Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance. -Psalm 33:12
May nations in the Arabian Peninsula bow their knees to Christ so that they would receive the precious blessings that He is eager to pour out upon them in gracious abundance!
A prayer from a local sister. Let us join her in prayer...
We pray for the people of Saudi Arabia. We pray that God would guide them and give peace between us and other countries. We also pray that He would help the poor countries that need support, especially those countries with sickness and lack of food.
blessings (4)
BLESSING OF THE AGES
On the day when your inner child
Curls up in fetal mode With thumb in mouth
And blanket clutchedMay a thousand memories of childhood play
On rocks, in creeks
On lookouts, in hideouts
Call out to you, caress you
And carry you onwardWhen the inner crisis of mid-life
Grabs your throat tight at midnight
And drowns you in droves of unrealized dreams
May you find a pause on the path
A rock on which to rest
With a view above the valleys
And a peace in the presentWhen your soul feels as useless
As hunched-back old man
In nursing home wheelchair
May you awaken in the world around you
A renewed hope in humanity
By welcoming care and concern
With a single, simple smileMay the wonder of children be yours
May the dreams of youth be yours
May the pragmatism of adults be yours
May the wisdom of elders be yoursAnd may the Ancient of Days
He who looms large and long over your life
Your past, your present and your path yet unknown
Whisper deeply and daily
Into the depths of your soul
–David Brazzeal from www.praylikeagourmet.com
(in the spirit of John O’Donohue’s “Beannacht”)
Life is good because God is good.
“No man is in true health who cannot stand in the free air of heaven, with his feet on God’s free turf,
and thank his Creator for the simple luxury of physical existence.”
- T. W. Higginson (1823-1911) American clergyman and writer
God embroiders elaborate rainbow-hued relationships.
He orchestrates events for your benefit in kaleidoscopic patterns.
Your robe is not just one color—variegated threads make life anything but drab.
God conducts the full orchestra of His instruments—time, place, people, circumstances—
drowning out monotony’s sour note of pessimism and playing His never-ending love symphony.
Thank God for the privilege of physical life – every breath and heartbeat is His gift.
Thank God for the pleasure of abundant life – He does not orphan you in the storms of life.
Thank God for the promise of eternal life – you will live with Him in a tearless, deathless, painless place.
Wrapped around your vision field is a full-color spectrum—
an azure sky of hope, green grass of life, purple violets of royalty,
red roses of pardon, snow-white lilies of purity, golden sunsets of triumph.
Proudly wear your richly ornamented coat every day until the Lord Jesus Christ
drapes an immaculate heavenly robe fashioned for you around your redeemed shoulders.
“Jacob loved Joseph, so he gave Joseph a special gift—a beautiful robe—a coat of many colours.”
(Genesis 37:3 NLT, KJV)
Johnny R. Almond
Pastor, Colonial Beach Baptist Church, Virginia
Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity—Scripture Personalized
GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized (copy and paste to browser)
[This devotion based on/adapted from Day 26 of Gentle Whispers from Eternity]
“Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many;
not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”
- Charles Dickens
God blesses us, not because of who we are, but in spite of it.
In the face of our self-centeredness and deceit, God still loves us.
Heaven’s blessings flow from God’s good heart, not from our goodness.
We should not get the idea we somehow merit God’s smile by personal virtue.
It is more rewarding to revel in enjoyed benefits, than to fret over what we do not have.
It is sweeter to count many current blessings, than to ponder a few historical disappointments.
It would be unwise to demand that God give us what we deserve—if He did, we would really be poor.
Love enriches us immeasurably—to avoid being an ingrate we must be humbly grateful, not grumbly hateful.
It is rewarding to inventory the cornucopia of heaven’s gifts supplying all our needs—
faith to counteract worry, family to solve loneliness, health to relish life, income to pay bills,
pardon to cancel guilt, tomorrow to inspire hope, heaven to give us Someone to look forward to.
Whatever fails, we can be sure God’s blessings never will; He will never go back on His Word—thank God!
I blessed him with an irrevocable blessing.
Genesis 27:33 NLT
Johnny R. Almond
Pastor, Colonial Beach Baptist Church, Virginia
Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity—Scripture Personalized
Book available through local bookseller or preferred on-line retailer.
Author’s blog www.GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized.com
[This devotion based on/adapted from Day 18 of Gentle Whispers from Eternity]
