Tag Archives: Christianity

The Vibe May Change…

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A couple of days ago, I spent hours trying to figure out why the “Follow Me” button had disappeared from my blog. With the help of my AI assistant, I checked settings and lists, tried everything I could think of, and followed every suggestion. I knew the answer had to be somewhere in the program.

I could see the follow box. I could see the list of followers. Everything seemed to be there, yet the button refused to appear on my posts.

Then I discovered a list of buttons that had somehow been switched off. All I had to do was turn one setting back on, and voilà—my button was restored.

That little adventure made me think about our relationship with God.

Sometimes we experience a sense of goneness. We pray, worship, and read Scripture, yet God feels distant. We wonder, I’m here. Where is He? We can’t feel the vibe of His presence, so we begin to assume something has gone wrong.

But feelings are not facts.

God is faithful and always keeps His word. David wrote in Psalm 139:7-10, “Where can I flee from Your presence?” The answer is nowhere. Joshua reminds us in Joshua 1:9 that “the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” And Jesus promised in Matthew 28:20, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

The bottom line is this: God hasn’t gone anywhere.

When His presence seems hidden, the problem isn’t that He has disappeared. More often, we’ve become distracted, discouraged, or focused on the wrong things. The connection is still there because He is still there.

In Isaiah 41:8-10, God makes this promise:

“You are my servant,
I have chosen you and not cast you off;
fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

The vibe may change.

God never does.

This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up

When Gratitude Becomes Worship

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Giving thanks for who God is, what He has done, and what He will continue to do for us should be as natural as breathing. Yet, if we’re honest, we often need reminders.

Every book on prayer I’ve ever read encourages believers to include thanksgiving in every prayer. More importantly, Scripture does the same. Passages such as Philippians 4:6-7 and 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 call us to live with grateful hearts and offer thanks in all circumstances.

During a past worship service, we shared what was called a “Wave of Thanks.” While it wasn’t the same kind of wave offering described in Exodus 29:24, the idea was similar. One by one, people offered words of gratitude before the Lord.

Many of the blessings mentioned were familiar and precious: family, new babies, new homes, faithful friends, our church family, and, of course, Jesus and the salvation He freely gives. Others spoke of God’s faithfulness through difficult seasons. We have witnessed cancer in some of its ugliest forms, yet we have also seen God intervene with His healing touch.

One expression of thanks, in particular, captured my attention: the miracle of life.

Within our church family, we have seen life-threatening traumatic brain injuries, including one that resulted in a coma. Humanly speaking, the outcomes could have been very different. Yet both men survived and are living life to the fullest today. What a testimony to God’s sustaining grace!

The words of an old hymn came to mind:

“Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving
To God the Creator triumphantly raise,
Who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us,
Who guideth us on to the end of our days.”

Even more amazing, our Creator has offered us more than physical life. Through Jesus Christ, He has made eternal life available to all who believe. The greatest miracle is not simply that we live today, but that we can live forever with Him.

Prayer

Lord God, Creator of Life, thank You for the gift of every breath and every day. Thank You for sustaining us through trials, healing us when we are broken, and reminding us of Your faithfulness. Most of all, thank You for the eternal life found in Jesus Christ.

Give us the desire and courage to live fully for You. Let us never lose our sense of wonder. Help us never to take Your blessings for granted, and never let us forget the greatest gift of all—the life we have through Your Son. Make it so in Jesus’ name!

The hymn “Let All Things Now Living” was written by Katherine K. Davis and set to the traditional Welsh melody “The Ash Grove.”

This is an edit of a post originally posted on 11.23.2011.

Why God?

I’m thinking of a song that goes like this…

Where do I go when there’s nobody else to turn to?
Who do I talk to when nobody wants to listen?
Who do I lean on when there’s no foundation stable?

Of course, the next line is – I go to the Rock. When Whitney Houston wrote this song she knew where to take every problem and frustration of our lives.

When we are having problems with the whys of life, with the endless irritations and annoyances God says, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest..” (Matthew 11:28) He knows that this life is hard. He knows we don’t have the answers. But, He also knows our hearts. He can and will answer when we go to Him.

I have a comfy chair in my office where I read His Word and contemplate each morning. There is a window from which I can see His beautiful creation. I look out at the beauty of His creation, the blue sky, the trees and fields that are different each season, and I quiet my mind. I let His presence flow over me. Sometimes I read His Word. Sometimes I pray. Sometimes I focus on all He’s given and done for me.

In these times of blessed stillness and knowing the uncertainties, irritations, and annoyances disappear. I am at peace!

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

This post is my response to Week 2 of 52-Week Devotional for Women by Deb Wolf.

All Things Are Full of God

I came across this beautiful poem from more than a century ago.  It spoke to my heart so I’ve added some pictures to the words.  God bless you throughout this special day.

All Things Are Full of God

by: John Stuart Blackie (1809-1895)

imagesAll things are full of God. Thus spoke
Wise Thales in the days
When subtle Greece to thought awoke
And soared in lofty ways.
And now what wisdom have we more?
No sage divining-rod
Hath taught than this a deeper lore,
ALL THINGS ARE FULL OF GOD.
 
cropped-winter-sunrise-in-the-smokies.jpgThe Light that gloweth in the sky
And shimmers in the sea,
That quivers in the painted fly
And gems the pictured lea,
creationThe million hues of Heaven above
And Earth below are one,
And every lightful eye doth love
The primal light, the Sun.
 
IMG_0142Even so, all vital virtue flows
From life’s first fountain, God;
And he who feels, and he who knows,
Doth feel and know from God.
As fishes swim in briny sea,
As fowl do float in air,
From Thy embrace we cannot flee;
We breathe, and Thou art there.
 
th (1)Go, take thy glass, astronomer,
And all the girth survey
Of sphere harmonious linked to sphere,
In endless bright array.
All that far-reaching Science there
Can measure with her rod,
All powers, all laws, are but the fair
Embodied thoughts of God.
Consider Psalm 8.    
“All things are full of God” is reprinted from The Oxford book of English mystical verse. Ed. D.H.S. Nicholson. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1917.

Psalm 8

Majesty of God

Let’s look at another of David’s Songs.  This one is dedicated to the director of music.  That would lead me to think that it was either accompanied by instruments of the time or the words were set to music for use during worship.

This Psalm, gives me great peace when I need to be calmed down.  Just knowing that God is in control makes life a little easier.

PSALM 8

thO LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!  You have set your glory above the heavens.

New lifeFrom the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of Your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.

Written_in_the_StarsWhen I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and stars, which You have set in place,

ManWhat is man that Your are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?

crownYou made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

earthYou made him ruler over the works of Your hands; You put everything under his feet;

1565-Pieter-Bruegel-the-Elder-The-Re-entry-of-the-Herds-autumn-Detail-the-herdAll flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.

tetragrammatonO LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!

O Lord, mighty, majestic, all-powerful and all-knowing.  Hear our prayers and praises.  Forgive our pettiness and selfishness.  Heal and restore as only You can.  Help us all to love as You love.  I lift this prayer before the Throne in Jesus’ Precious and Holy name.