Can You Imagine?

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God, and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us, is that it did not know Him.

1 John 3:1 (NIV)

Psalm 73

¹TRULY GOD is [only] good to Israel, even to those who are upright and pure in heart.

²But as for me, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well-nigh slipped.

³For I was envious of the foolish and arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

⁴For they suffer no violent pangs in their death, but their strength is firm.

⁵They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they smitten and plagued like other men.

⁶Therefore pride is about their necks like a chain; violence covers them like a garment [like a long, luxurious robe].

⁷Their eyes stand out with fatness, they have more than heart could wish; and the imaginations of their minds overflow [with follies].

⁸They scoff, and wickedly utter oppression; they speak loftily [from on high, maliciously and blasphemously].

⁹They set their mouths against and speak down from heaven, and their tongues swagger through the earth [invading even heaven with blasphemy and smearing earth with slanders].

¹⁰Therefore His people return here, and waters of a full cup [offered by the wicked] are [blindly] drained by them.

¹¹And they say, How does God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?

¹²Behold, these are the ungodly, who always prosper and are at ease in the world; they increase in riches.

¹³Surely then in vain have I cleansed my heart and washed my hands in innocency.

¹⁴For all the day long have I been smitten and plagued, and chastened every morning.

¹⁵Had I spoken thus [and given expression to my feelings], I would have been untrue and have dealt treacherously against the generation of Your children.

¹⁶But when I considered how to understand this, it was too great an effort for me and too painful

¹⁷Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood [for I considered] their end.

¹⁸[After all] You do set the [wicked] in slippery places; You cast them down to ruin and destruction.

¹⁹How they become a desolation in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors!

²⁰As a dream [which seems real] until one awakens, so, O Lord, when You arouse Yourself [to take note of the wicked], You will despise their outward show.

²¹For my heart was grieved, embittered, and in a state of ferment, and I was pricked in my heart [as with the sharp fang of an adder].

²²So foolish, stupid, and brutish was I, and ignorant; I was like a beast before You.

²³Nevertheless I am continually with You; You do hold my right hand.

²⁴You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to honor and glory.

²⁵Whom have I in heaven but You? And I have no delight or desire on earth besides You.

²⁶My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the Rock and firm Strength of my heart and my Portion forever.

²⁷For behold, those who are far from You shall perish; You will destroy all who are false to You and like [spiritual] harlots depart from You.

²⁸But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God and made Him my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works.

Psalm 107:28-30

Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and He brought them out of their distress.

He stilled the storm to a whisper;
the waves of the sea were hushed.

They were glad when it grew calm,
and He guided them to their desired haven.

Christ Our Lord Is Risen Today!!!

He is Risen - Just as He said!

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The Wildflowers' Lesson

Much-Afraid looked at the Shepherd earnestly. 'I have often wondered about the wild flowers...it does seem strange that such unnumbered multitudes should bloom in the wild places of the earth where perhaps nobody ever sees them...They have so much beauty and sweetness to give and no one on whom to lavish it, nor who will even appreciate it.'

The look the Shepherd turned on her was very beautiful. 'Nothing my Father and I have made is ever wasted...and the little wild flowers have a wonderful lesson to teach. They offer themselves so sweetly and confidently and willingly, even if it seems that there is no one to appreciate them.....

All the fairest beauties in the human soul, its greatest victories, and its most splendid achievements are always those which no one else knows anything about, or can only dimly guess at. Every inner response of the human heart to Love and every conquest over self-love is a new flower on the tree of Love. Many a quiet, ordinary, and hidden life, unknown to the world, is a veritable garden in which Love's flowers and fruits have come to such perfection that it is a place of delight where the King of Love himself walks and rejoices with his friends.

Some of my servants have indeed won great visible victories and are rightly loved and reverenced by other men, but always their greatest victories are like the wild flowers, those which no one knows about.

Hannah Hurnard ~ Hind's Feet on High Places (1955)

You Must Not Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're traveling seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow;
You may succeed with yet another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are;
It may be near when it seems so far.
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit.
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

~author unknown~

You Can If You Think You Can!

If you think you are beaten, you are,

If you think you dare not, you don't.

If you like to win, but you think you can't,
It is almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow's will.
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You've got to think high to rise,
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But soon or late the man who wins,
the man who thinks he can.

~ C. W. Longenecker ~