You will agree with me that our Heavenly Father is awesome and merciful. His love is new every morning and great is His faithfulness. I have thought about many adjectives to describe Him but it all ends up in "God is Love".
So in 2010, I start a journey of discovering more about our Loving Father who has kept us up till this day. There is no other place to know more about Him except in His word.
You are welcome to join me on this exciting journey which will be started on the blog "From The Heart of A Loving Father". It is actually a concise daily devotional. In addition to the word shared, there will be a one-year bible reading plan, suggestions for prayer for each day and Joyful 'Toons Inspirational Cartoons every other day. Posts will be up effective January 1st, and will be available by 1 AM West African Time each day.
2010 is surely going to be better than 2009. You will experience greater glory. Wishing you a fulfilling New Year.
To all my EROLyrics readers, followers and commenters, God bless you. You have truly been encouraging.
Lots of Love, Rita.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
In This 2009, We Will...(8)
You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance [Psalms 65:11 NLT].
As the year approaches its end, I am sure you will take a moment to reflect on how the year had been. No matter how the journey had been, I am sure you can find something to be thankful for.
And even if there seems to be prayers that were not answered, you need not be weary. When King Jehoshaphat faced a formidable problem, how was it solved?
Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful." After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: "Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever" [2 Chron 20:20-21 NIV].
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In this 2009, We Will Praise God
If you read further down the passage in 2 Chronicles 20, you will observe that they obtained victory "As they began to sing and praise". The cause of Judah's victory is given to their songs of praise. Praising God invites Him into your situation and chases the enemy away!
The most important key that opens new doors, closes old ones and advances us in our walk with God is Praise.
A few more reasons why we must praise God are:
• Praise turns our focus to God: When we don’t feel like praising, that is the exact time to jump up and praise, for it turns our focus away from our circumstance, situations and problems and turns them towards God. When we focus on our problems, we focus on ourselves and get stuck at that junction. When we focus on God, being the good God he is, he elevates us from whatever we are going through.
• Praise helps to keep us to be humble: When we praise we humble ourselves to seek refuge at God’s feet. When we praise, with reckless abandon, we don’t care how we look to others or how they perceive us. We are humble enough to know that God is bigger than any of our problems.
• God inhabits our praises: The dictionary defines inhabit as thus: to live or reside in or to dwell in, or to exist or to be situated within. From that definition it is not surprising the devil will want to keep us busy with many distractions. He wants to keep us from giving God praise. When we praise, God resides within our praises, and in his presence, there is no sorrow, heartache or problems.
May His praise continually be in your mouth in this 2009 and even as you enter a greater year, 2010. It is not too late for God to perform a miracle in your life in this 2009 – the year is not yet over.
Merry Xmas and a Fruitful New Year. May your year be crowned with the goodness of God.
Many thanks to RemiUK for permission to use her post “Continuous Praise”.
For further reading visit "The Praise Principle".
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Lacuna (Once Again)
Posted previously January 2008.
Lacuna
As seconds ticked
And minutes passed
The days turned to years
History was taking place
A glance from today
Shows something missing in history
A time when nothing happened
A time when all was still:
A lacuna
But I had to see
With my spiritual eyes
That the Lacuna
Was a period
When you showed again
That you alone
Are God
And that is why
When I think of time
When I think of days
I know assuredly
You are not bound by time.
The Inspiration
To the outsider, there were few explanations for why the fourth child of the Harrys came seven years after the third. Some guessed that boy was a mistake – the parents wanted 3 and he came when they did not expect. Some assumed it must have been strict birth control. The truth was that it was seven years when God showed Himself strong [2 Chronicles 16:9].
The Harrys had planned to have four children. Everything was going as planned. The children were coming after every two years. All of a sudden, from nowhere, tragedy hit them. Mrs. Harrys fell ill, suffering from an illness doctors could not cure. Mr Harry lost his very comfy job. Life seemed to be a nightmare.
It was seven years of hoping on God for healing. It was seven years of having faith for a better tomorrow. It was seven years of finding out who were friends and family. It was seven years of getting knowledge and understanding which no education can give. Knowledge and understanding that with God, nothing is impossible [Luke 1:37]. It was seven years of experiencing God for themselves.
