Tag Archives: Grace

Only By Faith

24 Nov

And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. Luke 7:50

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By faith stood Abraham,

in the promise of Isaac.

—

By grace it came to pass.

overcoming natural life,

birthing a child,

in a lonely golden year.

—

Faith took the promise,

and blew life into lifelessness.

—

Faith saw Isaac as the sown seed,

laughter come at last,

then grace matured it,

multiplying it.

—

Fourteen generations flowed,

from Abraham to David,

through Jacob and Obed,

and Jesse.

—

Fourteen generations flowed from David,

until the carrying away into Babylon,

through Solomon,

through Manasses,

through Josias.

—

Then fourteen more flowed,

from Babylon to Christ,

the Word manifest in flesh,

the Keeper of eternity.

Through Achim,

Eleazar to Jacob,

the father of Joseph,

the husband of Mary,

the mother of Christ.

—

By faith did Mary accept the promise,

that grew within her womb.

—

By faith did Joseph accept Mary,

heavy with child,

not of his loins,

not of his love.

—

By grace they stood as one,

on a destined night,

the sky brightened,

by the Glory of God,

in the shape of a star,

pointing down to the Son.

—

By faith Joseph took Jesus,

adopted now,

into the lineage of Abraham,

adopted now,

as a child of promise.

—

By grace Joseph watched,

as He grew to a man,

well before His years.

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Our perfect pattern,

our Shepherd and King.

—

Now, by faith, we trust in His Word,

our heritage blessed by driven saints,

and tarnished by those who did evil,

in the sight of the Lord.

—

By faith are we accepted,

are we adopted,

into His kingdom,

joint-heirs with Christ,

children of promise,

just as He did,

so long ago.

—

By grace will we walk,

in His footsteps,

as best as we are able,

crying out for strength,

for peace, for love.

—

By faith we receive all,

grace has promised,

and more,

for only by our limited faith,

can we see into,

God’s limitless plan.

 

—

Written 11/8/98

 

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A LITTLE BIT MORE

3 Nov

 I will declare your righteousness and your salvation every day, though I do not fully understand what the outcome will be.  Lord God, I will come in the power of your mighty acts, remembering your righteousness—yours alone.    Psalm 71:15-16

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Lord, in my temptations you hold me,

Thru sorrows and tears You are there.

When all of the world is against me,

I truthfully know that You care.

 

As each day unfolds I find trials,

And burdens to heavy to bare.

I humbly come in Your presence,

And lay them before You in prayer.

 

I’m nothing without You beside me,

You teach me Your words that I share.

When falling, I pray that You’ll guide me,

And I’ll shine just a little bit more.

—

Lord, each day you give life new meaning,

My old life’s a memory gone past;

My worldly possessions lose value,

Your love is all that will last.

 

You touch me each morning with fire,

And rivers of water run thru;

I can’t even think of tomorrow,

Without knowing that I have You.

 

You’ve lifted me out of dark shadows,

And endless confusion and strife;

Your mercy and grace has renewed me,

And shown me the beauty of life.

—

Lord, now has come time to witness,

And share the beauty I’ve found;

It’s happiness, free for the asking,

Where joy and blessings abound.

 

I’ll teach with honest persuasion,

Myself, an example of praise;

Teaching Your word and Your promise,

Your miracles, works and sound faith.

 

I’ll conquer if You stand beside me,

No enemy dares to cause harm;

Your children will follow in victory,

Wrapped in Your arms safe and warm.

—

Written 1991 as a song

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A Prayer For My Children

29 Dec

 

mother-praying

My Children.  You are my breath and depth of life.  You help me find joy in darkness and peace in chaos.  My day starts with prayers for you, continues with prayers for you, and ends with prayers for you.  You are each so different, in your own quirky ways, and yet so alike in your humility and compassion.  I could not be prouder.  God blessed me and trusted me with your lives, and for that I will be forever thankful.

