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Powerful messages that encourage, inspire, and convict “People of the Way” to enter into the presence of the Living God and to mirror the image of the precious Lord Jesus, bringing his life to this hurt and broken world. The messages are written by Richard E. Bieber. A pastor whose prolific writings spanned six decades.
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Short Messages/Tracts
OUR FATHER
Jesus teaches us to pray like this:
“Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name”.
God is our Father, and he knows us each by name.
He knows how many breaths we have taken since our birth.
He understands out thoughts “afar off”.
He knows the secrets of our hearts.
And loves us.
But our Father is not soft.
We don’t play games with him.
We cannot manipulate him.
We approach him with holy fear.
“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear him!
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
Luke 12
When the Son of God emptied himself of his glory and became one of us, he did what Adam failed to do:
He walked before his Father with perfect trust.
Every word he spoke, everything he did was done as directed by his Father.
“The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.”
John 14
And now, by the power of his death and resurrection, Jesus empowers us to walk before the Father as he did.
Every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we are putting our feet on the path he walked.
We are stepping out of the darkness into the light of God.
We are welcoming the power of His world to come into our lives.
We are reaching out to the Father, and the Father is taking us by the hand, and leading us.
Our Father answers our prayers.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Matthew 7
Over and over again Jesus urges us to pray.
He promises that our Father will absolutely answer our prayers.
If we approach our Father, trusting, not in our “worthiness”, but his mercy, he will hear us.
Not: “God I thank thee that I am not as other men are…..I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all I possess.”
Rather: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” “Father, help me!”
Our Father gives us the Holy Spirit.
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he taught them to cry out to the Father for the Holy Spirit.
Because the Holy Spirit empowers us to pray.
“And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Luke 11
Our Father reveals the kingdom to those who have the eyes to see.
Even though the kingdom of God is now at work in this troubled earth, it can be seen only by those who have eyes to see.
And to whom does the Father give those eyes? To babes.
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.”
Matthew 11
Our Father corrects us.
He does it in love.
He does it for our good.
He does it because without his chastising hand we would surely drift into darkness and be lost.
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?
Hebrews 12
Some of us learn quickly, repent and get back on the road of Light.
Some of us keep trying new shortcuts to glory, and have to learn the hard way.
Once we repent of ourselves, we recognize the Father’s chastening hand as it comes down on us. And we yield to the Father’s call to back off and change direction.
Jesus’ final prayer …Draws us into the Father’s presence
At the end of his last discourse with his disciples in flesh and blood Jesus prayed a prayer to his Father that wraps us into the Father’s arms—-if we are willing.
This prayer has been preserved to us by the Father in the form of John, Chapter 17.
It’s a prayer worth soaking into our souls.
It is helpful to pray this prayer with our mouths as well as with our hearts.
For this prayer draws us into the Father’s presence.
The prayer concludes with these words:
O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.
I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Prayer: Our Father, our Father thank you for knowing us by name, thank you for loving us. We bow before you in awe… in awe of your majesty and power, in awe of your loving kindness, and in awe of your mercy to us. May we see that every time we pray, we are stepping into your light, into your power, that we are joining you in bringing your kingdom to this world. May this be a holy time for us where we are truly reaching out to you the holy of holies. Thank you for calling us to this holy privilege. Thank you for answering our prayers. Thank you for filling us with your Spirit that teaches us to pray. Continue to give us the eyes to see what you do for us. Help us to know when you are correcting us, help us to sense your love in it and to yield to do it for your glory and our good. And Lord thank you, thank you for drawing us into your very presence, for promising to pour your love into us and for allowing us to be one with you…Our precious Father. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber May 2021 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Fr. Jim Hasse
Website: website expired…but can Google him for more info.
#Awe #OurFather #JamesHasseArt #Prayer #TrustHisMercy
OUR FATHER
Jesus teaches us to pray like this:
“Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name”.
God is our Father, and he knows us each by name.
He knows how many breaths we have taken since our birth.
He understands out thoughts “afar off”.
He knows the secrets of our hearts.
And loves us.
But our Father is not soft.
We don’t play games with him.
We cannot manipulate him.
We approach him with holy fear.
“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear him!
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
Luke 12
When the Son of God emptied himself of his glory and became one of us, he did what Adam failed to do:
He walked before his Father with perfect trust.
Every word he spoke, everything he did was done as directed by his Father.
“The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.”
John 14
And now, by the power of his death and resurrection, Jesus empowers us to walk before the Father as he did.
Every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we are putting our feet on the path he walked.
We are stepping out of the darkness into the light of God.
We are welcoming the power of His world to come into our lives.
We are reaching out to the Father, and the Father is taking us by the hand, and leading us.
Our Father answers our prayers.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Matthew 7
Over and over again Jesus urges us to pray.
He promises that our Father will absolutely answer our prayers.
If we approach our Father, trusting, not in our “worthiness”, but his mercy, he will hear us.
Not: “God I thank thee that I am not as other men are…..I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all I possess.”
Rather: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” “Father, help me!”
Our Father gives us the Holy Spirit.
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he taught them to cry out to the Father for the Holy Spirit.
Because the Holy Spirit empowers us to pray.
“And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Luke 11
Our Father reveals the kingdom to those who have the eyes to see.
Even though the kingdom of God is now at work in this troubled earth, it can be seen only by those who have eyes to see.
And to whom does the Father give those eyes? To babes.
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.”
Matthew 11
Our Father corrects us.
