Obtaining Mercy

A Little Reviving

 

These verses blessed me this morning, so I thought I would share them with you.

 

 Ezra 9:8-9a - 

"And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.
For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us..."

 

What a loving God we have!

I pray you have a wonderful weekend, and are able to spend time in the Lord's house on Sunday.  You need to be there.  It will help you.  Don't allow Satan to keep you away this weekend.

Blessings,

Alesha

Tea Perfection

 

Doug and I have been really enjoying drinking hot tea this winter.

(Not that it feels like winter all the time here - it's in the 80*s today - but we're drinking the tea hot, nevertheless!)

So, I wanted to show you this most excellent Christmas gift I received from Isaac's caregiver. 

Here are the reasons that it is my favorite mug ever:

1.  No pretty flowers.  No sentimental words.  Just shiny black with a normal-hand-sized handle.

2.  It's one bit a decor - this fancy little swirl on top of the awesome LID!

3.  The lid flips over to become a saucer...

4. To hold the perfectly-matching basket when it's removed from the mug!

5.  No messy tea bag or leaves dripping, no cold tea after the steeping is done. 

Perfect tea every time in my perfect tea mug!

You know...maybe I should order a spare...yeah...I'm gonna look into that right away!  Just in case...

And, who knows, Doug might like having a "perfect" mug, too!

;o)

Alesha

2013

 

 

Happy New Year to you,

my dear readers!

I am wishing God's richest blessings on you in this new year.

 

Psalm 8

[1] O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
[2] Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
[3] When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
[4] What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
[5] For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
[6] Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
[7] All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
[8] The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
[9] O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

A Joyful Christmas to You!

 

Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne

 

Oh Jesus,

Thank you for being born

So that You could die for me!

Literally, the God Who could not die

Became a man so that He was physically able to die.

Why?

So that He could pay the penalty for my sin,

By His death on the cross of Calvary.

What unfathomable love!

What immense kindness!

What incredible mercy!

Have you accepted His penalty for your sin?

Have you been reconciled to this loving Creator-God?

 

II Corinthians 6:2b "...behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."

 

There is no better time than right now to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour from the penalty of your sin.

Please feel free to email me or leave a comment here if you would like to know more about how to make this life-altering decision today.

I would be delighted and honored to introduce you to my Friend and Redeemer!

Blessings,

Alesha

On the Twelfth Day of the Nativity

 

God Provided!

 

Have you picked up on that theme during these 12 days?

Step by step, moment by moment, the great God, Jehovah Jireh, provided everything that Joseph, Mary and Jesus needed during this historical, poignant moment of history.

Even in all the Divine magnificence, He met every human need of Joseph and Mary.  He provided for them physically, emotionally, financially and spiritually.

He had His all-mighty hand on them during each climactic moment of Jesus birth, from the first angelic visitation to the flight into Egypt.  It was all planned and it was all provided for.

The amazing truth is that He will do no less for you.  You are His child, and He cannot be untrue to His nature.  He has promised to meet your every need, and He will.

Do not doubt it.

God will provide!

On the Eleventh Day of the Nativity

 

God provided a place of refuge for Jesus and His earthly family.

 

Not only was the manger provided for Jesus' birth, but also the provision and plan for His flight into Egypt was planned by God.

When the danger arose, God sent them out in the way that He had before ordained.  They were safely led and safely kept.

Scripture does not share much of their time in Egypt.  Even in Its pages, they had anonymity for the years they spent there.

They had a sure refuge in the time of danger.

And so do we. 

Psalm 142:4-5 "I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul. I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living."

 

On the Tenth Day of the Nativity

 

God provided a warning to His worshippers to avoid danger.

 

Can you imagine what the neighbors of the wise men thought, when they began to discuss their journey to follow the star of Jesus?

I'm sure some folks called them fools.  Others probably branded them as religious fanatics.  They were leaving their families and livelihoods behind to set out on a 2-year journey to find the Christchild.  They were using their fortunes and probably risking their health and well-being to take this trip.

However, they made it safely, didn't they?  They arrived, and were directed to the house where Jesus was living with His parents. 

Then, when it was time to go, God protected them yet again.  He warned them in a dream to not return to tell Herod where the child was.  They departed, safely, a different way into their own country.

The Lord protects those who love Him.  He will speak to us through His Word, through counsellors, through that still, small Voice of His Spirit to lead us safely to the land of our destination.

There is no need to fear when you follow the Saviour. 

He will take care of you.

Luke 12:24 "Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?"

 

On the Ninth Day of the Nativity

 

God provided wealth, well in advance of their need.

 

 

On the night Jesus was born, when His star settled over His humble birthplace, God brought His birth to the attention of men who lived very, very far away. 

That night, they began a long two-year journey to worship the Christchild.

Along with their joyous worship, the wise men also brought costly gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  While these were representative of the life, death and ministry of Christ, they were also a financial blessing from God.

As soon as the wise men left, Joseph, Mary and Jesus began their journey into Egypt, where they lived until the death of Herod.  That journey, as well as their housing, provisions, clothing, and animals for the next several years would have, no doubt, been financed by those wonderful gifts from the wise men.

How good is our God?!!  I may be facing a need 2 years from now for which He is right now making provision.  Even more poignant is the thought that I may have a need today for which He provided 2 years ago, or perhaps even further back than that!

Our God sees the end from the beginning.  Time is laid out before Him like a scroll and He sees all of our lives, intertwined and separate, our birth to our death, in one sweeping glance.

We can trust Him to meet every need.  No matter how quickly our crisis arrives, it does not catch the Eternal One by surprise!

Philippians 4:19 "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

On the Eighth Day of the Nativity

 

God provided other women to assure Mary of God's plan.

 

Women thrive on community much more than men do.  Relationships are very important to us.  And our God knows that, because He is the one Who made us that way.

So, in His kindness, He sent not one woman to provide comfort to Mary's heart, but two.

The first was her cousin, Elizabeth.

 

Luke 1:42-45 "And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord."

 

What sweet words of assurance to the fragile, wondering, fearful heart of Mary. 

The second woman to give encouragment to Mary was Anna.

 

Luke 2:38 "And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem."

 

Anna's words confirmed again all that the angels had said to Joseph and Mary.

No matter how much faith we have in God's promises to us, it is always a blessing to have a word of encouragment from another woman who understands.

God is faithful to meet the the spiritual and physical needs we have, but He is also so kind to meet the emotional needs of our heart, as well.