Monday Oct 31

Halloween.  The second largest celebratory holiday today in America!  How sad.
Easter should be first, Christmas second and Thanksgiving third in my humble opinion.
 But these are truly the end times and we are facing more of the emergence of satan's powers.  
So be it, Praise God from whom all blessings flow, from whom life, faith and hope comes. 
 Today's meditation from Charles Spurgeon:



October 31


Morning
“Renew a right spirit within me.” - Psa_51:10


A backslider, if there be a spark of life left in him will groan after restoration. In this renewal the same exercise of grace is required as at our conversion. We needed repentance then; we certainly need it now. We wanted faith that we might come to Christ at first; only the like grace can bring us to Jesus now. We wanted a word from the Most High, a word from the lip of the loving One, to end our fears then; we shall soon discover, when under a sense of present sin, that we need it now. No man can be renewed without as real and true a manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s energy as he felt at first, because the work is as great, and flesh and blood are as much in the way now as ever they were. Let thy personal weakness, O Christian, be an argument to make thee pray earnestly to thy God for help. Remember, David when he felt himself to be powerless, did not fold his arms or close his lips, but he hastened to the mercy-seat with “renew a right spirit within me.” Let not the doctrine that you, unaided, can do nothing, make you sleep; but let it be a goad in your side to drive you with an awful earnestness to Israel’s strong Helper. O that you may have grace to plead with God, as though you pleaded for your very life-”Lord, renew a right spirit within me.” He who sincerely prays to God to do this, will prove his honesty by using the means through which God works. 
Be much in prayer; live much upon the Word of God; kill the lusts which have driven your Lord from you; be careful to watch over the future uprisings of sin. 
The Lord has his own appointed ways; sit by the wayside and you will be ready when he passes by. Continue in all those blessed ordinances which will foster and nourish your dying graces; and, knowing that all the power must proceed from him, cease not to cry, “Renew a right spirit within me.”


Evening
“I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.” - Hos_13:5


Yes, Lord, thou didst indeed know me in my fallen state, and thou didst even then choose me for thyself. 
When I was loathsome and self-abhorred, thou didst receive me as thy child, and thou didst satisfy my craving wants. Blessed for ever be thy name for this free, rich, abounding mercy. Since then, my inward experience has often been a wilderness; but thou hast owned me still as thy beloved, and poured streams of love and grace into me to gladden me, and make me fruitful. 
Yea, when my outward circumstances have been at the worst, and I have wandered in a land of drought, thy sweet presence has solaced me. Men have not known me when scorn has awaited me, but thou hast known my soul in adversities, for no affliction dims the lustre of thy love. 
Most gracious Lord, I magnify thee for all thy faithfulness to me in trying circumstances, and I deplore that I should at any time have forgotten thee and been exalted in heart, when I have owed all to thy gentleness and love. 
Have mercy upon thy servant in this thing!
My soul, if Jesus thus acknowledged thee in thy low estate, be sure that thou own both himself and his cause now that thou art in thy prosperity. 
Be not lifted up by thy worldly successes so as to be ashamed of the truth or of the poor church with which thou hast been associated. Follow Jesus into the wilderness: bear the cross with him when the heat of persecution grows hot. 
He owned thee, O my soul, in thy poverty and shame-never be so treacherous as to be ashamed of him. O for more shame at the thought of being ashamed of my best Beloved! Jesus, my soul cleaveth to thee.
“I’ll turn to thee in days of light,
As well as nights of care,
Thou brightest amid all that’s bright!
Thou fairest of the fair!”

Lord, I am nothing without Your love and grace.  I yield all to you my Lord and Savior.  

Do what you will with me, not for my glory but Yours.  

In Jesus's Holy Name, amen.

Friday Oct 28

Dear friend,
Do you want to be truly free, self fulfilled, and find all joy?  Then surrender all, refocus your vision and redirect your paths to just one... to accept Jesus Christ, THE Son of God as your Savior, Redeemer, and God.  All else will follow, all else will become clear.  
Things may not change overnight, anymore than winter jumps on a poor unsuspecting summer.  There is the gradual, pleasant change of autumn, with changes in everything, until the season has fully turned.  
There will be some difficult times, many challenges to your Faith.  Your Hope will be tested and nearly crushed.  It is God's way of refining you, getting all the impurities out of you, and in turn magnifying your good points, bringing out all the pure things in you and then filling you with even more good things - love, joy, peace, long suffering, patience, mildness... even forgiveness.  
Accept Jesus today, turn to Him and just ask, "Jesus, Son of God, I confess my sins, I accept You as my Savior, come into my heart, into my life and I submit all to you."  Yep, that's it.  There most likely won't be any lightning and thunder, there may not even be any thing you can see... but you will FEEL and KNOW as the Holy Spirit will do what you ask.
God bless you with all your heart's desires!  
Consider today's meditation by James Ryle:



October 28


Ashamed of Jesus?
Jesus said, "Whoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." (Mark 8:38).
Sometimes following Jesus is not the popular thing to do. Thus, these words strike at the coward that lingers within our hearts during those times when social trends are decidedly anti-christian.
God knows we must be motivated outside ourselves in order to rise above that within us which holds us down — namely, the fear of failure, embarrassment, and rejection. This fear can be defeated by openly embracing Jesus Christ.


Paul said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." (Romans 1:16).
He wrote his young disciple, Timothy, and encouraged him to take a stand for Jesus. He said, "God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God."(2 Tim 1:7,8).


Our response to Christ's presence and purpose makes Him proud to stand up for us as our God! The writer of Hebrews tells us,


Turning the pages in an old book, I came upon this wonderful poem by Joseph Grigg entitled Ashamed of Jesus?
Jesus, and shall it ever be, a mortal man ashamed of Thee?
Ashamed of Thee, whom angels praise, 
Whose glories shine through endless days?
Ashamed of Jesus! Sooner far let evening blush to own a star!
He sheds the beams of light divine 
O'er this benighted soul of mine.
Ashamed of Jesus! That dear Friend On whom my hopes of heaven depend!
No! When I blush, be this my shame, 
that I no more revere His name.
Ashamed of Jesus! Yes, I may, when I've no guilt to wash away;
no tear to wipe, 
no good to crave, 
no fears to quell, 
no soul to save.
Till then, nor is my boasting vain, 
Till then I boast a Savior slain.
And, O, may this my glory be, 
That Christ is not ashamed of me!


My friends — when darkness increases our lights shines brightest. Do not be ashamed of Jesus under any circumstance. And He will not be ashamed of you!


God bless you and yours today!

