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This collection of timeless quotes and Bible verses have been gathered with you in mind. You will have access to the writings of great Christians of early days and also great Christians of our times, right at your fingertips. It is my hope that your walk with God will be influenced in a very deep way as you go through those pages. 

Get this jam-packed treasure chest for less than the price of a cup of coffee, It is filled with a wide range of Bible verses listed by subjects. You will also get a section with Bible study helps along with a vast array of Christian quotes on various subjects such as: Blessings, character, children, marriage, contentment, faith, encouragement, friendship, life, love, God, the Church, Christ, salvation, The Holy Spirit, the soul, sin, virtues, God's Will, the spiritual life, spiritual walk, eternity, heaven, unbelief, spiritual gifts, leadership, eternal life, surrender, obedience ,loving God, marriage, prayer, relationship, and much more. Here is a list of names of puritans, classics and great theologians that you will find within the pages of this book: 

Brother Lawrence, C. S. Lewis, R. C. Sproul, Charles Colson, Charles Spurgeon, Dallas Willard, D. L Moody, D. Martyn LLoyd-Jones, DeWitt Talmage, Dietrick Bonhoeffer, E. M. Bounds, Henry Blackaby, John calvin, Ebenezer Erskine, F. B. Myer, F W Krummacher Francis Chan, G K Chesterton, J. C. Ryle, J. R. Miller, James Hudson Taylor, J. I. Packer, James Smith, Jerry bridges, John Piper, John Wesley, Johnathan Edwards, Leonard Ravenhill, Martin Luther, Mathew Henry, Paul Washer, John F MacArthur John Newton, Oswald Chambers, and much more 

Our Attitude Toward God’s Sovereignty – Part2

Arthur Pink

One Of Entire Submission

A true recognition of God's absolute sovereignty, will exclude all murmuring. This is self-evident—yet the thought deserves to be dwelt upon. It is natural to murmur against afflictions and losses. It is natural to complain when we are deprived of those things upon which we had set our hearts. We are apt to regard our possessions as ours unconditionally. We feel that when we have prosecuted our plans with prudence and diligence, that we are entitled to success; that when by dint of hard work we have accumulated a 'competence,' we deserve to keep and enjoy it; that when we are surrounded by a happy family, no power may lawfully enter the charmed circle and strike down a loved one. And if in any of these cases disappointment, bankruptcy, death, actually comes, the perverted instinct of the human heart is to cry out against God. But in the one who, by grace, has recognized God's sovereignty, such murmuring is silenced, and instead, there is a bowing to the Divine will, and an acknowledgment that He has not afflicted us as sorely as we deserve.

A true recognition of God's sovereignty will avow God's perfect right to do with us as He wills. The one who bows to the pleasure of the Almighty—will acknowledge His absolute right to do with us as seems good to Him. If He chooses to send poverty, sickness, domestic bereavements, even while the heart is bleeding at every pore—it will say, Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right! Often there will be a struggle, for the carnal mind remains in the believer to the end of his earthly pilgrimage. But though there may be a conflict within his breast, nevertheless, to the one who has really yielded himself to God's sovereignty, there will presently be heard that Voice saying, as of old it said to the turbulent Gennesaret, "Peace be still"; and the tempestuous flood within will be quieted and the subdued soul will lift a tearful but confident eye to heaven and say, "May Your will be done!"

A striking illustration of a soul bowing to the sovereign will of God, is furnished by the history of Eli, the high priest of Israel. In 1 Samuel 3 we learn how God revealed to the young child Samuel that He was about to slay Eli's two sons for their wickedness, and on the morrow Samuel communicates this message to the aged priest. It is difficult to conceive of more appalling news for the heart of a pious parent. The announcement that his child is going to be stricken down by sudden death is, under any circumstances, a great trial to any father—but to learn that his two sons—in the prime of their manhood, and utterly unprepared to die—were to be cut off by a Divine judgment, must have been overwhelming. Yet, what was the effect upon Eli when he learned from Samuel the tragic tidings? What reply did he make when he heard the awful news? "And he said, It is the Lord—let Him do what seems good to Him!" (1 Sam. 3:18). And not another word escaped his mouth. Wonderful submission! Sublime resignation! Lovely exemplification of the power of Divine grace to control the strongest affections of the human heart and subdue the rebellious will, bringing it into unrepining acquiescence to the sovereign pleasure of Jehovah.

