Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.

" And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye always having all sufficiency in all things; may abound to every good work. " 2 Corinthians 9:8

God's Gift. Abundant Grace. All sufficiency. 

Have you ever marveled at God's provision for you? How God is able to make all grace abound toward you? 

I often think how God's provisions to me are minimized by my lack of thanksgiving.  I go through the day focusing on things not being met... because I either ask for the wrong things... or I don't trust my Heavenly Father. 

And the thing is...  He knows exactly what I am in need of. 

God supplies for my every  need.

And in supplying, He equips me for every good work.

" Now He that ministereth(supplieth) seed to the sower 

both minister(supply) bread for your food, 

and multiply your seed sown, 

and increase the fruits of your righteousness, " 

2 Corinthians 9:10

The heavenly Father supplies...

... the seed needed,

... the bread for your food,

... and multiplies the seed sown,

... and increases the fruits of righteousness.

How equipped we are with God's unspeakable gift towards us!

Enriching us in everything... so that we might overflow in thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father.

" being enriched in every thing,

 to all bountifulness, 

which causeth through us thanksgiving to God." 

2 Corinthians 9:12

How thankful I am for God's provisions to me... that I might walk worthy of His name... being fruitful in every good work.

May you be encouraged to have a thankful heart... for God's unspeakable gift to you.

~Ellie

The voice of my BELOVED!, behold HE cometh...

" I sat down under HIS shadow with great delight, and HIS fruit was sweet to my taste." Song of Solomon 2:3

This past week my husband and I were talking about various passages in the Bible and at one point in our conversation we ended up talking about Zacchaeus. 

I thought about Zacchaeus and of his desire to know more about the man Lord Jesus. To refresh my memory I went to the passage in Luke 19 and reread the account. And what a blessing it was...

Zacchaeus. Chief among the publicans. Rich.

And yet he desired to know who Jesus was. But because of the press, and because of his small stature, he wasn't able to see Jesus. Yet, he didn't give up. 

He ran.. and climbed a sycomore tree.... for he knew the Lord was to pass  that way.

As I was reading the passage, I stopped to think about Zacchaeus and how much he desired to see Jesus. He went out of his way to make time to see the LORD. And he ran to climb the tree, making sure he could get a good view of Jesus.... and not miss His coming. I am sure Zacchaeus was a busy man, being chief of publicans. But he cared not what others thought of him. Seeing the Lord Jesus was more important to him.... even above his riches.

And then I thought of my own life. How do I seek the LORD? Do I run to know more of Him... through His word, through fellowship with Him in prayer? Do I place the things of the world second... and make my time with the LORD a delight... tasting the sweet fruit of HIS word?

My thoughts then stopped a bit as I read further through the passage. Oh, the LORD's beautiful calling to Zacchaeus, 

" Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house." 

Luke 19:5

I thought of the Lord's calling to HIS own... how He calls us too. His desire is to dwell with us, that we might taste the sweet fellowship of His presence in our house.

Zacchaeus' response was so beautiful to see. His obedience to the calling of the LORD: 

He made haste. He came down. He received Him joyfully. His earthly riches were transformed... in knowing the riches of the LORD'S saving grace. 

Oh, what a precious example... that we should hear the BELOVED's voice calling... and heed His beckoning. 

Lord, help me to seek you above all else....to hear your voice. Let nothing hinder your coming in my house. 

" For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." 

Luke 19:10 

May you know the sweet fellowship of the LORD in your own house.

 ~Ellie 

For we are to GOD the fragrance of CHRIST...

" For this cause I bow my knees unto the FATHER of our LORD JESUS CHRIST... that HE would grant you according to the riches of HIS GLORY, to be strengthened with might by HIS SPIRIT in the inner man." Ephesians 3: 14, 16.

As I've started memorizing yet another section of God's Word, I've been dwelling much on how we've been immensely blessed through the LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

Sometimes I don't meditate enough on the great and marvelous work of our LORD Jesus Christ.... and what abundant spiritual blessings we have through HIM! 

I realize no access could be gained to the Father in heaven... had it not been for His Son. And that alone requires our love and praise.

Just overwhelmed with God's love. That's where I've been all week... dwelling and thinking about God's love poured forth to me, a sinner. So unworthy of His love, but ever so thankful for His mercy!

