"One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, to behold and gaze upon the beauty [the sweet attractiveness and the delightful loveliness] of the Lord and to meditate, consider, and inquire in His temple." - Psalm 27:4 (AMP)
I cannot even deal with how the Holy Spirit is healing and ministering to me through this song, exactly where I'm at right now...I don't know how I haven't come across it before but the timing could not be more perfect than right now and I know that's the reason. God always knows.
What's all the more amazing is how this ties directly in with a word God spoke to me at the very beginning of this year that I knew would be my guiding theme and meditation for the year. Though I know I heard Him, His exact words clearly, I didn't fully understand it at the time, and have spent a lot of this year recalling it to mind and praying it over and questioning what He meant by it. And now, in worshiping to this song, taking in its lyrics, it came...confirmation of His word spoken over me at the beginning of the year and life-altering revelation of its meaning right as the year draws to a close...full circle. I understand. How is He so good? How are His ways and His timing so perfect? His love and His faithfulness absolutely blow me away.
Soak in this pure, indescribable, glorious BEAUTY and be completely undone.
"What does love look like?” is the question I’ve been pondering “What does love look like?” “What does love look like?” is the question I’ve been asking of You
I once believed that love was romance, just a chance I even thought that love was for the lucky and the beautiful I once believed that love was a momentary bliss But love is more than this All You ever wanted was my attention All You ever wanted was love from me All You ever wanted was my affections, to sit here at Your feet Then tell me
“What does love look like?” is the question I’ve been pondering “What does love look like?”
Then I sat down, a little frustrated and confused If all of life comes down to love Then love has to be more than sentiment More than selfishness and selfish gain
And then I saw Him there, hanging on a tree, looking at me I saw Him there, hanging on a tree, looking at me He was looking at me, looking at Him, staring through me I could not escape those beautiful eyes And I began to weep and weep
He had arms wide open, a heart exposed Arms wide open He was bleeding, bleeding
Love’s definition, love’s definition was looking at me Looking at Him, hanging on a tree I began to weep and weep and weep and weep
This is how I know what love is This is how I know what love is
And as I sat there weeping, crying Those beautiful eyes, full of desire and love He said to me:
“You shall love Me, You shall love Me You shall love Me, You shall love Me With arms wide open, a heart exposed With arms wide open, bleeding, sometimes bleeding
If anybody’s looking for love in all the wrong places If you’ve been searching for love, come to Me, come to Me Take up your cross, deny yourself Forget your father’s house and run, run with Me You were made for abandonment, wholeheartedness You were made for someone greater, someone bigger, so follow Me And You’ll come alive when you learn to die"
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Short but sweet today...I just have to say that I LOVE the times when God draws me into prayer and I have no clue what I'm supposed to pray for, but as I'm just open to follow His leading He ultimately guides me into a revelation of TRUTH from His Word that sets me free, that breaks the chains over a certain area or hindrance in my life and brings healing! SO needed today. I really have no idea how He does it...only that it leaves me speechless in awe and gratitude every time, the way His truth penetrates and speaks straight to my heart. When we will simply come to Him and fellowship with Him in prayer...it's so amazing what He will do. He always gives us exactly what we need exactly when we need it and His heart for us as His children is that above all we would always know who He is and who we are in and to Him. He delights to reveal it. :) He is so good it's unbelievable!!! All thanks and praise to my One and Only. :D
Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and on earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.
--1 Chronicles 29:11-13
Yes and Amen!!! This Thanksgiving day and every day He gives us is all about Him and for Him and for the praise of His glorious Name! It is to acknowledge, exalt, rejoice in and celebrate His greatness, His goodness, His glory, His righteousness, His holiness, His power, His majesty, His perfection, His beauty, His wonder, and His extravagant love!! To live and proclaim His Truth that brings life and freedom! Far above all the wonderful blessings He has graciously poured out and continues to pour out on my life (these are just too many to name; I could go on and on and on!) it's everything He is that continually overwhelms me with gratitude! His Word says that as we continue to live in Him we will be overflowing with thankfulness (Col. 2:6-7), and to know Him in this intimate way is to know with all we are that He is infinitely worthy of our constant praise and gratitude. For from Him and through Him and to Him are ALL things (Rom. 11:36)...He sustains ALL things by His powerful word (Heb. 1:3)...every good and perfect gift comes from Him (Jam. 1:17); apart from Him we have no good thing (Ps. 16:2).
So Lord, we give you thanks and praise in and for all things and acknowledge that it's only in You we live, move, and have our being (Acts 17:28). May the grace that is reaching more and more people cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of Your Name! (2 Cor. 4:15) Thank You for all You are, all You've done and all You will do according to Your promises. It is so beyond us...so once again we just stand in amazement and awe of You.
I absolutely love this song for today...perfect for singing our thanks and praise to Him! I took each line from the song and paired it with the first verses that came to my mind (there are many many more where these came from!)...just to meditate and dwell on these wonderful truths from His Word and allow thanksgiving and worship to overflow. :)
Thank You - Hillsong Live
Thank You for Your kindness
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.
--Titus 3:4-5
I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.
--Jeremiah 31:3
Thank You for Your mercy
But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in trangressions - it is by grace you have been saved.
--Ephesians 2:4-5
Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.
--Micah 7:18
Thank You for the cross
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
--Colossians 1:19-20
[Jesus], being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!
--Philippians 2:5-8
Thank You for the price You paid
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
--Isaiah 53:4-5
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
--1 Peter 1:18-19
Thank You for salvation
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
--John 3:16-17
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.
--Ephesians 2:8-9
Thank You for unending grace
But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
--Romans 5:20-21
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
--2 Corinthians 12:9
Thank You for Your hope
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
--Romans 15:13
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
--1 Peter 1:3
Thank You for this life You give
In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
--John 1:4
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
--John 10:10
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
--Psalm 16:11
Thank You for Your promise
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
--2 Peter 1:3-4
My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.
--Psalm 119:50
Thank You for Your favor
For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.
--Psalm 5:12
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
--Psalm 84:11
Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
--Psalm 30:4-5
Thank You for Your love
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
--Romans 5:8
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
--1 John 3:1
And everything You've done for me
You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever!
--Psalm 30:11-12
I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me in garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.
--Isaiah 61:10
I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
No one is like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is mighty in power.
