“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 Amazing love, how can it be That you, my king, would die for me? Amazing love. I know it’s true. And it’s my joy to honour you In all I do, I honor you. The word love has lost its true meaning in our world today. How often do we hear the word applied to food, possessions, or other material things? In the celebrity world, people are in love with someone today and someone else the next. But the love that…
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8 Amazing grace shall always be my song of praise, For it was grace that bought my liberty. I do not know just why He came to love me so. He looked beyond my fault and saw my need. I shall forever lift mine eyes to Calvary To view the cross where Jesus died for me. How marvelous the grace that caught my falling soul. He looked beyond my fault and saw my need. For the past two weeks, the words of this song have been resonating in my mind. I heard it twice on social media. And then, we sang it in church last Sunday. The grace that Jesus bestows on us truly is amazing. I often look back at my life and marvel at how the Lord has led me, step by step. I am so glad that when I was just a child, my parents gave their hearts and lives to the Lord. As a result, I had an experience with the Lord that kept me from getting involved in a lot of sinful habits and…
“Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.” Psalm 40:5 I still serve an amazing God. He′s been with me every mile my weary feet have trod. He still cares, He still hears. He’s still mending broken hearts and drying tears. This old world is bound to change. But I′m glad I know the One Who always stays the same. And my song will ever be. Amazing God, You’re still amazing me. Although the word ‘amazing’ is not found in the King James Version of the Bible, we can find words that mean the same thing, such as wonderful, awesome, and great. As we read the stories of Jesus, we see many times that people were amazed at His miracles and teachings. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia describes amazed as follows: “A term which illustrates the difficulty of expressing in one English word the wide range of startled emotion, wonder, astonishment, awe, covered, in the Old Testament, by four Hebrew words and in…
“For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Exodus 20:11 God doesn’t just suggest or encourage rest, He commands us to rest (Exodus 20:8–11) and He led by example (Genesis 2:1–3; Exodus 20:11). From the beginning of the word of God we learn that God is not a workaholic. Rather, He leads by example and encourages rest and restoration. When Rest Feels Like Work Rest, for many of us, is exhausting—which is an oxymoron. When we try to find…
I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he answered me;he delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:1-4. Praising the Lord at all times is sometimes difficult. Have you ever felt cheated? I have. There are several times in my life that I felt like I deserved better, or deserved a life without pain. When my heart has been overwhelmed, I have asked God, Why? Why is this happening? What is Your purpose in this pain? Why can’t I catch a break? Have you been there? Are you there right now? Life is a constant pursuit of growing closer with the Lord; sometimes it’s soaring like eagles and sometimes it’s going through fiery trials. Regardless of what we are going through, God still deserves to be praised. Some problems are ordained by God. Think of Job’s loss, Joseph’s betrayal, Jonah being swallowed by a whale, and Hannah’s barrenness. Each story is implicitly different, and yet, there is a common thread. God proved His power, sovereignty, and provision in their lives. Life without pain can be…
Life Reflection: What does rest mean to you? What things in your life can steal your peace? God’s Design for Rest: The first time God modeled rest for us was in Genesis 2:2. After creating the heavens and the earth, He rested on the seventh day. That was His example to us—showing the importance of setting aside time to worship, be thankful and renew ourselves afte the daily grind of the week. But rest is more than physical. God also offers us spiritual rest—peace in our spirits and rest for our souls, which can only be found in the Holy Ghost. “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.” (Hebrews 4:9-10, NIV) Discussion Point: What is the difference between physical rest and soul rest? The Source of Rest When anxiety, fear or unrest overwhelm us, the book of Psalms offers incredible comfort. Psalm 23 (NKJV) “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea,…