dW 12.21.07

December 21

 

Trials and Pain: Ordered By the Lord

 

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the

Lord upholds him with His hand.  Psalm 37:23-24

 

To the child of God, there is no such thing as accident. He travels an appointed way. The path he treads was chosen for him when as yet he was not, when as yet he had existence only in the mind of God.

 

Accidents may indeed appear to befall him and misfortune stalk his way; but these evils will be so in appearance only and will seem evils only because we cannot read the secret script of God's hidden providence and so cannot discover the ends at which He aims....

 

The man of true faith may live in the absolute assurance that his steps are ordered by the Lord. For him, misfortune is outside the bounds of possibility. He cannot be torn from this earth one hour ahead of the time which God has appointed, and he cannot be detained on earth one moment after God is done with him here. He is not a waif of the wide world, a foundling of time and space, but a saint of the Lord and the darling of His particular care.

We Travel an Appointed Way, pp. 3-4

 

"I worship and praise You this morning for this: 'the absolute assurance that his steps are ordered by the Lord.' And for the fact that 'misfortune is outside the bounds of possibility.' What a privilege to be 'a darling of His particular care.' Wow! Amen." Dan

 

A.W. Tozer

dW 12.20.07

scripture

 

1 Peter 1:3-7

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

 

quote

 

Build a man a fire and he will be warm for a day; set him on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life.

John Calvin, 1509-1564

 

Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn.

John Wesley, 1703-1791

dW 12.19.07

http://www.the-daily-Word.blogspot.com

 

scripture

 

Matthew 13:47-50

"Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all these things?" Jesus asked. "Yes," they replied.

 

quote

 

I preached as if to never preach again and as a dying man to dying men.

- Richard Baxter

 

information

 

65 million people don't have a church home

35 million would go to church if they were asked

- Gallup poll

dW 12.18.07

scripture

 

James 4:13-17

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

 

illustration

 

We want God to give us a paper that says where we will go to school, what job we will have, when we will get married, where we will live, and how many kids we will have.

After we review this paper we will choose to sign it whereby saying that we approve of these plans. However, God instead gives us a blank paper and says to sign it.

Roger Spradlin

 

quote

 

Perhaps it is so hard to know the will of God because we have it already mapped out.

Roger Spradlin

 

blog

 

Why JESUS is better than Santa Claus

dW 12.17.07

scripture

 

Luke 6:41-42

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

 

quote

 

It is much easier for me to see my sin in you than it is for me to see my sin in me.

Unknown

 

thoughts

 

At the root of pointing out the sins of others is a desire to make yourself look better. However, sin is sin and all sin is grievous to a Holy God.

Why JESUS is better than Santa Claus

Santa lives at the North Pole...
JESUS is everywhere!

Santa rides in a sleigh…
JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water!

Santa comes but once a year…
JESUS is an ever present help!

Santa fills your stocking with goodies…
JESUS supplies all your needs!

Santa comes down your chimney uninvited…
JESUS stands at your door and knocks, and then enters your heart when invited!

You have to wait in line to see Santa…
JESUS is as close as the mention of His name!

Santa lets you sit on his lap…
JESUS lets you rest in His arms!

Santa doesn’t know your name, All he can say is, “Hi little boy or girl, what’s your name?”
JESUS knew our name before we did! Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too, He knows our history and future, and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads!

Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly…
JESUS has a heart full of love!

All Santa can offer is HO HO HO…
JESUS offers health, hope, and happiness!

Santa says, “You better not cry”…
JESUS says, “Cast all your cares on me, for I care for you!”

Santa’s little helpers make toys…
JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes, and builds mansions!

Santa may make you chuckle, but…
JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.

While Santa puts gifts under your tree…
JESUS became our gift, and died on a tree!

It’s obvious there is really no comparison!

We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about!

We need to put CHRIST back in Christmas!