He does it in love.
He does it for our good.
He does it because without his chastising hand we would surely drift into darkness and be lost.
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?
Hebrews 12
Some of us learn quickly, repent and get back on the road of Light.
Some of us keep trying new shortcuts to glory, and have to learn the hard way.
Once we repent of ourselves, we recognize the Father’s chastening hand as it comes down on us. And we yield to the Father’s call to back off and change direction.
Jesus’ final prayer …Draws us into the Father’s presence
At the end of his last discourse with his disciples in flesh and blood Jesus prayed a prayer to his Father that wraps us into the Father’s arms—-if we are willing.
This prayer has been preserved to us by the Father in the form of John, Chapter 17.
It’s a prayer worth soaking into our souls.
It is helpful to pray this prayer with our mouths as well as with our hearts.
For this prayer draws us into the Father’s presence.
The prayer concludes with these words:
O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.
I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Prayer: Our Father, our Father thank you for knowing us by name, thank you for loving us. We bow before you in awe… in awe of your majesty and power, in awe of your loving kindness, and in awe of your mercy to us. May we see that every time we pray, we are stepping into your light, into your power, that we are joining you in bringing your kingdom to this world. May this be a holy time for us where we are truly reaching out to you the holy of holies. Thank you for calling us to this holy privilege. Thank you for answering our prayers. Thank you for filling us with your Spirit that teaches us to pray. Continue to give us the eyes to see what you do for us. Help us to know when you are correcting us, help us to sense your love in it and to yield to do it for your glory and our good. And Lord thank you, thank you for drawing us into your very presence, for promising to pour your love into us and for allowing us to be one with you…Our precious Father. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber May 2021 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Fr. Jim Hasse
Website: website expired…but can Google him for more info.
#Awe #OurFather #JamesHasseArt #Prayer #TrustHisMercy
OUR FATHER
Jesus teaches us to pray like this:
“Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name”.
God is our Father, and he knows us each by name.
He knows how many breaths we have taken since our birth.
He understands out thoughts “afar off”.
He knows the secrets of our hearts.
And loves us.
But our Father is not soft.
We don’t play games with him.
We cannot manipulate him.
We approach him with holy fear.
“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear him!
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
Luke 12
When the Son of God emptied himself of his glory and became one of us, he did what Adam failed to do:
He walked before his Father with perfect trust.
Every word he spoke, everything he did was done as directed by his Father.
“The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.”
John 14
And now, by the power of his death and resurrection, Jesus empowers us to walk before the Father as he did.
Every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we are putting our feet on the path he walked.
We are stepping out of the darkness into the light of God.
We are welcoming the power of His world to come into our lives.
We are reaching out to the Father, and the Father is taking us by the hand, and leading us.
Our Father answers our prayers.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Matthew 7
Over and over again Jesus urges us to pray.
He promises that our Father will absolutely answer our prayers.
If we approach our Father, trusting, not in our “worthiness”, but his mercy, he will hear us.
Not: “God I thank thee that I am not as other men are…..I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all I possess.”
Rather: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” “Father, help me!”
Our Father gives us the Holy Spirit.
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he taught them to cry out to the Father for the Holy Spirit.
Because the Holy Spirit empowers us to pray.
“And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Luke 11
Our Father reveals the kingdom to those who have the eyes to see.
Even though the kingdom of God is now at work in this troubled earth, it can be seen only by those who have eyes to see.
And to whom does the Father give those eyes? To babes.
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.”
Matthew 11
Our Father corrects us.
He does it in love.
He does it for our good.
He does it because without his chastising hand we would surely drift into darkness and be lost.
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?
Hebrews 12
Some of us learn quickly, repent and get back on the road of Light.
Some of us keep trying new shortcuts to glory, and have to learn the hard way.
Once we repent of ourselves, we recognize the Father’s chastening hand as it comes down on us. And we yield to the Father’s call to back off and change direction.
Jesus’ final prayer …Draws us into the Father’s presence
At the end of his last discourse with his disciples in flesh and blood Jesus prayed a prayer to his Father that wraps us into the Father’s arms—-if we are willing.
This prayer has been preserved to us by the Father in the form of John, Chapter 17.
It’s a prayer worth soaking into our souls.
It is helpful to pray this prayer with our mouths as well as with our hearts.
For this prayer draws us into the Father’s presence.
The prayer concludes with these words:
O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.
I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Prayer: Our Father, our Father thank you for knowing us by name, thank you for loving us. We bow before you in awe… in awe of your majesty and power, in awe of your loving kindness, and in awe of your mercy to us. May we see that every time we pray, we are stepping into your light, into your power, that we are joining you in bringing your kingdom to this world. May this be a holy time for us where we are truly reaching out to you the holy of holies. Thank you for calling us to this holy privilege. Thank you for answering our prayers. Thank you for filling us with your Spirit that teaches us to pray. Continue to give us the eyes to see what you do for us. Help us to know when you are correcting us, help us to sense your love in it and to yield to do it for your glory and our good. And Lord thank you, thank you for drawing us into your very presence, for promising to pour your love into us and for allowing us to be one with you…Our precious Father. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber May 2021 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Fr. Jim Hasse
Website: website expired…but can Google him for more info.
#Awe #OurFather #JamesHasseArt #Prayer #TrustHisMercy
SO WHO’S ON THE THRONE?
They said there was a city where people do things the right way.
They said that in this city an immense bronze throne adorns the Central Square.
