Est.

"and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son." Revelation 21:4-7. 3 people recently challenged me to read the whole book of Revelation in one go. I had never thought to do that before... The verses above have long been a favourite of mine. When things are seeming difficult to handle, I turn and read the last 3 chapters. It gives me much encouragement to press on; the end will be so wonderful!! For my friends who are struggling with awful pain, I pr...

 I trust you will also find this very encouraging.

I'd heard the name often enough but I had only read one or two of his quotes.  Here are a few that I thought are particularly worth sharing.  "For eighteen centuries every engine of destruction that human science, philosophy, wit, reasoning or brutality could bring to bear against a book has been brought to bear against that book to stamp it out of the world, but it has a mightier hold on the world today than ever before. If that were man’s book it would have been annihilated and forgotten hundreds of years ago…  It stands absolutely unshaken today. At times almost all of the wise and great of the earth have been pitted against the Bible, and only an obscure few for it. Yet it has stood." "The great need to-day in individuals, in churches and in preachers is that the Wind of God blow upon us."  "God has not changed; and His ear is just as quick to hear the voice of real prayer, and His hand is just as strong to save, as it ever was."  "There must ...

 A dear friend shared this with me last year and I think it's particularly helpful for these days in which we are living so wanted to share them on this platform too. 

While you won't find this one in Scripture, I hope you will be as challenged as I was. Imagine my delight when I received some beautiful looking large mangoes. I was looking forward to enjoying the delicious fruit. Cutting into them revealed that was not going to happen. They were rotten!  As I pondered the rotten mangoes I was reminded how the Lord looks for good fruit in our lives. How disappointed He must be when He sees what outwardly to others may appear beautiful but He sees the hidden inner depths and so often they are not a pretty sight.  Lord, please don't let me fall into the trap of being such a hypocrite that people may say I have good fruit, if I have not repented of the corruption of malice or any other evil thing still lingering in my heart. Please make my fruit good and pleasing to You. Amen! 

  Good reminder. Thanks Elihu!  Every now and then it can be very helpful to take a few moments to ponder on His wonderful deeds and recount to yourself His faithfulness in your life through however many years you've been walking with Him. Remembering how the Lord has kept me and provided for me and how He is still patiently dealing with me should cause great rejoicing and gratitude. "With my song I will praise Him,  He has been so good to me. He heard my prayer and He answered.  My strength, my shield and my hope.  My heart will rejoice in the LORD." (inspired by Psalm 28)

Sorry if some of these are blurry, don't know why that happened but hopefully if you click on them, it should become clear. I found these encouraging. Hope you do too. Most quotes from the book "Dangers of a shallow faith." The last is a prayer from today's devotional.

He threaded his way through the crowded street A commonplace man, though tidy and neat The kind of man you see by the score One glance suffices, you look no more. Just one of the crowd in colour and size - Unless you happened to look at his eyes. He was one of the queue that boarded the bus. Just part of the pattern, just one of us. For him, there was not so much as a glance From the girls in their finery off to the dance. Just one of so many in collars and ties - Unless you happened to look at his eyes. There's someone Who knows the secret that lies Behind the radiance of those eyes. Inspiring in glory that light to shine Someone could tell of a purpose divine. He'll never tell it - his joy was in giving (discovering, so doing, the pure joys of living) Making a life that seemed broken worthwhile Helping, in truth, a lame dog o'er a stile He did not ask how much he might gain He only saw the sorrow and pain W...

"Be patient - wait God's time. He knows the best.  Though plans are crossed, unanswered your requests. Even when you suffer from the stunning blow, When He to your petition answers, "no." When all is dark around, just kneel in prayer. Tell Him you're trusting. He will bless you there." By Mrs Clara Simpson " Make every day a walk with Thee. New glory shall the sunshine gain. And all the clouds shall lightened be Go with me on life's dusty road And help me bear the weary load. Talk with me, Master, by the way. The voices of the world recede The shadows darken o'er the land. How poor am I, how great my need. Speak to my heart disquieted. Till it shall lose it's fear and dread. Bide with me, Master, all the way. Though to my blinded eyes unknown. So shall I feel a presence near Where I had thought I walked alone. And when, far spent, the day decline Break Thou the bread, dear Guest o...

Don't you just love the Psalms? I usually find them very comforting and encouraging. How about you?

Yes, it is time for another little quote by Susan Warner from her book, "Nobody". A girl and her grandmother are discussing being separate from the world and I love the response here. "How can one be separate always, Grandma, in the midst of other people?" "Take care that you keep nearest God. Walk with Him; and you'll be pretty sure to be separate from the most o' folks." It's very simple, direct and to the point, and exactly what we need to do. How do we take care to keep nearest God? Spending time in prayer and reading the Bible would seem to be the obvious ones.

