Rest in the Lord
Devotions
https://www.devotions@fertiileground.com
https://devotions@fertiileground.wordpress.com/RestinMe
https://www.devotions@fertiileground.wordpress.com
Welcome
Welcome to our devotions page on Fertiileground’s Blog. We are also have a WordPress site.
https://www.ian@fertiileground.wordpress.com
https://wwwfertiileground@wordpress.com
In due course we may and shall start working on our own devotions. We know death and life are in the power of our tongue. We need to encourage one another in the Lord. Even all the more so as this age draws to a close. We all at times need to encourage ourselves in the Lord even as David, had often done, throughout his life.
Regards
Ian R Lottering
Administrator/Founder/Owner
Fertiileground’s Blog
Eltekon/EIMC/Fertiileground
dd: – 2021 March 23
Cel: – +27649521923
Email: – lottering.ian2@gmail.com
https://www.fertiileground@blogger.com
https://www.fertiileground@blogspot.com
https://www.fertiileground@wix.com/fertiileground01
You are most welcome to glance through our different devotions. Presently much of our devotions have come from Mrs Charles Cowman’s collection; “Streams in the Dessert!” They are available on e-sword as well.
Regards
The Fertiileground Team
https://www.fertiileground@spotify.com
(See https://www.e-sword.net; also https://www.e-sword.com).
https://www.fertiilegroundtv@youtube,com
Rest In Me_ _ _
Rest in Me!
Posted on: – May 11, 2018
by: – June Sheltrown Reinke
“Rest in Me,” says the LORD.
“For you need not become weary in well-doing. Walk in My Spirit, and joy in your salvation.
I desire you to be at peace and rest, as you enter into My rest that remains for all of My people, not just some.
I desire for you to be revitalized and care-free. As you cease from your labor, and come to Me for rest, you will no longer bear the burdens that have kept you down.
You will rest in Me, knowing that I AM at work in your behalf.
I will take care of everything that has been in your care, and I will also take care of you,” says the LORD.
“Nothing can separate you from Me and My love for you,” says the LORD. “So be confident in your relationship and position in Me as My beloved child.
I will help you. I will complete you. I will fill you to capacity and overflowing with My Spirit, and you will have real joy.
Place your faith in Me and let Me work things out for you. For what you cannot do is what I do best. I will meet all your need and give you joy for the journey.
You can have perfect peace as you enter My rest that I have called you into, and cease from your own labor, as you entrust everything to Me,” says the LORD.
~ June Sheltrown Reinke
Dr. June Sheltrown Reinke is a prophetic pastor, evangelist and teacher. She has been the senior pastor of Faith Fellowship Ministries in Florida since 1988. She has ministered in the prophetic to individuals and corporate groups for decades
2021 February 20
All things are Possible_ _ _
https://www.devotions@fertiileground.com/allthingsrpossible
(Streams in the Dessert)
“Nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Mat_17:20).
It is possible, for those who really are willing to reckon on the power of the Lord for keeping and victory, to lead a life in which His promises are taken as they stand and are found to be true.
It is possible to cast all our care upon Him daily and to enjoy deep peace in doing it.
It is possible to have the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts purified, in the deepest meaning of the word.
It is possible to see the will of God in everything, and to receive it, not with sighing, but with singing.
It is possible by taking complete refuge in Divine power to become strong through and through; and, where previously our greatest weakness lay, to find that things which formerly upset all our resolves to be patient, or pure, or humble, furnish today an opportunity– through Him who loved us, and works in us an agreement with His will and a blessed sense of His presence and His power– to make sin powerless over us.
These things are DIVINE POSSIBILITIES, and because they are His work, the true experience of them will always cause us to bow lower at His feet and to learn to thirst and long for more.
We cannot possibly be satisfied with anything less– each day, each hour, each moment, in Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit– than to WALK WITH GOD. — H. C. G. Moule
We may have as much of God as we will. Christ puts the key of the treasure-chamber into our hand, and bids us take all that we want. If a man is admitted into the bullion vault of a bank, and told to help himself, and comes out with one cent, whose fault is it that he is poor? Whose fault is it that Christian people generally have such scanty portions of the free riches of God? — McLaren.
Just arrived
Our early autumn collection is here.
Every Place
Every Place
Every Place
- Mon
- 09:00 – 17:00
- Tue
- 09:00 – 17:00
- Wed
- 09:00 – 17:00
- Thu
- 09:00 – 17:00
- Fri
- 09:00 – 17:00
- Sat
- 09:00 – 17:00
- Sun
- 09:00 – 17:00
https://www.fertiileground.wordpress.com/devotions(everyplace)
2021 February 25
“Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you” (Jos_1:3).
Beside the literal ground, unoccupied for Christ, there is the unclaimed, untrodden territory of Divine promises. What did God say to Joshua? “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you,” and then He draws the outlines of the Land of Promise– all theirs on one condition: that they shall march through the length and breadth of it, and measure it off with their own feet.
They never did that to more than one-third of the property, and consequently they never had more than one-third; they had just what they measured off, and no more.
In 2 Peter, we read of the “land of promise” that is opened up to us, and it is God’s will that we should, as it were, measure off that territory by the feet of obedient faith and believing obedience, thus claiming and appropriating it for our own.
How many of us have ever taken possession of the promises of God in the name of Christ?
Here is a magnificent territory for faith to lay hold on and march through the length and breadth of, and faith has never done it yet.