On the throne is a magnificent bronze Bible.
I was told that in this city people are not afraid to talk about God.
Everybody prays quite openly.
Everybody has a Bible and reads it.
I was curious. So I went and knocked on the city’s immense wooden gate.
No response.
I shouted, “Hello! May I come in?”
Silence.
Just then Jack Frack, the famous TV star, came by, saw me pounding at the heavy gate, and shook his head with a wry smile.
Jack Frack is loved by millions.
Of course, everybody knows that Jack is an inveterate liar. If he owes you money, you’ll probably never see it again.
But Jack has his winning ways, and I was grateful that he offered to help.
“You want to get in there? I’ll get you in,” said Jack with a wink.
He pulled out his phone, pressed a key, and said, “Jack Frack here. Open the gate and let this guy in!”
The huge wooden gate swung open and in I walked.
For a moment I thought I had entered Paradise. The place was magnificent!
I understood that no one was allowed in this city except Christians, and then, only the right kind of Christians.
“Well, I guess I made the grade,” I said to myself.
“Come with me,” said a man in a sweat suit. “I’d like to take you to lunch.”
We marched through the swinging doors of the Galilee Café, sat at a table, and had fish and chips.
As we were finishing coffee my new friend said, “If you don’t mind my asking, I’d like to know how you got in here. You seem different from the rest of us.”
“Jack Frack made a call and the gate opened,” I said. “Is Jack Frack a citizen of this city?”
“Heavens no!” said my friend. “But Frack does favors for us out there beyond these walls. We support him any way we can.”
“So what’s that bronze Bible doing on that bronze throne in the city square?” I asked.
“What do you think? In this town we believe in the Bible.”
“But shouldn’t Jesus be on that throne?” I asked.
My friend’s face clouded. He lowered his voice and said, “Don’t you know that the Bible is the final authority?”
But didn’t Jesus say,
You search the scriptures for it is in them that you think you have eternal life. And it is they that bear witness to me. (John 5:39)
“What are you, a Jesus freak?” growled my friend. “I’m afraid you don’t belong here.”
With that he ushered me out of the Galilee Café and flagged down a police car.
“Take this man to the gate,” said my angry friend, “and make sure he never gets in here again.”
As I left the city gate I wondered how a liar could get me into that Christian city and how a Bible-loving man could cast me out.
Where was Jesus in this picture?
Did these Christians put the Bible above Jesus?
That’s what the scribes and Pharisees did. They put scripture on the throne and when the Messiah came to town they crucified him.
Modern scribes and Pharisees do the same thing. While paying lip-service to Jesus they use the Bible as a weapon to advance their own agenda.
And when Jesus actually comes near, they shun him.
But if the Bible bears witness to Jesus, shouldn’t Jesus be on the throne?
Here’s what the Bible says about Jesus:
The Bible says that Jesus is the ultimate Temple…
The place where we actually meet God.
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2)
The Bible says that Jesus is the ultimate Sabbath….
In Jesus alone we find God’s Sabbath Rest.
“Come to me all you who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11)
The Bible says that Jesus is the Ultimate Sacrifice.
“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1)
All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned, every one, to his own way. And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53)
The Bible says that Jesus is the ultimate Word.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him.
He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light.
The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. He came to his own home, and his own people received him not.
But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1)
The Bible says that Jesus is Lord of the scriptures.
“You have heard that it was said to the men of old, You shall not kill, and whoever kills shall be liable to Judgment, but I say to you…..
You have heard that it was said to the men of old, You shall not commit adultery.
But I say to you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in heart.” (Matthew 5)
The Bible says that Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth.
Jesus alone belongs on the throne!
Not Moses. Not Elijah. Not anyone or anything else.
Jesus only.
The inner throne.
Perhaps one glorious day I invited Jesus into my life.
Perhaps in a moment of supernatural deliverance I threw my life at Jesus’ feet in thanksgiving.
For this I praise God!
But the ultimate question is:
Who sits on that throne in my heart day and night?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, we do want you on the throne of our hearts day and night. Help us to allow nothing to come between us keeping you there. Keep us from placing the law before you. Keep us from allowing any attitude, any doctrine, or any teaching that causes us to shun you and reject what you are calling us to, that keeps us from embracing your redemptive love. You are worthy to place on the throne of our hearts. With you, we meet God, we find rest, we find light, we find life. And only you can make us children of God. Lord help us to continue receiving you and believing you and seeking you and hearing you… so that it is you…only you that occupies the throne of our hearts. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber May 2021 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Courtesy of Ramone Romero Website: Ramone Romero blogsot…also on Facebook and Instagram
#JesusIsLordOfTheScriptures #YouSearchTheScriptures #BibleAsWeapon #ShunningJesus #JesusOnThroneOfHeart
YOU DIDN’T MOVE THAT MOUNTAIN…GOD DID.
You prayed.
The very next day the obstacle was gone!
You almost fainted.
Never has a prayer of mine been answered so swiftly!
What did I do differently, when I prayed that prayer?
Was my faith stronger?
Get your eyes off yourself.
Get your eyes off your prayers.
Look beyond the melted mountain to the One who intervened.
And give thanks.
Give thanks!
Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.