Another example, equally striking, is seen in the life of Job. As is well known, Job was one who feared God and shunned evil. If ever there was one who might reasonably expect Divine providence to smile upon him, (we speak as a man,) it was Job. Yet, how did it fare with him? For a time, the lines fell in pleasant places unto him. The Lord filled his quiver by giving him seven sons and three daughters. He prospered him in his temporal affairs until he owned great possessions. But suddenly, the sun of life was hidden behind dark clouds. In a single day Job lost not only his flocks and herds—but his sons and daughters as well. News arrived that his cattle had been carried off by robbers, and his children slain by a cyclone. And how did he receive this news? Hearken to his sublime words, "The Lord gave—and the Lord has taken away!" He bowed to the sovereign will of Jehovah. He traced his afflictions back to their First Cause. He looked behind the Sabeans who had stolen his cattle, and beyond the winds that had destroyed his children—and saw the hand of God. But not only did Job recognize God's sovereignty, he rejoiced in it, too. To the words, "The Lord gave—and the Lord bath taken away," he added, "Blessed be the name of the Lord!" (Job 1:21). Again we say, Sweet submission! Sublime resignation!

A true recognition of God's sovereignty causes us to hold our every plan in abeyance to God's will. The writer well recalls an incident which occurred in England over twenty years ago. Queen Victoria was dead, and the date for the coronation of her eldest son, Edward, had been set for April 1902. In all the announcements which were sent out, two little letters were omitted— D. V. (Deo Volente) God willing. Plans were made and all arrangements completed for the most imposing celebrations that England had ever witnessed. Kings and emperors from all parts of the earth had received invitations to attend the royal ceremony. The Prince's proclamations were printed and displayed—but, so far as the writer is aware, the letters D. V. were not found on a single one of them. A most imposing program had been arranged, and the late Queen's eldest son was to be crowned Edward the Seventh at Westminster Abbey at a certain hour on a fixed day. And then God intervened, and all man's plans were frustrated. A still small voice was heard to say, "You have reckoned without Me," and Prince Edward was stricken down with appendicitis, and his coronation postponed for months!

As remarked, a true recognition of God's sovereignty causes us to hold our plans in abeyance to God's will. It makes us recognize that the Divine Potter has absolute power over the clay and molds it according to His own imperial pleasure. It causes us to heed that admonition—now, alas! so generally disregarded, "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." (James 4:13-15). Yes, it is to the Lord's will we must bow. It is for Him to say where I shall live—whether in America or Africa. It is for Him to determine under what circumstances I shall live—whether amid wealth or poverty, whether in health or sickness. It is for Him to say how long I shall live—whether I shall be cut down in youth like the flower of the field, or whether I shall continue for three score and ten years. To really learn this lesson is, by grace, to attain unto a high grade in the school of God; and even when we think we have learned it, we discover, again and again, that we have to relearn it!

Our Attitude Toward God's Sovereignty - Part1

Arthur Pink

 One of Implicit Obedience

A sight of God leads to a realization of our littleness and nothingness, and issues in a sense of dependency and of casting ourselves upon God. Again, a view of the Divine Majesty promotes the spirit of godly fear and this, in turn, begets an obedient walk. Here then is the Divine antidote for the native evil of our hearts. Naturally, man is filled with a sense of his own importance, with his greatness and self-sufficiency; in a word, with pride and rebellion. But, as we remarked, the great corrective is to behold the Mighty God, for this alone will really humble him. Man will glory either in himself or in God. Man will live either to serve and please himself, or he will seek to serve and please the Lord. None can serve two masters.

