FROM JAMES' TABLET:
This morning I woke up thinking: This is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it... I want to identify something about this day that God has made so that I can align myself with Him - to rejoice and be glad all day long. He is near. God says, "I am an ever present help in time of need", Psalm 34:18. God says, "The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit".
Psalm 46:10 - Be still and know that I am God.
Luke 10:9 - The Kingdom of God is near you.
Psalm 73:28 - It is good for me to draw near to the Lord.
Hebrews 4:16 - Let us then approach (draw near) the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
He has made himself to be near me today! In fact, the Kingdom is near to me today. All the resource that God entails is not distant but close.
This is "good" (Psalm 73:28) then, to draw near to him. He has initiated and I not only can respond to him, but I can also initiate drawing near to him - it's a good thing. It is well with my soul. Hebrews 4:6 - SOOOOO....1. I approach with confidence in who God is and not in myself. He wants me to approach him. And 2. Without pretense. Let him "be" who he is.
This "Aligning with God" brings gladness and a sense of rejoicing.
I cannot be near him without being somehow filled, changed, renewed.
I cannot be near him without being somehow filled, changed, renewed.
CAROL'S THOUGHTS:
It's May 12, and I cannot stop the tears that spring to my eyes and roll down my cheeks as I type in these precious words from James' tablet. During the time he was writing this he had been home less than a week from the Cleveland Clinic. We spent eight days there - eight days of holding on to the hope we had in Christ to bring us through the tests that would later tell us James had "limbic encephylitis".
This is the man I married. Someone who at his lowest points, has a song and a scripture in his heart; a smile on his face. Yes, we've cried a lot too. I'll tell you more about those things later. For now, I just want you to bask in the beauty of the scriptures and the heart behind it. The heart of the God we serve - one who is near the broken-hearted.
James did not write in his tablet thinking that I would post them. That was decided later. But it's something he could do. The Lord began speaking to him, and I realized quickly that the Spirit is not limited to our mind's ability to process and sift all the information. The Spirit of God is strong when we are weak! Oh what a glorious God we serve! Be blessed.
This is the day...be filled, changed, renewed.
It's May 12, and I cannot stop the tears that spring to my eyes and roll down my cheeks as I type in these precious words from James' tablet. During the time he was writing this he had been home less than a week from the Cleveland Clinic. We spent eight days there - eight days of holding on to the hope we had in Christ to bring us through the tests that would later tell us James had "limbic encephylitis".
This is the man I married. Someone who at his lowest points, has a song and a scripture in his heart; a smile on his face. Yes, we've cried a lot too. I'll tell you more about those things later. For now, I just want you to bask in the beauty of the scriptures and the heart behind it. The heart of the God we serve - one who is near the broken-hearted.
James did not write in his tablet thinking that I would post them. That was decided later. But it's something he could do. The Lord began speaking to him, and I realized quickly that the Spirit is not limited to our mind's ability to process and sift all the information. The Spirit of God is strong when we are weak! Oh what a glorious God we serve! Be blessed.
This is the day...be filled, changed, renewed.
1 comment:
James and Carol, We have been reading and digesting this blog during our devotion time in the mornings. "OUR REDEEMER LIVES" big in the two of you! We take on the challenge to meditate on the concept of "OUR REDEEMER LIVES", it is really refreshing, invigorating, and full of hope. It's all about HIM and what HE is wanting to accomplish
through us! Thank you so much for sharing your heart! Love & Blessings, John & Mary Ruth
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