Look Ahead

"His glory covers the skies, and His praise fills the earth. He is like a bright light. Rays of light shine from His hand, and there He hides His power." Habakkuk 3:3-4

Father, you never promised us that this world would be easy. And yet, all of us can look ahead to the city that's set on a hill, to the lights that call us to eternity. And we take hope.

By Max Lucado, taken from "Walking with the Savior"

Problems That Confront You

"The Lord is the strength of his people, the saving refuge of his anointed." Psalm 28:8 NAB

The more we endure
With patience and grace,
The stronger we grow
And the more we can face.

Helen Steiner Rice


Today's Prayer
Today grow stronger as you adopt the policy of patiently addressing the problems that confront you.

Psalm 31:1-5

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.
2 Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.

3 Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

4 Free me from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.

5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;
redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.

Uncommon Beauty

"The Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation." Psalm 149:4

For some folks, the word holiness conjures up images of stuffy prudes—people who are “good” in the worst sense of the word, with sullen and morose faces. They are full of self-righteousness and rigid duty, “on hold for the next life,” as a Washington Post writer put it.

Most people long for truth and goodness. Yet that desire can be frustrated by what they see in some Christians, whom they perceive as self-righteous and judgmental. To unbelievers, such “virtue” is far less interesting than vice, with the result that they cling to their vices even though they may hate them. Joy Davidman, the wife of C. S. Lewis, said, “One sanctimonious hypocrite makes a hundred unbelievers.”

Would that the world saw the real thing—that extraordinary quality of life of which Peter speaks—a life so winsome and attractive it will draw others to the Savior (1 Peter 2:12). “If only 10% of the world’s population had [holiness],” C. S. Lewis mused, “would not the whole world be converted and happy before year’s end?”

We can have it! As we yield our lives to God’s Spirit within, we can live lives of uncommon beauty before a watching world. Israel’s poet assures us, “The Lord . . . will beautify the humble” (Ps. 149:4). — David H. Roper

Beautiful faces are those that seem
With the very love of God to beam;
Beautiful forms are those that grace
With gentle service the lowliest place. —Anon.

Live so that others will want to know Jesus.

Taken from "Our Daily Bread"

God's Promises!

"He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart." Psalm 91:4

She had stopped at a red light. Before she even realized the car door had opened, a man had a gun stuck in her side. He demanded, "Lady, just drive. Don't do anything dumb!"

she had just heard a message on Psalm 91. This psalm told her that god was her refuge, that He was her fortress, that He would deliver her from the snare of the flower, that He covered her with His feathers, that He was her shield and rampart. But in this instant, with a gun in her side and her mind in a whirl, she could not think of the exact words of the Scripture.

In desperation, all she could come up with and exclaim was, "Feathers! Feathers! Feathers!"

the hijacker panicked. He shouted, "Lady, you are crazy!" And as quick as he has appeared, he disappeared!

Oh, how precious to know that when we can't think of a promise word for word, or when we don't have time to quote a promise for the situation in which we find ourselves, God knows His promises and He knows our heart.

By Kay Arthur, taken from "Women's Devotional Bible 2"

Psalm 30:11-12

11 You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.

We Are Thankful

"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, because you made all things. Everything existed and was made, because you wanted it." Revelation 4:11

Father in heaven, hear our praise. Holy Father, we are thankful that we have more than enough clothes to wear, thankful that we have places to sleep and that we won't go to bed hungry. We're thankful that even if all of this were taken away from us, we'd still have our hope of eternity. You have been gracious to us.

By Max Lucado, taken from "Walking with the Savior"

I Look to Thee

"Why art than cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." Psalm 42:11

Ah! why by passing clouds oppressed,
Should vexing thoughts distract thy breast?
Turn thou to Him in every pain,
Whom never suppliant sought in vain;
Thy strength in joy's ecstatic day,
Thy hope, when joy has passed away.

