Our Secret Sins!!

There are sin that shout from rooftops, and there are sin that whisper in the shadows of the soul. These are our "secret sins" hidden from human eyes, unnoticed by those around us, and often even concealed from our own self-awareness. Yet Scripture makes it solemnly clear: No sin is hidden from the all-seeing eye of God!

David, the man after God's own heart, cried out in Psalm 19:12, "Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults." In humility, he acknowledged what every believer must: We are blind to the full depth of our depravity! There are corrupt motives we do not fully grasp, selfish thoughts we excuse or forget, and subtle pride cloaked in religious activity. We are often strangers to the worst parts of our own hearts!

God, however, sees all. "You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence!" Psalm 90:8. In the brightness of His holiness, there are no shadows. The thoughts we nurse, the desires we entertain, the motives behind our service these are all laid bare before Him. Hebrews 4:13 reminds us, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account." Oh, how many Christians think themselves safe, because their sin is hidden from others, yet it is festering in the sight of God!

The sobering truth is that secret sins are not secret to God. But for the believer, this is not merely terrifying it is transforming. It drives us to the cross of Jesus. There, even the most hidden iniquities were placed upon our sin-atoning Substitute. Jesus died not only for our open sins but for those we alone know, and those we do not even recognize.

The awareness of God's all-seeing gaze ought to breed both reverence and rejoicing. Reverence, because no act, thought, or word escapes His notice. Rejoicing, because Jesus has atoned for all. Therefore, let us walk before Him with sincerity. 

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

Psalm 139:23-24 ... Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.

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Jesus is LORD.

 Whether you accept Him or not and whether you believe or not, Christ is LORD.

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Philippians 2:10-11 ... That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Acts 10:36 .... The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)

Psalm 14:1 ... The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

Revelation 17:14 ... These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. ❤

All Honey ...

Our mourning shall last but until morning. God will turn our winter's night, into a summer's day; our sighing, into singing; our grief, into gladness; our mourning, into music; our bitter, into sweet; our wilderness, into a paradise.

The life of a Christian is filled up with interchanges of sickness, and health; weakness, and strength; want, and wealth; disgrace, and honor; crosses, and comforts; miseries, and mercies; sorrows, and joys; mourning, and mirth.

All honey would harm us, and all wormwood would undo us. A composition of both is the best way to keep our souls in a healthy constitution. It is best and most for the health of the soul that the warm south wind of mercy, and the cold north wind of adversity both blow upon it. And though every wind which blows, shall blow good to the saints; yet certainly their sins die most, and their graces thrive best when they are under the frigid, drying, nipping north wind of calamity as well as under the warm, nourishing south wind of mercy and prosperity.

[Thomas Brooks]

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Psalm 30:5 ... For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Proverbs 30:8-9 ... Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

1 Peter 4:13 ...  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. ❤

No-Sew Sock Bunny

Have a Hoppy good time!

 

Tutorial here: Easy DIY Sock Bunny

1 Corinthians 10:31 ... Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

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Spiritual State

We don’t decide the day of our death any more than we decided the day of our birth. But we do determine the spiritual state we’ll be in when we die. God wants us to be close to Him. God wants us in friendship and fellowship and intimacy with Him. But it’s our choice whether to have a relationship with the Lord or not to have a relationship with Him. We must choose wisely so that we finish well. 

[Greg Laurie]

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Joshua 24:15 ...  And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Deuteronomy 30:19 ... I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

2 Timothy 4:7-8 ... I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. ❤

Your Calling

Your calling is going to crush you.

If you are called to mend the brokenhearted, you are going to wrestle with a broken heart.

If you are called to heal God’s little ones, you are going to experience your own share of trauma.

If you’re called to preach and teach the gospel, you WILL be sifted for the wisdom that anoints your message.

If you are called to empower, your self-esteem will be attacked your successes hard fought.

Your calling will come with spiritual warfare and a sifting BOTH are necessary for your mantle to be authentic, humble and powerful.

Your crushing won’t be easy because your assignment is not easy and you can’t minister POWERFULLY what you haven’t walked out. Read that sentence again.

When you’re feeling the weight of it coming down on you, RUN to the father who longs to be your comfort. Let him whisper your true identity over you while resting under the shadow of his wings. Position yourself against his heartbeat. Let him renew your strength and set your eyes forward.

No olives, no oil.

No grapes, no wine.

Your oil is not cheap my friend.

[Author Unknown]

Acts 14:22 ...  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Romans 5:3-5 ...  And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

2 Corinthians 1:4 ... Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. ❤

Eternal Fountains

Numerous are the sources of sorrow here on earth but God will dry them all up in Heaven.  There will be no mourning Christian to drop tears there, "for all sorrow and sighing shall flee away!" There is nothing in that happy residence to distress or annoy.  Jeremiah will utter no plaintive language there. Transgressors will grieve the holy no more. Bartimaeus is the poor blind beggar no more. Lazarus's sores have been replaced by immortal beauty. The weeping widow is no longer crushed to the dust by the heavy hand of poverty. The orphan child is no longer forsaken and homeless. Pinching poverty and wasting disease are unknown. 

The distressing complaint will never accost the ear, "I am sick!" The sting of death and the terrors of the grave will never present themselves there. There are no graves in the land of eternal life. There is no death of friends there. Martha and Mary go to no beloved brother's grave to weep. 

Yonder, there is no deceitful heart, no secret foe, no fascinating world, no artful Satan! The former things have passed away, and the era of immortality has arrived.  God shall give them everything calculated to secure, continue, and increase their happiness. "He will lead them to springs of living water," which shall never be exhausted. A spring is termed living water, because constantly bubbling up, and running on. These "springs of living water" indicate endless sources of happiness, which Christ will supply to His redeemed people from His own infinite plenitude. 

