Reversing Life#
The last shall be first, and first shall be last. (Matthew 20:16) LORD, HIGH AND HOLY, MEEK AND LOWLY. You have brought me to the valley of vision. .
The last shall be first, and first shall be last. (Matthew 20:16) LORD, HIGH AND HOLY, MEEK AND LOWLY. You have brought me to the valley of vision. .
King David wrote as much as a warrior in heart as a poet in soul. Two gifts unlikely found in many other men.
The Lord, sitting on His throne, one day gazed down to earth. As He sat there He chose a particularly diligent servant for a task.
Our good God gives us the answers we need—not necessarily the ones we want.
God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (1 Peter 5:5b) Since satan's expulsion from the heavenly halls mankind has stood firm with shoulders held back.
Is the Lord's voice silent to you? Is this a tantalizing to your soul? Many have found a quiet God very hard to love.
'Worship' and 'celebrate' are Biblical synonyms. Nevertheless, we tend to lament when 'veiled under sackcloth and ashes'. It is then that 'celebration' only finds slim-pickings in the soul.
'Global warming' is daily examined in newsrooms and classrooms alike. Maui is 'mother nature's' latest victim to be scrutinized. Calamity catches mankind off guard.
Abba Euprepius (a fourth century A. D. desert monk) taught: knowing that God is mighty and faithful, have faith in Him and you shall share what is His.
Prayer and faith are twins. They must be. There is no prayer if there is no faith first. And, it is impossible to please God without faith.
When a Christian stops praying, the devil starts shouting.
For too long men and women alike have stood firm. Shoulders held back, boldly upright, they resist wisdom's push to fall upon their knees.
Heart-felt prayer contains a depth that mere mortality can only puzzle about.
The crisis of our prayer life is that our minds may be filled with ideas of God while our hearts remain far from Him.
It is both a great and troubling thing to travel with Jesus on His terms, to name Him as Lord.
It is not enough for the believer to begin to pray, nor to pray correctly, nor is it enough to continue for a time to pray.
Prayer pulls the rope below and the great bell rings above in the ears of God.
'Call to Me and I will answer you and teach you great and unsearchable things.
I have called you friends. (John 15:15) To know Christ (Philippians 3:10) is life's greatest achievement.
We hold that man is never so near to grace as when he begins to feel he can do nothing at all.
Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar.
God does not need our words to hear us, or understand us. We can be silent in prayer. Human expectations assume prayer involves words, and it usually does.
Path's can deviate as troubles approach. Disciples pass through countless difficulties, many alone. Unless their eyes are upon The Cross.
At irregular intervals SoulSupply has written - Pursue influence and not affluence.
Holy aspiration is to be watered. Plead with our Lord to birth and nurture this as we cross daily the fiery stones of earth, until we meet with Him.
Where can I go? What can I seek? For Jesus must first increase in me and I must decrease to me.
Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths. . .
AN INTRODUCTION: The Puritan Movement was a Christian religious phenomenon of the 16th and 17th centuries. The Puritans are associated with a rigorous moral and spiritual Christianity.
Jesus said, "Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.
The most comforting of David's psalms were pressed out by suffering. (anon) The Psalms are still alive.
Never doubt in the darkness what God has shown you in the light. ~ Neil Anderson Loving Father, Help me to fight the good fight.
There is a God who remains the same, and whose years never end (Psalm 102:27) Needles and vaccine to 7,886,738,769 people is an unprecedented endeavor in mankind's history.
I have long admired prayer warriors - those who I know who can be relied on to pray so regularly.
‘I call to You every day O Lord; I spread my hands out to You.
A mother's children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.
King David the valiant - this bear, lion and giant slayer lived a life of war. He knew how to pray.
‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
WARNING - Please ponder this prayer below before you pray it - it contains requests and desires you may not truly want to live out.
We strive to be prayerful despite our weaknesses, failures and sickness in the soul.
"Now is not the time to give up. ", says the Lord. "Now is the time to press in, press in, and press in some more.
Socrates is no obscure hero. 400 years before Christ graced the earth this ancient Greek philosopher was martyred. He lived: 'An unexamined life is not worth living.
As with a labyrinth there exists a blind impossibility to not finding the right way out of life.
Sometimes we are at our wit’s end. Sometimes circumstances seem so overwhelming that prayer gets pushed aside.
'Men give advice, God gives guidance. ' ~ Leonard RavenhillA daily prayer for the humble: Lord You are my light and my salvation. . .
There is such a thing as a retreat, a going backwards in religion after making a fine profession of faith.
Aiden Wilson Tozer was an unusually gifted man. He can inspire or chasten with an equal ability.
Shortly before World War Two, German Heinze Guderian developed the innovative war strategy he named 'blitzkrieg'. 'Blitzkrieg' has become synonymous with any lightning strIke of man against an enemy.