Let us enter into all our inheritance. Let us lift up our eyes to the north and to the south, to the east and to the west, and hear Him say, “All the land that thou seest will I give to thee.” — A. T. Pierson
Wherever Judah should set his foot that should be his; wherever Benjamin should set his foot, that should be his. Each should get his inheritance by setting his foot upon it. Now, think you not, when either had set his foot upon a given territory, he did not instantly and instinctively feel, “This is mine”?
An old colored man, who had a marvelous experience in grace, was asked: “Daniel, why is it that you have so much peace and joy in religion?” “O Massa!” he replied, “I just fall flat on the exceeding great and precious promises, and I have all that is in them. Glory! Glory!” He who falls flat on the promises feels that all the riches embraced in them are his. — Faith Papers
The Marquis of Salisbury was criticized for his Colonial policies and replied: “Gentlemen, get larger maps.”h
Morning & Evening
Our Lord is always with us. He ne’er leaves nor forsakes us!
Morning & Evening
Charles H Spurgeon Hate Evil Hate Evil 2023 June 07Morning”Ye that loves the Lord hate evil.” — Psa_97:10 Thou hast good reason to “hate evil,” for only consider what harm it has already wrought thee. Oh, what a world of mischief sin has brought into thy heart! Sin blinded thee so that thou couldst not…
Morning & Evening
Charles H Spurgeon In Royal Service In Royal Service 2023 June 03Morning “These were potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work.” — 1Ch_4:23 Potters were the very highest grade of workers, but “the king” needed potters, and therefore they were in royal service, although…
Wrestling With God
Wrestling with God
Wrestling With God_ _ _
https://www.devotions@fertiileground.wordpress.com/WrestlingwithGod
2021 February 27
“And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day” (Gen_32:24).
Left alone! What different sensations those words conjure up to each of us. To some they spell loneliness and desolation, to others rest and quiet. To be left alone without God, would be too awful for words, but to be left alone with Him is a foretaste of Heaven! If His followers spent more time alone with Him, we should have spiritual giants again.
The Master set us an example. Note how often He went to be alone with God; and He had a mighty purpose behind the command, “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray.”
The greatest miracles of Elijah and Elisha took place when they were alone with God. It was alone with God that Jacob became a prince; and just there that we, too, may become princes– “men (aye, and women too!) wondered at” (Zec_3:8). Joshua was alone when the Lord came to him. (Jos_1:1) Gideon and Jephthah were by themselves when commissioned to save Israel. (Jdg_6:11; Jdg_11:29) Moses was by himself at the wilderness bush. (Exo_3:1-5) Cornelius was praying by himself when the angel came to him. (Act_10:2) No one was with Peter on the house top, when he was instructed to go to the Gentiles. (Act_10:9) John the Baptist was alone in the wilderness (Luk_1:80), and John the Beloved alone in Patmos, when nearest God. (Rev_1:9)
Covet to get alone with God. If we neglect it, we not only rob ourselves, but others too, of blessing, since when we are blessed we are able to pass on blessing to others. It may mean less outside work; it must mean more depth and power, and the consequence, too, will be “they saw no man save Jesus only.”
To be alone with God in prayer cannot be over-emphasized.
“If chosen men had never been alone,
In deepest silence open-doored to God,
Sacrifice of Praise
Sacrifice of Praise_ _ _
(Streams in the Dessert)
Sacrifice of Praise
https://www.devotions@fertiileground.wordpress.com/restinme(SacrificeofPraise)
(Streams in the Dessert)
Sacrifice of Praise_ _ _
2021 February 28
“Nobody knows de trouble I see,
Nobody knows but Jesus;
Nobody knows de trouble I see–
Sing Glory Hallelu!
“Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually” (Heb_13:15).
A city missionary, stumbling through the dirt of a dark entry, heard a voice say, “Who’s there, Honey?” Striking a match, he caught a vision of earthly want and suffering, of saintly trust and peace, “cut in ebony”– calm, appealing eyes set amid the wrinkles of a pinched, black face that lay on a tattered bed. It was a bitter night in February, and she had no fire, no fuel, no light. She had had no supper, no dinner, no breakfast. She seemed to have nothing at all but rheumatism and faith in God. One could not well be more completely exiled from all pleasantness of circumstances, yet the favorite song of this old creature ran:
“Sometimes I’m up, sometimes I’m down,
Sometimes I’m level on the groun’’,
Sometimes the glory shines aroun’’
Sing Glory Hallelu!”
And so it went on: “Nobody knows de work I does, Nobody knows de griefs I has,” the constant refrain being the “Glory Hallelu!” until the last verse rose:
“Nobody knows de joys I has,
Nobody knows but Jesus!”
“Troubled on every side, yet not distressed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” It takes great Bible words to tell the cheer of that old negro auntie.
Remember Luther on his sick-bed. Between his groans he managed to preach on this wise: “These pains and trouble here are like the type which the printers set; as they look now, we have to read them backwards, and they seem to have no sense or meaning in them; but up yonder, when the Lord God prints us off in the life to come, we shall find they make brave reading.” Only we do not need to wait till then. Remember Paul walking the hurricane deck amid a boiling sea, bidding the frightened crew “Be of good cheer,” Luther, the old negro auntie– all of them human sun-flowers. — Wm. G. Garnett
Early shall I seek You_ _ _!
Early shall I Seek U _ _ _
“Seek Me early and you shall find Me_ _ _! ” Jesus
Early Shall I Seek U
https://www.devotions@fertiileground.wordpress.com/earlyshallIseekU
March 2
“Be ready in the morning, and come u …present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. And no man shall come up with thee” (Exo_34:2-3).
The morning watch is essential. You must not face the day until you have faced God, nor look into the face of others until you have looked into His.