These eternal fountains will make an infinite variety for the enjoyments of the blessed. There will be no sameness, and therefore no weariness to the spirit. Every moment will open a new source of pleasure. And as God is infinite, so His attributes are infinite, and throughout infinity more and more of those attributes will be unveiled and the discovery of each will be a new fountain of enjoyment. These sources will be ever opening through all eternity and yet, through all eternity, there will still remain in the absolute perfections of the Godhead, an infinity of them still to be opened! 

[William Nicholson] 

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Revelation 7:17 ... For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Psalm 36:9 ... For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.

Philippians 1:23 ... For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: ❤

Very Precious!!

Oh, that I had power to speak of His preciousness as it ought to be spoken of. None but an angelic speaker to tell out all of His worth. Jesus is essentially precious. He possesses an intrinsic worth. He must be precious, who is infinite God. To every sinner who feels his sin, Jesus is precious. To every saved child of God, the Savior must forever be the fairest among the fair.

To every heir of Heaven who has experienced the sweetness of His saving grace, Jesus is "the chief among ten thousand, and the altogether lovely One." (Song of Solomon 5:10,16) Had it not been for our Savior' sin-atoning death on the cross, we would forever have been cast into eternal Hell.

Jesus is so precious that He cannot be bought. If a man should give all the substance of his house to purchase a saving interest in Jesus, it would be utterly despised. Rich men might gather together all their precious things; yes, India might be exhausted of its wealth, Peru drained of its silver, and California of its gold; but no part nor lot in Jesus could be bought.

He gives Himself away right freely, according to the riches of His grace. But He is utterly unpurchasable, for He is so precious that He cannot even be priced. A whole world can never compare to Him; any more than a single grain of dust could compare to the universe. Jesus is so precious because He is immeasurable. There is no measuring line which could measure Him; He is infinite, and finite minds will never be able to comprehend His unutterable value.

He is God's unspeakable gift. Heaven itself is nothing as compared with Him; and if a man had to wade chest deep through a thousand Hells to come to Jesus, it would be well worth the venture, if at the last he might but say, "My Beloved is mine, and I am His." (Song of Solomon 2:16)

Jesus is so precious that He cannot be matched. There is none like Him. The fairest of the fair are unlovely and deformed when compared with Him. If you were able to ransack time and space, you could find none that could equal Him.

Miss Him as your Savior, and you have lost the only salvation possible. Gain Him, and you will need no other. Jesus is our "wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and redemption." He is all your souls can need or desire. If Heaven and earth were sold, you could not match Jesus in any market. If you search eternity and ransack immensity, you could never find one fit to be second to Him, He is so precious.

Jesus is precious to us, because He cannot be lost. All the precious things in this world are losable. The jewels may be stolen, the house may be broken into by the thief, and the treasure may be taken away. But Jesus is such a jewel that even Satan himself can never rob the soul of Him when once it has Him. Is not Jesus a priceless, precious jewel, since He cannot be lost?

Though men have tried to focus the fires of persecution upon the Christian, they have never been able to separate him from the love of Jesus; and though earth and Hell have stirred up their malice, and the furnace has been heated seven times hotter, and the child of God has been tossed into it, and apparently deserted to the fury of his enemies yet never in a single case has the precious gem of Jesus in the heart been destroyed.

See the preciousness of Jesus the intrinsic preciousness, the essential preciousness:  He cannot be bought.  He cannot be priced.  He cannot be matched.  He cannot be lost.  He cannot be separated from His redeemed people.

Happy and rich beyond expression are those who can truly say, "Yes, He is very precious to us who believe." (1 Peter 2:7)

 [Charles H. Spurgeon]

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Direction For the Perplexed

You have his Word consult it; make it your counselor, your directory and your guide.

You have his promise believe it; He says, "I will teach you and instruct you in the way which you shall go, I will guide you with my eye."

You have his throne of grace flee to it and plead with Him as a man pleads with his friend.

And, while you consult his Word, believe his promise, and pray for direction watch his hand. Providence is God working; working to accomplish his purposes, to fulfill his promises, and answer the prayers of his people.

In his Word He speaks to us; on his throne He listens to us, by his providence He works for us, and those who keep their eye open will be sure to see his hand.

While you watch his hand seek grace to submit to his will. He wills to do you good, the greatest good; and if his will crosses yours, depend upon it, it is just because it is most for your benefit.

Gratefully acknowledge his favors as you receive them. Remember that, as sinful creatures, being criminals and traitors, we have no "rights". Consequently, everything short of hell is a mercy, everything but eternal punishment is a favor. How many favors you receive and how few praises you render! How many mercies are given you — and how few acknowledgments you make!

He who habitually consults God's holy Word, believes his faithful promises, pleads at his gracious throne for direction, watches his working hand, submits to his righteous will, and gratefully acknowledges his sovereign favors will never be allowed to go far wrong, or to go wrong for long.

[James Smith]

Proverbs 3:5-6 ...  Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Proverbs 8:33 ...  Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.  ❤

"Victory"

When the battle feels heavy, put your praise on the front lines. Victory begins when the singers led the way. The breakthrough often happens when we choose to worship before we even see the solution. Your praise isn't just a response to victory: it’s a proactive weapon that shifts the atmosphere.

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2 Chronicles 20:22 ... And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.

2 Samuel 22:4 ... I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

Psalm 104:35 ... Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Lord, O my soul. Praise ye the Lord. ❤

Known By ...

A man is known by the company he keeps. 

 [Aesop Proverb]

2 Corinthians 6:14 ... Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

1 Thessalonians 5:5 ... Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

Ephesians 5:11 ... And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

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