From Dust to Life

 

  The Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul

        Gen. 2:7

And so this soul of mine is a compound of two worlds—dust and Deity! It touches the boundary line of two hemispheres. It is allied on one side to the divine; on the other, to the beast of the field. Its beginning is from beneath, but its culmination is from above; it is started from the dust of the ground, but it is finished in the breath of God.

My soul, art thou living up to thy twofold origin? Art thou remembering thy double parentage, and therefore thy double duty? Thou hast a duty to thy God, for His breath is in thee; thou hast a duty to the earth, for out of it wast thou taken.

George Matheson

Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997).

May the good Lord bless and Keep you safe.

Remember to"Always Love The Details.

In the early morning

  In the morning came the word of the Lord unto me

        Ezek. 12:8

A quiet hour spent alone with God at the beginning of the day is the best beginning for the toils and cares of active business. A brief season of prayer, looking above for wisdom and grace and strength, and seeking for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, helps us to carry our religion into the business of the day. It brings joy and peace within the heart. And as we place all our concerns in the care and keeping of the Lord, faithfully striving to do His will, we have a joyful trust that however dark or discouraging events may appear, our Father’s hand is guiding everything, and will give the wisest direction to all our toils.

Selected

Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997).

It is in the early AM hours that I seek the word of the Lord and write these posts. It is in the quiet solitude that we meet. There are no distractions or interruptions, only quiet solitude. Heart and soul are still. Mind and tongue are quiet. The Lord is present.

May thye good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

Greater things

  The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day

        Prov. 4:18

Have I begun this path of heavenly love and knowledge now? Am I progressing in it? Do I feel some dawnings of the heavenly light, earnests and antepasts of the full day of glory? Let all God’s dealings serve to quicken me in my way. Let every affection it may please Him to send, be as the moving pillar—cloud of old, beckoning me to move my tent onward, saying, “Arise ye and depart, for this is not your rest.” Let me be often standing now on faith’s lofty eminences, looking, for “the day of God”—the rising sun which is to set no more in weeping clouds. Wondrous progression! How will all earth’s learning, its boasted acquirements and eagle-eyed philosophy sink into the lispings of very infancy in comparison with this manhood of knowledge! Heaven will be the true “Excelsior,” its song, “a song of degrees,” Jesus leading His people from height to height of glory, and saying, as He said to Nathaniel, “Thou shall see greater things than these!”

Macduff

Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997).

What in life has the splendor of life forever more in heaven? No one has seen the full glory of heaven while in mortal skin! What is the price of such a sight as this? None but the Lord knows the answer to that question.

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

It is good

 

  God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness

        Gen. 1:4

No sooner is there a good thing in the world than a division is necessary. Light and darkness have no communion; God has divided them, let us not confound them. Sons of light must not have fellowship with deeds, doctrines, or deceits of darkness. The children of the day must be sober, honest, and bold in their Lord’s work, leaving the works of darkness to those who shall dwell in it forever.

We should by our distinct separation from the world divide the light from the darkness. In judgment, in action, in hearing, in teaching, in association, we must discern between the precious and the vile, and maintain the great distinction which the Lord made upon the world’s first day.

O Lord Jesus, be Thou our light throughout the whole of this day, for Thy light is the light of men.

Spurgeon

Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997).

Yes, this was part of the creation in the book Genesis. It is also what the Lord is doing in the hearts and souls of mankind. Of this He declares "It is good." The light shining from us when we follow Him is the beacon of His presence in us as poof of His spirit in us. It shows the world we do not belong to this world but the world to come.

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

Finished

 

   I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do.

The New Jerusalem Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1985)

        John 17:4

Was the work of the Master indeed done? Was not its heaviest task yet to come? He had not yet met the dread hour of death. Why did He say that His work was done? It was because He knew that, when the will is given, the battle is ended. He was only in the shadows of the garden; but to conquer these shadows was already to conquer all. He who has willed to die has already triumphed over death. All that remains to Him is but the outer husk, the shell.