Irreverence begets disobedience. Said the haughty monarch of Egypt, "Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord; neither will I let Israel go!" (Exodus 5:2). To Pharaoh, the God of the Hebrews was merely a god—one among many, a powerless entity who needed not to be feared or served. How sadly mistaken he was, and how bitterly he had to pay for his mistake—he soon discovered! But what we are here seeking to emphasize is, that Pharaoh's defiant spirit was the fruit of irreverence, and this irreverence was the consequence of his ignorance of the majesty and authority of the Divine Being.

Now if irreverence begets disobedience, true reverence will produce and promote obedience. To realize that the Holy Scriptures are a revelation from the Most High, communicating to us His mind and defining for us His will, is the first step toward practical godliness. To recognize that the Bible is God's Word, and that its precepts are the precepts of the Almighty, will lead us to see what an awful thing it is to despise and ignore them. To receive the Bible as addressed to our own souls, given to us by the Creator Himself, will cause us to cry with the Psalmist, "Incline my heart unto Your testimonies. Order my steps in Your Word" (Psalm 119:36, 133). Once the sovereignty of the Author of the Word is apprehended, it will no longer be a matter of picking and choosing from the precepts and statutes of that Word, selecting those which meet with our approval; but it will be seen that nothing less than an unqualified and whole-hearted submission befits the creature.

What ought to be our attitude toward the Sovereignty of God?

Spiritual Maturity Through the Valleys

I decided to share this little poem which I found in the devotional “Springs in the Valley” because back in the days, when I was losing everything that I possessed, Jeremiah 29:11 was one of my favorite verses.

 “'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”

My understanding of the verse was so far from God’s intention. I could not even imagine that the calamity that my life had become was God’s plan for my welfare, to give me a future and a hope.

I also like the fact that, even though the writer has long passed away and was born in the 1800 era, God’s way has never changed. More than a century down the road, her life experience was about dark days, surrender and abiding life. Because this has been my path for so many years now, the poem is encouraging for the reason that, sometimes it is not easy to follow after God. Through my journey with Him, I learned that those verses of the Bible are not there to make my life easier and more comfortable. As I let Him do His work in me, He is able to get rid of my corrupted view and understanding.

At the end of the day, even though it is a hard life that God has put me on, I will cherish it and rejoice in the pain the sufferings and all the lost that I have incurred. Through the hardships and His teaching, I learned the difference between mature Christians vis a vis God and mature Christians vis a vis man. Spiritual maturity is acquired through learning to persevere when the shadows in the deep valleys never end. It is acquired when you truly learn from Him how to live this life with Him alone as your hope and there is nothing else left to hang on to, except the hope of this life in Him. It is also acquired, when we learn to abide there, at His feet, in a life of surrender and oneness. As He infuses your soul with His character, you cannot help but rejoice in the suffering because your soul can see the beauty that is being produced in you. A mature Christian is one that is established, strengthened and settled and it is forged mainly from the valleys of this journey.  

Poem From: -Freda Hanbury Alle
"The love of God a perfect planIs planning now for thee,It holds a "future and a hope,"Which yet thou canst not see. Though for a season, in the dark,He asks thy perfect trust,E'en that thou in surrender "layThy treasure in the dust," Yet He is planning all the while,Unerringly He guidesThe life of him, who holds His willMore dear than all besides. Trust were not trust if thou couldst seeThe ending of the way,Nor couldst thou learn His songs by night,Were life one radiant day. Amid the shadows here He worksThe plan designed above,"A future and a hope" for theeIn His exceeding love. "A future"-- abiding fruit,With loving kindness crowned;"A hope"-- which shall thine own transcend,As Heaven the earth around. Though veiled as yet, one day thine eyesShall see His plan unfold,And clouds that darkened once the pathShall shine with Heaven's gold. Enriched to all eternityThe steadfast soul shall stand,That, "unoffended", trusted HimWho all life's pathway planned. I have an heritage of bliss,Which yet I may not see;The Hand that bled to make it mine,Is keeping it for me." -Freda Hanbury Alle

I Live To Know You Lord Should Be our Motto as Christians!

