I also have unique photos and digital art for sale at:

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Psalm 42: 1-3: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and stand before him? Day and night, I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, “Where is this God of yours?” ”

There are times when I am fully aware of my longing for God. It is so strong that my heart aches inside. At other times I have no awareness and am busy thinking and doing other things yet have felt so restless and unsettled. No matter what I put my hand to or think about in my mind it does not settle the unsettledness. What I believe is happening is that my deep longing for God is causing the unsettledness; I am dissatisfied with everything else. My deep being is crying out with longing for God. My outside being (my conscious self) is distracted with many things; some of these distractions may be my efforts to escape from my longing for God.

Then, too, there are my enemies who seems to whisper forever, “Where is this God of yours?” The demons are ever ready to throw this question at me when God seems not to be near, or seems not be hearing or paying attention.

My longing for God gets attacked by myself (the sinful self who is so full of self and does not want a competitor) or by the demons who do not want me to draw close to God in any way.

God knows this. He knows how to deliver me from the taunting demons. And, He knows how to work in my heart so my dissatisfaction deepens until I do turn to Him and am willing for Him to bring about the needed heart changes.

He has made clear in Scripture that He loves us and desires to fellowship with us. He has planted within us this deep longing for fellowship with Him, as well.

Copyright © 2003 Fran Woods

originally published at Bhojli Reflections

 

Spring is here… wonderful! Here’s some of my spring flowers. What a wonderful reminder of God’s great creative genius!
I look at the daffodils in awe as they turn their faces to the sun… a reminder for me to turn my face to the Son, Jesus Christ.

 

Eugene Nida dies

August 25, 2011 By comms

By Dr Philip C. Stine

Eugene Nida, the giant of Bible translation in the twentieth century, died at home in Madrid on August 25. He was 96. Conveying the news, his widow Elena said, “My adored husband has passed away 10 minutes ago. Thank you for your prayers. He was a saint. The Lord is with him.”

For more than 50 years Eugene Nida was the leader of the translation program of the American Bible Society, and subsequently the intellectual leader of the global program of the United Bible Societies, as well as consultant to that organisation.

Dr Nida will be best remembered for the revolution he brought about in the field of Bible translation in the mid-twentieth century. The resulting impact on the growth and development of the Church continues to be felt as millions of people in hundreds of languages around the world have access to the Bible because of the approach he developed and promoted.

Using concepts from linguistics, cultural studies, communication sciences and psychology, Nida developed a practical approach to translation he called dynamic equivalence or functional equivalence, the goal of which was to make the translation clear and understandable as well as accurate. He also influenced the emerging field of modern translation studies and is generally acknowledged as having set in motion the developments that led to that discipline. Through his numerous books and publications and extraordinary lecture schedule, he was able to help scholars, translators and specialists in Christian missions find new ways to think about effective communication.

[read more at United Bible Societies.]

Now he is with Jesus. How wonderful for him!

Related articles

• Spreading the Word in Hundreds of Tongues (online.wsj.com)
• Giant of Bible Translation Dies (wycliffeusa.wordpress.com)

 

“So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.” 1 Corinthians 15:58 NASB

Be like a postage stamp – stick to one thing till you get there! – Josh Billings.

From: http://dailyreadings.net/

 

Incline my heart to you

My heart is inclined to you, O Lord
Yet not all
So often I see myself withholding
some thought, some desire
some bit of the old
declaring with shaking fist
this is mine,
don’t touch.

A so-called friend offends me
I’m enraged
I want revenge, tit for tat.
Don’t tell me to forgive,
it’s unforgivable…
so my heart inclines to hatred
this is mine
don’t touch.

There’s much to do, and
I’m tired of doing
I want to play
to go where I want to go
and do what I want to do
so my heart inclines to selfishness
this is mine
don’t touch.

And so the list goes on
I spiral down
lost to myself in whirling self-pity
deeper into loneliness,
so my heart inclines to
hopelessness and despair
O God, I am yours, You are mine
touch me.

Written as a result of reflecting on 1 Kings 8:54-61
Copyright © 2005 Fran Woods

See: Bhojli Reflections: Poetry.

 

Collected below is Christianity Today’s coverage of Stott’s life and ministry. Articles and sermons from our sister publications Books & Culture and Preaching Today are also included below. …

read more: John Stott | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction.

Related articles

• John Stott: The Passing of a Giant (1921-2011) (antagoniz.wordpress.com)
• John Stott, Annihilationist (1921-2011) (5ptsalt.com)
• In remembrance of John Stott (petegreenwood.wordpress.com)

 

John Stott died today at 3:15 London time (about 9:15 a.m. CST), according to John Stott Ministries President Benjamin Homan. Homan said that Stott’s death came after complications related to old age and that he has been in discomfort for the last several weeks. Family and close friends gathered with Stott today as they listened to Handel’s Messiah. Homan said that John Stott Ministries has been preparing for his death for the past 15 years. “I think he set an impeccable example for leaders of ministries of handing things over to other leaders,” Homan said. “He imparted to many a love for the global church and imparted a passion for biblical fidelity and a love for the Savior.” Billy Graham’s spokesperson released the following statement from the evangelist: “The evangelical world has lost one of its greatest spokesmen, and I have lost one of my close personal friends and advisors. I look forward to seeing him again when I go to Heaven.”

via John Stott Has Died | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction.

John Stott had a great impact on my early Christian life. I purchased many of his books and found them both challenging and encouraging in my life with Jesus. I had not realised he was still alive till the other day and now I find that he’s gone home to Jesus. I’m glad for him.

Related articles

• Evangelical Leader the Rev. John Stott Dies at 90 (foxnews.com)
• John Stott: The Passing of a Giant (1921-2011) (antagoniz.wordpress.com)
• In remembrance of John Stott (petegreenwood.wordpress.com)

 

I like lavender very much, it has such a fresh clean smell. My mother had a good lot growing in her garden and I tried many times to get a nice photo of the lavender in bloom. One day I actually was able to capture a nice photo and a bee at work. It was lovely!
Here I’ve used a Topaz HDR filter on the photo to enhance the colour.
God has created such wonders in the garden.

 

“When [Barnabas] arrived …, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord.” Acts 11:23 NLT

Encouragers don’t look for honours, but the results of their work are unmistakable. What oxygen does for the body, encouragement does for the soul. It inspires us to persevere when it would be easier to just quit.

Are you an oxygenator of the soul? Determine today to find ways to encourage others, you’ll be amazed at how encouraging it will be to yourself.

And, for inspirational daily messages, check out www.thewordfortoday.com.au