You cannot expect to be victorious, if the day begins only in your own strength. Face the work of every day with the influence of a few thoughtful, quiet moments with your heart and God. Do not meet other people, even those of your own home, until you have first met the great Guest and honored Companion of your life– Jesus Christ.
Meet Him alone. Meet Him regularly. Meet Him with His open Book of counsel before you; and face the regular and the irregular duties of each day with the influence of His personality definitely controlling your every act.
Begin the day with God!
He is thy Sun and Day!
His is the radiance of thy dawn;
To Him address thy lay.
Sing a new song at morn!
Join the glad woods and hills;
Join the fresh winds and seas and plains,
Join the bright flowers and rills.
Sing thy first song to God!
Not to thy fellow men;
Not to the creatures of His hand,
But to the glorious One.
Take thy first walk with God!
Let Him go forth with thee;
By stream, or sea, or mountain path,
Seek still His company.
Thy first transaction be
With God Himself above;
So shall thy business prosper well,
And all the day be love.
— Horatius Bonar
The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early upon their knees.
Matthew Henry used to be in his study at four, and remain there till eight; then, after breakfast and family prayer, he used to be there again till noon; after dinner, he resumed his book or pen till four, and spent the rest of the day in visiting his friends.
Doddridge himself alludes to his “Family Expositor” as an example of the difference of rising between five and seven, which, in forty years, is nearly equivalent to ten years more of life.
Dr. Adam Clark’s “Commentary” was chiefly prepared very early in the morning.
Barnes’ popular and useful “Commentary” has been also the fruit of “early morning hours.”
Simeon’s “Sketches” were chiefly worked out between four and eight.
2021 March 03
“Followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Heb_6:12).
They (heroes of faith) are calling to us from the heights that they have won, and telling us that what man once did man can do again. Not only do they remind us of the necessity of faith, but also of that patience by which faith has its perfect work. Let us fear to take ourselves out of the hands of our heavenly Guide or to miss a single lesson of His loving discipline by discouragement or doubt.
“There is only one thing,” said a village blacksmith, “that I fear, and that is to be thrown on the scrap heap.
“When I am tempering a piece of steel, I first beat it, hammer it, and then suddenly plunge it into this bucket of cold water. I very soon find whether it will take temper or go to pieces in the process. When I discover after one or two tests that it is not going to allow itself to be tempered, I throw it on the scrap heap and sell it for a cent a pound when the junk man comes around.
“So I find the Lord tests me, too, by fire and water and heavy blows of His heavy hammer, and if I am not willing to stand the test, or am not going to prove a fit subject for His tempering process, I am afraid He may throw me on the scrap heap.”
When the fire is hottest, hold still, for there will be a blessed “afterward”; and with Job we may be able to say, “When he hath tried me I shall come forth as gold.” — Selected
Sainthood springs out of suffering. It takes eleven tons of pressure on a piano to tune it. God will tune you to harmonize with Heaven’s key-note if you can stand the strain.
“Things that hurt and things that mar
Shape the man for perfect praise;
Shock and strain and ruin are
Friendlier than the smiling days.”
Morning & Evening
Charles H Spurgeon In Royal Service In Royal Service 2023 June 03Morning “These were potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work.” — 1Ch_4:23 Potters were the very highest grade of workers, but “the king” needed potters, and therefore they were in royal service, although…
Morning & Evening
Charles H Spurgeon Mephibosheth Mephibosheth 2023 May 27 Morning “So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king’s table; and was lame on both his feet.” — 2Sa_9:13 Mephibosheth was no great ornament to a royal table, yet he had a continual place on David’s board because the king could see…
The Battlefield
The Battlefield
The Battlefield
https://www.devotions@fertiileground.wordpress.com/thebattlefield
2021 March 04
“And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him” (Mar_9:26).
Evil never surrenders its hold without a sore fight. We never pass into any spiritual inheritance through the delightful exercises of a picnic, but always through the grim contentions of the battle field. It is so in the secret realm of the soul. Every faculty which wins its spiritual freedom does so at the price of blood. Apollyon is not put to flight by a courteous request; he straddles across the full breadth of the way, and our progress has to be registered in blood and tears. This we must remember or we shall add to all the other burdens of life the gall of misinterpretation. We are not “born again” into soft and protected nurseries, but in the open country where we suck strength from the very terror of the tempest. “We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.” — Dr. J. H. Jowett
The Battlefield
“Faith of our Fathers! living still,
In spite of dungeon, fire and sword:
O how our hearts beat high with joy
Whene’er we hear that glorious word.
Faith of our Fathers! Holy Faith!
We will be true to Thee till death!
“Our fathers, chained in prisons dark,
Were still in heart and conscience free;
How sweet would be their children’s fate,
If they, like them, could die for Thee!”
He has blotted out the note of debt against us with the decrees of our sins, which was contrary to us; and He has taken it away, having nailed it to the cross. After stripping the principalities and the powers, He made a public spectacle of them, and has triumphed over them in it.
(Col 2:14-15 AFV)
He Answered Nothing
He Answered Nothing_ _ _
He Answered Nothing_ _ _
https://www.devotions@fertiileground.wordpress.com/Heanswerednothing
March 18
“He answered nothing” (Mar_15:3).
There is no spectacle in all the Bible so sublime as the silent Savior answering not a word to the men who were maligning Him, and whom He
could have laid prostrate at His feet by one look of Divine power, or one word of fiery rebuke. But He let them say and do their worst, and He stood in THE POWER OF STILLNESS– God’s holy silent Lamb.
