Proverbs 30:5
“ Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.” (Proverbs 30:5)
When we put our trust in God, we can rest assured we are in good hands. But how do we know we can trust Him? Read His Word. Has He not made good on every promise? All throughout the bible, when people put their trust in Him, He helped them. Eventually they learned that by trusting in Him, they did not need to fear what would happen to them. They realized His power in helping them. Even when they had no idea what was going to happen, they trusted Him to take care of it and it became a shield to them. It gave them hope.
Mississippi Church Sign
“Try Jesus. You’ll like Him! But if you don’t, the devil will gladly take you back.”
Mark 10:27
“And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible”. (Mark 10:27 KJV)
This particular verse has become one of my favorites. It not only reminds of God’s awesome power, but helps me to remain humbled by my own limitations. There are so many things I simply cannot do, know, understand, or change. But God can.
There was a song we used to sing when I was a child, “He’s got the whole world in His hands…” I remember posters of giant hands stretching out from the universe, with the earth sitting in them like a tennis ball. I thought “God must be pretty big” back then. Now I know He’s way bigger and more powerful than I can even imagine.
I am so thankful that I can trust God to take care of me, knowing that He can do anything.
God bless!
The Story of Moses (as told by Johnny)
Johnny was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday School.
“Well, mum, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
“When he got to the Red Sea he had his engineers build a pontoon
bridge and all the people walked across safely. Then he used his
walkie-talkie to radio headquarters for reinforcements. They sent bombers to blow up the bridge and saved the Israelites.”
“Now, Johnny, is that really what your teacher taught you?” his
mother asked.
“Well, no, mom, but if I told it the way the teacher did, you’d never believe it.”
Please Pray
Please pray with me, that the Lord will bless this site to let His great love flow, that it will bless many hearts with encouragement & hope, and that it will help to foster faith and trust in Jesus. May my heart be kept true to Him, and the words that I speak & write bring honor and glory to Him. In Jesus sweet and holy name, I pray. Amen.
Psalms 73:26
“My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever”. (Psalms 73:26 KJV)
I wish I could say that I have always walked with God, but that would be a lie. I have lived in the world’s way of darkness and sin. We all have. That is our “flesh”, and it is too weak to stand up to temptation.
But God, in His mercy and grace, gives us strength to walk a better path, His path. We can walk in victory against sin, overcoming it, but only if we accept Him and give ourselves completely to Him. Only after realizing and admitting that I am a sinner, could I sincerely ask for forgiveness. I truly wanted to live a better life. When I repented of my sins and was baptized in Jesus’ name, I was forgiven. And when I opened my heart completely, His Holy Spirit filled me and made me a new person, His child. (Acts 2:38)
That was 11 years ago. I still fall into temptations. I still make mistakes. I have not been made perfect, yet. But I have been delivered and set free! I have learned the truth of God’s Word and I have learned to trust in Him. He gives me the courage to face each day, no matter what happens. He gives me the strength to go through whatever trials come. And they do come! But as long as my heart is focused on the Lord, I have strength. It is when my attention strays away from Him that I fall down. It is through ignorance and deceit of the enemy that I fail. And those are the times that I learn the hardest lessons.
God is my strength! Because of Him, I have already overcome many obstacles and passed through many trials. And because of Him, I will have victory over more. Ultimately, I will be blessed with the greatest treasure imaginable…eternal life in His Holy presence! I admit that there are some things I like about this world. My family and friends, mountains, flowers, oceans and rivers, animals, chocolate, all these things I am very fond of. But in my heart, there is now a love that has grown so strong, a love for Jesus and to be with Him in heaven. That love surpasses any love I have here on earth. And that love is where my strength comes from, because He is love.
by Amber Leggette-Aldrich
Unconditional Love
This was one of the first articles I wrote back in 2009.
Unconditional Love
by Amber Leggette-Aldrich
What is unconditional love? The dictionary defines it as an intense feeling of tender affection and compassion, complete and guaranteed, with no conditions or limitations or provisions attached. Is it real? Yes.
I have heard the term “unconditional love” many times, but never really gave it much thought. The words “I love you” are thrown around so lightly and so often without any true purpose or real meaning, they begin to lose their effect in our lives. Too often we take our words for granted and speak them out of habit, without consideration of their true meanings.
As a writer, the words I put on paper are chosen carefully with much thought and intention. However the words that come out of my mouth are not always chosen carefully and the meanings are not always clear to
the listener. This was brought to my attention one day a few years ago when my son asked me if I was going to marry our cat. I said no, of course not, to which he replied, “But you said you love him”. It occurred to me that it must be terribly confusing to a child trying to learn and understand all the different meanings that some words have. Especially when the child takes things so literally, as my son does.
Trying to explain the concept and meaning of the word love proved to be very difficult. I tried to explain that sometimes we use the word love to simply express an emotion of affection, and he asked me “why can’t people just say what they mean?” I realized then that in order for him to truly understand the meaning, I would have to phrase it differently. So I began telling him “you hold my heart” instead of “I love you”. I explained to him that the spirit of the heart is fragile and must be treated gently and with great care. I also explained that it should only be given to those you trust not to break it. He understood this explanation, and since that time, I have seen through the emotion in his eyes that he feels it when he tells me “momma, you hold my heart”. What I didn’t realize at the time was that I didn’t understand the full meaning of love myself. I was only just beginning to learn.