Thursday Oct 27

Sleep eludes me again.  Guess my age is affecting my sleep patterns.  I used to be able to lie down, be blessed with 7 hours of rest full sleep and wake refreshed and ready.  Now I am lucky to get 5 hours.  I go to sleep before 11 p.m. and the wake clearly around 3:30.  I am not fully rested, body is sleepy, but the mind is not willing to fall back into deep sleep.  I eventually drift back into a snooze, but the alarm goes off and of course I am not fully recharged.  Unfortunately, my job does not allow for the afternoon nap that I should be taking!


So, here I am awake at 4 in the morning, prayerful, and in need of so much on this world.  Beginning to finally get the message... not my way but SUBMIT to GOD'S WAY!


Here's today meditation from James Ryle:



October 27


A Life With No Regrets
"But I have no regrets." (2 Timothy 1:12, The Message).


While we may not have all the answers to Life's many unsolved mysteries, we nevertheless have no regrets about where we have placed our Faith — in Jesus Christ — nor about the life which that Faith has emboldened us to live in this disturbed world.
What a wonderful thing to be able to say at the end of your days — "I have no regrets."
Paul is standing in chains before Caesar, about to be condemned to death for preaching the Gospel. His confession was unwavering: "Jesus Christ is Lord." This singular sentence spoken in boldness, love, and sensibility so enraged the High Court of Rome that Paul was summarily dismissed and sent to await his execution.
While in his cell, Paul writes one last letter — to his young champion, Timothy. And he says, "It is for the cause of the Gospel I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." (2 Timothy 1:12,KJV).
Inspired by this scripture, an old Gospel hymn says, "I know not why God's wondrous grace to me He hath made known; nor why, unworthy, Christ in love redeemed me for His own. I know not how this saving faith to me He did impart; nor how believing in His word wrought peace within my heart. I know not how the Spirit moves, convincing men of sin; revealing Jesus through the Word, creating faith in Him. I know not when my Lord may come, at night or noonday fair; nor if I'll walk the vale with Him, or meet Him in the air.....
"But I know whom I have believed in, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day!"
That's a life with no regrets!


I pray that today you will live well, that God will bless what you do, and that you will move closer to God in His infinite grace.

Wednesday Oct 26

Wednesday already! How is your week going so far?  What is happening in your life?  Bit stressed?  A lot stressed?  Bills, demands, and many things not turning out the way they should or they way you want?  Yeah, me too.


I hold on because of my faith, belief, and hope in God my Creator, Jesus my Savior and Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit my Guide, Comforter, and Inspiration.  If nothing else in this world, I have three advocates and champions, three guides and protectors, three of the most powerful and all knowing beings as my guides and helpers.  And all I have to do is BELIEVE, ACCEPT, SUBMIT, AND COMMIT all that I am and all I hope for to Jesus, to God, to the Holy Spirit!  Have you?


Consider today's meditation by F.B. Meyer:



October 26


THE BLAMELESS LIFE
"I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it."-- 1Th_5:23-24.


HE WILL do it. 
There is a tone of confidence in these words which bespeaks the unwavering faith of the Apostle in the faithfulness and power of God to do for these early Christian folk what indeed is needed by all of us; 
first, to be sanctified wholly, and
secondly, to be preserved without blame until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We can hardly realise how much this meant for men and women reared amid the excesses and evils of those days, when religion was another name for unbridled indulgence. Blamelessness of life, the stainless habit of the soul, self-restraint--these were the attributes of the few whose natures seemed cast in a special mould. And yet how strong the assertion of the Apostle that, in the face of the insurmountable difficulties, the God of Peace would do even as much for them.
We must distinguish between blamelessness and faultlessness. 
The latter can only be ours when we have passed into the presence of His glory, and are presented faultless before Him with exceeding joy (Jud_1:24). 
The former, however, is within the reach of each of us, because God has said that He will do it. The Agent of the blameless life is God Himself. None beside could accomplish so marvellous a result, and He does it by condescending to indwell the soul. As His glory filled Solomon's Temple, so He waits to infill the spirit, soul, and body of those who trust Him.
He will do it as the God of Peace. The mightiest forces are the stillest. Who ever heard the day break, or detected the footfall of Spring? Who thinks of listening for the throb of gravitation, or the thud of the forces that redden the grape, golden the corn, and cover the peaches with bloom? 
So God works in the hearts of those who belong to Him. When we think we are making no progress, He is most at work. The presence of ozone in the air can only be detected by a faint colour on a piece of litmus-paper, and God's work in the soul is only apparent as the bloom of perfect love is shown in the life.


PRAYER
Almighty God, who lovest us, and to whom are known our yearnings for this blessed life; work Thou within us, quietly, gently, mightily, ridding us of the love of sin, and producing within us that blamelessness of soul which in Thy sight is of priceless value. AMEN.

Tuesday Oct 25

Last week of October, Halloween next, then deep autumn as the leaves finally all fall down, if you're up north, or the weather finally gets below 80 if you're in the south.  The seasons come and seasons go, but the Love of God remains forever!
Consider this from F.B.Meyer:



October 25


OUR LORD'S PRAYER
"Holy Father, keep through Thine own Name those whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, as we are."-- Joh_17:11.


THIS MARVELLOUS seventeenth chapter of St. John's Gospel has been called the Incense Altar of the New Testament. It is full of the sweet fragrance of our Lord s intercession for His own. Let us linger over it for a little, that its wondrous depths may unfold before our eyes. It is a window into His inner consciousness, from which we may read some of the thoughts that habitually filled His soul.
Christ's self-obliteration. The motives that animated our Lord's earthly ministry were all for the Father's glory. 
He anticipated, in fact, those great words of the Apostle: "Of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever" (Rom_11:36). In this we have an example, that we should follow His steps. We also must find our fresh springs in Him, as He found them in God; we also must be willing to forsake and surrender all things to Him, holding them as His stewards; we also must appropriate, moment by moment, His unsearchable wealth; If any glory should ever fall to our lot, we must lay it at His feet, and share it with those entrusted to our charge.
Christ's self-assertion. Though our Lord obliterated His own interests, there were many things which were inalienable and of which He could not dispossess Himself. 
He knew that He had ever been One with God, and ever would be, that the love which had existed between the Father and Himself was to be shared by a multitude that no one could number. It is ours to know that we are loved with an unchanging love, that in Christ we are enriched into the measure of God's unchangeable fullness. Oh, why do we not more deeply share the self-obliteration of Christ for others, that we may stand with Him on these glorious heights, beyond the reach of doubt and fear?
Christ's self-realization. Listen to His joyous words: "I am glorified in them." "I in them, Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one." It is only as He sees His joy glowing in myriads of redeemed souls, and finds His love reproduced in their lives, that He is fulfilled and satisfied.


PRAYER
We thank Thee, our heavenly Father, for the gift of Jesus our Lord to be our Saviour and Friend. Draw us into closer union with Him, that we may know Thee better through Him, and be conformed to Thine image. AMEN.


May you be filled with the Love of Jesus today and may His will become fulfilled in your life, your soul, your dreams and hopes.  

