Poetry Sunday—An Act of Grace

February 7, 2016 Effie Barba

Sometimes, God’s greatest Acts of Grace come to us wrapped in pain, sorrow, or trials. You might at first, say, “How? Why would that be an act of grace?” There would perhaps have been a time, I would have wanted to agree with you. But you see, as I look back over my life; I realize that it was through those darkest of nights that I sought God with all my heart and soul. It was the lonely broken heart fighting to make sense of abuse, cancer, illness, and loneliness which searched longingly in the scripture. There in the early hours before dawn as I searched for answers; I found God’s Grace sufficient. In those early morning hours, I found hope, joy, peace, and love enough to sustain me for another day. It is a ritual I long for each morning, just to sit in His presence. Oh, yes, life will bring its trials, its pains, its fears; but, they cannot destroy the hope and the joy that I have found. In Christ, I may weep for a moment over the sorrows of this world; but, I will awaken before the dawn to sit a little while with Him. There I am restored. There I have hope. There I know how much I am loved. In Him, is fullness of joy evermore.

An Act of Grace

By Effie Darlene Barba

As I look back over my life

Remembering the pain and strife

There were those nights of bitter tears

When I awoke heart full of fears

To stumble then to find my chair

Where I would sit alone in prayer

My Bible opened there I’d read

Of hope, of love, of all I need

Your songs of joy poured over me

Salvation’s song had set me free

And suddenly I saw a light

A thought that brought such pure delight

The pain had been Your act of Grace

To Cause this heart to seek Your face

And find in You, my love, my friend

This hope and joy will never end

And now, Dear Lord I know it’s true

All that I need I find in you

I leap to rise before daylight

To sit with You, my pure delight

And talk with You about each day

That I might find Your will, Your way

My Bible opened there I read

Of hope, of love, of all I need

Your songs of joy pour over me

Salvation’s song has set me free

And as each day with dawning light

New trials come as is life’s plight

Whatever comes it is Your Grace

Allowing me to seek Your face

I find in You, my love, my friend

This hope and joy will never end

The picture is used with permission of Ronald Barba, the artist. It is protected under copyright and can only be copied or reproduced with permission. To obtain copies you may go to http://fineartamerica.com/featured/broken-and-contrite-heart-ronald-barba.html

©Effie Darlene Barba, 2016

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Christian Blog

4 Wonderful Results of Knowing the Truth of Your Purpose

February 5, 2016 Effie Barba

What is my purpose in life and why does it matter? Can knowing my purpose transform my life? Can it transform my actions and my reactions? Can purpose transform how I see trials? John’s Gospel from the first word and all the way through was written with one sincere purpose in mind—that “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). He had the privilege of seeing Jesus. He had witnessed all of His miracles. He sat at the feet of Jesus. He felt the awe and wonder of the love of Jesus for him. He witnessed the resurrection and had come to realize that there was no greater purpose in life than to point others to Jesus. The only hope for life eternal was in Jesus. Not only that, the only hope to satisfy the hunger of our souls on this earth is to know Jesus as our friend, our treasure, our Lord and our God. We were created to be loved by God, to walk daily with Him, to talk with Him, and to be bathed in His joy every day. Sin, broke that relationship; but, in Christ that relationship can be restored. John realized the wondrous gift that he had been given. He had been allowed to see Jesus and to walk with Him. He had been given “grace upon grace” (John 1:16). When John looked upon the sorrows, the trials, and the darkness of the world; his heart passionately longed to tell each and every one about Jesus. His life became filled with this one purpose.

In Christ, I have been given the greatest gift ever!! In Christ, I have been redeemed, declared a saint, adopted as a child of God, showered with His presence, and His love. The eyes of my heart have been opened to see Him in all His glorious beauty and to desire Him above all else. As that truth grows within my heart, I must share that. God loves me so much that He would not leave me here on this earth one second beyond His having purpose for me. His purpose in my remaining are twofold. 1. That I might grow in my knowledge of Him so that I can fully enjoy His presence. 2. That I might be allowed to share in His Glory by His using my life as a testimony to bring others to Him. When I realize that my purpose is to grow more intimately in love with God (my best friend who loves me more than anyone else could) and then to share His gospel with everyone I meet; then, my life view changes. I think there are 4 main changes that occur when we see our purpose in Christ.

