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Blessed to Be a Blessing
This year I decided to read through the Old Testament while I finish studying Philippians. I haven’t spent much time in the Old Testament recently, so it’s been great to read the familiar Bible stories and get new looks into the truths they contain. Right now, I’m in the story of Abraham. What a unique life he had! And what a lot of faith there is in his story. Truly, he got to see God do great things with and through him. However, what God did for Abraham wasn’t only for Abraham, or even the nation of Israel. God blessed Abraham so that Abraham could be a blessing. “And I…
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Give God the Pen
A new year. A new planner. A new journal, its blank pages just waiting to be filled with the future. An unknown future that spreads out before us. Some of us face it with anticipation, others with apprehension. Whether happy or difficult, more chapters in the book of our life will be written in 2022. I wonder, though, how we are approaching these blank pages? Are we tightly gripping the pen of control, straining to write our story with our limited knowledge of the future? Or do we willingly relinquish control of our lives into the hands of the only One Who knows what is ahead? Remember the former things…
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When God Says No
You’ve prayed for something, over and over again. You’ve sought to follow the Lord and be submitted to His will. Maybe it looks as if the desired gift is almost within your grasp. Hard as it may be, you’ve tried not to desire this blessing more than you desire the Lord, and to keep your focus on Him and your longings on the altar. And then, finally, you receive the answer to your prayers, and you step back in grief and disappointment. God says “No.” My guess is that you’ve been here at some point (or maybe several!) in your life. A time when, instead of the “yes” answer you…
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Bloom in the Snow
Temperatures here in New York have been dipping into the 30’s at night and struggling into the upper 40’s during the day–sometimes! Everything is either brown or brown with a scattered coating of white. So I could hardly believe my eyes the other day when my mom called my attention to the concrete planter on our front step. For Mother’s day, my older sister had given my mom gerbera daisies, which bloomed all summer long and then died (or so we thought) when the frost hit. But there, hiding beneath the broad leaves that were still in the planter, its petals drooping and its head hung low, was a yellow…
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Only One Life
Hi everyone! This is not a poem I wrote, but it’s been a blessing to me and I hope will be to you as well! Only One Life has been attributed to C.T. Studd, a missionary to China and Africa in the early 20th century. Studd was a star cricket player in England, heading for fame when the near death of his brother brought him face to face with the realities of eternity. Although he was already a Christian, Studd realized he was not living for what truly mattered. He later said, “I know that cricket would not last, and honour would not last, and nothing in this world would…
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Give Him More
“By and by, when I look on His face, I’ll wish I had given Him more.” So goes the song that I remember noticing as a little girl, and even then, I was challenged by those words. They make me think of the day when I will stand before Jesus and finally, fully understand what it cost Him to redeem me. I will see His nail-pierced hands and know that they were pierced for me. Will regret and shame fill my heart, or will I be able to fall on my knees and rejoice that I spent my life in whole-hearted service to my Savior? Oh, this world we live…
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Feelings or Faith
When you feel… Alone or forsaken—remember that Jesus is always with you. Hebrews 13:5, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Afraid—remember that Jesus tells you to fear not, because He is by your side. Isaiah 41:10, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Discouraged—remember that with God, all things are possible. Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through…
