According to the Scriptures...

According to the Scriptures:

Jesus went to the cross to die for us;

He rose from the dead to live for us;

He ascended to the right hand of the Father to intercede for us;

He sent the Holy Spirit to live in us;

He will come again to be with us.

Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when He returns, we can live with Him forever. 1 Thessalonians 5:10 (NLT)

©2019 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow, all rights reserved.

The Word of God—

The Word of God—

When you need illumination,

It’s a lamp to your feet;

When you need guidance,

It’s a light to your path;

When you face a spiritual battle,

It’s the sword of the Spirit;

When you need to be fed,

It’s the word of life;

When you need refreshing,

It’s the joy and rejoicing of your heart;

When you are spiritually hungry;

It’s your daily bread.

Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.

Proverbs 30:5 (NKJV)

©2019 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. All rights reserved.

Wonderful Names!

Suppose someone named Jones decided to go to a university to earn a doctorate degree in medicine. When he left the university he opened his own restaurant and named it Dr. Jones Fine Cuisine. A customer asked him why he called himself a doctor.

“Because I am a doctor.” he said.

“Why don’t you practice medicine?” the customer asked.

“I didn’t earn the title of doctor to practice medicine. I earned it so my customers would be impressed with how smart I am.” Dr. Jones replied.

Jesus’ names are not empty titles that have been given to Him to impress us. Each name means something and helps us to know who He really is and what He can actually do. His names have been revealed to us in Scripture so our faith can respond to Him and receive from Him.

For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father [of Eternity], Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 (AMP)

©2019 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. All rights reserved.

Three Healing Oils

Oil to make his face shine. Psalm 104:15

There are healing oils the Holy Spirit can apply to ever life and every needy heart. These healing oils will restore us, renew us, and cause our faces to shine. Without these oils we could not live the overcoming life God has purposed for us to live.

...

The healing oil of MERCY:

Mercy heals us from the heartaches of the past.

Without mercy we couldn’t be free from our past. Mercy releases our hearts from the guilt and condemnation of sin that separated us from God. Mercy brings salvation, salvation brings forgiveness, and forgiveness brings reconciliation. Reconciliation means we are no longer separated from God, the old has passed away and we live in the love of new beginnings.  

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit... Titus 3:5 (NKJV)

...

The healing oil of GRACE:

Grace heals us from the burdens of the present.

Without grace the demands of the day would weigh heavy upon our hearts. Grace is the help we need. Grace brings strength, and strength enables us to walk through our day in God’s sufficiency. Every good and perfect gift from God, and all His blessings to us in Christ are ours today because of abundant grace.

God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8 (NKJV)

...

The healing oil of HOPE:

Hope heals us from the fear of the future.

Without hope in our hearts we couldn’t face our tomorrows. Hope keeps our feet moving forward and our eyes fixed on Jesus. Hope brings lightness to our steps and puts a song of joyful expectation upon our lips. Our future is bright because the sunshine of God’s light shines upon our pathway, and He who goes before us will not fail to keep His promise.

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (NKJV)

©2019 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. All rights reserved.

A Leap of Faith

NOW [in Haran] the Lord said to Abram, Go for yourself [for your own advantage] away from your country, from your relatives and your father's house, to the land that I will show you…So Abram departed, as the Lord had directed him. Genesis 12:1-7

We live by faith, moment by moment, placing our trust and confidence in the Lord, knowing that it is in Him we live and move and have our being. We walk by faith, taking faithful steps of obedience as the Holy Spirit directs us through the daily activities of life. There are also times when we are led by the Lord to take a leap of faith.

A leap of faith is not a leap into the dark, a leap of recklessness, a leap of presumption, or a leap of wild speculation. Rather, it is a leap of faith into a major decision or commitment that we are confident God is directing us to take. A leap of faith can mean a major change in our lives that can take us down a new pathway and away from the familiar, the convenient, or the comfortable.

A leap of faith can often come following an extended time of waiting on the Lord. During those waiting times, God wants us to be still. When the time is right, God will confirm the way, arrange the circumstances, and assure us of His timing. When the waiting time is over, God does not want us to linger, but to take a leap of faith into the change.

Vance Havner refers to a leap of faith as something he did as a boy called “Gully Jumping.” Here is what he says about it:

“Gully jumping means getting across a gully in one leap. The secret is in getting a good running start and going over on the first try. If you were to run up to the brink and then have your courage fail so that you had to go back and start all over, that would be disastrous. It would be just twice as hard to do next time.

Gully jumping illustrates a very vital principle in the Christian life of faith. Nothing is more disastrous than to study faith, analyze faith, make noble resolves of faith, but never actually make the leap of faith. It is running up to the edge of a gully but never jumping. Each time the process is repeated, it becomes more difficult to make the leap of full committal to the truth one knows…we do not get over the gully by feeling like it or by thinking about it. We have to call on the will and jump…no man ever jumped toward Christ but found beneath him the Everlasting Arms.”

–Vance Havner

Is there a gully you need to jump? Are you at a place in your walk with the Lord when it is time to take a leap of faith? Is the Spirit saying to you, “The waiting is over, it is time to move forward?” May your heart be encouraged today to do what the Lord is directing you to do, and may you be assured that beneath you are His everlasting arms.