Continue reading 4 Wonderful Results of Knowing the Truth of Your Purpose →

Christian Blog

3 Steps Transforming Doubt into Amazing Faith and Joy

February 3, 2016 Effie Barba

Doubt, fear, worry all seem to be a part of our human nature at times. Interwoven within our humanity there is that part of our brains and emotions that so quickly responds to situations with fear and doubt. Perhaps that is why in the scripture over and over is written, “Do not fear.” God’s way of saying, “I know you don’t understand fully; but, don’t be afraid and don’t worry.” He so gently, so patiently reminds us over and over again. Just like a loving Father who comforts a child; He is constantly reminding us of His presence and His love. He reminds us of His presence. He reminds us of His love. Ever so patiently He teaches us, guides us and comforts us along this journey. How quickly we react to situations at first with fear or doubt!! I know I do and I suspect if you look deep within so do you. Perhaps that is why we so quickly want to condemn Thomas’s doubting; yet, can we? If we focus so much on Thomas’s doubt or “why he failed”; perhaps, we fail to understand the true wonder and grace that faith itself is. Even my faith is a gift of God which He ever so gently prunes and grows within me along the way.

We know very little about Thomas from the scripture; but, I think we need to look just a little deeper at what we are told about him. Instead of immediately using Thomas as an example of what we “shouldn’t be”; I believe that as we need to look a little deeper at Thomas’ walk to discover what we should be. Thomas is mentioned only as being one of the apostles in Matthew, Mark, Luke and Acts. Only in John do we get some insight into who Thomas was. We are told that was called “Didymus” which means twin. Four times in the book of John, Thomas’s conversation is recorded. What is amazing is that Thomas is the only one who is recorded as proclaiming Jesus is God. Jesus had been called “Messiah”, “Teacher”, “Master”, and “Son of God”. Yet, we read in John 20:28 that when Jesus stood before him, Thomas said “My Lord and my God.” What were the steps in Thomas’s walk that perhaps we need to look at with fresh eyes, seeking to know the truth. Then, perhaps when we quit criticizing him so much we can actually see the steps we also need to finding a deeper faith when we face life’s trials.

Continue reading 3 Steps Transforming Doubt into Amazing Faith and Joy →

Christian Blog

How does the Holy Spirit Empower the Christian’s Life?

February 1, 2016 Effie Barba

As we continue in our study through the Gospel of John, Jesus appears to the apostles in the evening after having gone to Father. The apostles were afraid and hiding in a room together wondering what to do next. They felt lost and alone without their master. Then suddenly, Jesus stood in the midst of them and said “Peace be unto you” (John 20:19). They were filled with excitement and gladness. They had hoped that He had returned to stay with them and to lead them. Then once more He said, “Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (John 20:21).

Then He breathed on them and endowed them with the Holy Spirit. Then comes the words, “Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained” (John 20:23). At first, I found this verse very difficult to explain; so perhaps I could just skip it. Yet, that is not my style to skip what is hard. I do believe that within this verse also lies truths that will strengthen and empower our own Christian walk. We do know that the apostles were endowed with “special powers” from the Holy Spirit in that they could heal the sick, raise the dead (Acts 10:39-41), and so, perhaps this too was a power given them to forgive or condemn the sins of those whom they met. But I don’t think that fits with scripture elsewhere in that only God has that power. God the Father is the only one who forgives sin through the redemptive work of His Son and the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit. So, I do believe that these words of Jesus were to allow the apostles to understand that the Holy Spirit was in them to give them life and to be the power within them for everything they need. Only God can forgive sins. They needed to know and we need to know that the Holy Spirit indwelling us is God in us. He was God’s presence to give them the strength to teach the gospel and

Continue reading How does the Holy Spirit Empower the Christian’s Life? →

Christian Poetry

POETRY SUNDAY: DON’T WEEP MY LOVE

January 31, 2016 Effie Barba

¹¹But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. ¹²And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. ¹³Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”Jesus said to her, “Mary!”She turned and said to Him,^[a] “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).” (John 20:11-15)

What tender compassion, Jesus had here in this scene for Mary. He waited and delayed His ascension to the Father because of her agonizing grief. He sees our tears and cries with us each one. He is a great high priest who is touched by our weakness and understands our grief. He longs to comfort us there.