Storms

Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm
(Job 40:6)

He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
he sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
(Psalm 135:7)

His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,
and clouds are the dust of his feet.
(Nahum 1: 3b)

Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.
(Jonah 1:4)

For he spoke and stirred up a tempest
that lifted high the waves.
They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
in their peril their courage melted away.
They reeled and staggered like drunkards;
they were at their wits’ end.
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.
(Psalm 107: 25-30)

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
(Mark 4: 37-41)

Praise the LORD from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
stormy winds that do his bidding,
(Psalm 148: 7-8)

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
(Exodus 14: 21-22)

The seas have lifted up, LORD,
the seas have lifted up their voice;
the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.
Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,
mightier than the breakers of the sea—
the LORD on high is mighty.
(Psalm 93: 3-4)

My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death have fallen on me.
Fear and trembling have beset me;
horror has overwhelmed me.
I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest.
I would flee far away
and stay in the desert;
I would hurry to my place of shelter,
far from the tempest and storm.”
(Psalm 55:4-8)

Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
(Matthew 14: 29-31)

You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm
and a shade from the heat.
(Isaiah 25:4a)

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
(Matthew 7: 25)

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
(Psalm 56:3a)

Anointing

Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. John 12:3

Friends



"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, "What! You too? Thought I was the only one."


-- C.S. Lewis --



But what about you? Who do you say I am?

I while ago I studied John for a long time and one thing that has stood out to me is the question of Jesus identity and the way Jesus relates to people about this.

He isn’t interested in superficial answers, in what people think they should believe or in what they heard other people say. He wants to know their heart…

Why would He ask people certain questions, when He already knows the answers? (He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person. John 2:24,25). Maybe it is because He wants people to make a clear decision about what they believe, to be honest about this with themselves and with Jesus and to built their lives upon that decision.

When Jesus speaks with people He seems to know how to ask those questions that cut through straight to the heart. The following verse comes to mind when thinking about this:

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

When reading about different conversations Jesus had with people I’m also struck by the love He shows for them. He takes the time to talk with them, to listen to them and to draw them out. The people He meets are not just nameless individuals passing by, but he seeks out every person He encounters.

It’s interesting to see the different reactions people have towards Jesus; how some are drawn to him and how others become angry or irritated. How some people are changed and how some people walk away. 

From all of this also comes a personal question: “What do I believe about Jesus, who do I think He is, and how does this matter for my life? Do I really know him as well as I think I know him? What questions would Jesus ask me?”

As we see from John 14:9 even if we have been with Jesus for a long time, this is no guarantee that we really know him.

John 1

⁴⁸ “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”  ⁴⁹ Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” ⁵⁰ Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.”

John 4:

¹⁹ “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.

²⁵ The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”  ²⁶ Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

⁴² They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

John 6

¹⁴ After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” ¹⁵ Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

John 7

¹² Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” ¹³ But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders.

⁴⁰ On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”  ⁴¹ Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? ⁴² Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” ⁴³ Thus the people were divided because of Jesus.

John 8

¹⁹ Then they asked him, “Where is your father?” “You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”

John 9

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” ³⁶ “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”  ³⁷ Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” ³⁸ Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

John10

¹⁹ The Jews who heard these words were again divided. ²⁰ Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?” ²¹ But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

²⁴ The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”²⁵ Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me,

³³ “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

John 11

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; ²⁶ and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”  ²⁷ “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

John14

⁷ If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” ⁸ Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”  ⁹ Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?

John 18

³³ Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” ³⁴ “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

Matthew 16

¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”  ¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

For another post about Jesus see: rejected 

Raindrops

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near

What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise
- Laura Story-

"There will be a day" by Jeremy Camp
 

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Revelation 21:4

Trust



How is it that the child can jump without being afraid?

Link to video: "you lift me up" by "the afters"


The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.
Deuteronomy 33: 27a

Tired?

Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:27-31

Reflection of the heart



As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.

Proverbs 27:19

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26)

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. (Ephesians 3:16,17a)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (2 Corinthians 3:3)

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Link to video "beautiful" Francesca Battistelli

Passion or apathy

“Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:14b

Apathy: Absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement, lack of interest or concern, emotionless, without feelings, complacency, indifferent, to ignore, disinterested, anesthetized, too lazy, too busy, self-indulgent, a subconscious blocking of distressing information.

The world is still sleeping its “sleep of death”. It has been a slumber of many generations; sometimes deeper, sometimes lighter, yet still a slumber like that of the tomb, as if destined to continue till the last trumpet sound; and then there shall be no more sleep. Yet God has not left it to sleep unwarned. He has spoken in a voice that might reach the dullest ears and quicken the coldest heart. Then thousand times has He thus spoken and still He speaks. But the world refuses to hear. Its myriads slumber on, as if this sleep of death were the very blessedness of its being.
- Historical collections of accounts of revival, 1845 -

O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
Psalm 63:1

link to song burning ones




Brainerd’s Diary and Journal reveal an ardent and oft reiterated yearning to “burn out” for his Lord and to be “aflame for God”. “It is my fervent longing” he said, “to be a flame of fire, continually glowing in the divine service, till my latest, my dying moment.”
-Heroes of faith on pioneer trails-

I refuse to sleep one more minute. I’m awake… with eyes opened, heart rendered, and knees bent while I whisper “Yes…Yes, Lord! then I raise my hands as I move my feet: “I’m available for service. Send me. I’ll go. I want to stay awake forever…” 
-Anne Graham Lotz-

Closed doors

About one and a half year ago I read the story below. It made a big impact on me and is one of many things that influenced me towards wanting to work with streetchildren.

