“Come to Me, all [a]who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find [b]rest for your souls. For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.β Matthew 11:28-30 NASB Read full chapter
His burden is light does not mean that there are no problems, trials, labor, or heartaches in the Christian life. But it does mean that we do not have to bear them alone. We are yoked with One who gives sufficient grace for every time of need. Believer’s Bible Commentary
In His Love, Cindy
Would you like to learn more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122:6
All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.
God always answers our prayers. He may say yes, no, or wait.Wait does not mean no. It means wait.
If God says, “Wait,” He has a purpose in your wait.
If you are waiting for an answer to prayer, God does not want you to give up! Jesus explains this in The Parable of the Persistent Widow.
"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: βIn a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, βGrant me justice against my adversary.β
βFor some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, βEven though I donβt fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she wonβt eventually come and attack me!ββ
And the Lord said, βListen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?β Luke 18:1-8
So, does God sometimes make us wait? Yes!
Abraham waited 25 years for the birth of his son, Isaac. (Genesis)
Joseph waited 13 years before becoming the 2nd-in-command in Egypt. (Genesis 15-30)
Moses wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. (Numbers 14:33-35)
David waited 15 years from the time he was anointed until he became king. (1 Samuel 16 through 2 Samuel 2)
God used this time of waiting to teach them perseverance. Romans 5:4 tells us that perseverance forges character, and character produces hope. Hope is essential because it gives us strength. When the time was right, God answered their prayer.
(The Greek word in verse 1 for “give up” is enkakeΕ. It means to give up, become discouraged, or lose heart.)
Jesus ended the lesson with this question:
“When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?β (v. 8)
If Jesus returns today, will He find you giving up and losing heart? Or will He find you persisting in prayer, no matter how long you’ve been waiting? Do you trust God to answer your prayer when the time is right?
You may have been waiting 20 years, but your answer could come today! If not, remember this: your answer will come when the time is right.
In His Love, Cindy
Would you like to learn more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122:6
(This post was inspired by my pastor’s Sunday sermon.)
All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted…” Isaiah 61:1 ESV
Has something happened to you that you haven’t been able to recover from? Rejection, betrayal, loss, abuse, and trauma can be almost impossible to get over. Maybe you have been praying for God to heal your heart for a long time, and even though you have forgiven, the pain still refuses to dissipate.
In church recently, it occurred to me that this promise might not be answered in our lifetime, but only after we get to Heaven. (I don’t know why this never occurred to me before.) So I emailed my pastor and asked him what he thought. This was his response:
“I do think itβs possible for a broken heart not to be healed this side of Heaven, but I donβt think that should be cause for despair or giving up hope that such a healing will happen. I not only believeβbut knowβthat God is able to βbind up the brokenhearted and set the captive free.” Pastor Jeff
Then I went to GotQuestions.org, which I knew would give me pertinent scriptures and a Christian perspective. They said,
“God never failed one of His people when they cried out to Him, and He will not fail the heartbroken Christian who cries out to Him today. He may not always answer exactly in the way we would like, but He answers according to His perfect will and timing, and, while we are waiting for the answer, His grace is sufficient.” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
David, a man after Godβs own heart, suffered many heartbreaking circumstances. Each time, he recovered and became an even stronger man of God. He was no stranger to betrayal.
He writes, “If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God.β (Psalm 55:12-14).
The closer the relationship, the greater the pain of betrayal. Take comfort in this:
βThe LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.β Psalm 34:18
Despite the pain, there is a way we can heal from betrayal. That power comes directly from God for those of us who put our hope in His unfailing love.
“…the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.” Psalm 147:11
I put my hope in God’s unfailing love. Will you?
In His Love, Cindy
Would you like to learn more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122:6
All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.
βAs water reflects the face, so oneβs life reflects the heart.β Proverbs 27:19
I have been reading through Proverbs, and I realize the importance of this treasure of wisdom. This book should be read and studied by all young people before they go away to college, maybe even before they start high school.
In His Love, Cindy
Would you like to learn more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122:6
All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.
“Do not let mercy and kindness and truth leave you [instead let these qualities define you]; Bind them [securely] around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. So find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man.” Proverbs 3:3-4 AMP (emphasis mine)
Jesus prayed for His disciples, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” John 17:17
In His Love, Cindy
Would you like to learn more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122:6
All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.
Speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus said, “You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: βThis people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.ββ Matthew 15:7-9 ESV Read full chapter
These verses give us a lot to think about. Christians must determine whether what is being taught aligns with God’s Word, or is it the commandments (ideas) of men?
Jesus says these teachers are hypocrites and “their heart is far from me.” That should motivate Christians to be discerning, like the Bereans.
Β hypokritΔs, n. hypocrite (an extension of an actor in a play), implying arrogance and hardness of heart, utterly devoid of sincerity and genuineness:β hypocritesΒ
In His Love, Cindy
Would you like to learn more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122:6
All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.
Yesterday, I wrote about how we can understand the Bible. In the Sunday school class I go to, someone stated something the Bible doesn’t support (in my opinion). I blurted out, “That’s not right!” The class went silent. The whole thing upset me so much that I considered not going back to the class.
Instead, I prayed about it, and God answered my prayer. But not like I expected!
Out of the blue, I decided to read a blog post by someone I like, but hadn’t read lately, Mama Lava. In her post, Mama Lava urged readers to study the book of Proverbs. I jumped right in.
When I got to chapters 9-11, I found the answer to what I had been earnestly praying about. Iβve read Proverbs many times, but the Lord wanted to show me the verses that applied to my situation. I quickly wrote them in my journal! I am so thankful for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
These are the verses the Holy Spirit led me to:
“Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues.” Proverbs 10:19
“With humility comes wisdom.” Proverbs 11:2
“Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense, but the one who has understanding holds their tongue.” Proverbs 11:12
“Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.” Proverbs 17:28
“The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves…” Proverbs 12:23
“The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered.” Proverbs 17:27
“From the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue…” Proverbs 16:1
In His Love, Cindy
Would you like to learn more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122:6
All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.
Real Christian Women 