It'll all work out in eternity....

We were discussing worry versus faith in a Christian group I belong to, and it made me think of a devotional I had read this month in In Touch, by Charles Stanley.

"What can be taken from someone who owns nothing? If he acknowledges God as the owner of all his possessions, then he can't ever suffer loss."
(is that not too cool, when you really, really think about it??? :) We can NEVER, EVER, EVER suffer loss because nothing is truly OURS to begin with!)

He goes on to say, "But when people yield everything in their lives to Jesus Christ and acknowledge His total control, they don't worry about what is in His hands. They trust that God will see them through both the blessings and hardships that come their way."
(definitely a matter of always trusting Him to be in total control, which if we were to think about it logically, is FAR better than US being in control, anyway!)

He then clinches it with: "Nothing we own on earth can go through the gates of heaven with us."
(Ah, now that's a resting thought...keeping our eyes on HOME.)

When worry is all boiled down, and honestly examined...it truly comes down to whom or what you  are trusting in. If we acknowledge our lives are in HIS hands...(and they are!)...then we should simply be about His business, and leave the rest to Him. After all, we know we're of infinitely more worth than the sparrows, and how He cherishes those sweet little winged friends!

“Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." ~Luke 12:6-7

("I don't know...I'm a little concerned Mabel, that this drought this year has done us in...I mean, just look how dry it is here...nothing but weeds are coming up!"
"Ah Hazel, don't you know that 5 sparrows are sold for 2 copper coins and are not forgotten before God? He's even numbered all our wings! Let's just hop around in the field, and lift our voices to God...after all, this field may be awfully dry, but our eternal home is not. Have some faith my friend...it'll all work out in eternity.")

Hail, guest...we love because He first loved us

This was on my flip calender for today:

WELCOME OVER THE DOOR OF AN OLD INN

Hail, Guest! We ask not what thou art;

If Friend, we greet thee, hand and heart;

If Stranger, such no longer be;

If Foe, our love shall conquer thee.

-----

What a wonderful greeting! I especially like the "we ask not what thou art"! How much ado the world makes of that, and how little the Lord does. For pleasantries' sake, it is fine, but it should never have a bearing on the scale of how much we love or give respect to another. May we always remember to love and greet one another as He did:

^"Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.  For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' You shall not covet,' and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." ~Romans 13:8-10

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another." ~John 13:34

"Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;" ~Romans 12:10

"...with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,...." ~Ephesians 4:2

"And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all...." ~I Thess. 3:12

L'Abri through the Generations

One of my all-time favorite books is L'Abri by Edith Schaeffer, wife of Francis Schaeffer. When I was in 7th grade, my dear mom introduced me to this lovely couple and their ministry, through encouraging me to read this book. Through the years, I have read this numerous times, and still never tire of it...every time I read it, I come away with more and more nuggets of truth.

When I was 26, God called my dear momma home, and how I miss her so much, even to this day. I sometimes feel like the little bird in the children's book, going around thinking "Are you My Mother?", lol...somehow hoping there will be some older, Godly woman, willing to step in and be those Titus 2 type shoes. But the foundation my sweet momma laid has never left me, and has only grown through the years. Because of her faithfulness to share the Gospel with me while I was growing up, I know we will one day be reunited, once again fellowshipping together. I cannot read this book, though, without feeling a little bit closer for now...somehow nearer to my Lord, heaven, and of course, Momma. :)

"Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations." ~Psalm 90:1
"But thou, O Lord, shall endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations." ~Psalm 102:12
"For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations." ~Psalm 100:5
"I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations." ~Psalm 89:1