..inn of mercy..

Thinking about how we seldom see clearly the path ahead. The past can limit and the future can be stressful to think about and try to plan. 

Thinking about the Mercy and care of God in my life and lives of loved ones.
 It is awesome to think about the plan God has for our lives. 
Each day we see a reflection of his kindness and mercy in all that is provided- abundant provision, gracious plan.

"He who goes before, like a shepherd before the flock, providing pasture for them, comes behind that he may gather the lambs in his arms—that he may gently lead those that are with young. "The God of Israel is your rereward." 

"for the Lord will go before you,
and the God of Israel will be your rear guard." (Is 52:12)

"Now stop, Christian, a moment, and realize the idea that God has gone before, mapping the way; and then let me ask you if you could now this morning be allowed to draw a fresh map, would you do it?" (CHS)
The Vanguard and Rereward of the Church- CHS Sermon # 230

You shall not tread a step which is not mapped out in the great chart of God's decree. Your troubles have been already weighed for you in the scales of his love; your labour is already set aside for you to accomplish by the hand of his wisdom. Depend upon it.

"Your times of trial and of grief,
Your times of joy and sweet relief,
All shall come and last and end
As shall please your heavenly Friend."

Remember, you are not a child of chance. If you were, you might indeed fear. You will go nowhere next year except where God shall send you. You shall be thrust into the hot coals of the fire, but God shall put you there. You shall perhaps be much depressed in spirit, but that heaviness shall be for your good, and shall come from your Father; you shall have the rod, but it shall not be the rod of the wicked—it shall be in God's hand. Oh! how comfortable the thought that everything is in the hand of God, and that all that may occur to me during the future years of my life is fore-ordained and overruled by the great Jehovah, who is my Father and my friend! Now stop, Christian, a moment, and realize the idea that God has gone before, mapping the way; and then let me ask you if you could now this morning be allowed to draw a fresh map, would you do it? If he should condescend to say, "Now your circumstances next year shall be just what you like; you shall have your own way, and go your own route to heaven, would you dare, even with God's permission, to draw a new chart?" If you should have that presumption, I know the result: you would find that you had gone the wrong way; you would soon be glad enough to retrace your step, and with many tears you would go to your heavenly Father, and say, "My Father, I have had enough to do with the helm of this ship; it is hard work to hold it; do what thou wilt with it; steer which way thou pleasest, though it be through the deepest floods and the hottest flame. I am weary, I sleep at the tiller, I cannot guide the ship, my tears fall fast from my eyes, for when I think to be wise I find myself to have committed folly; when I thought I was promoting my own advantage in my scheme, I find I am rushing into a sea of losses." God, then, has gone before you in the decree of his predestination.
And recollect, God has gone before you in all your future journey in the actual preparations of his providence.
I do not think I am capable this morning, for my mind seems to wander far more than I could desire, of sketching how it is, but so it is, that God always makes a providence beforehand ready for his people when they get to the place. My God does not hastily erect a tent over me when I come to a certain spot. No; he builds an inn of mercy, and before I get there he provides a bed of comfort, and stores up the old wines of grace, that I may feast upon them. And all this is done long before I come to the actual necessity. None of us can tell how the future leans on the past, how a simple act of to-day shall bring about a grand event in a hundred years. We do not know how the future lies in the bowels of the post, and how what is to be is the child of that which is. As all men spring from their progenitors, so the providence of to-day springs from the providence of a hundred years past. The events of next year have been forestalled by God in what he has done this year and years before. I am certain of this, that on the road I am to travel during the next year, everything is ready for me. I am not going a road of hills and deep valleys, but I have heard the voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." "I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water." "And I will bring the blind by a way that they know not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them."

Now let me always think, that I have God behind me as well as before me. Let not the memories of the past, though they cause me grief, cause me despair. Let me never bemoan because of past trial or past bereavement; let me never be cast down on account of past sin; but let me look to Christ for the pardon of the past, and to God for the sanctification of my past troubles. Let me believe that he who has cleared the way before me, has removed all enemies from behind me, that I am and must he perpetually safe.