Maybe I can help open some doors even if this means I have to step outside the gate myself…

Some people have every door open to them, thousands of doors wide open for the choosing, their future molded by whatever path they decide for themselves. Other people knock and pound on a thousand doors, waiting and hoping that any door will open so they may have at least one option, rather than being stuck helpless forever in the hallway. Others, having given up, make a home in the hallway. The difference between these people often falls as a difference between the poor and the rich.

I, for one, have been given many of the things I have ever wanted or needed. Any educational opportunity, expensive or cheap, was there to take as soon as I chose it. I am sheltered by a comfortable house with my own room. I never suffered a day of hunger, never had to skip even a meal. I have a family who has stayed together- a mother, a father, and one younger brother. I am well provided for, monetarily. My world is full of wide open doors. For the vast majority of each of you, your lives are similar – you have option, opportunity – there are doors open for you. Some of us, of course, have more doors open than others, but for many in the United States, the clear fact is that our hallways are open futures compared to the vast majority of the world, who live with much less than we have.

One day in Lima, I stood at the gate of my house, ready, with my key, to enter. A child approached me selling candy. “Comprame…no sea mala” “Buy from me, don’t be mean.” He said to me. I barely looked at him and said, “I don’t have any money.” The truth was, I had a lot of money in my pocket. Then, I shoved the key in the gate, opened it wide enough so that just I could pass, and slammed it shut behind me. I ran up to the door to my house and fumbled with the next key to enter that door. As I did so, I looked behind me to see if the child was still there. He stood staring at me through the gate, still, open-mouthed, holding his box of candies, his face a little bit startled – probably because I had slammed the gate so loudly and forcefully behind me. I opened the door to my house, went inside, and shut the little face outside. I shut out a little boy who was probably hungry, who needed that money before he could go home – I knew that many of those children would have to work into the night if they didn’t earn an established amount of money, and many times they returned home and were beaten for not having worked as hard as they should have. I had lied to him. I went up the stairs to my room and put down my things. I sat on my bed for a few moments, not able to forget his face. Why didn’t I give anything to him? I jumped from my place and ran downstairs, out of the house door. I unlocked the gate and looked right and left. In my hand I had coins to give to him. But he had already left. Until this day, I will never forget his face looking at me through the barred gate that separated me from him. It was the gate that said, “I have a key and you do not. This place is open to me and not to you. I have money that I don’t have to give to you unless I want to. Stay on your side of the gate.”

- Noting but a Thief by Danielle Speakman -

Link to video: "God of Justice by Tim Hughes"

Peace from within

 

I while ago I read the passage below. I loved the difference it shows between being empty inside and seeking rest through other things or being filled with a peace that comes from within.

"The next day I went to the ocean where I often had my quiet time. Since I had been a young girl, this had been my favorite spot. I climbed down part of a cliff, over a sixty-foot drop, to a little alcove that had been carved out of the side of the mountain by the winds. As far as I knew, no one else in the world knew about this spot, so it was mine alone. It was a haven, protecting me from the winds of life. I would spend hours there watching the waves crash in, one after another. That day I wrote in my journal:

I used to come here as a child to escape the tensions at home. Feeling completely empty inside, I would sit and let all the peace I felt from the warm sun and ocean mist engulf every part of me. It was the only peace I knew. Now I sit here at age nineteen, loving the warmth of the sun and the mist from the ocean, but today I can say with thanksgiving, my peace comes from within. I am everything but empty. I am full to the brim and overflowing.

God has given me hope when I used to despair. God has filled my heart with love when I used to hate. God has filled my heart with forgiveness when I used to be bitter. God has filled my heart with purpose when I had no direction. God has filled my heart with compassion when I never used to care. God has filled my heart with giving when I used to have nothing to give. God has opened my eyes spiritually when I used to be blind."
-Totally surrounded by Christina Di Stefano Davis-

Link to song Matthew West "the healing has begun"

Chains

They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jeremiah 2:13, Isaiah 55:1-3, Romans 6:23

Link to video drama

fight with leafs

We had a great retreat with our church this weekend. When we went for a walk with some friends we had a fight with leafs. In the pictures you can see who started it…sorry Naomi…

Which way to go...

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
James 1:5


I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
Psalm 32: 8

Walk by Faith

Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. Deuteronomy 8: 2-3

In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft. The LORD alone led him.
Deuteronomy 32:10-12

The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
Isaiah 58:11

This song has been very helpfull to me in some periods of my life...sometimes the road is easy and sunny without clouds, but sometimes it's a broken road and you only have faith to hold on to...
When I looked this song up on you tube I found a the powerfull testimony that goes along with the song. You can find it with the following link: Testimony Jeremy Camp "walk by faith"

Song "walk by faith"