Gifted through Grace

Numbering

giftedthroughgrace — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:10:38 +0000

I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause: Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number: Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields: To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety. Job 5:8-11

Quotes from John Calvin:

“The stability of the world depends on the rejoicing in God’s works….If on earth, such praise of God does not come to pass…then the whole order of nature will be thrown into confusion…”

“And yet if so small a portion of God’s work ought to ravish us and amaze us, what ought all his works do when we come to the full numbering of them?”

How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. Psalm 139:17-18

Trust God for your day, ….Today

Truth

giftedthroughgrace — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:04:27 +0000

Jacob is still on my mind……..God will give truth to Jacob, the truth about himself and the the truth that God is the answer for the problem Jacob had. He is just the same today.

“Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He lights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depth of the sea. You will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham, Which You have sworn to our fathers from days of old.
Micah 7:18-20

Trust God for your day, ….Today

Christ’s Life = the Standard

giftedthroughgrace — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:00:59 +0000

from the archives
From Joy & Strength , Mary Wilder Tileson

But we all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image fro glory to glory. 2 Corinthians 3:18

Nothing short of the Life of the Eternal Son of God—the Holiness, the Purity of God, is the standard at which we are to aim; that is to be reproduced in our circumstances; the Divine Perfections are to
be translated , reproduced in our life, our home, our trials, our difficulties, our age of the world. Lest us ask ourselves, What is the
special likeness of Christ that He would reproduce in me? What are the features of His Life that He calls me to imitate? What pattern would He set before me in my work, my circumstances, my difficulties? What are the inspirations of grace that He would urge me to cultivate and cherish?
Arthur C. A. Hall

In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, Titus 2:7

Trust God for your day, ….Today

Benefits of Wrestling with God

giftedthroughgrace — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:53:09 +0000

We tend to pray with words because we aren’t brave enough to pray
from our groaning soul ache. And so we chatter away with our Dear God, just…and we miss him in the middle of all. this. noise. He’s still there, though. He doesn’t roll his eyes or cross his arms or tap his foot with impatience. He hears all the chattering and he sees what lies beneath it. Even in the noise, He gathers us up and pours Himself out. Emily at chatting at the sky

And Jacob was left alone, and a Man wrestled with him until daybreak.
And when [the Man] saw that He did not prevail against [Jacob], He touched the hollow of his thigh; and Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint as he wrestled with Him. Then He said, Let Me go, for day is breaking. But [Jacob] said, I will not let You go unless You declare a blessing upon me.
v.27 [The Man] asked him, What is your name? And [in shock of realization, whispering] he said, Jacob [supplanter, schemer, trickster, swindler]! And He said, Your name shall be called no more Jacob [supplanter], but Israel [contender with God]; for you have contended and have power with God and with men and have prevailed Then Jacob asked Him, Tell me, I pray You, what [in contrast] is Your name? But He said, Why is it that you ask My name? And [the Angel of God declared] a blessing on [Jacob] there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [the face of God], saying, For I have seen God face to face, and my life is spared and not snatched away. And as he passed Penuel [Peniel], the sun rose upon him, and he was limping because of his thigh.
Genesis 32:24-31 Amplified

Pondering Sunday morning’s message, I must wrestle with God to find out, for myself, what are the meanings of the issues of life. In that wrestling, I, also, find out who I am. Jacob during his wrestling with came face to face with the realization of just how he appeared before God in verse 27. And like Jacob, as I wrestle I will be broken, my will, my preconceived ideas, There is a cost but the benefit is so great, I put a high value on wrestling with God.

Would you like to hear the message?
http://churchofgodcarmichael.org/ and click on Sunday Morning Gospel Podcast for January 22
Trust God for your day, ….Today

Planted

giftedthroughgrace — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 02:05:39 +0000

After all the hustle and bustle of the holidays,
it is sometimes easy to feel spiritually drained and dry.
The psalmist sing that the one who meditates on God’s law
day and night
is like a tree that never knows winter;
planted as it is by streams of water.
Harriet Crosby

But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Psalm 1:2-3

Trust God for your day, ….Today

The Living God

giftedthroughgrace — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:49:58 +0000

O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee. Daniel 6:20

How many times we find this expression in the Scriptures, and yet it is just this very thing that we are so prone to lose sight of. We know it is written “the living God”; but in our daily life there is scarcely anything we practically so much lose sight of as the fact that God is the living God; that He is now whatever. He was three or four thousand years since; that He has the same sovereign power, the same saving love towards those who love and serve Him as ever He had and that He will do for them now what He did for others two,, three, four thousand years ago, simply because He is the living God, the unchanging One. OH, how therefore we should confide in Him and in our darkest moments never lose sight of the fact that He is still and ever will be the the living God!