"God will both lead their van and bring up their rear; he will secure them from enemies that either meet them or follow them, for with his favour will he compass them. The pillar of cloud and fire, when they came out of Egypt, sometimes went behind them, to secure their rear (Exod. 14:19), and God’s presence with them would now be that to them which that pillar was a visible token of. Those that are in the way of their duty are under God’s special protection; and he that believes this will not make haste." (MHC Is 52:12)

"Strength to strength" for the gray-haired veteran..

"They go from strength to strength;" Psalm 84:7

I was thinking about a few thing this morning while reading Morning  12/14.  I want to press on as I grow older. I have gray hair now and with this comes some history. I read another article today about God's sovereignty and providence and how "Every past moment of your life has led to your now."

 I visited " Hurricane Ridge" in the Olympic National Park. Just the most amazing sights and mountains and quickly changing weather conditions.  Mount Olympus towers high. Just thinking how it would be difficult to travel and hike in the winter.  I then thought of the strength and experience of a seasoned veteran climber or skier familiar with the ridge and how it would be great to spend time and learn. "Toilsome" travel and yet "grace" and strength together to reach the end. The look in a eye of experience gives strength as does the look to Jesus that ensures God will fulfill His purpose for you.

Hurricane Ridge

Morning 12/14 (CHS)

"They go from strength to strength."
Psalm 84:7

They go from strength to strength. There are various renderings of these words, but all of them contain the idea of progress.

Our own good translation of the authorized version is enough for us this morning. "They go from strength to strength." That is, they grow stronger and stronger. Usually, if we are walking, we go from strength to weakness; we start fresh and in good order for our journey, but by-and-by the road is rough, and the sun is hot, we sit down by the wayside, and then again painfully pursue our weary way. But the Christian pilgrim having obtained fresh supplies of grace, is as vigorous after years of toilsome travel and struggle as when he first set out. He may not be quite so elate and buoyant, nor perhaps quite so hot and hasty in his zeal as he once was, but he is much stronger in all that constitutes real power, and travels, if more slowly, far more surely. Some gray-haired veterans have been as firm in their grasp of truth, and as zealous in diffusing it, as they were in their younger days; but, alas, it must be confessed it is often otherwise, for the love of many waxes cold and iniquity abounds, but this is their own sin and not the fault of the promise which still holds good: "The youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint." Fretful spirits sit down and trouble themselves about the future. "Alas!" say they, "we go from affliction to affliction." Very true, O thou of little faith, but then thou goest from strength to strength also. Thou shalt never find a bundle of affliction which has not bound up in the midst of it sufficient grace. God will give the strength of ripe manhood with the burden allotted to full-grown shoulders

(Matthew Henry Commentary)

(Ps. 84:7): They go from strength to strength; their company increases by the accession of more out of every town they pass through, till they become very numerous. Those that were near staid till those that were further off called on them, saying, Come, and let us go to the house of the Lord (Ps. 122:1, 2), that they might go together in a body, in token of their mutual love. Or the particular persons, instead of being fatigued with the tediousness of their journey and the difficulties they met with, the nearer they came to Jerusalem the more lively and cheerful they were, and so went on stronger and stronger, Job 17:9. Thus it is promised that those that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, Isa. 40:31. Even where they are weak, there they are strong. They go from virtue to virtue (so some); it is the same word that is used for the virtuous woman. Those that press forward in their Christian course shall find God adding grace to their graces, John 1:16. They shall be changed from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:18), from one degree of glorious grace to another, till, at length,every one of them appears before God in Zion, to give glory to him and receive blessings from him. Note, Those who grow in grace shall, at last, be perfect in glory We must go from one duty to another, from prayer to the word, from practising what we have learned to learn more; and, if we do this, the benefit of it will appear, to God’s glory and our own everlasting comfort.

God Will Fulfill His Purpose for You

God-will-fulfill-his-purpose-for-you

by Jonathan Parnell | December 14, 2013

I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. ”

This is the straightforward truth that David clings to in Psalm 57:2.

Here he states two basic facts: God has a purpose for him and he will fulfill that purpose. Both these truths combine to become that deep and wondrous theological concept we call “providence.” The word was much more common centuries ago than it is today, though its relevancy has never waned. Its meaning captures God’s relationship to the created world, namely, that he both preserves the order of all things and guides them toward his intended end.