He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s! (Psalm 103: 1-5)
At that time Jesus prayed this prayer:
“O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way! (Matthew 11:25-26)
Prayer: Yes Lord, we thank you for every mountain you have moved in our lives, for answering our prayers, for rescuing us from disaster again and again. It’s not by any personal power of our own…but by You, by You precious Lord. It doesn’t matter how eloquent, commanding, or righteous we are…our prayers hold no special power without your overwhelming mercy, without your all-knowing hand. Forgive us for such arrogance and thank you, thank you for hearing us. We can never praise you enough. Lord like the psalmist shouts…let all that we are … praise your holy name for your goodness to us, for your redemption, for your forgiveness, for your healing, and especially for your tender mercies. Alleluia, we praise you O Holy One, Perfect One you deserve praise with every breath we take. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber 2014 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Courtesy of Ross Boone
Website: Rawspoon
#GodMovesMountains #GiveThanks #AnsweredPrayers #LookBeyondTheMountain
ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD…..
….For those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
The only way you can prove the truth of those words is to live them.
When our hearts open wide to God’s unspeakable love,
When we let go of our vanity and our burdensome egos,
And offer ourselves back to him,
And answer his call,
Then “all things work together for good.”
All things.
Even the hard-to-fathom things.
We are on the path of life.
We are guided from above.
God’s part in this miracle is never in doubt.
He’s there.
He does exactly what he promises to do.
Our part in the miracle is up to us.
We can respond with child-like faith, or we can turn and walk away.
“He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
“She who has my commandments and keeps them, she it is who loves me; and she who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love her and manifest myself to her.”
John 14: 21
Any man or woman…..
Who longs to know God,
Who seeks God,
Who listens for God’s voice,
Will soon be walking with the crucified and risen Lord.
And all things will somehow work together for good.
Prayer: Lord, how true we have found this to be. Again, and again things that hurt us, disappoint us, make us afraid, even devastating things…you take them and turn them into something beautiful, something wonderful in your mysterious, wonderful way. We trust you to take our deepest pain, our broken hearts, our failures, our losses, our disappointments, every trial and turn them into good, into healing, into blessings not only for ourselves…but for many others…in ways we can’t know or understand. Oh, how we trust you with them. We trust in your love. We open our hearts to your will now…. because you are so good, so loving, so perfect. We admit we don’t desire troubles and we do ask you to protect us from them, but if and when they come, we know you will be with us in them. Help us to really know you, to love you, to listen to you, to answer your call, to seek to do your purpose, to seek you in all things, all things…so we can see you and know you in all things. And, yes, to see your goodness will come out of them, all of them. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber 2015 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Courtesy and kindness of Melani Pyke
Website: melpyke.com
#AllThingsWorkTogetherForTheGood #ForThoseWhoLoveGod #John14
SAVED, SANCTIFIED, AND HARD AS NAILS
Jim is saved and sanctified.
No doubt about it.
He’ll tell you himself.
Jim will also tell you what he thinks of that world out there.
He despises panhandlers.
He is suspicious of black folks.
He rages against illegals.
He supports bombing and starving people in the name of God.
He has little sympathy with people who are poor.
“They’re poor because they’re lazy, just like it says in Proverbs.”
But Jim saves most of his wrath for Christians who don’t see things his way.
Jim has lots of company.
In many circles it is quite acceptable to be saved and cynically angry at the same time.
Has our love grown cold?
What does it mean when we’re saved and sanctified, but our love has grown cold?
It means that we are a branch that is no longer abiding in the Vine.
It is impossible to abide in the Vine and have a cold heart.
A cold heart is the sign of a broken connection with the Vine.
“If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.” (John 15:6)
Jesus does not ask if we are saved and sanctified.
He asks if we are walking in love, as he has commanded us.
If our love has grown cold, it’s time to drop everything and seek help from the Master.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love.
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
John 15:9,11-12
If we are saved and sanctified and hard as nails, our salvation is in question.
If God’s love is missing from our attitude toward people—-all people— our salvation is in question.
“Saved and sanctified” can be faked.
“Spiritual gifts” can be faked.
“Tongues” can be faked.
God’s love can never be faked.
That love is the only proof that God lives in us.
He who does not love does not know God; for God is love.
So we know and believe the love God has for us.
God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
I John 4:8,16
Prayer: Lord, forgive us for being hard as nails. Forgive us for being so confident in our views, for being so proud of our hardened hearts and attitudes…. that we miss your command to love others. Convict us when our love begins to grow cold, when our hearts towards the broken, the lost, the hurting, the ones we disagree with …. are hard, condemning, and in all ways unloving. Show us that without truly abiding in your love we will wither and die. Show us that without abiding in love we are useless, we can never bear fruit… no matter how perfect our beliefs and theology are. Show us that without love, we cut our very hearts off from you, the source of life. Show us what it is to abide in your love. Show us what it is to truly love others. Show us what it is to know you, to know you God, you who is love itself. Draw us so close to you that your love is coursing through us, making us healthy, useful, and able to bear the fruit of joy and bring your precious life to others. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber November 2021 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Courtesy and kindness of Neil Breebaart
Website: Art Refined.co.za
#LoveOthers #GodIsLove #DeadBranch #John15 #HeWhoDoesNotLove #HardHearts #HardAsNails
AM I OFF THE HOOK?
It turns out that I was wrong.
I trusted a lie and doubted the truth.
And I am ashamed.
But do you understand how I feel, Lord?
I sincerely believed what I was told.
All my teachers and friends were committed to this thing.
Lord, how can you judge me for my ignorance?
Surely I’m off the hook!
And the Lord answers:
You ignored my counsel, to ‘know them by their fruits’.
