Tag: Christian Life

The Amazing Gift of Eternal Life

“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” John 17:3

Life in this world is temporary and limited, but there is a life different from the mere existence that most human beings can comprehend.  It is an amazing life, and it can be said that the reason the Son of God came into the world was to offer this kind of life to those who believe in Him. It is the gift of a life that lasts forever, measured not simply by its duration, but by its intense and distinctive quality.

Eternal life brings us into fellowship with God.  Into this life are given the exceeding great and precious promises of God, enabling us to be partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).  When we are born again through faith in Christ, we do not simply become “better persons”; we share and participate in the very life and nature of God: we are in God, and God is in us, a mystical conception and a reality that is staggering to the human mind.

It is a life of purpose, sharing in God’s interests and objectives, whereby we become partners in God’s great plan of salvation for the world.  We feel God’s grief over sin and see evil as a real force that manipulates the lives of mankind in their enmity against God. Hence we live to push forward the kingdom of light against the kingdom of darkness.

God becomes very real to us. We are steadily aware and certain of His presence. It is a life of communion with God and knowing Him as our Father, recognizing that we are never alone because God is constantly with us and that our lives are in His hands.

Eternal life is knowing God. What could be more amazing than that?

* Reference: Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Fellowship With God, Crossway Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1993, pp. 56-85

D. G. Vachal 2012, 2025
* Photography: Sunrise by Knowles Gallery @ Flickr cc 

A Burning Heart – A Sonnet

A Burning Heart – A Sonnet

O that within me dwells a burning heart
That blazes like a bonfire on the shore
When twilight comes the purple colors soar
As lemon rays of daylight soon depart —
O that the light find I when darkness starts
And warmth when winter chills me to the core
With light and warmth I could not ask for more
For of life’s miracles take I a part.

O stand and see and for the old paths ask
Walk on in paths that lead to the good way
Beside you will be Truth, the Way, the Life
To give your soul the rest in midst of strife
Your heart will burn with love in night and day,
Through seasons, light and warmth to guide your tasks.

D. G. Vachal © 2025

Thus says the Lord: Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ – Jeremiah 6:16 NKJV

Image by Clayton Holmes @Unsplash

Yet Will I Trust In Thee

Yet Will I Trust in Thee – A Sonnet

“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.” Job 13:15 KJV

Though Thou slay me, yet will I trust in Thee
Thou holdest my fragile world in Thy hand,
The tides and seasons turn at Thy command —
Speck of dust am I in eternity,
Bestowed a moment’s breath on earth to be —
The wildest joys came I to comprehend,
Life’s strange conundrums yet to understand,
Someday revealed in immortality.

I have no stake in my own life but Thine,
Possessing nothing in this world but Thee
Thou sittest in the altar of my heart
The ever purest love I know is mine
Through hail and thunderstorms I have one plea
That from Thy house I never will depart.

D. G. Vachal © 2025


Image by Mohamad Hasan @pixabay

Rest Beside the Still Waters

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures ; He leadeth
me beside the still waters ; He restoreth my soul .” .
Ps. xxiii. 2 , 3.

~ a synopsis and modern translation of George Matheson’s writing


Would it be an easy thing for a person to confess the Lord to be their Shepherd when brought to green pastures beside still waters? Who would not rejoice in the peace and contentment, surrounded by such a peaceful surrounding? In truth, one must sound the depths of one’s soul because no one can lie down in peace until one has received a restored soul.

It is as equally difficult for an unrestored soul to lie down in green pastures as to wallow in barren wastelands. Do you think that an unrestful heart will have more rest in prosperity than in adversity? No, an unrestul heart will carry itself into everything. Prosperity is not found in the greenness of the pastures — adversity lies not in the barrenness of the wastelands; they both lie within.

The joyous heart will make all things joyful, its pastures will always be green, its waters will all be quiet. The restless heart will make all things unrestful: the calmness of the outward scene will be its source of pain.

We cannot fly from ourselves by changing our circumstances: we can only change our own circumstances by fleeing from ourselves. The sweetness and bitterness of life are alike within us, and we shall receive from the world just what we bring to it.

Oh my soul, if you would have green pastures, if you desire quiet waters, if you should seek for a place where you can lie down and rest, then you must first be restored. You must set aside your own self before you can find a scenery of repose.

Then when you are at rest, all things can be yours — the world, life, death, angels, principalities, powers — you can claim them as your servants. You can extract joy out of sorrow, sleep in the ship of life when the storm is raging around you. You shall spread your table in the presence of your enemies.

Goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life when your soul shall have been restored.

*** Reference: George Matheson, “The Secret of Peace”, Moments on the Mount, London: James Nisbet & Co.1884, pp. 67-69

*** Photography by Alfred Derks at Pixabay