Providence is the sovereignty of God made palpable. It’s the outworking of his power and authority for his children in space and time, which means, in the things we schedule, the air we breathe, the moments we move. Providence is observed, experienced, tasted. We may even say it’s the distinctively Christian term for reality.

Since God is sovereign, and this world is his, then every moment, in a sense, is a moment of providence. Wherever you find yourself right now has come by the process of events he ordained. Every past moment of your life has led to your now. The same will be true tonight, and tomorrow, and ten years in the future. Our experience of providence is our experience of the present, which we know has been wondrously woven together by God.

And because God is behind it all, we, as those united to Christ by faith, are assured of this: God’s providence neither gets it wrong nor lets us go, ever.
His Decree and Promise

First, we should immediately stop every instinct in us that wants to pass this off as cobweb orthodoxy. It is orthodoxy, and it’s beautifully ancient, but it’s more current than we ever expected. Providence is actually so contemporary that it anticipates how vastly different things often seem from our perspective. Rarely does it feel like every event in our lives is for our good. But providence, in its mysterious movements, flanks the arguments about how we may feel and compels our faith in the God who is doing “ten thousand times more” than we realize. This doing, whether seen or unseen, whether painful or pleasant, is resolutely and effectively targeting our eternal joy. 

We will be like Christ . . . with him . . . forever (1 Corinthians 15:49; Psalm 16:10–11).

God’s intended aim for his people, after all, is that we are conformed to the image of Jesus. This is his decree and promise, having chosen us for this before the foundation of the world and having promised us unto this that all things will work together (Romans 8:28–30).

God’s providence is his execution of that decree and promise, as Puritan John Flavel explains. In fact, nothing ever happens in the universe that is outside of fulfilling that decree and promise. Nothing. There isn’t a single incident, or tragedy, that will result in something other than the “true interest and good of the saints” (Mystery of Providence, 19).

God never gets it wrong. He doesn’t swing and miss. Every detail of our days comes through the blueprints of his meticulous care for us. And even when all hope seems lost, remember he is the one who “gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist” (Romans 4:17) — and he will do that for you.
His Resolute Focus

Not only is God flawlessly at work for our good, but he doesn’t let loose until he’s finished. God providence never dries up or fizzles out. It is always in action to accomplish his intended aim. Everything he does is right, and it is all right until its done. Flavel writes,

[Providence] goes through with its designs, and accomplishes what it begins. No difficulty so clogs it, no cross accident falls in its way, but it carries its design through it. Its motions are irresistible and uncontrollable. (19)

“He does all that he pleases,” “no purpose of [his] can be thwarted,” and “none can stay his hand” (Psalm 115:3; Job 42:2; Daniel 4:35) — these words about God are assurances that he will complete what he began in us (Philippians 1:6). Nothing can separate us from his love for us in Christ (Romans 8:39), and nothing can distract the simplest of circumstances from hitting the target of our transformation. There’s no stalling with God. He doesn’t procrastinate. Even if we are innocently obtuse to his designs right now, God’s providence is blaring full-throttle toward our Christlikeness, and his glory.

Be revived, encouraged, comforted, God is fulfilling his purpose for you.

"Hope- My Hope .."

Flowers snow heavy laden, 
drop of wine-
Christ was pressed, crushed, for me - blood spilled and covers my penalty and makes things right and well with my soul.

"The flowers appear on the earth. All winter they are dead and buried in their roots, and there is no sign of them; but in the spring they revive, and show themselves in a wonderful variety and verdure, and, like the dew that produces them, tarry not for man, Mic. 5:7.





Jesus came that we might have life.

Ephesians 2:13

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

My Hope - Matt Redman

My hope is built
On nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust
The sweetest frame
But wholly lean
On Jesus' name

When the mountains are falling
When the waters are rising
I shall be safe in You
Though the nations are quaking
Every kingdom be shaken
Still I will rest in You

When darkness seems
To hide Your face
I rest on Your
Unchanging graces
In every high
And stormy gale
My anchor holds
Within the veil

"Enough- more than enough"

Rainy morning. Read some encouraging words that 

God is " More than enough" for all my needs.