H. F. LYTE

Beware of letting your care degenerate into anxiety and unrest; tossed as you are amid the winds and waves of sundry troubles, keep your eyes fixed on the Lord, and say, "Oh, my God, I look to Thee alone; be Thou my guide, my pilot;" and then be comforted. When the shore is gained, who will heed the toil and the storm? And we shall steer safely through every storm, so long as our heart is right, our intention fervent, our courage steadfast, and our trust fixed on God. If at times we are somewhat stunned by the tempest, never fear; let us take breath, and go on afresh. Do not be disconcerted by the fits of vexation and uneasiness which are sometimes produced by the multiplicity of your domestic worries. No indeed, dearest child, all these are but opportunities of strengthening yourself in the loving, forbearing graces which our dear Lord sets before us.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES

Compiled by Mary W. Tileston, taken from "Daily Strength for Daily Needs"

Lie Still and Trust

"I had fainted unless…! Psalm 27:13

"FAINT NOT!"

How great is the temptation at this point! How the soul sinks, the heart grows sick, and the faith staggers under the keen trials and testings which come into our lives in times of special bereavement and suffering.

"I cannot bear up any longer, I am fainting under this providence. What shall I do? God tells me not to faint. But what can one do when he is fainting?"

What do you do when you are about to faint physically? You cannot do anything. You cease from your own doings. In your faintness, you fall upon the shoulder of some strong loved one. You lean hard. You rest. You lie still and trust.

It is so when we are tempted to faint under affliction. God's message to us is not, "Be strong and of good courage," for He knows our strength and courage have fled away. But it is that sweet word, "Be still, and know that I am God."

Hudson Taylor was so feeble in the closing months of his life that he wrote a dear friend: "I am so weak I cannot write; I cannot read my Bible; I cannot even pray. I can only lie still in God's arms like a little child, and trust."

This wondrous man of God with all his spiritual power came to a place of physical suffering and weakness where he could only lie still and trust.

And that is all God asks of you, His dear child, when you grow faint in the fierce fires of affliction. Do not try to be strong. Just be still and know that He is God, and will sustain you, and bring you through.

"God keeps His choicest cordials for our deepest faintings."

"Stay firm and let thine heart take courage" Psalm 27:14 (After Osterwald)

Stay firm, He has not failed thee
In all the past,
And will He go and leave thee
To sink at last?
Nay, He said He will hide thee
Beneath His wing;
And sweetly there in safety
Thou mayest sing.

–Selected

Compiled by Mrs. Charles Cowman, taken from "Streams in the Desert"

He Is There

"Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not . . . For I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring." Isaiah 44:2a, 3

THose of us who are commissioned to be an active part of the great reconciliation of God - and everyone who belongs to Hm is to be a part of this reconciliation - should look long and deeply at this "blue stone" verse.

First of all, f you feel discouraged in your Christian service, this promise is from "the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb . . ." No doubt, He is not at all surprised at this seeming failure. At your present discouragement. And this same Lord "which will help thee" also commands that you "Fear not . . ."

In all things, even this present trial, He is there.

"It is I; be not afraid."

He is in this thing with you. If those whom you are sent to guide and watch over n their spiritual infancy seem to be ill unto death; if they are stumbling and making alibis and showing the deceitfulness of every human heart, "Fear not . . ." the Lord is saying right now, "For I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thy offspring."

Those whom God uses to reach others for Himself know the travail of watching silently and praying for those babes "until Christ be formed in them." It s an agony not expressible in words. But the Lord reminds us that we are not to be afraid for them. We are just to go on belonging to Him ourselves. In one sense they are our "children". In the ultimate sense they are His children. And His responsibility. Just as we too, are His responsibility. We can simply rest and belong because "Thus saith the Lord that made the . . .":

And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

By Eugenia Price, taken from "Share My Pleasant Stones"

By Nature to Bear It

"There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." I Corinthians 10:13

Not so, not so, no load of woe
Need bring despairing frown;
For while we bear it, we can bear,
Past that, we lay it down.

SARAH WILLIAMS

Everything which happens, either happens in such wise that them art formed by nature to bear it, or that thou art not formed by nature to bear it. If then, it happens to thee in such way that thou art formed by nature to bear it, do not complain, but bear it as thou art formed by nature to bear it. But, if it happens in such wise that thou art not able to bear it, do not complain; for it will perish after it has consumed thee. Remember, however, that thou art formed by nature to bear everything, with respect to which it depends on thy own opinion to make it endurable and tolerable, by thinking that it is either thy interest or thy duty to do this.