Today I was reading Deuteronomy 27-29, I found several verses such as:

Deut. 28:9 "The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.” Here is what Matthew Henry has to say about it.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

“Deut. 28:1-14 - This chapter is a very large exposition of two words, the blessing and the curse. They are real things and have real effects. The blessings are here put before the curses. God is slow to anger, but swift to show mercy. It is his delight to bless. It is better that we should be drawn to what is good by a child-like hope of God's favour, than that we be frightened to it by a slavish fear of his wrath. The blessing is promised, upon condition that they diligently hearken to the voice of God. Let them keep up religion, the form and power of it, in their families and nation, then the providence of God would prosper all their outward concerns.”

Deut. 28:47 “If you do not serve the LORD your God with joy and enthusiasm for the abundant benefits you have received,”

I like this verse because it shows how God expects to be served and worshiped. But if we have not learned to be grateful for who He is and what He has done for us through Christ, we end up living the type of Christianity where we feel obligated to fulfill our obligations to Him. So, while we are religious, we are so resistant to changes that the Holy Spirit cannot make a dent in us. The real love, the enthusiasm and the joy of it all will always be missing in our walk.

Deut. 28:63 “Just as the LORD has found great pleasure in causing you to prosper and multiply, the LORD will find pleasure in destroying you. You will be torn from the land you are about to enter and occupy.”

This verse might sound off a bit to some, and we might even question God. But this is who God is.  His love and wrath has the same intensity. So, yes He will find pleasure in destroying them. The pleasure comes from the fact that He simply has no tolerance for wickedness and His Holiness demands it. For us Christian our wickedness comes from the fact that we want to butt heads with Him at any cost, because we have His promises and He cannot lie.

This kind of Christianity is drilled into us day in day out. Most Churches today, along with social media, and everywhere on the internet we find joy in claiming verses we like, that speak of His promises. In reality, these verses do not stand by themselves as they are not complete. We learned to cultivate that mentality where we think He owes us something and we can get away with murder.  God has no tolerance for this kind of self-serving Salvation. The hearts of the Israelites were not right with Him, just as us today. When we insist on having our way instead of His, well, we share in the same symptoms and diseases as the Israelites. Like God showed me, there is a big difference between those who love Him and will be losing some rewards, and those who do not love Him at all as if Salvation never touched their hearts.

Moses example is one that shows Moses love for God, but his disobedience caused him not to see the Promised Land. VS God, destroying the Israelites because of their lack of love for Him, they could not follow at all.  God does not expect us to be perfect until we die because perfection belongs to Him. But, we have to learn to examine ourselves, not through our eyes, but His.

ON ANOTHER NOTE….

I shared with you in yesterday’s post. God touched my heart and I understand that I made it all sound so bad, as if God has not done anything good for me while I am waiting on Him, upon Him and for Him. The reality is that He showered blessings on me through my two sons. The past three months have been incredible. Each news I received from them is earth shattering.  There has been a lot as if God has opened a flow of blessings from heaven.

Last week I was praying and asking God how long will I have to wait? I even told Him whenever He tells me to do something, I do it, and then it is like He uses my obedience to humble me in a way that things always turn sort of sour for me. In His defense, I have to say, even though my life is truly rough and my soul could use a break from this divine training, I still pray for Him to keep me where I am. My relentless prayer goes along this line: “Teach me and train me to be like Paul so that I, too, have no aim, no end and no purpose but you my Lord.” Yes, it seems crazy that after such a long period of time I am still spending long hours with God asking Him to make me this person.

