http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship King David could say that his soul thirsted after God, as in a dry and thirsty land. When we finally come to the point in our lives where we realize that nothing in this world will ever satisfy us -- Then we are able to find a full, and complete, and an abundant satisfaction in the very God who created us, knows all about us, and has reserved a place in His Heavenly home, far beyond anything that our heart or mind could ever image. Nothing can compare to the wonder, the majesty, the completely transforming power of the eternal God. "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever, Amen" "Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory" en soundwords soundwords Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:22:58 +0200 daily 1 Source: Joy and Strength Scripture Reference: Psalm 65:8-11   Psalm 33:5   The Glory of God Thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice. Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness.   --PSALMS 65:8,11 He loveth righteousness and justice: the earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.   --PSALMS 33:5 (R. V.) I SING because Thy works are fair, Thy glory makes me glad, The garments bright of praise I wear, For Thou art brightly clad. Full triumph doth my soul possess, Because Thy ways are right; The glory of Thy righteousness Maketh my dear delight.   --THOMAS H. GILL THE fulness of joy is to behold God in all; for by the same blessed might, wisdom, and love, that He made all things, to the same end our good Lord leadeth it continually, and there to Himself shall bring it, and, when it is time, we shall see it.   --MOTHER JULIANA God gives us richly all things... Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:22:58 +0200 http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/God-s-Glory/37/ http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/God-s-Glory/37/ Source: Joy and Strength Scripture Reference: Luke 10:39   Psalm 119:16   Seeing the Master I will delight myself in Thy statutes: I will not forget Thy word.   --PSALMS 119:16 Which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard His word.   --LUKE 10:39 Lo! at Thy feet I wait Thy will, Let that alone my being fill, All earthly passions calm and still.   --C. S. WHATEVER happens let us not be too busy to sit at Jesus' feet. We shall not really lose time by enjoying this; nay, we shall redeem the time; for there is usually much more time and strength forfeited by friction than by toil, and we shall gain in blessedness and enjoyment of our work, and gain in the quality of our work; and, above all, we shall gain in that we shall give Him pleasure where otherwise we might only grieve Him. And this is indeed the crown of all our endeavors. He who pleases Him does not live in vain.   --WM. HAY M. H. AITKEN A... Thu, 14 Aug 2008 19:47:37 +0200 http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/At-Jesus-Feet/36/ http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/At-Jesus-Feet/36/ Source: Joy and Strength Scripture Reference: Psalm 86:4   Peaceful Time Rejoice the soul of Thy servant; for unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. --PSALMS 86:4 AH, dearest Lord! to feel that Thou art near, Brings deepest peace, and hushes every fear; To see Thy smile, to hear Thy gracious voice, Makes soul and body inwardly rejoice With praise and thanks! --CHRISTIAN GREGOR PRAYER is a habit; and the more we pray the better we shall pray. Sometimes to go to be alone with God and Christ in the fellowship of the Spirit, just for the joy and blessedness of it; to open, with reverent yet eager hands, the door into the presence chamber of the great King, and then to fall down before Him, it may be, in silent adoration; our very attitude an act of homage, our merely being there, through the motive that prompts it, being the testimony of our soul's love; to have our set day-hours of close communion, with which no other friends... Mon, 11 Aug 2008 03:39:44 +0200 http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Peace-in-Prayer/35/ http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Peace-in-Prayer/35/ Source: Joy and Strength Scripture Reference: Isaiah 63:9   Psalm 103:13   His Love, Not Ours In His love and in His pity He redeemed them.   --ISAIAH 63:9 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him.   --PSALMS 103:13 GOD only knows the love of God: Oh, that it now were shed abroad In this poor stony heart; For love I sigh, for love I pine; This only portion, Lord, be mine, Be mine this better part.   --CHARLES WESLEY DON'T measure God's mind by your own. It would be a poor love that depended not on itself, but on the feelings of the person loved. A crying baby turns away from its mother's breast, but she does not put it away till it stops crying. She holds it closer. For my part, in the worst mood I am ever in, when I don't feel I love God at all, I just look up to His love. I say to Him, "Look at me. See what state I am in. Help me!" Ah! you... Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:09:27 +0200 http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/God-s-Love/34/ http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/God-s-Love/34/ Source: Joy and Strength Scripture Reference: Deuteronomy 13:4   Complete Devotion Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear Him and keep His commandments, and obey His voice, and ye shall serve Him, and cleave unto Him.   --DEUTERONOMY 13:4 GOD visits a soul when He brings before it a new vision of truth or duty, a new range of opportunities, a new endowment of force as well as insight, at some time to which all that precedes has led up, and from which all that follows depends in its solemn history. No Divine visitation leaves us where it found us; it always leaves us better or worse; if not better, then certainly worse.   --HENRY PARRY LIDDON The issues are with God, and His servants know not the word disappointment, for they are incapable of reading His designs. Only this they know, that the slightest hesitation in obeying what they believe to be a divine impulse, produces a suffering more intense than any consequences which may... Sat, 02 Aug 2008 15:44:11 +0200 http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Devotion-to-God/33/ http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Devotion-to-God/33/ Source: Joy and Strength Scripture Reference: Isaiah 45:12-13   Trust the Creator I have made the earth, and created man upon it; I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways. ISAIAH 45:12,13 HE who suns and worlds upholdeth Lends us His upholding hand; He the ages who unfoldeth Doth our times and ways command. God is for us; In His strength and stay we stand. THOMAS H. GILL YOU have trusted Him in a few things, and He has not failed you. Trust Him now for everything, and see if He does not do for you exceeding abundantly above all that you could ever have asked or thought, not according to your power or capacity, but according to His own mighty power, that will work in you all the good pleasure of His most blessed will. You find no difficulty in trusting the Lord with the management of the universe and all the outward creation,... Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:56:00 +0200 http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Trust-God-in-Everything/32/ http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Trust-God-in-Everything/32/ Source: Joy and Strength Scripture Reference: Isaiah 30:18   Strength to Walk Blessed are all they that wait for Him. ISAIAH 30:19 I WILL trust again His love, His power, Though I cannot feel His hand to-day; To His help anew I will betake me, Though His countenance seems turned away! Though without one smile, one gracious token, Through the flames and floods my path must go, When the fires subside, the waves pass over, My Deliverer I again shall know. JOACHIM LANGE IN the night of distress, feel after somewhat which may quiet and stay thy heart till the next springing of the day. The sun will arise, which will scatter the clouds. And in the day of His power thou wilt find strength to walk with Him; yea, in the day of thy weakness His grace will be sufficient for thee. ISAAC PENINGTON My times are in Thy hand, O Lord! And, surely, that is the best. Were I to choose, they should be in no other hands, neither mine own, nor... Sun, 27 Jul 2008 22:01:41 +0200 http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Strength-from-Him/31/ http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Strength-from-Him/31/ Source: Joy and Strength Scripture Reference: Leviticus 9:4   2 Corinthians 6:2   Please the Lord Now For to-day the Lord will appear unto you. LEVITICUS 9:4 Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 2 CORINTHIANS 6:2 DO not let your growth in holiness depend upon surrounding circumstances, but rather constrain those circumstances to minister to your growth. Beware of looking onward, or out of the present in any way, for the sanctification of your life. The only thing you can really control is the present--the actual moment that is passing by. Sanctify that from hour to hour, and you sanctify your whole life; but brood over the past, or project yourself into the future, and you will lose all. The little act of obedience, love, self-restraint, meekness, patience, devotion, offered to you actually, is all you can do now, and if you neglect that to fret about something else at a distance, you lose your real... Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:09:55 +0200 http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Obedience-Now/30/ http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Obedience-Now/30/ Source: Joy and Strength Scripture Reference: Habakkuk 1:12   Psalm 104:34   Happiness of God Art Thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. HABAKKUK 1:12 My meditation of Him shall be sweet; I will be glad in the Lord. PSALMS 104:34 THE more our ideas about God are multiplied, the more various our thoughts, and images, and recollections of things which have to do with Him, of course the more our minds and hearts are engrossed with Him, and so it becomes easier to live all day in His sensible presence. And is not the practice of the presence of God one half of holiness? And so, weary with work or foiled with disappointment, when the dark night is closing in, bringing with it to our sick spirits a sense of imprisonment, and when the dismal rain curtains us round, and we fret to be at liberty and at large, there is the very freedom of a sovereign to a soul traversing this boundless empire of God and Jesus,... Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:31:04 +0200 http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Happy-in-God/29/ http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Happy-in-God/29/ Source: Joy and Strength Scripture Reference: 1 John 4:16   All He Thinks Of And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him. I JOHN 4:16 As flame streams upward, so my longing thought Flies up with Thee, Thou God and Saviour, who hast truly wrought Life out of death, and to us, loving, brought A fresh, new world; and in Thy sweet chains caught, And made us free! MAURICE FRANCIS EGAN WHAT a blessed and glorious thing human existence would be, if we fully realized that the infinitely wise and infinitely powerful God loves each one of us, with an intensity infinitely beyond what the most fervid human spirit ever felt towards another, and with a concentration as if He had none else to think of! And this love has brought us into being, just that we might be taught to enter into full sympathy with Him, receiving His,--giving our own--thus entering into... Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:19:15 +0200 http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Focused-on-God/28/ http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Focused-on-God/28/ Source: Joy and Strength Scripture Reference: Effort in Prayer Continue in prayer, and watch in the same. COLOSSIANS 4:2 BUT if distractions manifold prevail, And if in this we must confess we fail, Grant us to keep at least a prompt desire, Continual readiness for prayer and praise, An altar heaped and waiting to take fire With the least spark, and leap into a blaze. RICHARD CHENEVIX TRENCH WHEN the set time comes round for prayer, it may be, and often is, the case that the mind is de-pressed, and finds it a hard struggle to raise itself up to communion with God. Your purpose is to hold communion with the Infinite Wisdom and Infinite Love; can you do this, or even attempt this, without coming away from the exercise brighter, calmer, hap-pier, stronger against evil? Make a vigorous effort to throw your whole soul into some very short petition, and the spirit of inertness and heaviness shall be exorcised. But if not, and thy mind be dry to... Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:16:10 +0200 http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Continue-in-Prayer/27/ http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Continue-in-Prayer/27/ Source: Joy and Strength Scripture Reference: Deuteronomy 20:3   No Fear on the Journey Let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them. DEUTERONOMY 20:3 SON of the living God! Oh, call us Once and again to follow Thee, And give us strength, whate'er befall us, Thy true disciples still to be. And if our coward hearts deny Thee, In inmost thought, or deed, or word, Let not our hardness still defy Thee, But with a look subdue us, Lord. HENRY A. MARTIN HALF our difficulty in doing anything worthy of our high calling, is the shrinking anticipation of its possible after-consequences. But if Peter had tarried, and cast up all that was to come, the poverty, and wandering, and solitude, and lonely old age, the out-cast life, and chance of a fearful death, it may be he would have been neither an Apostle nor a Christian. HENRY EDWARD MANNING Some men will follow Christ on... Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:23:14 +0200 http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/No-Fear/26/ http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/No-Fear/26/ Source: Joy and Strength Scripture Reference: Psalm 16:11   Art of Life Thou wilt show me the path of life; in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. PSALMS 16:11 LORD, it is not life to live, If Thy presence Thou deny; Lord, if Thou Thy presence give, 'T is no longer death to die. Source and giver of repose, Singly from Thy smile it flows; Peace and happiness are Thine; Mine they are, if Thou art mine. A. M. TOPLADY WE live from day to day, as it were, by chance; and forget that human life itself is as much an Art, governed by its own rules and precepts of perfection, as the most complicated profession by which that life is maintained or adorned. WM. ARCHER BUTLER The art of life consists in taking each event which befalls us with a contented mind, confident of good. This makes us grow younger as we grow older, for youth and joy come from the soul to the body more than... Sat, 28 Jun 2008 20:08:11 +0200 http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Dealing-with-Life/25/ http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Dealing-with-Life/25/ Source: Joy and Strength Scripture Reference: Psalm 86:11   Maintaining Trust Teach me Thy way, O Lord; I will walk in Thy truth; unite my heart to fear Thy name. PSALMS 86:11 IF thou but suffer God to guide thee, And hope in Him through all thy ways, He'll give thee strength, whate'er betide thee, And bear thee through the evil days; Who trusts in God's unchanging love, Builds on the rock that nought can move. GEORG NEUMARK IF we seek, indeed, that all our ways may be His ways, if we resolve and pray that we will keep to the path of obedience, of trust, of duty; then we know that His angels are in charge of us, and that they can bear us nowhere beyond our Father's eye, His hand, His care. Then we know that all worlds are His, all souls are His; we can trust to Him those He has taken from us, and know that when He has called them to pass out of our sight, He is with them still, to keep them in all their ways, even in that... Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:32:01 +0200 http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/God-s-Way/24/ http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/God-s-Way/24/ Source: Joy and Strength Scripture Reference: Deuteronomy 26:16   Deuteronomy 16:20   The Life of Obedience That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live. DEUTERONOMY 16:20 This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. DEUTERONOMY 26:16 NEVER pass by or palter with the clear voice of conscience, with the plain command of duty; never let it be doubtful to your own soul whether you be-long to the right side or wrong, whether you are a true soldier or a false traitor. Never deliberate about what is clearly wrong, and try to persuade yourself that it is not. FREDERICK TEMPLE The first resolve of one who gives himself wholly to God