Christian Photographers Community

'The just shall live by faith.'

Galatians 3:11

There is no doubt in my mind, yesterday was a disappointment to me. I had looked, hoped and believed better things would happen. It was a strange day. There were many little things that could have gone well for me, but they did not. I thought much about this as I lay my head on my pillow last night and I began to wonder what I had done wrong!

Perhaps I had rushed through my morning study. Perhaps I did not reply to enough Emails. Perhaps I should have phoned my friend when the thought had entered my head. Perhaps I should have rested a little more in the afternoon instead of pushing it.

Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.......

I should have learned long ago that things do not run smoothly in my life for any length of time. Often I have seen my circumstances change in an instant. It is how I cope with these changes that matters. I was so quick to judge myself last night that I heard the alarm bells ringing in my soul!

I could easily have started to fell sorry for myself. I am good at that! Well somebody needs to, right? Then I would have depressed myself further when I considered my sin and my sinfulness. Does anything get us down more than this? I could quickly have fallen into a morbid and unhealthy huff, blaming myself first then God.

Thankfully that did not happen. I recognised the danger signs and did my best to put faith into action. Was I a greater sinner yesterday than I was the day before? Not a good question to ask. What truly mattered was the fact that I recognise myself as a sinner and Jesus as my Saviour.

There was no need for my sins and faults to clutter my doorway. I knew what to do with them and where to take them. Jesus of Nazareth had provided my remedy. It was the duty of faith to lay hold on His finished work and to put what I had learned into practice.

The difference for me last night between walking by sight and walking by faith was a peaceful nights sleep!
There may be many days in our experience when living by faith or should I say putting our faith into practice can be very difficult indeed.

So many trying circumstances and perplexing situations can leave us distraught and living entirely by sight! We find it almost impossible to take our vision from the horizontal.

Endless days of unanswered prayers, when the heavens seem as brass to us and God seems in the distance beyond our reach. Days like this can become the norm for the Christian and can have a truly devastating effect on their lives. We will not be long in this condition before stress and sleepless nights follow. Worry becomes our middle name and our minds become void of any good thoughts.

This is the situation where the evil one thrives. He loves to see Christians laid low. He loves to see us wallowing in the mire of unbelief. Dust soon begins to settle upon our Bibles and our devotional life is locked away until we begin to feel better. Some even wonder whether they have ever been saved!

I know of a number of Christians who lay great store upon the fact that one day some years back something happened in their lives. It was the day their lives changed and they became committed Christians.

It is over 20 years since I experienced a similar event in my own life, yet it is not one that I rely upon. I am not sure whether my faith is strong or weak but I need an experience with Christ each and every day of my life.

I do not say that I have to be born again every day, no and a thousand times no. I must however take my soul afresh to Calvary each morning and meet there with my God.

My faith must be put into action each and every day of my life. I am not a superman and I fail on many an occasion, yet this is the way I need to live my life, and I just cannot rely on some experience I had many years ago.

What if my memory were to fail? Where then would I be?

I need to meet face to face with Jesus today! Every day!

The access to our God is always open and He is always available. Sight often blocks faiths' view, yet faith can be strong enough to overlook the blockage.

There are times when we must persevere with our faith to overcome all obstacles until we find rest for our souls in Christ.

Nothing but nothing can answer the questions in our heart, solve the problems in our lives and calm the storms of a fretful heart like the man from Nazareth.

Oh taste and see that God is good, who trusts in him is blessed. The word says that the just shall live by faith. It does not say that the just shall live now and again by faith.

All we have my friend is today, let us therefore live today. May you know today the blessing God commands; life that shall never end.

LOL

Your brother in Christ

Iain

Yes, indeed, IAIN ... All we have is today ... I am so thankful for that.  Jesus says to take no thought for tomorrow (in other words don't worry about tomorrow) because sufficient unto the day are the evils thereof.  I am so grateful to our Father that He gives us only one day at a time and He is our sufficiency for this day.  

Our pastor Bev preached this evening (Wed) but she was tired and needed to stay seated much of the time.  She asked me to take over the Women's meeting tomorrow and I agreed immediately.  I know that God is in control of every detail of our lives and that He will bring everything to pass as He wills it to be!  We need only to trust Him and believe that His will will be accomplished even though we can't see how or where or why!

I will be back later, I have some things to take care of and I am to be in charge of the meeting tomorrow, so I should spend some time in prayer for the Lord's guidance.

Y'all take care now, y'hear?

Love y'all.... Jane

  Good morning
Yes Larry whe only have today but what do i now i an thing what tomorrow what must i do tomorrow that is sometimes a problem.
The heat wave is over in Holland. When we have in Holland such very warm weather then it is so clammy
also we self. Holland has an maritieme climat. Canada
and i think also have an continental climat then it is warm but not so clammy. Today also the sun is shining
but we have normal tempature.
But Larry do you have or had rain send the rain to us
we also need rain i hope we get rain. When we are getting no rain there are coming problems with the water and energy.
Papa John i have take a look on your own website are
you now angry on me i hope not.
What a nice website you have. You papa John and Cornelia are blessed people with such lovely children and grandchildren and what nice music you have on your own website and i have read the poems do you the poemswrite by you self. I have a lot poems in Dutch.


but i can not writen poems by myself.
God bless you all
Love Ria

I received this in an email this morning.  Rather appropriate with Iain's devotional in mind don't you think?

