Giving Up What I Want

I was reading the biography of Hudson Taylor yesterday and was amazed by his life. One thing really stuck out to me and reminded me of some things.
Hudson Taylor had not yet left for China, he was preparing and while he was he fell in love with one of his sister's friends. They got to know each other for a while but apparently she wasn't willing to go to China with him. Hudson has a choice to make: follow God's call or follow his heart. Every person longs to find that someone who seems to complete them. But Hudson knew to do God's will was far better, so he chose China. Then all seemed to go wrong and it looked like he would be stuck at home, some might say "He could marry the girl! ". Instead he said, "My hope is in God alone, I need no other." He wasn't going to marry her, he was going to keep trusting God to send him to China, which God did in His timing.
I just though it was neat and a powerful reminder that all of us long to have someone, like I said earlier. But if God calls us to do something, we need to be willing to leave those longings or even that someone(if we've found them) behind and follow Him. If God calls me to teach missionary children for the rest of my life I've go to sacrifice those longings for that special person I hope to meet someday.
I don't know, maybe this will help you, it sure helped me.

The Weaver

My life is but a weaving
Between my Lord and me,
I cannot choose the colors
He worketh steadily.

Ofttimes He weaveth sorrow,
And I in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper
And I, the underside.

Not till the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Shall God unroll the canvas
And explain the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful
In the Weaver's skillful
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned.
Grant Colfax Tuller

I think it is amazingly wonderful that God still keeps working on us no matter how often we try to weave our own ideas into our life. If we would only realize that letting God weave our whole life will result in the most beautiful masterpiece. Instead we come out with a wonderful piece of art but has many knotted thread on the underside where we tried to go the wrong way and God had to fix it, to cut the string, tie it, and start the right way again. What great mercy! Isn't it great that He doesn't just leave us a half- woven piece of art?

Do I Really Want It?

Acts 12:8
Sometimes we pray earnestly for something and we even have others pray with us about it. When God decides to answer and deliver us, sometimes He makes sure we were really serious about what we were asking, if we will truly follow through with it. People had been praying for Peter and I'm sure he had been praying and God answered, but when the angel came he gave Peter some instructions. Now think if he wouldn't have followed the instructions, maybe God wouldn't have delivered him. Maybe God would say, "If you aren't serious about it I don't have to follow through with it."
How often do I pray about something and God's ready to answer it, He's just waiting for me to follow some instructions? So I follow them? The blessings as a result of obedience to those instructions is more amazing than the fear or doubt of if I really wanted God to answer. So how about you? How many things are you praying about but God's waiting for you to following the instructions so He knows you're serious about it?

Back in Business!

I am so excited to be able to post on this blog again. In reality I missed posting on this blog more than my other one. When I can post on here it almost motivates me to keep digging for treasures in God's Word. I love being able to share them with others. So I might spend a lot of time posting one here in the next few weeks. By the way, it is wonderful to be back at college and be learning all sorts of new things.
So without further ado, I have something to post that the Lord showed me earlier this month.

Our America

"The more profoundly we study this wonderful book (the Bible) and the more closely we observe it's divine precepts, the better citizens we will become and the higher will be our destiny as a nation."

President William McKinley

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord"

May America get back to the Lord before it's too late. May the Bible be our law and the Lord, our Guide.

Replenished Supply

Did you ever think of how the Lord replenished things for the Israelites? Daily He provided manna and quail for them to eat. He provided protection their whole lives and allowed them to be defeated a couple of times to humble them. When they were in the wilderness their clothes didn't wear out, neither did their shoes. Amazing! If only that would happen with my favorite skirts and shoes.
But really I was thinking of how they were in the wilderness because of their disobedience and they were there until all those that came out of Egypt died off. And to think that the God that replenished the Israelites' necessities is the same God I serve today. He will provide for me everyday, everything I need and even things I want. He will keep me safe and just like the Israelites humble me when needed, which seems to be very often. Praise the Lord that the God I serve is the same God that led Abraham, that comforted Ruth, convicted David of sin, gave Esther courage, endowed Solomon with wisdom, sent His Son to the cross, allowed Paul to live and serve with his infirmities, and give me the strength to live each day. What a privilege to live for God and not have to worry about anything! Because He still provides the same.

Such Great Compassion

I was reading in my devotions part of Psalm 78 this morning and I was struck by verses 35-39. The children of Israel are known for their murmuring and complaining, that's a given. But in verse 35 they knew the Lord was their rock, their redeemer. He took care of them, provided, protected, and promised them a great inheritance. They knew all the things the Lord said, the things He did for them, they grew up hearing all about it and seeing it. Then in the very next verse it says that they were hypocritical. They said one thing and did another, not just to people, but to GOD! And they knew He knew all. It was downright rebellion.
Verse 37 tells us why. It was simple, they weren't right with Him. They let sins get inbetween them and God, eventually they were bold enough to be hypocritical with God. What a scary thought! I pray that I never get to that point.
Yet in all this, outright hypocracy, lying, and forsaking what they knew, verse 38 begins with the word "But". What a great word! Despite their gross, outright sins, it says that He had compassion on them. He forgave all their sins. AND He didn't kill them! What compassion! What Love!
Then the Lord went on to explain in His blessed book why. "For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again." verse 39. That verse thrills my soul! He forgives us over and over because:

• He knows we're human
• We are only here for a little while
• We aren't ever coming back once we've gone. (I guess that proves reincarnation is false!)

Now that doesn't give us the right to sin, since He forgives us every time. But it does give us assurance that He forgives us, and when He does we know He forgives and forgets. And his compassion never ends,
"...His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." (Lam 3:22-23)
What loving compassion the Father has for us sinners! Praise Him!