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 light to 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
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
The Fullness of Him
"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
--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
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Beautiful
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!!!
Revelation Song (love her version so so much!)
The More I Seek You
Running
My Beloved
Healer
You Are Good
I'm In Love With You
You Are Still Holy
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
God is Able
Reasons why yesterday totally rocked:
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
AMEN!!!
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
AMEN!!!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Never Let Me Go
This song is beautiful and the lyrics just amaze me...wow, my Father's heart. <3 <3
In the shadows, my spirit weak
Love broke through the darkness and lifted me
And I know You'll never let me go
In the storm, in the raging sea
Love conquered the fear and delivered me
And I know You'll never let me go
Oh Love in the shadows
Be the light who leads me on
Your love I will follow
Be my guide, Your will be done
In the arms of the One unseen
Love carried the cross that was meant for me
And I know You'll never let me go
Oh Love I surrender
Now forever I belong
In the love of the Father
You are faithful, You are strong
So hold me now
Now in this life as I walk these streets
Love, open my eyes, show me what You see
And I know I'll never let You go
--Hillsong United
In the shadows, my spirit weak
Love broke through the darkness and lifted me
And I know You'll never let me go
In the storm, in the raging sea
Love conquered the fear and delivered me
And I know You'll never let me go
Oh Love in the shadows
Be the light who leads me on
Your love I will follow
Be my guide, Your will be done
In the arms of the One unseen
Love carried the cross that was meant for me
And I know You'll never let me go
Oh Love I surrender
Now forever I belong
In the love of the Father
You are faithful, You are strong
So hold me now
Now in this life as I walk these streets
Love, open my eyes, show me what You see
And I know I'll never let You go
--Hillsong United
Friday, September 9, 2011
Our God Reigns
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
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
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Show Me Your Glory
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."
--Exodus 33:12-19
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."
--Exodus 33:12-19
I long to look on the face of the One that I love
Long to stay in Your Presence
It's where I belong
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