I pray that in each day you will see and receive Hope in every situation.  Hope for today, Hope for tomorrow, Hope for eternity.  And in those moments, I pray that you will reach out to help another find Hope in their circumstances, for in giving Hope, your Hope will grow brighter.  “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” Romans 15:13

I pray that every day you will receive Grace for every situation, and in return, you will give Grace to those who have come short of your expectations.  Grace allows people to err and yet be restored once again for any inabilities or lack of judgment in their lives.  Grace is our greatest gift from God.  For through all of our failures He continues to love us and encourage us, and for that our lives are richer.  “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”  Romans 5:2

I pray that each and every day you will receive Mercy, and in return, you will give Mercy to each and every person, animal and situation you encounter.  Mercy is the very compassion that we receive, no matter our circumstances or what brought us to those circumstances.  With Mercy we see the soul inside of another that may be hidden deep within a hardened exterior, and forgive the trespass.  “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”  Matthew 5:7

I pray that Joy will infuse your life so fully that it overflows into the paths of everyone you meet, and captures them in the moment, permeating them for their lifetime.  I pray that it will overflow your every action, every word, every step and every essence of your being.  I pray that the very Joy within you shines so contagiously that it doubles back and reinfects you over and over again.  “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”  John 15:11

I pray that in all things you will receive the gift Patience from others, and in turn, you will give the gift of Patience to those struggling to figure things out in this life.  More than others, I pray that you will grant Patience to yourself when you are trying and trying to figure out a life lesson and have failed at it over and over again.  Patience can seem quite small at times, but most of the time it stretches every muscle and sinew inside of us, putting us on the edge of frustration and anger.  Realize that you are not, and never will be a perfect human being and you have permission to fail, many times, in many areas.  As long as you are Patient and continue to try, you will never be a failure.  “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”  James 1:4

I pray that people will always show you Kindness, and you will honor that gift by showing Kindness to others.  Kindness is stepping back and recognizing that everyone has difficult days and it can all be turned around by a simple smile, an offered hand, an opened door, or a simple gift.  Kindness embraces sympathy and empathy, without requirement of return.  Kindness does not have to cost anything more than a moment in time, and we have a lot of those to share.  “For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.”  Psalm 117:2

I pray that you will be surrounded by Goodness, and that in that loving atmosphere, you will show and lead others into Goodness in all that they do.  Respect follows goodness and paves the way for all good things.  Goodness always receives ultimate favor among men, cherish it.  “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”  Galatians 6:10

I pray that your life will be surrounded by people of Faithfulness and that you will find and live in Faithfulness all of your days.  No matter what character a man has, if he is not found faithful to his convictions, he has lost all.  Remain faithful to your beliefs, to those who surround you, and most importantly, to God.  “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”  Lamentations 3:22-23

I pray that as you walk through your life you will be treated with Gentleness, and in return you will treat other people, animals and situations with Gentleness.  No matter how big, strong, smart or creative you are, Gentleness is a gift that cannot be ignored.  Gentleness can turn the heart of the most hostile around in a moment’s time.  Gentleness can defuse anger, bring confidence, turn tears to determination, and give another the courage to continue.  “To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.” Titus 3:2-3

I pray that you will recognize the strength inside yourself, and that your strength will give you the confidence to maintain Self-Control.  So many things in life can drastically change in one moment of lost Self-Control, things that cannot be recovered, things that cannot be fixed, things that are forever lost.  I pray that your courage in exhibiting your Self-Control will give others the strength and inclination to maintain their Self-Control.  You will be an example to all around you, whether you recognize it or not, and your choices will help others in making their choices, good or bad.  I pray that you will always choose wisely.  (Self-Control – The virtue of one who masters his desires and passions, especially his sensual appetites).  “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance (self-control); and to temperance (self-control) patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  2 Peter 1:5-8

 I pray that you will always walk in the presence of Peace, Peace that surpasses all understanding.  Peace that allows you to stand strong in the challenge of fear, in the heat of angry men, in times of eminent danger, in the absence of understanding and the face of the unknown.  May Peace overwhelm you and cover you with a shield so graceful, so dense, so all encompassing, that nothing can penetrate it.  It will be your defense in the face of all odds.  “Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”  Luke 1:78-79