There is a stillness that lets God work for us, and holds our peace; the stillness that ceases from its contriving and its self-vindication, and its expedients of wisdom and forethought, and lets God provide and answer the cruel blow, in His own unfailing, faithful love.
How often we lose God’s interposition by taking up our own cause, and striking for our defense. God give to us this silent power, this conquered spirit! And after the heat and strife of earth are over, men will remember us as we remember the morning dew, the gentle light and sunshine, the evening breeze, the Lamb of Calvary, and the gentle, holy heavenly Dove. — A. B. Simpson
The day when Jesus stood alone
And felt the hearts of men like stone,
And knew He came but to atone
That day “He held His peace.”
They witnessed falsely to His word,
They bound Him with a cruel cord,
And mockingly proclaimed Him Lord;
“But Jesus held His peace.”
They spat upon Him in the face,
They dragged Him on from place to place,
They heaped upon Him all disgrace;
“But Jesus held His peace.”
My friend, have you for far much less,
With rage, which you called righteousness,
Resented slights with great distress?
Your Saviour “held His peace.”
— L. S. P.
I remember once hearing Bishop Whipple, of Minnesota, so well known as “The Apostle of the Indians,” utter these beautiful words: “For thirty years I have tried to see the face of Christ in those with whom I differed.” When this spirit actuates us we shall be preserved at once from a narrow bigotry and an easy-going tolerance, from passionate vindictiveness and everything that would mar or injure our testimony for Him who came not to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. — W. H. Griffith Thomas
https://www.fertiileground@vimeo.com
https://www.fertiilegroundTV@youtube.com
Road to Emmaus (We Trusted)
(Streams in the Dessert)
Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, “Was not our heart burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, and while He was interpreting the Scriptures to us?” So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”
(Luk 24:31-34 EMTV)
Emmaus (We Trusted)
https//www.devotions@fertiileground.wordpress.com/emmaus
2021 March 05
“We trusted” (Luk_24:21).
I have always felt so sorry that in that walk to Emmaus the disciples had not said to Jesus, “We still trust”; instead of “We trusted.” That is so sad– something that is all over.
If they had only said, “Everything is against our hope; it looks as if our trust was vain, but we do not give up; we believe we shall see Him again.” But no, they walked by His side declaring their lost faith, and He had to say to them “O fools, and slow of heart to believe!”
Are we not in the same danger of having these words said to us? We can afford to lose anything and everything if we do not lose our faith in the God of truth and love.
Let us never put our faith, as these disciples did, in a past tense– “We trusted.” But let us ever say, “I am trusting.” — Crumbs
The Song of a Bird
– In a Winter Storm –
“_ _ _ they who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength! They shall mount upon eagle’s wings; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint_ _ _ ” (Is 40:30-31)
The soft, sweet summer was warm and glowing,
Bright were the blossoms on every bough:
I trusted Him when the roses were blooming;
I trust Him now…
Small were my faith should it weakly falter
Now that the roses have ceased to blow;
Frail were the trust that now should alter,
Doubting His love when storm clouds grow.
— The Song of a Bird in a Winter Storm
Storms of Life
Storms of Life
Storms of Life
https://www.devotions@fertiileground.com/stormsoflife
2021 March 06
Scripture
"O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will lay your stones among colorful gems, and lay your foundations with sapphires. And I will make your high towers of ruby, and your gates of carbuncles, and all your borders of pleasant stones. And all your children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of your children. In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression; for you shall not fear; and far from terror, for it shall not come near you. Behold, they may gather together against you, but not by Me; whoever shall gather against you, he shall fall for your sake.
(Isa 54:11-15 AFV)
Often in life, we face storms, which may threaten our well being. Life is never, always easy. At times we may face our toughest challenges ever.
As Sorrowful_ _ _
As Sorrowful _ _ _
Through glory and dishonor, through evil report and good report, as deceivers and true, As unknown and well known; as dying, but behold, we are alive; as chastened, but not put to death; As sorrowful, but always rejoicing; as poor, but enriching many; as having nothing, yet possessing all things.
(2Co 6:8-10 AFV)
As Sorrowful
Winds of Change
Winds of Change
Winds of Change
https://www.windsofchange@fertiilegrounddevotions.com
2021 March 31
“’the wind was contrary” (Mat_14:24).
Rude and blustering the winds of March often are. Do they not typify the tempestuous seasons of my life? But, indeed, I ought to be glad that I make acquaintance with these seasons. Better it is that the rains and the floods come than that I should stay perpetually in the Lotus Land where it seems always afternoon, or in that deep meadowed Valley of Avilion where never wind blows loudly. Storms of temptation appear cruel, but do they not give intenser earnestness to prayer? Do they not compel me to seize the promises with a tighter hand grip? Do they not leave me with a character refined?
Storms of bereavement are keen; but, then, they are one of the Father’s ways of driving me to Himself, that in the secret of His presence His voice may speak to my heart, soft and low. There is a glory of the Master which can be seen only when the wind is contrary and the ship tossed with waves.
“Jesus Christ is no security against storms, but He is perfect security in storms. He has never promised you an easy passage, only a safe landing.”
Set Your Sail
Set Your Sail
Set Your Sail
Oh, set your sail to the heavenly gale,
And then, no matter what winds prevail,
No reef can wreck you, no calm delay;
No mist shall hinder, no storm shall stay;
Though far you wander and long you roam
Through salt sea sprays and o’er white sea foam,
No wind that can blow but shall speed you Home.
