Great is Thy Faithfulness

God is faithful! There is no way we can deny that! As the verse above says, they are NEW EVERY MORNING! There would be no way to completely count all of the blessing of faithfulness our Lord gives us daily, but the Lord laid these three things on my heart.

First, every morning, the Lord gives us a FRESH START. Everyday He wakes us up and we still have the breath of life in us. He still has us here to work for Him and fulfill His purpose for our lives. Despite what the day before brought into our lives or what good or bad we did, the rising of the sun brings a new day to start over for Him! "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new EVERY MORNING; great is Thy faithfulness." Lamentations 3:21-23. If the day before was full of failures, sins, and troubles all the way around, we can ask for forgiveness. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness." I John 1:19. "As far as the east if from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us." Psalms 103:12. We can KNOW that we can have our sins forgiven and that the Lord will NOT HOLD THEM OVER OUR HEADS! When our sins are forgiven, they are GONE FOREVER! If the Lord doesn't remember them, we don't need to either. Sure this is easier said than done, but we can keep our minds stayed on the truth of His forgiveness and that we are given a NEW OPPORTUNITY DAILY to start over and serve HIM! "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before." Phillipians 3:13. He has a "mulitude of mercies" for our "multitude of transgressions" Psalms 5:7 & 10. 

Secondly, the Lord FREELY PROVIDES for our daily needs! "Blessed be the Lord, who DAILY loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah." Psalms 68:19. The Lord doesn't give us blessings to ration and hope we will have "just enough" to make it through. No! He gives us A LOAD DAILY!! This is our Portion to meet our need, and keep us looking to Him everyday! Just as the Lord provided the physical need of food to the Israelites with fresh manna DAILY from heaven, He is STILL doing the same thing for us! No, we don't have a grocery basket from heaven dropped on our front door every morning, but the Lord is the one that gives us the means to be able to get our physical supplies, or either uses other people to help with providing our needs. He also gives us our spiritual food daily. He is our PORTION! Psalms 16:5 says, "The Lord IS THE PORTION of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot." "Maintaining our lot" speaks again of daily provision! Just as the Lord provided for the multitudes in the wilderness with the 5 loaves of bread and two fish, THE BREAD OF LIFE is still giving us our physical and spiritual daily bread! "Give us THIS DAY our daily bread." Luke 6:11. 

Lastly, the Lord is faithful to us daily by being the dearest FRIEND we can ever have! Just as Adam, Abraham, and Enoch walked with the Lord daily, so can we! We can feed on His Word, listen to that still small Voice that speaks to us through it, and talk with our High Priest! No matter how hard our day is, what the storm may be, or even if it seems He is no where to be found, HE IS STILL RIGHT THERE BESIDE us! "..I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Hebrews 13:5. "...there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." Proverbs 18:24. Daily call upon Him for help. Walk with Him to know the way you need to go! "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: FOR THOU ART WITH ME; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." Psalms 23:4. "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Psalms 23:6. He is GOODNESS AND MERCY and will be there with us all the days of our life! What a blessing to be able to call the God of heaven our friend!

Great is thy faithfulness! Great are His mercies and compassions daily! Every morning He gives us a Fresh Start, Freely Provides, and is the dearest Friend we have ever had! "This is the DAY which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it!" Psalm 118:24. 

The Healing Touch

According to scientific studies, there is noted healing properties in the sense of touch. According to WebMD, there is a growing movement in the field of medicine in this study, and as a treatment to those who are suffering from chronic sickness or emotional stress. Certain hormornes and endorphines are released in the body that bring TEMPORARY relief and calming. BUT, if the people conducting these studies had looked to the Bible for answers, they would have known this a looong time ago! In Mark 5:21-43, the Bible gives us the account of a woman  that was healed by a touch of the GREAT PHYSICIAN!

  The difference in the power of human touch and the Lord's touch,  is that human touch is temporary, and His is PERMANENT!!! Human touch is fleshly, and His touch is Spiritual! The Lord's touch brings complete healing and CURE that is eternal! (II Corinthians 4:18).  The Lord had just crossed the Sea of Galilee and as soon as He was off of the boat, a crowd of people began to throng Him. He had people everywhere running to Him, wanting to see and touch Him. But, there was one woman that truly touched Him. This woman had been sick with a disease, an "issue of blood" (vs. 25) for 12 years. She had suffered many things of many doctors, and had spent her "all her living" (Luke 8:43) upon them, trying to get healed of it. The phrase "all her living" not only implies that she spent all that she had monetarily, but all of her effort and strength that she had left was spent DAILY trying to be healed. No doubt she spent every hour of every day thinking of it: planning, staying on schedule with medicines; yet it was ALL IN VAIN!!! Above all of her labors, there was the constant pain to remind her that it was NOT WORKING OR HELPING!! The Bible said that she even grew WORSE despite her efforts. Are we not the same before we come to Jesus? We know there is something wrong with us, but no matter how hard we try to 'BETTER' ourselves, we seem to continually get worse. Luke 11:26-28 tells us that self improvement or reformation does nothing but make us worse off. The end result of such efforts leaves us in a state that makes us even more sick than we were before, vs 28. In God's eyes, "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;" Isaiah  64:6. She knew she was getting worse everyday, and she was at her wit's end. She had done all she knew to do, and was desperate, just as described in Psalms 107:27, "They reel to and fro,  and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end." BUT, she had heard that Jesus was there and she believed from what she had heard that He was the only One that could heal her, vs 27 & 28. She came to Him. "I stretch forth my hands unto thee; my soul THIRSTETH after thee..." Psalm 143:6.  She reached forth to touch the Lord's garments, and she was IMMEDIATELY HEALED OF THAT PLAGUE! Her blood disease was healed by the Power in the Blood of the Lamb of God!!Jesus still calls for us to "COME unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28.