Most of all I pray that you will always feel and receive Love.  Love is the very center of every person’s being.  Love is a feeling that cannot be explained with words.  Love is a presence that cannot be shown with actions.  Love is something so deep that it can only be experienced.  Love can be a feeling between friends, spouses, animals, nature, and the entire environment around you, but it can also be something inside that is very personal between you and God that no one else can share.  Love is the very foundation of who you are.  Love is your integrity.  Love is your humility.  Love is your sun and moon and stars.  Love is your very breath.  Love brings you to tears at the sound of music or the sight of a child.  Love turns giants into gentlemen and weaklings into giants.  Love makes us go farther that we ever expected we could or would.  Love boasts pride and breaks hearts.  Love is the greatest gift to mankind by our most wonderful God.  I pray that you will never try to harness your Love.  I pray that you will always let Love guide you and set your path, for by Love, your path will always be straight.  I pray that your Love will be strong.  I pray that your Love will be deep. I pray that you will always remember the source of your Love and will praise God for that precious gift.  “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and Love—and the greatest of these is Love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13     “And we have known and believed the Love that God hath to us. God is Love; and he that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”  1 John 4:16

This is my prayer for you.  I thank God every day for giving me the honor of being your mother.  I speak these words over you, and through you, with deep conviction, knowing that the God who created this universe hears every word and answers my prayers with His most gracious wisdom.  Never forget who you are or the difference you were called into this world to make.  God Bless You.

 

12-29-2016

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Heritage of Hope

1 Sep

sprout in dry desert

“in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of His will; to the end that we should be unto the praise of His glory, we who had before hoped in Christ:”  Ephesians 1:11-12 (ASV)

Recently I was invited to a new friend’s home for lunch after church.  God has richly blessed this couple and their home was amazing.  Everywhere I looked was just . . . “Wow!”  When I returned home that evening I was flooded with memories of my childhood home.  For days I couldn’t shake it.  Depression set in.  It was a heritage that I could not shake, even though my life is so much different now.

Growing up in the 50’s in a small desert town is a whole world away from the way things are today.  No running water, outhouses (I’m still not very fond of those things), no cooling, only the kitchen stove for heating, bare cement floors, and the backseat out of an old Chevy for a sofa.  Bed was blankets on old steel springs, no mattress.  I remember, many mornings, getting up to my mom melting down icicles on the stove so we could have water.  There was a wind driven fan in the wall that helped bring air into the home during the summer.  We would lay on the cool cement floor under that fan to take naps; mom stuffed a wooden spoon between the blades to make it stop at night.  Meals were jackrabbit, catfish and pinto beans, unless a neighbor brought us a chicken.  My worldly heritage.

I remember telling God that I would never return to an area like that.  In recent years I have walked into homes with similar conditions and physically shook. I told God that I couldn’t be there, I couldn’t think there, I couldn’t breathe there.  His voice came gently, “how can you minister to them if you don’t see where they are from, if you don’t find common ground.”  It was my call to show them the heritage that God held for them, far beyond the physical conditions where they currently existed.

God’s Heritage, created for us before the foundations of the earth, is eternal life (John 3:15).  A life free from pain and illness.  A life free from tears, sorrow, worry and doubt (Revelation 21:4).  A heritage of being an heir with His son, Jesus Christ (Romans 8:17).  A heritage of a mansion, built specifically for us, at the hands of Jesus himself (John 14:2).

When we hear the call on our lives we become partakers with Jesus, reaching out to a lonely broken world (Ephesians 3:6).  We become workers of the gospel, sharing with all the promise of the heritage they have waiting for them, if they would only believe.  We testify and share the very gifts that God has given to us, as He has willed for us to do; as well as those who will follow after.  And in that labor we find fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11), praising and worshipping our God for the gift of His manifested glory in our lives (John 1:14), filled with grace and truth.

Lord, let us remember that we are your hands and feet to this world of hurting and wounded people.  Help us to walk past the difficult memories of our worldly heritage and share a story of hope with those whose lives rest in similar circumstances, giving them hope of a new and wonderful inheritance with You.  Let our testimony of rising above our circumstances be the key to their faith in a new life in You.  Please give us the strength.

**A Journey through Ephesians – Chapter 1, Part 7

Written by Linda J. Humes

8-31-14

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Firewall

14 Jan

Firewall

“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”  1 Peter 1:7

 —-

In the eye of the storm,

The flame of faith,

Flickers and dims,

Holding perilously,

To yesterday’s truths;

Praying.

