Perseverance (n) - continuance in a state of grace

I hope this is helpful and inspirational. I do this both for my own enjoyment and in hopes of helping others. I'm not looking to force anything upon anyone. I enjoy dialogue and value everyone's thoughts. Feel free to comment! I also like to write poems, if you're interested in any of my work, just search "poetry" in the search bar. To listen to all of the music I've posted, just search "music" in the sidebar and the YouTube videos will be embedded in the results. *I do not own the rights to the pictures on this blog*

[alexmarcheschi]

real time, no filter sky in Monmouth Beach, NJ on Sept 19, 2016.

[alexmarcheschi]

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[alexmarcheschi]

Rappers have always had a way of making things seem cool, but Chance is doing something we've never seen before.

[alexmarcheschi]

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[alexmarcheschi]

Does It Rain For Me?

On a morning when my back felt sore I rose from bed, hopped in the shower All ahead of the sun, first, before Praying and wishing I had power Another day, another dollar That's what my co-workers always boast The lack of hope just makes me smaller Yet, today, when I needed it most It rained for me At least that's what I have told myself Of course, it rained for everyone here But this rain feels likes it healed my 'self' I see through it like a two-way mirror And as I lay resting in my bed I can say with so much certainty It rained for me

[proverbs31v25]

Its no coincidence that the first attribute ascribed to love in 1 Corinthians 13 is patience.

Patience requires devotion.

It requires acceptance of the fact that there are things that will take work.

Its hard to acquire, yet so so easy to lose.

But its always necessary, in any kind of relationship.

It is an act of continued grace and it proclaims a willingness to put the other person first.

But above all, it shows that they are valued enough to give them a precious resource - time.

[beereans]

Human history is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.

CS Lewis (via audreyjune-bug)

[jspark3000]

I hear a lot of people saying, “I don’t feel God anymore.” And there’s a lot of guilt there, like they’re not trying hard enough. But “not-feeling-God” doesn’t make you a bad Christian: just an honest one. And maybe our baseline for “feeling-Him” got messed up with a false foundation. Maybe when Life Got Hard, no one taught you a clear theology on pain. Maybe no one mentioned that seasons of doubt, suffering, and detachment are regular valleys in a believer’s life. Those are also the EXACT times we go to God and tell Him everything. To even say, “I don’t feel you right now, God.” You can tell Him that. Most of us think we’ve failed God when we don’t feel Him, when it’s actually that feeling of His absence that can either push you to Him or from Him. He’d much rather it be to Him.

J.S. (via jspark3000)

[meshen9-deactivated20180619]

The Spiritually Vigorous Saint

…that I may know Him… —Philippians 3:10

A saint is not to take the initiative toward self-realization, but toward knowing Jesus Christ. A spiritually vigorous saint never believes that his circumstances simply happen at random, nor does he ever think of his life as being divided into the secular and the sacred. He sees every situation in which he finds himself as the means of obtaining a greater knowledge of Jesus Christ, and he has an attitude of unrestrained abandon and total surrender about him. The Holy Spirit is determined that we will have the realization of Jesus Christ in every area of our lives, and He will bring us back to the same point over and over again until we do. Self-realization only leads to the glorification of good works, whereas a saint of God glorifies Jesus Christ through his good works. Whatever we may be doing— even eating, drinking, or washing disciples’ feet— we have to take the initiative of realizing and recognizing Jesus Christ in it.

Every phase of our life has its counterpart in the life of Jesus. Our Lord realized His relationship to the Father even in the most menial task. “Jesus, knowing…that He had come from God and was going to God,…took a towel…and began to wash the disciples’ feet…” (John 13:3-5).The aim of a spiritually vigorous saint is “that I may know Him…” Do I know Him where I am today? If not, I am failing Him. I am not here for self-realization, but to know Jesus Christ. In Christian work our initiative and motivation are too often simply the result of realizing that there is work to be done and that we must do it. Yet that is never the attitude of a spiritually vigorous saint. His aim is to achieve the realization of Jesus Christ in every set of circumstances.

© Oswald Chambers | utmost.org

[christ-our-glory]

Psalm 34:10 (NKJV) The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.

[christ-our-glory]

Isaiah 58:11 (NKJV) The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

[worshipgifs]

[turn-north]

God may choose to take away our earthly blessings and He may choose to heap earthly blessings on others. We have to remember that He has a sovereign plan and that we don’t know what it is, but each one of us has a part in it. The circumstances we find ourselves in are not a reflection of how much God loves us, how “good” we are or how much we have given to God. God loves each one of us just as much as He loves all of His other children - with a love that is higher and wider and deeper than any of us can imagine.

‘On trusting that God’s plan is good’ (via turn-north)