He Will Sustain You

"Cast your burden upon the LORD--and He will sustain you." 

- Psalm 55:22

The promise is not that the Lord will remove the load we cast upon Him, nor that He will carry it for us, but that He will sustain us so that we may carry it. He does not free us from the duty, but He strengthens us for it. He does not deliver us from the conflict, but He enables us to overcome. He does not withhold or withdraw the trial from us, but He helps us in trial to be submissive and victorious, and makes it a blessing to us. He does not mitigate the hardness or severity of our circumstances, taking away the difficult elements, removing the thorns, making life easy for us, but He puts divine grace into our hearts, so that we can live sweetly in all the hard circumstances.  
"My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." 
- 2 Corinthians 12:9
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!"
 - Philippians 4:13
-- J. R. Miller

A dear brother shared this with us this morning, Thanks Isak! :-)  Oh to cling to the truths that Mr. Miller spoke here about casting our burdens upon the Lord.  I have been so encouraged as I have seen this verse played out in our home this week.  We have been dealing with something that in some ways really has seemed like a death to us.  It has been hard.  When you love people it so difficult when the Lord removes them.  But just as this says, as we cast our cares upon Him, He did not remove the hurt and sting, but He has sustained and strengthened.  

One day I felt as if the battle was really being lost.  I have been praying and fasting and yet discouragement was overwhelming to one in our home.  The Lord laid it upon my heart to call in "extra troops", so I asked just a few of my sisters in the Lord to pray with me and although I know that I should not have been so amazed to see the power of prayer, I was.  It was so amazing!  We serve an awesome God and I know in our home the trial that God has called us to go through, although it has and really continues to be hard, has been such a faith building experience.  Thus we can see and understand just a bit more why we are called to:

 Rejoice evermore.

 Pray without ceasing. 

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

(1Th 5:16-18)

~Karen

Rand Paul on the 2nd Amendment

Here in the Alexander home, politics are very important :-), because politics are yet another reflection of our Christian principles and convictions.

~Brittany

Beauty in the Broken~Song

Someone had recently shared this song with me and I was very blessed by the truth in the lyrics of this song.  I hope you are blessed and encouraged by it as well!

Faith Looks Out, Not In

“Faith is not in itself a meritorious act; the merit is in the One to Whom it is directed. Faith is a redirecting of our sight, a getting out of the focus of our own vision and getting God into focus. Sin has twisted our vision inward and made it self-regarding. Unbelief has put self where God should be, and is perilously close to the sin of Lucifer who said “I will set my throne above the throne of God.” Faith looks out instead of in, and the whole life falls into line.”

— A. W. Tozer
The Pursuit of God
(Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, Inc., 1993), 85

Trials lead to opening the door to God's endless supply

Trials reveal our weakness. 

Weakness reveals our need. 

Need moves us to pray. 

And prayer opens the door to God's endless supply.
-Paul Washer

 In light of the current crisis in our country, and the many fears of possible future events:

I would rather die with other like-minded Christians, than to be safe all by my self.

In the end, only those who's garments have been made white by Christ will be safe.  These are the ones who overcome the tribulations of this world.  (see Revelation 7:13-14)  So if Christ is our only source of true safety, we should make sure we are with other like-minded Christians.  Then we can be an encouragement to each other, ban together to stand up and fight for what is right, and be stronger to reach out and share our hope with those around us.    

Posted by: Brittany

"You act like a biblical man today, and I hate to tell you this. But you act like a biblical man today, don't expect people to appreciate it. Some people will hate you. They'll just hate you. Even though you don't say anything to them to rebuke them.
Again guys, just to start off, being a Christian is more than just simply listening to Christian music, or reading your Bible. And it's more than just getting a few doctrines right, and it's more than witnessing. It's literally, every aspect of your life being submitted to Scripture, so that you do stick out like a sore thumb."

-Paul Washer-

Conquered by Sovereign Joy: Augustine's Conversion

Written by Steve Fuller at Living By Faith blog

Who is Augustine?
Augustine was born in 355 AD in what today is Algeria in North Africa.  His early years were full of vanity, sexual sin, and godlessness.
After being saved he became a bishop in the North African church, preaching, teaching, and writing books that have shaped Christian thought for centuries.

Conquered by Sovereign Joy
Here’s how Augustine described his conversion –

How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose …

You drove them from me, you who are the true, the sovereign joy.

You drove them from me and took their place, you who are sweeter than all pleasure, though not to flesh and blood,

you who outshine all light, yet are hidden deeper than any secret in our hearts,

you who surpass all honor, thought not in the eyes of men who see all honor in themselves …

O Lord my God, my Light, my Wealth, and my Salvation.

(St. Augustine, Confessions, IX, 1; quoted in John Piper’s The Legacy of Sovereign Joy, p.40)

Take-Aways

• Before God saved us we had only fruitless joys which, even though they were fruitless, we feared losing (Jer 2:13; Isa 55:2).  Fruitless joys are better than no joys, we thought.
• But then a miracle happened.  Sovereign Joy revealed himself to us in Jesus Christ as the One who surpasses all honor, outshines all light, and is sweeter than all pleasure (2Cor 3:18; 2Cor 4:6).
• When we saw and tasted the One who is sweeter than all pleasure, we gladly turned from those fruitless joys we had feared losing (Matt 13:44; Phil 3:8).
• So being a Christian does not mean squelching our desire for pleasure – it means satisfying our desire for pleasure in trusting, worshiping, obeying, and glorifying the One who is the sweetest of all pleasures (Psa 4:6-7; Psa 16:11; Psa 43:4; Psa 73:25-26).

-To read article from the original source, CLICK HERE

Wait for the Lord!

The Lord is always faithful and gracious.  In my discouragement this morning, the Lord showed me this verse during my Bible reading.

"Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!"

~Psalm 31:24

Sometimes it seems the only place of relief and refuge we can find is on our knees crying out to the Lord in prayer.  But that is a good thing; that's right where He wants us to be.  And it is there that we get courage, faith, and strength to keep pressing.  Our Lord is faithful, and will work all things out for the good of His children.  We must wait for Him.  He will renew our strength and lift us up.
I was also reminded of this favorite song of mine.  We must wait on the Lord wherever we find ourselves.  Often waiting is hard, but we know and must trust that He will work things out and use it for His glory.

~Posted by: Brittany