Tag Archives: Tears

A Bag, a Book, and a Bottle!

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God takes great care to comfort His people in their many trials and sorrows in this world. One of the goals which He commands His preachers to have, is the comfort of His people. He says, “Comfort, comfort My people.” Here are three things described in the Word of God that should be of great comfort to every believer.

1. God has made A BAG FOR OUR SINS. Job said, “My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and you sew up my iniquity.” In ancient times when men died at sea, their bodies were placed in a weighted bag which was sewn together and sealed. Then they were cast into the depths of the sea.

That is what God has done with our sins. They are cast “into the depths of the sea.” When Christ died for our sins which were imputed to Him, He put them all away. They were buried in the sea of God’s infinite forgiveness, put away never to be brought up again. God almighty will never charge us with sin, impute sin to us, remember our sins against us, or treat us any less graciously because of our sin. That is the forgiveness of God! “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”

2. The Lord has written A BOOK FOR OUR NAMES. Take heart child of God. Your name is written in the book of God! Before the worlds were made, the Lord God inscribed the names of His elect in the Lamb’s book of life. In that book God has recorded, not only the names of the chosen heirs of Heaven, but also all things pertaining to them. The Lamb’s book of life is the book of God’s eternal purpose of grace, predestination, and election. The fact that our names are written in that book means that our salvation is a matter of absolute certainty, and that all things work together for our good by God’s arrangement to secure our predestined end, which is perfect conformity to Christ. When our Lord says, “Rejoice because your names are written in Heaven,” He is telling us that we have nothing to fear. All is well with those whose names are written in Heaven.

3. Moreover, the Lord God keeps A BOTTLE FOR OUR TEARS. “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in Your bottle. You have recorded each one in Your book.” It was customary at ancient Egyptian funerals for mourners to have a small cloth or sponge to wipe away their tears. Then they were squeezed into a small vial, a tear bottle, and placed in the tomb with the dead, symbolizing the care the mourners had for the one who had died. Even so, the Lord our God, our heavenly Father, our almighty Savior, and our holy Comforter tenderly cares for us. We are the very apple of His eye.

The Lord our God has . . .
put our sins in a bag and buried them,
written our names in a book to remember them, and
placed our tears in a bottle to show His tender care for us.

Could anything be more comforting in this world of sin, sorrow, and death?

(Don Fortner)

Losses, crosses, disappointments and bereavements.

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“Unto you therefore who believe โ€” He is precious!” 1 Peter 2:7

Christ is especially precious to believers โ€” when the emptiness of the world is discovered. The soul having tried the world, has found it . . .

false and fickle,
an empty cistern,
a dry well,
a cloud without water,
only vanity and vexation of spirit!

The Christian has experienced that . . .
the world’s pleasures โ€” end in pain,
its honors โ€” end in disgrace,
and its wealth โ€” ends in absolute poverty.

Now turning from the world, to Jesus โ€” it finds . . .

solid happiness,
substantial pleasure,
full supplies.

It obtains . . .
a deep and lasting peace which passes all understanding,
unsearchable riches in Christ, and
honors which will never pass away.

O how precious is Jesus, when this world appears to be a valley of tears! Almost everything earthly is at times calculated to . . .

cause sorrow,
fill us with sadness,
and draw forth tears.
Losses, crosses, disappointments and bereavements โ€” all conspire to make us sad. Earth is to us a Valley of Achor โ€” the place of trouble and sorrow.

Now turning to Jesus, we find a friend who loves at all times, and a brother born for adversity.
He makes up for every loss,
He sanctifies every disappointment,
and He fills for us every relation.

His presence is . . .

like a flowing spring โ€” in a dreary desert,
like a cheering fire โ€” on a piercing winter’s night,
and like a happy home โ€” to the exhausted traveler.

O how precious is Jesus now!

(James Smith, “Christ Precious!” 1861)

A Personal Journey

Child of Light

Hi all!! Sorry if itโ€™s felt like iโ€™ve deserted you. Iโ€™ve been on a partial fast (The Daniel Fast) for the whole of October, so i havnโ€™t been on my blog much at all. God has taught me more in this last month than the last 10 years of my new life as a Christian.ย 

Iโ€™ve been studying Ephesians 4 & 5 verse by verse and through many tears the spirit has shown me how iโ€™ve been grieving him, and what i need to correct as iโ€™m a child of light. So walk as a child of light! ๐Ÿ™‚

Iโ€™m away this weekend for Sarahโ€™s Dadโ€™s 70th birthday, but iโ€™ll be back as usual on Monday!

Iโ€™ve really missed you guys! x ๐Ÿ™‚

The Preacher

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The story is told of a church that secured a new preacher, and the word spread around town about how well he preached.ย  The church members were abuzz about what an improvement he was over their former preacher, and how much more attention they gave to his sermons.ย  When the town cynic asked what made this new preacher so much better than his predecessor, he was told, โ€œThe old preacher told us that weโ€™re all sinners, and that if we didnโ€™t repent, weโ€™d burn in hell forever!โ€ย  This cynic then asked, โ€œAnd what does this new one say?โ€ย  The answer was, โ€œThat weโ€™re all sinners, and that if we donโ€™t repent, weโ€™ll burn in hell forever!โ€ย  When the cynic responded that he didnโ€™t see any difference between the two of them, he was told, โ€œThis new preacher says it with tears in his eyes.โ€

Tony Campolo

Cry With Us

This powerful poem was read out yesterday at our morning service as we prayed and reflected on the situation in Gaza. It was deeply moving.

