I am so thankful and so grateful to all those friends and family who since hearing the news of Dude's upcoming deployment in December, have prayed and will continue to pray for Dude, as well as for me.
The Lord gave me this scripture this morning, as I continue to go to him more frequently about having complete peace about this.
He says in John 14:27 - "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not be afraid".
I also read in Isaiah 26:3 - 4, another familiar passage, that has a whole new and fresh message for me - "You Lord, will keep in perfect peace, him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal". The Hebrew word for the peace mentioned here, translates into " a full, genuine well-being".
You might be in a place in your life when you too, need to know the peace that passes all human understanding. We all face different trials and tests of faith throughout our walk here on earth, and I pray that these passages will speak peace into your heart as they have done for me.
Blessings,
Janelle
Showing posts with label trials. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trials. Show all posts
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Monday, November 10, 2008
Refined by Fire
Well it's another Monday morning, which means I have my usual grocery shopping, laundry and vacuuming up all the tumbleweeds from Luk Luk, then hopefully getting in some sewing later on.
I'm back to finish up the 6th chapter of Jeremiah 6: 22-30 - " This is what the Lord says: 'Look, an army is coming from the land of the north, a great nation is being stirred up from the ends of the earth. They are armed with bow and spear; they are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, O Daughter of Zion.' We have heard reports about them, and our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor. Do not go out to the fields or walk on the roads, for the enemy has a sword, and there is terror on every side. O my people, put on sackcloth and roll in ashes; mourn with bitter wailing, as for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us. ' I have made you a tester of metals and my people are ore, that you may observe and test their ways. They are all hardened rebels, going about to slander. They are bronze and iron; they act corruptly. The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire, but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not purged out. They are called rejected silver, because the Lord has rejected them".
The invaders that is spoken of in this passage are the Babylonians. Today, we would call them Iraqis. They were fierce people, and great in number.
With all the pleadings to the people to repent; all the warnings of the judgements to come, should they not repent, had no affect on them whatsoever. They are likened to ore - the dross left after silver has been put through the fire.
When we are put through the fire of life's trials, we should come out stronger and more able to be used by the Lord. Proverbs 25:4 says "Remove the dross from the silver, and out comes material for the silversmith".
Do you how a silversmith can tell that the silver he is working with is pure and ready to be made into something beautiful? He holds it up and when he sees his own reflection, it's ready. That's exactly how it is with the Lord - he tests us and allows trials and situations to happen in our lives that aren't always pleasant - we feel like we're in the fire - but we should REJOICE in our tests and trials, because the Lord is making us into something beautiful - something that reflects His image to the world.
In these trials we go through, our sin is going to be exposed, and we need to allow the Lord to cleanse us and purge them from us. The whole process should bring us to a place of repentance; ready to go and do the work and the will of our Father.
Let us not be dross - worthless and hardened towards the Lord; let us desire to be refined silver - a beautiful reflection of the Lord Jesus, in this evil and Godless world we live in.
Janelle
I'm back to finish up the 6th chapter of Jeremiah 6: 22-30 - " This is what the Lord says: 'Look, an army is coming from the land of the north, a great nation is being stirred up from the ends of the earth. They are armed with bow and spear; they are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, O Daughter of Zion.' We have heard reports about them, and our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor. Do not go out to the fields or walk on the roads, for the enemy has a sword, and there is terror on every side. O my people, put on sackcloth and roll in ashes; mourn with bitter wailing, as for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us. ' I have made you a tester of metals and my people are ore, that you may observe and test their ways. They are all hardened rebels, going about to slander. They are bronze and iron; they act corruptly. The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire, but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not purged out. They are called rejected silver, because the Lord has rejected them".
The invaders that is spoken of in this passage are the Babylonians. Today, we would call them Iraqis. They were fierce people, and great in number.
With all the pleadings to the people to repent; all the warnings of the judgements to come, should they not repent, had no affect on them whatsoever. They are likened to ore - the dross left after silver has been put through the fire.
When we are put through the fire of life's trials, we should come out stronger and more able to be used by the Lord. Proverbs 25:4 says "Remove the dross from the silver, and out comes material for the silversmith".
Do you how a silversmith can tell that the silver he is working with is pure and ready to be made into something beautiful? He holds it up and when he sees his own reflection, it's ready. That's exactly how it is with the Lord - he tests us and allows trials and situations to happen in our lives that aren't always pleasant - we feel like we're in the fire - but we should REJOICE in our tests and trials, because the Lord is making us into something beautiful - something that reflects His image to the world.
In these trials we go through, our sin is going to be exposed, and we need to allow the Lord to cleanse us and purge them from us. The whole process should bring us to a place of repentance; ready to go and do the work and the will of our Father.
Let us not be dross - worthless and hardened towards the Lord; let us desire to be refined silver - a beautiful reflection of the Lord Jesus, in this evil and Godless world we live in.
Janelle
Monday, August 18, 2008
Crown of Life
James 1: 12 says, "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him".
Being a Christian is not easy! Since the early 1980's, there have been many who have taught the doctrines of prosperity, "rights" as a believer, etc. These who preach these doctrines tell their congregations that if you have enough faith, then you can live a life free from sickness, troubles and trials, and be financially rich. It's been called the "Name It & Claim It" movement. This is a false doctrine and I would urge you to look for another church where the gospel - the sinless life of Jesus, his death for the atonement of our sins, and his resurrection are preached.