A few months ago there was an incident when my son was scolded and sent to his room. A short time later he came to me and threw his arms around me and said he didn’t want for me to stop loving him. I asked him what made him think I would stop loving him and he replied, “because I did a bad thing”. I told him that I may feel disappointed or upset, or even angry with him at times, but I would never stop loving him. He asked me why and I said, “because you are my child, a
precious gift from God for which I will always be thankful”! Since that
conversation I have given much thought to the meaning of unconditional love.
Last month our Pastor gave a challenge to the congregation, to read
the entire New Testament in a month. I am almost finished now, and I find my thoughts continuing to focus on the concept of unconditional love. When I read the chapter on the crucifixion, (Luke 23) I remembered watching Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Passion of Christ” and I thought about some of the feelings that movie provoked for me personally. Perhaps it is because I am a mother who has lost a child that I identified and felt a connection to Mary, the mother of Jesus, in that movie. She was shown in several scenes watching as the atrocities were being done, and she watched as He died. How strong her heart and faith must have been to endure such an agony! To witness the persecution and know it must be done, yet this was her son! To think about how she must have felt brought such a powerful and overwhelming emotion into my heart, I knew in an instant that I had just had a glimpse of understanding the true meaning of unconditional love.
Since that time I have had several memories of witnessing that kind
of love, and each time it has been between a parent and their child. I believe that it can exist between spouses and siblings as well, though the intensity of love seems to waver somewhat in those relationships.
Recently I was with a friend while she was reading something written by one of her children. I didn’t know what it was about at the time, but I saw the tears in her eyes. Several days later I had the privilege of reading the beautiful words her son wrote and I remembered so clearly the look on her face. It was joy and sorrow, pain and hope, faith and disappointment, pride and contentment. It was unconditional love! As I thought about the look on her face, it occurred to me that it must be the same look on God’s face as He looks at us, as His children!
I still remember the feelings in my heart so clearly, when I held each of my children for the first time. The awe, and warmth and joy, the
worries and concerns, and the hopes and dreams, all of these things and more, all wrapped up in one word…love! And I remember the feelings of disappointment as well as pride, watching them grow and learn, watching them experiencing life and love. I know what it feels like to be a parent. And I know what it is like to be someone’s child. When I was younger I didn’t understand or appreciate the things my parents did for me, or why they did them. Now I know they did these things because they loved me. Now I understand, and I am thankful for all that they did (and still continue to do) for me! I am no longer the stubborn and
rebellious child that I once was. Now when my parents ask something of me, I try to the best of my ability to do it. I try, not out of obligation or because I am supposed to, but because they love me and I love them.
Through understanding the bonds between a parent and child, my perception and relationship with God changed when I began to think of Him as my parent. Now, as I read the Scriptures, I see them as instructions from a Father who loves me. And I try to follow those instructions because I love Him.
My eyes have been opened to a new life and my heart has been forever changed. The Bible tells us to love one another. And it tells us to love the Lord with all our heart. Now I truly understand what that means, though I cannot fully describe it with words. I know in my heart without any doubts, that just as I will always love my children, no matter how irritating they are or how many times they fall down and make the same mistakes, God will always love me too. I will be forever thankful
to God, my Father, who art in Heaven, from whom all life and love
comes!
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:16, 17 KJV)
2 Peter 1:5-7
“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.” (2 Peter 1:5-7 KJV)
If you would enjoy the eminent grace of the full assurance of faith, under the blessed Spirit’s influence, and assistance, do what the Scripture tells you, “Give diligence.” Take care that your faith is of the right kind–that it is not a mere belief of doctrine, but a simple faith, depending on Christ, and on Christ alone. Give diligent heed to your courage. Plead with God that He would give you the face of a lion, that you may, with a consciousness of right, go on boldly. Study well (learn) the Scriptures, and get knowledge; for a knowledge of doctrine will tend very much to confirm faith. Try to understand God’s Word; let it dwell in your heart richly.
When you have done this, “Add to your knowledge temperance.” Take heed (pay attention to) to your body: be temperate without. Take heed to your soul: be temperate within. Get temperance of lip, life, heart, and thought. Add to this, by God’s Holy Spirit, patience; ask Him to give you that kind of patience which endures affliction, which, when it is tried, shall come forth as gold. Array yourself with patience, that you may not murmur nor be depressed in your afflictions. When that grace is won, look to godliness. Godliness is something more than religion. Make God’s glory your object in life; live in His sight; dwell close to Him; seek for fellowship with Him; and you will have “godliness”; and to that add brotherly love. Have a love to all the saints: and add to that a charity, which opens its arms to all men, and loves their souls. When you are adorned with these jewels, and just in proportion as you practice these heavenly virtues, you will come to know by clearest evidence “your calling and election.” “Give diligence,” if you would get assurance, for lukewarmness and doubting very naturally go hand in hand.
(from Charles Spurgeon’s Devotionals)
Faith, Hope & Miracles Ebook
Trials and Triumphs
Amber Lea
Faith, Hope & Miracles 