— Annie Johnson Flint
Behold_ _ _
Behold_ _ _
And you, be fruitful and multiply. Bring forth abundantly in the earth, and increase in it.” And God spoke to Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, “Behold I, even I establish My covenant with you, and with your seed after you; And with every living creature that is with you—of the birds, of the livestock, and of every animal of the earth with you—from all that go out from the ark, to every animal of the earth. And I will establish My covenant with you. Neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood. Neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living creature with you, for everlasting generations:
(Gen 9:7-12 AFV)
Behold_ _ _
behold@fertiileground.wordpress.com/devotions
https://www.behold@fertiileground/Devotions
2021 April 02
“They looked?and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud” (Exo_16:10).
Get into the habit of looking for the silver lining of the cloud and when you have found it, continue to look at it, rather than at the leaden gray in the middle.
Do not yield to discouragement no matter how sorely pressed or beset you may be. A discouraged soul is helpless. He can neither resist the wiles of the enemy himself, while in this state, nor can he prevail in prayer for others.
Flee from every symptom of this deadly foe as you would flee from a viper. And be not slow in turning your back on it, unless you want to bite the dust in bitter defeat.
Search out God’s promises and say aloud of each one: “This promise is mine.” If you still experience a feeling of doubt and discouragement, pour out your heart to God and ask Him to rebuke the adversary who is so mercilessly nagging you.
The very instant you whole-heartedly turn away from every symptom of distrust and discouragement, the blessed Holy Spirit will quicken your faith and inbreathe Divine strength into your soul.
At first you may not be conscious of this, still as you resolutely and uncompromisingly “snub” every tendency toward doubt and depression that assails you, you will soon be made aware that the powers of darkness are falling back.
Oh, if our eyes could only behold the solid phalanx of strength, of power, that is ever behind every turning away from the hosts of darkness, God-ward, what scant heed would be given to the effort of the wily foe to distress, depress, discourage us!
All the marvelous attributes of the Godhead are on the side of the weakest believer, who in the name of Christ, and in simple, childlike trust, yields himself to God and turns to Him for help and guidance. — Selected
On a day in the autumn, I saw a prairie eagle mortally wounded by a rifle shot. His eye still gleamed like a circle of light. Then he slowly turned his head, and gave one more searching and longing look at the sky. He had often swept those starry spaces with his wonderful wings. The beautiful sky was the home of his heart. It was the eagle’s domain. A thousand times he had exploited there his splendid strength. In those far away heights be had played with the lightnings, and raced with the winds, and now, so far away from home, the eagle lay dying, done to the death, because for once be forgot and flew too low. The soul is that eagle. This is not its home. It must not lose the skyward look. We must keep faith, we must keep hope, we must keep courage, we must keep Christ. We would better creep away from the battlefield at once if we are not going to be brave. There is no time for the soul to stampede. Keep the skyward look, my soul; keep the skyward look!
Keep Looking
Keep Looking
For the grace of God, which brings salvation for all men, has appeared; Teaching us that, having denied ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live moderately and righteously and godly in this present world, Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our Savior and great God, Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, so that He might redeem us from all lawlessness, and might purify for Himself a unique people, zealous of good works. Speak these things, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
(Tit 2:11-15 AFV)
Keep Looking
“Keep looking up–
The waves that roar around thy feet,
Jehovah-Jireh will defeat
When looking up.
“Keep looking up–
Though darkness seems to wrap thy soul;
The Light of Light shall fill thy soul
When looking up.
“Keep looking up–
When worn, distracted with the fight;
Your Captain gives you conquering might
When you look up.”
We can never see the sun rise by looking into the west. — Japanese Proverb
Glorify the Lord
Glorify the Lord
Glorify the Lord
GlorifytheLord@restinme.fertiileground.wordpress.com
https://www.GlorifytheLord@fertiileground.devotions.wordpress.com
https://GlorifytheLord@fertiileground.devotions.wordpress.com/restinmewordpress
2021 April 03
“Glorify ye the Lord in the fires” (Isa_24:15).
Mark the little word “in”! We are to honor Him in the trial– in that which is an affliction indeed and though there have been cases where God did not let His saints feel the fire, yet, ordinarily, fire hurts.
But just here we are to glorify Him by our perfect faith in His goodness and love that has permitted all this to come upon us.
And more than that, we are to believe that out of this is coming something more for His praise than could have come but for this fiery trial.
We can only go through some fires with a large faith; little faith will fail. We must have the victory in the furnace. — Margaret Bottome
A man has as much religion as he can show in times of trouble. The men who were cast into the fiery furnace came out as they went in– except their bonds.
How often in some furnace of affliction God strikes them off! Their bodies were unhurt– their skin not even blistered. Their hair was unsinged, their garments not scorched, and even the smell of fire had not passed upon them. And that is the way Christians should come out of furnace trials– liberated from their bonds, but untouched by the flames.
“Triumphing over them in it” (Col_2:15).
That is the real triumph– triumphing over sickness, in it; triumphing over death, dying; triumphing over adverse circumstances, in them. Oh, believe me, there is a power that can make us victors in the strife. There are heights to be reached where we can look down and over the way we have come, and sing our song of triumph on this side of Heaven. We can make others regard us as rich, while we are poor, and make many rich in our poverty. Our triumph is to be in it. Christ’s triumph was in His humiliation. Possibly our triumph, also, is to be made manifest in what seems to others humiliation. — Margaret Bottome
Is there not something captivating in the sight of a man or a woman burdened with many tribulations and yet carrying a heart as sound as a bell? Is there not something contagiously valorous in the vision of one who is greatly tempted, but is more than conqueror? Is it not heartening to see some pilgrim who is broken in body, but who retains the splendor of an unbroken patience? What a witness all this offers to the enduement of His grace! — J. H. Jowett
God Kept_ _ _
God Kept _ _ _
God Kept_ _ _!