I have to be honest, there was a time I stopped praying this way because I realized God was giving me the desires of my heart, in a painful way. After a few months of not praying this kind of prayer,  God showed me how my heart was letting Him go slowly as my first love. The only thing that had changed was the way I prayed on purpose I avoided this kind of prayer.  Because God has given me the ability to touch His heart, I am able to feel His pain and joy, (only when He wants to) which is both a blessing and a curse as far as I am concerned. I had no choice but to stop the pain that I was causing Him and go back to praying Him to keep me like Paul with no aim, no end and no purpose but Him. Since then, I never deviated from the path.

So during my prayer time last week while I was talking to God as if He had forgotten me in the waiting process, I felt suddenly a flow of peace all over me. This awesome, still, peaceful and comforting voice told me “it has to be this way for now my child, but have you noticed that you are not forgotten because all the blessings that should come to you is happening to your children?” I was speechless for a moment. Then, I realized it is true; God has blessed my two boys so much. Yet, even in the midst of all these news I had received, I saw these things as “my children’s own lives” and did not associate them with me at all.

Right after that, I went to my laptop I found an email that my son sent to us his parents and wife together to announce another major news in his life. I checked the time to see when the email came in; it was less than a minute. I grabbed the phone to call him. He told me he was about to call his wife when he saw my number, needless to say he was surprised with the speed of my phone call. As I talked to him all I could see was how everything my boy touches turns into blessings in his life. It is unreal how God lined up people on his path to accomplish His will in his life.

I did not stay on the phone because I wanted him to call his wife and rejoice in the news together. As I hung up the phone God confirmed in my heart how my son’s life is about me and my walk with Him. Something inside of me could not take it anymore and I wept from the depth of my soul for about half an hour. My tears were tears of joy, couple with how real God is and how awesome my God is. If I were to list all that has happened in my two boys lives, it would look like I am bragging. Even today as I am writing this post today, I still cannot believe someone like me would have ever had the blessings that I received through them.

My point is, it is not all that bad while someone could look at my life and ask where is my God, but I know He has not abandoned me. No matter how hard things are for me, I would not have it any other way because it brings joy to my Savior.

When you read Deuteronomy 29: 24-29 I rejoice in the way He ends it. These verses tell us what people will say about the Israelites. Notice while these people will say those things in verses 24 28, they will not understand why God is doing all that He is doing in the Israelites lives because they are not privy to the whole story. So, in verse 29 He says: Deut.29:29 "The LORD our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.”

Deuteronomy 26:16-19 - Our God is a Changeless God!

Today I read Deuteronomy chapters 19 to 26. I got some verses I noted, that go right through the heart of God’s Salvation for the Israelites in the Old Testament time and global Salvation for all in the New Testament.

Deuteronomy 26:16-19

“Today the Lord your God has commanded you to obey all these decrees and regulations. So be careful to obey them wholeheartedly.  You have declared today that the Lord is your God. And you have promised to walk in his ways, and to obey his decrees, commands, and regulations, and to do everything he tells you. The Lord has declared today that you are his people, his own special treasure, just as he promised, and that you must obey all his commands.  And if you do, he will set you high above all the other nations he has made. Then you will receive praise, honor, and renown. You will be a nation that is holy to the Lord your God, just as he promised.”

As I read these verses above, I don’t know about you, but I am excited. Why? Because even the Israelites who were under the law were called to the same process we are called to. Personally, when I read the Old Testament I am overwhelmed with rules and regulations. Yet, it was never about the rules and regulations and it was always about making sure the word of God penetrated their hearts until the law became part of their inner beings to change their attitude and transform them.

I have goose bumps as I write this, because my God is a changeless God! Can you recognize when we do not understand God’s grace and hide behind this “man made kind of cheap grace” idea that has taken the Church by storm, God cannot be pleased? The Puritans, along with Paul and the other apostles would be disgusted with us today. Sadly, we forget, being under grace bring us to a point where we are more accountable to God than the Israelites were because through Christ death, He can live it out in us.

