Interesting Fall day, we are having a rain that is slow and sinking into the parched soil, giving it new life.  Clouds are interesting.  Looking out at the Columbia River and the Klickitats they form different kinds at different levels.

Directly above the water was fog, then fluffy Cumulus clouds then some clear sky with the grey rainy flat clouds above.  The wind shifts them around, but they remained that way most of the morning.

Carla wants to can some more butter today, Apples with Apple cider.  Sounds good, we shall see.  

2 Corinthians 4:6-10 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

⁷ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

⁸ We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

⁹ Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

¹⁰ Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

These verses were in my studies this morning, as I read them I felt an uplifting of heart and mind.  How often does God tell us that He loves us?  How often has His Word told us of His care for each of us as individuals? 

As we read the Old and New Testaments we know that God cares for His children.  He wants to guide them into perfection and He loves us enough to chastise us when we stray.  As the Old Testament prophets and the Apostles and many new converts in the New Testament proclaimed God and His precepts were persecuted, we also will suffer persecution.

But that love through Christ which saves us for eternity also wants others to come to Him.  Our love and thankfulness to Him for that salvation gives us the honor to serve Him as these great men and women did of old, even if it is painful for us for a time.

As we work for Him we begin to recognize the workings of His Holy Spirit within us; we realize that God truly has provided for us even in our tribulations.

When we look at the children of rich parents we know their monetary worth is founded on the worth of their parents.  These children were born into wealthy families.  They have done nothing to deserve or earn the wealth; it is there because their parents gave it to them.  Eventually, what they do with that wealth will determine their success or failure in this life.

While earthly goods can corrupt or make a person better, determined by what they do with it, it cannot save them from an eternal damnation, only Christ can do that.  What we, any one of us, do with Christ determines our success or failures not only in this life, but our eternal life, either with Him as His children, or a forever separation from Him as we perish eternally in hell with satan and his minions.

As those children inherit worldly wealth at their birth, we inherit eternal wealth at our re-birth in Christ.  We become heirs of God.  Since we are heirs through Christ we have access to Him and His wealth, which surpasses anything here on earth.  He even sends His angels down to minister to each one of us.

Hebrews 1:14  Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

So not only do we have Jesus within our heart, the Holy Spirit to comfort, teach and give us guidance, but we have our own angel(s) to watch over us.  Then He sits on high and oversees it all, not as an uncaring overlord but a Father who wants to lift His children up and give them the very best He can.

As an earthly father that knows his children, their moods, their skills, their abilities, so does our Heavenly Father know us.  However, while our fathers are human and subject to error in both discerning some things in their children or in the process of raising them, God is perfect.

God knows everything about us; He has access to every crevice of our heart, every thought of our minds.  God knows what we are capable of and wants to give us the tools necessary to develop those skills.  WE may question our abilities as Jeremiah did when God told Him to speak to the Israelites about their transgression, but God doesn’t.  He takes everything into consideration when He gives us a mission.

Jeremiah 1:6-8 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.

⁷ But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.

⁸ Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

God will guide us; He will give us the courage to stand for Him.  He loves us so deeply He gave His only Son for us, such love cannot be measured in monetary terms, or even human terms.  I cannot conceive of the depths of that love, I can only accept it is there for me and that with it comes His desire for the very best for me as an individual. 

Even those times with I feel I cannot go on, I can no longer perform out of fear, frustration, discouragement, or a feeling of inadequacy, God is there.  God understands and is ready to help us overcome any obstacle in our service to Him. 

In our weakness He will show His glory if we but let Him.  And when we do that His Spirit does incredible things within our lives and hearts, as well as the conversion and/or strengthening of others.  That is why Peter, Paul and so many others proclaimed Christ as Savior and taught the Word of God even though persecuted and beaten:

Acts 5:40-42 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

⁴¹ And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

⁴² And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

WE look at the martyrs and think we could never do that, yet, they were just people, only different from us in time and space.  Through the Holy Spirit they were given strength as will we be given strength.  Even today, where so many Christians are undergoing incredible persecution, God still prevails and His Spirit lives on within them, giving them strength to persevere and live for Him.  They could never do that on their own, only through the strength of Christ, the Holy Spirit and our Heavenly Father do they receive the courage to go on.

God is God; the Creator; the Founder of all that we have access to in sight, hearing, tasting, words and deeds.  There is nothing He cannot do, and when we accept that truth and apply it to our lives, there is nothing He cannot do with and through us.

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again