THE FATHER'S LOVE LETTER TO YOU

In a world of much uncertainty one thing is true, God knows everything about you: everything you have ever done; everything you have ever said; and every thought you have ever had. He is an awesome God! Here is a love letter to you.

My Child, You may not know me, but I know everything about you (Psalm 139.1)


I know when you sit down and when you rise up (Psalm 139.2)

I am familiar with all your ways (Psalm 139.3)

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered (Matthew 10.29-31)

For you were made in my image (Genesis 1.27)

In me you live and move and have your being (Acts 17.28)

For you are my offspring (Acts 17.28)

I knew you even before you were conceived Jeremiah (1.4-5)

I chose you when I planned creation (Ephesians 1.11-12)

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book (Psalm 139.15-16)

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live (Acts 17.26)


You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139.14)

I knit you together in your mother's womb (Psalm 139.13)

And brought you forth on the day you were born (Psalm 71.6)

I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me (John 8.41-44)

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love (1 John 4.16)

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you (1 John 3.1)

Simply because you are my child and I am your Father (1 John 3.1)

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could (Matthew 7.11)

For I am the perfect father (Matthew 5.48)

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand (James 1.17)

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs (Matthew 6.31-33)

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope (Jeremiah 29.11)

Because I love you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31.3)

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore.(Psalms 139.17-18)

And I rejoice over you with singing (Zephaniah 3.17)

I will never stop doing good to you (Jeremiah 32.40)

For you are my treasured possession (Exodus 19.5)

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul Jeremiah (32.41)

And I want to show you great and marvellous things (Jeremiah 33.3)

If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me (Deuteronomy 4.29)

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37.4)

For it is I who gave you those desires (Philippians 2.13)

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine (Ephesians 3.20)

For I am your greatest encourager (2 Thessalonians 2.16-17)

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles (2 Corinthians 1.3-4)

When you are broken-hearted, I am close to you (Psalm 34.18)

As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart (Isaiah 40.11)
  
One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes (Revelation 21.3-4)

And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth (Revelation 21.3-4)

I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus (John 17.23)

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed (John 17.26)

He is the exact representation of my being (Hebrews 1.3)

He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you (Romans 8.31)

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins (2 Corinthians 5.18-19)

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled (2 Corinthians 5.18-19)

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you (1 John 4.10)

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love (Romans 8.31-32)

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me (1 John 2.23)

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again (Romans 8.38-39)

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen (Luke 15.7

I have always been Father, and will always be Father (Ephesians 3.14-15)

My question is "Will you be my child?" (John 1.12-13)

I am waiting for you (Luke 15.11-32)


Love, Your Dad.

Almighty God

MORE THAN I CAN BEAR

Dear Friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:12-13) 

Are you facing troubles so difficult you feel one tiny straw more added to your load could cause you to break? Do you find no matter which way you turn, there is no escape and the walls of tragedy are closing in? 
Tell it to Jesus.
When you bolster all your strength and courage and try to carry the load, do you succumb to it instead and crumble beneath the weight?
Tell it to Jesus.
Think of how Jesus carried the cross and took upon his shoulders the burdens of all humankind. Jesus didn't remain under that load. He went miles beyond the cross. By dying and rising from the grave, He set us free from all this.
He invites us to take His yoke upon us so he can make our burdens light. When we do this, we allow Him to shoulder our load. Before Long, we learn to synchronize our actions and motives within His will. The massive burdens may not lift right away, but be assured Jesus is near. In the same way He carried His Cross, He helps us carry our loads today.

                                    Taken from the book:
                        "WHEN GOD SEE'S ME THROUGH"
                             Devotional Thoughts on God's
                                   Faithfulness for Women
                                 BY ANITA CORRINE DONIHUE

                                                        

                               LEAVE IT THERE:

                         Leave it there, leave it there,

                        Take your burdens to the Lord

                                  and leave it there.

                        If you trust and never doubt,

                       He will surely bring you out.

                       Take your burden to the Lord

                                and leave it there.

                          (CHARLES A. TINDLEY, 1916)

                     MAKE MY BURDENS YOURS, LORD
These burdens I carry are too heavy for me to handle any longer, Lord. I am going to break under the load. Shoulder them with me, I pray. Make my burdens Yours.
             I don't have to worry about giving you a load that's too heavy. You, Lord, are greater than all. Now I wholeheartedly give You this burden and thank You. I already feel relieved, as though hundreds of pounds have been removed from my shoulders.
In Jesus Name Amen.