If Christ, who is in you, doesn’t change your attitude and your inner life as you watch yourself growing spiritually in a phenomenal way on the inside, then Christ’s death makes no difference in your life. I do not mean growing in Bible reading and taking on more work in the church to feel like you are doing something for God. We got to make sure we are right with Him on the inside first before we live it out on the outside. Anything that shows itself on the outside should be because of who we are inside. Otherwise, all that we offer to Him, day in day out will be in the flesh. From the Old to the New Testament God has never accepted anything in the flesh. For us Christians it is only when it is offered to Him through Christ who is living freely in our lives with no hindrances, no lip service, no manipulation, no camouflage and no reservation. We leave it all behind and go to Him just as we are. In our mind, will and heart, we are totally bankrupt because there is no free will left; Christ is lifted up and given His rightful place.  We go empty handed to the One who loves us. In the end, He wants our best, not the rest.

I love saying to people “get with the program” in reality, the Christian life is a life where we all need to get with the program. I don’t know about you, but this song that we sing all the time at Church when there is an alter call “Just as I am without one plea, oh Lamb of God I come!” I sing it all the time, not because I don’t have the assurance of salvation and not because it is my favorite song. But, when you learn what it means to wait for God for years and He keeps testing you day in day out, it is easy to lose patience. It is easy to pack it all up and say the heck with everything.  So, I need to sing this song to my Lord and Saviour, because every day is an opportunity to offer our lives to Him, just as we are. When my life is too heavy for me, when people keep hurting me, when I am misunderstood, used and thrown away, when I feel alone and He is so far away that it feels like He is a figment of my imagination. When I feel abandoned by Him and I am tired of waiting, I usually sing this song.

I get there, because I know, no matter how this life is painful, so painful sometimes, even the verse of Jeremiah 29: 11 does not do anything for me, if anything it sounds more like empty words with no meaning whatsoever in my life. Times like that, I know I am getting in over my head and if I give in, I will go through a pity party with a one way ticket. So, like a brainless child, I go back to Him with this song and dump it all at His feet. The song brings me back to what is real and to what I know. While my feelings can betray me, I know how real He is even if I cannot recall it now. I know for sure for the past nine years or so, the most I have spent without seeing a spiritual growth spurt, is about two months. Strangely, when I feel I am at my lowest that is when I grow almost daily. Using the song to bring myself back to a level where I can endure is His grace at work in me.

Another reason for me to go back to Him in faith and humility, is because I believe in His promises, I can claim them, own them and hang on to them with every fiber of my being, because KNOW I am living the life He put before me. Like David in Psalm 119:9-60 “I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow your laws. I will hurry, without delay, to obey your commands.” I live to do His will alone, to bring Him glory to worship Him with all that I am and to know Him. So, I delight in His word. His word is truly a lamp unto my feet; so, I can stand before Him with no shame, doubt and fear knowing that, this is my life before Him.  As I read psalm 119 today, many of those verses brought tears to my eyes because I can see myself so much.

One thing with God is that even though there is so much pain in the offering. You feel like an idiot because it is almost like there is something within you that is driving you right back to Him, in spite of it all. Incidentally, I know it is the life of Christ within.  But what is strange, is that if people could see into your heart, and knew the pain God testing has brought into your life. If they truly knew your business in a much deeper way, they would plainly accuse you of believing in pain because you keep going back for more of what look like on the outside “more pain.” But, it is part of being one with Christ, having a life set on Him at any cost by any way He leads, He then restrains you through His grace. 2 Chronicles 16:9a “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. He then restrains you through His grace. While you are in pain, instead of running away, you run right back to Him even though you know it means “more pain”

So, if the Lord is your God, and you have promised to walk in His ways, to obey His decrees, commands, and regulation, then do everything He tells you to do. Stop lying to yourself, life is too short.