When the Harrys look at their last child, the child of the seven-year lacuna, they are reminded of God’s faithfulness [Deuteronomy 7:9]. He truly watches over His word to perform it [Jeremiah 1:12]. He has said that He is the Lord that heals you [Exodus 15:26]. He said He has heard your prayers and seen your tears [2 Kings 20:5]. He said He has washed away your sins [Isaiah 1:18]. He said He is the one who teaches you to profit and leads you in the way you should go [Isaiah 48:17]. He has said that His thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways His ways [Isaiah 55:8].
Yes, there were days when they wondered if there was God. There were moments when their lips almost confessed that they were forsaken. There were days when they came close to doubting the efficacy of the word of God. Every sunrise was a reminder of the pain they were going through. Yet every crack of dawn brought a new day of hope, expecting everyday. They lived each day as it came and they saw the end of their trials.
There is nothing like experiencing God for yourself. Remain Blessed.
Lacuna
As seconds ticked
And minutes passed
The days turned to years
History was taking place
A glance from today
Shows something missing in history
A time when nothing happened
A time when all was still:
A lacuna
But I had to see
With my spiritual eyes
That the Lacuna
Was a period
When you showed again
That you alone
Are God
And that is why
When I think of time
When I think of days
I know assuredly
You are not bound by time.
The Inspiration
To the outsider, there were few explanations for why the fourth child of the Harrys came seven years after the third. Some guessed that boy was a mistake – the parents wanted 3 and he came when they did not expect. Some assumed it must have been strict birth control. The truth was that it was seven years when God showed Himself strong [2 Chronicles 16:9].
The Harrys had planned to have four children. Everything was going as planned. The children were coming after every two years. All of a sudden, from nowhere, tragedy hit them. Mrs. Harrys fell ill, suffering from an illness doctors could not cure. Mr Harry lost his very comfy job. Life seemed to be a nightmare.
It was seven years of hoping on God for healing. It was seven years of having faith for a better tomorrow. It was seven years of finding out who were friends and family. It was seven years of getting knowledge and understanding which no education can give. Knowledge and understanding that with God, nothing is impossible [Luke 1:37]. It was seven years of experiencing God for themselves.
This reminded me of the word “Lacuna” that is why I entitled this message so. Geologists call Lacuna a gap, a break in normal sequence, a period when nothing can be traced. In life, there appears to be Lacunae, periods when it seems nothing is happening, days are going by and your desires seemfurther away. And when you look back, it seems there is a break. For instance, you leave school and after 4 years you do not have a job. You might feel your life is meaningless those 4 years and then continues when you get the job. With God, there is no break in sequence, there is no gap. He is always there. And every moment matters to Him.
But you must not forget this one thing: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think [2 Peter 3:8-9]. Speaking of time, the scientists (geologists) have proven that plant life started before animal life, but separated by thousands (or millions) of years. They have also proven that man came to earth after all other life forms.
These confirm the sequence of the account of the creation [Genesis 1: 1-31]. Yet what they call thousands and millions of years is nothing but a day in the eyes of God.
When the Harrys look at their last child, the child of the seven-year lacuna, they are reminded of God’s faithfulness [Deuteronomy 7:9]. He truly watches over His word to perform it [Jeremiah 1:12]. He has said that He is the Lord that heals you [Exodus 15:26]. He said He has heard your prayers and seen your tears [2 Kings 20:5]. He said He has washed away your sins [Isaiah 1:18]. He said He is the one who teaches you to profit and leads you in the way you should go [Isaiah 48:17]. He has said that His thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways His ways [Isaiah 55:8].
Yes, there were days when they wondered if there was God. There were moments when their lips almost confessed that they were forsaken. There were days when they came close to doubting the efficacy of the word of God. Every sunrise was a reminder of the pain they were going through. Yet every crack of dawn brought a new day of hope, expecting everyday. They lived each day as it came and they saw the end of their trials.
Tomorrow you may look back at today and realize it is one of the days of a lacuna in your life. But more importantly, it is one day that the Lord has given you, to take you closer to your destiny, to take you closer to the realization of your desire. He is faithful that promised. A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise, as some people think [2 Peter 3:8-9].
There is nothing like experiencing God for yourself. Remain Blessed.
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