The verses I'm memorizing in Ephesians 1 relate extensively the position we have in Christ. We've been redeemed and reconciled to the Father:

"... who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." 

"... predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ."

"... in whom we have redemption through His blood."

"... that He might gather together in one all things in Christ."

Can you imagine that? God blessed us with ALL spiritual blessings. 

But then I thought about how the blessings were even made possible. It had to be through JESUS alone... " no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6.

And in His coming down on earth from glory... the Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself the form of man. Interestingly, He didn't choose the nature of angels... but of mere man. (Hebrews 2:16)

He chose to be like us. What meekness. What humbleness.

"Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. " 

Hebrews 2:17

"... that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man." Hebrews 2:9  

And then, through His death, we could be redeemed... and given the adoption of sonship.

"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." 

Galatians 3:26

Redeemed. Children of God. In Christ Jesus. What marvelous grace... unmerited! 

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God." 

1 John 3:1

And so, I thank my Heavenly Father for His love to me... for the access I  have to His throne of mercy offered through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Boldly I approach the heavenly throne to find grace and mercy in time of need. 

  

May you know the love of the Heavenly Father... who hath blessed us with ALL spiritual blessings IN Christ Jesus.

~Ellie

He appeared to put away SIN, by the SACRIFICE of HIMSELF...

" How much more shall the BLOOD OF CHRIST, who through the eternal SPIRIT offered HIMSELF without spot to GOD, purge your conscience from dead works, to serve the LIVING GOD. Hebrews 9: 14

My thoughts are on the sacrifice of my LORD today. How often I neglect to stop and thank the LORD for HIS  sacrificial love that brought salvation to my soul. His sacrifice can sometimes become of little importance... way too often.

Reading through the gospels, I stopped to meditate on the passage where the LORD JESUS CHRIST  was in deep agony... for the hour was come to drink the cup of wrath.... and be condemned to death.

HE was alone. The  disciples asleep. HIS soul was exceeding sorrowful. There in the garden of Gethsemane, the LORD  falls on the ground... and prays to the FATHER.

Could it be possible?

" Let this cup pass from me..."

" Abba, Father, ALL things are possible unto THEE, take away this cup from me..."

Who could save Him from the  the cross, knowing what He must endure? Only the Father.

" He offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto HIM that was able to save HIM from death..."

Hebrews 5:7

And yet HE prayed, " Not my will but Thine be done ."

The LORD... in deepest agony. The FATHER... strengthens.

"And there appeared an angel unto HIM from heaven, strengthening HIM."

Luke 22:43

For it was the Father's desire that Jesus Christ should drink that cup. To be that offering for sin. For our sins. For mine.

Thank you LORD... for your obedience to the FATHER... for your blood spilt on my behalf. For eternal salvation.

" Though He were a SON, yet learned HE obedience by the things which HE suffered; And being made perfect, HE became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey HIM."

Hebrews 5:8-9

How can I thank you?  My debt was paid. Purge my conscience from dead works... that I may serve you... and glorify THY name.

MY SAVIOUR SET ME FREE

*

Do you know my Saviour? 

Have you heard HIS love for you?

How HE came to live a sinless life

And shed HIS blood for you.

*

A sinless man, the SON of GOD

Come down to save the lost.

To die a shameful death upon the cross,

That we might live at HIS dear cost.

*

My LORD, How hard it was for you,

To take the cup of agony on THEE.

In deepest sorrow you asked the Father,

'Tis possible may this cup pass from me.

*

The three you took with you to pray

Could not keep watch not e'en an hour.

Twas Peter, James and John

Who fell asleep and had no power.

*

With tears and strong crying THOU didst pray again

And sweat like drops of blood did shed

"Not my will but Thine be done."

Was what you prayed instead.

*

And as your hour was come

To Caiaphas you were led

Betrayed by Judas with a kiss

Forsook by all, as all had fled.

*

Are you the Christ, the SON of GOD? 

You spoke no word, Thy peace you held.

With two false witnesses against THEE

You answered, " Thou has said."

*

And with those words you were condemned,

To die the death 'twas meant for me.

Upon the cross at Calvary,

You took my guilt and set me free.

*

So now I ask you yet again,

Has Christ been merciful to you?

