86,400 seconds

"86,400 seconds are all you receive in one day. If you only had 86,400 seconds left in your entire life, what would you do with them?"

John Wesley was once asked what he would do with his life if he knew he would die at midnight the next day. His answer was something like this:

“I would just carry on with what I am doing. I will arise at 5:00 a.m. for prayer, and then take a house meeting at 6:00 a.m. At 12 noon, I will be preaching at an open-air. At 3:00 p.m. I have another meeting in another town. At 6:00 p.m. I have a house meeting; at 10:00 p.m. I have a prayer meeting and at 12:00 midnight, I would go to be with my Lord.”

If you knew that you would die in 24 hours, would you be able to keep living on in good conscience as you are? Or would you begin to do all manner of ministry and evangelistic outreach? Would you be more loving and caring and thoughtful to those around you?

The Bible tells us…

“Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” (Matt 24:44)

Do we live each day honoring to the Lord? Do we use each minute wisely? Time is a very precious gift. If you knew you only had 24 hours left to live, what changes would you make to your routine? In reality, we should live each day as if it were our last, because…it may really be our last. Oh Lord, help me to live each day for Your glory and to not have regrets!

Maybe you have not accepted Christ as your personal Savior, for you say, “I will get right with God before I die. There’s enough time.”

Is there really enough time?

10 out of 10 people die. Think about that. And how many of those knew that their hour to go had come? Death can happen suddenly. Very suddenly. You could have a heart attack…be hit head on by an incoming vehicle…even die in your sleep. Approximately over 150,000 people die and go to their eternal destiny every single day. Each one of us will someday meet our Maker and give an account of the things we did in this life.

May I ask you this: Do you know when you will die?

The obvious answer is no. None of us know when our time will come. But it may be today.

Are you ready?

If you are not ready for death, please, I beg you…get right with God. He is waiting with open arms, and invites you to come to Him and accept Him by faith. 

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Hello to our faithful blog readers...(if there are any out there after our long spaces of silence ;) ) We have a surprise coming (hopefully) soon to Jewels of Jesus, so stay tuned!! :) Keep your eyes on Jesus! 

A quote for your day

Rouse thee, O believer, from thy low condition! 

Cast away thy sloth, thy lethargy, thy coldness, or whatever interferes with thy chaste and pure love to Christ. Make Him the source, the center, and the circumference of all thy soul's range of delight. Rest no longer satisfied with thy dwarfish attainments. 

Aspire to a higher, a nobler, a fuller life. 

Upward to heaven! 

Nearer to God!

-Charles H. Spurgeon- 

Thoughts from a Vacuum

As a cleaner at our local motel/campground, I end up vacuuming a lot of floors. No matter how many times you go over a floor, you can always count on another bit of fluff you missed. Woops, there’s another . . . and another . . . and another!

While I worked on finishing the last of the vacuuming in my room today, I realized this is a lot like life.

We think we’ve got everything sussed, and have everything “under our belt”, so to speak. But then there’s always more disorderly bits, ones that can be very discouraging to deal with. “Is this job ever going to be done—it seems like an endless task!”

Even Paul struggled with keeping everything under control. “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” (Romans 7:19)

No, in this life, it isn’t ever going to be totally done. There are always going to be stray pieces of fluff that no matter how many times you go over them, they’ll still be giving you trouble. Keep picking the bits up, one at a time.

We are never going to have everything perfect. Don’t let that stop you from following the Lord with your whole heart. Actively seek His face today, even if it’s just for a few moments.

Oops, there’s another piece of red lint to take care of . . . .

–Esther

The Lord is my...

The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

~Psalm 18:2~

The other day, I read this verse in my devotions, and it was one of those verses that kind of leaps off the page at you. I decided to outline all that this verse said God was to me. As I meditated on each thing, I was overwhelmed by the attributes of my Father. I hope that by sharing these things with you, that you also will come away encouraged! ♥

-My Rock-

Many mountains have large rocks in them- can you move them very easily by pushing and shoving them? No, of course not. They are large and very heavy...very firm and stable. You can stand on it and it won't move. That's how our God is: He is unchanging and we can stand firmly on Him!

-My Fortress-

What is a fortress? It's a place that keeps you safe from outside enemies. That's what our God is. He is our refuge...our safety. His name is a strong tower, and if you run in, you'll be safe! He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. {Ps 91:1}

-My Deliverer- 

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. 