Be assured, if you walk with Him and look to Him and expect help from Him,

He will never fail you.

Trust God for your day, ….Today

The Triumph of Trust

giftedthroughgrace — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:52:40 +0000

“But I will trust in thee.” Psalm 55:23

It is one thing to boast of faith when all things are great and wonderful. But it is an entirely different matter when one can walk in the triumph of trust while things are desperate all about him. The Psalmist here is a man whose prayers are not being answered; indeed, it would seem to him that his voice is not even being heard in heaven at all. And it’s not like he’s asking for vain things. No, quite the contrary; for all hell has broke loose and he’s fighting for his life! “The terrors of death are fallen upon me,” he says, “Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me!”

It’s a bad day. Furthermore, he is painfully aware of his own powerlessness in the situation; he doesn’t even have the ability to run away and hide somewhere. He would gladly scamper if he could, but even that is beyond his supply. He is captive in a Philistine prison. He’s stuck in a bad deal, and it’s only getting worse. For a friend, a dear friend; a treasured friend has betrayed him cruelly. A man he had worshipped with in the presence of the Lord, a man whose friendship he had never doubted and on whose loyalty he had staked his life – this man had proven to be false and broke David’s singing heart. And in this downward spiral of sorrow he cried to God above — and nothing. No answer at all. Nada. Zippo. It’s a bad day; a real bad day.

Anybody would understand if at this moment David had decided to call it quits on God; after all, people do it all the time. “C’mon David,” they would say, “join the rest of us who are done with childish things like faith and prayers, Bible verses and silly love longs. Welcome to the real world!”

But David was cut from another stock than that, and now in this darkening moment a single ray of light still remained — it was the light of trust. He refused to regard God’s silence as indifference, or to consider God’s inactivity as impotence. No, instead, he triumphed in trust. ”Heaven might be brass today, and God withdrawn and silent, but I will trust in Thee,”he said. “Winds may be howling and demons may be growling, and all things lovely to behold may be blown away, but I will trust in Thee. My heart is faint, my hopes are dim, and my power is gone, but I will trust in Thee. And though friends have fallen and turned to foes, and none can give solace to my deeper wounds, nevertheless I will trust in Thee.”

We know now that David’s trust in the Lord paid off huge, for history holds him forth as one of the greatest of Israel’s kings. And the Church holds him dear as one of God’s great champions. Who knows but that a similar destiny awaits you on the other side of this ordeal? Stay the course, my friend, and stand in the triumph of trust! Rylie

Trust God for your day, ….Today

The Guiding Hand

giftedthroughgrace — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:01:17 +0000

Henri Nouwen devotiona:

The Spiritual Work of Gratitude

To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, but to be grateful for all of our lives . . .the good as well as the bad, the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections . . . that requires hard spiritual work. Still we are only truly grateful people when we can say thank you to all that has brought us to the present moment. As long as we keep dividing our lives between events and people we would like to remember and those we would rather forget, we cannot claim the fullness of our beings as a gift of God to be grateful for. Let’s not be afraid to look at everything that has brought us to where we are now and trust that we will soon see in it the guiding hand of a loving God.

What? Shall we accept [only] good at the hand of God and shall we not accept [also] misfortune and what is of a bad nature? Job 2:10 Amplified Bible

Trust God for your day, ….Today

giftedthroughgrace — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:43:01 +0000

“We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that He has already thrown open His door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand . . . out in the wide open spaces of God’s GRACE and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise. These’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectance such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary . . . we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!” Romans 5:2-5 (MSG)

. . . our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Romans 5:1b-5 KJV

. . . our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God’s favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God. Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance. And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation. Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us. Romans 5:b-5 Amplified Bible

Trust God for your day, ….Today

The Whole Year

giftedthroughgrace — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 07:16:48 +0000

And the Lord shall guide thee continually . . . Isaiah 58:11

Advance into this new year on your knees. Faith does not concern itself with the entire journey. One step is enough, That first step is all that is needed.Breathe a prayer for courage to fill your legs as well as your heart as your face the unknown, the unexpected. What matters that you know not your destination? Put your hand into the hand of God. He gives the calmness and serenity of heart and soul As he endures you too can endure the climb over sharp rocks and crags. Climb with Him to the end of the year –yea, even to the end of life’s trail. “The peak that is nearest the storm-cloud is nearer the stars of light.” He gives the courage for which you pray to rise above the valley. Heed the Master’s voice and press bravely on to the fulfillment of your task. You have a whole year to scale.

Trust God for your day, ….Today