Hello. My name is Rainer (pronounced Ry-ner). I am a blogger. It’s been a week since my last post. Last week, I started a new series focusing on …
Releasing the Bondages of Busyness
Releasing the Bondages of Busyness
Tag Devotions
End All Wickedness
End all wickedness, O Lord, and bless all who truly worship God; for you, the righteous God, look deep within the hearts of men and examine all their motives and their thoughts.
—Psalm 7:9 TLB
May this verse be our prayer!
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Beloved
ALL
All Grace
All Sufficiency
All Things
God is able!
Foolishness
When Jesus was confronted with the fear of death after fasting for 40 days, he conquered the fear by bringing into the situation the fact that “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
Not to be easily vanquished, the enemy appealed to another human weakness, our propensity toward foolish behavior. Jesus wisely responded, “You shall not tempt the Lord Thy God.”
We “tempt God” when we behave foolishly or presumptuously and expect God to rescue us. We are tempting him to not help us when it is in his nature and character to render assistance whenever possible. He just doesn’t like it when we purposely put ourselves in harm’s way and then expect him to come through for us.
He expects us to do our part and act prudently, and, then, he will do his part and see us through difficult times.
So, he conquered the fear of death with faith, and then he conquered foolishness with the fear of God.
It is written that “The fear of God is to depart from evil.” Also, “With humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, honor, and life.” And lastly, “Because there is forgiveness with God, he is to be feared.”
By holding on to God’s promises and nurturing a healthy and wholesome fear of Our Father, we, too, can overcome two of the enemy’s most potent weapons – the fear of death and the temptation of foolishness.
~ Brad Heilhecker
Honored
Jesus said, “He who serves me, my Father will honor.” Also, “He who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.”
That seems to be the point he is making: we are to be serving Christ and seeking his glory. If we are, the Father will honor us; the world most likely will not honor us, but God will.
So, how does God honor his servants? Psalm 45 says of Christ, “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God has honored you with the oil of gladness.” We could talk about other ways to honor someone, but this one is exquisitely beautiful and rare.
Joy and gladness are rare commodities in this fallen generation. Sorrow, doubt, and despair are the order of the day.
If we can sustain a heart of gladness and joy as we walk this somber landscape of life, we will be an inspiration and a sign of hope to all who know us. What greater honor can we attain to in this life?
The apostle John wrote, “May you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.” And then the apostle Paul wrote, “The kingdom of Heaven is not food and drink, but righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit.” Finally, Isaiah wrote of those that proclaim God’s word, “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst forth into song before you, and the trees will clap their hands.”
All good things will accompany the one who continually rejoices in his Lord and in his salvation.
To conclude: joy and peace are gifts, priceless gifts. They are incomparable in value. Through them we are enriched, our friends and family are enriched, and our God is glorified. This side of Heaven, they are as close to bliss and ecstasy as we can get, and they are a sure sign that we are walking the paths of Christ and storing up eternal treasures.
~ Brad Heilhecker
Hold On My Child
I know many of My son’s and daughter’s
are battle weary
Many are ready to throw in the towel
This has been a season of endless
challenges and trials for many
They feel defeated and drained
Everywhere they turn
the enemy is turning on the heat
And all they can do is watch
how their lives are spinning out of control
One moment everything still fine
The next moment everything falls apart
I see you standing with a finished puzzle
in your hand
The next moment it falls
to the ground
Pieces scattered everywhere
You fall to the ground trying
to collect the pieces
Then you realize that it’s going to take you
forever to put everything back together
You look up, defeated and lost
For its a reminder of your life
Spinning out of control
You hanging on by a thread
That’s how many feel at this moment
Your life feels scattered
All over the place
Your mind is racing
Trying to think of solutions
It feels like nothing will ever work out
Like there is no way out of all the challenges
That is choking the life out of you
Hold on to Me my child
I know you feel like hiding
You feel so alone
My voice has become quiet
You think I have left you
to fend for yourself
I am always with you
Even in your darkest hour
When your pain overtakes
every part of you
And you feel like your heart will never run free
I am working on your behalf behind the scenes
Making everything beautiful
in My time
I will come through for you
Like I always have
In this last stretch I would
want you to hide in Me
Focus on My plans and purposes for you
Focus on My dreams and promises
Know that I am true to My word
I will steady your heart and mind
As you seek My face
Don’t fight your battle’s in your flesh
Rest while I fight for you
For it’s not by might ,nor by power,
but by My Spirit
Let faith be your anchor
While I strengthen every
weak place in you
Look back over your life
I was always there to carry you through
every trying time
Why would I leave you now?