{Col 1:13-14} 

Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! {Ps 107:13-15}

-My God, My Strength, in Whom I will trust- 

Our God is the King of Kings. Our God is strong. Our God keeps His promises. Our God is unchanging. We can completely trust Him. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. {Ps 46:1-3}

-My Buckler-

I looked up the word "buckler" in the Hebrew, and it means "a shield; a protector; a defense." He is our shield! Our Protector! We only need to trust Him.  Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. {Proverbs 30:5}

-The Horn of my Salvation-

We were wretched sinners, heading for eternity in hell. But God, who is rich in mercy and loved us so much, sent His own Son to pay the price for our sins. He put our sin upon Jesus, the perfect and spotless one. He became sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. {2 Cor 5:21} From Him comes our salvation. Nothing else can save us. He is our salvation! 

-My High Tower-

What comes to your mind when you hear "high tower"? The Hebrew defines it as "a cliff (or other lofty or inaccessible place); altitude; refuge." Reminds me of when I have gone hiking and I'm standing on the big rock overlooks. I'm so high up, the breeze is blowing on my face, and I can look wayyy down into the valley and across the miles. Nothing down there can reach me while I'm way up here! He is my High Tower!

My friends, may you mediate upon the strength of our Lord! He is waiting for you with open arms- just trust Him and rely in His strength!!

In closing, here is a favorite passage of mine. Who is God, save the Lord? It is God that girds you with strength! Go in His name!

As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. For who is God save the Lord? or who is a rock save our God? It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places. He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great. {Psalm 18:30-35}

Jesus, I am Resting

The Wissmann Family are very gifted musicians and singers...this song by their family blessed me, so I thought I'd share it with you! :) 

Blessings!

12/1/2015

Image from Christian Quotes

A Lovely Calling

Good morning, ladies!

Today, instead of a post like I'd normally share, I'd like to share with you a wonderful blog I discovered. It's A Lovely Calling. It is an absolutely fantastic blog whose tagline is "Virtuous Women Desperately Passionate For God".

From their mission statement:

"The whole package is embracing God’s lovely calling for your life. As a woman we should pursue biblical femininity with all passion and put our whole hearts into discovering what God wants us to do in our brief time on this earth.

WHY WE HAVE “A LOVELY CALLING”

When you look at women in the world nowadays, what do you see? I see a world of women with their hearts dead set AGAINST God. Even Christian women don’t set a standard of Godly character. The way I see it there are three types of girls:
1. The girls who don’t know any better and slip easily into the worldliness of our day and age. They are young and have no biblical guidance in their lives. They, like many of us, follow the crowd (sometimes down the path of destruction)
2. Then there are the quiet girls, who still dream, who still want the life every girl wanted when they were little: to be a mommy and to raise a family, to have respect and be a beautiful woman of God without all the feminist arguments being pointed at them day and night. But the quiet girls don’t know how or when they should strive after their dream when so many other girls around them idolize celebrities, secular lifestyles and Victoria’s Secret.
3. Then there are the Christian girls whose moms have taught them Gods dreams and desires for women who seek Him wholeheartedly without restraint or stained vision of a biblical lifestyle. However, there are no girls their age encouraging that calling.  Only the older women tell them that this is right. The other girls run with the crowd, so why shouldn’t they?

BUT what if… what if there was a whole generation, a whole group of young girls (their age) girls who knew what true biblical femininity and virtuous womanhood really meant in the eyes of the Lord? What if all the girls around them went back to the days when being a godly woman was the most important, most honorable, most worthy job in the world, and actually encouraged them in it? What would happen?

 

Well I only pray and hope that that generation starts with me and you. God has given us girls (Lisa, Christy, Sarah and Anna) a “Lovely Calling” and ministry online and through writing to help girls and young women, the quiet ones, the girls who don’t know any better, the secular girls who need a new perspective, and the Christian girls who are scared to make an endeavor on their own.  We want to help them see that being a woman after God’s Heart is the highest calling anyone could ask for.  BUT WE CAN NOT DO IT ALONE.  We need help and words of wisdom from other girls with the same ambition."


Two of my personal favourite posts:
How to Be a Woman Worth Pursuing
Godly Womanhood in the 21st Century

Do check out their blog! It's fantastic!
- Bonnie