Monday Oct 24, 2011

The hardest part of life is believing something.  Really believing it so that your life changes, your goals, wants, desires change.  To believe and accept that thing so much that you are willing to sacrifice, to labor, to endure, to suffer, to hold on in the darkest night.  This belief leads to Faith, the Faith leads to Hope, and Hope endures.  


I believe that Jesus is God incarnate, that Jesus came to earth to be among us to show humanity its higher possibilities and potential.  Jesus bridged the gap between God the Creator and us the created.  


I believe that the Holy Spirit is actively in the world, blessing those who are chosen, believe, and thus led to God.  I know that if you believe, then you are among the blessed.  


If you really believe in Jesus as your Savior, Lord, Redeemer, Guide, Friend, Brother, and your God, then all things work for good.  Just hang on, hold on, and believe.  Then seek to do His will and work in your life each day.  


Consider James Ryle's meditation for today:



October 24


There's a Miracle in Your Hand
So the Lord said to him, 
"What is that in your hand?" (Exodus 4:2)
One thing that stands out about the early followers of Jesus is that they were ordinary men, doing ordinary things – but seeing extraordinary results.
 One of the most compelling examples of this was when a young boy gave his small lunch to Jesus. What happened next is a miracle still talked about to this day — a multitude was fed with two small fish, and five loaves of bread.
There are five great lessons we learn from this one amazing miracle.
First, never underestimate the Lord's ability to meet a need. The place was a desert, and the time was late; the people were many, and the need was great. But Jesus not only met the need; He did it with abundance! And He can meet whatever need you are faced with today.
Second, never count yourself out when the Lord starts to work. A man seeing the news about disease, hunger, poverty, and sorrow in the world, turned to his wife and said, "Sometimes I just want to ask God why doesn't He do something about all of this!" "What's stopping you from asking Him?" his wife replied. "Because," the man said, "I'm afraid He will ask me the same question!”
Jesus gave the loaves to the disciples, and they gave it to the people. In other words – the miracle happened in their hands, while they were passing the food out to the people. There is a miracle in your hands, too!
Third, never assume that what you have is too insignificant to matter. A boy with a sack lunch containing five loaves and two small fish – that's all it took. One disciple asked, "But what is this among so many?" It is tragic how many count themselves out simply because they feel they do not measure up to the moment.
Fourth, never think that He will fail to meet your needs while using you to bless others. The Bible says that they did all eat, and were full. As for the disciples, they collected the fragments and filled twelve baskets – one for each of them. Your service to Him will never go unnoticed, nor unanswered.
Finally, never hold on to what the Lord is asking from you. What if the boy had kept his lunch for himself? Well, he would've had lunch – and that's all. But, giving it to the Lord Jesus took that young man into history. And now, Jesus is asking you, "What do you have? Bring it to Me.”
History awaits your response.


Lord Jesus, my Savior and my God, bless your chosen ones today, send the Comforter and Guide to us and fill us with Your Love and Goodness.  Amen

Sunday Oct 23

Dear friend, I wish you well.
I wish for you all of God's Grace and Love.
I wish for you to be filled with Joy and Happiness, that your health be strong and vibrant, that your mind be clear and bright, that your spirit be filled with Love and Praise for God, that you have all you could want and that your loved ones are the same.
Dear friend, you can not live in true happiness without God and His Grace.  So I pray that today and each day you turn to the One Source, the One God, the One Savior - Jesus Christ, the Son of God for your salvation and redemption.  
God gives freely, lovingly.  All you have to do is accept His Gift.  And consider yourself blessed that God chose you to bless with this immaculate, pure gift.  
How?  By FAITH AND HOPE!


Consider James Ryle's thoughts:

October 23


The True Wealth of a Devout Life
"The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it." (Proverbs 10:22, NIV).


Wealth must be measure by more than one's bank account, for the value of a man's life is not in what he possess — it is seen in the difference he made for the better in the lives of those he touched during his years on the earth.
Many a wealthy man has gone to his grave cursed. In the words of Sir Walter Scott — 
"High though his titles, 
proud his name, 
boundless his wealth 
as wish can claim; 
despite those titles, power, and pelf — 
the wretch, concentered all in self, 
living, shall forfeit fair renown, 
and, doubly dying, shall go down to the vile dust, 
from whence he sprung, unwept, unhonored, and unsung."


It is possible to become so captured by greed that one's life becomes ravaged by sorrow.
Listen to what the Bible tells us — "But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Timothy 6:9,10).


This is the world's way to wealth. On the other hand — we have God's way.
"The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it." 
Should the Lord pour out His blessings upon your life and your riches increase — then respond by deepening your devotion to His name and expanding your passion for His purposes in the earth. See to it that your life 
exhibits humility in exaltation, 
that your generosity is applied with wisdom, 
your charity exercised in love, 
and your kindness to those who struggle from day to day becomes legendary.
That's the true wealth of a devout life.


I wish you the wealth and happiness that comes from God.

Saturday Oct 22

Well friends, we are again approaching the end of another month, with seasonal changes and much to do as we rush into this holiday season.  Halloween, Thanks Giving, Christmas, New Years.... What a hectic three months! 
But in all the getting, wishing, giving, and celebrating let's not forget that life is full, our harvests are blessed and we are truly blessed to be chosen as children of God!
Today's meditation is from the great Charles Spurgeon:



October 22


Morning
“I will love them freely.”  - Hos_14:4


This sentence is a body of divinity in miniature. He who understands its meaning is a theologian, and he who can dive into its fulness is a true master in Israel. It is a condensation of the glorious message of salvation which was delivered to us in Christ Jesus our Redeemer. 


The sense hinges upon the word “freely.” This is the glorious, the suitable, the divine way by which love streams from heaven to earth, a spontaneous love flowing forth to those who neither deserved it, purchased it, nor sought after it. It is, indeed, the only way in which God can love such as we are. The text is a death-blow to all sorts of fitness: “I will love them freely.” 


Now, if there were any fitness necessary in us, then he would not love us freely, at least, this would be a mitigation and a drawback to the freeness of it. But it stands, “I will love you freely.” We complain,
 “Lord, my heart is so hard.” “I will love you freely.” 
“But I do not feel my need of Christ as I could wish.” “I will not love you because you feel your need; I will love you freely.” 
“But I do not feel that softening of spirit which I could desire.” Remember, the softening of spirit is not a condition, for there are no conditions; the covenant of grace has no conditionality whatever; so that we without any fitness may venture upon the promise of God which was made to us in Christ Jesus, when he said, “He that believeth on him is not condemned.” 
It is blessed to know that the grace of God is free to us at all times, without preparation, without fitness, without money, and without price! “I will love them freely.” These words invite backsliders to return: indeed, the text was specially written for such-”I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely.” 
Backslider! surely the generosity of the promise will at once break your heart, and you will return, and seek your injured Father’s face.


