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In the strange events of life, it is impossible to visualize or picture what the next 'thing' or even what the next moment will bring. There is no pandemic, no doubting, no behaviour, no questioning, no mistake, no regret— nothing will ever keep us from the love of God. The harsh adversities we experienced in the past, now or in the future, will never remove God's love. As unexpected circumstances crash into our ‘now’ and we find ourselves in dark places, feeling pressured beyond our capacity to cope, you and I need to remind ourselves God’s love becomes our steady rock that secures and grounds our minds and takes root in the core of our hearts, even when we fear, doubt or don't understand. We know in the natural realm, when the darkness of storm clouds dissipate and the sun peaks through the haze and we see the colours of a rainbow, it’s then we’re reminded of God's promise to always love and hold us ever near to his heart. As believers, our hope lies in the eternal truth and the revelation of our Father’s love – that no matter what happens to us or around us, we are anchored in the faithfulness of God's infinite passion, and his promises are always YES and Amen! "No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:37-39 NIV) Prayer: May you know the Father's love for you is always present and may his love richly abound in and with you in each season of your life. Lorraine Taylor
Upstate NY, USA - info@grace-lines.net The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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Walking through the valley11/23/2021 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4 NKJV) In this world, we walk through dark valleys and press against unknown shadows such as disappointments, illness, even death. These shadows seem to lengthen with each passing year — changing our perspectives, and deepening our faith. Late this fall, my husband and I were supposed to have a family get together. There was a menu planned and a hayride. Instead, plans were cancelled because my husband and I caught a highly infectious respiratory virus. On the day of the cancelled event, in the quiet of this unfortunate change of circumstance, I thought I’d catch some fresh air and take a walk. I pulled on my rubber boots and walked to the end of a dried out pond named Skinny on our property. I shuffled through the soft but dried up landscape where clumps of grass and weeds spread beneath my feet. Instead of water glistening end to end, the pond is now a grassy field where deer scamper, graze and play, and birds soar above the sunken valley which makes a long and natural amphitheatre. As I stood at the far end, I played my wooden flute. It echoed down the valley and up and over birch and aspen—those leaning sentinels almost bared of yellow leaves. I played before the winds of winter howl down across the soft depression in the land, blanketing the grassy field with layers of fallen snow. I played Wayfaring Stranger. You may recognize the tune: I’m just a poor wayfaring stranger, A trav’ling through this world below; But there’s no sickness, no toil, nor danger, In that bright world to which I go. I’m going there to meet my Father I’m going there no more to roam; I’m just a going over Jordan, I’m just a going over home. Even in my disappointment, God keeps things in perspective. by Toni Babcock
Minnesota, USA - info@grace-lines.net The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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Calm your storm11/23/2021 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” (Matthew 8:26 NIV) While Jesus was sailing with his disciples, a sudden storm broke out sending waves sweeping over the boat. Walking by sight instead of faith, the disciples submitted to their fears and began to panic. Storms approach our lives as pandemics, job loss, loss of loved ones, emotional crisis, and an infinite number of matters of the flesh. When these storms strike, like the disciples, we too often forget how we are called to walk and submit to fear that leads to panic. There is restlessness, anxiety, and discouragement when we walk by sight. Do you think these struggles or our ensuing fear is from the Lord? I do not. When Jesus saw his disciples panic, he asked; “Where is your faith?" He asks us the same question today—where is our faith? In other words, why are we walking by sight instead of faith? Even though uncertainties surround us, there is one thing we can be certain of; the assurance of the Lord and his promises in the Word. When Jesus got up, he rebuked the storm and it was calm. So, let's get up, walk by faith, not by sight, and use the same authority over our storms. Jesus finished everything on the cross that we might have the same authority over the devil and his ways. Walking by faith in the authority Jesus gave us, honours our Lord's sacrifice and makes our lives a whole lot better. by Deepika Emanuel Sagar
Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India - info@grace-lines.net The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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Those who wait11/23/2021 “The eyes of all look to you and you give them their food in due season.” Psalm 145:15 (NRSV) Waiting upon God is mostly what He calls us to do. In fact, not just mankind, but the entire creation is ruled by the one unalterable law of waiting upon God (Romans 8:19). However, what the universe and the animal creation does unconsciously, God’s people are to do voluntarily. Waiting upon God means we receive from Him what He alone can give, what He alone delights to give. Waiting upon God is the only true faith. In waiting, we depend upon Him entirely. In waiting we hope to see the goodness of the Lord displayed in our life. In waiting upon Him, we will find rest and joy, strength and peace and the supply of every need. Waiting is a little different from praying though. In prayer, the focus is on needs and petitions. We must pray and then we wait for His supply. Our prayers are intermingled with quietness as we remember who God is, how near He is, and how He will certainly help us. In our praying let there be times of reverent silence, stillness of the soul and yielding ourselves fully to Him. In the waiting, God can overshadow us with His gentle, loving presence. His Spirit will remind us that there is nothing too difficult for Him and His love will keep us each day. Waiting on God gives Him time to come to us in His divine power, for this is what He longs to do. Let’s continue waiting upon our dear Lord so that we might receive His grace and mercy in our times of need. by Jennifer Woodley
South-East Queensland, Australia - info@grace-lines.net The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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Fight the good fight11/23/2021 “Fight the good fight of faith, take hold of the eternal life to which you were called…” 1 Timothy 6:12 NAB The most important battles we will fight are not physical or mental. Here on earth, we are in a spiritual battle—the good fight! We who are called to eternal life must take up this good fight, for we are in a war zone. First, we must be alert because our enemy, the devil, is. What is to be our response to his constant prowling in our territory? “Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings.” (1 Peter 5:9) In all our sufferings, trials, and tribulations, we are to resist the evil one with our faith. With it, we can be constant in chaos. Here’s our promise: “Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) In humility, submit to the Lord and He will strengthen you in battle, causing the enemy to flee. “Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.” (1 Timothy 6:11)Walk the highway of holiness, and persevere in it. The devil will run from the image of Christ forming in you. “Tell them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, ready to share, thus accumulating as treasure a good foundation for the future, so as to win the life that is true life.” (1 Timothy 6:18-19) And what is that true life? Eternal life is what we win in the good fight of faith. Goodness is the weapon in this wonderful war. You are not in the fight alone—take heart! “The Lord is faithful; He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.” (2 Thessalonians 3:3) by Karen Pourbabaee
Edmond, Oklahoma, USA - info@grace-lines.net The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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When I survey the wonderous Cross11/23/2021 “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted...” (Matthew 28:16-18 KJV). Issac Watts’ beautifully inspirational hymn When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, closes with the thought that: If I had the whole realm of nature in the palm of my hand; if I could truly grasp and appreciate all its intricate and mysterious beauty and majesty and if it were mine to give; it would be far too small a gift to offer in response to the amazing love, divinely revealed, as I stand and “survey the wondrous Cross on which the Prince of Glory died.” It is here, at the foot of the Cross, that my faith rests; but it is also here that, at times, my greatest doubts loom most large and threaten to assail me. The full value of the Cross can be simply too much to take in. It is at the Cross that I am most acutely aware of my abject baseness and so it is here that my soul often trembles due to my limited understanding. Truly, nothing compares to the power of the Cross, and, in spite of all my weaknesses and limitations, I find the light of its eternal truth shining majestically through the darkness of doubt and fear to bring to my troubled soul “the peace of God that which passes all understanding” (Philippians 4:7 AV). There are moments in our lives when we are overwhelmed by the vastness of the created order. As King David of Israel observed, man seems an insignificant little speck of dust when set against the great canvass of the universe (Psalm 8:3-4). As Christians, we can also be overawed by the staggering complexity and all-embracing nature of God’s love for us, as revealed at the Cross. There are moments when even the most fervent believers tremble with unbelief, through the limitations of the flesh. But this is all part of the value of the Cross: that it drives us to the point of desolation, so as to reveal to us our true salvation, which is not of the flesh but of the Spirit (Romans 8:1). Let us not be afraid to come to the Cross and, in spite of our failure to grasp the fullness of its eternal majesty and glory; humbly receive its blessings and rest in its eternal truth. The Cross is the evidence of God’s abiding love for us; of the truth that he will never leave us or forsake us; of the reality of our inner perfection; of the certainty of resurrection and of lost loves regained; of the receiving of pardon; of the embrace of the Father; of communion with the Son and of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. by Richard Dempsey