The men who have been greatly used of God have all been mighty in prayer. As you read their biographies you discover that the spirit of prayer predominates.
Many ways and paths are available to those who seek refuge and comfort, but one is best.
Eight top tips to guide you in praying through the Psalms: Note/mark your favorite ones that you may easily retrieve them for prayer, and enjoy their salve as often as you...
Have you ever knelt to pray a psalm, to make it your own? Countless have.
If I am dead, restless, troubled, enslaved or in chains my mortal coil is hindered in its walk with Jesus. This He does not desire.
A daily prayer of faith for both body and soul preservation: Dear Father, Preserve my life in your righteousness and turn my eyes away from worthless things, that surely I will not...
James Outram Fraser (1886-1938) was a man of sure and deep prayer. He joined Hudson Taylor's China Inland Mission.
Scripture records Moses with an exceptional honor, as the most humble man upon the face of the earth.
It is with an enduring lament I now consider the massive effort my good Lord has exerted to gain my attention.
Skilled at removing distraction the Puritans knew how to pray. Charles Spurgeon (1834-92) is regarded to this day as the last of the great Puritans.
As a man speaks from the overflow of his heart, so too he prays from the fullness of his soul.
God's invitation to the thirsty, the weak and the wounded: hear Me that your soul may live.
King David's heart echoes down time's corridors through his Psalms. His devotion is real, living to this day.
The Lord promises that it is the pure in heart who shall see Him, the meek who shall inherit the earth and those who seek righteousness will be satisfied.
Righteousness is the humble path to tread, it is not a laurel to wear.
Attitudes of gratitude can be intensely difficult to muster. It is as easy to miss grace as it is to find offence.
Prayer requires no aptitude - merely heart. It belongs to the scholar and simple alike, and knows no time constraints.
The disciples were new, mere apprentices, simple-hearted and eager to learn the ways of Heaven to grasp spiritual truths.
Days transpire better if they begin in order, not chaos. Chase chaos away, begin each day as you wish to end it - with the Lord.
Some glory in achievements, while others glory in obscurity. No form of selfishness is so deeply and dangerously sinful as that which glories in being a man of prayer.
We live as though the kingdom of darkness does not exist. (Neil Anderson) 2000 years ago there lived a very troubled man.
Church cannot be the focus of our life, only Jesus has the authority to claim this.
Lancashire born Samuel Chadwick (1860-1932) had a fire in his belly to light many souls.
Ecclesiastical tribal traditions, whether these be Catholic, Pentecostal or Evangelical help and hinder believers.
Prayer is: the seed of gentlenessthe spirit of trustthe seeking of peacethe absence of angera remedy against griefa salve to depressionthe unbinding of shackles andfreedom to the heart.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola formed the religious society commonly called The Jesuits (The Society of Jesus).
The strong and weak alike know that life's long journey requires the best food. Two Christian giants from yesterday also knew this.
Nazi Ravensbruck has firmed in history as a measure of human atrocity, almost without equal.
Abraham Lincoln, one of the most important presidents in U. S.
What craziness has caught us, what malaise has fallen upon us, that our individual prayer as much as our praying together could fall for such a bold deception: that our words...
Is not the greatest witness against prayer a continued and persistent heavenly silence? Charles Spurgeon understood full well those times when God tarries at our pleas for mercy: In the days of...
I long to explore the soulful maps, and plunge the guidance of Heaven unwrapped.
To my dear Lord, I come before you to worship You, lift You up and honor You in Your Spirit of Truth.
Staring at heaven is unrequited. It does not offer answers to troubled or enquiring souls, but we all still do it.
'I used to ask God to help me. Then I asked if I might help Him. I ended up by asking God to do His work though me'.
The Psalmist understood well the joy of the Lord, better than many. His words and thoughts offer a revival to any needy human spirit and soul.
The Scriptures are clear about the potency of prayer. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man", wrote the inspired James,"availeth much".
Paradoxically, it is upon the knees where it is best to get lost. . . I come to you Lord to fetch strength.
With a faithfulness only rivalled by a puppy you have set forth your propositions before God, but they have faltered or been unheard.
Do you feel your prayers miss Heaven, or that Heaven's ears are deaf? This is most common. It is the problem of persuading God.
The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer. ~ F. B.
I long to explore the soulful maps, to plunge the guidance of Heaven unwrapped.
Prayer carries every burden to the Lord, and leaves it there.
Why does night multiply loneliness? Why is night the season of a dark self-examination? Surely too it is the time where troubled souls learn where others weep? This is Gethsemane.
All prayer is molded by the shape of the heart, and promoted by the depth of the faith.
In the familiarity of a deep and personal closeness the Lord responds to His disciples' question - teach us to pray.
Prayer is the movement of the Holy Spirit in the human heart through which God reaches out and embraces human beings.