                    

Daily Promises

This encouraged me today. Hope it encourages you.

"Daily Promises
Blue Letter Bible
October 27, 2010
The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. (Psalms 34:15)


God recognized us. Often times we do not see any sign of God answering our petitions, yet He hears our cries and deals with them specifically in His own way. Though we might not be constantly thinking of God, we are always in His thoughts as He hears our requests for help."

This Journey

This Journey:
By Meg Massey, Morning Cup With Meg
Posted: 23 Oct 2010 10:10 PM PDT

When I received word that I would be writing a guest post for (in)courage, my heart was overcome with emotion. The literature major in me came alive. I imagined the poetry that would spring from my heart. I would be wise like Lewis, as contemplative as Thoreau, and as in awe of the very stuff of creation as Dillard.

But when I put pen to paper, the words did not come.

As I struggled to share the thoughts that were in my heart, I turned to previous posts and comments shared by so many wonderful women at (in)courage. Posts and thoughts that have touched me, encouraged me, caused me to move forward with hope.

And then it hit me.

Many of us are struggling.

Many of us have hurts from wounds of the past.

Many of us are searching for purpose, wondering what the future holds.

Many of us feel afraid to share our pain, fearful of rejection. Fearful that no one will understand.

I myself fall into all of the above categories.

It’s strange how often we feel alone in our struggles. That thought, No one understands what I am going through, is dangerous and painfully isolating. And it is from the enemy.

When we become convinced that we are alone in our trials, we begin comparing ourselves to those whom we perceive have better lives, jobs, healthier marriages, closer walks with the Lord…

And that’s when the real trouble starts.

Resentment builds walls around fractured hearts.

Bitterness consumes our thoughts.

Communities, the friendships we so desperately need, fall apart.

And that’s when guilt creeps in, peaking over our shoulders, whispering, “Aren’t you a believer? Shouldn’t you be happy all the time? Aren’t you supposed to love your brothers and sisters in Christ?”

All the while, the reality is that we are all walking this journey. No one has “made it” or “figured it out.”

But there is One who has walked this journey. He “figured it out” before you and I breathed our first breaths. There is One who knows the answers. And His name is Jesus.

When we don’t have the strength to continue on, He does.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped. – Psalm 28:7

When we don’t know the next step, He knows.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. – Jeremiah 29:11

When we are hurting, He understands.

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows. – Isaiah 53:3-4

When we can’t even put our needs into words (or on paper!), He intercedes for us.

The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. – Romans 8:26

And when we need a hand to hold, the Lord has provided us with friends who share in our struggle. Friends who share our fears, our desires, and our search for joy and purpose.

We don’t need to travel this journey alone. Let’s walk together.

YOU ARE ENOUGH

This encouraged my Heart today so I am passing it to all of you.

YOU ARE ENOUGH:
I see you sitting there. You’re wondering what do to with yourself aren’t you?
You’re thinking – again – that you’re not enough.
You can’t remember the last time the laundry was caught up or the last time your brain worked at full capacity.
That stain on the couch? The one from the spilled juice? It’s still there.  Those dust bunnies have now had babies.
You aren’t happy with your hair, or your house, and definitely not your attitude.
You know that these things are like this – these areas you’ve “failed” – because you’ve been sacrificing lately.
But it doesn’t make you feel better does it?
You wonder what it all was for. You wonder what you were thinking.
Except.
Don’t you remember? You had to sacrifice right now. This is the season for upheaval, and God’s plans weren’t your plans, but you obeyed and trekked on and it is well.
God loves you so much, you conquering woman, you. You victorious daughter. You princess. You warrior.
And then.
I saw that look in your eye. That spark of recognition. That knowing of God’s grace and precious sovereignty.
You’re reminded that sometimes sacrifices are right – necessary.
That they don’t always look like the sacrifices others make, but they’re yours and they’re good. Yes, hard even.
Especially that.
But
with every victory step you take towards truth, there are those voices. They try to reel you backwards.
They try so hard.
They want you to believe they love you. It’s only for your good, they say. It’s so you can be holy, they say.
They tell you your choices aren’t right. Aren’t up to snuff. Aren’t pleasing.
They bring out the rule book and prove your faults.
And you don’t know what to do with yourself.
But Jesus whispers sweet nothings. He calls you by your real name.
Redeemed.
Sanctified.
Good.
You shake off the lies and dress to the nines in truth and love and know that you
are
enough.
By Arianne, To Think Is To Create