

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

My peace I give in times of deepest grief,
Imparting calm and trust and My relief.

My peace I give when prayer seems lost, unheard;
Know that My promises are ever in My Word.

My peace I give when thou art left alone–
The nightingale at night has sweetest tone.

My peace I give in time of utter loss,
The way of glory leads right to the cross.

My peace I give when enemies will blame,
Thy fellowship is sweet through cruel shame.

My peace I give in agony and sweat,
For mine own brow with bloody drops was wet.

My peace I give when nearest friend betrays–
Peace that is merged in love, and for them prays.

My peace I give when there’s but death for thee–
The gateway is the cross to get to Me. ~~~L.S.P.

In all seasons there is peace, even . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 7, 2014 at 10:45 am  Leave a Comment  
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Todays’ thought – My Own Peace

feb19 002
Good Afternoon

“My own peace I give to you.” John 14:27

Two painters each painted a picture
to illustrate his conception of rest.
The first chose for his scene
a still, lone lake among the far-off mountains.

The second threw on his canvas
a thundering waterfall,
with a fragile birch tree bending over the foam;
and at the fork of the branch,
almost wet with the cataract’s spray,
sat a robin on its nest.

Thirst was only stagnation,
the last was rest.

Christ’s life outwardly was one
of the most troubled lives that ever lived;
tempest and tumult,
tumult and tempest,
the waves breaking over it all the time
until the worn body was laid in the grave.
But the inner life was a sea of glass.
The great calm was always there.

At any moment you might have gone to Him
and found rest.
And even when the human bloodhounds were dogging Him
in the streets of Jerusalem.
He turned to His disciples
and offered them, as a last legacy,
“My peace.”

Rest is not a hallowed feeling
that comes over us in church;
it is the repose of a heart set deep in God.
~~Drummond.

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Rest in Christ . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 6, 2014 at 2:39 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Today’s thought – The Love That Shows

apr11 005My Hedge Rose is still blooming.

Good Morning

Isaiah 48:10
Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver;
I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

If all my days were sunny could I say,
“In His fair land He wipes all tears away”?

If I were never weary, could I keep
Close to my heart, “He gives His loved ones sleep”?

Were no graves mine, might I not come to deem
The Life Eternal but a baseless dream?

My winter, and my tears, and weariness,
Even my graves, may be His way to bless.

I call them ills; yet that can surely be
Nothing but love that shows my Lord to me!
~~Selected

Are you receving blessings . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 4, 2014 at 10:33 am  Comments (1)  
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Today’s thought – Blessings

Good Morning

Deuteronomy 8:2
And thou shalt remember
all the way which the Lord thy God led thee . .

A bright, happy soul,
rejoicing in all God’s gifts,
seeing cause for thankfulness
and gladness in everything,
counting up mercies rather than trials,
looking at the bright side,
even of sickness,
bereavement,
and death–
what a very fountain
of goodness and love of Christ
such an one is!
I remember one who,
worn with sickness and sleepless nights,
answered to when question
if the nights did not seem interminable:
“Oh no, I lie still,
and count up my blessings!”
~~~H. L. Sidney Lear

Deuteronomy 8:2-6 Amplified Bible
And you shall [earnestly] remember all the way which the Lord your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and to prove you, to know what was in your [mind and] heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. And He humbled you and allowed you to hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you recognize and personally know that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not become old upon you nor did your feet swell these forty years. Know also in your [minds and] hearts that, as a man disciplines and instructs his son, so the Lord your God disciplines and instructs you. So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and [reverently] fear Him.

First on my ‘Thankful’list today,
my home didn’t leak during yesterday’s rain!
mar25 010

Count up . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on November 1, 2014 at 11:48 am  Leave a Comment  
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