You are accountable.
Adam and Eve did it.
King Solomon did it.
Judas did it.
They refused to believe the truth that was staring them in the face, and chose to believe a lie.
They chose the voice of the Deceiver over the voice of God.
Christendom under judgment.
The fire of judgment is burning its way through Christendom at this hour.
Lifting the cover off dubious ministries.
Exposing secrets.
Causing closet whispers to be blasted from the housetops.
Laying the finger of judgment on everything that presumes to “improve” on the simple call of Jesus.
“Deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow me.”
Crusades.
Conspiracy theories.
Speculations.
These are all demonic dust, thrown into the eyes of the willfully blind.
Before we can call the nations to repent, we have some serious repenting of our own to do.
About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. (Luke 13)
These people never faced their own need for repentance.
They felt secure in their “righteousness”.
They were Hebrews in good standing.
They followed the traditions.
They kept the rules.
So why should they repent?
What if God sees in us what he saw in those “righteous” men?
And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.” (Luke 13)
When the preacher says “Repent!” he could be trying to manipulate us.
When Jesus says, “Repent”, he is calling us to come to the Banquet of Truth.
Before the door closes forever.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, we repent of believing in lies and conspiracies that stir up rage, suspicion, fear, maliciousness, and self righteousness…pointing fingers at everyone else who is wrong….all feelings that are demonic dust that blind us from your truth. Lord, we aren’t off the hook because we know you, we know who you are…we chose darkness over your truth, over your light, over your command to us to not be afraid. Forgive us. Help us to seek and live in your light again. Help us to let go of speculation and judgment and to simply follow you…willingly…lovingly…obediently….trustingly….without fear… to any cross you have for us to bear. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber February 2021 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Permission and courtesy of Chris Cook
Website: christianpainting.art
#Luke13 #ChristianConspiracyTheories #ChristianHate #SimpleCallOfJesus #YouWillPerishToo
LIGHT IN THE GROWING DARKNESS
Who can deny that darkness is spreading over the earth?
Hatred and mistrust dividing nations.
Tribes rising against each other in deadly battle.
Violence.
Greed.
Corruption.
Sleaze in high places and low.
And yet…..
The light of the Kingdom of God has never been brighter.
All who seek the light are drawn to the light.
All who ask for the light are given light.
“Ask and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for and egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” (Luke 11:9-13)
Don’t waste your time lamenting the darkness.
Seek the light!
Whether you feel that God is near or far, even if you aren’t even sure that God is there, cry out for light!
“Lord God, show me the way in this dark world!”
It’s a prayer that God never fails to answer.
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
Prayer: Yes, Lord show us the way in this darkening world. Help us to live in the light despite the growing darkness. Help us not to despair, but to know that nothing, nothing can overcome your light. Without your light, we have no hope…but with it, with you , we can go on, we can find joy and purpose in the midst of chaos. So bring us close to you, fill us with your Spirit, so we may continue to follow you…the light of our lives, the light of the world and live in the light of your Kingdom for life. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber 2008 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Courtesy of Anke Weimer
Website: gertrud-deppe-art.de/
#LightInTheGrowingDarkness #GodShowMeTheWay #SeekTheLight
GET LIFE
There was one man in the New Testament who understood where Jesus was coming from faster than anyone else:
A madman.
He was overwhelmed with demons.
He was obsessed with death.
He lived among tombs.
He cried out and bruised himself with stones.
But when this man saw Jesus, he knew what he was looking at.
The spirit of death within him trembled at the approach of the Spirit of Life.
What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” (Mark 5)
Essentially, this man, like with the whole sin-sick human race, was already dead.
But he is freed from his death-obsessed demons,
Revived by the voice of the Son of God,
Suddenly alive with a life no physical death can touch.
People who knew him before are awed by the change.
You may believe all the proper doctrines.
You may be living a respectable life.
But you are no better off than this madman living among the tombs….
…. until you are filled with the life Jesus gave that man.
Stop wasting your time trying to “get all the gusto you can” before this one-way trip is over.
Stop frustrating yourself trying to establish a name that will “live on” when you have left this earth.
Get life!
Life that begins now and never ends.
Life that knows, loves and serves God.
“This is the testimony: That God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
He/She who has the son has life.
He/She who has not the son has not life.”
I John 5:11-12
Prayer: Yes, Lord help us to get the life that you offer us now. Help us to have you, really have you so that we may be filled with true life. Help us to see the futility of seeking life in anything but you. And yes, may we truly know you, love you, and serve you. Amen..
Message: Richard E. Bieber Unknown Date Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Art via Good Salt license
Website: GoodSalt.com
#GetLife #JesusAndTheDemoniac #DemonPossessed #LifeNow
WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS?
i.e. God owes me an explanation!
Who ever said that life in this world is fair?
Who ever promised quick rewards to the guys with the white hats?
But doesn’t scripture say that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.”?
Yes, scripture says it, and it’s true. All things work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
All things.
Even the “bad” things.
But at the time it happens, who can see good in a tragedy?
So what do I do with the anguish I feel since this evil thing has shattered my life?
From the heart of a man of faith who also walked through a dark valley:
Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you. For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled. I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord! I have fled to you for refuge. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble! And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant.