Evening
“He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.” - Joh_16:15


There are times when all the promises and doctrines of the Bible are of no avail, unless a gracious hand shall apply them to us. 


We are thirsty, but too faint to crawl to the water- brook. 
When a soldier is wounded in battle it is of little use for him to know that there are those at the hospital who can bind up his wounds, and medicines there to ease all the pains which he now suffers: what he needs is to be carried thither, and to have the remedies applied.


 It is thus with our souls, and to meet this need there is one, even the Spirit of truth, who takes of the things of Jesus, and applies them to us. Think not that Christ hath placed his joys on heavenly shelves that we may climb up to them for ourselves, but he draws near, and sheds his peace abroad in our hearts. 
O Christian, if thou art to-night labouring under deep distresses, thy Father does not give thee promises and then leave thee to draw them up from the Word like buckets from a well, but the promises he has written in the Word he will write anew on your heart. He will manifest his love to you, and by his blessed Spirit, dispel your cares and troubles. Be it known unto thee, O mourner, that it is God’s prerogative to wipe every tear from the eye of his people. 


The good Samaritan did not say, “Here is the wine, and here is the oil for you”; he actually poured in the oil and the wine. So Jesus not only gives you the sweet wine of the promise, but holds the golden chalice to your lips, and pours the life-blood into your mouth. The poor, sick, way-worn pilgrim is not merely strengthened to walk, but he is borne on eagles’ wings. 
Glorious gospel! which provides everything for the helpless, which draws nigh to us when we cannot reach after it-brings us grace before we seek for grace! Here is as much glory in the giving as in the gift. Happy people who have the Holy Ghost to bring Jesus to them.


May you have a blessed, loving day!

Friday Oct 21

We are but children, we are a unique and united kind of life on earth.  We are the loving creation of God.  Thus, as our Creator and Maker, God does have the ultimate power and say over our lives.  When you get to that acceptance, just like you accept and acknowledge that your parents are your source of this life, then you get to Faith.  
What is Faith?  
"The Realization of what is Hoped for and the Evidence of things Unseen" (Hebrews 11:1)
You have many Hopes (expectation and wishes for good outcomes and events) and you want Evidence.  God IS and God Loves You.  That's enough of a starting point for me.  


Here's what Bob Hoekstra says about Faith and Hope:



October 21


The Extensive Consequences of Walking by Faith
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.  (Heb_11:1-3)


In order to live by grace, we must be willing to walk by faith. For those who actually depend upon the Lord day by day, (thereby accessing His grace), the scriptures regularly proclaim the extensive consequences of walking by faith.  
First, let's consider the significant characteristics of faith. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for." Faith is the assuring confirmation of the wonderful things that we anticipate God will do. 


As faith grows in the promises and purposes of God, that faith becomes an increasing substantiation of the certainty of those heavenly plans of God. 
Also, faith is "the evidence of things not seen." Faith is the convicting verification of realities the human senses cannot observe. Faith convinces us of the absolute existence of God and His angels, Adam and Eve, the devil and demons, heaven and hell, and the prophets and apostles of old.  


Next, let's consider some of the living results of faith. "For by it the elders obtained a good testimony." By faith men and women of generations past established a godly witness concerning their relationship with the Lord.
 "By faith Abel . . . By faith Enoch . . . By faith Noah . . . By faith Abraham . . . By faith Sarah . . . By faith Isaac . . . By faith Jacob . . . By faith Joseph . . . By faith Moses . . . By faith the harlot Rahab . . . [and others]" (Heb_11:4-5, Heb_11:7-8, Heb_11:11, Heb_11:20-23, Heb_11:31). Their testimonies were exceedingly diverse. Yet, the common elements were their trust in the Lord and the glory such faith brought to His name.  


Last, let's consider some of the spiritual understanding of faith. "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." God has shaped the heart of all humanity so that the observation of creation guarantees a universal conviction of Himself as creator. "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead" (Rom_1:20). 
His holy scriptures then explain how He created all visible things. "By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth" (Psa_33:6).


Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, creator of heaven and earth, 
I bow before You in faith. 
I rejoice in the assurances, 
convictions, 
and understandings of faith.
 I have a deep desire to obtain a good testimony through faith in You,
 for Your honor and glory, in Jesus's Holy Name,  Amen.

Thursday Oct 20

Dear Friend, how are you today?  Troubles multiply, hardships block your path, tears fall too often, your heart is broken, your soul is shaken, your life is tattered and torn?  
Be of good cheer!  It's God drawing you back to Him, His Grace and Love coming into your heart.  
So, Go to God, Love Him back, give your Soul to Jesus, ask the Holy Spirit to fill you, you soul, your life.  


Consider these two meditations, first from Bob Hoekstra:



October 20


Victory over the World through Faith
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?  (1Jo_5:4-5)
The enemy of our souls would love to devour our lives. "Your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1Pe_5:8). We can enjoy protection from the devil through faith. "Resist him, steadfast in the faith" (1Pe_5:9). When the enemy cannot devastate us by direct attack, he still desires to pull us down into defeat, using the pitfalls and temptations that are available to him throughout the entire world system. "The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one" (1 John 5:19).


All of the unredeemed, as well as all of their cultural networks, are under the influence of the evil one. Nevertheless, we have available to us daily victory over the world through faith.  
The only people who can ever walk in victory over the world are born again believers in Jesus Christ. "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world." We urgently need the overcoming grace of God, because of the avenues of earthly enticements that the devil can use against us. 
"For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world" (1Jo_2:16). Through the world around us, our spiritual foe wants to draw us into ungodly areas that our flesh craves, our eyes covet, or our pride wants to feast upon. 
The path of victory is traveled by faith. "And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith." We initially entered into the victory of Christ by placing our faith in Him. "Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" We continue to experience all the manifold ramifications of that victory through day by day dependence upon the Lord.  
Jesus taught these truths when He was here upon earth. "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (Joh_16:33). 
It is absolutely certain that the world will bring to us all many troubles and trials. Our fully sufficient hope is the Lord Jesus Christ. The world came against Jesus with all of its plots and ploys. Our Lord and Savior never succumbed at any point. He is the one we are to rely upon, in order to walk in victory ourselves. "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (1Jo_4:4). Trusting in the victor allows us to walk in His victory.


Lord Jesus, the world has surely brought me many difficulties and temptations. Yet, You are the overcoming victor, so I look to You for personal victory day by day. How blessed I am to have living in me the one who is far greater than the enemy who roams about in the world, Amen.


And now, this wonderful thought by F. B. Meyer:



October 20


VICTORY OUT OF DEFEAT
"I will give her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth."-- Hos_2:15.


