post #101.

i read in joshua today where moses exhorted young joshua to be strong and very courageous (joshua 1:7). here are few thoughts:

"courage is not the absence of fear but the willingness to do the thing we fear." -elisabeth elliot.

"fear is faithlessness...a perfect faith would lift us absolutely above fear." -george macdonald.

and for those of us, in spite of all God promises, find ourselves fearful and weak...

"do not fear, I will help you. do not be agraid, o worm jacob, o little israel, for I Myself will help you." isaiah 41:14.

arise.

"shake yourself from the dust, arise; loose yourself from the bonds of your neck, o captive daughter of zion! for thus says the Lord, 'you have sold youself for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money." -isaiah 52:2-3.

"God loves us with an everlasting love. he is untterably merciful and kind, and sees to it that not a day passes without the opportunity for new applications of the old truth of becoming a child of God. this, to me, sums up the meaning of life." -elisabeth elliot, keep a quiet heart.

little black book.

some dear friends gave my husband and i a small collections of christian classics as a wedding gift. among them was a little black book entitled the valley of visions. the book is a wonderfully encouraging collection of prayers and aspirations from, well...the puritans. here is one i read last night:

the precious blood

blessed Lord Jesus,

before Thy cross i kneel and see
the heinousness of my sin,
my inquity that cause Thee to be 'made a curse',
the evil that excites the severity of divine wrath.

show me the enormity of my guilt by the crown of thorns,
the pierced hands and feet,
the bruised body,
the dying cries.

Thy blood is the blood of the incarnate God,
it's worth is infinite, it's value beyond all thought.
infinite must be the evil and guilt that demands such a price.

sin is my malady, my monster, my foe, my viper,
born in my birth,
alive in my life,
strong in my character,
dominating my falculties,
following me as a shadow,
intermingling with my every thought,
my chain that holds me captive in the empire of my soul.

sinner that i am, why should the sun give me light,
the air supply breath,
the earth bear my tread,
its fruits nourish me,
it's creatures subserve my ends?

yet Thy compassions earn over me,
Thy heart hastens to my rescue,
Thy love endured my curse,
Thy mercy bore my deserved stripes.

let me walk humbly in the lowest depths of humiliation,
bathed by Thy blood,
tender of conscience,
triumphing gloriously as an heir of salvation.

illy.

i had difficulty finding this sweet nector here in alaska, so i joined the illy coffee program. yeah! pretty excited. chech it out: illyusa.com.

mr. and mrs. peter christian madden, jr.