Psalm 119:97-109

Oh, how I love your instructions!
    I think about them all day long.
⁹⁸ Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
    for they are my constant guide.
⁹⁹ Yes, I have more insight than my teachers,
    for I am always thinking of your laws.
¹⁰⁰ I am even wiser than my elders,
    for I have kept your commandments.
¹⁰¹ I have refused to walk on any evil path,
    so that I may remain obedient to your word.
¹⁰² I haven’t turned away from your regulations,
    for you have taught me well.
¹⁰³ How sweet your words taste to me;
    they are sweeter than honey.
¹⁰⁴ Your commandments give me understanding;
    no wonder I hate every false way of life.

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to guide my feet
    and a light for my path.
¹⁰⁶ I’ve promised it once, and I’ll promise it again:
    I will obey your righteous regulations.
¹⁰⁷ I have suffered much, O Lord;
    restore my life again as you promised.
¹⁰⁸ Lord, accept my offering of praise,
    and teach me your regulations.
¹⁰⁹ My life constantly hangs in the balance,
    but I will not stop obeying your instructions.

Just as I Am, Without One Plea

Text: Charlotte Elliott, 1789-1871 
Music: William B. Bradbury, 1816-1868 

        Just as I am, without one plea, 

        but that thy blood was shed for me, 

        and that thou bidst me come to thee, 

        O Lamb of God, I come, I come. 

2.      Just as I am, and waiting not 

        to rid my soul of one dark blot, 

        to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, 

        O Lamb of God, I come, I come. 

3.      Just as I am, though tossed about 

        with many a conflict, many a doubt, 

        fightings and fears within, without, 

        O Lamb of God, I come, I come. 

4.      Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind; 

        sight, riches, healing of the mind, 

        yea, all I need in thee to find, 

        O Lamb of God, I come, I come. 

5.      Just as I am, thou wilt receive, 

        wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; 

        because thy promise I believe, 

        O Lamb of God, I come, I come. 

6.      Just as I am, thy love unknown 

        hath broken every barrier down; 

        now, to be thine, yea thine alone, 

        O Lamb of God, I come, I come. 

Faith - Part 10/10

Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Faith is not as easy as we think it is. It is so easy for us to criticize the Israelites for not trusting God when they could not find water, just three days after they have had such great experiences with God. The only way we can understand why it was so hard for them to do something that appear so simple is to walk a mile in their shoes. Faith is not that easy when your life depends on it.

When I was led to a place where I truly had to trust God and believe with all my life that it was the right thing for me to lose everything, become penniless, homeless and jobless the first thing I said to Him was “ you mean I have to believe for real?”  I was not trying to be funny or clever. Those words came out of my mouth simply because I came face to face with my idea of faith and God’s idea. My idea of faith consisted of words, experiences, activities, emotions and so on and it was all beautiful as far as I was concerned and also for people observing me. There was no effort, no building up on faith, no trying to do anything that was peculiar, no God to impress, no letting go of my common sense and believe anything mystical about this Christian life.

When I uttered the words “you want me to believe for real?” All of the sudden I realized He was asking me to trust someone that no one has ever seen. He was asking me to believe those words that I have been reading in the Bible which were inspired by an invisible God. He was asking me to believe all those things I have been reading about Salvation and Christ truly died and most of all I had to believe that He truly ascended into heaven.  Yes, by the time He asked me to believe and bet my life on Him, I was experiencing Him and He was so real to me, but that’s not faith either. I found myself asking Him “but, how do I know you are not a figment of my imagination?” The reason we have this “fight and flight” response when God is testing our faith, it is because everything about faith defy logic and when common sense is out of the windows we have nothing else to go on.

When we look at Hebrews 11:6 most of us go through it and do not even think twice about what we are repeating. It was a frightening thing for me to master just this tiny part of the verse which is: “For he that comes to God must believe that he is.”   Do you realize even the demons are ahead of us? They believe so much that they shudder in the presence of Christ. You might think that this is beside the point that I am trying to make in this post. But it is not. The reason is, throughout my walk with God I never lose sight of the fact that even demons shudder in Christ’s presence and they live with great reverence toward God. So, I need to know that my walk goes further than that and the only way it is going to differentiate me from the demons is what I decide to do with my trust in Him and how well I am going to accept His leadership. In that sense, His leadership has to become a reality in my life and yours. I will never be content with an assumption that I am probably being led by Him.