Is HE your SAVIOUR, LORD and KING?

Then give Him praise in all you do.

    Ellie 5/30/2014

May you dwell on God's sacrificial love for you today... and praise Him for the gift of salvation.

~Ellie

For HE knoweth our frame...

" Bless the LORD of my soul and all that is within me, bless HIS HOLY name." Psalm 103:1

Ah, Psalm 103. What a beautiful, beautiful Psalm. Worth reading over and over again.

I've been trying to share some thoughts of what I have been dwelling on these past few days.  And I was sort of stuck. It's not that I haven't felt the Lord's goodness and mercy... for I have had some wonderful moments singing some old hymns and thanking the LORD for His daily provisions and faithfulness.

But after I read Psalm 103 today,  my heart was full of joy, contentment, gladness, thankfulness... all in one go!  Have you ever doubted God's love for you? Have you ever doubted God's mercy? Have you ever doubted God's tenderness? Just read Psalm 103... and you'll be amazed at GOD's beautiful tenderness towards us HIS people.

Even though we deserved death and punishment, God is ever so LOVING!

Here are just a few of His attributes towards us:

1) The LORD is merciful, 2) He is gracious, 3) He is slow to anger, 4) He is plentuous in mercy, 5) He will not always chide, 6) He will not keep His anger forever, 7) He doesn't deal with us after our sins, 8) He doesn't reward us after our iniquities 9) He pitieth us as a father does his child, 10) He removes our transgressions from us, 11) He forgives all our iniquities, 12) He heals all our diseases, 13) He redeems our life from destruction, 14) He crowns us with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 15) He satisfies our mouth with good things, 16 He executes righteousness and judgement to all that are oppressed.

Isn't it beautiful? What a LOVING FATHER.

And when we  think that GOD would have all the right to terminate us... He remembers that we are just dust! He knows how we are made. We are nothing before him... and yet ...we are EVERYTHING! HE sent HIS SON to die for us. Can we ever have enough praise?

As the Psalmist says: "Bless the LORD, O my soul... and all that is within me, BLESS His Holy name."

The neat thing is that HIS mercy is from everlasting to everlasting! It never ends...

May you be blessed as you meditate on the Father's tenderness and lovingkindness today.

~Ellie

Lead Me to the ROCK that is Higher than I...

" From the end  of the earth will I cry  unto THEE, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the ROCK that is higher than I." Psalm 61:2

I am so thankful to have such a loving heavenly Father that cares for me today... and each and every day! Have you ever felt your heart overwhelmed? Do you have a safe haven where you can turn to?

Oh, what a joy to have a permanent unchanging shelter... a shelter you can run to from the overwhelming pressures of today. My heart was filled with joy as I read this psalm... Psalm 61. A psalm where each Christian finds rest for their weary soul.  Trusting in the shelter of the Almighty.

God alone is the strong tower, the ROCK in whom we trust.  What peace we have when we trust in our Heavenly Father. Trusting that HE will make us rich in mercy and truth...

We can be confident, as His children,  that we are most rich... rich in HIS unbounded love for us. And what a delight to be given the inheritance of salvation. "  The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage." Psalm 16:6

Let us be confident and wait on the LORD ... for from HIM cometh our salvation! So let us  sing praises unto HIS name for ever and ever.

When my heart is totally overwhelmed,

Lord, pick me up and help me stand.

Give me strength and take me by your hand,

Heal my heart  you alone can mend.

~

Help me to know by your mercy I stand,

Every moment every hour you show your power.

You are the fortress, the shield, my strong tower,

The horn of my salvation, held only by your hand.

~

I sing my praise to you, 

My rock and my deliverer.

You are the strong tower,

My hope is in you .

~

I can trust in your mighty wings,

To shelter me from the storm.

For when  the waves begin to form,

My heart  finds peace under your Almighty wings.

~Ellie~ 2/25/14

May you cry out to God . When your heart is overwhelmed, trust in HIM.

~Ellie

The importance of memorizing verses...

"Thy WORD have I hid in my heart , that I might not sin against THEE." Psalm 119:11

This past year and a half I have been trying to memorize God's word. I'll be honest, in years past, memorizing verses was not part of my fellowship with my KING. Oh, I knew some verses here and there... but I never made it a practice to faithfully memorize verses from the Bible.

