Standing Inside The FIre

Zechariah 13:9 KJV; God refines His children. It is not easy but it is well worth it!

Jesus WIll Give You Rest

He Will Give You rest

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. 

                    (Matt 11:28-30 KJV)

Why make things tougher than they have to be?  Life does indeed give us lots of challenges to overcome. At times we might feel overwhelmed. But, the promise of Jesus is that all that go to him he will give rest.  He will give us rest for our souls. 

I have found over the years that daily prayer and not just once a day; but, often throughout the day will give a person peace of heart and mind. So, if you want rest for your tired and anxious soul trust the Lord Jesus for he is with you and he will give you the peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7) no matter what you are going through.

Thanks be to God for our Lord Jesus the Christ! 

God's Peace - Pr. J. 

His Thoughts; His Way

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 

                                        (Isaiah 55:8-9 KJV) 

It would be easy to give up and let the world have it's way with you. But, the Word of the LORD reminds us to seek Him and His Way. God's ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. Following in the way our ego would have us go will only prove to be devastating to our lives and the world around us. 

And... it may also be a good thing to remember that no matter how bad things get, God is still in charge. He can turn the greatest tragedy into the most marvelous triumph. From the most troubled times, He will lead us out in joy and lead us forth in peace; the peace that only He can give. 

Seek the LORD and come to the One who knows the way; who is The Way. 

God's Peace - Pr. J

I Will Give You Rest

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:28-29 NIV)

So many people seeking rest for their souls in the world today. Yet, they seek it in all the wrong places. There seems, at times, that there is nothing one can say or do, to help them to understand that Jesus truly can give us the rest we need. Unwilling to take up his yoke and to learn from Jesus; we take upon ourselves a much heavier yoke, stumbling and often falling.  For some awful reason, we would prefer to do everything our own way; the harder way.

If, today, you find, that you are weary and burdened with the cares of the world, toss aside the yoke that is holding you down and find rest at the feet of our LORD and King, Jesus the Christ. Go to Him; learn from him, and He will give you rest.

God's Peace - Pr. J

End Of The Line

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matt 7:13-14)

I was not the perfect child growing up nor was I a particularly bad kid good growing up, either. I liked to climb trees; ride bike; go for walks; build forts... My parents had strict boundaries set for us and when we crossed them, my father would let us know. He'd say: "You've reached the end of the line, sister." I knew someone was in big trouble when I heard that!

My husband, for what reason I am still trying to fathom, like to watch the television show "The Walking Dead." In one of the seasons (maybe more seasons than that) they are all of the living are trying to get to a place called Terminus." I could not figure out why anyone would think that a place named Terminus would be a good place to go. It turned out that it was not. Terminus means the end of the line. It means the final point in time or space. So why would anyone go there?

But, then again some people want to do a lot of things that I can't quite fathom why they would do them. They want to get blitzed! Why? Blitzed means to be attacked and defeated. How about getting stoned? Why would anyone want to get stoned? In biblical times getting stoned was not a good thing. It also meant the end of the line. It meant death. Getting wasted also doesn't sound like something to look forward to on a Saturday night. It means physically or psychologically exhausted; debilitated. Again, near the end of the line.

So why would anyone follow a path that leads only to the end of the line; to destruction? The road that leads to life can be tough. There are a lot of challenges; a lot of temptations to overcome. But, I'm thinking a tough road to eternal life is better than an easy one that leads to eternal destruction.

Years ago, I had taken some young men from a correctional facility hiking to see a beautiful waterfalls. About half a mile in, I realized that they were very nervous. I asked them why. It turned out that they feared that we might be lost and would be attacked by some wild animal or maybe come to the end of the line by falling off a cliff. They were from Detroit and although very street wise; they could not see the path that we were following in the wilderness. Someone has to show the way to those who cannot see the path. Someone has to show them the path and the way in which they should go. That is what Christians are called to do. Will we show them the way?

May God help us to choose wisely the path that we will follow and guide others on the way.

God's Peace - Pr. J