"He Knows Your Name"

I have heard the saying,

'life comes at you fast!'

Sometimes it really does.

But even beyond this, 

lies the simple truth, 

that it also slips...

quickly past.

Recently, I have found myself drawn to examining that which once was.

I wonder about my ancestry..I look at the land around me and try to envision the ones who once stood where I now stand.

It seems surreal to think that...

A myriad of people have lived the length of their days encountering many of the same joys and heartaches as we have met.

And then I remember this scripture.

From Psalm 103:15,16

"As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field;

for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, 

and its place knows it no more."

Seems sad at first reading, but just like anything in life..you must be willing to continue on...if you wish to see the bigger picture.

Life isn't just about how quickly it comes at you or how quickly our days seem to pass. 

It's so much more about finding hope
in the words which follow in the very next verse.

"But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children....."

You see, even when we are overwhelmed by what is or was, or even what will be. 

There is One who is not.

And it is because of the blood of Christ that we have been given direct access to Him.
We are the children's children!!
 Our names and faces may have changed, but His steadfast love has not.

Rest assured. Nothing!! is lost on Him, not even...one single moment.

Application: This week, I will hold steady to the hope of His righteousness and steadfast love. I will write out this verse, and keep it with me...I will pull it out and read it daily and commit it to memory...I will remember that I am His.

Psalm 103:17
"But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children....."

Surprise us Father, with the miraculous, 

and humble us as we bow before You

remembering once again Father 

that all along...

You knew our names as we passed through these places. 

You were ready, when we were not.

As time marched forward.

Your righteousness is the one thing we can count on...
regardless of which end of time we find ourselves in.

Amen Jesus, Amen

Remember:  Whether your life is coming at you fast or slipping quickly past, you have a Father Who knows you by name. 

And just like those who passed through this life before you.

He has a plan for you too.

"Leave No Friend Behind"

"..one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 3:13,14

Spent the evening with some very special friends tonight who have been through difficult times.
It seems like, sometimes the best thing you can do for someone when they are hurting, is to just be there, to simply be 'available' to walk the journey with them. 
Little notes of hope, a phone call or text message can do wonders. Just reaching out, can be such an encouragement to pull them toward the light of a new day. 

You really don't...have to have all the right words....but you can learn to listen with both ears...so when they speak, their words can reach your mind. 
Too many times we are so worried about saying the right things and what others will say, that we end up saying nothing and avoiding the very ones we have been called to love.

It is time to lay down all the excuses. Recapture the friendships that you once held dear.
Forget what lies behind!!!
It is a deliberate effort to strain ('to make a strenuous or unusually great effort') toward the future and press toward the goal.... 

It is really not about us...the end goal is the prize of heaven....
A heaven filled with our Ultimate Love and with these very ones who walked this earth along side us.
Let's make it a point to forget the things that no longer matter, reach out to the ones who need us so dearly, and press on toward the prize.....

Make it a point to leave no friend behind....

As we strain towards the future, 'strenuous or unusually great effort', will be required.
We are called on this journey together.

Remember..."Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it" Isaiah 30:21