"A little child cannot do bad coloring; nor can a child of God do bad prayer.
Two rulers knew the life-giving power of correct words. Two leaders became mighty men for they were concerned to know God's ways first, not their own.
My Father in heaven - what do I have that is not of You, what fruit can I bear without Your seeds, what place of belonging is there away from You, what grace can...
The Power of the Lord's Presence is available to the humble. The larger the gap between the believer and God, the more space possible for satan to enter.
Jesus repeatedly dined on sweet super food. This diet was good for Jesus, so it must too be for me.
This life-time of human experience must be worth more than another birthday card, or that obituary I will never get to write - let alone read? Surely God could benefit from...
Many people do not believe this, but it is true. They think God is interested only in big things.
Strolling in shallow water is far easier than struggling neck deep. But when you dive in the effort fades and the view can be amazing.
No form of selfishness is so deeply and dangerously sinful as that which glories in being a man of prayer.
The Movement of the HeavensSatan would whisper that prayer is hollow, God is disinterested and it wastes time for it is not productive.
The Movement of the Heart#Prayer contains a depth that mere mortality can only be puzzled at.
The crisis of our prayer life is that our minds maybe filled with ideas of God while our hearts remain far from Him.
Dear Father, thankyou for Your mercies new each daybreak. I am indebted to You for the refreshment of rest.
Those who know what prayer is, know it is a labor, and at times a travail. It is believing when the blackness of night hangs over one.
Beyond the tears, behind the pain lurks a culprit many ignore, disbelieve or even support. Death was absent until the serpent whispered in Eden.
Idle times and thoughts can draw us painfully backwards. The past steadfastly seeks to torment today. Injuries to the soul, the sins and longings of yesterday tease afresh.
Could an empty ego script a fuller prayer life? My Father in heaven, what do I have that is not of You, what place of belonging is there away from You, what grace may...
Prayer precedes performance. We must learn how to pray and not just perform. When prayer first becomes our profession, our planning will find the right place.
Headlong the unattended infant ran into an oncoming Toyota. He had played happily alone for some time on a grass verge.
You are retired for your private devotions; you have opened the Bible, and you begin to read. Now, do not be satisfied with merely reading through a chapter.
To laugh and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false...
In 1991, Evan Thomas wrote a biography of Edward Bennett Williams, titled The Man to See.
My trailer is popular, its ancient and anxious leaf-springs grunted again as they bounced over the kerb.
The prayer of faith is a powerful spiritual weapon that releases forgiveness and healing.
Sometimes memories sneak out of my eyes and roll down my cheeks. ~ anon Seasons arrive when thoughts draw backwards and the past refuses to be released.
A prayer to Jesus the Christ - the one who lovingly submitted to torture before and on the Cross, even for those who hated enough to murder Him: Dear Jesus -...
The pillow beckons while the blankets bleat as dawn's soft rays peep through the curtains. . . roll over.
Attachment is an emotional or even spiritual connection between two people. It transcends the boundaries of geography or time.
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
My Father I come to You this dawn with the sun low in my heart and a fog across my soul, yet I do know that all I have received...
My Father, as the sun rises over the yard-arm, again I would make You my refuge.
O Lord - it weighs upon my soul to come directly to You early each morn, that this should become my habit.
Jesus began His day with His Father (our Father too) often prior to dawn. He still is the best model.
Alfred Deakin was a rare person. He lived a life where each chapter began with one outstanding achievement or another.
Plugs manage every moment of every day. Black, white, regular and irregular shaped plastic appendages are poked into walls, sockets and all power sources.
A prayer for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for it is the Lord's promise that they shall be satisfied.
Could there be anyone greater than the prophet Daniel who held the esteem of Heaven? Exceptional spiritual power developed for Daniel through his soul-searching devotions.
What travail did King David suffer when he penned this tenacious cry to his Lord? What times of trouble was David so anxious would pass? Not one is immune from the weakening...
Naivety should well be the domain of the Christ-dweller as much as innocence remains his virtue.
A prayer to remove my props: O Lord that I would hunger for your glory and love your story above mine.
John Newton's (1725-1807) mother died just before he turned seven years old. In the brief time with her son, Elizabeth Newton eagerly taught him God's word.
On August 21st, 1912 a simple criminal became a forgiven Christian. This guerrilla outlaw and last member of Jesse James' gang Cole Younger had repented of his turbulent life.
A maligned and barren Hannah long pleaded with the Lord for a child. She begged him in desperation of the spirit to birth within her the impossible.
A reflective A. W. Tozer strolled through summer camp engaged in deep conversation with his dear friend Robert W.
Where can I wander to, what hill may I climb, what valley descent dare I plumb where the Lord is not there? Where can I hide my heart or file my...
French born, Anglican baptised, American Catholic Trappist monk Thomas Merton died prematurely in 1968 at the tender age of 53. He penned the soulful prayer below.