MARCUS ANTONINUS

Compiled by Mary W. Tileston, taken from "Daily Strength for Daily Needs"

Tithing

This was first posted on 9.19.06. I know many of you read it last year and have heard our story, yet the Lord has placed it upon my heart to post it again.

"Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not keep them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the Lord Almighty. "But you ask, 'How are we to return?' "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "in tithes and offerings........Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,' says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." Malachi 3: 7, 8 & 10

The date of October 16, 2001 is marked next to these verses in my Bible with a note beside it saying, "Time for us to stop robbing God of His money. Take a leap in faith."

The previous year was the year we had Emily, I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, went through 6 months of treatment and Eric got laid off of his job of 5 years. In 2001 we were trying to make ends meet on $900.00 a month from unemployment. VISA, car, house, health, auto insurance payments, other living expenses and unforeseen expenses had to come out of this money. It seemed impossible to meet all our needs.

One day during a sermon on tithing these verses were brought to our attention. We were never good at tithing and always made it the last check of the month to write out. Pastor Steve challenged us to tithe every month even if we didn't have the money to do so. To take that leap of faith and see how God would take care of our needs. We decided to take up the challenge.

Our needs were great and the unemployment check didn't even cover our house payment let alone everything else. We did have many wonderful people help us along the way which really did keep us going and for which we're so thankful for. But writing out the first check of the month to tithing before paying the bills was a scary thing to do. It didn't make sense on paper. Yet, God stretched our $900.00 so that we were able to pay every bill and stay afloat for 14 months. Twice we were blessed with $1,000 in cash in the mail that was the exact amount we needed. Who gave us $2,000 is still a mystery but God moved them to bless us with it.

You may think tithing is a way for the church to get your money and, yes, through tithing the staff is paid, the building is paid for and kept up and other ministries are supported. But in all reality, what we are given is from God and what He asks back is an act of obedience and a leap of faith. In doing so, He is showing us that He cares for us and does watch over ALL of our needs and we grow in ways we never expected.

To this day I can't tell you how we ended up in a better position then before Eric lost his job. I have no clue how God worked it all out and I give Him all the glory for blessing us in so many ways. God cares for us and wants us to live the life He intended for us to live. Take the leap of faith in turning to Him, in following His leading or if you are a Believer and part of a Church body, in tithing.

Krista Jones
9.18.06

God's Love Song

"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

This verse will be familiar to most of you who went to the NHCC Women's Retreat. At the retreat we went through the book of Zephaniah. Yes, you read right - Zephaniah. It's a small book located in the Old Testament between Habakkuk and Haggai. It's not one I would go to often unless I'm at that point in my Bible reading.

Zephaniah 3:17 is the one verse I fell in love with. It says everything I see God as being. I see this as God's Love Song to me. It speaks of how He's always with us. It says that He saves us. It says that He takes great delight in us. WOW, He delights in me? I can't imagine since it seems that I let Him down every day of my life. And yet, He is like a Father who loves his children unconditionally no matter what they do. He delights in us so much that He rejoices over us with singing.

"He will quiet you with His love" is especially meaningful to me this week. In my crazy week I come to this verse today and see that His hand is covering over me. Rocking me gently until I become still and quiet. Until I feel the warmth of His love overpower and calm me.

The Lord truly loves His children (you). No matter who you are or what you've done you can ALWAYS turn to Him. Turn to Him for the first time; after many years or in your time of need. He delights in you!