The Bible speaks over and over again about the troubles and trials that believers will face, and it always comes back to what today's verse says - that God has PROMISED us victory.
I will again refer back to the well known poem called, "Footprints" which says,
Being a Christian is not easy! Since the early 1980's, there have been many who have taught the doctrines of prosperity, "rights" as a believer, etc. These who preach these doctrines tell their congregations that if you have enough faith, then you can live a life free from sickness, troubles and trials, and be financially rich. It's been called the "Name It & Claim It" movement. This is a false doctrine and I would urge you to look for another church where the gospel - the sinless life of Jesus, his death for the atonement of our sins, and his resurrection are preached.
The Bible speaks over and over again about the troubles and trials that believers will face, and it always comes back to what today's verse says - that God has PROMISED us victory.
I will again refer back to the well known poem called, "Footprints" which says,
"One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.
This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,“You promised me Lord,that if I followed you, you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”
Let the Lord carry you in His arms today - there's nothing we face that He isn't right there in the middle of it with us.
Blessings
Monday, August 11, 2008
Facing Life's Trials
Today I'm starting the book of James, found in the New Testament. Most believe that this was written by the brother of Jesus.
This book focuses on teaching practical living for Christian believers.
The first part of Chapter 1 is about the trials of life, which we all face from time to time. Verses 2 - 4 say, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perserverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything".
We don't often go into one of life's trials with a joyful attitude, but the Lord is speaking to us through James, that this is His way of facing them, and when we apply this attitude to our lives, it will only benefit us in every way.
Most of us can probably say that patience is not one of our virtues. We live in a society that has trained us to expect instant gratification for just about everything. We find ourselves saying, "God give me patience". Well if we ask him for that, we need to expect him to test us in it! How else will we learn patience if we don't experience something that requires it from us?
James says that our faith develops perseverance - the stronger we become in our faith in the Lord's faithfulness, the more mature we become spiritually.
I know there are several areas in my life right now that I consider trials. I am having some health issues that I'm trusting the Lord to get me through, and I think the hardest trial I face right now is one of anxiety regarding my son joining the U.S. Army and going off for basic training next week. I have to keep reminding myself that when my son was a young child, I dedicated him to the Lord, and just as I trusted the Lord to help me in raising him, I have to now put my trust in Him to protect my son - to strengthen him as a man, both spiritually and physically, so he will in turn, be able to face all the trials that will be in front of him over the next few years.
Pray for our sons and daughters who are serving this great country we live in. It is because of their service, that we have the freedoms that all to many take for granted.
Blessings,
Janelle
This book focuses on teaching practical living for Christian believers.
The first part of Chapter 1 is about the trials of life, which we all face from time to time. Verses 2 - 4 say, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perserverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything".
We don't often go into one of life's trials with a joyful attitude, but the Lord is speaking to us through James, that this is His way of facing them, and when we apply this attitude to our lives, it will only benefit us in every way.
Most of us can probably say that patience is not one of our virtues. We live in a society that has trained us to expect instant gratification for just about everything. We find ourselves saying, "God give me patience". Well if we ask him for that, we need to expect him to test us in it! How else will we learn patience if we don't experience something that requires it from us?
James says that our faith develops perseverance - the stronger we become in our faith in the Lord's faithfulness, the more mature we become spiritually.
I know there are several areas in my life right now that I consider trials. I am having some health issues that I'm trusting the Lord to get me through, and I think the hardest trial I face right now is one of anxiety regarding my son joining the U.S. Army and going off for basic training next week. I have to keep reminding myself that when my son was a young child, I dedicated him to the Lord, and just as I trusted the Lord to help me in raising him, I have to now put my trust in Him to protect my son - to strengthen him as a man, both spiritually and physically, so he will in turn, be able to face all the trials that will be in front of him over the next few years.
Pray for our sons and daughters who are serving this great country we live in. It is because of their service, that we have the freedoms that all to many take for granted.
Blessings,
Janelle
Friday, May 2, 2008
Thankfulness
Oh how I love the book of Psalms! The one I read today (Chapter 118) is a psalm of thanksgiving. I have little musical notes drawn in several places throughout these verses because they are reminders of certain songs, and it keeps the melody fresh in my mind.
The first place I noted was verse 1 - it says:"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; his love endures forever". That was a song done by a current Contemporary Christian artist named Chris Tomlin. It's a constant reminder that no matter what - God's love towards us is forever - without end.
Reading down, the next note is at verse 24 which says:" This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it". Sometimes it's hard to rejoice when we don't feel good, when people are ugly to us, when our finances are stretched, when we lose someone we love, when we have health issues - the endless list of things that I call "rocks in the road" that try to trip us up. If we stand up and face all those issues with the attitude of "I'm going to rejoice in the LORD to get me through this", He will make sure that He walks through the day with us. Think about the popular poem called "Footsteps".
"Footprints in the Sand
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.
This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”
The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.
This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”
The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”
No matter what life throws you today - carry an attitude of REJOICING in the LORD, and although it might not change the situation you're in, He sure will be right there with you and carry you through it.
Have a wonderful Friday!
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