Seekers Will Find Him

but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD.

- Jeremiah 9:24

What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
- Philippians 3:8

Favourite Psalm Passages I

Psalm 8:3-9 - http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%208:3-9;&version=50

Psalm 34 - http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2034;&version=31

Psalm 63 - http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2063;&version=31

Psalm 19:1 - http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2019:1;&version=31

Source of Gladness

As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things- 2 Corinthians 6:10

Happiness depends on happenings, but joy depends on Jesus.

A Fire To Be Kindled

Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?
- Luke 24:32

You cannot start a fire in another’s heart till it is burning in your own.

The Power of Brokenness

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
- Psalm 51:16-17

When we've faced our failures head on and recognized the futility of depending on anything else but God, we're finally ready to be used by God. As broken people we know that God loves us simply for who we are. We did nothing to earn God's love. We can do nothing to keep it. Even when we do not live in a way worthy of God's love, that love remains.
Evidence of brokeness includes the freedom to be vulnerable, to share weakness, to give others credit and to receive correction. A broken person is ready to acknowledge and repent of sin and to forgive the sins of others. In broken life there is no room for self-righteous striving, self-centered individualism, self-serving greed or self-defeating perfectionism.
Brokenness is the doorway through which resurrection life of Jesus comes into our hearts.
- excerpt taken from Christian Growth Study Bible

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

1 I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 "Laughter," I said, "is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?" 3 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem [a] as well—the delights of the heart of man. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.

10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my work,
and this was the reward for all my labor.

11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.


You are rich when you are satisfied with what you have

Spiritual Famine

Give us, O Lord, a strong desire

To look in Your Word each day;

Help us to hide its truths in our heart,

Lest from His path our feet would stray

Without a heart for God, we cannot hear His Word

Forever Perfect

For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified

- Hebrews 10:14

We are far from perfection, yet perfect forever,

For Christ is our righteousness, Lord, and our Saviour;

No justification for sin can we offer;

Yet sanctified fully, we are now His forever

Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotional: Jesus saves

Let’s make one thing perfectly clear: We don’t save anyone. Only Jesus saves. Our calling is to love God and our neighbors. In the process of loving our neighbors, we will inevitably introduce them to Jesus. (There’s no way you can love someone and not tell them about the most important thing in your life.) What happens then is God’s business, but we will be a witness to what we know of God to those who are compelled to ask. In the meantime, our mission is to keep on loving our neighbors, regardless.

Love is truly our highest calling. It relates to all people saved or unsaved, regardless of religion, race, or gender. Love as God loves and you will not go wrong. When love is the goal, everything else gets done in the process.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast - Ephesians 2:8-9

Joy vs. Happiness

Joy is more than pleasure; and it is more than happiness. Happiness is a state of mind which lasts for a longer or shorter time and is dependent on many conditions, external and internal. In the ancient view it is a gift of the gods which they give and take away again. In the American Constitution, "the pursuit of happiness" is a basic human right. In economic theory the greatest happiness of the greatest possible number of people is the purpose of human action. In the fairy tale, "they lived happily ever after." Happiness can stand a large amount of pain and lack of pleasure. But happiness cannot stand the lack of joy. For joy is the expression of our essential and central fulfillment. No peripheral fulfillments and no favorable conditions can be substituted for the central fulfillment. Even in an unhappy state a great joy can transform unhappiness into happiness. What, then, is this joy?

This joy which has in itself the depth of blessedness is asked for and promised in the Bible. It preserves in itself its opposite, sorrow. It provides the foundation for happiness and pleasure. It is present in all levels of man’s striving for fufillment. It consecrates and directs them. It does not diminish or weaken them. It does not take away the risks and dangers of the joy of life. It makes the joy of life possible in pleasure and pain, in happiness and unhappiness, in ecstasy and sorrow. Where there is joy, there is fulfillment. And where there is fulfillment, there is joy. In fulfillment and joy the inner aim of life, the meaning of creation, and the end of salvation, are attained.

- Excerpts from "Meaning of Joy" http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=375&C=32

Echoes Of Paradise

Revelation 21:1-7

Our worship here is a mere prelude to the great praise service in the future when we stand in God’s presence. But sometimes when we join with others in vibrant worship, we experience an echo of paradise on this earth.

"I'm With Him"

Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise
—Luke 23:43

On the day Jesus died, three crosses were raised. Jesus hung on the center one between two criminals. One of the men mocked Jesus, but the other said to Him, “Remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus answered, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:42-43).
Imagine the man’s thoughts as he took his last breath. He had paid a horrible penalty for his crimes. But now, because he put his faith in Jesus, he was welcomed into heaven as a child of God. Perhaps he said with confidence, “I know I don’t deserve to be here, but I’m with Him!” gesturing toward Jesus. And Jesus would have confirmed it: “He’s with Me.”

The Waiting

Passage of Reading - Genesis 15:1-6

Not so in haste, my heart!
Have faith in God, and wait;
Although He seems to linger long,
He never comes too late.

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” – Heb 10:23