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I hope this blesses you like it did me! (Old fashioned language as it was written quite a while ago.)  " And if Christ is thus the source of satisfaction to His people , He has communicated to them ten thousand other sources of joy : — all of them connected with His Cross and with His love . None but a Christian can say , " I will go unto God my exceeding joy - the Lord God is my strength and song . " He alone can take up the language of the psalmist , " I will be glad , and rejoice in Thee ; " but he can do so , because God is reconciled to him through Christ , and has become his God. A covenant has been sealed and ratified through the blood of the Cross ; and the attributes of God, once so full of terror , are become his shield , his stronghold , and his triumph ; and he can think of all the glorious perfections of the Almighty, and then say , " I will go unto God , my exceeding joy. " His resistless power , His infinite wisdom, His unchanging fidel...

 "Christians! The Redeemer with all His glorious salvation, in all His offices, and under all the characters which He sustains--is yours! You may say with the fullest assurance, "My beloved is mine, and I am His!" You are the objects of the blessed Redeemer's particular care, given into His hands by His and your Father, to be saved by Him . . .   from the guilt and dominion of sin,   from all the powers of darkness, and   from the vengeance of eternal fire! He executes all of His offices on your behalf: As a Priest, He has made an atonement for your sin and reconciled you to God. As a Prophet, He teaches you from His Word, all that you need for life and godliness. As a King, He reigns in His Church, and rules in the heart of every believer. He is a Physician to heal the diseased. He is a Shepherd to feed and guide His flock. He is a Counselor to direct them in all the intricate paths of life. He is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother, and whose friendship is u...

 In His Hands 'Twixt gleams of joy and clouds of doubt Our feelings come and go; Our best estate is tossed about In ceaseless ebb and flow.   No mood of feeling, form of thought Is constant for a day; But thou, 0 Lord, thou changest not: The same thou art alway. I grasp thy strength, make it mine own, My heart with peace is blest; I lose my hold, and then comes down Darkness, and cold unrest. Let me no more my comfort draw From my frail hold of Thee, In this alone rejoice with awe—- Thy mighty grasp of me. Out of that weak, unquiet drift That comes but to depart, To that pure heaven my spirit lift Where thou unchanging art. Lay hold of me with Thy strong grasp, Let Thy almighty arm In its embrace my weakness clasp, And I shall fear no harm. Thy purpose of eternal good Let me but surely know; On this I'll lean—let changing mood And feeling come or go— Glad when Thy sunshine fills my soul, Not lorn when clouds o'ercast, Since Thou within thy sure control Of love dost hold me ...

 𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗨𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗥𝗘! My ruling desire is to be wholly given up to the Lord and to His work, and to show forth His praises from day to day. But when I aim at this most--I am baffled, opposed, and always hindered! I see what is wrong, but cannot avoid it. I see what is right, but cannot attain unto it. I know what I wish, but I cannot enjoy it. I read what God commands, but I cannot perform it. In the midst of all, I bless God . . .    for Jesus Christ,    for free grace,    for a full salvation,    for abiding comfort,    for a good hope,    for sweet views of Jesus,    for a glorious inheritance,    for an assurance of victory, and    for the promise of eternal triumph! Nothing can . . .   separate me from Jesus,   turn the current of His love from me, or   change the purposes of His grace for me. His love is astonishing! His ways are marvelous! I change; He remains ...

I hope these quotes from Elizabeth Prentiss, (1818 – 1878), challenge, bless and encourage you, as they do for me.   The longer I live, the more conscious I am of my human frailty—and of the constant, overwhelming need I have of God's grace. Dying grace is not usually given until it is needed. Death, to the disciple of Jesus, is only stepping from one room to another and far better room of our Father's house. And how little all the sorrows of the way will seem to us, when we get to our home above. You never will be really happy—until Christ becomes your dearest and most intimate friend. Seek God—not joy. God delights to try our faith by the conditions in which He places us. What are trials, but angels to beckon us nearer to Him. What does it matter, after all, from what point of time or space, that we go to our eternal home. O how we shall smile after we get there—that we ever gave it one moment's thought. In proportion to your devotion to the Savior—will be the blessedness...

 I think this seems an appropriate piece to share. I hope you find it an encouraging blessing.  "PROVIDENCE AND GRACE "This is the resting place, let the weary rest; and this is the place of repose"— "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord." "The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord." Psalm 37:23, 39 Here are two fronds of God's palm-grove bending over His true people. Comforting, as we have seen, is the great fundamental truth of theology—"The Lord reigns"—that all events are ordered and controlled by a supreme superintending Providence. But there is a special comfort to believers—the spiritual Israel of every age—that their 'steps,'—their plans and purposes in life (in a better and nobler than the heathen sense—their "destinies")—are overruled by a gracious covenant-Jehovah. That is a beautiful picture given in Hosea (11:1-5) of God, as a Father, watching and guiding the steps of His own children. I...

 I was listening to a sermon this morning and this phrase the preacher repeated caught my attention because I remembered reading a poem about it. I found the lyrics and a tune but can't find who authored it. 

 I was looking through Grandad's poems yesterday and wanted to share these 2 excerpts. Thank You Heavenly Father for a goodly heritage. 

