RAINDROPS IN THE OCEAN!
I have been told by the Spirit this morning that we who are led by the Spirit are raindrops in the ocean of God's Love, Peace, Joy. The Spirit leads us and teaches us through our circumstances to trust God more and more, until it finally dawns on us that as His children we are as surrounded by all that He is - and as much a part of that which surrounds us - as a raindrop is of the ocean into which it falls. We are as completely under His care as a raindrop is under the influence of the surging depths. We need only trust God fully, obey Him implicitly, dwell in His love, sing His praises and pray without ceasing. No need for fear of our circumstances, guilt trips, anxiety or ambition; and DEFINITELY no cause for pride or greed or malice.
What a long, long process it is, from the moment of first acknowledging Jesus Christ as the Son of God and accepting Him as personal Saviour, to the dawn of the realization that we are henceforward raindrops in the ocean of God's Love! As we accept Christ as our Lord and Master and seek first the KINGdom of God, we become corpuscles *in* the blood of Christ, raindrops *in* the ocean that is God Himself... and the whole purpose of the events in our lives becomes our training to REST in those circumstances, TRUST God to see us through them (no matter how disastrous they look to our mortal eyes), REPORT back to Him what we see, hear, experience and need of Him, and PRAISE Him for His mighty wonders - KNOWING that His answers are sure and His Love assured. We are no more at risk than a raindrop in the ocean, because He is in control at all times and is almighty, all-powerful, all-knowing. We have no more right to envy or fear, no more cause for pride or guilt. Those are reactions of *SELF-seeking* individuals, and as Paul tells us, "I must decrease that He may increase." "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." "Pray without ceasing" because that is the conduit by which we communicate to God the situation in which we find ourselves from our perspective; and praising Him, "rejoice always", because that is how we acknowledge our certainty that He is mighty to save and will never leave us nor forsake us.
HALLELUJAH, dear ones, Christ is KING!!!!!
........
And this morning He had a question for me. Several years ago He showed me that I was to have praise and worship gatherings in my home. This has yet to happen. Know what His question was? How many people does it take to praise Me? Oops! Guess I'd better start with who I've got available, huh? One one-(wo)man praise and worship session coming right up! Sorry, Lord......... Duh.........
And even BETTER news: The weight of the world is not on MY shoulders after all! I call upon the Lord and all His resources from my newly-realized status of Raindrop-in-the-Ocean; and let Him reign. After all, it's His Kingdom, right? He died for it centuries ago, and He is coming back to accept His Crown - as soon as we realize exactly how unimportant our little wishes are, in the larger, far larger, glory that is God. "Even so come, Lord Jesus!"
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
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IN WORDS OF ONE SYLLABLE
Thanks, Ed Wrather, for explaining the Christian life so simply! - and for your kind permission to pass this message along. -- Doris H.
The Burning Bush Devotional 05.22.03
(Over 8,000 subscribers in 75 countries)
KICK HIM OUT!
These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but
which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the
Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned. - I Corinthians 2:13-14.
Caroll Spinney is Big Bird or at least he is the man inside Big Bird.
Caroll says, "I'll have people meet me on the street with their
3-year-old and they'll say, 'Do you know who this is? There's a man
inside Big Bird and this is the man.' This is bad news to a child."
Spinney has been the man inside Big Bird for 30 years.
I'm sure it is shocking to a little child to suddenly realize there is
not actually a "Big Bird" i.e. a species of big bird; but it is only a
man made thing. When I was four years old I saw a talking tree on TV
and I was convinced for months that some trees could talk even though my
mother and sister tried to change my mind.
There is an amazing spiritual fact that at first I found hard to
believe. Every person has another person inside of them. There is the
"natural man" and there is the Holy Spirit. Now the "natural man" is
not an actual spiritual person as is the Holy Spirit but represents the
fleshly worldly nature that controls us before we have salvation through
Jesus. As the apostle says in I Corinthians, "the natural man does not
receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to
him."
Compare the "natural man" to the person of the Holy Spirit which
indwells/abides within all true believers. Paul says of the Holy
Spirit, "But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the
Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man
knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?
Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we
have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from
God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by
God (I Corinthians 2:10-12)."
If you find it hard to understand the truths of the Kingdom of God it
may be that you are still groping in darkness and that the "natural man"
is still in charge. Even after salvation we have a choice to make as to
whether we will allow our natural nature to control us or whether we
will seek the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:5-6). Is the "natural man"
making your life miserable? If so kick him out! Invite the Holy Spirit
in through Jesus and live in "accordance with the Spirit" and you will
have "life and peace." Then you will be able to see and understand
clearly the "things that have been freely given to us by God."