Krista Jones
12.12.07

Sanctified Souls Are Satisfied

"My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, saith the LORD." Jeremiah 31:14

Note the "My" which comes twice: "My people shall be satisfied with My goodness." The kind of people who are satisfied with God are marked out as God's own. He is pleased with them, for they are pleased with Him. They call Him their God, and He calls them His people; He is satisfied to take them for a portion, and they are satisfied with Him for their portion. There is a mutual communion of delight between God's Israel and Israel's God. These people are satisfied. This is a grand thing. Very few of the sons of men are ever satisfied, let their lot be what it may; they have swallowed the horse-leech, and it continually cries, "Give! give!" Only sanctified souls are satisfied souls. God Himself must both convert us and content us. t is no wonder that the LORD's people should be satisfied with the goodness of their LORD. Here is goodness without mixture, bounty without stint, mercy without chiding, love without change, favor without reserve. If God's goodness does not satisfy us, what will? What! are we still groaning? Surely there is a wrong desire within if it be one which God's goodness does not satisfy. LORD, I am satisfied. Blessed be Thy name.

By C.H. Spurgeon, taken from "Faith's Checkbook"

The Friend of God

"Abraham stood yet before the Lord" (Gen. 18:22).

The friend of God can plead with Him for others. Perhaps Abraham's height of faith and friendship seems beyond our little possibilities. Do not be discouraged, Abraham grew; so may we. He went step by step, not by great leaps.

The man whose faith has been deeply tested and who has come off victorious, is the man to whom supreme tests must come.

The finest jewels are most carefully cut and polished; the hottest fires try the most precious metal. Abraham would never have been called the Father of the Faithful if he had not been proved to the uttermost. Read Genesis, twenty-second chapter:

"Take thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest." See him going with a chastened, wistful, yet humbly obedient heart up Moriah's height, with the idol of his heart beside him about to be sacrificed at the command of God whom he had faithfully loved and served!

What a rebuke to our questionings of God's dealings with us! Away with all doubting explanations of this stupendous scene! It was an object lesson for the ages. Angels were looking.

Shall this man's faith stand forever for the strength and help of all God's people? Shall it be known through him that unfaltering faith will always prove the faithfulness of God?

Yes; and when faith has borne victoriously its uttermost test, the angel of the Lord--who? The Lord Jesus, Jehovah, He in whom "all the promises of God are yea and amen"--spoke to him, saying, "Now I know that thou fearest God." Thou hast trusted me to the uttermost. I will also trust thee; thou shalt ever be My friend, and I will bless thee, and make thee a blessing.

It is always so, and always will be. "They that are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." --Selected

It is no small thing to be on terms of friendship with God.

Compiled by Mrs. Charles Cowman, taken from "Streams in the Desert"

Praise God In All Circumstance

"I will praise the Lord at all times; His praise is always on my lips. My whole being praises the Lord." Psalm 34:1-2

We should serve God even if there is darkness enveloping our life and even if we don't understand what's happening . . . even when the circumstances of our life don't make sense; Because He is worthy of praise, Because He is God.

By max Lucado, taken from "Walking with the Savior"

Thorough Cleansing

"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you" (Ezekiel 36:25).

What an exceeding joy is this! He who has purified us with the blood of Jesus will also cleanse us by the water of the Holy Spirit. God hath said it, and so it must be, "Ye shall be clean." LORD, we feel and mourn our uncleanness, and it is cheering to be assured by Thine own mouth that we shall be clean. Oh, that Thou wouldst make a speedy work of it! He will deliver us from our worst sins. The uprisings of unbelief and the deceitful lusts which war against the soul, the vile thoughts of pride, and the suggestions of Satan to blaspheme the sacred name-all these shall be so purged away as never to return. He will also cleanse us from all our idols, whether of gold or of clay: our impure loves and our excessive love of that which in itself is pure. That which we have idolized shall either be broken from us or we shall be broken off from it. It is God who speaks of what He Himself will do. Therefore is this word established and sure, and we may boldly look for that which it guarantees to us. Cleansing is a covenant blessing, and the covenant is ordered in all things and sure.

By C.H. Spurgeon, taken from "Faith's Checkbook"

"I delivered thee"

"Thou calledst in trouble, and. I delivered thee." Psalm 81:7

"Be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed." I Chronicles 22:13

Thou canst calm the troubled mind,
Thou its dread canst still;
Teach me to be all resigned
To my Father's will.