 I wonder if you've ever felt like this? I think it's probably that way for all believers at some point... I find it encouraging anyway. I hope you do too.   by James Smith  "I am cast down!" And why are you cast down? "My heart is burdened with a sense of my short-comings! Every duty I perform is so imperfect. Every purpose I form is so soon frustrated. Every hope of seeing better days is so soon beclouded. My heart is so fearfully depraved. My life is so unlike the life of Jesus. My temper is so unholy. My prayers are so brief and heartless. My praises are so feeble and fitful. I do so little good. I live to so little purpose. My evidences are so dim. My prospects are so overcast. I am harassed sometimes with the fear of death. I cannot realize the glories of Heaven. I am dissatisfied with the world — and yet glued to it! I hate sin — and yet fall into it! I am a riddle, a mystery, a mass of inconsistency! Is it, then, any wonder that I am cast down?" No, ...

A dear Sister friend of mine sent me some words she'd been inspired to write and encouraged me to try setting it to music. With a few small adjustments / additions, here's my attempt.  https://youtu.be/x38OLYGfG70

"A Little Way" --Anonymous "A little way! I know it is not far To that dear home where my beloved are; And still my heart sits, like a bird, upon The empty nest, and mourns its treasures gone, Plumed for their flight, And vanished quite. Ah me! Where is the comfort? Though I say They have but journeyed on a little way. "A little way! At times they seem so near, Their voices even murmur in my ear, To all my duties loving presence lend, And with sweet ministry my steps attend. 'Twas here we met and parted company; Why should their gain be such a grief to me? This sense of loss! This heavy cross! Dear Savior, take the burden off, I pray, And show me heaven is but--a little way. "A little way? The sentence I repeat, Hoping and longing to extract some sweet To mingle with the bitter; from Thy hand I take the cup I cannot understand, And in my weakness give myself to Thee. Although it seems so very, very far To that dear home where my beloved are, I know, I know,...

"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.

Before Ira Sankey became D.L. Moody's mission partner, he had been a soldier in the American Civil War. One night he was out on guard duty; he lifted his eyes to heaven and began singing praise to the LORD.  Years after the war ended, Sankey was sailing somewhere and a crowd of people recognised him and asked him to sing. He again looked Heavenward and sang a hymn.   A man from the crowd asked him if, on a certain night during the war, he had performed night duty for a certain infantry unit. "Yes, I did." was his reply.  The man continued, "I was on the opposite side of the war, hiding by a bush near your camp. My gun was aimed at your head when you looked upward and began to sing. As I liked music I thought I'd let you finish the song before shooting you. Then I realised what you were singing. It was the same hymn my mother sang to me many times when I was a child; the one you sang tonight. I tried, but I was powerless to pull the trigger. I recognised that yo...

I found this poem an encouragement.  Hope you do too!  Are you eagerly awaiting His return? I can't grasp how wonderful it will be to see the Saviour face to face, but I know it will be far more glorious than anything and everything else this life brings! 

 "Thoughts of Home; I've been thinking of home,  of "my Father's house, Where the many mansions be,"  Of the city whose streets are paved with gold,  Of its jasper walls, so fair to behold, Which the righteous alone shall see. I've been thinking of home,  where they need not the light Of the sun, nor moon, nor star;  Where the gates of pearl  "are not shut by day,  For no night is there,"  but the weary may Find rest from the world afar. I've been thinking of home,  of the river of life That flows through the city so pure; Of the tree that stands  by the side of the stream,  Whose leaves in mercy  with blessings teem, The sin-wounded soul to cure. I 've been thinking of home,  of the loved ones there, Dear friends who have gone before, With whom we walked  to the death river side,  And sadly thought,  as we watched the tide, Of the happy days of yore. I've been thinking of home,  and my heart is fu...

 Men are deficient in mercy — but God, our God in Jesus, will display the greatest kindness and compassion to His children. This renders Him so amiable, suitable, and glorious in the estimation of His people. Mercy is God's sweetest attribute . . .   as beautiful as the morning light,   as measureless as the waters of the ocean,   as boundless as illimitable space,   as refreshing as the early dew,   as glorious as the noon-day sun! God's mercy is like His nature — pure, lovely, and eternal. His mercy is suited to all the needs of His children — it is free, full, and meets every case! Christian, the Lord assures you that He has mercy for you! He has pardoning mercy — which will suit your sinfulness; mercy which will blot out your sins, and remove them from you as far as the east is from the west! He has delivering mercy — which will meet your misery; mercy which will deliver you from . . .    the power of sin,    the bondage of Satan, ...

  I hope you are as encouraged by these as I have been! 

Samuel Rutherford was born in Scotland in 1600 and he died in 1661. I recently started reading his "Garden of Spices" and wanted to share a couple of the poems found therein. Some may find the very old fashioned language harder to understand but I think they're worth reading.  I hope you also find them encouraging. 

Here are a couple of things I want to remember as we head into 2024. No matter what the coming year has in store for us, we can rejoice in the fact that our Saviour is completely faithful and He holds us securely. We can rejoice knowing we are extremely blessed to be part of His family.  We belong to Him so we should serve and worship Him joyfully and gratefully.  He is our Help, our Refuge, our Strong Tower. When we fully trust Him and desire to please Him He will be honoured and glorified.  He invites us to pour out our hearts to Him. Scripture promises there will be difficult times ahead but while we walk humbly with Him, He will always be with us, so we need not fear.    I hope you are encouraged by the above quote by J. C. Ryle.