Cambridgeshire, England - info@grace-lines.net The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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We shall overcome11/23/2021 "To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne" (Rev 3:21 KJV). In the 1960’s, the song "We Shall Overcome" emerged as a very powerful anthem of the Civil Rights Movement and was particularly associated with the peaceful boycotts, sit-in’s and marches organised under the charismatic and inspirational leadership of Dr Martin Luther-King, Jr. The confident hope that victory will eventually come, is beaten out in the well know refrain: “deep in my heart, I do believe, we shall overcome someday.” When an oppressed people find themselves compelled to stand in the face of prejudice, discrimination and persecution, the goal of realising true justice and equality can often appear nothing more than an allusive dream, as the same injustices continue to re-emerge generation after generation. When Jesus told his apostles: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves…” (Matt 10:16), how did the great shepherd ever expect his chosen lambs to ever stand against the wolverine hordes into whose fiercely guarded territories he was directing them? Were they, like the romancer Don Quixote, merely to “dream the impossible dream” and prepare to “fight the unbeatable foe”? Were they to proceed in their own strength and seek to overcome all adversity by their own dubious efforts? Surprisingly, after speaking of the persecution and tribulation which his disciples must inevitably face, Jesus adds the following assurances. “I have told you these things,” he says, “that you may have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33). This last statement from Jesus provides the basis for our confidence, as we strive to live peaceable lives in an increasingly rebellious, hostile and merciless world. We rejoice not only in a victory won, by our Saviour and Lord, but in a victory shared, as we participate in that victory through our faith in the Son of God. It is through our faith in Christ that we assist in the overthrow of evil, the pulling down of every stronghold (2 Cor 10:4). In this way, we are overcomers with Him, as the apostle John explains: “and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith?” (1 John 5:4-5 NKJV). It is by faith that Jesus’ victory becomes our victory too and, when that faith is given expression through witness, then the heart breaks into song: “we shall overcame, we shall overcome…” and we have overcome, not just “someday” but even now: for by the blood of the Lamb is the accuser cast down and by the word of our testimony is the prince of this world routed (John 12:31; Revelation 12:10-11). by Richard Dempsey
Cambridgeshire, England - info@grace-lines.net The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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Give thanks11/23/2021 “To you, O God of my ancestors, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and power, and have now revealed to me what we asked of you.” Daniel 2:23 (NRSV) Daniel asked God to reveal Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to him. The Father answered by showing Daniel a vision of the dream. Surely Daniel was excited about this. He could have raced to the King with the news. But he did not. Instead, Daniel remained with God, giving thanks. Just as Daniel had invested time in praying to God, Daniel now invested time in praising God. How do we feel when God answers prayers? Excited, light with relief, ready to declare the good news? Most definitely. But before we go tell what He has done, do we stop to give God the credit? As much as we have been persistent in prayer, let us match this commitment with gratitude when prayers are answered. Giving thanks in times of answered prayer not only shows God our humble appreciation, but it is a reminder that nothing good happens without His doing. Our prayers have been answered because of God’s goodness and His involvement, not because we have done anything deserving. He alone has worked in our lives, He alone is merciful, kind and loving. Giving thanks puts everything back in the right perspective. Answered prayer is a precious gift and it is at the very least polite to thank the Giver before we tell everyone about our blessing. Let’s stop to consider how God may feel when we take His gift for granted, not stopping to thank Him for it. In our enthusiasm and excitement let’s not neglect to give Him thanks. by Jennifer Woodley
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"I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5b ESV) For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom 8:38-39 The fact that God promises that His love will never leave or forsake us should evoke a tremendous response of peace within our whole being, no matter what is going on in our life. If it doesn't, we need to stop reading and doing, and deeply meditate on these verses. God's word, the infallible seed, believed and taken to heart is guaranteed to bring a harvest of peace and healing power, never returning to God void. These promises from God and many more represent His absolute assurance of His everlasting love, protection, provision and our blessed future. If we believe God's promises to us, we walk in His Spirit that overcomes the world. If we doubt, we walk in the flesh, overcome by the world's ways, filled with fear and worry, struggling as we try to do things in our strength. If we believe God's promises, nothing, absolutely nothing, can prevent the power and peace they contain from overcoming our troubles. All of the power held within His promises are readily available to us at this very moment. We just need to stop doubting and believe. Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you." Deut 31:6 ESV Please, don't rush off and forget God’s promises. Take the time to meditate deeply on the absolute truth that God's love will never leave or forsake you. Captivate your mind and heart fully with these truths until His priceless peace and power are released into your present circumstances. Then, and only then, will you be prepared to move forward, walking in the Spirit, more than a conqueror in this fallen world. by Michael Edwards
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11/23/2021
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