 —-

Satan’s doubt,

Quenches the flame,

Reducing it to an ember,

As the storm tarries.

 —-

A cry for help,

Faint, but heard.

 —-

Then, in a moment,

The flame surges,

Grows, strengthens,

When joined by the faith,

Of interceding saints,

Building a firewall,

Of committed prayer,

That banishes doubt,

And fuels the flame,

With the testimony of miracles.

 —-

Stand with me,

When the cutting winds blow,

Then I will be strengthened,

And ready to join with you,

When another saint’s flame,

Begins to dim.

—-

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A Chosen Vessel . . .

29 Dec

Chosen Vessel

“And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.”  Jeremiah 18:4

 “Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?”  Romans 9:21

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 Painted with Love,

Fired with Patience,

Filled with Righteousness,

Kissed by the Grace of God.

I am a Chosen Vessel.

 —-

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No One Knows

26 Dec

18 Wheeler

But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.     Mark 13:32 (KJV)

 ——-

I drive between the small town I live in and Phoenix, AZ every week.  Although the trips can make me very weary, usually it is quite uneventful and often gives me time of insight and inspiration.

5 o’clock came, end of day, and I started packing my car, ready to head back up the mountain toward home.  I was about to place a box of files in the back seat of my car, but for a flash of a second I saw them flying around in the sky.  I’ve learned to trust these flashes and with a smile I said, “Okay Lord” and put them securely in the trunk, wedged tight.

Traffic through the city was lighter than usual, for that I was grateful.  I had my glass of Iced Tea (to keep me awake) and my Christian Music (to keep me singing and bouncing), I was on a mission to get back to the family.

The main highway has been under construction for years and always poses a challenge for impatient drivers.  I set my speed with my cruise control and tried not to let anything distract me.  About an hour and a half into my trip I was in the heavy climbing area, where the road winds back and forth.  Trucks are to follow the signs that are posted in that area and remain in the right lane only; at least that’s what I thought.

The road curved to the left ahead of me and as I cleared the curve there was a semi-truck over half way into the left lane, directly in front of me, it was attempting to pass a slower truck in the right lane.  I hit my brakes and held the steering wheel as firmly as I could.  The brakes hopped, skipped and sang.  I went from 70 mph to 33 mph in . . . well . . . I was a little too preoccupied to notice, but I can tell you it was very few seconds.  It was the closest I have come to hitting anything; inches.  I don’t think the semi-truck ever saw me.

As soon as I was safely back in the lane of travel I heard the words, “No one knows the day or the hour.”  It quickened my spirit and pulled at my heart.  Only the hand of God kept me from hitting that truck – it wasn’t my day, it wasn’t my hour.

“Yes, Lord.”  Was I ready?   The faces of my family ran through my mind – I had almost left them behind that day.  What would have happened to them?  Had I finished the call that God had place before me?  WAS I READY??

God, nudge me.  Never let me tarry on items you’ve called me to complete.  Give me the strength and Wisdom to complete every task – leave nothing unfinished.  Teach me what is most important in Your eyes, that all will be complete.

Are you ready?

By Linda J. Humes

Written 5-31-2009

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WOMAN OF GRACE

9 Sep

 woman in prayer

“Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.”  Proverbs 31:30 KJV

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Born of sacrifice,

Birthed in grace,

Bone of man’s bone,

Blood of man’s blood.

—-

Chosen to serve,

Cleaving to the covenant,

The promise of Adam,

The promise of Abraham.

—-

Grace to bring forth,

The children of promise,

Destined to call,

Destined to serve.

—-

Grace to pray truth,

Into the nation,

Grace to endure,

Intercession by day,

Intercession by night.

—-

Unwaivering love,

Unmerited favor,

To see past the pain,

Of sin’s temporal hand,

To the promise of life,

This side of the cross.

—-

Faith in the truth,

Abounding with love,

To believe in the birth,

To believe in the death,

Of life and of Sin,

Of spirit, of soul.

—-

Grace to bloom forth,

As the rose in the desert,

With fragrance and velvet,

From the thorns,

Rigid arms.

—-

Rising to God,

In manifest witness,

Of grace and of mercy,

In truth from above.

—-

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