Tag: God

From Darkness To Light

Posted on by Gordon Rumford

“From this day on I will bless you”
Haggai 2:19 (NIV)

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The future is so hard to see in this life. The apostle Paul properly said that we look through a glass “darkly”. The remarkable C.S. Lewis said words to the effect that life must be lived looking forward but can only be understood looking backwards.

In many respects this is so true and is one explanation why we sometimes stumble in life. If only we had known this or that was going to happen we would have altered our plans to accommodate the thing we otherwise did not see.

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The God Of All Comfort

Posted on by Gordon Rumford

“the Lord has heard of your misery”
Genesis 16:11

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Hagar to whom this word was spoken had a miserable situation that threatened her very life and that of her unborn child. She had been severely mistreated and she fled into the desert. The Angel of the Lord came to her and spoke these wonderful words.

In Genesis 16:13 we clearly see that this Angel is God Himself. Many who comment on this scene believe it was an incarnation of Jesus Christ. I agree.

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God Never Fails

Posted on by Gordon Rumford

“The Lord will fulfil His purpose for me”
Psalm 138:8

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Several times I took my children when they were young to the ocean for a holiday. I still have some photos of the place and the sand castles we built. Not having an artistic bone in my body, I was not very good at creating a recognizable structure.

Looking at some other dad’s efforts along the beach I knew instantly that building sand castles was not my calling. However we had lots of fun trying.

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Growth Through Suffering

Posted on by Gordon Rumford

“It was good for me to be afflicted
so that I might learn Your decrees.”
Psalm 119:71

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As I sat and listened to the patient in hospital describe their medical difficulties I was amazed at the sequence and complexity of their issues. It seems that a domino effect had occurred as each problem caused another until they had to be hospitalized and undergo a series of surgeries.

I could not help being very distressed for the person and wondering on the human level how they would ever cope. Life would not be the same for them after this series of problems.

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The Biblical View on Forgiveness

Posted on by Gordon Rumford

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The Greek word for forgiveness is pronounced Ôapse a miÕ. The word means to send away, to dismiss, to depart.

To forgive is to send away that for which there was a breach in the relationship.

When a person confesses their sin to us, we are to remove the offense from the relationship and receive the person back into our society. Clearly then, only the one who was offended can extend forgiveness and reinstate the offender in the relationship.

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