Psalm 143
Prayer: Yes Lord, help us, help us when our anguish is pursuing us, won’t let us go. We share our cry with the psalmist…Hear us, bring us your mercy. Rescue us from darkness, from despair, from giving up, from the shock and disappointment of bad things that happen to us, from the feeling we are being dealt injustice and don’t deserve what’s happening to us. Lord we come to you knowing that you have not, you will not abandon us. We do thirst for you, not only for your rescue….but for your very presence, for your very will, for goodness to come from this despair. Yes, show us your face in this, be with us in this. Lift our souls up… and yes, yes preserve our lives and lift us from these troubles as we sing of your love and goodness as the darkness recedes, and we see how you have taken our despair and turned it into a beautiful work. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist:
Website:
#Anguish #Psalm43 #AnswerMeQuicklyLord
I KNOW I’M RIGHT
How often these words burn in our hearts when someone questions…
Our motives
Our wisdom
Our sacred agenda
Beneath our anger is the fear that I may be wrong.
Maybe my motives are less than pure.
Am I willing to ask the Lord?
Am I open to correction?
Let the godly strike me! It will be a kindness! If they correct me, it is soothing medicine. Don’t let me refuse it. (Psalm 141)
When I cling to my own agenda as a “sacred thing” ….
It’s usually a sign that God’ s agenda has been lost in my efforts to justify myself.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You traverse sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves!” (Matthew 23)
Lord, deliver us from the sin of pursuing our own agenda and calling it God’s!
Prayer: Yes Lord, help us let go of our own agendas. Help us to stop trying to justify ourselves. Show us when our motives are not pure. Help us to accept correction, because letting go of our motives and attitudes is a healing medicine because it opens our ears to your call. We need to hear you, to seek you, obey you…more than we need to be right. Forgive us. Help us. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber 2013 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Courtesy of Daniel Gerhartz
Website: danielgerhartz.com
#KnowItAlls #AgendaDriven #SelfJustification #Proselyte
WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS?
i.e. God owes me an explanation!
Who ever said that life in this world is fair?
Who ever promised quick rewards to the guys with the white hats?
But doesn’t scripture say that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.”?
Yes, scripture says it, and it’s true. All things work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
All things.
Even the “bad” things.
But at the time it happens, who can see good in a tragedy?
So what do I do with the anguish I feel since this evil thing has shattered my life?
From the heart of a man of faith who also walked through a dark valley:
Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you. For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled. I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord! I have fled to you for refuge. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble! And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant.
Psalm 143
Prayer: Yes Lord, help us, help us when our anguish is pursuing us, won’t let us go. We share our cry with the psalmist…Hear us, bring us your mercy. Rescue us from darkness, from despair, from giving up, from the shock and disappointment of bad things that happen to us, from the feeling we are being dealt injustice and don’t deserve what’s happening to us. Lord we come to you knowing that you have not, you will not abandon us. We do thirst for you, not only for your rescue….but for your very presence, for your very will, for goodness to come from this despair. Yes, show us your face in this, be with us in this. Lift our souls up… and yes, yes preserve our lives and lift us from these troubles as we sing of your love and goodness as the darkness recedes, and we see how you have taken our despair and turned it into a beautiful work. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber 2004 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Courtesy of Chris Hopkins
Website: chrishopkinsart.com
#Anguish #Psalm43 #AnswerMeQuicklyLord
I KNOW I’M RIGHT
How often these words burn in our hearts when someone questions…
Our motives
Our wisdom
Our sacred agenda
Beneath our anger is the fear that I may be wrong.
Maybe my motives are less than pure.
Am I willing to ask the Lord?
Am I open to correction?
Let the godly strike me! It will be a kindness! If they correct me, it is soothing medicine. Don’t let me refuse it. (Psalm 141)
When I cling to my own agenda as a “sacred thing” ….
It’s usually a sign that God’ s agenda has been lost in my efforts to justify myself.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You traverse sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves!” (Matthew 23)
Lord, deliver us from the sin of pursuing our own agenda and calling it God’s!
Prayer: Yes Lord, help us let go of our own agendas. Help us to stop trying to justify ourselves. Show us when our motives are not pure. Help us to accept correction, because letting go of our motives and attitudes is a healing medicine because it opens our ears to your call. We need to hear you, to seek you, obey you…more than we need to be right. Forgive us. Help us. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber 2013 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Courtesy of Daniel Gerhartz
Website: danielgerhartz.com
#KnowItAlls #AgendaDriven #SelfJustification #Proselyte
STUCK?
“Follow me,” says Jesus to Matthew sitting at his tax booth.
Suppose Matthew says….
“Lord, I can’t come right now. I have some business to wrap up.”
Or… “Give me a month to think it over!”
Or… “Lord, I’m honored that you think me worthy, but I have obligations.”
Actually, Matthew doesn’t say a word.
He just gets up and follows.
The first thing Matthew does is throw a feast to celebrate his calling.
Tax collectors and sinners from all over town come to rejoice with Matthew and wish him well.
Matthew never looks back!
So when Jesus comes by and says, “Follow me!” why are we stuck in our “tax booth”
We don’t mind going to church.
We actually enjoy Bible studies.
But to go all the way? To turn over our life? To burn our bridges like Matthew did?
That’s too much!
Maybe Matthew was tired of tax-collecting.
Maybe he was ready for a career change.
Maybe he had nothing to lose.
Me? I’m happy to be stuck where I am.
I’m saved and satisfied.
Matthew and the rest of you “discipleship freaks” can take that radical road.
But, I’ve got a life to live!
So who said there are two types of Christians?
Normal Christians.
Discipleship Christians.