--Jeremiah 10:6
Your cross gave life, hope and salvation Full restoration, promise for all Your grace has made us part of Your kingdom Living in freedom as heirs with Your Son
Jesus, Your Name is a light And now Your redemption draws into our lives Strong in battle, You overcame And the victory's ours
Now we sing Great, great, there is no one like our God Great, great there is no one like our God
Our walls fall down, strongholds are broken Eternity's spoken, righteous we stand The church will rise, declaring Your kingdom Shouting for freedom, the blood of the Lamb
Jesus, Your Name is a light And now Your redemption draws into our lives Strong in battle, You overcame And the victory's ours
Now we sing Great, great, there is no one like our God Great, great there is no one like our God
Your reign in all the earth You reign victorious Your power is limitless There is no one like our God
I am so in awe of what God is currently doing right before my eyes - the incredible answers to prayer and the confirmations of His Word that I've been witnessing and experiencing in such great measure. It all really started several weeks ago when God spoke to me very clearly and specifically through His Word (Isaiah 46:13 - ALIVE and ACTIVE!) and through strong impressions about things He was bringing to pass. He stirred up an increased sense of urgency in me to pray and keep praying, to expect and keep expecting, and to stand boldly and confidently on what He had revealed, because the time was drawing near. He was about to move and He desired my agreement and partnership. And more than ever before I just KNEW, expected, believed, and trusted with every part of me, even before seeing anything and against all odds, that God was working and I would be seeing it play out in ways I couldn't even imagine.
And what keeps getting me is that when God revealed His heart and spoke to me to let me in on what He was doing, it wasn't to get me to toil and labor and try to figure all of it out on my own, which is usually what I try to do. This time was different. I distinctly knew that His purpose behind the revelation was to prepare me, to stir up a greater expectation and faith in my heart and come into agreement with Him with fervent prayer. Not for me to plan and configure or make a way of my own, or to somehow insert myself in the middle...but to trust.In Him and in His way, which is PERFECT. He was going to do exactly He said - He gave me that full assurance and He wanted me to know that, believe that and be watching and waiting in hope for Him. He wanted not my work but my agreement. He was going to use me and work through me and wanted me just to be open to Him and all He wanted to do.
So ever since I've been running with that with more boldness and confidence than I ever knew I had (it's definitely Him and not me) and truly it is AMAZING what I have seen of this work so far. I can't even do it justice in describing it...all I know is that right down to the minute details God has GOT this. He is showing me and confirming it in every way, and this is only the beginning! There is so much more to come and definitely a process ahead, but as it continues I will continue to just believe Him and stand by what He has said. No matter what my eyes see at any given time or whatever obstacles arise...my God is able and I am fully persuaded that He has power to do what He has promised (Rom. 4:21). He WILL make a way. It is only by His Spirit that any of it is even possible and I am more aware of that and of my need for and dependence on Him than I've ever been.
More and more this truth in this verse speaks to and comes alive for me...
The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.
--John 6:29
It really is that simple. Not always easy, but simple. God says our work is to believe in Him - align ourselves with His heart and come into agreement with His will and His plan as He reveals in His Word. We do this largely by confessing with our mouths and believing in our hearts. This is how we were saved (Romans 10:9-10) and this is how He has chosen to continue His work in and through us and to advance His kingdom on earth - as His people confess with their mouths and believe in their hearts! This is what it means to come into agreement with Him and this act of faith is what pleases Him and what He responds to. According to our faith it is done to us (Matt. 9:29). God is not most moved by all that we do for Him but it's the faith in our hearts and our persistence in seeking Him (Heb. 11:6). Our praise and thanksgiving and confidence in Him above all else, especially when we don't yet see the answers or the outcome we might expect from our prayers (and often we are so results-focused or have such preconceived notions of what He should be doing that we lost sight of HIM, the Author and Perfecter of our Faith, and miss all the things He IS showing us and the amazing ways He is moving that are so above and beyond what we expected in the first place!!), moves His heart. It moves Him to action. In response to our fervent, faith-filled prayers and heartfelt praises He moves mightily on our behalf and in our midst to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20).
We have to know with everything we are that our God will never fail us or let us down. He is exactly who He says He is and He is always faithful to His Word - speaking and then acting, promising and then fulfilling (Numbers 23:19). So we pray and expect with absolute joy, we call on Him in praise and thanksgiving and boldly declare all that He is because God CANNOT fail. CANNOT deny Himself or separate Himself from His Word. As we become convinced of this we will see and know that He is deserving and worthy of our undivided trust and all of our praise and gratitude even before we see the fulfillment of His promises in our lives, before our eyes in the natural. And our praise and gratitude is fueled by knowing and loving Him, the amazing God that He is, and knowing and believing in full assurance that He will fulfill His promises in His time and His way, which is ALWAYS the best and for our ultimate good (Rom. 8:28). So we give Him praise NOW and constantly, in the process, every step of the way! We give thanks and praise above all just for who He IS. Always - this is where our worship and adoration should stem from. Then we thank Him and praise Him for every move of His hand that we see and for every move that we don't because we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). We wait in eagerness and expectation because we know more than anything else that He is faithful! And we partner with Him by devotion and persistence in prayer. Our agreement with God is what ushers in His will and releases His miracle-working to perform and accomplish it! God can do all things but without our prayers He won't. He doesn't need us, He is God and can do all things on His own...but He has chosen us to partner with Him and has chosen to work through us...He has given us the ministry of reconciliation! It is HIS work, ALL His doing, but He has committed the message to us. Think about how AWESOME this is:
We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
--2 Corinthians 5:20
This is our job description, our identity! Christ's ambassadors through whom God makes His appeal to this lost world. The righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21), new creations (2 Cor. 5:17), gifted with the ministry of reconciliation and trusted with its message. Wow! How humbling it is, and what greater honor and privilege or what further affirmation do we need?!!
I say it's time to allow God to bust open the boxes we've confined Him, to shatter our preconceived notions about who He is and how He works and the expectation of the usual and normal and to actually begin to expect crazy amazing things from Him! If His Word is true, if it is reality, if He really is the all-powerful, almighty God that His Word reveals, then we need to open our eyes and believe Him for the impossible as His Word says we should - no limits, nothing too hard - does this excite anyone else??!! This is how we should wake up every day, excited about Him and on the edge of our seats (because He is always up to something NEW - Isa. 43:18-19) and in expectation!! Our God is AMAZING and He wants to show and reveal to us AMAZING things!!!!
Look at the nations and watch, and be utterly amazed, for I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.