©2019 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow, all rights reserved.

As Only Your Father Could

The things your sight does not observe,

His eyes see clearly—

The things your thinking does not understand,

His mind knows fully—

The things your hands cannot grasp,

His grip holds firmly—

The things your strength cannot subdue

His power conquers completely—

The things your resources cannot fulfill

His riches meet abundantly—

The things your love cannot give

His heart gives endlessly!

©2019 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow, all rights reserved.

Inside the House

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. Psalm 36:7-8 NKJV

A hiker is on a walk in the mountains. It’s a nice day in late fall when he begins his hike. Unexpectedly, the weather changes and the temperature drops. Storm clouds gather. The hiker begins to look for shelter. Ahead of him, a few hundred yards off the main trail, he notices a log house.

When he arrives at the house he knocks on the door. There is no answer. As he wonders what to do, the storm begins to unleash its furry. Temperatures plunge, the wind increases and snow begins to fall. The house is the hiker’s only chance to escape the storm. He walks around the house and looks through a few windows. To his delight, he sees food supplies on the shelves, bottled water on the kitchen table, blankets on a chair, warm clothing hanging from hooks on the wall, and a tall pile of firewood next to the fireplace.

Everything the hiker needs is in the house: food, drink, dry clothing, warmth, comfort, shelter. But he can’t get in. He has no key, and the windows and doors are locked. Frustrated, he decides to take another look through a nearby window. To his surprise, he sees the figure of a man sleeping in an easy chair in the corner of the living room. The hiker realizes that the things he needs can be available to him if he can awaken the man and get him to open the door and invite him in.

The hiker pounds loudly at the door and looks through the window again. He sees the man beginning to stir and get to his feet. The hiker knocks again, excited that help is on the way.

The story of the hiker is not an illustration of what our relationship with God looks like as believers in Jesus Christ. We are not trying to gain entrance into God’s house, and we do not need to be “pounding on the door of His promises” hoping to get His attention so we can receive what we need and find shelter from the storm.

As a believer in Jesus Christ, you are already in the house. You can’t entreat your way in through prayer, you can’t buy your way in through giving, you can’t earn your way in through serving. God welcomed you and brought you into His house through grace, the day you gave your heart to Him. You are in Christ, not separated from Him; you are a friend, not a stranger; you are an heir, not an alien; you are a child, not an orphan; you are in the household of faith, not an outsider.

As someone who is in God’s house, you have complete access to all God has provided for you through His Son—every spiritual blessing is yours; you are complete in Him; He is your life; He is in you and you are in Him; He is your “yes” to every promise.

When you bring your needs to God in prayer, ask, not as an outsider looking in, but as a child who is living in his Father’s house. Ask in full assurance of faith. And as you ask, hear Him say, “You will be satisfied with the fullness of My house. Come drink at the stream of My pleasures.”

©2019 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. All rights reserved.

In His Hands

For You, O Lord, have made me glad by Your works; at the deeds of Your hands I joyfully sing.

Psalm 92:4 AMP

The best decision you ever made was to place your life into the hands of the One who made you—hands that worked with SKILL; hands that guided with WISDOM; hands that shaped with PURPOSE; hands that formed with LOVE.

God’s hands are more capable than a great surgeon;

More compassionate than a caring nurse;

More precise than a fine diamond cutter;

More creative than a master craftsman;

More powerful than a mighty warrior;

More dependable than a honest man’s handshake;

More reassuring than a mother’s embrace.

Your life is in His hands!

©2019 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. All rights reserved.

The Mountain

The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my keen and firm Strength in Whom I will trust and take refuge. Psalm 18:2 AMP

Years ago, I lived in Southern California, in the city of Glendora. A few miles behind our house stood a mountain. When you stepped outside our front door you couldn’t miss it! There were days, however, when you couldn’t see that mountain. It happened when big storms blew in, when the thick fog rolled in, or when the gray smog drifted into our neighborhood. On those days, you could stand in front of our house and have no indication that a mountain stood a few miles away.

Because I saw that mountain on clear days, I never doubted if it was there on stormy days, foggy days, or smoggy days. I knew, beyond a doubt, that once the storm, the fog, or the smog lifted, the mountain would still be there, unchanged. I never lost a night’s sleep worrying about that mountain. On the days I couldn’t see it, I never questioned if the mountain had moved.

The Bible tells us that Lord is our Rock (Psalm 18:2). I don’t know how big of a Rock the Lord is, but I am confident that He is bigger than the mountain outside my old house in Glendora, or any other mountain. The Lord is our “huge” Rock, in whom we trust and take refuge.

You may be in a time when the storms of life, the fog of circumstances, or the smog of hardships have settled over your soul. In the darkness, you may be wondering what has happened to the Rock you beheld so vividly when the days were clear and His presence was unobstructed. Be assured, He has not moved, changed, or disappeared. The darkness is temporary, the Rock is eternal. The storm will pass, the fog will lift, the smog will blow away. Your Rock remains!

There is another important difference to remember…your Rock always sees you! The storm, the fog, and the smog create no visual obstacle for Him. He has His eye upon you, and you will never be out of His sight or His care.

©2019 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. All rights reserved.