If Jesus says, “Follow me,” we leave our “tax booth” and follow.
If we stay in our “tax booth”, are we saved?
Or are we stuck?
“For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life?” (Matthew 16)
Prayer: Lord forgive us for being stuck, for holding back. Help us be dissatisfied with being stuck. Help us to embrace a radical discipleship because you are worthy, so worthy of us going all the way. The lives, things, and time we lose are nothing compared to the lives we will gain. They are nothing compared to the joy we will find as we follow you…all the way. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber 2004 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Darell Tank
Website: via GoodSalt
#Anguish #Psalm43 #AnswerMeQuicklyLord
WHAT AM I DOING IN THIS DEAD ZONE?
I thought that by this time in my life I’d be out there making an impact.
Yet here I am, trapped in “Useless Cove.”
Still waiting for a break.
I feel as though I’ve been by-passed.
Lord, why haven’t you placed me where I can make a difference?
How can you expect me to bear fruit in this “dead zone?”
And the Lord answers:
You are exactly where you are supposed to be.
Open your eyes.
Begin serving in that place.
And it will no longer be a dead zone.
We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
You are where you are in order to fulfill God’s purpose—
—-not your version of God’s purpose.
Start washing feet.
Start praying for the ones before your face.
Give thanks to God for who he is.
Give thanks for the place where he has put you.
And while you’re at it, repent of your vanity.
Then the Lord Jesus will make an impact on that “dead zone” through you.
You did not choose me, but I chose you and ordained you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give it to you.
John 15:16
Prayer: Lord, we thank you for where you have called us. Help us to see and be content with your purpose for us. Help us to serve with joy and expectation, even if it’s in insignificance, even if it’s in a dead zone. Lord, we turn to you for help, for faith, for light, for vision in these dead places. We know that they can come to life, that they are waiting for your life to be poured into them, if we would get over ourselves and become the priests you call us to be. We repent of our vanity, our need to do significant and great things. Help us to serve in simple ways with loving, expectant hearts. We pray your name, your blessings, your very presence into the dead zones in our lives and we know that you will come to them, and that lasting fruit will be borne. Amen
Message: Richard E. Bieber 2015
Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Photos via Unsplash
Website:
#LeaveTheTaxBooth #FollowJesus #GoAllTheWay #Matthew16
FINDING FLAWS
They’re easy to see.
Especially in other people.
Especially in “religious” people.
But once we begin seeking God, our skill at finding flaws becomes a hindrance.
It blinds us.
It becomes a log in our eye.
So we turn away from the distraction of flaw-finding…
…and lift our eyes to the heavens, looking for help.
Seeking Truth that heals the mind.
If God held our flaws and sins against us, where would we be?
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
Psalm 103
The way is opened.
The barrier of our guilt has been removed.
All we need to do is draw near and receive new life.
For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:17)
Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world.(John 1:29)
Behold him.
Draw near to him.
Follow his light.
Prayer: Yes Lord, help us to truly behold you as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, who came not to condemn, but to save, who removes transgressions. Convict us for finding flaws in others, for dwelling on their faults instead of seeing them covered by your mercy. Help us to rejoice that you remove transgressions as far as the east is from the west in those we find fault in. Help us to see our hard hearts as a hindrance to drawing near to you, as a hindrance to beholding you and dwelling in your presence. Help us to let go of our own guilt, as well as the judgment we place on others so that we may draw near and receive the light you have for us. Amen.
Maranatha Mirror
Message: Richard E. Bieber 2012 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Courtesy and kindness of Gertrud Deppe
Website: gertrud-deppe-art.de/
#Don’tJudge #BeholdHim #FindingFlaws #Getheplankoutofyoureyes #john317 #nottojudgetheworldbuttosave
MANIFESTING MY POWER
OR MANIFESTING MY LOVE?
“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
His amazing grace comes with an unnerving judgment.
Amazing Grace
His arms are held wide open by the nails as he welcomes you into the Kingdom of Divine Mercy.
But keep in mind that the minute you step through the door of that Kingdom,
Jesus’ mercy not only welcomes you…
It claims you as it’s servant.
You, who have been received by Amazing Grace, are called upon to live in that Grace.
The Lamb who laid down his life for you—
—for you as if you were the only one on earth— because he loves you with unspeakable love,
….now calls you to walk in love in your dealings with people—all people.
Jesus’ question to each of us…
is not…
“Are you manifesting my power?”
But…
“Are you manifesting my love?”
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But if any one has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth.
I John 3:16-18
“On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you….'”
Matthew 7: 22-23
Unnerving Judgment.
Prayer: Lord, sweet Lord, Oh how grateful we are for your amazing grace, for your mercy towards us. Such love, such mercy. Help us to live in your grace…to remember it when dealing with others, especially difficult people. Help us to be a servant to your divine mercy, to keep our hearts ever open…ready to pour out the same love you poured into us. Help us to reject any theology, belief, state of mind, even so called words of faith… that sees our relationship with you as a means to manifest power and yet excuses us from manifesting your mercy. Yes, convict us with an unnerving judgment when we claim your power, do mighty works in your name ….when you truly don’t know us because our hearts are closed and dark and we choose to not live in mercy. Amen.
Maranatha Mirror
Message: Richard E. Bieber 2003…Originally titled Amazing Grace, Unnerving Judgment Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Courtesy of Ramone Romero Website: Ramone Romero blogsot…also on Facebook and Instagram
#DivineMercy #FightingDevils #Power #ManifestMercy #AmazingGrace #Judgment #Judgement #DidWeNotCastOutDevilsInYourName #INeverKnewYou
WAS THAT GOD?