“When each earthly prop gives under,
And life seems a restless sea,
Are you then a God-kept wonder,
Satisfied and calm and free?”
Chariot4yoursoul_ _ _
Chariot4yo’Soul
Chariot4yo’Soul
Chariot4Yo’Soul
https://www.chariot4yo’soul@fertiileground.wordpress.com/restinme
2021 April 04
And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.
(2Ki 2:9-14 KJV)
“Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see” (2Ki_6:17).
This is the prayer we need to pray for ourselves and for one another, “Lord, open our eyes that we may see”; for the world all around us, as well as around the prophet, is full of God’s horses and chariots, waiting to carry us to places of glorious victory. And when our eyes are thus opened, we shall see in all events of life, whether great or small, whether joyful or sad, a “chariot” for our souls.
Everything that comes to us becomes a chariot the moment we treat it as such; and, on the other hand, even the smallest trial may be a Juggernaut car to crush us into misery or despair if we consider it.
It lies with each of us to choose which they shall be. It all depends, not upon what these events are, but upon how we take them. If we lie down under them, and let them roll over us and crush us, they become Juggernaut cars, but if we climb up into them, as into a car of victory, and make them carry us triumphantly onward and upward, they become the chariots of God. — Hannah Whitall Smith
The Lord cannot do much with a crushed soul, hence the adversary’s attempt to push the Lord’s people into despair and hopelessness over the condition of themselves, or of the church. It has often been said that a dispirited army goes forth to battle with the certainty of being beaten. We heard a missionary say recently that she had been invalided home purely because her spirit had fainted, with the consequence that her body sunk also. We need to understand more of these attacks of the enemy upon our spirits and how to resist them. If the enemy can dislodge us from our position, then he seeks to “wear us out” (Dan_7:25) by a prolonged siege, so that at last we, out of sheer weakness, let go the cry of victory.
Chariot for your Soul
And the servant of the man of God arose early and went out. And, behold, an army surrounded the city, and horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” And he answered, “Do not fear, for those with us are more than those with them.”And Elisha prayed and said, “I pray You, LORD, open his eyes so that he may see.” And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. And when the Syrians came down to him Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, “I pray You, strike this people with blindness.” And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. (2Ki 6:15-18 AFV)
Be Still & Know_ _ _
Be Still _ _ _
And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the result of righteousness shall be quietness and confidence forever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable home, and in secure dwellings and quiet resting places.
(Isa 32:17-18 AFV)
For You are a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is like a storm against the wall. You shall bring down the noise of foreigners, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud. The shouting of the terrifying ones shall be brought low.
(Isa 25:4-5 AFV)
“Be still, and know that I am God! I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
(Psa 46:10-11 AFV)
Be Still & Know_ _ _
https://www.bestill&know.devotions@fertiileground.wordpress.com
https://www.bestill&know.devotions@fertiileground.wordpress.com/restinme
2021 April 07
“Their strength is to sit still.” (Isa_30:7) KJV.
In order really to know God, inward stillness is absolutely necessary. I remember when I first learned this. A time of great emergency had risen in my life, when every part of my being seemed to throb with anxiety, and when the necessity for immediate and vigorous action seemed overpowering; and yet circumstances were such that I could do nothing, and the person who could, would not stir.
For a little while it seemed as if I must fly to pieces with the inward turmoil, when suddenly the still small voice whispered in the depths of my soul, “Be still, and know that I am God.” The word was with power, and I hearkened. I composed my body to perfect stillness, and I constrained my troubled spirit into quietness, and looked up and waited; and then I did “know” that it was God, God even in the very emergency and in my helplessness to meet it; and I rested in Him. It was an experience that I would not have missed for worlds; and I may add also, that out of this stillness seemed to arise a power to deal with the emergency, that very soon brought it to a successful issue. I learned then effectually that my “strength was to sit still.” — Hannah Whitall Smith
Quote
There is a perfect passivity which is not indolence. It is a living stillness born of trust. Quiet tension is not trust. It is simply compressed anxiety.
Not in the Tumult_ _ _
Not in the tumult_ _ _
And there shall be a tabernacle for shade by day from the heat, and for refuge, and for shelter from storm and rain.
(Isa 4:6 AFV)
For You are a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is like a storm against the wall. You shall bring down the noise of foreigners, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud. The shouting of the terrifying ones shall be brought low.
(Isa 25:4-5 AFV)
Not in the Tumult_ _ _
Not in the tumult of the rending storm,
Not in the earthquake or devouring flame;
But in the hush that could all fear transform,
The still, small whisper to the prophet came.
0 Soul, keep silence on the mount of God,
Though cares and needs throb around thee like a sea;
From supplications and desires unshod,
Be still, and hear what God shall say to thee.
All fellowship hath interludes of rest,
New strength maturing in each poise of power;
The sweetest Alleluias of the blest
Are silent, for the space of half an hour.
rest, in utter quietude of soul,
Abandon words, leave prayer and praise awhile;
Let thy whole being, hushed in His control,
Learn the full meaning of His voice and smile.
Not as an athlete wrestling for a crown,
Not taking Heaven by violence of will;
But with thy Father as a child sit down,
And know the bliss that follows His “Be Still!”