THE VALLEY of Achor is the emblem of defeat, failure, and the fainting heart. Down its long pass the terrified fugitives had fled, bearing to Joshua the story of defeat (Joshua 7.). Is there a single life without its valley of Achor? Is there one of us who has not gone up against a foe, which in the distance appeared quite insignificant, but it has proved to be more than a match for all the resolutions with which we had braced ourselves to meet it. Can good come out of such evil, and sweetness from such bitter despair?


The tragic story told in the seventh chapter of Joshua tells how that defeat wrought good. The disaster led to the searching out of the sin of Achan, and the cutting away of gangrene, which, otherwise, would have eaten out the heart of Israel. It led to humiliation, self-examination, prayer and faith, and finally to victory. May we not say as much of our defeats? 
Certainly, it would have been better had they not cast their shadow on our past; but they have not been without their lessons of priceless value. Each valley of Achor has had its door of Hope. Sin has reigned unto death, but the grace of God has reigned unto eternal life. Through our sins we have learned, as never before, to appreciate God's forgiveness; through our failures we have been taught our own weakness, and led to magnify the grace which is made perfect in weakness.
Out of such experiences comes the song--"She shall sing as in the days of her youth." You say that the spring and gladness of life are gone for ever. You insist that you must go mourning all your days, and that life will only bring added grief. But God says that you shall sing! Though the summer is gone, there will be a second--an Indian summer, even mellower than the first. 
God wants to give you a new revelation of His love, to draw you into His tenderest friendship and fellowship, to lift you into the life of victory and satisfaction. And when all these things come to pass, and they may begin to-day as you return to Him, you will find that He has put a new song into your mouth, even praise unto our God.


PRAYER
Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for opening doors of Hope in the valley of Achor, for giving us beauty for ashes, and the oil of joy for mourning. Put a new song into our mouths to-day, and let us taste afresh the glad sense of Thy pardoning love. AMEN.

Dear friend, I pray that you will be filled with the Love for God, Fear of His power and anger, and thus be filled with the Holy Spirit! May your life begin to turn around as you give your life back to God.  Then His Holy Spirit can fill you and give you all of God's Grace!  God bless you today!

Wednesday Oct 19

"Nobody knows the troubles I've seen"... well, no body, but certainly our God does see and has a reason.  
Faith tells us that God is Real and He knows exactly what He is doing.   Hope states that God's' Love and Grace will always work to Benefit us and to do Good for us, no matter what.


Today's meditation by James Ryle addresses this:



October 19


The Sheer Gift
"Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides." (James 1:2, The Message).
By now you've discovered that God doesn't do things our way. "My ways are not your ways," He tells us, "and My thoughts are not your thoughts."
Often you will find that things in the Kingdom are the opposite to things in this world. For example, he that puts himself first will be last; he that would be great, must becomes the servant. And so on and so on.
In this world of ours, trouble is TROUBLE. But not so in the Kingdom. There, trouble is a GIFT. A sheer gift. Pure and unmixed, complete and all inclusive — like sheer joy. So the Bible tells us to count it all joy when we are hammered by trouble! Why? Because God is up to something so extraordinarily wonderful that once we see what it is we will be beside ourselves with unspeakable delight!
Here's what James goes on to tell us —
"You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way" (James 1:3-4, The Message).
So while everybody around you may be wringing their hands in dismay, and moaning over losing this or that — lift your vision higher and see the Lord's hand at work in your affairs; making you everything you ever dreamed of becoming — and more!
Now that's a sheer gift!

Tuesday Oct 18

Middle of October, fully accepting the demise of summer, the days are getting shorter and shorter, the temperatures are dropping, and winter is sending her suggestions of chills to come.  
Life moves in cycles.  We humans have been on earth a very short time, total perhaps 7 million years from earliest hominids to us.  Our lives are just three score and ten, but now going into the eighties.  Still our lives are short.  The dinosaurs lived for hundreds of millions of years, other life forms have been here for billions of years.  We are a very young species.  But we seem to be able to do more damage to our environment and change it more than any other species.  We are truly God's best, penultimate work.  
So, we should be able to connect to God easily, right?  Not really.  Our pride and self congratulatory life style keeps us away.  
Come to God, on your knees to acknowledge His power and His Love.  Come to God and know His Grace and Love.  


Consider today's meditations by James Ryle:
October 18


Trying to Figure a Way Out?
"While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream." (Matthew 1:20, The Message).
The Bible tells us that Joseph, the Nazarene carpenter engaged to Mary, was a noble man. Chagrined by the shocking discovery that Mary was pregnant, he sought to handle the matter with discretion, so as not to bring shame to Mary, or her family. And while he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream.
And that dream changed the world.
While the challenges you may be facing in these tumultuous days may not register on the same historic scale with Joseph's dilemma, nevertheless it is still true that God often speaks to troubled men in their dreams — showing them what to do.
The Book of Job tells us, "For God does speak—now one way, now another— though man may not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds, he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, to turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride, to preserve his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword" (Job 33:14-18, NIV).
Ask God to speak to you in a dream. Sometimes it's the only way He can get through all of our whirling thoughts and emotions, bypassing our natural disposition to debate what He is saying or doing in our waking lives.
Before you close your eyes in sleep tonight, pray the words of Solomon, "I sleep, but my heart is awake, listening for the voice of my Beloved!" (Song 5:2). You just might awake to a new day in the middle of the night!
   

Monday Oct 17

So, off we go, another week, another cycle of labor and toil.  I don't dread the work, that is what I chose to do.  I dread the heartaches and pains I see in the face of the children.  How can I keep Hope alive in them and in my heart when there is so much wrong and so much pain?


George Morrison writes:



October 17


The God of Hope
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost — Rom_15:13
In the Hebrew language, as scholars know, there are several different words for rain. From which we gather that in Hebrew life rain was something of very great importance. It is the same, though in the realm of spirit, with the names of God in the letters of St. Paul. The variety of divine names there betrays the deepest heart of the apostle. Think, for instance, of the names one lights on in this fifteenth chapter of the Romans, all of them occurring incidentally. He is the God of patience and of consolation (Rom_15:5). I trust my readers have all found Him that. 
He is the God of peace (Rom_15:33), keeping in perfect peace every one whose mind is stayed on Him.
He is the God of hope (Rom_15:13), touching with radiant hopefulness everything that He has made, from the mustard seed to the children of mankind.