--Habbakuk 1:5
Wow!!! Dwell on that. He is ALIVE...in POWER...ruling above ALL...unpredictable...inconceivable...invading our reality with the realities of His kingdom...this is why we worship Him!! We do not worship a set of rules or rituals, we don't worship a God we can control, we don't put our faith in a dead Word. God is ALIVE and MOVING and INVADING, ALL the time and we will miss Him unless we move beyond religion and lay HOLD of His forcefully advancing kingdom! (Matt 11:12) We need to get in sync with and agree with Him for what His Word says, with hearts full of faith and expectation....believing Him for the signs of His goodness and faithfulness and the confirmation of His Word ALL THE TIME. We are either going to believe He is who He says He is in His Word or we are not, but there is no half way. There's no way to be indifferent when confronted with this reality. Believe Him! And then just watch...and be utterly AMAZED...
When we know God this way we will not want to waste one moment of one day NOT diligently seeking Him, not totally desperate for His Presence or hungry to see Him move...He is doing so many amazing, out of this world things around us all the time...revealing Himself in all new and exciting ways...incredible responses to our prayers and petitions...moving on behalf of His children...we just have to open our eyes. We have to be expectant and prepared. Proclaim and stand on His truth. Pray diligently. Cry out for His heart. Depend on His Spirit. Seek His Presence. Go boldly before His throne. Be zealous in pursuit of Him! (Rom. 12:11). We won't quit and won't stop, won't settle for ordinary when our God is extraordinary in every way!!!
Oh Lord so GRIP us with Your all-consuming love and powerful, all-sufficient grace. Rock us to the very core of our being that it would be impossible to remain complacent. So shake us up for You that everything in us just aches for You and for Your Kingdom. You are always moving...You are speaking...You are drawing everything and everyone to Yourself, bringing all things into alignment with You, pouring our Your Holy Spirit, invading this earth like an unstoppable, irresistible force, filling and covering the whole earth with the knowledge of Your glory (Hab. 2:14) - and we are in agreement!!! We are on board!! Let it be done on earth as it is in Heaven! We give you praise right now for how unimaginably awesome You are, beyond our ability to even comprehend! We acknowledge that it's ALL You, it's ALL by Your Spirit, and it's Your LOVE that does everything, and we are just so humbled that You would use us, Lord, as Your hands and feet and as the home for Your Spirit to dwell. And we love you so, so much Lord! Have YOUR way! Thank you that it WILL be done as You have planned and purposed!!! Thank you that Your LOVE is so clearly on the move in my life and in the lives of so many around me...seeking and saving, redeeming and restoring...in POWER and in GRACE...all across this earth...and we just say YES, Lord. GLORY to Your HOLY Name. We praise You for Your faithfulness. We long for You. Our eyes and our hearts are open and ready and ever expectant. Our HOPE is all in You.
So I had this on my heart all day today, and maybe I'm preaching to the tinge (okay, maybe more than a tinge, but I digress) of legalism that remains in me. And I'm sure it's nothing too new. But it's such an important thing for all of us to be reminded of and it's so crucial that we grasp it as believers and followers of Jesus.
It is God's kindness that leads us to repentance (Rom. 2:4). His grace teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions (Titus 2:11-12). Because He first loved and served us, we love and serve Him (1 Jn. 4:19). Repentance, godliness, obedience, willingness...these are not things we have to force or work for in our walk with Him but rather they are the fruits of a life lived in revelation of and ongoing response to His incredible, unchanging and never-ending kindness, grace, goodness, and love.
In all that we do...in our prayer lives, our service for Him, our love for others...if it's not fueled by and rooted in this experience of God's love and grace for us, we will eventually become frustrated, grow weary and lose heart. We are not meant to strive or be driven by guilt, fear (and by fear I'm not referring to the reverential fear of God, but things like fear of punishment, fear of disappointing God, etc.), attempts to earn His love and favor, or anything else. Those are not of God and when we embrace them we are embracing an entirely false perception and understanding of who He is, who we are in and to Him and His love for us. It's not the gospel!
This is the gospel: Jesus came to lift the heavy and ill-fitting weights of guilt, fear, shame, and striving under a law whose righteous requirements we could never meet, to set us free from slavery to sin and everything tied to it, free from any false motive or compulsion in living for Him.
This is the gospel: "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:1-2).
This is the gospel: God has given us His Holy Spirit to empower us, to bring us into alignment with Him, causing all of His attributes to overflow from within us. We no longer have to work and strive to the ends of obedience, godliness, etc...we do not have to work at being perfect but instead we surrender to the perfect Spirit who lives in us. Our work is belief (Jn. 6:29)...faith and trust in HIM...surrender. Our focus is on loving Him with all that we are and have (Matt. 22:37), on seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). And as we do this we just watch Him pour out on us and fill us with all that He is! He will work in us what is pleasing to Him, it is Him who works in us to will and to act according to His good purpose (Phil. 2:13), it is Him who is conforming us ever more into His likeness, with ever-increasing glory (2 Cor. 3:18). He showers us with His perfect love and we, overwhelmed with gratitude, cannot help but react by living passionately devoted and in love with Him!!! It's all we can do!
So why do we continue to strive when He says that He has set us free from it? Why do we strive when His Word says: "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness" (2 Peter 1:3). What are we still trying to attain? God in His infinite power has GIVEN us godliness, HIS righteousness, HIS holiness, HIS perfection...in CHRIST. So when we are in Christ, we have everything we need. And all that remains within us...the fruits of the Spirit! Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Everything that is of Him. Fear, guilt, approval-seeking from the God who already and unconditionally approves of us in Christ...is completely out of place, a foreign yoke. So what causes it? Why does it still hinder us so much if the chains have been broken and we have been set free to live compelled only by His love and grace and goodness?
I want to say it's because we don't have that life-changing, world-rocking revelation and understanding of who God really is. We don't truly know His goodness. We so desperately need this revelation, the church today desperately needs it - to see Him as He is! For THEN - in seeing Him, in knowing Him - we shall be like Him!! (1 Jn. 3:2) Because the more we know and understand who God is and experience it as the reality that it is (and not just in theory)...as we are in total wonder and awe of Him we will be living radically for Him in perfect freedom and in total and complete joy as He intends. His commands, His truth and all His ways that are to bring Him glory are NOT burdensome (1 Jn. 5:4) but they lead us into joy. His glory, His praise, His exaltation = our joy and our life. And God's grace is what empowers us to follow...it is His love...it empowers repentance, godliness and obedience in our lives. In our sin and rebellion we could not do it ourselves, but now in Jesus He has made the way. And when we know God - who He is, what He's done, and His love and grace and mercy for us, we are not compelled by anything else. Sin will have absolutely NO hold on us, no draw for us, no appeal whatsoever when we want God so much more and experience Him as INFINITELY better. We will want NOTHING to stand between us, which is what sin does and why God hates it so much - sin separates us from God. It will be pure torture to experience that separation that sin brings. So we actively pursue HOLINESS because we love Him beyond all else, want to be like Him and are eternally grateful to Him and from that flows our obedience! How else could we respond to Him? As His Word says...our work is produced by faith, our labor prompted by love, and our endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess 1:3).