"Because of His great love, we are called children of God (1 John 3:1), and His grace gives us “sufficiency in all things” that we “may have an abundance for every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8).

God’s love and grace, spilled over into our lives, enables us to share them with others. The God of power and provision is always the God of “more than enough”!" (ODB 12/6/13)

Psalm 103: 1-11

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

Enough- by Chris Tomlin

All of You is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough

You are my supply
My breath of life
And still more awesome than I know
You are my reward
worth living for
And still more awesome than I know

All of You is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough

Youre my sacrifice
Of greatest price
And still more awesome than I know
Youre the coming King
You are everything
And still more awesome than I know

More than all I want
More than all I need
You are more than enough for me
More than all I know
More than all I can say
You are more than enough for me

"We serve a God of abundance who is consistently “more than enough.” We can see God’s generous nature in the way He loves His children."

"Our days on earth are a shadow"

Reading about how our "days on earth are like a shadow"..

" O Lord, what is man that you regard him,
or the son of man that you think of him?
Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.
 Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down!
Touch the mountains so that they smoke!" Psalm 144:3-5

David Crowder Band Shadows (feat. Lecrae) [live@Passion 2012]

Life is full of light and shadows
Oh, the joy, and oh, the sorrow
Oh, the sorrow

And yet will He bring dark to light
And yet will He bring day from night

When the shadows fall on us
We will not fear
We will remember

When darkness falls on us
We will not fear
We will remember

When all seems lost
When we're thrown and we're tossed
We'll remember the cost
We're resting in the shadow of the cross

With every breath I take, every heartbeat
Sunrise, and the moonlight in the dark street
Every glance, every dance, every note of a song
All a gift undeserved that I shouldn't have known

Every moment I lie, every moment I covet
I'm deserving to die; I'm earning Your judgment
Without the cross there's only condemnation
If Jesus wasn't executed there's no celebration

So, in times that are good, in times that are bad
For any time I've had at all, I will be glad
And I will boast in the cross, I'll boast in His name
I will boast in the sunshine, boast in His reign

What's my life if it's not praising You?
Another dollar in my bank account of vain pursuit
I do not count my life as any value, precious at all
Let me finish my race, let me answer Your call

We are only here a short time but much can be done and accomplished.

Billy Graham spoke at the North Carolina’s Tribute to President John F. Kennedy on May 17, 1964. Here is an excerpt of Mr. Graham’s remarks as we reflect on the 50th anniversary of JFK’s death:

“Ladies and gentlemen, none of us knows when our moment is coming. For some of us it may be today. And the Bible says [Amos 4:12], “Prepare to meet thy God.” We are to be ready at any moment.
“I remember when I was riding along the road with the president, he was driving. He suddenly turned to me and asked me a very interesting question that I’ve never forgotten. He said, or he asked, “What do you think the meaning of history is? Where do you think history is going?
“I told him, that the Bible teaches that God has a plan for history. There’s a purpose. There’s a meaning to every life and each one of us has a job to do. Our life may be long, it may be short, but there is coming a day when the Kingdom of God shall prevail and men shall know permanent peace on this earth.”

' that last enemy'

When we see a friend suffering and know that death is near we could be overwhelmed with grief. God's word to us in death's dark valley, when death stares you in the face, in infirmity and grief, where tears fall, is ....
 we will be able to face death and not turn away-
leaning on the word of God. We will have consolation in affliction and hope in death because 
"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." 1 Cor 15:26

"If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead,.."(1 Cor 15:19-20)

I see heaven, invading this place, I see angels, Praising Your Holy Name
And I sing praises, I sing praises, I give You honor, Worthy Jesus

I see Glory, Falling in this place
I see hope restored, healing of all disease
And I sing praises, I sing praises, I give You honor, Worthy Jesus

We give You Praise, and all of the Honor
You are our God, the one we live for
We give You Praise, and all of the Glory God

Let Your Presence fill this place, Let heaven come
Let Your angels be released, Let Heaven come
We will worship at Your feet, Let Heaven come
Face to face we want to meet, Let Heaven come

I See Heaven by Bryan & Katie Torwalt
©Bryan and Katie Torwalt 2011

I See Heaven

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom 8 :37-39)

This view in faith builds up the soul in trials or shall i say- "triumphs of the believers' faith."

" Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

"No flowers wear so lovely a blue as those which grow at the foot of the frozen glacier"(CHS)

This morning was the first snow. Someone didn't tell the flowers and the color of flowers in snow shine brighter still. 
So we take heart that in the middle of adversity- Faith increases- so thank God for what grace you have; praise him till your faith, in Christ, shall remove mountains and conquer impossibilities.



"No flowers wear so lovely a blue as those which grow at the foot of the frozen glacier; no stars gleam so brightly as those which glisten in the polar sky; no water tastes so sweet as that which springs amid the desert sand; and no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity."





Morning 11/12/12
"The trial of your faith."
1 Peter 1:7

Faith untried may be true faith, but it is sure to be little faith, and it is likely to remain dwarfish so long as it is without trials. Faith never prospers so well as when all things are against her: tempests are her trainers, and lightnings are her illuminators. When a calm reigns on the sea, spread the sails as you will, the ship moves not to its harbour; for on a slumbering ocean the keel sleeps too. Let the winds rush howling forth, and let the waters lift up themselves, then, though the vessel may rock, and her deck may be washed with waves, and her mast may creak under the pressure of the full and swelling sail, it is then that she makes headway towards her desired haven. No flowers wear so lovely a blue as those which grow at the foot of the frozen glacier; no stars gleam so brightly as those which glisten in the polar sky; no water tastes so sweet as that which springs amid the desert sand; and no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity. Tried faith brings experience. You could not have believed your own weakness had you not been compelled to pass through the rivers; and you would never have known God's strength had you not been supported amid the water-floods. Faith increases in solidity, assurance, and intensity, the more it is exercised with tribulation. Faith is precious, and its trial is precious too.

Let not this, however, discourage those who are young in faith. You will have trials enough without seeking them: the full portion will be measured out to you in due season. Meanwhile, if you cannot yet claim the result of long experience, thank God for what grace you have; praise him for that degree of holy confidence whereunto you have attained: walk according to that rule, and you shall yet have more and more of the blessing of God, till your faith shall remove mountains and conquer impossibilities.

Song of Solomon- Jesus Culture and Martin Smith

Over the mountains, over the sea Here You come running, my Lover to me

When I feel the cold of winter
In this cloak of sadness, I need You
Oh the evil things that shake me
All the words that break me I need You

Over the mountains, over the sea
Here You come running, my Lover to me

Do not hide me from Your presence
Pull me from these shadows, I need You
Beauty wrap Your arms around me
Sing Your song of courage, I need You

Over the mountains, over the sea
Here You come running, my Lover to me
Oh, through the valleys, through the dark of night
Here You come running, to hold me till it's light

I'll come running, I'll come running, I'll come running back to You

Songs of Solomon Chap 2

Song of Solomon 2 (Amplified)

2 [She said] I am only a little rose or autumn crocus of the plain of Sharon, or a [humble] lily of the valleys [that grows in deep and difficult places].

2 But Solomon replied, Like the lily among thorns, so are you, my love, among the daughters.

3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved [shepherd] among the sons [cried the girl]! Under his shadow I delighted to sit, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love [for love waved as a protecting and comforting banner over my head when I was near him].

5 Sustain me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am sick with love.

6 [I can feel] [a]his left hand under my head and his right hand embraces me!

7 [He said] I charge you, O you daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the hinds of the field [which are free to follow their own instincts] that you not try to stir up or awaken [my] love until it pleases.

8 [Vividly she pictured it] The voice of my beloved [shepherd]! Behold, he comes, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills.

9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young hart. Behold, he stands behind the wall of our house, he looks in through the windows, he glances through the lattice.

