Don't Just Stand There!

Come, sit, and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee in the comfort of the Lord:  "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice."  Ephesians  4:31

             "...speak unto the children of Israel, that they GO FORWARD."  Exodus  14:15

     Yes, go forward because you can't turn back.  The year just gone cannot be recalled, its journey cannot be retraced, its mistakes cannot be undone, but we can go forward.  This was the Lord's command to Israel soon after they left Egypt.  They were saved, but it was not the end of the journey.  Forward!  March!  That was the order.  It took faith.  To the right and left lay a howling wilderness, and behind them was the host of the Egyptians pressing upon them.  Where else could they go but forward?  But it must be in faith, because the way ahead was also blocked by the waters of the Red Sea.  But orders were orders - and when they obeyed, the Lord divided the sea and they passed safely through while their pursuers perished in the waters.

     This new year must be a year of going forward and not just standing still.  I would direct my words to new converts to Jesus.  For you a new spiritual year has begun, but your conversion was only the beginning, just as the birth of a baby is only the first step to maturity.  The order now is Forward!  March!  You may be faced with impassable seas and unscalable mountains, but your Captain goes before.  Set your aims high - don't be content with average progress.  Make the most of your talents!

     An Arabian prince received a new sword, and one of his friends found fault saying,  "The sword is too short"; but he wisely replied,  "To a brave man no sword is too short.  If it be too short, take one step forward and it will be long enough."  Forward, march, this year - Don't just stand there - do something!  Bon voyage!

  "If you cannot do great things, you can at least do small things in a great way!"

"Bread For Each Day"

EVERY TIME YOU AFFIRM YOUR TRUST...

Come, sit, and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee in the comfort of the Lord:  "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice."  Ephesians  4:31

EVERY TIME YOU AFFIRM YOUR TRUST IN ME, you put a coin into My treasury.  Thus you build up equity in preparation for days of trouble.  I keep safely in My heart all trust invested in Me, with interest compounded continuously.  The more you trust Me, the more I empower you to do so.

Practice trusting Me during quiet days, when nothing much seems to be happening.  Then when storms come, your trust balance will be sufficient to see you through.  Store up for yourself treasure in heaven, through placing your trust in Me.  This practice will keep you in My Peace.

"Jesus Calling - Enjoying Peace In His Presence"

He Fights For Us

Come, sit, and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee in the comfort of the Lord:  "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice."  Ephesians  4:31

    "...In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength."                                                                                                                                        Isaiah  30:15

     Israel was in trouble, and instead of turning to the Lord for help, they tried to solve their own problems and turned to Egypt for help.  They are reminded that the battle is the Lord's if they will but trust Him.  "In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength."  We need to learn our own weakness before we can appreciate His strength, and often the Lord lays us aside for awhile to teach us this lesson.

     How many of you, during your days of health, felt that you were indispensable?  You were convinced that if anything happened to you, everything would go wrong. You had to be there.  You rushed and fretted and hurried around and then the Lord, probably to rebuke you, laid you aside, and you found out to your surprise that they got along as well without you.  God saw you through experiences which you thought you could never endure.  You learned that God can undertake and do things far beyond comprehension!  Zechariah  4:6 says:  "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts."

     Are you one of God's shut-ins?  Did you have to learn some of these hard lessons?  Ah, then your life has been enriched, and I know that even now you can praise God for His wonderful dealings.

     A gardener planted a flower bush beside the wall of his garden, cared for it, watered it, and nourished it, but - no flowers.  And then he noticed a flower peeping over the other side of the wall and found the roots of his flower had penetrated under the wall and were blooming luxuriantly on the other side.  Christian, your labor is not in vain.  If you do not see it here - you will find it blooming on the "other side."

"Bread For Each Day"

I AM ABLE...

Come, sit, and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee in the comfort of the Lord:  "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice."  Ephesians  4:31

I AM ABLE to do far beyond all that you ask or imagine.  Come to Me with positive expectations, knowing that there is no limit to what I can accomplish.  Ask My Spirit to control your mind, so that you can think great thoughts of Me.  Do not be discouraged by the fact that many of your prayers are yet unanswered. Time is a trainer, teaching you to wait upon Me, to trust Me in the dark.  The more extreme your circumstances, the  more likely you are to see My Power and Glory at work in the situation.  Instead of letting difficulties draw you into worrying, try to view them as setting the scene for My glorious intervention.  Keep your eyes and your mind wide open to all that I am doing in your life.

