Do All To His Glory...

"The whole life of a Christian should be nothing but praises and thanks to God; we should neither eat nor sleep, but eat to God and sleep to God and work to God and talk to God, do all to His glory and praise." ~Sibbes, Richard

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." -1 Corinthians 10:31

He knows you intricately!

I love how our God is such a personal God! In today's email devotion from Joni Eareckson Tada, she wrote, "Lord, I'm grateful I'm not a What's-his-name in your eyes. I'm not a face in the crowd. You thought of me, formed me, and designed every unique, wonderful bone in my body long before the foundation of the earth."

What a wonderful thought...we are *not* what's his-names to Him! In fact, we are so intricately loved & fashioned that He says, "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." (Luke 12:6-7) Can you imagine? He knows us SO well, that He has the very hairs on our heads all numbered!

And in Psalm 139: 13-14, it says: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." You may or may not have knit anything before, but it's *very* detailed, and complex, and intricate...every purled and knitted stitch matters in creating the final design! Knitting is definitely a work of love, and that's what God has done in creating each of us. He has created us with much love, down to the very last detail.

I pray that as you go about your day, that you sense and know His great love for you...YOU whom He fashioned down to the very last detail. In fact, He loves you SO much, that: "...he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) Now THAT's a show of love that tops all shows of love!!

If...

"I shall act as my own if I ever make use of any of my powers to do anything that is not to the glory of God, or to fail to make the glorifying of Him my whole and entire business. If I murmur in the least at afflictions; if I am in any way uncharitable; if I revenge my own case; if I do anything purely to please myself, or omit anything because it is a great denial; if I trust to myself; if I take any praise for any good which Christ does by me; or if I am in any way proud, I shall act as my own and not God's. I purpose to be absolutely His." ~Jonathan Edwards

Makes me think of the hymn, An Evening Prayer, by C. Maude Bat­ters­by. I love this hymn...I can so well remember from my growing up years, after my mom had us tucked in bed for the evening...her playing this on the organ, singing out these words with such a precious, intentional heart for the Lord.

An Evening Prayer

If I have wounded any soul today,
If I have caused one foot to go astray,
If I have walked in my own willful way,
Dear Lord, forgive!

If I have uttered idle words or vain,
If I have turned aside from want or pain,
Lest I myself shall suffer through the strain,
Dear Lord, forgive!

If I have been perverse or hard, or cold,
If I have longed for shelter in Thy fold,
When Thou hast given me some fort to hold,
Dear Lord, forgive!

Forgive the sins I have confessed to Thee;
Forgive the secret sins I do not see;
O guide me, love me and my keeper be,
Dear Lord, Amen.

A Gentle & Quiet Spirit

I was working through my daily Bible study this morning, out of the book Putting on A Gentle and Quiet Spirit, by Elizabeth George. The prayer at the end of today's reading was so lovely, I just had to post it here:

"Teach me, Lord, to keep sweet and gentle in all the events of life, in disappointments, in thoughtlessness of others, in the insincerity of those I trusted, in the unfaithfulness of those on whom I relied.

Help me to put myself aside, to think of the happiness of others, to hide my little pains and heartaches, so that I may be the only one to suffer from them.

Teach me to profit by the suffering that comes to me. Help me to use it that it may mellow me, not harden or embitter me; that it may make me broad in my forgiveness; kindly, sympathetic, and helpful."
~~~~

May you not be discouraged when trials come your way. And may God give you grace sufficient to bear up under, always putting on a gentle & quiet spirit, which is so pleasing to Him.

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." ~Romans 5:3-5

Who Do You Fear Most?

I was talking to someone earlier today, about how confusing it is to those that are lost, when the Gospel is watered down by so many around us in today's day & age. And then I open my daily email, which I get from Revive Our Hearts. In it, is said:

"We want the crown without the cross, but there’s no crown without the cross. There’s no eternal life without death to self.

If we are faithful in proclaiming that Jesus is Lord and that He is the only way to salvation and if we hold to the moral standards of God’s Word, the world will oppose us.

The only way to avoid suffering for your faith is to compromise your faith, to fear man rather than God, to water down the message, to lower our standards. I can’t help but wonder if that’s why we haven’t seen more true persecution in this country because we have so diluted the gospel message and so watered down the standards of God’s holiness that we’re not an affront to anybody."
~~~
How I love what that says! Makes me think of these verses below. May you go out each day, accepting that the crown comes with a cross.

" 18 If the world hates you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." ~John 15:18-19
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"14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:
16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?
17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ." ~2 Corinthians 2:14-18

I Know Nothing As I Ought...

The below is from one of my favorite books, Valley of Vision. You can find it by clicking here. You can also find the complete audio of it by clicking here.

"Self-Noughting

O Lord,
Help me to approach thee
with becoming conception of thy nature,
relations and designs.
Thou inhabitest eternity, and
my life is nothing before thee;
Thou dwellest in the highest heaven and
this cannot contain thee;
I live in a house of clay.
Thy power is almighty;
I am crushed before the moth.
Thy understanding is infinite;
I know nothing as I ought to know.
Thou canst not behold evil;
I am vile.
In my ignorance, weakness, fears, depressions,
may thy Spirit help my infirmities
with supplies of wisdom, strength and comfort.
Let me faithfully study my character,
be willing to bring it to light,
observe myself in my trials,
judge the reality and degree of my grace,
consider how I have been ensnared or overcome.
Grant that I may never trust my heart,
depend upon any past experiences,
magnify any present resolutions,
but be strong in the grace of Jesus:
that I may know how to obtain relief
from a guilty conscience
without feeling reconciled to my imperfections.
Sustain me under my trials
and improve them to me;
give me grace to rest in thee,
and assure me of deliverance.
May I always combine thy majesty
with thy mercy,
and connect thy goodness
with thy greatness.
Then shall my heart always rejoice
in praises to thee." ~Valley of Vision, p. 84

"For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." ~1 Corinthians 1:25