Est.

I need to remember these truths: I need to follow Christ and obey the Father. I should be living to glorify Him, no matter what it costs me! His sheep follow Him because they know His voice. I should be willing to be mocked and ridiculed, because, if I'm living like Jesus, I won't fit in with the world. I can and should trust God fully because He is faithful! I need to respond when God speaks to me. Yes, the narrow way is difficult, but it leads to Life.

"...To give unto them... the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness..." Isaiah 61:3 Thy feelings will ebb and flow, thy heart will grow warm in summer's glow, and cold in winter's chill, thou wilt be brave and steadfast today, downcast and anxious tomorrow. Thy streams will be full in the rainy season, and in the time of drought they will be bare beds of stone.   Turn away from thyself! Hope in God! He fainteth not neither is weary.  He is the unfailing fountain; His affections do not decay; with Him is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. When thou are dismayed, He is still full of eternal peace. When thou art downcast, He is still untroubled. It is impossible to keep cares from flocking in great swarms around us, but it is our fault if they are allowed to make nests in our hearts." This really encouraged me. Hope it does the same for you too.

"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

O troubled soul, beneath the rod Thy Father speaks — be still, be still; Learn to be silent unto God, And let Him mold thee to His will. Chorus: Be still, O troubled soul, be still; Fear not, thy Father's arms enfold thee. Take up thy cross, lay down thy will; Be silent unto God, and let Him mold thee.    O anxious soul, lay down thy load, Oh, hear His voice, He speaks to thee, "Be still and know that I am God, And cast thy every care on Me." O fearful soul, be still, be still, Be of good cheer; has He not said, "I will be with you, fear no ill, 'Tis I, 'tis I, be not afraid"? O praying soul, be still, be still, He cannot break His plighted word; Sink down into His blessed will, And wait in patience on the Lord. O waiting soul, be still, be strong, And though He tarry, trust and wait; Doubt not, He will not wait too long, Fear not, He will not come too late. I found it very encouraging. How about you?

A fellow who was a constant worrier visited Tindley one day. After listening a while, Tindley replied,  My advice to you is put all your troubles in a sack, take ’em to the Lord, and  leave  ’em there. (He wrote this song in 1916.) "If the world from you withhold of its silver and its gold, And you have to get along with meager fare, Just remember, in His Word, how He feeds the little bird; Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. Refrain Leave it there, leave it there, Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. If you trust and never doubt, He will surely bring you out. Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. If your body suffers pain and your health you can't regain, And your soul is almost sinking in despair, Jesus knows the pain you feel, He can save and He can heal; Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. Refrain When your enemies assail and your heart begins to fail, Don't forget that God in Heaven answers prayer; He will make...

"He is Jesus, easier to approach than the humblest friend you ever had! He is the sun that shines upon us, He is the star of our night. He is the giver of our life and the rock of our hope. He is our safety and our future. He is our righteousness, our sanctification, our inheritance. You will find that He is all of this in that instant that you move your heart towards Him in faith! This is the journey to Jesus that must be made in the depths of the heart and being." A. W. Tozer

“I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man may be nourished...I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to meditation on it.” “Intimate knowledge of God is possible if we habitually search His Holy Scriptures & translate what we find into obedience.” “The word of God is our only standard, and the Holy Spirit our only teacher.” “If the Holy Spirit guides us, He will do it according to the Scriptures and never contrary to them.” “Our heavenly Father never takes anything from his children unless he means to give them something better.” “Laying up treasures in heaven will draw the heart heavenward.” “The individual who...

I don't know why I haven't posted this song before as I think it's a rather good one. :)

I read this this morning and it blessed, encouraged and challenged me. Am I confessing and forsaking sin? Am I walking blamelessly and wisely and not trusting in my own heart?

"Believing: Directing the Heart's attention to Jesus. And looking upon Jesus as He walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! John 1:36 The Hebrew epistle instructs us to run life's race "looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith," for faith is not a once-done act, but a continuous gaze of the heart at the Triune God! Believing, actually is directing the heart's attention to Jesus. It is lifting the mind to "behold the Lamb of God," and never ceasing that beholding for the rest of our lives. Distractions may hinder, but once the heart is committed to Him, after each brief excursion away from Him the attention will return again and rest upon Him like a wandering bird coming back to its window. I would emphasize this one committal, this one great volitional act which establishes the heart's intention to gaze forever upon Jesus. God takes this intention for our choice and makes what allowances He must for the thousand distraction...

Hmmm... I think maybe the Lord is trying to tell me something... 3 or 4 times in 3 or 4 days, I've been reminded about not going by feelings. I love the Rutherford and Macduff quotes! Here's the Streams in the Desert devotional for 10th March. "The just shall live by faith." (Heb. 10:38). Seemings and feelings are often substituted for faith. Pleasurable emotions and deep satisfying experiences are part of the Christian life, but they are not all of it. Trials, conflicts, battles and testings lie along the way, and are not to be counted as misfortunes, but rather as part of our necessary discipline. In all these varying experiences we are to reckon on Christ as dwelling in the heart, regardless of our feelings if we are walking obediently before Him. Here is where many get into trouble; they try to walk by feeling rather than faith. One of the saints tells us that it seemed as though God had withdrawn Himself from her. His mercy seemed clean gone. For six wee...