Whatever is Pure
July 2008
Whatever is Pure - July 2009
My Time Is in His Hands
(God's Pursuit of His Harried Ones)
'Im Late, Im Late
for a very important date,
No time to say hello, goodbye,
Im late, Im late, Im late
and when I wave,
I lose the time I save.'
White Rabbit's song - "Alice in Wonderland"
Lyrics: Bob Hilliard
Many Christians probably could confess that the above lyrics aptly describe their life. Every moment of their day is crammed full of committments and responsibilities. They are caught up in a whirlwind of activities and responsibilities; running from one committment to the next. They feel there is not enough hours in the day, not enough days in the week and not enough months in the year in order to do all they feel obliged to do. Work responsibilities, family obligations, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, caring for elderly parents, squeezing in a few minutes of exercise each day leaves little time for true rest and emotional, spiritual and physical rejuvination. Fatigue is their constant companion and yet they toss and turn at night, worrying about all the things on their 'to-do' list that they were not able to accomplish. Guilt and a vague sense of failure weigh heavily on their shoulders as they feel that they have let their friends, family, employers down. Self-condemnation overwhelms them as they struggle to keep a daily devotional time with the Lord. They can't remember the last time that they were truly able to enjoy and be present in 'the moment' as their minds constantly race to the next task on their schedule.
Many Christians I talk with feel isolated. Although they are surrounded by co-workers, family and friends they find it difficult to find heart-to-heart connections. Like the White Rabbit, they barely can afford the time to wave briefly to those they love as they scurry past on their way to their next appointment, trying to keep one step ahead of their tormentors - "I should be doing more" and "I'll never get it all done."
I firmly believe God did not intend for his children to be exhausted and frustrated at the end of each day, deprived of rich fellowship with him and with others. I believe the Lord created us to live in freedom and not in bondage to our day-planners, blackberries and emails. As I am not an effeciency expert, I wouldn't presume to offer specific advice on how to organize your life and declutter your schedule. However, I can direct you to the one who boldly proclaims. "Come unto me, all ye that are heavy-laden and I will give you rest". I love Eugene Peterson's paraphrase of this familar passage found in Matthew 11: 28-30 (The Message). "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."
Psalm 31:14-15 (The Message)
"Desperate, I throw myself on you:
you are my God!
Hour by hour I place my days in your hand,
safe from the hands out to get me"
Lord, we place our days before you, hour by hour. We submit our plans, our responsibilities and our committments to you. We are hopelessly bogged down and we can't find any way out. There are so many things that we feel that we should be doing and so many desires and dreams we are trying to attain. Lord, will you help us priortise our days? We need your grace to lay at your feet all those things that we deem as 'good things to do.' We believe that you are a practical God and that you offer us practical solutions. Lead us to your solutions and if we are to reach out to godly friends who have found freedom in this area, we say we are willing to seek their guidance and wisdom. We stand in readiness to heed your directives. Give us ears that humbly listen and give us feet that are swift to walk along the paths you have set before us
© 2008 Katherine Walden
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Talking With The Lord
Rushing through, this old life
Many places we must be
So very little time we give
To sit and talk with Thee.
Do you stop awhile each day,
to whisper a prayer of praise?
For it was He who gave this day
He's beside you all the way
Talk about the steps you trod
Introduce Him to your friends
For He will guide and keep you
And the loved ones that you send
Tell Him how dear a friend He is
This King who hears our prayers
For the angels bow down at His Feet
But yet, for our souls He cares
I'm so unworthy of His love
"Why does He love me so?"
I thank Him for this love we share
I pray all I love, He knows!!
Just walk and talk to Him each day
Through all your work and play
He hears and knows your every thought
My KING, my Friend always!
©2008 Linda Etling
You must contact the author before using this poem or forwarding this poem on to your friends and family via blog, email, message board or print form.
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Mine
From The Immortal King Jesus
To My Bride
Betrothed you are to Me and My heart is set on you longing.
Precious you are beyond the stars up in the night sky.
Intently I brood over you with a love that surpasses all.
I live and breath you and I am captivated at the sight of you.
When you approach Me, My eyes light up as the morning.
When you approach Me, My heart beats fast.
When you approach Me, I'm overwhelmed with the thought of being near to you.
When I see you drawing near, I stand up consumed by your beauty.
Captivated by the essence of your praise.
Thrilled at your voice in tender worship.
Saturated with the thoughts of being close to you I AM!
Captured with the thoughts to feel your head rest in peace upon my bosom.
You are, yes you are Mine, and I am Yours!
Forever enjoined to you,
I'll never let go for your value to me surpasses My life.
My life to trickle to the earth,
The drops shaking the foundtions of the world.
You are My desire, forever enshrined upon the walls of My heart to stay.
(Eze 16:8)
Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.
(Hos 2:19)
And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
(Hos 2:20)
I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.
(2Co 11:2)
For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
(Rev 19:7) Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
© 2007 By The Hand of His Child, Jeffrey R Anderson
Elijah Upset By Talkative Ravens
Rain had not fallen over the land in quite some time, and God had told Elijah to stay by the brook Cherith, drink the life sustaining water and be fed by ravens.
Ravens delivered bread and flesh every morning and every evening. After the birds had delivered Elijah's meals daily for a couple of weeks, two of the ravens, Moses and Joseph, began talking with this Man of God.
"How are you feeling today?," Moses asked Elijah one morning.
"How am I feeling?!," Elijah yelled. "I didn't sleep a wink all night, and there's nothing to do but just think about how miserable I am."
"Have you thought about using your time to do something besides complain?," asked Joseph.
"Like what?," grumbled Elijah.
"Prayer, for one thing," answered Joseph. "God can perform miracles. He might tell you that you only have to stay here for a few more weeks, or He might tell you that He wants you to live here for the rest of your life."
"I think I'll pray for a one-way ticket to anywhere but here," Elijah said.
"Oh, it can't be that bad," said Moses. "You're alive, you're getting two good meals every day, and you have two of the most friendly ravens in the world for companionship. That sounds like a pretty good deal to me."
"When you were complaining a few moments ago, I didn't hear you saying anything bad about the food," Joseph said. "How do you like it?"
"I must say that the bread is very fresh, soft and hot," replied Elijah. "It tastes like it just came out of the oven. The meat is also very delicious"¦It is so tender and juicy that it almost melts in my mouth. The food is very filling. After I eat my morning meal, I don"˜t start getting hungry again until late in the afternoon."
"God knows how to take care of His servants," said Joseph. "He loves you so much, that He is giving you this time to grow closer to Him. He wants you to depend on Him in this situation. He wants you to become an even greater spiritual leader."
God is always watching over His servants. "Well, Elijah, how do you like your new temporary home?," He asked the Prophet.
"Sir, the food is delicious, and I can even handle sleeping on the ground and drinking this brook water. But I do seem to be having one little problem with these pesky ravens. They chatter all the time, and I am afraid they are trying to talk me to death!"
©2009 Greg Miller
Greg is a freelance writer who lives in Johnson City, Tennessee. He also works as the religion editor of a daily newspaper in northeast Tennessee. To contact Miller for preaching and other speaking engagements, Christian Creativity Seminars, puppet ministry, etc .please e-mail him at
As of May 2012, "WHATEVER IS PURE" ARCHIVES will no longer be seeking submissions. As most authors and poets now have their own blogs, we noticed a significant drop in submissions over the past year and felt it was best to move on to other endeavors.
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