"Jesus Calling - Enjoying Peace In His Presence"

Keep Your Eyes On Him

Come, sit, and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee in the comfort of the Lord:  "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice."  Ephesians  4:31

                                                           "Looking  unto Jesus"   Hebrews  12:2

     I have read of a great artist who made it a practice to keep a number of beautiful gems on his easel.  The sparkling colors of these sapphires, emeralds, and rubies always caught the eye of his patrons.  When asked the reason for keeping the jewels in such an odd place, he replied that there was a danger of his paints becoming faded by usage, and his eye getting toned down so that the tints on his canvases would lose their brilliance.  Therefore he kept his eyes toned up by constantly referring to the original colors of these jewels which never fade.

     There is a lesson for all of us in this story.  We too are in danger of toning down our spiritual perception by looking at earthly things - things which fade.  How important it is, therefore, to keep our eyes on Jesus. Let us gaze often into His face, for the brilliance of the crucified yet ever living Christ will tone up our spiritual vision and intoxicate our whole heart and life.  This will help us to "walk even as He walked."  Let us never tone down or allow our vision to grow dim.  When we look at human fraility and earthly trial, it is so easy to "cast away our confidence," but if we "look to Jesus" our spiritual perception is heightened and our faith strengthened.

     It is said that when Blondin, the great tight-rope walker, crossed the Niagara on a thin cable suspended high above the falls, he always had a star fixed on the opposite side to which he glued his eye.  Had he looked down at the roaring cataract, fear might have crept into his heart, resulting in catastrophe; but by fixing his attention on the object at the end of the wire he found no difficulty in walking safely across the narrow cable.  We too are not to look at circumstances but keep our eyes on Jesus.  If we do, we will have no difficulty in walking the "narrow way."

REFRESH YOURSELF...

Come, sit, and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee in the comfort of the Lord:  "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice."  Ephesians  4:31

REFRESH YOURSELF in the Peace of My Presence.  This Peace can be your portion at all times and in all circumstances.  Learn to hide in the secret of My Presence, even as you carry out your duties in the world.  I am both with you and within you.  I go before you to open up the way, and I also walk alongside you.  There could never be another companion as devoted as I am.

Because I am your constant Companion, there should be a lightness to your step that is observable to others. Do not be weighed down with problems and unresolved issues, for I am your burden-bearer.  In the world you have trials and distress, but don't let them get you down.  I have conquered the world and deprived it of power to harm you.  In Me you may have confident Peace.

"Jesus Calling - Enjoying Peace In His Presence"

The Greatest Artist Paints Daily

Come, sit, and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee in the comfort of the Lord:  "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice."  Ephesians  4:31

                                                           The  Greatest  Artist  Paints  Daily
  "Have you not known?  Have you not heard?  The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary."    Isaiah  40:28

     Peter the Great ruled from a palace filled with some of the most exquisite works of art produced in the world up to that time.  Yet, when he pondered a sunrise, he wondered how men could be so foolish not to rise every morning to behold one of the most glorious sights in the universe.

     "They delight,"  he said,  "in gazing on a picture, the trifling work of a mortal, and at the same time neglect one painted by the hand of the Deity Himself.  For my part, I am for making my life as long as I can, and therefore sleep as little as possible."

     Peter the Great's observations tells us something about his general outlook on life.  Not only did he know true beauty when he beheld it, but he believed that rising early every day to drink in the beauty of God's marvelous work of art would actually add days to his life.

     That concept is not so far-fetched if we consider what psychologists have told us about relieving stress.  You can alleviate stress by getting up earlier and spending some quiet time enjoying a sunrise!

     Chicago produce dealer, John Cooper Smith, felt watching the sun rise was such an important gift to his life, he actually made mention of it in his will.  He left his widow an estate of fifty thousand dollars, and then he made this bequest to his other relatives:

     "To my remaining relatives I give the sunshine, the birds and the bees, wherever the above mentioned sunshine, birds and bees may be found.  The greatest art exhibit you will ever see opens daily at dawn. And equally wonderful, this exhibit is always free to those who view it."

     How long has it been since you have awakened early to see the sun rise?  This grand display of God's creativity can ignite the creative gifts he placed in you and inspire you to use them during the day!

:"Tea Time With God"