Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
(Galatians 6:7-9, NIV)
Hanging on is all in what we do. Although our feelings work against us, letting go or holding on still primarily involve our actions - whether we choose to conform our actions to our faith or whether we choose to turn from our confession and allow our actions to follow suit.
Paul uses farming as a metaphor for endurance. Whether we hold fast to the way of Christ or let go and turn away, we are always planting something. At the harvest, we will have the crops that we have worked for. If we put in the sweat and blood and toil in the field, then, we will someday reap the fruit of that painful labor. Paul urges us to keep our chins up and keep on doing good, because we will reach the harvest if we keep working and don't give up.
Here are the words of the song "Something Heavenly" by Sanctus Real. They really express the glory of the goal toward which we are striving.
It's time for healing time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time to make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
And all I can do is surrender
(Chorus)
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something Heavenly
Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Reevaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow Your will
Or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is You want from me
I give everything I surrender...
To...
(Chorus)
Time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to release all my held back tears
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but I believe
You're up to something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but now I can see
This is something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly
Something Heavenly
It's time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
Blessings on all of you
Greg and Tiffany
Showing posts with label surrender. Show all posts
Showing posts with label surrender. Show all posts
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Nothing too good to be hoped for ...
Does your load ever seem heavy?
Does your pain seem unbearable?
Or your stress seem unmanageable?
Then pray this prayer:
A Prayer of Hope
Lesslie Newbigin
O Christ, King and Lord of all,
teach me to know that with you
nothing is too bad to be cured;
nothing too good to be hoped for;
nothing too hard to be attempted;
and nothing so precious that it cannot
be surrendered for your sake;
who lives and reigns
with the Father
in the Unity of Spirit
for ever and ever.
May God kindle hope in our hearts,
Ron
Does your pain seem unbearable?
Or your stress seem unmanageable?
Then pray this prayer:
A Prayer of Hope
Lesslie Newbigin
O Christ, King and Lord of all,
teach me to know that with you
nothing is too bad to be cured;
nothing too good to be hoped for;
nothing too hard to be attempted;
and nothing so precious that it cannot
be surrendered for your sake;
who lives and reigns
with the Father
in the Unity of Spirit
for ever and ever.
May God kindle hope in our hearts,
Ron
Friday, October 31, 2008
The mystery of the hole
Here is the next devotional thought. I bet you guys are getting more country every day. So here is a country story with some merit.
The Mystery of the Hole
An old country preacher was out visiting one day, and he decided to stop by a ladies house around lunch time because he knew she could cook. And indeed, she was just starting to make something when he "happened by". She was putting all the ingredients in a bowl and began stirring when he came up and after some small talk, she took the dough and began cutting it out into small round looking cakes. She had a big pot over the fire with lard boiling in it. She began to carefully place each small pastry in the lard and then waited. After each was taken out, she gave the preacher one of the doughnuts and they were some GOOD doughnuts.
The preacher raved about the homemade delight, and then said, "These doughnuts are great. But what is the point of cutting out the hole? It just seems like there would be more goodness to this doughnut, or at least one more bite, if you just left the hole out and kept the doughnut in."
She said, "Some people are never content with the goodness they have before them. People complain all the time about the goodness they think is not there. You would be a fool to leave the hole in for this reason. You could cook it with the hole in until the outside is hard as a rock, but the inside would still be nothing but dough. It is like Ephraim in Hosea 7:8: "A cake half turned is a cake not cooked."
The preacher decided to ponder on the holes we have in our life. The pain that is caused by the holes can be debilitating. The empty spaces in human life and the desolation of the vacancies. But, without the hole, we wouldn't have a place for God to come in. He discussed all his thoughts with the cook and she said, "I don't really understand all the reasons why, because the hole in my heart aches sometimes to the point of surrender. But, a person who doesn’t use the good things he has and complains to God for what he lacks, is like a person who would reject a doughnut because he doesn't understand the mystery of the hole."
May God bless you with everything you need today. And grant you peace too.
Jeremy
The Mystery of the Hole
An old country preacher was out visiting one day, and he decided to stop by a ladies house around lunch time because he knew she could cook. And indeed, she was just starting to make something when he "happened by". She was putting all the ingredients in a bowl and began stirring when he came up and after some small talk, she took the dough and began cutting it out into small round looking cakes. She had a big pot over the fire with lard boiling in it. She began to carefully place each small pastry in the lard and then waited. After each was taken out, she gave the preacher one of the doughnuts and they were some GOOD doughnuts.
The preacher raved about the homemade delight, and then said, "These doughnuts are great. But what is the point of cutting out the hole? It just seems like there would be more goodness to this doughnut, or at least one more bite, if you just left the hole out and kept the doughnut in."
She said, "Some people are never content with the goodness they have before them. People complain all the time about the goodness they think is not there. You would be a fool to leave the hole in for this reason. You could cook it with the hole in until the outside is hard as a rock, but the inside would still be nothing but dough. It is like Ephraim in Hosea 7:8: "A cake half turned is a cake not cooked."
The preacher decided to ponder on the holes we have in our life. The pain that is caused by the holes can be debilitating. The empty spaces in human life and the desolation of the vacancies. But, without the hole, we wouldn't have a place for God to come in. He discussed all his thoughts with the cook and she said, "I don't really understand all the reasons why, because the hole in my heart aches sometimes to the point of surrender. But, a person who doesn’t use the good things he has and complains to God for what he lacks, is like a person who would reject a doughnut because he doesn't understand the mystery of the hole."
May God bless you with everything you need today. And grant you peace too.
Jeremy
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