You are on My schedule and
We are right on time!
Soon you will marvel as every piece
of your puzzle will fall into place
You will taste My goodness
As it is payback time!
Every area of your life where the enemy
thought he had the upper hand
Will experience divine breakthrough
I am accelerating you into
every dream I have for you
Hold fast dear one
Let no one steal your focus
My anointing will destroy every yoke.
~ Ebigale Wilson
Hold On My Child
The Journey
Sold Out
My child, you are sold out to Me
When everything that this world has to offer
Is of no value to you
When dying daily is your focus
To embrace every dream I have for you
My presence your oasis
Where we meet and you are filled to the brim
Ready to face the world
And what it has to offer
Even when you’re handed difficulty
You smile in the face of your adversaries
Knowing that I am your strong tower
You need only run to Me
When money and success are mere words
Compared to the satisfaction
you have found In Me
When the things of the world
fade in the background
And the refiners fire melts
our heart’s together
And heavenly realms are
your abiding place
No one and nothing
Can imitate this love affair we have
Everything that once held your gaze
Fades in the background
My love has disrupted your existence
You only exist, because I exist
You only are, because I am
I am your joy, your strength
My grace invaded every part of your heart
Every chain that confined you
Dropped to the ground
Your heart runs free
Few will come to this point
Where it’s all about Me
and what I want to do
through emptied out vessels
You cannot fill your hand’s
with the things of this world
And expect to walk in My power and might
It’s a journey of letting go
To find Me in the midst of your pain
In the midst of heartache and betrayal
In the midst of losses
Your hands now empty
Like Paul you count everything as rubbish
For you have found the One
Who has ravished your heart
The places you found Me
Other’s might see as loss and defeat
You look through different lenses
Your heart now beats to the drum
of a different beat
Luring you further away
to what once held your gaze.
~ Ebigale Wilson
Sold Out
The Journey
Can’t Be Explained
How have you experienced God’s love?
This weeks #SongSunday is Blameless / How He Loves by Dara Maclean
Image by Nina Brown
Restored By His Love
She looks up
and I recognise her
A smile lit up her face
When she sees me
I can get lost
in her eyes filled with love
I can get lost in the hug that she gives me
I can get lost in the One who restored her
Does His love really have the ability
to restore a person back to His heart?
Set them free from fear and demonic oppression controlling them for years?
She told me that it was a revelation
of Papa’s love that forever changed her
A christian for years
Yet she was still bound in
fear and despair
Her mind always cluttered
Her body bowed low
For she didn’t know
Who she was in Christ
Papa took her on a journey
of discovering His love
Sometimes He separates us
from everyone we love
We go to our cave’s
For circumstances force us to visit there
We throw tantrums, because why would Papa lead us this way?
This was not on our to do list
Yet Papa knows that this detour
will forever change us
How long we stay here
Will be up to us
There is always something important to do
Yet the cave will be our place
of restoration and healing
Of dealing with everything under the mat
Papa will walk us through each painful step
Till we’re overcome by His joy
and we’re changed by His love
We go through relationship
and health challenges
Might lose our job, house or a loved one
There might be deep pain that
we never dealt with
We might struggle with insecurities, rejection, or deep pain
These things can keep us
in bondage and chains
Hindering us to discover
our position in Christ
The cave awakens our God given dreams
In the confinement we discover
our strength within
We discover that our challenges
are our training ground
It was never meant to
destroy us
Only to catapult us
into Papa’s will for us
Many times we want to give up
Not realising the strength we posses
Pressing through darkness
We worship
We pray
Then one day we wake up
and we are changed in His presence
Our hearts beat in rhythm
With the One called Love
Walking away from me
She leaves a trail of His amazing heart
She is a woman on a mission
Washed and restored by His blood
His love made her brave
She is running on waves with her King
Ready to bind up every broken
heart she encounters
To proclaim liberty to every captive daughter
To open every prison door
to them that are bound.
~ Ebigale Wilson
Restored By His Love
The Journey
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