Copyright © 2003. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the
devotionals on a non-profit basis with source credited.
There is now a webpage available at associate.com where the devotionals
are archived http://associate.com/groups/burningbushdevo. There is a
complete archive at the Burning Bush website and the address for the
archive is http://www.theburningbush.org/33.html.
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
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CHRISTIAN LINKS:
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
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OHzone UPdates...
I've been working on building a web presence for Chris Anderson's First Love Ministry at http://www.firstloveministry.com, and being totally blessed by his prophetic teachings in the process. If you're looking for solid food for your spiritual digestion, why not drop by and select a few courses? It may be a welcome change from the bland diet offered from toooooo many pulpits these days. (I was especially challenged by his Critical Issues piece, although it's hard to select just one from so many!)
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
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GUEST EDITORIAL by Pastor Dennis Goforth:
I was just thinking about ...
SPIRITUAL BATTLES
"Get
it, Ginsu; tear it up." We were watching our Chihuahua embroiled in a battle
of life and death with his old archenemy... the foot warmer. Though it didn't
vibrate or heat anymore, it was much more comfortable on the feet than the cold
floor when at the computer. But it had been kicked underneath one of the desks
some time back, hidden from view and forgotten about. But Ginsu, seeing the
world from a decidedly lower perspective, found it "stalking" him. After a
short time, he attacked it. I watched as he heroically attacked the invader that
certainly outsized him. He barked at it, then grabbed it in his teeth and shook
it with all his might. Occasionally in the melee, the invader would make an
unexpected move, leaping on top of Ginsu. He yelped and ran quickly around to
attack from another angle.
At
this point, I reminded my wife about my idea for his name, Godzilla. Yep,
Godzilla was afraid of nothing and that's what this dog was all about.
"Uh-huh," responded my wife. "Well, when Ginsu the wonder mutt was out on
his walk, it was a different story." She started laughing and explaining all
about the walk she had just taken him on. He doesn't go outside much, so when
she took him on the walk, he was exposed to a brand new, scary world. Outside of
his comfortable surroundings, he transformed from Ginsu the Terrible to Pollo
(Spanish for chicken) the Terrified. Ginsu was afraid of just about everything
he came into contact with, including the grass; which of course was half as tall
as he was.
I
got thinking, isn't that the case with most Christians today? It's easy to
be bold in the safety of the sanctuary where everyone thinks along the same
lines as you. You can face off against the Devil and his minions and shout the
praises of God Almighty till your lungs are ready to burst. Even though Satan is
the first of the angels, we don't care; he can't touch us, right? And then
we leave the sanctuary, our place of comfort and security. What happens then? Do
we lose our strength, our power …our confidence in the ability of God to
empower us wherever we go? The world outside the church is a scary place. Even
the simple grass of everyday life is seen as reaching up to trip and grab us.
And we are terrified as our boldness in the faith takes a hike out the back
door. Then the guilt and shame of our true nature falls heavily upon us, shoving
our faces further into the dust till we are too ashamed and embarrassed to raise
our eyes toward heaven to seek help from our Lord.
And
yet, that is exactly what He's waiting for. He just can't wait to help us.
His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Every time we lift our heads to
him and are strengthened to stand once again, God receives glory. We realize our
powerlessness apart from God and are encouraged to reach out to him to receive
power. That connection proves to the powers of evil that God is omnipotent; that
He is able to accomplish great and mighty wonders through such helpless
creatures as us. So the next time you feel the world closing in on you, seek the
help of God. Call out the mighty name of Jesus the Christ, the all-powerful Son
of God. Call on the power of the Holy Spirit of God and see what happens. It may
sound like the scared yelp of a powerless Chihuahua, but the presence of God
will give you courage to change position and attack with more ferocity and
determination than you thought possible. What a gift! What a God!
Drop
on by anytime, I'll be here and so will God,
Dennis
If you would like to be notified by email when
Pastor Dennis updates his devotion, please click
here to be added to our mailing list. (kim@gopraise.net); and please drop in to visit his website
at GoPraise.Net.
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
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NEWS BRIEFS:
- The incredible Rudy Brinkman (ChristPages.Net - http://www.ChristPages.Net) writes, "i've uploaded a new song ("Adam") to my soundclick site! You can
listen/download it for free at http://www.yaomb.com ... For the first time í've published a song with a "christian" theme, but i hope the music will be interesting enough for non-believers to listen to also." Two days later he wrote, in total shock, that the song had made the top ten on SoundClick! It's still there; and no doubt Rudy is still amazed. He's a modest guy for all his talent. Anyway, check out ADAM ("Where Are You Hiding?"), dear ones. I love it!