Then, the woman CONFESSED what this touch had done!! Jesus IMMEDIATELY knew that someone had touched, or reached out to HIM in FAITH. This was the difference in the touch of this woman and the touch from the crowd thronging Him.The touch from the crowd was not "mixed with faith" Hebrews 4:2. Jesus asked the question "Who touched my clothes??" vs. 30.  Jesus knows when healing power, and virtue, go out of HIM because HE is the ONE that sends it! Did He have to ask who touched Him and what had just happened???? NO!!! He knew! He wanted this woman that had touched Him, reaching out to God in secret, to CONFESS publicly what had just happened! We are to do the same! We are to tell the world what Jesus has done for us in salvation and thereafter! "That if thou shalt CONFESS with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe int thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thous shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth CONFESSION is made unto salvation." Romans 10: 9 & 10. Knowing what was done in her, the woman " told him all the truth," vs 33. She confessed before that whole crowd why she came, what she had just done in touching Him in faith, and what HE HAD DONE!! Boldly stand and tell others of your salvation and what Jesus has done for you!!! She came in faith because she had heard of what Jesus had done for others. "Faith cometh by hearing," Romans 10:17. We will never know who the Lord will draw unto Himself because of our testifying of what He has done for us!!!

After she confessed what He had done, the Lord gave her COMFORT from this touch! "Daughter, be of good COMFORT; thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace." Luke 8:40. The Lord wanted to give His new daughter the COMFORT of ASSURANCE that she was now His child."But as many as receive Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." John 1:12. He wanted her to be comforted in knowing that she was COMPLETELY whole. He wanted to comfort her in letting her know that she would now have peace!! Only He can bring this COMFORT through a touch because HE IS THE GOD OF ALL COMFORT!!! "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and THE GOD OF ALL COMFORT! Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." II Corinthians 1:3 &4. Now that's a LOT of COMFORT right there! The Lord wants us to be completely encompassed with HIS COMFORT just as a mother comforts her weary child!! "As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you;" Isaiah 66:13.

A touch of faith will bring CURE, CONFESSION, AND COMFORT!! ONLY our Great Physician can give this to us! Are you sin sick? Reach out your hand in faith to Him! He is there right beside you, waiting for you to come to Him, just as the father stood waiting on the Prodigal son to come to Him! Have you already received the Cure from the Saviour, but haven't CONFESSED HIM publicly? Speak it today! Tell someone what Jesus has done for you so that they can be cured also! Are you weary today? Have you been fighting long physical or spiritual battles? Reach out to our God of all Comfort for that reassurance today!  "But it is a good thing for me to DRAW NEAR to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works." Psalms 73:28

Good Spiritual Housekeeping!!

We recently had a Ladies Day at our church, and the theme was Good Housekeeping. We used cleaning and beauty product names that we all use daily, to remind us of how we need to keep Good Spiritual Housekeeping! These are some of the product names, listed first,  and then a verse from Scripture to help us remember how we can have a good, clean Spirit for the Lord inside. You won't look at these products in the same way the next time you use them! :) Hope this list is a blessing!

Where to Find Your Spiritual Housekeeping:

Joy : “..For the JOY of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10

All: “I can do ALL things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13

Cheer: “..Be of good CHEER; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Gain: “But godliness with contentment is great GAIN.” I Timothy 6:6

Dove: “..Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as DOVES.”

Matt. 10:16

Glad: “…I will be GLAD in the Lord.” Psalms 104:34

Behold: “BEHOLD what manner of love that the Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called the sons of God…” I John 3:1

Shout: “Clap your hands, all ye people; SHOUT unto God with the voice of triumph.” Psalms 47:1

Purpose: “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own PURPOSE…”

II Tim. 1:9

Favour: “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck;write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find FAVOUR and good understanding in the sight of God and man.” Prov. 3: 3&4