IN GOD'S SILENCE

"I will love You in Your silence, I will trust You in the dark."

~ In Your Silence by Molly Ijames

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There are times when it feels like God has turned a deaf ear to our prayers.   It can be when we are asking for a cure from an illness, a broken relationship to be restored, a job promotion, a large amount of debt to be settled, a loved one to get saved, or even the simplest thing we could think of.  We tend to get impatient with the "delays" in the answers to our sincerest prayers.  We then begin to question if God really cares.

It is truly difficult to trust God wholeheartedly when we don't get immediate answers to our prayers, or when we can't seem to see His plan, but keep in mind that God is in sovereign.  The Lord said in Isaiah 55:8-9, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways...   For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts," and in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you...   thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."  What we perceive as "delays" are God's perfect timing, and what we perceive as "silence" is His way to say that He is in control and will carry us through.  We just have to trust Him.

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Dear Lord,

Thank You for another wonderful and blessed Sunday at church this morning.  Thank You for using that song to touch my heart.  Forgive me when I fail to put my complete trust in You.  Thank You for reminding me that You are always in control.  Teach me to be more trusting in You. 

In Christ's most precious name,

Amen

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For more inspiration/devotional reading, please click:  SOLEMN SUNDAY

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FORGIVEN PEOPLE FORGIVE

Matthew 18: 21-22

"Then came Peter to Him, and said Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive Him?  till seven times?  Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, until seven times:  but, until seventy times seven."

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Sermon at church this morning was about transactional forgiveness.  The latter portion of Matthew 18 taught the parable of a servant who owed his master an unimaginable amount of debt, yet when the servant asked for compassion, his master forgave all his debts.  This servant then went out and saw his fellow servant, who owes him an amount comparable to a third of his annual earning.  He laid his hands to his fellow servant and took him by the throat, demanding that he be paid.  The fellow servant asked for compassion in a similar fashion the first servant did with his master.  Having been forgiven, we would expect the first servant to show compassion towards his fellow servant.  However, he refused and instead threw his fellow servant into jail.  When their master learned of this, he was angered with the first servant and punished him until he could pay all his debts.

As Christians, we were once sinners who owed God an amount we could never repay, but because of His love for us, He sent His Son to pay for our sins.  When we sincerely repented through faith and accepted Christ to be our Saviour, all our sins - past, present, and future - had been forgiven, just like an unimaginable amount of debt paid in full.  As God forgave us, we should also forgive.  If forgiveness is something we can't find in our hearts, let's ask ourselves if we have indeed experienced God's forgiveness... because forgiven people forgive.

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For more inspirational/devotional reading, please click:  SOLEMN SUNDAY

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SOLEMN SUNDAY

Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen:  for I will hasten my word to perform it.

~ Jeremiah 1:12

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Matthew's Gospel confirms Jeremiah's prophecy.  "And they that passed by reviled Him, wagging their heads."  Even today some care not that Jesus, the son of God was hanging on the cross for them.  Indifferent sinners will perish.  Be wise!  Do not take a casual approach to your eternal destiny.  Accept the Lord Jesus as your Saviour today.  He died for you! 

~ E. MacLelland

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Never more shall God, Jehovah,

Smite the shepherd with the sword;

Ne'er again shall cruel sinners,

Set at naught our glorious Lord.

~ Robert C. Chapman

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For more inspirational/devotional readings, please click:  SOLEMN SUNDAY

SOLEMN SUNDAY

I wanted to organize my blog and put a bit of "routine" into it, so I thought of starting a "Solemn Sunday" category, wherein I get to share Bible passages and Christian-related writings, and reflect on them too. 

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But God raised Him from the dead. 

~ Acts 13:30

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By an act of God, our Saviour arose from the dead, and lives eternally.  He is the only spiritual leader in human history who was once dead and now lives.  Many bore witness of His resurrection.  He will never die.  Every human being - past, present, future - has an inescapable appointment with the living Christ.  For many, that appointment is a happy prospect.  For all others, it bodes an awful doom.  Prepare now to meet the risen Saviour.

~ Doug Kazen

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♪♫ He lives; He lives:  Christ Jesus lives today.

He walks with me; He talks with me, along life's narrow way.

He lives; He lives; salvation to impart.

You ask me how I know he lives; He lives within my heart ♪♫

~ A. Ackley

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Dear Lord,

Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins.  Thank You for rising from the grave and fulfilling Your plan of salvation.   Through Your blood I have been redeemed.  Thank You very much for giving me the privilege to be Your child, and for the assurance that You live within my heart.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

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