HEINRICH PUCHTA

Though this patient, meek resignation is to be exercised with regard to all outward things and occurrences of life, yet it chiefly respects our own inward state, the troubles, perplexities, weaknesses, and disorders of our own souls. And to stand turned to a patient, meek, humble resignation to God, when your own impatience, wrath, pride, and irresignation attack yourself, is a higher and more beneficial performance of this duty, than when you stand turned to meekness and patience, when attacked by the pride, or wrath, or disorderly passions of other people. - WM. LAW

Compiled by Mary W. Tileston, taken from "Daily Strength for Daily Needs"

Specialize in the Impossible

"The hill country shall be thine" (Josh. 17:18, RV).

There is always room higher up. When the valleys are full of Canaanites, whose iron chariots withstand your progress, get up into the hills, occupy the upper spaces. If you can no longer work for God, pray for those who can. If you cannot move earth by your speech, you may move Heaven. If the development of life on the lower slopes is impossible, through limitations of service, the necessity of maintaining others, and such-like restrictions, let it break out toward the unseen, the eternal, the Divine.

Faith can fell forests. Even if the tribes had realized what treasures lay above them, they would hardly have dared to suppose it possible to rid the hills of their dense forest-growth. But as God indicated their task, He reminded them that they had power enough. The visions of things that seem impossible are presented to us, like these forest-covered steeps, not to mock us, but to incite us to spiritual exploits which would be impossible unless God had stored within us the great strength of His own indwelling.

Difficulty is sent to reveal to us what God can do in answer to the faith that prays and works. Are you straitened in the valleys? Get away to the hills, live there; get honey out of the rock, and wealth out of the terraced slopes now hidden by forest. --Daily Devotional Commentary

Got any rivers they say are uncrossable,
Got any mountains they say 'can't tunnel through'?
We specialize in the wholly impossible,
Doing the things they say you can't do.
--Song of the Panama builders

Compiled by Mrs. Charles Cowman, taken from "Streams in the Desert"

Love Teaches

"He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children." Psalm 78:5

One of the most essential ingredients of education is the parents' attitude and example regarding basic curiosity and a desire to learn.

It is not so much the didactic or "book" learning that is important to parent-child relationships, however. It is, instead, educating children about life - and death; about themselves - and others; about their world - and how they fit into it. The love of learning and the curiosity that will only be satisfied through finding out about something - that is a parent's means of prompting a child to become wise and to respect and appreciate the teacher.

My parents encouraged my love for learning (and for them) by their examples. The dad who took time out during a busy day to show a little girl a baby chick being hatched, a brand-new baby colt on its first wobbly walk, or a littler of pink squealing piglets did not know the impact those simple sights would have on her life! He was teaching her about creation, the Creator and her own place in God's scheme of things.

Through my parents' reading, I learned to love books; through their philosophy. I learned to think; through their humor, I learned to laugh; through their discipline, I learned obedience, respect and self-control. It was through their faith that my own was born.

By Grace H. Ketterman, taken from "Women's Devotional Bible 2"

Will you sing to God?

"Lord, I will thank you with all my heart; I will sing to you." Psalm 138:1

It's incredible that anyone could look at the kindness of God, the faithfulness of God, and the goodness of God and not feel any emotion of gratitude.

By Max Lucado, taken from "Walking with the Savior"

Who do you seek for aid?

"Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me; for my soul trusteth in Thee: yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast." Psalm 57:1

My God! in whom are all the springs
Of boundless love and grace unknown,
Hide me beneath Thy spreading wings,
Till the dark cloud is overblown.

I. WATTS

In time of trouble go not out of yourself to seek for aid; for the whole benefit of trial consists in silence, patience, rest, and resignation. In this condition divine strength is found for the hard warfare, because God Himself fights for the soul. - M. DE MOLINOS

In vain will you let your mind run out after help in times of trouble; it is like putting to sea in a storm. Sit still, and feel after your principles; and, if you find none that furnish you with somewhat of a stay and prop, and which point you to quietness and silent submission, depend upon it you have never yet learned Truth from the Spirit of Truth, whatever notions thereof you may have picked up from this and the other description of it. - M.A. KELTY

Compiled by Mary W. Tileston, taken from "Daily Strength for Daily Needs"