What is fear, guilt, and shame anyway? It's oppressive. Of the enemy. What does God say? What are we to do?
Believe. Trust. Hope. Do not fear. Love Me, love others. Delight yourself in Me. Be still. Know that I am God. Come to Me. Rest in Me. Look to Me. Call to Me. Rely and depend upon Me. Acknowledge Me. Lean not on your own understanding but lean on Me. Surrender all to Me. Obey. Walk with Me. Give Me everything. Devote yourself to Me. Stand firm in faith. Seek My face. Listen to My voice. Rejoice in Me. Sing praise to Me. Worship Me in Spirit and truth. Be joyful. Pray. Be thankful. This is MY will for you in Christ Jesus!!!
And what does all of this in our lives? How do we get to this place? Not by striving. Not through fear or guilt or approval-seeking. No, it's God's completely unspeakable LOVE in CHRIST, which is now living and at work in us. It's vital that we truly understand His grace, His salvation...to receive it in fullness of truth...as a heart revelation...and that we fully embrace our identity in Him.We need to know (have the sobering realization of without allowing it to slip over into condemnation) the depths of our own sinfulness and rebellion and that we were once deservedly objects of wrath, but now because of God's great love and because of His mercy ALONE, we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus and are seated with Him in the heavenly realms!! (Eph. 2). How does this not inspire the most crazy joyful and intensely passionate life of worship??!! This is what does everything, NOT religion. A living God who is personal and intimate, NOT rules or regulations. He's after a deep, loving, dynamic relationship with us and in that our sincere willingness, NOT our begrudging submission. He is not interested in by our obedience motivated by guilt or approval-seeking, He's after our hearts. Come on, church! We are wholly redeemed, dearly loved by our Creator and Father and Savior! We are alive in Him! We no longer rely on ourselves but on God who raises the dead, who raised US from the dead (2 Cor. 1:9) and to full and abundant LIFE! (Jn. 10:10)
So then we have a choice to make: will we choose to walk in grace and not fear? To believe that God is all He says He is and so much more? To get to know Him more and more so that this revelation becomes more and more clear and all the more glorious? This is our joy. HE is our joy. This is why we must keep our eyes fixed on Him and not ourselves...Christ's righteousness that is now our identity and not self-righteousness, which was nailed to the cross. His Word says that we are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). And as such, remaining in Him, our fruit is a tree of life (Prov. 11:30).
God does it all. And when we stay fixed on Him, acknowledging all He is, exalting all He is, the life He intends for us to live, the life He died to give us is going to flow naturally, ceaselessly, effortlessly - by the power of His Spirit, not in our own strength (Zech. 4:6). We couldn't do it on our own before and we can't now. But now in Christ we can do all things (Phil. 4:13).
Sorry if I rambled on a bit. I'm just incredibly passionate about this as a recovering legalist!! And mostly I just want the whole world to know this completely amazing God whose love and grace are just unfathomable. Praying for the revelation of who He is to spread all over the earth. He is good. Inherently, above all else. He alone is good. He is ALWAYS good. He NEVER changes. What's more, because we belong to Him because He favors us He causes all of His goodness to pass in front of us and He proclaims His name in our presence (Ex. 33:19). Think about that! How AMAZING! And our lives lived in response to and in experience of this is only joy, freedom, peace, and love all-consuming. Let's rejoice in Him always just because of who He IS!!!
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Cry out, "Save us, O God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, that we may glory in your praise." - 1 Chronicles 16:34-35
I've been having such an amazing time lately rediscovering this thing called music - specifically, playing the piano. Something I've done very seriously since I was 5...almost 20 years of private lessons...highly classically trained...the main focus of all my upbringing...a huge part of who I am...played all the way through college and then stopped playing for awhile when I was working on my masters degree in music theory and just didn't have the time between all the research and paper writing (oh grad school, I do not miss you!). But what's awesome now is that I not only have the time to get back into it but I'm doing so in a totally different way and with an all new drive and passion that was missing all those years before. I always knew that God gave me a gift with music and it has always been such a deep part of me but have always wondered how He would use it, or even if He would since I got away from it for so long. I know now that He definitely intends to use it, I'm still not entirely sure how and what all that entails...but one thing I do know and it's that my piano playing and all of my musical pursuits are like everything else in my life: for Him. For worship. How I pour out in worship to Him...how He speaks to and inspires it in me...so, so much of that is through music. It's how He created me and it was no mistake, it was no waste! My musical giftings were not always for Him, since I did not always know Him (though He always knew me and He was always the author of the gifts), but He is redeeming them and redirecting them all for His purposes now as I give it all back to Him and press on to acknowledge Him! What could be more exciting or more fulfilling than that?!
So I had been pondering all of this and seeking Him for direction, and over the course of the past several weeks I got several confirmations that I was not only supposed to start playing again and explore it as a form of worship, but even to write new songs as He reveals to me. I've only been at it for several days but it's been amazing so far...His Presence has been so sweet and so strong...such holy moments. It's incredible because it's something I've always had inside of me, so it's familiar in a way but it's entirely fresh in the way that God is tapping into it and breathing His life and filling it with His Spirit. I can already tell I'll be cherishing those times of worship at the piano and am just so excited to see what God is going to stir up, all the ways He will speak and where it will all lead! Right now just soooo thankful that He is calling this out and using it to draw me even closer to Him. :) And ALL to His glory!!
I was blessed to play the piano in a wedding today, which turned out to be a wonderful and beautiful worship service. This is one of the songs we did...one of my absolute favorites!...and I can't think of a better way to describe what worshiping at the piano means for me than how the song itself puts it:
Your will above all else My purpose remains The art of losing myself In bringing You praise
Oh that I would continue to just lose myself in Your Presence, Lord, as I worship You. Holy Spirit, consume me from the inside out!
I am increasingly awed by the anointing of the Lord's presence on the melodies we lift up to Him in worship and all the incredible ways that music gives voice to that cry of our hearts, the highest praise and deepest longing that words could never ever express…and how the power of God through music pierces to the core and taps right into our inmost being, opening us up to receive from Him and release to Him in all new ways...such a priceless gift for which I am so so thankful and definitely a passion that God has stirred up in me!
This song is just one of many examples for me where the instrumental introduction alone is speaking infinitely more than what lyrics are able to (and these are some pretty powerful lyrics!)...gets me EVERY time...just amazing. The Holy Spirit is ALL over this! Let Him speak to and reveal Himself to you. :)
Okay, so I have to share this video at least once a year because it just never gets old. It came to my mind during our worship night at church this week, when Psalm 16:4 was spoken over us:
The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods.