The Hopefulness of God in Nature
Think, for instance, how beautifully evident is the hopefulness of God in nature. Our Lord was very keenly alive to that. There is much in nature one cannot understand, and no loving communion will interpret it. There is a seeming waste and cruelty in nature that often lies heavy on the heart. But just as everything is beautiful in nature that the hand of man had never tampered with, so what a glorious hopefulness she breathes! Every seed, cast into the soil, is big with hopefulness of coming harvest. Every sparrow, in the winter ivy, is hopeful of the nest and of the younglings. Every streamlet, rising in the hills and brawling over the granite in the valley, is hopeful of its union with the sea. Winter comes with iciness and misery, but in the heart of winter is the hope of spring. Spring comes tripping across the meadow, but in the heart of spring there is the hope of summer. Summer comes garlanded with beauty, but in the heart of summer is the hope of autumn when sower and reaper shall rejoice together. 
Paul talks of the whole creation groaning and travailing in pain together. But a woman in travail is not a hopeless woman. Her heart is "speaking softly of a hope." The very word natura is the witness of language to that hopeful travail — it means something going to be born. If, then, this beautiful world of nature is the garment of God by which we see Him, if His Kingdom be in the mustard seed, and not a sparrow can fall without His knowledge, how evident it is that He in whom we trust, who has never left Himself without a witness, is the God of hope.


The Hopefulness of the New Testament
Again, how evident is this attribute in the inspired word of the New Testament. The New Testament, as Dr. Denney used to say, is the most hopeful book in the whole world. I believe that God is everywhere revealed — in every flower in the crannied wall. But I do not believe that He is everywhere equally revealed anymore than I believe it of myself. There are things I do that show my character far more fully than certain other things — and God has made me in His image. I see Him in the sparrow and the mustard seed; I see Him in the lilies of the field; but I see more of Him, far more of Him, in the inspired word of the New Testament.
And the fine thing to remember is just this, that the New Testament is not a hopeless book. Hope surges in it. Its note is that of victory. There steals on the ear in it the distant triumph song. It closes with the Book of Revelation where the Lamb is upon the throne. And if this be the expression of God's being far more fully than anything in nature, how sure we may be that He is the God of Hope.


Christ, the Gloriously Hopeful One
And then, lastly, we turn to our Lord and Savior. Is not He the most magnificent of optimists? Hope burned in Him (as Lord Morley said of Cromwell) when it had gone out in everybody else. There is an optimism based on ignorance: not such was the good hope of Christ. With an eye that sin had never dulled, He looked in the face all that was dark and terrible. There is an optimism based on moral laxity: not such was the good hope of Christ. He hated sin, although he loved the sinner. Knowing the worst, hating what was evil, treated by men in the most shameful way, Christ was gloriously and sublimely hopeful till death was swallowed up in victory; hopeful for the weakest of us, hopeful for the very worst, hopeful for the future of the world. Now call to mind the word He spake: "He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father. "He that hath seen into that heart of hopefulness hath seen into the heart of the Eternal. Once a man has won that vision though there are many problems that may vex him still, he never can doubt again, through all his years, the amazing hopefulness of God.

Sunday Oct 16

My how the seasons fly.  Time does accelerate as we get older because we slow down in our perception of it.  We become slower, and thus time seems to accelerate on us.  We are well into Autumn, Halloween and all it frivolousness are just ahead, then the commercialization of Christ-mas begins in earnest as November slips in the door.  
So, how's your year so far?  My life has gone through so many changes, so many hard things and challenging steps in just the past few years.  I suppose that God sees things in me that He wanted to change.  I pray that I am changing as He wants me to change and become what I am supposed to be. 
Consider today's meditation from James Ryle:

October 16


Shift Happens
"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1
A car cannot stay in first gear – unless it really isn't going anywhere anyway. And neither can we. You've got to make a shift in order to move upward and onward into the high calling of your life's noble purpose. God has placed eternity in your heart, and earthbound dreams simply cannot satisfy you any longer. It's time you learn how to handle life's surprising turns without stripping your gears.
Sometimes to shift us, God has to sift us. His purpose is to remove the chaff, and to reveal the gold. Webster's defines shift as "changing the place, position, or direction of something." 


Have you experienced any shift lately? A shift in place, in position, or in direction? If so, how are you handling it? Are you blowing a gasket, or going with the flow?
The wisest man who ever lived, Solomon, wrote, "To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven." In other words, shift happens. The issue is how we respond when it comes. The un-shifted life is untested, and therefore unproven. As such it is unreliable. And for that reason it is often unnoticed and unused.
Life is change, and to refuse to change is to refuse to grow. Sometimes the change is welcomed, other times it is not – but either way, it comes at us without discrimination and requires that we respond in positive, proactive, and purposeful ways. Those who do so grow stronger, better, wiser, and richer. Those who refuse to embrace change not only fail in life, ultimately they perish.
If we will not shift when God is moving us to do so, if we will not change our ways, then our only alternative is to become shiftless – people who are lacking in resourcefulness, ambition, or incentive. "Moab has always taken it easy," the Lord said to Jeremiah, "lazy as a dog in the sun; never had to work for a living, never faced any trouble, never had to grow up, never once worked up a sweat. But those days are a thing of the past, I'll put him to work at hard labor. That will wake him up to the world of hard knocks. That will smash his illusions" (Jeremiah 48:11-12, The Message).
This seems to describe so many in our society today, especially those who have grown up pampered in the freedom that was purchased and provided by the hardship and heartbreak of others. We must take heed that we do not take for granted the liberty and abundance of life we as a nation have so richly enjoyed, lest we unexpectedly lose what we so carelessly hold. There have been numerous nations throughout history who regarded themselves as invincible until they fell from grace.
We would be great fools to think it could not happen to us.


I hope you and I will continue to see our country as strong in Faith and steadfast in our Beliefs.  But I see that slipping away as more and more drift away from their Faith.  
God bless you today with His Faith and Hope and Joy.  

Saturday Oct 15

Good morning to you, dear Brother and Sister!
Without doubt we are united, we are one in our Lord Jesus, because we are Christians.  
But, what does it mean to be a Christian to you?  Consider what F.B. Meyer says:

October 15

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A CHRISTIAN

"Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple."-- Luk_14:33.

THREE TIMES over in this chapter, our Lord says these solemn words: "he cannot be My disciple." There are three conditions of discipleship. 

First, we must be prepared to put first things first; 

second, we must be willing to suffer daily crucifixion; 

third, we must be detached from all things, because attached to Christ. 

The conditions seem severe, but they must be fulfilled, if we would enter Christ's School.

Disciple stands for learner. Our Lord is prepared to teach us the mysteries of the Kingdom of God; but it is useless to enter His class unless we have resolved to do as He says. 

Put first things first. When our Lord uses the word hate, He clearly means that the love we are to have for Him is to be so much greater, that comparatively our natural affection will be as if it were hate. No one could have loved His Mother more than our Lord did. In His dying agony His special thought and care was for her, but on three different occasions He put her aside. We are sometimes called to put aside those who are nearest and dearest, if their demands conflict with the claims of Christ.

The daily cross. In each of us there is the self-principle, and for each of us there is a perpetual necessity to deny self. Some talk about bearing the cross in a glib fashion, but its true meaning is shame, suffering, and sorrow, which no one realizes but God, and which perhaps strikes deeper down into the roots of our being as we grow older. There is an opportunity in your life, in respect to some person or circumstance, for an ever-deepening appreciation of union with Christ in His death, and for which you must be daily prepared to surrender your own way and will.