Soul Snack 219/14 . . . Sin to the Christian mirrors communism to democracy - destruction! Sin that is present refuses to be ignored.
The crisis of our prayer life is that our minds maybe filled with ideas of God while our hearts remain far from Him.
Soul Snack 200/14 . . . The true story is told of an insane royal braggart who became a beggar.
Soul Snack 190/14 . . . It is a painfully wicked life to wear the holey trousers of despair.
Soul Snack 180/14 . . . Beware the pride of prayer. Audit the performance of public displays, or the inner comparisons to others during private devotions.
Soul Snack 179/14 . . . Can you speak too much in prayer would seem a sensible sequel to yesterday's SoulSnack Can You Pray Too Much.
Soul Snack 177/14 . . . Prayer – the spoken joy of the wanderer or the settled, the gregarious and the hermit alike.
Soul Snack 164/14 . . . I am caught between Northern Iraq and Moldova; a western Christian's no-man's land of impotence and self-questioning.
Soul Snack 157/14 . . . There is no field more unexplored in Christian experience and possibility than this limitless field of prayer. Prayer means care for souls.
Soul Snack 156/14 . . . A prayer from my heart for my heart: Teach me your ways O Lord for I seek to humbly walk in your truth.
Soul Snack 149/14 . . . Eden and Gethsemane leap from history as the world's game-changing gardens. In history's most perfect garden - Eden, temptation approached.
Soul Snack 91/14 . . . Bouncing into my Inbox last Saturday were two emails separated by half the world.
Soul Snack 18/14 . . . There is a fence before me. It fills my vision and circumnavigates all that I would do.
Soul Snack 223/13 . . . Unpacking God Christianity trades upon the minds of learned men.
Soul Snack 222/13 . . . Boating with God Life's changes and chances whip waves across our decks, tears at our sails and snaps our masts.
Soul Snack 213/13 . . . A Daily Fortress Psalm 86 is a fortress to dependent humility. It permits no breaches of pride and allows no misunderstandings of God.
Soul Snack 187/13 ~ Prayer's biggest barrier Is the pavement to prayer littered with potholes of disbelief? Is doubt the biggest barrier to praying? Satan plants within each believer a...
Soul Snack 131/13 . . . The Lord's Garden Prayer is the fodder of a healthy spirit and the chainsaw that cuts down the forests of sin.
Soul Snack 94/13 . . . Whipping satan Satan whispers in the believer's ear the challenges of doubt. He shouts sentences of condemnation.
Soul Snack 82/13 . . . Boldness before the Throne Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace.
Soul Snack 72/13 . . . The Scent of Prayer Life is as unpredictable as it is fragile.
Soul Snack 52/13 . . . Unity & Prayer Updating Liam Life is as unpredictable as it is fragile.
My Father in Heaven, thank-you for ensuring from before time that I could know you, love you and enjoy you . . .
Soul Snack 190/12 . . . John Newton's Mom". . . What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
Soul Snack 168/12 . . . God's Silence? To those cemented on their knees, begging to heaven or wrestling a tearful avalanche. . .
Soul Snack 215/11 . . . The Warrior of the Soul Every soul contains a warrior. A soul without peace contains a warrior at work.
Soul Snack 92/11 . . . Ambulance or sign? Cares and sadness were so weighty upon these sorrowful disciples as they paused at Gethsemane.
Soul Snack 79/11 . . . Knee built roofing Enticing the desires of the human spirit, sin seeks to have its way.
Soul Snack 22/11 . . . Two-Way Traffic Plans to prosper are both God's deliberate and default intentions.
Soul Snack 205/10 . . . His Dwelling Place The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
Soul Snack 101/10 . . . Walmart prayer Lovingly, Heaven gazed with saddened eyes from His throne.
Soul Snack 72/10 . . . 'Without you!' What is life, Lord, without you? I love you Lord and I need you so.
Soul Snack 20/10 . . . Answered Prayer Answered prayer is formed in heaven's crucible of charity. Answered prayer is the amalgam of heaven's goodwill and grace.
Soul Snack 172/11 . . . The Pavement Prayer The silhouette of a slight yet statuesque figure fell silently across the pavement.
Soul Snack 8/133 . . . God's Path The season we call life is marked indelibly by the path that we walk to the eternal.
Soul Snack 126 . . . Players and Prayers Eager and sweaty children, across this nation joyfully fill backyards. The noonday sun neither too high nor too hot.
Soul Snack 228/11 . . . God's Posties "Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar.
SOUL SNACK 73 . . . “SUPERWOMAN" Reclining into her most comfortable chair, her frail frame met sleep immediately. The reward of rest, quickly and importantly received.
Soul Snack 78 . . . Beach Bliss? As the full moon glided above the horizon, the beach emptied. Only litter from a day of delight remained.