The Beauty of Scripture

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God ~ Matthew 5:8 Our heart is the region in which purity is found, for our heart is where our desires, affections, or our sin, is located. Those whom have a pure heart have a heart devoid of hate, or greed of gain, and of lust and want. Our heart will determine our outcome – for good or for evil. Jesus said we must guard our heart, and it is so. We are to ensure on a daily basis, sometimes an hourly one, that our thoughts and intents are for good for self and for others, and especially toward God. All we do in work, in our free time of enjoyment, in community with one another, must be guarded so that we do not live with an undivided heart. Our hearts must reflect the inward light of Christ. We do know we see only partially, “through a glass”, and our hearts are not perfect, we allow God’s Spirit to work in us and through us, and one day, we will be perfected in Christ. Until then, in that glass, we behold “the glory of the Lord.” ...

Let all your things be done with clarity ~ 1 Corinthians 16:14 This verse belongs directly to the verse above it, which calls us to stand fast in the faith, to be strong, like ‘men.’ So, really, we are to watch and be clear in all we do, all we say, all we think. We are to watch our relationship with God and be clear in His majesty, His relationship with us, that he is our Father, our Saviour, our Redeemer. We are to watch and be clear that we are never led astray to think of God as a mere ‘play toy’ in the sky, at the ready to bend to our command. We are then to watch and be clear in our prayer time…that we are seeking His face before we seek His hand, that we grant to him the honour and awe he is due, that we acknowledge he knows all things, is in all things, is above all things, and he knows what is best for all things, especially you and me. And, we are to be clear and watchful for our soul. Listen to the still small voice within, be clear that what we listen to and watch, ...

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires ~ Romans 8:5 Our hearts must be set and ready to obey God and His commandments. If we are to please Him, we must obey Him. How sad and shallow is this age in which we live. ‘I would rather do my thing than to obey God’, is what we say these days. ‘God has no place in my life, or in my decisions. If it is right for me, if it is my truth, I will do it, inconsequential to you, or to a higher faith, or to God himself. I decide what and how I will live my life’. How misguided they are. This is not love, it is not even self-love, for often the truth they follow is distorted and full of lies simply because its foundation is weak. Our only firm foundation is found in God, in His statutes, in following His way. The Bible says, ‘The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed’ (1 Samuel 2...

Therefore I say to you, take no thought for your life,  what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor for your body, what you will wear ~ Matthew 6:25 How strange for Jesus to say this to us! How many of us are able to really obey this command? For the truth is, the world is in our heart. We cannot escape thinking about the world, and most of us are mastered by this world in our natural instincts. So, what did Jesus mean by these words then, if our instincts, our nature, lead us to think and be oft times consumed by a world which grasps at our greed and selfishness? First, Jesus does not tell us to not do anything for ourselves. We must eat, be clothed, and drink water or our bodies will fail us. These we are to do to care for ourselves. What we are not to do is to have confidence in the self for these objects of life – we must plant, and sow, and reap, but we are not the one’s who make it grow. It is a gift from God who gives us the corn or the wheat, or the clothing. He a...

For my yoke is easy, and My burden is light ~ Matthew 11:30 This is a call to rest. But it is also a call to labour! It is a contradiction, yet the two are also blended together. You see, our road is not always easy, but our rest is found in faith in Jesus Christ, and the labour we become involved in is a labour of love. This is because the yoke is not necessarily the relief, but it is the condition of Christ who bears it. The secret is not in the yoke, but in the person. And the result? Divine power! The yoke is hard until the love with it takes the hardness away, for as we put it on we find the One who walks by our side. Our ears hear then the voice of our Lord, and He guides us in our walk. Why then is God’s burden light? The Lord takes our burden, the heavy, oppressive crushing burden, and lifts it from us. That burden may be sin, it may be grief and heartache, but it is lifted then onto the shoulders of Christ as He takes the largest share. He is the “Burden-bearer, the Ca...

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not to your own understanding ~ Proverbs 3:5 It is called the “Grace of Humility.” And of course, humility must be right, though some might think otherwise. Some might think humility will interfere with our activity or success in life. Others may think it works against and is in fact hostile to the claim of our intellect and efforts stemming from our mind. Yet, humility is not either – it is not the lack of thinking or doing; it is not to claim my idle ways. What I forfeit by destroying my self-reliance is more than recovered when I trust in the strong arm of God, my LORD. In fact, when I humble myself before God, my mental energy is increased as He leads me and guides me in His way, rather than my own. Not one of us can take care of ourselves. If I am my own master, what responsibility I have claimed! I cannot truly undertake the direction of my life, let alone another’s life. Bad advice is still bad advice if we have not searche...

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me ~ Psalm 51:10-12 Dear Readers; I am taking a short break from the writing of my daily devotionals. There are times when we need to rest and rejuvenate in the Lord, and I feel this is what I must do. I will be back, but I do not know when. Thank you for following and reading my blogs. I pray they have uplifted you. May the Spirit of God rest upon you until we meet again. Pastor Julia

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland (Isaiah 43:19 NIV) I love this scripture! It is so full of hope and joy! Years ago, my Grandmother Maguire gave me a devotional she had read daily called, Streams in the Desert, written by Mrs. Charles Cowman, a missionary wife. I have often gone through this little book, but not for several years now, but it is full of inspiring messages, named after the scripture we read today. This verse excites my spirit, for every day is a new day and we do not know what lies ahead of us! What joys will it bring, what changes? What sorrows lurk around the corner, and what adventures will the Lord lead me toward? How will He grow me, challenge me, instruct me? All these questions I have as a new day makes its debut in my life! I love the Lord and how He brings about wonderful things out of the desert land! What about you? Where do you think the Lord is goi...

Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up ~ Proverbs 12:25 Anxiety is a common issue in today’s world. I heard just yesterday that 5-year-old children are now needing counseling for anxiety. A five-year-old is now stressed! What is happening to our world that little children, whom should be living a care-free life are now in the position of needing counseling for stress? If they are stressed, how stressed and anxious are the rest of our population? I know when problems strike it is necessary that we give in to a heaviness of heart. It is a natural position of life, but it also disallows us to see clearly. Depression, despondency in the heart disqualifies us from the ability to thank God, for our eyes are looking downward rather than upward toward Him. If we find we are in this place without the outward real problem, but from an internal imagination, how much more are we sinning against God in our anxious thoughts? These are the times when we need the encourage...

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin ~ 1 John 1:7 My dog loves her walks. She does not care where we go, so long as we get out and walk, and so long as she can smell all the odours which are undetectable to me. There is no definite direction in her mind; the smells lead her on. When I go for a walk alone, I have a direction, a purpose in view. I am heading somewhere, and that somewhere is specific. So it is as we walk with Christ. We set out to accomplish what it is God has led us toward, which first of all, is to model the life of Jesus in our daily walk. On this journey of life, we fellowship with our Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Our fellowship is a mutual time together, it is two-sided as we converse with God and He with us. As we draw closer to Him, so He draws closer to us. As we are led by the Spirit into His transforming power, so we become more like...