— Mary Rowles Jarvis
God’s Set Jewels
God’s Set Jewels
And that He might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross, having slain the enmity by it. Now when He came, He preached the gospel—peace to you who were far off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have direct access by one Spirit to the Father. So then, you are no longer aliens and foreigners; but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of the household of God. You are being built up on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief Cornerstone In Whom all the building, being conjointly fitted together, is increasing into a holy temple in the Lord; In Whom you also are being built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.
(Eph 2:16-22 AFV)
God’s Set Jewels_ _ _
https://www.God’ssetJewels.devotions@fertiileground.wordpress.com/RestinMe
https://www,God’s Set Jewels@fertiileground.com/restinme
April 10
“Show me wherefore thou contendest with me” (Job_10:2).
Perhaps, O tried soul, the Lord is doing this to develop thy graces. There are some of thy graces which would never have been discovered if it were not for the trials. Dost thou not know that thy faith never looks so grand in summer weather as it does in winter? Love is too oft like a glowworm, showing but little light except it be in the midst of surrounding darkness. Hope itself is like a star– not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity. Afflictions are often the black folds in which God doth set the jewels of His children’s graces, to make them shine the better.
It was but a little while ago that, on thy knees, thou wast saying, “Lord, I fear I have no faith: let me know that I have faith.”
Was not this really, though perhaps unconsciously, praying for trials?– for how canst thou know that thou hast faith until thy faith is exercised? Depend upon it. God often sends us trials that our graces may be discovered, and that we may be certified of their existence. Besides, it is not merely discovery; real growth in grace is the result of sanctified trials.
God trains His soldiers, not in tents of ease and luxury, but by turning them out and using them to forced marches and hard service. He makes them ford through streams, and swim through rivers and climb mountains, and walk many a weary mile with heavy knapsacks on their backs. Well, Christian, may not this account for the troubles through which you are passing? Is not this the reason why He is contending with you? — C. H. Spurgeon
Quote
Christ Jesus overcame Satan, Making an open show of him on the Cross (See Col 2:15)
To be left unmolested by Satan is no evidence of blessing.
Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, be walking in Him; Being rooted and built up in Him, and being confirmed in the faith, exactly as you were taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Be on guard so that no one takes you captive through philosophy and vain deceit, according to the traditions of men, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; And you are complete in Him, Who is the Head of all principality and power In Whom you have also been circumcised with the circumcision not made by hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; Having been buried with Him in baptism, by which you have also been raised with Him through the inner working of God, Who raised Him from the dead. For you, who were once dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has now made alive with Him, having forgiven all your trespasses. He has blotted out the note of debt against us with the decrees of our sins, which was contrary to us; and He has taken it away, having nailed it to the cross. After stripping the principalities and the powers, He made a public spectacle of them, and has triumphed over them in it.
(Col 2:6-15 AFV)
A Tried Stone_ _ _
Jesus Our Chief Cornerstone
Jesus Christ our Sure Foundation & Chief Cornerstone
Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I place in Zion a Stone for a foundation, a tried Stone, a precious Cornerstone, a sure Foundation; he who believes shall not be ashamed. Also I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plummet; and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be annulled, and your agreement with the grave shall not stand; when the overwhelming scourge shall pass through, then you shall be beaten down." As often as it passes through, it shall take you; for morning by morning it shall pass over, by day and by night; and it shall be only sheer terror to understand the message." For the bed is shorter than one can stretch himself on, and the cover is narrower than one can wrap himself in; For the LORD shall rise up as in Mount Perazim; He shall be angry as in the valley of Gibeon, so that He may do His work, His strange work; and bring to pass His act, His strange act. (Isa 28:16-21 AFV)
Temptation & Conflict
Posted on by fertiileground
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you are beset by various trials, Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But let endurance have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, not lacking in anything.
(Jas 1:2-4 AFV)
Conflicts of the Soul
Temptation & Conflict
https://www.Devotions.Temptation & Conflict@fertiileground.com/Rest in devotions.temptation&conflict@fertiileground.com/restinMe
2021 April 12
“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil” (Luk_4:1-2).
Jesus was full of the Holy Ghost, and yet He was tempted. Temptation often comes upon a man with its strongest power when he is nearest to God. As someone has said, “The devil aims high.” He got one apostle to say he did not even know Christ.
Very few men have such conflicts with the devil as Martin Luther had. Why? Because Martin Luther was going to shake the very kingdom of hell. Oh, what conflicts John Bunyan had!
If a man has much of the Spirit of God, he will have great conflicts with the tempter. God permits temptation because it does for us what the storms do for the oaks– it roots us; and what the fire does for the paintings on the porcelain– it makes them permanent.
You never know that you have a grip on Christ, or that He has a grip on you, as well as when the devil is using all his force to attract you from Him; then you feel the pull of Christ’s right hand. — Selected
For this reason, it is imperative that we give much greater attention to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should slip away.
(Heb 2:1 AFV)
Affliction
Afflictions
Be well balanced and always alert, because your enemy, the devil, roams around incessantly, like a roaring lion looking for its prey to devour. Take a decisive stand against him and resist his every attack with strong, vigorous faith. For you know that your believing brothers and sisters around the world are experiencing the same kinds of troubles you endure. And then, after your brief suffering, the God of all loving grace, who has called you to share in his eternal glory in Christ, will personally and powerfully restore you and make you stronger than ever. Yes, he will set you firmly in place and build you up. And he has all the power needed to do this—forever! Amen.