I'm just in awe of how this song/drama conveys that truth so powerfully and then ultimately the TRUTH that sets us free - Christ our God and Savior, our all in all, our everything - the one who created us and knows us even better than we know ourselves, who sees the depths of our sinful hearts and still pursues after us relentlessly with everything He is and has, the one who never gives up on us, who remains perfectly faithful when we are absolutely faithless (2 Tim. 2:13), the one whose all-consuming, all-encompassing love never has and never will fail us no matter how many times or in how many ways we fail Him, the one who lifts us out of the pit, wholly redeems us and freely gives us a gloriously new and eternal life with Him.
He is not only the Lord of our lives but the Lover of our souls...He is the only One for us. Nothing or no one else could ever take His place. We were made to be fulfilled in Him alone, we were made to find all of our joy and delight in Him alone. He alone can meet our deepest needs, longings and desires. We find it all in Him. So the moment we begin to chase after other things and lose sight of Him...we eventually find ourselves lost, miserable, hopeless, trapped in the dark...on the brink of death. But how much do I love this - darkness is as lightto our amazing God!! (Ps. 139:11-12). And no matter where we are HE still chases us, and inevitably, invariably, we will always, always come running back to Him. It is in us, in the very core of our beings to seek Him and to be found by Him. And one day every knee will bow, every tongue confess...everyone will turn to Him and call on His Name...all the nations He has made will come and worship before Him, to bring Him the glory and praise due His Name...he is SO worthy, and He loves you beyond your wildest imagination. So great is His love for you that He delivered you from the depths of the grave (Ps. 86:13). Run after Him with reckless abandon...He will scoop you up into His arms and shower you with His perfect love. He will make you whole. He is everything. Always.
Later, in the same Psalm...
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (vv. 9-11)
Here as well as all throughout scripture we see that God's plan, God's heart and His purpose is always life. It's always redemption. It's always love, the saving, all-sufficient, all-powerful love expressed to us in Christ, who is ALIVE! Before we ever knew or acknowledged Him He loved us. While we were still sinners He died for us (Rom. 5:8). He loves and pursues us FIRST. He has made it all known to us. We just have to respond to Him!! Even when we find ourselves in the deepest and darkest of pits, He never lets us go. We are never out of His reach, never left or forsaken (Heb. 13:5). All we have to do at any moment, no matter how far we are, is turn back to Him, cry out in repentance...and He fights for us. When we are too weak to go on, He is strong and mighty to save. He cleanses us and crowns us with victory. He clothes us in garments of salvation and arrays us in a robe of righteousness (Is. 61:10). How AMAZING and GOOD He is!!!! Hallelujah, Jesus! You LIVE and Your saving power is ALWAYS at work, NEVER failing! Come to Him...come back to Him...find your life, your everything.
You're all I want You're all I need You're everything
"The more we get what we now call 'ourselves' out of the way and let Him take us over, the more truly ourselves we become. There is so much of Him that millions and millions of 'little Christs,' all different, will still be too few to express Him fully."
--C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
I just love the picture this quote paints of the body of Christ, and ultimately of Christ Himself. Though we as the body are united as Christ followers - like-minded, having the same love, one in Spirit and purpose (Phil. 2:2) - we're all so different and every single one of us is completely unique, having an exceptional set of gifts and a distinct place, function and role in the body that no one else could fill; God made us specially! Yet how amazing is it also that we're all made in His image and, when we are found in Him and have allowed Him to make us into who He created us to be, as we are being continually transformed into Christ-likeness, we all as individuals reflect an entirely unique aspect of who He is! I'm just in awe when I look around at my fellow brothers and sisters and Christ and see distinct elements of God's character and essence in and expressed through each of them - different elements in different ways, yet it's all the same God and it all speaks of and reveals Him. There is so much beauty in the diversity of the body!
What does this say about Him? If we all reflect Christ...and each one of us is gloriously different, gloriously unique...how much is there to our amazing God, how many facets, just how great is He?! I think it so speaks to His unmatched creativity and really the sheer magnitude of His being! It is just mind-blowing! And we are, as His Word says, "the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way." (Eph. 1:23) So when we take who God has made us to be as individuals, new creations that are overtaken and ruled by His Spirit, and come together as the body under His leadership, dynamically working together and functioning in those completely unique sets of gifts and attributes that reflect a certain part of Him, we all together are painting this grand portrait of Christ, revealing all He is and filling everything with Him in every way. And even then, there is still more of Him to be expressed! He is still and will always be above and beyond - the infinite, eternal God.
Moral of the story: I love Jesus. I love the body of Christ. I count it the most amazing blessing to belong to Him and be a part of His body. Truly the most beautiful thing. <3
I'm so completely wrecked after an amazing night of worship with Kari Jobe. I realize I say this a lot, but I have to keep saying it...there is absolutely nothing, nothing, NOTHING like being in His Presence, no greater joy or freedom than to worship Him!!! And that's because it's what we are MADE to do, amen?! Now and forever! :D And last night it was like this intoxicating wave of His Spirit pouring out and His love washing over us...delivering, healing, and setting free...saturating our hearts...drenching us in His JOY and PEACE...refreshing every part of us...everything in you is so overcome with rejoicing and also just yearns for more, always more. I am still just totally overwhelmed. Still soaking in the GLORY. So SO good, He is. :) Praise You, Lord!!!
I discovered a new song of hers that I'm loving (and also that really speaks to the overall tone of last night's worship!), and I'm also sharing some of my other Kari Jobe favorites! So anointed!
Here before Your altar
I am letting go of all I am
Of every motive, every burden
Everything that's of myself
And I just want to wait on You, my God
I just want to dwell on who You are
Beautiful, beautiful
Oh I am lost for more to say
Beautiful, beautiful
Oh Lord, You're beautiful to me
Here in Your Presence
I am not afraid of brokenness
To wash Your feet with humble tears
Oh I would be poured out till nothing's left
And I just want to wait on You, my God
I just want to dwell on who You are
Holy, holy, holy
You are
I won't direct-post the videos for these other ones since there are too many, but check them out!!!
1) Secret church with an amazing friend!! (And I say "secret church" because we were kind of in hiding, haha...long story but so good!) I just love getting together with people of equal passion and diving into the Word and prayer! Come Holy Spirit!! Feeling SO incredibly blessed by all the people God has been placing in my life - friends, mentors and spiritual parents, you name it and God has been providing in abundance! - and that ultimately we can just support, encourage and spur one another on in going after HIM with all we have and all we are! THIS is the Body of Christ at its best! WOW. Seriously...what other life is there?! I'm totally overwhelmed and so taken with You, Lord, this crazy awesome adventure and loving every moment of it!
