Faithful in Judgement ~ Lent 2015

God’s Faithfulness ~ Our Everlasting Hope!

LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness

You have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. Isaiah 25:1 NIV

During this season of reflection and renewal, join me in exploring God’s Faithfulness. Do you find strength for every circumstance in God’s Faithfulness? God IS Faithful!  God’s Faithfulness is our everlasting Hope! ~ Donna Oswalt

photo: in Germany/T.McGirr

All who believe in God’s Son have eternal life. Those who don’t believe the Son will never experience eternal life, but the wrath of God remains upon them. John 3:36 NLT

No one likes to talk about God’s judgment preferring to focus only on God’s love and goodness; yet, God cannot be compartmentalized into categories. Throughout both the Old and New Testaments, God remains unchanging, always faithful and true, full of mystery and majesty. His sovereignty and power span infinity. God’s faithfulness enters the world through Jesus Christ, His Son, not to judge the world, but to save the world. (John 3:17) God’s promise of Perfect Love brings life, real life, right now!

God’s most extravagant gift of love, His Son, brings new hope to old wounds, compassionate arms for old regrets, gentle smiles for the abused, tender hearts toward the outcasts, healing for the spiritually blind. God’s judgment reveals our true heart, our weakness, our shortsightedness, our stubbornness, our desire to walk on the edge. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more. (John 3:19) Choose Light!  

Holy One, my heart overflows to think of such Perfect Love. I do want to walk in the light but confess, sometimes, I find myself dangerously near the shadows. Open my heart and ears and eyes that I can see others as You see them. Great is Your faithfulness, immense in light and love. - dho

Focus Point: God’s faithfulness enters the world through Jesus Christ, His Son, not to judge the world, but to save the world.

All rights reserved; copyright 2015 by Donna Oswalt/Co-Founder of Mangrove Ministries/Christian blogger and author Breathing Room For My Soul (blog) Follow on Twitter @soulchat

For more information about this ministry visit ~

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“May you be blessed by the Lord Who loves you best!”

Faithful to Forgive ~ Lent 2015

God’s Faithfulness ~ Our Everlasting Hope!

LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness

You have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. Isaiah 25:1 NIV

During this season of reflection and renewal, join me in exploring God’s Faithfulness. Do you find strength for every circumstance in God’s Faithfulness? God IS Faithful!  God’s Faithfulness is our everlasting Hope! ~ Donna Oswalt

photo: in Germany/T.McGirr

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

1 John 1:9 NASB

Multiple times in the Old Testament, passages describe God as “slow to anger and abounding in love”. A vast contrast exists between God, being in perfect righteousness, and mankind, struggling with persistent unrighteousness. In His patient, faithful goodness, God continues to reach for us, to shine His Light in the darkness of sin. In this place of longing, God waits. He waits for us.

Sadly, either ignorance or arrogance maintains the barrier between us and God, because even without confession God already knows. To confess our sins means we “agree” or “acknowledge” with God that we are imperfect, that we are unrighteous. God, faithful to forgive, is waiting. 

Lord, the world applauds wanting more, self-focused thinking, looking important. It is so easy to slip into the darkness. You are the faithful Light that constantly shines showing me the way back to You. Forgive me for listening more to the lies of the world than to You. Great is Your faithfulness. – dho

Focus Point: God, faithful to forgive, is waiting.

All rights reserved; copyright 2015 by Donna Oswalt/Co-Founder of Mangrove Ministries/Christian blogger and author Breathing Room For My Soul (blog) Follow on Twitter @soulchat

For more information about this ministry visit ~

MangroveMinistries.org

LIKE Mangrove Ministries on Facebook

“May you be blessed by the Lord Who loves you best!”

Sign of God's Faithfulness ~ Lent 2015

God’s Faithfulness ~ Our Everlasting Hope!

LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness

You have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. Isaiah 25:1 NIV

During this season of reflection and renewal, join me in exploring God’s Faithfulness. Do you find strength for every circumstance in God’s Faithfulness? God IS Faithful!  God’s Faithfulness is our everlasting Hope! ~ Donna Oswalt

photo: in Germany/T.McGirr

Therefore, the LORD Himself will give you a sign; Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 NASB

Isaiah speaks this prophecy which foreshadows the Messiah some 700 years before Jesus is born. In the New Testament, Matthew1:18-23 recalls Joseph’s dream where an angel of the Lord confirms that the child growing in Mary’s womb is conceived by the Holy Spirit and will fulfill the prophecy in Isaiah. Immanuel, meaning God with us, fulfills God’s promise. Jesus enters the world, and God’s presence literally dwells alongside of humanity. Jesus, fully human and fully divine, becomes God in tangible form.

God gives the law (Ten Commandments) through Moses, but the sign of God’s unfailing love and faithfulness comes completely through Jesus Christ. While Moses speaks God’s law to the people, Jesus comes to personally fulfill the law. God yearns for an intimate relationship with us. 

Faithful Father, Promise Keeper,  grace comes through the ages with ancient revelations, comes on the lips of angels who sing of Your Glory, comes in the whispers of the Spirit; Grace comes with Immanuel, Grace comes for me. Great is Your faithfulness. -dho

Focus Point: Jesus enters the world, and God’s presence literally dwells alongside of humanity.

All rights reserved; copyright 2015 by Donna Oswalt/Co-Founder of Mangrove Ministries/Christian blogger and author Breathing Room For My Soul (blog) Follow on Twitter @soulchat

For more information about this ministry visit ~

MangroveMinistries.org

LIKE Mangrove Ministries on Facebook

“May you be blessed by the Lord Who loves you best!”

Mercy and Truth - Lent 2015

God’s Faithfulness ~ Our Everlasting Hope!

LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness

You have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. Isaiah 25:1 NIV

During this season of reflection and renewal, join me in exploring God’s Faithfulness. Do you find strength for every circumstance in God’s Faithfulness? God IS Faithful!  God’s Faithfulness is our everlasting Hope! ~ Donna Oswalt

photo: in Germany/T.McGirr

All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies. Psalm 25:10 NKJV

Mercy and truth can be translated “unfailing love” and “faithfulness”. In His Sovereignty, God reveals His promise, reveals the Truth, reveals the Messiah, reveals Jesus as The Way. The source of this promise comes from the LORD’s unfailing love, from His desire to unite our spirit with His Spirit. Even when disobedience interferes and distractions ignore the Spirit, God marks the path with mercy and truth.

The world comes at us full force with numerous options for personal entertainment, strong rhetoric within political parties, countless organizations to benefit humanity. Many loud voices seek to motivate, include, and sway our thoughts and commitments. While many of these opportunities can generate good, we must seek the paths of the LORD. Another Hebrew name for God, El Roi, the God who sees me, reminds us that God literally sees each person. El Roi meets us at every crossroad pointing the way of mercy and truth. 

Lord, You see my resentment, my indecision, my failure, my uncertainty. So many idols scream at me, demanding allegiance. Holy Father, great is Your faithfulness in showing me unfailing love, mercy undeserved. Help me walk Your paths daily. - dho

Focus Point: Even when disobedience interferes and distractions ignore the Spirit, God marks the path with mercy and truth.

All rights reserved; copyright 2015 by Donna Oswalt/Co-Founder of Mangrove Ministries/Christian blogger and author Breathing Room For My Soul (blog) Follow on Twitter @soulchat

For more information about this ministry visit ~

MangroveMinistries.org

LIKE Mangrove Ministries on Facebook

“May you be blessed by the Lord Who loves you best!”

Our Reply to God's Faithfulness ~ 1st Sunday in Lent 2015

God’s Faithfulness ~ Our Everlasting Hope!

LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness

You have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. Isaiah 25:1 NIV

During this season of reflection and renewal, join me in exploring God’s Faithfulness. Do you find strength for every circumstance in God’s Faithfulness? God IS Faithful!  God’s Faithfulness is our everlasting Hope! ~ Donna Oswalt

photo taken in Germany/Thomas McGirr

“When I cannot understand my Father’s leading,

And it seems to be but hard and cruel fate,

Still I can hear that gentle whisper ever pleading,

God is working, God is faithful.” A.B. Simpson

If we are unfaithful, He remains faithful for He cannot deny Himself. 

2 Timothy 2:13

God’s faithfulness does not depend on our faithfulness; rather our faithfulness is demonstrated by obedience to God. The Scriptures are full of people obedient to God’s leading, obedient to complete the journey to their Jerusalem. Despite their faithfulness, many never see the anticipated outcome; instead, their obedience prepares the way and plants the seeds for others. God does not always explain His reasons or ways, but His Sovereignty prevails in goodness and grace.

Blackaby writes, “You will always be one step of obedience away from the next truth God wants you to learn about Him.” God calls each of us to follow Him in faithful obedience - whether we understand or not. Often a partial belief in God limits one’s experiences with Him and can interrupt His work through that person. In Christ, we find the grace that mends our broken relationship with God, we experience the love that teaches us trust. Faith is a gift from God, and obedience writes our ‘thank-you’ note. 

Holy Father, Your goodness exceeds the boundaries of time, of imagination. When I seek the easy path or demand my way, when I see a need and look passed, when I hear Your whispers but pretend to be busy – forgive my disobedience. Christ suffered the cross in His obedience to You – for me. Let thankfulness for Your unfailing love, uncounted blessings and unknown sacrifices define my obedience. Great is Your faithfulness. – dho

 Focus Point: God does not always explain His reasons or ways, but His Sovereignty prevails in goodness and grace.

All rights reserved; copyright 2015 by Donna Oswalt/Co-Founder of Mangrove Ministries/Christian blogger and author Breathing Room For My Soul (blog) Follow on Twitter @soulchat

For more information about this ministry visit ~

MangroveMinistries.org

LIKE Mangrove Ministries on Facebook

“May you be blessed by the Lord Who loves you best!”

Incomparable Faithfulness ~ Lent 2015

God’s Faithfulness ~ Our Everlasting Hope!

LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness

You have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. Isaiah 25:1 NIV

During this season of reflection and renewal, join me in exploring God’s Faithfulness. Do you find strength for every circumstance in God’s Faithfulness? God IS Faithful!  God’s Faithfulness is our everlasting Hope! ~ Donna Oswalt

O LORD God of hosts, Who is mighty like You, O LORD? Your faithfulness also surrounds You. Psalm 89:8 NKJV

Yahweh Elohim Tsebaoth! This ancient identity in Hebrew means LORD, LORD of Hosts, God Almighty! Throughout The Message translation of the Bible, this name of God reads “God of the Angel Armies” for there is no one like Him. God reigns as the most powerful, most awesome, most faithful of all.  In the next verses (vs. 9-14), historical examples of God Almighty controlling the oceans, crushing Israel’s enemies, creating the whole world validate His power and faithfulness. “Praise the LORD forever!”

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before You.” (Ps. 89:14 ESV) Ethical integrity and moral fairness for all creates the very roots of God’s authority; His unfailing love and absolute truth become grace and secures our hope. This unmatchable, divine offering invites us, you and me, to become righteous and holy, to become part of a holy priesthood. 

LORD, Grace brings Your unfailing love to me, calls me by name, invites me to stand on holy ground. Hallelujah; great is Your faithfulness! – dho

Focus Point: Ethical integrity and moral fairness for all creates the very roots of God’s authority; His unfailing love and absolute truth become grace and secures our hope.

All rights reserved; copyright 2015 by Donna Oswalt/Co-Founder of Mangrove Ministries/Christian blogger and author Breathing Room For My Soul (blog) Follow on Twitter @soulchat

For more information about this ministry visit ~

MangroveMinistries.org

LIKE Mangrove Ministries on Facebook

“May you be blessed by the Lord Who loves you best!”