It wasn’t an audible voice.
It wasn’t a feeling.
A thought?
An urge to do something good?
An inspiration to take a step into kindness I never took before?
Now the word of God came to me saying,
“Before I formed you in the womb,
I knew you.
And before you were born
I consecrated you.”
Jeremiah 1:4-5
The difference between a hallucination and a word from God:
A hallucination lures you into an unreal world.
A word from God guides you out of your illusions…
….into the real world.
When a word visits your heart that calls you to take the high road…
….follow its lead!
Before long you will recognize the voice of God.
“My sheep hear my voice,
And I know them,
And they follow me,
And I give them eternal live,
And they shall never perish,
And no one shall snatch them out of my hand.”
John 10
Prayer: Lord, help us to recognize your voice. Help us to hear you calling us, guiding us into the real world… to do the right things, the kind things, the merciful things, the healing things, the things you consecrated us to do. May we always follow your lead knowing that by acting we are bringing your life, your healing, your will into this world…so many can know you God. Amen.
Maranatha Mirror
Message: Richard E. Bieber 2016 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Courtesy and kindness of Godwin Amavi from Accra Ghana
Website: facebook.com/godwinamavi
#wasThatGod #IKnowMySheep #HearingHisVoice
GIVE ME SOME PEACE!
I’ve heard enough bad news.
I’ve seen enough strife.
I’m weary of the lies that bombard my soul.
Lord, give me some peace!
If we’re waiting for the peace of tranquil circumstances, we may have a long wait.
The peace we really need is not the peace of tranquil circumstances….
…But a Peace that washes over the soul and holds it safe in the midst of the storm:
The Peace of God.
This gift you can have even now, if you turn toward its Source and yield your will to His.
Ask for his peace.
But ask for it with the joy of expectation.
Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I will say, rejoice!
Let all people know your forbearance.
The Lord is near!
Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7
Prayer: : Lord, we do ask for your peace. We know since you are near us through all things, no matter what, that we can find and dwell in your peace. Help us continually to see how near you are and how good you are. Help us to continually choose to trust you and to rejoice in your presence, help us to continually yield to your peace instead of our fears. Yes, keep our hearts and minds in you. And knowing this we shall find joy and true peace. Amen.
Maranatha Mirror
Message: Richard E. Bieber 2015 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Christopher Marion Thomas Website: fineartamerica.com/profiles/christophermarion-thomas
#PeaceofGod #BadNews #DwellInPeace #safeinthemidstofstorms
IF THEY’RE IMPORTANT TO GOD….
If they’re Important to God….
They better be important to you.
Many believers are totally blind to certain folks that “don’t seem to count for much.”
Big mistake!
People who “don’t seem to count for much” are high-priority with God.
They may come to your soup-kitchen
They may receive a basket from you at Christmas.
You may even pass them a dollar or two from time to time.
But do you see them as peers?
Does your eye tend to look down upon them?
When they speak, do you pay attention?
Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
Matthew 5
When the King returns, he will treat them with high honor.
Those who failed to treat them with honor will pay a terrible price.
I dwell in the high and holy place, And also with him who is of a contrite, humble spirit. (Isaiah 57)
Prayer: Lord, we confess our hard, arrogant hearts, our habit of looking down on the poor, the less fortunate, those who struggle and live in hard circumstances. Forgive us, help us. Help us to see them as deserving high honor. Help us to see your very heart within them, you who are high and holy …. And yet dwelling in them and loving them because of their circumstances. Help us to see and treat them as exceedingly precious and important to you and to us. Amen.
Maranatha Mirror
Message: Richard E. Bieber 2016 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Corinne Vonaesch Website: www.c-vonaesch.ch/
WHY IF THERE IS A GOD?
Why, if there is a God, does he allow evil to tear nations apart and destroy lives?
Why does he allow lies to prevail, as people deceive and are deceived?
The answer, my friend, is not “blowing in the wind.”
It’s buried in our hearts.
Where would we be without the mercy of God?
But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
II Peter 3
Forbearing toward you.
Waiting for you to see the light and turn.
Why waste time second-guessing the Eternal God,
….when he is waiting for you to come home to the truth?
…The truth about your own spiritual state.
…The truth about your own desperate need.
“You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
Luke 12
Prayer: Lord as we see the suffering in this world and our hearts question…why? Why? Help us to sense your forbearance and mercy. Help us to come to the truth of your great patience towards all mankind. Open our hearts to be filled with wonder and awe instead of questions. Amen.
Maranatha Mirror
Message: Richard E. Bieber 2016 Printable/Shareable Copy
Featured Artist: Ramone Romero Website: Ramone Romero blogsot…also on Facebook and Instagram
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Message: Richard E. Bieber
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WHY IF THERE IS A GOD?
Why, if there is a God, does he allow evil to tear nations apart and destroy lives?
Why does he allow lies to prevail, as people deceive and are deceived?
The answer, my friend, is not “blowing in the wind.”
It’s buried in our hearts.
Where would we be without the mercy of God?
But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
II Peter 3
Forbearing toward you.
Waiting for you to see the light and turn.
Why waste time second-guessing the Eternal God,
….when he is waiting for you to come home to the truth?
…The truth about your own spiritual state.
…The truth about your own desperate need.
“You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
Luke 12