2) Powerful night of teaching, prayer and worship at church - can I just say that I'm increasingly FLOORED by how God works through prayer? It never ceases to amaze me how He shows up and tangibly pours out His LOVE and POWER as we pray to Him and enter into His Presence in worship!!! It's not us, it's ALL Him! And last night I was quite literally feeling God's jealous, passionate, relentless pursuit of people's hearts...He was totally wrecking them, awakening them to their desperate need for Him and stirring up their hunger for Him in an all new way and drawing them to Himself...there's no description that will do it justice but no exaggeration, His Spirit was so thick in the air, filling every crack and crevice with His all-consuming FIRE...there was just no escaping and no resisting it!! Anyone else go completely weak at the knees at His gentle yet incredibly intense whispers of deepest and purest love and desire for us? Just the way He woos us...ahhhh it's so completely glorious!!!
Can we just stop and dwell on this for a moment? Can we let this fully sink in? We are entirely unworthy and undeserving in every way, we rejected and turned away from Him and went our own way yet we have a HOLY and RIGHTEOUS God who is in love with us beyond what we can even fathom, whose delight is in us and in showering us with His all of His love and goodness, who will never give up on us and never stop pursuing us until we are wholly HIS, until we are ONE with Him! As He has revealed and expressed to us in CHRIST...and there is still so much of this divine mystery we cannot yet grasp...whatever it takes, at whatever cost GOD is after our hearts and He will not relent! And when we just open up our hearts to respond to that, when we surrender all and allow Him to have His way we find that we are completely overtaken by His love and consumed by all that He is, filled with the FULLNESS of God. AMAZING. I have no more words to describe it...just revel in it!!!
For our God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. - Deuteronomy 4:24
This is what the LORD Almighty says: "I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her." - Zechariah 8:2
Therefore I am now going to allure her. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. - Hosea 2:14
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? - Psalm 139:7
For love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love, rives cannot wash it away. - Song of Solomon 8:6-7
<3 <3 <3
3) The continuing realization that God's plan and His ideas for my life are so, so much better than mine. There is just no way I can orchestrate what He has been orchestrating in my life, even just recently and I'm joyfully experiencing that total freedom that comes with surrendering my rights, my wants, my desires, my will, everything and trusting Him to make the way, trusting Him with every area and every detail of my life because it's ALL His. Sometimes I slip into thinking that I know what's best for me and what I want, but how much more does He know exactly what I need and when I need it and how much more will He provide what I could never attain on my own! I can't do anything apart from Him but He can do ALL THINGS! It's so amazing and so liberating!
So what's my job in all of this? To delight myself in Him, just as He delights in me. To rejoice in Him, just as He rejoices over me. The rest is His. And as I do I always find that I'm entirely fulfilled, overwhelmingly satisfied because no matter what else, at all times and in every way He is my portion, He is more than enough, and He is all I truly want! That's the greatest blessing I will ever have or ever know and it's the one I crave above all else - just to live in the holy light of His love and His Presence, to be able to know Him more and more and to follow where He leads me. Nothing else could ever compare!!
So this is the song (yes, there is always a song!) that the Lord is really using to speak to me right now and encompasses what He has been impressing upon my spirit and the conviction He has been bringing to life within me...GOD is ABLE!! And I'm getting the sense that it's not just for me but for others in my life as well and just where they're at! We all really need to lay hold of this truth, not just in our heads but in our hearts, and as we do and as we believe it with our entire beings and declare it by faith we will see and experience His mighty power in miraculous ways and will be living out that full and abundant life of FREEDOM in Him that He has promised us! Hallelujah!! He is our GOD and He is SO AWESOME!!! He and He alone is WORTHY of our worship and our PRAISE!!! Rejoice in Him at all times and in all circumstances, no matter what and above all else because He is ABLE!!!
God is able He will never fail He is Almighty God Greater than all we seek Greater than all we ask He has done great things
Lifted up He defeated the grave Raised to life Our God is able In His name We overcome For the Lord our God is able!
God is with us He is on our side He will make a way Far above all we know Far above all we hope He has done great things
God is with us He will go before He will never leave us God is for us He has open arms He will never fail us
It's just one of those days to proclaim and to celebrate that our God REIGNS! He is King, He is Ruler, He is God, He is Sovereign, He is Lord, over and above ALL, now and forever! SOAK in it today. There is NOTHING that brings more joy!! :D
For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.
--Psalm 47:7-8
The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
--Psalm 103:19
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
--Isaiah 52:7
The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations.
--Psalm 146:10
The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.
--Revelation 11:15
The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice. Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundations of his throne. Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side. His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory!
--Psalm 97:1-6
Moses said to the LORD, "You have been telling me, 'Lead these people,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, 'I know you by name and you have found favor with me.' If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people."
The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."
Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"
And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name."
Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."
And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence."
These have been inspiring me lately, so I thought I'd share them here! I so often find that there just aren't any words to describe what it's like or what it means to worship God...it can really only be expressed with our hearts and with our spirits. But I guess that doesn't stop me from trying or from meditating on things like this!
It is in the process of being worshiped that God communicates His presence to men.
--C.S. Lewis
We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the psalms, and that the habit of celebrating the greatness and graciousness of God yields an endless flow of thankfulness, joy, and zeal.
--J.I. Packer
God must speak to us before we have any liberty to speak to Him. He must disclose to us who He is before we can offer Him what we are in acceptable worship. The worship of God is always a response to the Word of God. Scripture wonderfully directs and enriches our worship.
--John Stott
A true love of God must begin with a delight in His holiness.
--Jonathan Edwards
If your heart takes more pleasure in reading novels, or watching TV, or going to the movies, or talking to your friends, rather than just sitting alone with God and embracing Him, sharing His cares and His burdens, weeping and rejoicing with Him, then how are you going to handle forever and ever in His presence? You'd be bored to tears in heaven if you're not ecstatic about God now!
--Keith Green
To be used of God. Is there anything more encouraging, more fulfilling? Perhaps not, but there is something more basic: to meet with God. To linger in His presence, to shut out the noise of the city and, in quietness, give Him the praise He deserves. Before we engage ourselves in His work, let's meet Him in His Word...in prayer...in worship.
--Chuck Swindoll
To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God.