I find the great thing in this world
is not so much where we stand,

as in what direction we are moving:

To reach the port of heaven,
we must sail sometimes with the wind
and sometimes against it,
but we must sail,
and not drift,
nor lie at anchor.

~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., US Supreme Court Justice~


Have a good day Ruth Ann I am praying for your son.  

Ria You inspire me daily. I know PapaJohn won't mind.

Iain I can't count the times I have lain awake.  Could it be that the problem is not what we have done but rather that the Father wants us to meditate on him?  Or perhaps even something more human, we are getting older and sleep does not come as easily as it did when we were young?

Another Hot day in the north. Pray for my girls we have about 20 in the class and over 1/2 are unchurched.

Good day all

Loce JudyB

Good morning all- long time no talk to.
Iain- thanks so much- such a wonderful remembrance of His peace working in our lives when we allow Him to be in control!
I'm doing very well. Busy with my photography and getting the new website up and running. Work has been very busy again this month. Unusual for being off season, but very welcomed.
Feeling the Lord's hand over my life more than ever!
Forgive me if I don't post as often ,but know that I do come in and read what you all have to say, My prayers are with you all.
Blessings,
Jo

Good morning to all.
What a wonderful Lord's day....we are now entering a bit of a heat wave here but it is nothing compared to what they are getting in Europe......I pray that they get some relief soon......

Iaian thank you so much for the devotions again today....God bless you brother.

Ria...praise God for sending you some nice cooler weather......we will be praying for some rain for you as well.

Judy.....you and your girls are in our prayers.

Jen has not heard anything from Pat as yet.....and she will let us all know as soon as she does.

Jo......God be with you sister as you continue to feel the Lord's hand  in your life....have a wonderful day.

well am off for now....
Take care and God be with you all today.
IN His Grace. Paulette

I think as we grow older we become more aware of time and how it is so limited.  The days pass by so quickly and once a day is over it is over never to appear again.

Eph 5:15-17  See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.  (KJV)

Ria, thank you for visiting my website.  I don't consider myself a poet but I did write the poems myself.  I know the Lord has blessed me with a wonderful family for which I am so thankful.

I speak this morning at the nursing home Thursday morning worship.  I will be talking about Jesus washing the disciples feet.

--- Papa John              <)))><<

 

Thank you Iain for the most appropriate devotional this morning. You could have been writing from each one of our experiences of laying awake nights wondering if our sins of today were greater than yesterdays. Worry comes to all of us we wouldn't be human if it didn't.

Trust in  the Lord, sometimes that is hard for us to do when worry about some of lifes problems confront us face  to face. But God always proves Himself worthy of that trust.

Sometimes He answers our prayers immediatly and other times we have to wait upon the Lord. He always comes through for us though. "Delight your self in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart".

Jane: I am praying for your financial situation, in doing so I hear the Lord telling me "to speak to the mountain". So I am speaking to your mountain in your behalf.

Papa John so good to see you here this morning.

Ria I enjoy your posts.Several of us here have our own websites and would welcome you to visit each one.

Good Morning to all who will come after me.

Pat, Judy, Etta Sue If you are looking in a great big HELLO to you all.

Be back later.

Thank you, MARILYN     Nothing is too difficult for God!  I am not worried, because my trust is in Him and I know He has always taken care of me and He will not stop now.  I appreciate your prayers, and those of the others.
<Jane saw Karma on her knees yesterday, and there was Janet right beside her! and Larry and Al!>

Iain,
One line in particular struck me.  If I were to lose my memory  . . .   Where would I be if lost all memory of religious "experiences" save conversion.  I would remember that Christ saved me, but could not remember any of the blessing or miracles, or the times I doubted and he reassured me, or the times I had tribulations and He pulled me through.   Would I still trust and lean on Him??  Heaven forbid that should happen, but I need to learn to live each day totally for Him, regardless of what the past holds.  If I am relying on an experience 10 years ago to show what God has done for me, am I letting Him work in me now?  

Hi Jo!  Glad to see you peeping in this morning.  And glad to see you posting some more Ria.  

To the others -- Hope God is doing wonderful things for you.  I have some work to do before Capt. Destructo (aka. Travis) wakes from his nap, so I better skedadddle.  

love
karmat

Dear brother Iain, and all,
remember that we must  trust the Lord with all of our heart.
And this is the hardest thing to do.
But I can tell you that the times I have clung to Proverbs chapter three,are innumerable.
Sometimes just reading the chapter, seems like being in the presence of the Saviour.
We all experience these times of seeming seperation from His presence (which is all it is, as He has promised never to fail us nor forsake us.) :-)
We must cling on sometimes like a drowning man would cling to a straw in the water!
But after a season of testing and trial He brings us through once more to a place of victory and peace, and we will have learned some more of His ways.
Here is a favourite evening song of mine that you can sing as you lay yourselves down to sleep! :-) http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/d/a/dayisdin.htm May He bless us all with grace upon grace, Amen.

Hi everyone.  Once again it is mid-afternoon before I get here to read the postings and write a few lines.  We had a busy morning as I had a doctor's appointment with the cardiologist as a followup to my treatments.  I am not sure what benefit was derived from the visit but was a part of the process.  She is going to see if they get an additional 10-15 treatments authorized by my insurance company.  

We had a wonderful time last evening when about 18 of us gathered at a friends home for a pot-luck dinner in honor of our former associate pastor and his wife and son.  I was a bit late getting to choir practice but did make it.

Good devotional thought this morning Iain.  Thanks.

I am tired today so am going to make this brief.  Good to see everyone posting.