"Lord, let me make a difference for you that is utterly disproportionate to who I am." ~ David Brainerd "We should always look upon ourselves as God's servants, placed in God's world, to do his work; and accordingly labour faithfully for him; not with a design to grow rich and great, but to glorify God, and do all the good we possibly can." ~ David Brainerd "There is a God in heaven who overrules all things for the best; and this is the comfort of my soul." ~ David Brainerd "Let me forget the world and be swallowed up in the desire to glorify God." ~ David Brainerd "Further, Take heed that you faithfully perform the business you have to do in the world, from a regard to the commands of God; and not from an ambitious desire of being esteemed better than others." ~ David Brainerd "I have received my all from God. Oh, that I could return my all to God." ~ David Brainerd "If you hope for happiness in the w...

"I asked the Lord that I might grow In faith, and love, and every grace; Might more of His salvation know, And seek, more earnestly, His face. ‘Twas He who taught me thus to pray, And He, I trust, has answered prayer! But it has been in such a way, As almost drove me to despair. I hoped that in some favoured hour, At once He’d answer my request; And by His love’s constraining pow’r, Subdue my sins, and give me rest. Instead of this, He made me feel The hidden evils of my heart; And let the angry pow’rs of hell Assault my soul in every part. Yea more, with His own hand He seemed Intent to aggravate my woe; Crossed all the fair designs I schemed, Blasted my gourds, and laid me low. Lord, why is this, I trembling cried, Wilt thou pursue thy worm to death? “‘Tis in this way, the Lord replied, I answer prayer for grace and faith. These inward trials I employ, From self, and pride, to set thee free; And break thy schemes of earthly joy, That thou may’st...

"It is a common temptation of Satan to make us give up the reading of the Word and prayer when our enjoyment is gone; as if it were of no use to read the Scriptures when we do not enjoy them, and as if it were no use to pray when we have no spirit of prayer. The truth is that in order to enjoy the Word, we ought to continue to read it, and the way to obtain a spirit of prayer is to continue praying. The less we read the Word of God, the less we desire to read it, and the less we pray, the less we desire to pray." George Mueller

(I haven't quite finished the book, but I'm really enjoying it so far.) "In life," said the preacher, "it isn't enough to be a signpost, just pointing the way to righteousness. We have to walk that way ourselves." "Perhaps I'm a bit old-fashioned," she said quietly. "But I feel His presence so wonderfully. He often comes into the scullery with me. I never feel ashamed of His seeing me with my coarse apron on. He understands. You see, I just trust Him, so I know it's all right. I used to worry a lot years ago, but now I find it all so simple. All you have to do is to take Him at His Word." "And for myself, sir, why every day I take out of my mind whatever is unwholesome - or I should say I have it taken out for me." "How?" "By prayer. Every night I am still for a bit." "But it is not always easy to be still. I have little time for doing nothing." "Ah, but a man isn't ...

"Before the winds that blow do cease, Teach me to dwell within Thy calm; Before the pain has passed in peace, Give me, my God, to sing a psalm, Let me not lose the chance to prove The fullness of enabling love. O Love of God, do this for me; Maintain a constant victory. Before I leave the desert land For meadows of immortal flowers, Lead me where streams at Thy command Flow by the borders of the hours, That when the thirsty come, I may Show them the fountains in the way. O Love of God, do this for me; Maintain a constant victory." "Sometimes in the midst of the rush of things, it seems impossible always to be victorious, always to be peaceful, always to be inwardly sweet. Is that not so? Yet that and nothing less is our high calling."

"We must get on our knees before our open Bible and allow the Holy Spirit to break our hearts and create a passion for Christ as we've never had before. We must ask for a passion of such a nature that the things of this world will begin to diminish in their attraction for us. A passion for Christ will enable us to rise above our culture and look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Let us be alert to the season in which we are living. It is the season of the Blessed Hope, calling for us to cut our ties with the world and build ourselves on this One who will soon appear. He is our hope - a Blessed Hope enabling us to rise above our times and fix our gaze upon Him.  As Bible-believing Christians, it is imperative that we stay fully alert to the times in which we live. Our enemy is a master deceiver and a con artist of the highest order, diverting our attention from the Blessed Hope with the problems we face every day. Understanding Bible prophecy will create a pass...

Today I finished one of Tozer's books: "God's Power for your life: How the Holy Spirit transforms you through God's Word." It contains some great challenges and encouragements, including, "I love Thee, for I can trust Thee to always keep Thy Word. All around me are those who fail to keep their promises for one reason or another. Everyone at some time has disappointed me, but Thou, O Christ, hast never disappointed me. Thou hast been as good as Thy Word, and Thy Word hath been good to me. May I commit myself this day and surrender my heart, mind and life to the promises that have flowed into my heart. In Jesus' name. Amen." "The man of God says that we "have fled for refuge", and I can just see myself, with the devil one hot jump behind me, racing for the cross of Jesus, racing for Calvary's holy mountain. Just as I come panting in, the doors let down behind me, and the devil runs head-on into the gate and bounces off. He does n...

I read this prayer today in a Tozer book and thought it worth sharing, so here it is: "I have sought Thee, O Lord, and have been confused by the false authorities that have authority over Thee. May my heart be rooted in Thy Word, O God, to such an extent that Thy truth is ever precious to me.   In Jesus' name. Amen."