I always seemed to have an excuse... but the one I really held fast to was a good one, " I'm too old, nothing will stick now." It was always easier to blame it on age. Until one day...

You see, I had been visiting an older Christian sister... I remember making it a point to spend some time with her, as she was alone. I wanted to be of encouragement to her. So when we met, maybe once a week or so, we would often talk about things that mattered to us... about things that had happened that week, or maybe about projects we were both working on, or we would share things about our families, or simply reminiscing on past life experiences.

We always enjoyed getting together, mostly because we both loved the LORD.  The LORD was our common ground. So we often found ourselves sharing scriptures... maybe a verse that especially encouraged us that week. But I remember her  telling me often the joy she found in a passage of scripture she was currently memorizing. I never thought too much about it in the beginning. However, it seemed that every visit I made, she would joyously share her love for memorizing God's word, and what a blessing it was to her. She was convinced we needed to be in GOD'S word daily. I agreed with that, but memorizing, well, I still thought I couldn't do it. Unbelievable, right? How we stick so faithfully to our excuses. But I was blessed to hear her often remarking  what a joy it was to think on the LORD throughout the day ... and  finding such comfort at night, meditating on scripture.

Over the weeks that I spent visiting her, God's Holy Spirit slowly began working in my life. Why couldn't I memorize scripture? There really was no excuse, I shamefully accepted the fact that I really didn't want to... because that really was the reason.  Age had nothing to do with it. My friend was 85 years old, and she was memorizing passages! What was my excuse?

I remember one day, thinking that I ought to start memorizing... I'll be honest it was a long struggle. But the LORD put it on my heart to start small... with a verse I was familiar with. Before long, I was memorizing passages! I couldn't believe it! I really could memorize. And oh, what a blessing it has been for me... words can never express my gratitude to GOD'S gentle ways with me! Through days and weeks of going through anxiety attacks, GOD'S word was my only hope and peace. What peace memorized verses brought to my anxious heart!

Throughout my memorization, I learned that you don't quickly read through a verse... but rather, you slowly meditate on it, because it needs to sink in the innermost being. And it is in memorizing, that GOD graciously reveals SO many jewels. Tidbits that are often missed when  we hurriedly read through a passage. Tidbits that change our lives. Tidbits that keep us thinking on things above.

Do you memorize verses? Do  you know the power of GOD'S word in your life... I urge you to memorize. You will only reap benefits from filling your heart and mind with the TRUTH.

God's WORD brings peace, comfort and  wisdom. It also protects us from the wiles of the devil and shield us from temptations, or from sinning against God... but ultimately, it gives us LIFE.

"Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom." PSALM 51:6

Isn't it amazing, GOD desires it as well... HE desires that truth would be in our inward parts!

May you know the power of GOD'S  HOLY WORD in your heart today.

~Ellie

Fear not, be still before the LORD...

"Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will show you today..." Exodus 14:13

This past week I've been trying to learn the meaning of being still before the LORD. I admit I often let my thoughts wander. I fret, I get anxious, I may even lose hope for a moment. There are trials that come our way... like news of a loved one being sick, or a friend struggling to get better from a surgery. Trials that test our faith.

Where do we we run for help in times of distress? Do we run to and fro trying to "fix" things in our own strength? I find myself often running to and fro... I let my thoughts run wild thinking of the future days that may seem bleak to me. Will I lose my loved one, will I lose my friend?

Why do I fret so? Why is my faith lacking? Do I not trust my heavenly Father to work His perfect will? Do I not trust His loving arms, that are never to too short to save? Do I fail to be still before Him?

Lord, help me to accept your perfect will. Whatever the outcome, I can trust that it is for your good pleasure! Thank you for fighting for us... help us to hold our peace. (Exodus 14:14)

Are you facing a difficult day? Look above and ask the heavenly Father to see you through. Let Him be your guide. " I will cry unto GOD most high; unto GOD that performeth all things for me." Psalm 57:2

What a beautiful and wonderful thing it is... to be still before Him even in our trials... for He giveth more grace when our burdens grow greater.

He Giveth More Grace

He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

 Annie J. Flint

May you be still before a Heavenly Father that works on your behalf.

~Ellie