Goldyunlocks

Do It Now!

Ours not to make reply,

Ours not to reason why,

Ours but to do and die.

On that very day Abraham [did]… as God told him. - Genesis 17:23

Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is… each time God calls us to do something, He is offering to make a covenant with us.  Our part is to obey, and then He will do His part to send a special blessing.

Postponed obedience can never bring us the full blessing God intended or what it would have brought had we obeyed at the earliest possible moment.

Remember, “On that very day” is the Genesis way of saying, “Do it now!”

Martin Luther once said, “A true believer will crucify, or put to death, the question, ‘Why?’ He will simply obey without questioning.”  And I refuse to be one of those people who “unless… see miraculous signs and wonders… will never believe.”   - John 4:48 I will obey without questioning.

Streams in the Desert - L.B. Cowman

Your Cross

If you, with impatience, give up your cross, You will not find it in this world again;  Nor in another, but here and here alone Is given for you to suffer for God’s sake. 

In the next world we may more perfectly Love Him and serve Him, praise Him, Grow nearer and nearer to Him with delight.  But then we will not anymore Be called to suffer, which is our assignment here.  Can you not suffer, then, one hour or two? 

If He should call you from your cross today, Saying, “It is finished — that hard cross of yours From which you pray for deliverance,” Do you not think that some emotion of regret Would overcome you?  You would say, “So soon?  Let me go back and suffer yet awhile More patiently.  I have not yet praised God.”  So whenever it comes, that summons we all look for, It will seem soon, too soon.  Let us take heed in life That God may now be glorified in us.

Ugo Bassi’s Sermon in the Hospital

Job 38:22-23

Have you entered the storehouses… which I reserve for times of trouble?

If we could see beyond today As God can see; If all the clouds should roll away, The shadows flee;  O’er present griefs we would not fret.  Each sorrow we would soon forget, For many joys are waiting yet For you and me.

If we could know beyond today As God does know, Why dearest treasures pass away And tears must flow; And why the darkness leads to light, Why dreary paths will soon grow bright; Some day life’s wrongs will be made right, Faith tells us so.

“If we could see, if we could know,” We often say, But God in love a veil does throw Across our way; We cannot see what lies before, And so we cling to Him the more, He leads us till this life is o’er; Trust and obey.

Today - August

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.  - Habakkuk 3:17-18

I had a tiny box, a precious box Of human love — my perfume of great price; I kept it close within my hear of hearts And scarce would lift the lid lest it should wast Its fragrance on the air.  One day a strange Deep sorrow came with crushing weight, and fell Upon my costly treasure, seeet and rare, And broke the box to pieces.  All my heart Rose in dismay and sorrow at this waste, But as I mourned, behold a miracle Of grace Divine.  My human love was changed To Heaven’s own, and poured in healing streams On other broken hearts, while soft and clear A voice above me whispered,

“Child of Mine, With comfort wherewith you are comforted, From this time fort, go comfort others, And you will know blest fellowship with Me, Whose broken heart of love has healed the world.”

3 Things…

breconciled:

thedaughterandthejoy:

3 things that cannot be reversed : time, words and opportunities
3 things that are destructive : anger, revenge and  arrogance
3 things that should remain : love, joy and peace
3 things that are finite : materials, dignity and human’s love
3 things that make us worthy : commitment, humility, and hard work
3 things that are unchanging : Father, Son and Holy Spirit
3 things that enable us to endure life : faith, hope and love

Gift Giving of yourself

It isn’t the thing you do, dear, It’s the thing you leave undone, That gives you the bitter headache,At the setting of the sun;The tender word unspoken,The letter you did not write,The flower you might have sent, dear, Are your haunting ghosts at night.

The stone you might have lifted Out of your brother’s way, The bit of heartfealt counsel You were hurried too much to say; The loving touch of the hand, dear, The gentle winsome tone, That you had not time or thought for, With troubles enough of your own.

These little acts of kindness, So easily out of mind, These chances to be angels, Which even mortals find —They come in nights of silence, To take away the grief, When hope is faint and feeble, And a drought has stopped belief.

For life is all too short, dear.  And sorrow is all too great, To allow our slow compassion That tarries until too late.  And it’s not the thing you do, dear, It’s the thing you leave undone, That gives you the bitter headache, At the setting of the sun.

-Adelaide Proctor from Streams in the Desert