We recognize that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17).
By referencing the "Father of Lights" I am not speaking of Allah, or Buddha, or of the Watchtower, or of some spirit being that was once like us, and that we will one day be like. I am speaking of the one, true God of the Holy Bible who created the world and all that is in it in 6 literal days; who saved Noah and his family through a cataclysmic global flood when He destroyed the earth because mankind’s deeds were evil continually; who loved the world so much that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to be the perfect sinless sacrifice that was needed as an atonement for sins; who saves whosoever will come to Him with true faith and repentance. I could go on and on, but I am talking about a God who is powerful and a Savior who is personal.
Salvation is one of those good and perfect gifts that only He can give. I am saved and on my way to Heaven, not because of any good thing that I have done, but because of what Jesus has done in me! When I claimed His blood on my life and repented of my sins and asked Him to come into my heart, He did! God declared me righteous from that moment on. A holy and just God looks at me now, and He does not see my sin and shame, but He sees His Son’s righteousness and sacrifice. Praise Him forever more!
Since every good and every perfect gift comes from God we are keenly aware that He has given us the piece of land we now call “Pure Water Hollow” to take care of. It is really His and we are to be good stewards of it! He is the Lord of Pure Water Hollow and we give Him all honor and glory for creating such a wonderful place and allowing us to be a part of it.
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Rev 4:11)
Each success that we have, we will give credit to the Lord. He sends the sunshine and the rain; He sends the harvest’s golden grain! Every failure we experience we will thank Him for the lessons we learn. Everything we do here, we want it to glorify God in some way.
Before we moved here in 1993 we made it a matter of prayer. It seemed that God had worked a miracle to allow us to be able to buy this property for such a low amount. We had no doubt that it was God’s will and His timing so we went ahead. There turned out to be some trials before we even closed the deal but God helped us through them! When it was finally time to begin moving into the house we decided there were some things we should do first. Before we moved any items into the house I made a point to hold out a Bible in front of me as we walked into the door for the first time as “owners”. This was to symbolically state that the Word of God was the first and foremost occupant of our new home. We prayed for God’s protection and leading and blessing on this place. We prayed that He would help us to have a Godly home and that this place would be pleasing to Him for as long as we were here. We gave the house and all the land back to Him before we even took possession of it! We knew, even as a young Christian couple, that
“Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it”(Psalm 127:1)
God has greatly blessed us over the years that followed. Each of our four children in turn gave their hearts to the Lord and was saved in that very living room where we prayed that first blessing on our home! Glory to God in the highest! Thank you Jesus! The words in Joshua 24:15 were always true for us, but they became even more special after our fourth child was saved.
“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Before we had children, my wife and I had already given our lives and future to Him when we were married. Jesus Christ is at the center of our marriage as well as at the center of our family and of course, the center of anything we do here at Pure Water Hollow!
There is only one Lord of Pure Water Hollow and thankfully it is not I, but the Great I Am!
1 comment
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Homestead Originals... on September 24, 2006 at 9:31 am
Have a blessed day in the Lord
Lisa
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