Renunciation. It may be necessary to surrender all we have for Christ, or it may be that He will ask us to hold all as a steward or trustee for Himself and others. No one can lay down the rule for another.

The main point to decide is this: 

"Am I willing to do what Christ wants me to do; to yield my will for Him to mould it, and my life for Him to work through it?" If so, all else will adjust itself.

PRAYER

O Lord, save me in spite of myself. May I be Thine; wholly Thine, and, at all costs, Thine. In humiliation, in poverty, in self abnegation, Thine. Thine in the way Thou knowest to be most fitting, in order that Thou mightest be now and ever mine. AMEN.

Friday Oct 14

Today Brothers and Sisters, I am going to post all of the meditations for this day from the "Daily Devotions" on the e-sword.net downloads.  I most strongly, lovingly recommend that you go to: www.e-sword.net and download Brother Meyers loving gifts.  He has set up a treasure trove of wonderful gifts and tools that you can have for FREE to use and study.  
Consider today's mediations, I will post them in order - from Bob Hoekstra:

October 14


More on the Source of Faith
And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.  (Act_3:16)
The path of discipleship can only be traveled by faith (by trusting in our unseen Lord). Progress can never be made by sight (by relying upon that which our human senses can gather and process). "We walk by faith, not by sight" (2Co_5:7). Therefore, it is vital that we understand where we must go for the source of our faith: "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (Heb_12:2). Jesus is the source of faith. The scriptures often expound upon this fundamental truth. 
When the lame man was healed at the temple gate, this truth was again declared. This miracle occurred when two of the Lord's disciples were going to the temple in Jerusalem to pray. "Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer" (Act_3:1). A man who was crippled all of his life requested a gift. "And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful . . . asked for alms" (Act_3:2-3). Peter and John had no money to give, but they offered far more than the man had sought. "Then Peter said, 'Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk' " (Acts 3:6). They offered this man healing in the name of Jesus Christ. "And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them — walking, leaping, and praising God" (Act_3:7-8). The miracle was extensive. The lame man was not only strengthened to walk, he was also enabled to leap and stirred to give exuberant praise unto the Lord. 
When the astonished crowd gathered, Peter explained how the miracle was related to the name of Jesus. "And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know." The name of Jesus referred to His person and His power (that is, all that Jesus was and all that He was able to do). This demonstration of Jesus' power was experienced through faith in His name (that is, reliance upon who He was and what He could do). Then, Peter explained the source of such faith. "Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all." Jesus is the source of faith. Those who know Jesus to be a wonder-working Lord will trust Him to do extraordinary things.
O glorious Lord, I see many matters that only You can handle — problems in the world, needs in the churches, difficulties threatening loved ones, burdens in my life. I trust in Your name. Please show again who You are and what You alone can do, Amen.


So, once you are blessed by Jesus to have Faith, all things follow.
We can now love one another and help one another:



October 14


BURDEN-BEARING
"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ."-- Gal_6:2.


IN THESE words the Apostle is evidently thinking more especially of the trespasses and sins into which men and women fall. We are not to rejoice over their failure, nor talk about it to others, but to consider ourselves, remembering our own liability to fall in the event of temptation. We are to be tender, gentle, and compassionate, helping to bear the burden of temptation, remorse, and shame. There is great comfort for us all in these words, for surely, if our Lord expects us to forgive and restore our brother, we may count on Him to do as much for us!
But sin is not the only burden we are to bear with our brethren. The young man or girl who fails to make good; the business man who meets with sudden reverse; those who suffer bitter disappointment; when faces are averted, and tongues are busily engaged in criticism--let us seek out the one who has consciously disappointed everybody, and help by our strong and tender sympathy. It is like the coming of the good Ananias into Saul's darkness, with the greeting: "Brother Saul!"
We may help to bear the burden of bereavement--when the husband is suddenly stricken down, or the mother is taken away and there is no one to care for the children, then we may show our practical sympathy and helpfulness. All through His life on earth our Lord sought to carry the burdens of the people, and we are to follow in His steps. Sympathy means suffering with; and as we endeavour to enter into the griefs and sorrows of those around us, in proportion to the burden of grief that we carry do we succeed in lightening another's load. You cannot bear a burden without feeling its pressure; and in bearing the burdens of others, we must be prepared to suffer with them.
This was the law of Christ, the principle of His life, and the precept which He enjoined on His followers to fulfil. Let us remember, also, that in carrying the burdens of others, we often lose our own.


PRAYER
For friends above; for friends still left below;
For the rare links invisible between.
For sweet hearts tuned to noblest charity;
For great hearts toiling in the outer dark;
For friendly hands stretched out in time of need,
For every gracious thought and word and deed;
We thank Thee Lord! AMEN.


The hardest part of it all, of being Christian, a follow and disciple of Christ, a child of God is to maintain our faith and love - George Morrison addresses this today:



October 14


Maintaining the Glow
Maintaining the spiritual glow — Rom_12:11 (Moffatt)
All of us have hours in the interior life when we are conscious of the glowing spirit. Our hearts burn within us as we journey. Sometimes these hours reach us unexpectedly; sometimes after periods of prayer. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and so is every one born of the Spirit. But when such hours come, the inward life grows radiant, and in the light of heaven we see light. In such hours we learn a great deal more than we ever gained from unillumined study. In such hours heaven is very near. In such hours, as by unseen fingers, the veil is taken from the face of Scripture, and the Word, that was marred more than any man, now shines on us as altogether lovely. We have caught the spiritual glow. We are in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. There steals on our ear the distant triumph song. We behold Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Such glowing hours of spiritual warmth and radiance come with greater or with lesser frequency to everybody who is stepping heavenward.
Maintaining the Spiritual Glow
But the great difficulty in the interior life is to maintain that spiritual glow. The problem is not to catch it, but to keep it. Seasons come when we are overwrought and when the keepers of the house do tremble. We may have overdriven "our brother the ass," as St. Francis used to call his body. Or it may be, in the providence of God, that for long days we have to take our journey through a dry land where no water is. It is easy to lose the glow in such experiences. It fades into the light of common day. The Bible loses its fragrance and dew. Heaven recedes; we miss the golden ladder. And yet the divine command is laid on us, poor unstable mortals though we be, that our duty is to maintain the spiritual glow. It can be ours in spite of feeble health. It can be ours whatever be our temperament. It is not given for rare or precious moments. It is meant for every mile of the long journey. And just there the difficulty lies, of maintaining, through dark and dreary days, the radiance and the warmth of hours of insight. He who does that is victor. Having done all, he stands. He "makes a sunshine in a shady place." In weakness he is strong. And we may be certain that when God commands a thing, He never mocks us with impossibilities. When He commands, He gives the power to do.
The Spiritual Glow Is Not a Luxury but a Necessity
For what we must always bear in mind is this, that the spiritual glow is not a luxury. If it were that and nothing else than that, it would never reach us as a divine command. There are tasks that no man will accomplish unless he be gifted with a glowing spirit. There are victories that call for radiance. They never can be accomplished in cold blood. To come victorious out of this present life, unembittered by its tears and tragedies, is beyond the compass of the stoic heart. "No virtue is pure that is not passionate." The song of the Lord must sound above the sacrifice. For the campaign of life we need the song just as surely as we need the sword. Those who have conquered and are robed in white do not flash the glittering sword in heaven. They sing the song of Moses and the Lamb. That is why the inspired volume bids us to maintain the spiritual glow. It is not that we may be happy all the time. It is that we may be triumphant all the time. There are valleys we shall never cross unscathed, and there are temptations we shall never master without a certain glow within the soul.
To Love the Lord Gives the Glow
Now it is just there that we thank God afresh for the unspeakable gift of the Lord Jesus. To love Him gives the glow. Nobody ever has a glowing heart because he is ordered to do certain things. Paul never found that his big heart was glowing when he struggled to obey the ten commandments. But when the ten commandments are incarnate in a living Lord whom we can love, then obedience is set to music. Love is the fulfilling of the law. Love is law translated into melody. Love laughs at difficulties, just as it is said to laugh at locksmiths. And when, right at the center of our being, there is real love for Him who died for us, cold and heavy obedience is gone — it is replaced by the spiritual glow. 
Thus to continue glowing is to continue in the love of Christ. It is to live in the experience of His great love for us and in continual response to that experience. The one way to maintain the spiritual glow is to maintain fellowship with Christ, and that is possible for everybody. Every day we may open our hearts anew to receive anew the Holy Spirit. We may begin each day, however dark and dreary, by saying, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." So maintaining, through heavenly supply, our loving personal fellowship with Him, we maintain (and yet not we) the glowing heart.


This is, my Brothers and Sisters, the true secret to life - keep the Love of Christ glowing in your hearts and souls.  When you do this, then voila you have the it all!  Consider what Rick Meyer says:

October 14


The Secret of the Unanxious Life
"Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7).
Anxiety can tear you apart, because it pulls you in many different directions at the same time. Once anxiety seizes your mind, you're not good for anything else until you break free from its grip. Here's how you do it.
Cast your cares upon the Lord.
The word cares means anxiety. The word cast mean 'to hurl." In other words, the moment anxiety starts putting it squeeze on your mind, grab a hold of it and HURL it onto the Lord. Don't pitch it; don't toss it; don't lob it — HURL IT. Remove it as far as possible away from you.
In other words, you have to let go of it. By holding onto anxiety you form a partnership that trumps your friendship with God. And you empower anxiety to be even stronger than it actually is. Let it go — hurl it upon the Lord.
And here's the secret of why you can do this — HE CARES FOR YOU!
How odd that we would think our care for ourselves exceeds the care which the Lord has for us. And how absurd when we conclude that our ability to take care of things is greater than God's power to do so. Yet that is exactly what anxiety cause us to do, over and over again.
So cast your anxieties upon the Lord BY CHANGING YOUR FOCUS from caring about yourself to realizing HE CARES FOR YOU. And He can do a much better job of it than you can.
Say it out loud to yourself and watch the cords begin to break away from your mind — "He cares for me!" Say it over and over, in any anxious moment, and God will bless you with a care free mind and a liberated life.


Yep, give it up to Christ your Savior.  Relax, be empowered, Let Go and Let God!


And, finally, Charles Spurgeon gives us these wonderful thoughts to live our day with peace and comfort:



October 14


Morning
“I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” - Phi_3:8
Spiritual knowledge of Christ will be a personal knowledge. I cannot know Jesus through another person’s acquaintance with him. No, I must know him myself; I must know him on my own account. It will be an intelligent knowledge-I must know him, not as the visionary dreams of him, but as the Word reveals him. I must know his natures, divine and human. I must know his offices-his attributes-his works-his shame-his glory. I must meditate upon him until I “comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.” It will be an affectionate knowledge of him; indeed, if I know him at all, I must love him. An ounce of heart knowledge is worth a ton of head learning. Our knowledge of him will be a satisfying knowledge. When I know my Saviour, my mind will be full to the brim-I shall feel that I have that which my spirit panted after. “This is that bread whereof if a man eat he shall never hunger.” At the same time it will be an exciting knowledge; the more I know of my Beloved, the more I shall want to know. The higher I climb the loftier will be the summits which invite my eager footsteps. I shall want the more as I get the more. Like the miser’s treasure, my gold will make me covet more. To conclude; this knowledge of Christ Jesus will be a most happy one; in fact, so elevating, that sometimes it will completely bear me up above all trials, and doubts, and sorrows; and it will, while I enjoy it, make me something more than “Man that is born of woman, who is of few days, and full of trouble”; for it will fling about me the immortality of the ever living Saviour, and gird me with the golden girdle of his eternal joy. Come, my soul, sit at Jesus’s feet and learn of him all this day.


Evening
“And be not conformed to this world.” - Rom_12:2
If a Christian can by possibility be saved while he conforms to this world, at any rate it must be so as by fire. Such a bare salvation is almost as much to be dreaded as desired. Reader, would you wish to leave this world in the darkness of a desponding death bed, and enter heaven as a shipwrecked mariner climbs the rocks of his native country? then be worldly; be mixed up with Mammonites, and refuse to go without the camp bearing Christ’s reproach. But would you have a heaven below as well as a heaven above? Would you comprehend with all saints what are the heights and depths, and know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge? Would you receive an abundant entrance into the joy of your Lord? Then come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing. Would you attain the full assurance of faith? you cannot gain it while you commune with sinners. Would you flame with vehement love? Your love will be damped by the drenchings of godless society. You cannot become a great Christian-you may be a babe in grace, but you never can be a perfect man in Christ Jesus while you yield yourself to the worldly maxims and modes of business of men of the world. It is ill for an heir of heaven to be a great friend with the heirs of hell. It has a bad look when a courtier is too intimate with his king’s enemies. Even small inconsistencies are dangerous. Little thorns make great blisters, little moths destroy fine garments, and little frivolities and little rogueries will rob religion of a thousand joys. O professor, too little separated from sinners, you know not what you lose by your conformity to the world. It cuts the tendons of your strength, and makes you creep where you ought to run. Then, for your own comfort’s sake, and for the sake of your growth in grace, if you be a Christian, be a Christian, and be a marked and distinct one.

So, you can have it all... all that really counts.  Go and live today as if you were the most loved, empowered, powerful, caring person in the world... because of God's love, you are!