Yohanna has written a poem, Cry with us (see below), which he is happy for churches to use as they pray for the situation and cry with them at this difficult time. He believes people in the UK and around the world can help change the situation in Israel-Palestineโ€ฆ read more

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Cry With Us

This is a season of weeping and mourning, but it is not void of hope.

Our tears are the bridge between brutality and humanity;

our tears are the salty gates for seeing a different reality;

our tears are facing soulless nations and a parched mentality;

our tears are the dam preventing rivers of animosity.

For the sake of the mourning men, cry with us to reflect your amity.

For the sake of the poor children, cry with us demanding sanity.

For the sake of lamenting mothers, refuse violence and stupidity.

Love your enemies and cry with them is the advice of divinity.

Bless those who curse is the path to genuine spirituality.

Pour tears of mercy; compassion is true piety.

Pray with tears, for the sake of spreading equity.

Followers of Jesus: crying is now our responsibility.

But donโ€™t cry for your friends only;

but also for your Enemy.

Yohanna Kanatacho

A Wedding Sandwich

Well itโ€™s been an emotional (but rewarding) couple of weeks with a wedding sandwiched between 2 funerals. 1st was Sarahโ€™s Grans funeral (seeย ๐ŸŒนBeautiful Rosa๐ŸŒน) then my sisters wedding (see My Sisters Wedding) and today we celebrated Sarahโ€™s Spiritual guide & support Audrey Broderickโ€™s life at a beautiful and moving memorial service. During the service Audrey had requested a poem to be read and i thought iโ€™d share it with youโ€ฆ.

You can shed tears that she is gone
or you can smile because she has lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that sheโ€™ll come back
or you can open your eyes and see all sheโ€™s left.

Your heart can be empty because you canโ€™t see her
or you can be full of the love you shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember her and only that sheโ€™s gone
or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.

You can cry and close your mind,
be empty and turn your back
or you can do what sheโ€™d want:
smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

David Harkins, ยฉ 1981

The Masterpiece

The Masterpiece

By Michael Youssef, Ph.D.

There is a story about a wealthy man and his only son who travelled the world together collecting priceless paintings by Van Gogh, Monet and many other masters. Tragically, the son died at war while rescuing others. Distraught and lonely, the old man dreaded the upcoming Christmas day.

Christmas morning, a young soldier knocked on his door and said, โ€œIโ€™m a friend of your son. Iโ€™m one of the ones he rescued.โ€ Then the soldier presented a picture he had painted of the son. Though the picture lacked genius, the brokenhearted father saw the features of his precious son and immediately valued this painting above all the masterpieces in his home. Every day, the father gazed at the portrait and told his housekeeper of his great love for it.

When the father died, the art world buzzed with excitement over the sale of his extraordinary art collection on Christmas day.

The first item offered was the painting of the son, but no one in the self-important crowd would bid on the amateurish portrait. The auctioneer insisted that the terms of the will required the portrait must be sold before any other paintings could be offered. Finally, the housekeeper, tears streaming down her cheeks, said to the auctioneer, โ€œMay I pay ten dollars for it? That is all the money I have. I knew the son, and I know how much the father treasured that portrait.โ€ The auctioneer said, โ€œThe bid is ten dollars. Going once, going twice, gone,โ€ and the gavel fell.

The auctioneer then announced that the auction was over. โ€œWhat do you mean?โ€ said the stunned audience. โ€œThere must be hundreds of millions of dollars of art here.โ€ The auctioneer replied, โ€œIt is very simple. According to the will of the father, whoever takes the son gets it all.โ€

Like the art collectors, not everyone can see the real value of a relationship with Jesus. John 1:11 tells us that Jesus came to His own but His own received Him not. They did not accept the precious gift of Godโ€™s Son, a gift that brings with it all the blessings and love of God.

If you are not intentional about recognizing and receiving Jesus Christ, you will have nothing in the end, and there will be no negotiation of Godโ€™s terms. Godโ€™s Son may have been born in the most humble of circumstances in a manger in Bethlehem, but He is coming back in power and glory. The next time we see Jesus, things will be very different from His first coming. Not only will He be the King of kings but He will be a judge and we will be held accountable for our lives.

Read John 3:18-36 and Revelations 3:16. Clearly, there are two categories of people: those who fully accept the Son as the only means to the Father and those who donโ€™t. People who are indifferent or neutral about the Son will miss the opportunity to live eternally with the Father in Heaven. It is not enough to believe Jesus was a good man or a prophet; James 2:19 says that even the devil believes and โ€œtrembles.โ€

Have you said โ€œYesโ€ to the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? Luke 15:7 says there will be joy in Heaven when you do. Tell the Father today about your love for His Son. Ask God to protect your heart from being neutral or complacent about your devotion to Jesus. Is there someone you know who needs to acknowledge Jesus as Savior? Pray about being intentional about introducing them to the Son.


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