You are Special!

I love writing this blog. It is such a joy to know that we can share the love of Jesus with others! And I have seen that I have some viewings from Russia. Well, I live in Wales, United Kingdom, so it is exciting to know that I have at least one friend in Russia. Hello! Many years ago, I used to pray for your country every day, so that Christians could be free to worship. What a joy to know that there are now many churches and places in Russia where people can learn the Word of God and love and praise Him! I don't know if you are reading this post, but I want you to know, that although I have never visited your wonderful country, I love you and Jesus loves you! You are special!

In my next posts I will share more about what it means to know Jesus. But right here, I want to post some words from the Bible to tell each one of us how valuable, unique and special we are to God!

Psalm 139 (The Living Bible).

 O Lord, You have examined my heart and know everything about me.

2 You know when I sit or stand. When far away You know my every thought.

3 You chart the path ahead of me, and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment You know where I am.

4 You know what I am going to say before I say it. 5 You both precede and follow me, and place Your hand of blessing on my head.

6 This is too glorious, too wonderful to believe! 

7 I can never be lost to Your Spirit! I can never get away from my God! 

8 If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I go to the place of the dead, You are there. 

9, 10  If I ride the morning winds to the farthest oceans, even there Your hand will guide me, Your strength will support me.  

11, 12  If I try to hide in the darkness, the night becomes light around me, for even darkness cannot hide from God; to You the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike to you.

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body, and knit them together in my mother’s womb. 

14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvellous – and how well I know it. 

15 You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion! 16 You saw me before I was born, and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in Your Book!

17,18 How precious it is Lord to realise that You are thinking about me constantly! I can’t even count how many times a day your thoughts turn towards me. And when I waken in the morning, You are still thinking of me!

 ..........

 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test my thoughts. 24 Point out anything you find in me that makes You sad, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Isn't that a wonderful psalm? Here are a few questions to think about and to help us realise how important each one of us is to God. Perhaps you could get a pen and paper and write down your own heart thoughts or your answers as a letter to God! 

A Study about God’s love for you from Psalm 139

1)  How long has God known you?   v.13-16

2)        Write down the date and year you were born. Did God plan that you should be born on this day? Do you think that day is special to Him?  v.16

3)        How much does He know about you?  v.1

4)        Has He planned your life?  v.3 and 16

5)        Does He leave you to follow His plans on your own?  v.3 and 5

6)       Is God a distant figure? v3-5 Or is He always near?

8)        Is there any place we can be away from God? v.6-12  Read Romans 8:35-39.

         ³⁵ Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? .........despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

³⁸ And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. ³⁹ No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

9)        How often does God think of you?  v.17-18 

10)    Do you want to follow His course for your life and pray the prayer in the last part of the psalm?

God's Loyal Love

^{Have you heard the story of the Chinese artist who painted a picture which he entitled "PEACE"? And before you start imagining some idyllic scene of sheep quietly grazing in a beautiful sunlit meadow, with a gentle brook flowing through, or a sunset over the golden sea, no, it isn't like that! His picture is of a waterfall smashing down over the rocks, thundering down the chasm. You can see the fierce power of the water and you can imagine the noise. In the midst of this on a small ledge just out of reach of the torrent is a dove on her nest. Chaos and noise all around her, but she is serene on her eggs, and soon there will be chicks, to be guarded and protected under her wings. Peace does not depend on our circumstances, but on our hearts knowing peace and rest in the midst of the storm.}  
God is the One Who promises us security in Him, under His wings, a "circle of quiet" as it puts it in Psalm 94:12 (the Message)
"How blessed the man you train, God, 
      the woman you instruct in your Word, 
   Providing a circle of quiet within the clamor of evil"
Here are some words I discovered in the book of Lamentations this morning:
"trouble",
      "utter lostness", 
   "taste of ashes", 
          "the feeling of hitting the bottom"      (Lam 3: 19 Message).
I wonder if any of these words describe something of what you feel today?Are there storms in your life?
Jeremiah, the writer of these words, felt abandoned and nearly gave up hope, but he remembers - and as he remembers, he "keeps a grip on hope"! 
And WHAT does he remember?
"God's loyal love couldn't have run out, 
   ^{his merciful love couldn't have dried up.
They're created new every morning. 
   How great your faithfulness!
I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over)."}  (Lam 3:22)
Wherever you are today, remember this - God's love can't run out or dry up. Say it over and over! Others may not be able to help you, but 
^"the Master won't ever walk out and fail to return"! (Lam 3:31 Message)
God will never abandon or desert you. He wants you to know His love for you in new ways every day. Verse 25 of Lamentations 3 declares:
God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,

   to the woman who diligently seeks.
It's a good thing to quietly hope,
   quietly hope for help from God.

Delighting in the ways of the Lord!

2 Chr 17:6  And his heart took delight in the ways of the Lord ...     

I read this verse this morning, and I thought it would be a great way to kick start this blog! This is about King Jehoshaphat, whose life and reign is well worth studying in 2 Chronicles chs 17 - 20. The secret of his success is the above scripture. And I hope that as I write this blog on a fairly regular basis, we can all learm more about what it means to delight in the ways of the Lord - to enjoy, revel in, seek and long for the way of God in our lives. The way of blessing and fulfilment - as well as challenge and discovery and adventure!

Start up ...

Having designed my title, I think that I have to now trust that Jesus knows how to blog too....! I am just trying to work out how to do a template - it will come - please be patient if you happen to look at this before I really get started!

Any help welcome ........