--William Temple
Worship is not a repetitious exercise of rituals and formulas. These create a veil that actually prevents us from enjoying the presence of the Lord. Worship is the heart poured out in gratitude and awe, expressing our appreciation of who He is and what He has done for us by His grace through Jesus Christ.
--Dave Hunt
We're here to be worshipers first and workers only second. We take a convert and immediately make a worker out of him. God never meant it to be so. God meant that a convert should learn to be a worshiper, and after that he can learn to be a worker...the work done by a worshiper will have eternity in it.
--A.W. Tozer
If we haven't learned to be worshipers it doesn't really matter how well we do anything else. Worship changes us or it has not been worship. To stand before the Holy One of eternity is to change. Worship begins in holy expectancy, it ends in holy obedience.
--Erwin Lutzer
God is God; you are but one of His creatures. Your only joy is to be found in obeying Him, your true fulfillment is to be found in worshiping Him, your only wisdom is to be found in trusting and knowing Him.
--Sinclair B. Ferguson
Adoration is the spontaneous yearning of the heart to worship, honor, magnify, and bless God. We ask nothing but to cherish Him. We seek nothing but His exaltation. We focus on nothing but His goodness.
--Richard J. Foster
Should I worship Him from fear of hell, may I be cast into it. Should I serve Him from desire of gaining heaven, may He keep me out. But should I worship Him from love alone, He reveals Himself to me, that my whole heart may be filled with His love and presence.
--Sadhu Sundar Singh
When it comes to satisfying our spiritual appetites, there is no such thing as excess. There are no restraints placed on us by God. There are no rules of temperance or laws requiring moderation or boundaries beyond which we cannot go in seeking to enjoy Him. We need never pause to inquire whether we've crossed a line or become overindulgent. You need never fear feeling too good about God.
--Sam Storms
The Father and the Son have sought to redeem us that we may become worshipers. Jesus said that the Son of Man came into the world to seek and to save that which was lost. In John 4 he reveals the purpose for His seeking. The Father sent Christ to seek and save for the specific purpose of producing worshiping people.
--John MacArthur
We are never nearer Christ than when we find ourselves lost in holy amazement at His unspeakable love.
--John Owen
Wow do I love all of this. Worship is LIFE! The amazing privilege we have to worship Him, the invitation to enter into the most holy place where His very Presence dwells so humbles and awes me and is far and away the greatest blessing He has given or will ever give me - to find all my delight and joy in Him, to be found whole and made FREE in His Presence, to lift up and glorify His Name with a heart of praise! What a precious and priceless gift, what a matchless and glorious existence! I love that I was MADE to worship Him, and worship I will...with all my being...now and for all eternity!! Thank You Lord!!!
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.
--Psalm 29:2
How did I just now discover this completely awesome passage of scripture?! It is so speaking to me where I'm at right now! I LOVE GOD'S WORD!!!
My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair - every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.
Over the past couple of weeks I've been realizing that God's plans for me and His call on my life are so much greater than I've ever even allowed myself to imagine. I know it's a truth straight from His Word and so it shouldn't come as a surprise, but at some point head knowledge has to become heart knowledge, right? And God has really been speaking to and preparing my heart for something beyond what I can conceive, something way out of the ordinary. He has been breaking down my fears one by one and stirring up a passion so fierce and placing desires within me that just aren't conducive to the confines of religion, to life inside the box. More and more I'm feeling like I'm on the brink of something big and unexpected. This whole past year, while definitely a period of waiting and transition in many ways, has been all about preparation...strengthening...growth...fueling the fire. It's all been building me up for what's to come. And I know I'm on the right track because I'm coming up against a lot of resistance from the enemy (to whom I say, BRING IT! I've got your #). But words cannot describe what the Lord has been showing me lately and I'm just so excited for what He has in store! I do not know, cannot fathom what all lies ahead, I have no concept of the end goal...and I'm finally accepting and understanding that that's okay. It's not even for me to know. Him and Him alone is all I know or need to know. And nothing will deter me from seeking Him and following after Him with all my heart, no matter where it leads me. Every time I get a fresh revelation of who He is, every time I get another glimpse of His heart, I'm struck with wonder and awe so overwhelming and consumed with such deep longing for Him, increasingly confirming this one thing: I have been created, I am here, I am alive only for and only because of Him, nothing less than to live entirely for Him, to make His Name known, to do His will, to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth! Jesus, I'm all Yours in this great adventure!!
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. - 2 Corinthians 12:9
Pretty sure this is my life verse. I've loved it from the time I came to Christ. I'm amazed at the ways God has used it to speak into my life over and over again! It's such a word for me in this season in particular as I'm taking greater steps of faith and seeking to live for Him ever more boldly. I'm clinging so tightly to this promise! I've always been one, if left to my own thoughts and devices, to dwell too much on what I see as my weaknesses, shortcomings, and imperfections. My inadequacy. But I love the Lord who says that it's in my weaknesses that His POWER is made PERFECT. In other words, they do not hinder Him at all but He shows Himself strong and mighty through them! He, our Creator, already knows all of our weaknesses and promises that His GRACE is sufficient, it's ENOUGH for us. They will not prevent Him for using us right where we are! If we were already strong in every way, if we ever attained perfection, what need would we have for Him and His strength? Our weaknesses necessitate our dependence on God, they make the way for His strength and power to be made manifest in and through us. That's why Paul said that he DELIGHTS in weaknesses, for when he is weak, then he is STRONG (2 Cor. 12:10).
So because God has promised us that He will always come through in those areas where are weak and has told us that we are to look to HIS strength and not our own (Ps. 105:4), we have no need to dwell on them anymore! What is the point? He has overcome all of them! Such freedom! Of course when we come before God we can and should confess and acknowledge exactly where we're at - strengths and weaknesses and all - release it all to Him, and with open, sincere and willing hearts ask God to use all we are and all we have for His glory, to do what only He can do. We offer the sacrifices of our broken spirit, our broken and contrite hearts (Ps. 51:17). And He does not despise, but in love He releases His strength, His grace and His mercy, and fills all our emptiness with His fullness. He gives us HIS heart and HIS Spirit! As we fix our eyes on Him and walk forward in faith and confidence in all He is, as we proclaim His Name and His Word, He performs, He works and acts on our behalf, He displays His power among us!
I've become convinced that one of the greatest tricks and deceptions of the enemy is to get our eyes off of God and onto ourselves. Because he knows that if he can get us to look inward, to be self-focused instead of God-focused, we will be tempted to magnify all of our faults, shortcomings and weaknesses, and we will become slaves again to selfishness and to fear. And when are slaves to fear we cannot be slaves to righteousness, we cannot walk boldly by the Spirit of the Living God. We still belong to God and we are still His children but we essentially become ineffective for His Kingdom. And Satan knows he has no say in our salvation but he'll do everything he can to keep us from the calling God has for us to be His witnesses on the earth.