must be never to give way deliberately to any fault whatever; never to act in defiance of conscience, never to refuse anything God requires, never to say of... Mon, 23 Jun 2008 20:07:52 +0200 http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Voice-of-Conscience/23/ http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Voice-of-Conscience/23/ Source: Joy and Strength Scripture Reference: Psalm 84:11   Work to Abide The Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly. PSALMS 84:11 JUST to trust Him, this is all! Then the day will surely be Peaceful, whatsoe'er befall, Bright and blessed, calm and free. FRANCES R. HAVERGAL WHAT we should do is really, very often, to be still. And if we want something to make us more active and energetic, watchful and holy, I know but one thought, that is faith,--faith producing love. More trust and confidence and joy in God would be the secret--the only true or successful secret--of more goodness. And this should come quietly and calmly, not in great effort; this kingdom of God has come not with observation. Rest and quiet growth are what you want. JAMES HINTON Open wide every avenue of your being to receive the blessed influences your Divine Husbandman may... Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:54:28 +0200 http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Abide-in-Him/22/ http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Abide-in-Him/22/ True peace is when the soul revolves around its center, Almighty God, craving for nothing but what God continually supplies. Since the soul is large enough to contain the infinite God, nothing less than Himself can satisfy or fill it.                                                                                         ~ Edward B. Pusey Take your burdens, and troubles, and losses, and wrongs, if come they must and will, as your opportunities, knowing that God has girded you for greater things than these.                                                                                         ~ Horace Bushnell You find no difficulty in trusting the Lord with the management of the universe and all the outward creation, and can your case be any more difficult than these, that you need to be anxious about His management of... Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:32:02 +0200 http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/From-God-and-with-God/21/ http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/From-God-and-with-God/21/ Source: Joy and Strength Scripture Reference: Deuteronomy 33:27   Numbers 6:24-26   Experience His Rest The Lord bless thee, and keep thee; the Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. NUMBERS 6:24-26 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. DEUTERONOMY 33:27 THOU wilt in time experience that thou dost belong not only to this life, but also art capable of enjoying and beholding God and eternal things, to thy perfect contentment and rest. Thou wilt then fix thine eyes, like a little innocent child, upon the face of God, steadfastly and joyfully; and He in return, like a faithful and loving mother, will keep His eyes upon thee, by which thou wilt be made holy through and through, and transformed into the same image from glory to glory. All thy delight, joy, and bliss will be in God, and God, in return, will have His joy and good... Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:55:50 +0200 http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/God-s-Rest/20/ http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/God-s-Rest/20/ Source: Joy and Strength Scripture Reference: 2 Thessalonians 1:11   Found Worthy We pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of His goodness, and the work of faith with power. 2 THESSALONIANS 1:11 THOU settest us each task divine, We bless that helping hand of Thine, That strength by Thee bestowed. Thou minglest in the glorious fight; Thine own the cause! Thine own the might! We serve the Living God. THOMAS H. GILL EVERY hard effort generously faced, every sacrifice cheerfully submitted to, every word spoken under difficulties, raises those who speak or act or suffer to a higher level; endows them with a clearer sight of God; braces them with a will of more strength and freedom; warms them with a more generous and large and tender heart. HENRY P. LIDDON A man's best desires are always the index and measure of his possibilities; and the most difficult duty... Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:11:40 +0200 http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Found-Worthy/19/ http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/Found-Worthy/19/ Source: Joy and Strength Scripture Reference: Isaiah 58:9 The Lord Shall Answer Then shall thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am. ISAIAH 58:9 EVER quickly Thou dost hear Thy children's feeble cry, And dost keep them everywhere Beneath Thy watchful eye; And 'midst the worlds that lean on Thee Thou hast faithful thoughts of me. ANONYMOUS "HE will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry." That has comforted me often, more than any promise of answer; it includes answers, and a great deal more besides; it tells us what He is towards us, and that is more than what He will do. And the "cry" is not long, connected, thoughtful prayers, a cry is just an unworded dart upwards of the heart, and at that "voice" He will be very gracious. What a smile there is in these words! F. R. HAVERGAL He that hath not tempted you hitherto above your strength will... Sat, 31 May 2008 15:28:04 +0200 http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/The-Lord-s-Answer/18/ http://www.blogigo.com/fellowship/The-Lord-s-Answer/18/