The cup which our Father giveth us to drink is a cup for the will. It is easy for the lips to drain it when once the heart has accepted it. Not on the heights of Calvary, but in the shadows of Gethsemane is the cup presented; the act is easy after the choice. The real battlefield is in the silence of the spirit. Conquer there, and thou art crowned.

George Matheson

Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997).

Our spirit is the defining of our place in heaven.

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

In Memory

 

 More than all else, keep watch over your heart, since here are the wellsprings of life.

Proverbs 4:23

The New Jerusalem Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1985)

It is a sadness of heart on this holiday, more than joy, for the loss of so many to the horrors of war, evil actions, public service or sickness. Pray for them, that they were not lost in vain. I cannot but wonder what the world would be like had they lived a full life, giving all they had and enjoyed what the good Lord graced them with. Life lost is a loss for the world in what could have been a benefit for the world. There is a hole left behind where that life was, a piece of the fabric of life cut short. The only repair is the memory of their existence in those who knew them and will continue to remember them throughout their life. Remember those who gave their all so that we could enjoy our life 

May the good Lord bless you and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

Positive?

 

  See then that ye walk circumspectly

        Eph. 5:15

There is no such thing as negative influence. We are all positive in the place we occupy, making the world better or making it worse.

T. DeWitt Talmage

Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997).

Influence is always positive whether the outcome is good or bad, no matter our position (place) in life. We move positively regardless of how we influence the world around us. 

May the good Lord Bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

Orphaned Not (John 14:18)

 

  Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you

        Matt. 6:33

We need have only one care, that we put the first thing first—faithfulness to God. Then all else we need for both worlds will be supplied. God will never fail us; but we forget, sometimes, in our rejoicing over such an assurance, that we must fulfill our part if we would claim the divine promise.

It will not always be easy. Tomorrow it may mean a distasteful task, a disagreeable duty, a costly sacrifice for one who does not seem worthy. Life is full of sore testings of our willingness to follow the Good Shepherd. We have not the slightest right to claim this assurance unless we have taken Christ as the guide of our life.

J. R. Miller

Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997)

There are often times when we are awed by the eloquence of speech from someone well educated. We would do well to remember that the gospel of the Lord was taught by the humblest of mankind in Jesus's day, fishermen, the simplest of humankind. Education may inform the mind but it is faith that goes beyond what the mind cannot see. The opening lines of J. R. Miller are true to what the calling of the Lord is about.

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

Grudging Assent

 

  And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send

        Exod. 4:13

It was a very grudging assent. It was as much as to say, “Since Thou art determined to send me and I must undertake the mission, then let it be so; but I would that it might have been another, and I go because I am compelled.” So often do we shrink back from the sacrifice or obligation to which God calls us, that we think we are going to our doom. We seek every reason for evading the divine will, little realizing that He is forcing us out from our quiet homes into a career which includes, among other things, the song of victory on the banks of the Red Sea; the two lonely sojourns for forty days in converse with God; the shining face; the vision of glory; the burial by the hand of Michael; and the supreme honor of standing beside the Lord on the Transfiguration mountain.

F. B. Meyer

Samuel G. Hardman and Dwight Lyman Moody, Thoughts for the Quiet Hour (Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997).

How often we resist the urging of the Lord to do a task only to begrudgingly agree. This is often the case in scripture of the ones chosen to be His voice, prophet or emissary. The thanks for the mission is not always from those of earth but from a loving God with grace, blessings and eternal life.

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."

Alms (Special reminder)

 

“Alms-deeds,” says St. Augustine, “comprise every kind of service rendered to our neighbor who needs such assistance. He who supports a lame man bestows an alms on him with his feet; he who guides a blind man does him a charity with his eyes; he who carries an invalid or an old man upon his shoulders imparts to him an alms of his strength. Hence none are so poor but they may bestow an alms on the wealthiest man in the world.”

John Gilmary Shea, Pictorial Lives of the Saints (New York; Cincinnati; Chicago: Benziger Brothers, 1887), 220.

Alms is more than financial giving. Kindness of every kind is also alms. This kind of giving is bringing treasure to the heavenly bank to be deposited in your account.

May the good Lord bless and keep you safe.

Remember to "Always Love The Details."