on praying

It's a strange feeling when you pray for someone.
You have this sense of empathy for them.
Like you know what they are going through.
You realize you are not the only one going through this crazy, and sometimes cruel, and other times, wonderful life.
And other things that you do to waste your time, just don't cut it anymore.
Once you start praying, you realize you can truly care for more people.

Stardust?

I'm who I am

a trail of stardust 

leading to the 

Superstar. 

Thanks Lecrae, Thanks Hubble

Today, I understood that He answers prayers.
    Long story short: I prayed for something for someone else, and He answered.
Amen.

I really should stop doubting HIS goodness.
Scarcely for a righteous man, would one die. Maybe, for a good man, he would dare to die.
But God shows His love in this:
     That while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 
Romans 5:7-8

on Faith

Lately I have been reading the gospels. And I marvelled at the faith of those who came to Him:

           If only I could touch the hem of His garment.

And I wondered, where did my faith go?

Am I one of those ones Jesus called foolish, because I just don’t believe?

Growing up half my life in the United States, I have been taught the philosophy of the American Dream.

You work hard, and you can achieve it.

And in some sense, it is true. If I work hard, surely I can achieve something.

But these people, who came to Him, [whom He called blessed] came not to Him, wanting to achieve something for Him, but in their utter desperation
           He just wants to save His daughter

           She had a disease from which she could not be healed.

And all they needed was for Him to speak, even just to touch His garment. And they knew they would be healed. They knew. And they were healed.

They just came to Him. Ran towards Him, knowing that He is able, knowing that He is willing.

Do I have faith like that? Do you have faith like that?

Sometimes I think, it must be so different for them, since they were able to actually see Jesus face to face, and that made a difference in their faiths. But then I consider, my brothers and sisters throughout the world, who are persecuted daily for their faiths, and who, come to Jesus, fearing not what their enemies can do to them. They just want to hear Him speak through His Word. And they know, they are forever healed.

I want to have faith like that, dear Father. 

Doggy Love

Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful. ~Anne Landers

To know not want

The  most well beloved psalm  begins with the phrase, the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. (Psalm 23)

Notice that it says, I shall not want,

Not, I shall not need.

For I will easily admit I have everything I need: food, shelter, family, education, a Savior, some good friends.

But, I have many things I still want: a plan for the future, a good job, my student loans paid off, the list goes on.

The psalmists David says,

The Lord is my Shepherd

I shall NOT WANT

Source

David was once a shepherd, before he became a king. He knew what he was talking about when he compared our Lord to the shepherd, and us to sheep. The shepherd knows his sheep, what they want and do not want. Their baaaas must ache His heart. He knows when they are thirsty, so he leads them to the right waters. He feeds them with the best grass from the greenest pastures. And when they foolishly try to run away, he uses his rod and staff to bring them safely home, and into His comforting arms.

As of now, I cannot honestly say with the psalmist that I shall not want, for as I have said before, there are many things that I want. But my desire, somewhere deep inside is to say I shall not want, because the Lord is also my shepherd. 

 I do not know how I go from wanting all of these things one day, and not wanting the next. But I am thinking that maybe it is a long process, and that sacrifices need to be made, for the Bible says, "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it." (Luke 9:24) More than physical sacrifices, however, it requires me to sacrifice my desire for control over my life - that is, I need to trust my Shepherd.

If sheep could think, I imagine it is hard for them to trust the shepherd when the wolves lurk around at every corner intend on preying on the strayaways. It is equally  difficult for us to trust that God is good in a world that has gone so wrong.

But the good Shepherd laid  His life down for the sheep. God, in Jesus, gave up His life for me, as a punishment for my sins. This is where my trust begins. For of course, the wolves are there, and life is not fair. But when I know that the Shepherd will give His own life so that the sheep will be safe, I can agree that there is no want that I have that surpasses His grace and love towards me."He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things." (Romans 8:31)

Source

 So I can say, along with the psalmist and thousand others who have gone before me, that I shall not want, because the Lord is my Shepherd.