I did not trust God right away and I spent days weighing things and trying to work it all out in my heart. One day, the Holy Spirit knew I was struggling with the idea of banking real life and real consequences with an invisible God that might not be real.” The compassion of the Holy Spirit was out of this world, with so much understanding and tenderness, He said “Jess” look into your heart, don’t try to understand with your mind but think about the changes that you know happened within you. Are these real changes? I had to say yes because few minutes at the feet of God is worth months of learning and changes on the inside. I knew I had become a different person because I had a spiritual relationship with Him. This life was mine and no one could take it away from my heart and I knew for a fact, this inward change and spiritual relationship were not my imagination. So, the Holy Spirit said then hold onto to what you know is true in this relationship and take the next step of faith with Him, this part of you that you cherish so much has been given to you by this invisible God you are doubting right now.  Only then, I knew I could trust Him for the next step.

Notice something, when I was not able to trust Him I did not get busy trying my earnest to bury what was going on in my life, through friends, social media, time spent on the internet or church activities.  I stayed close to Him and continued my Bible and prayer time along with mediation with a heart ready and willing to receive more instructions.  Another thing I found out, God is happy when we trust Him, but He is glorified when we trust right away within thinking twice about what He asks of us. So, He keeps taking us through more testing and as time goes by, we too we can see how fast we react in trusting His leading.  But, even when God is taking us through further testing, I find that sometimes we are totally oblivious to what He is doing until we take our focus off of us and look onto Jesus.

Throughout the years God has never let go and has always been by my side. It turns out, I never had to be on the streets because God had chosen a place for me to go and He prepared this person to receive me. But when you are dealing with a mean drunk who is always looking for the next fight, it is not easy.  While God prepared the heart of this person to give me a place to live, He did not take away his need to blackmail me day in day out. Everyday I lived with a constant reminder that I can be out on the streets.  As anxieties set in, it took me a few weeks to understand that I had no right to panic.

One day I received the usual threats and I was shown the doors, all of the sudden I realized that I have been living with anxieties in my heart instead of trusting God. I remember stopping what I was doing and instead of getting upset or taking the doors like I was told, one verse came to mind and I thought about the lilies of the valleys. Then I told myself, if God takes care of them, I am so much more than a lily to Him. I realized I had an extraordinary opportunity to once again trust His word and have faith in Him. I can smile about it now when I see how much God used this man’s meanness to keep testing my faith in Him until my faith was as strong as an oak tree.

God used this person's character to keep me deeper in my surrendering. There, I found not only there are three levels of surrendering to God but after a while you learn to live a life totally abandoned to Him. (& yes I found out there was a major spiritual difference between living the surrendered life and a life of complete abandonment to His will.)  I personally learned that the life of total abandonment resemble to the life of a branch attached to the tree of life and sucking everything needed to survive and flourish. No, you are not perfect, and you can step out of the abandoned life once in a while but the beauty of living a life totally abandoned to Him, is that you know when you step out of Him, because you are like a fish out of water.

I also learned, the faith that God is looking for has nothing to do with the opportunities we create for ourselves while forging our own footprints. Because, true faith is always about not knowing and not seeing, yet you chose to believe and walk the path however hard and in spite of the consequences. Our faith is directly related to our obedience to God‘s word.  Throughout the Bible faith is never about how well we believed in the past, but how well we pass today’s test of faith, Christianity is a continuous spiritual fight to keep your faith renewed in Him daily.

Brothers and sisters there is nothing glorious about my life, it is actually full of shame and hardships. I poured my heart out to you and shared my shame because if God could use my story to bring your forward and stop a man-made Christian walk, if you can end up in His arms of love, then glory to Him! You and I will not only meet in heaven but we will be right there serving as royalty, by His side.

 In His Agape Love & Service

MJ