10 My beloved speaks and says to me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

11 For, behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone.

12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing [of birds] has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

13 The fig tree puts forth and ripens her green figs, and the vines are in blossom and give forth their fragrance. [b]Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

14 [So I went with him, and when we were climbing the rocky steps up the hillside, my beloved shepherd said to me] O my dove, [while you are here] in the seclusion of the clefts in the solid rock, in the sheltered and secret place of the cliff, let me see your face, [c]let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.

15 [My heart was touched and I fervently sang to him my desire] Take for us the foxes, the [d]little foxes that spoil the vineyards [of our love], for our vineyards are in blossom.

16 [She said distinctly] My beloved is mine and I am his! He pastures his flocks among the lilies.

17 [Then, longingly addressing her absent shepherd, she cried] Until the day breaks and the shadows flee away, return hastily, O my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young hart as you cover the mountains [which separate us].

The flowers appear on the earth. All winter they are dead and buried in their roots, and there is no sign of them; but in the spring they revive, and show themselves in a wonderful variety and verdure, and, like the dew that produces them, tarry not for man, Mic. 5:7.

Blue flowers at Mount Rainier

" For I the Lord do not change ..."

I was thinking about how the leaves are changing from bright colorful leaves to dry and earth tone colors and will soon just go back to earth.

The seasons are changing again  from summer to fall and from the bright, long, summer days to a time of year with shorten days and to a less colorful time of the year. 

I know many get down and saddened at this change of year and physically have depression due to the seasonal changes .

I then thought "isn't it good that our God never changes in His care Toward us" and though the seasons change and the leaves fall, and the cold winds start to blow we have a strong support, "One whose heart can never alter", " does not change with shifting shadows", and our "Sure Helper still." 

You Never Change


You Never Change" - from the album "Sons and Daughters" by Sovereign Grace Music.
Words and Music by: Mark Altrogge.
Copyright: Sovereign Grace Music. 2000. No infringement intended.

Lyrics:
Father of lights, giver of gifts
There is no shadow in You
Author of life, Fountain of grace
Each morning Your mercies are new

Chorus
And You never change, and You never lie
Age to age You are the same
I will trust in You, all Your faithfulness
For I know You never change

Father of love, source of all good
Tower of strength and my shield
When You gave Your Son for those who rebelled
Your love for the world was revealed

Father of peace, help of the weak
Though mountains fall into the sea
Though tempests may rage, the sun hide its face
Your favor will rest upon me

He loves us now as much as He ever did and "His love will still wear the dew of its youth" after all has past away.

I am so grateful that we can review the Bible and see many expressions of God's assurance of His love and care toward us and our future hope.

Numbers 23:19

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

Think about some of the hard times we have been through over the years - we have trials, endured sickness we do not understand, war, separation, pain and loss, uncertainty, and still He cares for us in these times and gets us to a place of hope.

Hosea 13:5

"I cared for you in the wilderness, in the land of burning heat.

Malachi 3:6

“I the Lord do not change...."

James 1:17 

 Every good gift and every perfect (free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse].

Psalm 71:18
So even to old age and gray hairs,

O God, do not forsake me,

until I proclaim your might to another generation,
your power to all those to come.

Proverbs 8:24-31 The Message

22-31 “God sovereignly made me—the first, the basic—
before he did anything else.
I was brought into being a long time ago,
well before Earth got its start.
I arrived on the scene before Ocean,
yes, even before Springs and Rivers and Lakes.
Before Mountains were sculpted and Hills took shape,
I was already there, newborn;
Long before God stretched out Earth’s Horizons,
and tended to the minute details of Soil and Weather,
And set Sky firmly in place,
I was there.
When he mapped and gave borders to wild Ocean,
built the vast vault of Heaven,
and installed the fountains that fed Ocean,
When he drew a boundary for Sea,
posted a sign that said no trespassing,
And then staked out Earth’s Foundations,
I was right there with him, making sure everything fit.
Day after day I was there, with my joyful applause,
always enjoying his company,
Delighted with the world of things and creatures,
happily celebrating the human family.

Proverbs 8:24-26 (NIV)

24 When there were no watery depths, I was given birth,
when there were no springs overflowing with water;
25 before the mountains were settled in place,
before the hills, I was given birth,
26 before he made the world or its fields
or any of the dust of the earth