(1Pe 5:8-11 TPT)
Affliction
Extraordinary afflictions are not always the punishment of extraordinary sins, but sometimes the trial of extraordinary graces. God hath many sharp-cutting instruments, and rough files for the polishing of His jewels; and those He especially loves, and means to make the most resplendent, He hath oftenest His tools upon. — Archbishop Leighton
I bear my willing witness that I owe more to the fire, and the hammer, and the file, than to anything else in my Lord’s workshop. I sometimes question whether I have ever learned anything except through the rod. When my schoolroom is darkened, I see most. — C. H. Spurgeon
In this you yourselves greatly rejoice; though for the present, if it is necessary, you are in distress for a little while by various trials; In order that the proving of your faith, which is much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is being tested by fire, may be found unto praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
(1Pe 1:6-7 AFV)
Wait_ _ _
Wait_ _ _
Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
(Psa 27:14 KJV)
Wait_ _ _
https://www.wait@devotions.fertiileground.com/RestinMe
2021 April 13
“And the hand of the Lord was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth unto the plain, and I will there talk with thee” (Eze_3:22).
Did you ever hear of any one being much used for Christ who did not have some special waiting time, some complete upset of all his or her plans first; from St. Paul’s being sent off into the desert of Arabia for three years, when he must have been boiling over with the glad tidings, down to the present day?
You were looking forward to telling about trusting Jesus in Syria; now He says, “I want you to show what it is to trust Me, without waiting for Syria.”
My own case is far less severe, but the same in principle, that when I thought the door was flung open for me to go with a bound into literary work, it is opposed, and doctor steps in and says, simply, “Never! She must choose between writing and living; she can’t do both.”
That was in 1860. Then I came out of the shell with “Ministry of Song” in 1869, and saw the evident wisdom of being kept waiting nine years in the shade. God’s love being unchangeable, He is just as loving when we do not see or feel His love. Also His love and His sovereignty are co-equal and universal; so He withholds the enjoyment and conscious progress because He knows best what will really ripen and further His work in us. —
Memorials of Frances Ridley Havergal
Rest & Stillness
Rest _ _ _
Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
(Heb 4:1-12 KJV)
Rest_ _ _!
I laid it down in silence, This work of mine, And took what had been sent me-- A resting time. The Master’s voice had called me To rest apart; "Apart with Jesus only," Echoed my heart.
I took the rest and stillness
From His own Hand,
And felt this present illness
Was what He planned.
How often we choose labor,
When He says "Rest"--
Our ways are blind and crooked;
His way is best.
The work Himself has given,
He will complete.
There may be other errands
For tired feet;
There may be other duties
For tired hands,
The present, is obedience
To His commands.
There is a blessed resting
In lying still,
In letting His hand mould us,
Just as He will.
His work must be completed.
His lesson set;
He is the higher Workman:
Do not forget!
It is not only "working."
We must be trained;
And Jesus "learnt" obedience,
Through suffering gained.
For us, His yoke is easy,
His burden light.
His discipline most needful,
And all is right.
We are but under-workmen;
They never choose
If this tool or if that one
Their hands shall use.
In working or in waiting
May we fulfill
Not ours at all, but only
The Master’s will!
-- Selected
Quote
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
God provides resting places as well as working places. Rest, then, and be thankful when He brings you, wearied to a wayside well.
(Heb 4:9 KJV)
Calendar
Calendar
Set Aside
Set Aside
For if that which is being set aside came into being through glory, to a much greater degree that which remains is glorious.
(2Co 3:11 AFV)
Set Aside
https://www.setaside.devotions@fertiileground.wordpress.com/restinme
https://www.devotions.setaside@fertiileground.com/RestinMe
2021 May 17
“And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness? An angel of the Lord…saying….now come, I will send thee into Egypt” (Act_7:30-34).
Often the Lord calls us aside from our work for a season, and bids us be still and learn ere we go forth again to minister. There is no time lost in such waiting hours.
Fleeing from his enemies, the ancient knight found that his horse needed to be re-shod. Prudence seemed to urge him on without delay, but higher wisdom taught him to halt a few minutes at the blacksmith’s forge by the way, to have the shoe replaced; and although he heard the feet of his pursuers galloping hard behind, yet he waited those minutes until his charger was refitted for his flight. And then, leaping into his saddle just as they appeared a hundred yards away, he dashed away from them with the fleetness of the wind, and knew that his halting had hastened his escape.
Quote
But they constrained Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is declining.” And He entered in as if to stay with them. And it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it; and after breaking it, He gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; and He disappeared from them. And they said to one another, “Did not our hearts burn within us as He was speaking to us on the road, while He was opening the Scriptures to us?”
So often God bids us tarry ere we go, and fully recover ourselves for the next stage of the journey and work. — Days of Heaven upon Earth
(Luk 24:29-32 AFV)
Waiting
Waiting
Wait for the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall make your heart strong; yea, wait, I say, wait on the LORD.
(Psa 27:14 AFV)
Waiting
Waiting! Yes, patiently waiting!
Till next steps made plain shall be;
To hear, with the inner hearing,
The Voice that will call for me.
Waiting! Yes, hopefully waiting!
With hope that need not grow dim;
The Master is pledged to guide me,
And my eyes are unto Him.
Waiting! Expectantly waiting!
Perhaps it may be today
The Master will quickly open
The gate to my future way.
Waiting! Yes, waiting! still waiting!
I know, though I’ve waited long,
That, while He withholds His purpose,
His waiting cannot be wrong.
Waiting! Yes, waiting! still waiting!
The Master will not be late:
He knoweth that I am waiting
For Him to unlatch the gate.
— J. D. Smith
Waiting
Fertiileground's Blog 
You must be logged in to post a comment.