When you are tempted to chafe and repine at
the narrowness of your circumstances, and the
limitations of your sphere-remember that for
thirty years, Jesus found room in a humble
peasant home for worthy living and for service,
not unfitted to His exalted character.

If you can do nothing but live a true Christian
life-patient, gentle, kindly, pure-in your home,
in society, at your daily duty-you will perform
a service of great value, and leave many blessings
in the world. Such a life is a little gospel, telling
in sermons without words-the wonderful story
of the cross of Christ.

“Let your light shine before men-that they
may see your good works and glorify your
Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 (By JR Miller)

“Believe ye that I am able to do this?” (Matt. 9:28).

God deals with impossibilities. It is never too late for Him to do so, when the impossible is brought to Him, in full faith, by the one in whose life and circumstances the impossible must be accomplished if God is to be glorified. If in our own life there have been rebellion, unbelief, sin, and disaster, it is never too late for God to deal triumphantly with these tragic facts if brought to Him in full surrender and trust. It has often been said, and with truth, that Christianity is the only religion that can deal with man’s past. God can “restore the years that the locust hath eaten” (Joel 2:25); and He will do this when we put the whole situation and ourselves unreservedly and  believingly into His hands. Not because of what we are but because of what He is. God forgives and heals and restores. He is “the God of all grace.” Let us praise Him and trust Him. –Sunday School Times

Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love.–Jeremiah 31:3  (Also read Luke 15:21-32)

In one of Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman’s meetings, a man stood up and gave his testimony: “For one year I begged the streets as a tramp and one day I tapped a man on the shoulder and said ‘Mister, could you please give me a dime?’ As soon as I saw his face, I realized it was my father. He threw his arms around me and said ‘I have found you. All I have is yours!’ I had stood there begging my father for ten cents while he had been looking for me to give me all he had.”

So often, Christians approach God like a stranger on the street, begging Him just to help them get by. But when we have accepted Christ as our Savior, He is no stranger to us; He is our Father, waiting with open arms, ready to embrace us in love and offer us everything He has.

Do we approach God from a beggar’s perspective or as His cherished child? If we have any difficulty seeing Him as our loving Father, we need to ask Him to help us develop a healthy Father/child relationship.(From Turning Point)

God is still on His throne and man is still on His footstool. There’s only a knee’s distance in between.
Jim Elliot

It was almost one o’clock in the morning when the phone range in the Winters’ home. Dr. Leon Winter, the highly acclaimed Chicago surgeon, was awakened with a start.

Tonight it was a young boy, they said, tragically mangled in a late night accident. Couldn’t someone else handle it? Not this time. This time his hands were possibly the only ones in the city, or maybe in the whole region, which were skilled enough to save.

The quickest route happened to be through a rather rough area, but with time being a critical factor, it was worth the risk. He almost made it through the worst of the neighborhood. Almost. Then, at a stop light, his door was jerked open by a man in a gray hat and a dirty flannel shirt. “I’ve got to have your car!” the man screamed, pulling him from his seat. Winters tried explaining the gravity of his situation, but the man was not listening.

The doctor wandered for over 45 minutes looking for a phone. When the taxi finally got him to the hospital, over an hour had passed. He burst through the doors and into the nurses’ station, but the nurse on duty only shook her head. Too late. The boy had just died about 30 minutes earlier. “His dad got here just before he died,” the nurse told him. He is in the chapel. Go see him, would you? He is awfully confused. He could not understand why you never came.”

Without explaining, Dr. Winters walked hurriedly down the hall and quietly entered the chapel. At the front knelt the huddled form of a weeping father, in a gray hat and a dirty flannel shirt. Tragically, he had pushed from his life the only one who could save.

How many today are pushing from their lives the only One who can save? (Copied)

At our weekly Bible study in a local retirement village this week I taught from Psalm 116:12, “What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?” Wow! That opens up enough stuff to keep our mind busy for hours.   As we celebrate the birth of our nation I want to encourage you to think about all the many benefits you have as a result of God’s blessings on America. I’m tempted to start the list for you, but you need to do that for yourself. It might not hurt if you get a pen and paper so you can jot down those things that come to mind. It’s easy to see that we are blessed indeed—let us then be thankful!   The Psalmist was able to overcome his disappointments by keeping his focus on God and His blessings. You can do the same. As you meditate on your numerous blessings I want you to consider four things: They are (1) unlimited,(2) unsurpassed,(3) unending, and (4) undeserved. Pay especially close attention to that last one–“undeserved”. None of us are earning our way with God. All we have is the result of His grace.   If read this Psalm you will see that the writer was provoked to faithful service by his appreciation for God’s benefits. He even promised to pay his vows, promptly and publicaly. This would be a good time for all of us to do the same. As you reflect on God’s blessings, I hope your concluding remark will be, as it was with the Psalmist, “Praise ye the LORD.”