Grains of Sand

care2.com (Google Images) Psalm 21 starts out with a a list of things for which praise can be offered up to God. David could easily recite a litany of blessings that he had received from the Lord—and he does. But it is verse 6 of the psalm that hit me hard this morning: “ Surely you have granted him eternal blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence. ” The presence of God. Nothing that God could have given David compared to that. As I sat thinking about the words of the psalm, the lyrics to a popular worship song came to mind. I have the song on a CD sung by Lynn DeShazo and produced by Integrity Music. It beautifully captures what so often eludes us—time in His presence. IN YOUR PRESENCE O GOD. In Your presence That's where I am strong In Your presence O Lord my God In Your presence That's where I belong Seeking Your face Touching Your grace In the cleft of the Rock In Your presence O God I want to go Where the rivers Cannot overflow me Where my feet are On ...

Google Images A sharp contrast—two crowds. One followed Jesus, throwing their cloaks on the ground in front of Him, waving palm branches, singing His praise. The other was busy using His house as a marketplace. One called out, “ Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! ” (Matthew 21:9). The other questioned His authority (21:23). Unhappily the first crowd would bow to the will of the second and clamor for His death just a short time later. The praises would turn into something else; something evil rather than exalting. That often happens where there is no personal conviction. Where there is no personal conviction, whoever shouts the loudest turns the rest to do his will. For the believer, personal conviction is cultivated in the rich soil of an intimate relationship with the Lord. Time spent with Him, coming to know Him through prayer and through His Word, is never wasted. When that personal conviction has matured, there ...

“ Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty ’” —John 6:35. I live within spitting distance of two bakeries. I try to stay away, but I really like bread, especially when it comes in the form of a honey-dipped doughnut. Bread always satisfies—temporarily. Water is convenient. Here in Canada it is even more easily accessible than it was in Venezuela where drinkable water depended on the arrival of the water truck. Here, in this country, the tap is never far away. Water always satisfies—temporarily. When I look at Jesus’ statement in John 6 I know that spiritual satisfaction is not permanent either. Jesus is the bread and water of life. He always satisfies. But there is a condition tucked away in the Lord’s statement. Just as I have to keep going back for more doughnuts and keep turning the tap on to get water to meet my physical cravings, so I have to keep going back to Jesus to satisf...