But God's Word says that He has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of POWER, of LOVE and a SOUND MIND (2 Tim. 1:7), the spirit of SONSHIP! (Rom. 8:15). Meaning, because we belong to God we are led by His Spirit! God says - there is no reason to fear, I am WITH you and yes, I see and understand all of your weaknesses even more clearly than you do but My love and My grace are enough to cover you, My righteous right hand upholds you and guides you as you fix your eyes on ME and only on ME! Trust and depend on MY power, on MY strength! I will NEVER fail you, you will NEVER be put to shame! All I want is your heart, your devotion and your willingness to be a vessel! I don't expect perfection, I know you will stumble along the path...I've already seen it, My grace has already covered it and redeemed it through my Son Jesus Christ, I just need you to get back up and keep walking with Me! I will always meet you exactly where you're at, I'm doing more in and through you than you will ever know or could ever see, simply because you have put your faith in Me, you are called by My Name and are whole-heartedly devoted to My will and My Kingdom on the earth! Fear is a LIE - I have already told you who you are and nothing and no one could ever change that or take that away. Your identity is SECURE! Your weaknesses do NOT define you, I DO! Fixating on and lamenting your weaknesses does not glorify Me; surrendering them to Me so that I can be strong through them DOES. Know that if you follow hard after Me, obey My commands and confess and believe My Word, I will do all the work. It's not about you, or what think you can or can't do - it's about Me and what I can do. And with Me, NOTHING is impossible, NOTHING is too hard! I have overcome and through Me, you overcome! I give you the victory in Jesus! I make all grace abound to you so that you will abound in every good work! You have EVERYTHING you need in ME! Abide in Me, remain in Me - and I will see you through!
Hmm, I much prefer the sound of God's voice to that of the enemy. The enemy knows he's finished, that he has no chance to distract or hinder or take us captive to fear and discouragement once we have our eyes absolutely transfixed on God, His power, His strength, His all-sufficiency, all that He is. It's not possible to be God-absorbed and self-absorbed at the same time. So immerse yourself in God, cling to His promises - meditate on them day and night. Know who you are in Him, what you have in Him, who He is! He is so much more, so much greater, ALWAYS! And in this way we will usher in His kingdom everywhere we go, we will shine the light of the glory of His Name in the darkest places, we will show His love to a broken and hurting world that's more desperate for Him than ever before!
Thank You Lord that though man looks at the outward appearance, You look at the heart. You examine the heart and the mind, You search out our inmost being. You know Lord those who are fully devoted to You and You STRENGTHEN them by Your Spirit. I thank You Lord that you don't ask us to be perfect - Jesus is already perfect on our behalf and we are found in Him! You just ask that we come, that we follow You with willing and expectant hearts. You ask that we commit all that we are unto You and unto the things of heaven. In our every area of need and of weakness, with every stumble along the path, we believe and know that Your strength and Your grace are sufficient for us. We put our hope in Your Word, Lord, in Your TRUTH that gives us life and sets us free! Come and show Yourself mighty in and through us today and every day that we walk with You! Increase our faith! Lord, we know we can't do it alone - we need You, we depend on You for every ounce of strength we have. Thank You that You freely pour out on us and that in You we lack no good thing, we are more than conquerors, we are overcomers in You! Glory, honor and power be unto Your Name, Jesus! It's ALL about You.
I will believe You are strong enough in my weakness God, be lifted up
Came across this today in my reading and it so touched and encouraged me, so I wanted to share! Always know who you are in Him and how He sees you!! <3
"If you struggle with seeing yourself as Christ sees you, try this once. Visualize yourself wrapped in a white robe embroidered with His initials that rest upon your heart. Wrapped around you is a robe of righteousness that covers you (and all of your personality lumps and bumps) and says you've had a bath (love covers a multitude of sins)! You've been washed clean! Jesus has got you covered. Your identity has been established and you have been purified in Christ. Love sees. And Jesus loves what He sees in you.
Instead of seeing ourselves (and others) as a sum of flaws and attributes, we must constantly look for and see before us beautiful creations, designed for a marvelous purpose. Because that's what we are. That's who we are."
-The Lord revealing the pure sweetness and gentleness of His heart to me as I have never known before...drawing me closer, showing me just how trustworthy He is and that I need never hesitate to come boldly to Him, pour out my heart, surrender all I am and all I have and receive all He is and all He has for me. It's a truly breathtaking and beautiful exchange. :)
-Fellowship with amazing, fiery women of God! I love how He has placed certain people in my life that speak forth truth and wisdom, encourage me, challenge me, and spur me on to go deeper with Him and boldly live out my faith. Such a blessing. I'm definitely in a season of refining and stretching! So long comfort zone, it's time to run with abandon! I'm so excited to see what the Lord has in store this next month! Such expectation has been rising up in my heart as I'm trusting Him for so much right now. He is growing my confidence and faith in Him and I am just enjoying the crazy yet exhilarating ride!
-Reflecting on just how far I've come in my walk with the Lord. He has been showing me some things that have absolutely floored me and inspired great rejoicing in all the ways He has grown me and the completely miraculous work He has done in making me an all new creation. I remember exactly where I was when He found me, and when I consider all that He's done and where I am today I'm just in awe of Him. He literally lifted me out of the depths, out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire (Ps. 40). He not only rescued me, but He healed me, He poured out His mercy and His grace, He comforted, protected and sustained me throughout the long and painful healing process, He wholly redeemed and cleansed me of all my sin and shame and brokenness, He took all my insecurity and hopelessness and He gave me a NEW identity, a NEW hope, a NEW life and a NEW love. He found me wandering about in the darkness and brought me out into His glorious light. He opened my blinded eyes to see Him and His truth in all its glory. He breathed life into these dry bones. He seated me with Jesus in the heavenly realms! He showed me true freedom, true joy and true peace. He captured my heart and made it His. He gave my life meaning and purpose far greater than I ever could have imagined. And He showed me unconditional, unfailing, neverending love. And I praise Him so much that I will NEVER be the same! So thankful. I have never longed so much for the moment when I will finally see Him face to face. I'm just soaking it all in and allowing God to overwhelm my heart with His love. And I just delight knowing that He rejoices with and over me as I celebrate such amazing victory through Him and His awesome power. :) All the glory to You, Lord - I acknowledge You and You alone as my all in all, my everything!
When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; a brute beast before you. Yet I am always with you; you hold me by your right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