- And the indomitable Mid (Mid's Point - http://midspoint.aviqa.com) made my day with this joyous note: "From: Mid L Stutsman To: dhowie@ohzone.net Sent: Friday, May 23, 2003 4:59 PM Subject: Fw: Rainy Day Corner Short Story Contest
Dow....Just had to share this with you first!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
cuz you've been such an inspiration to me about my writing... ; }
God is so merciful...I've had a terrible week...and then this just in my inbox!!
shewk.... whew....sniff and Praise the Lord!!!
lvya.....Mid
Dear Mid,
Congratulations, Peggy Tibbetts of Writing-World.com chose your entry
"Arcelia" as the Grand Prize Winner in our first Children's Short Story
Contest. You'll be receiving the grand prize of $250.00 within the next ten
to fourteen business days along with a certificate. I will also enclose
comments Peggy made to me about your wonderful story. Thank you for
participating in our contest. Again, congratulations!
Cheers,
Linda S. Dupie
==============================================
Writer/Editor
THE WRITING FAMILY MARKET GUIDE
http://www.rainydaycornerpublishing.com/
RDCP Non-Fiction Article Contest up to a $250 Grand Prize
http://www.rainydaycorner.com/nonfiction.htm
Subscribe to RDCP for The Writing Family
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RainyDayCorner
"Everyone has a talent. What is rare is the courage to nurture it in
solitude and to follow the talent to the dark places where it leads." -
~ Erica Jong"
- The Word Guild is pleased to announce the short-list of finalists for its first Book-length Contest for First-time Canadian Authors. The winning manuscript will be published jointly by Castle Quay Books and Essence Publishing. This competition was open to any writer of Canadian citizenship who has never had a book published by a royalty-paying publisher or on a work-for-hire basis and is not currently under contract with a publisher for publication.
Short-list of finalists:
- Diary of an Iconoclast by Geoff Ryan from Toronto, Ontario
- Retrospectives by Alvin G. Ens from Abbotsford, British Columbia
- The Chicago Healer by Paul H. Boge from Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Walking Towards Hope: Experiencing Grace in a Time of Brokenness by Paul M. Beckingham from Vancouver, British Columbia
- Where Eagles Never Fly by Brian Austin from Durham, Ontario
Finalists represent a variety of Christian traditions including Salvation Army, Mennonite Church, Mennonite Brethren, Baptist, and Evangelical Missionary Church. The Word Guild is a Canada-wide association of writers and editors who are Christian.
The winner will be announced on June 13, 2003 during the "Expressing the Invisible" God Uses Ink Christian Writers' Conference in Guelph, Ontario. At that time, The Word Guild will present awards for published work, for the "Expressing the Invisible" contest for unpublished writers, and the Leslie K. Tarr career achievement award.
The winning author will be offered the standard form author's agreement from Castle Quay Books, including an advance of $1,000 against future royalties.
For more information, please visit http://www.thewordguild.com
email njlindquist@rogers.com
or call N. J. (Nancy) Lindquist, executive director, The Word Guild, at 905-471-1447.
- Last but not least, this from my friend Jim Magwood at JimMagwood@aol.com Sent: Saturday, May 24, 2003 11:52 PM
Have you ever wondered what June Carter Cash (the carpenter's lady), Fred Rogers (from The Neighborhood), Alan Jackson (country singer), Condoleeza Rice (the United States National Security Adviser) and Mike Singletary (National Football League Hall of Fame linebacker) could have in common? Would you think that people as diverse as these from around the world might all acknowledge the leading of God in their lives?
You can read their stories (and those of many others) on the PEOPLE page at THE MASTER'S VOICE WEBSITE (http://www.themastersvoice.net/).
Blessings
Jim
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Keep on raining --- I won't drown;
My feet are planted on higher ground.
Keep on reigning; You're my Lord!
Sharpen my mind by Your Spirit's sword.
Compliments of NicksHumor.net
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That's about it for now, folks. God bless you and keep you, one and all!
PAYMENT DUE!!
The OHzone E-Clips is no longer free... it is now 'Helpware.' Each week you must help one person on the web who has less knowledge than you. Pick a newsgroup posting or an email each week and help that person even if you have to visit their site to find the best answer or do a little research and get back to them. Trust me, this will make you feel better, and will help a lot of people get their sites running better. That includes me, so if you've got a great idea you'd like to see on OHzone, let me know, okay? joy@ohzone.net
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(((HUGS))) and blessings to you all,
(Mrs.) Doris E. Howie <><
Editor, OHzone E-CLIPS
