How do you come when you approach God? Do you come in arrogance? Boasting about all the good things you've done. Boasting about being better than another or others. You consider yourself better because of their race, ethnicity, status, lifestyle, age, gender, ability, location etc. Do you list all your accomplishments before God? Do you seek to remind Him of your "stellar" obedience? Do you compliment yourself because you do good things in public? Do you let God know that others think highly of you? Do you let God know that you also think highly of yourself? Do you let God know that because of all this and more He has to listen to you? You demand Him to answer yes to your prayers because that is the answer you deserve.
How do you come when you approach God? Do you come in false humility? Boasting about all the good things you've not done. Boasting about not being as "good" as another or others. You consider yourself less because of your race, ethnicity, status, lifestyle, age, gender, ability, location etc. Do you list all your failures before God? Do you seek to remind Him of your "unimpressive" obedience. Do you compliment yourself because you do good things in secret? Do you let God know that others think lowly of you? Do you let God know that you also think lowly of yourself? Do you let God know that because of all this and more He should not listen to you? You expect Him to answer no to your prayers because that is the answer you deserve.
How do you come when you approach God? Do you come in honesty. Confessing and repenting from the sins you have committed. Confessing your need for mercy, grace, and love. Accepting His mercy, grace, and love. Thanking Him for His full provision of mercy, grace, and love in Christ. Do you confess that you are no better than another or others? That you, along with all others, have fallen short of His glory. That everyone, including you, irrespective of their race, ethnicity, status, lifestyle, age, gender, ability, location etc need Christ. Do you thank Him for what Christ accomplished on your behalf? Do you thank Him for who you are in Christ? Do you thank Him that your identity in Christ does not change in spite of your weaknesses and sins? Do you think highly of Christ and rightly of yourself? Do you thank God for hearing and answering your prayers because of Christ? Do you thank Him for His yes and amen answers to your prayers for the fulfillment of His promises in Christ?
How do you come? May we always choose to come before Him in honesty!
Friday, April 6, 2012
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Same Story
Different colors and faces and places but the same story
we want to be our own gods because we want the glory
We all struggle with the same common denominator
yet we think that somehow we can be our own savior
We create our own gods and with them our own creed
in our attempts to find for ourselves the peace we need
We are all polluted, proud, and perverted from within
it is a matter of the heart for from thence flows our sin
We lust after things our flesh wants to have and to hold
given to all sorts of sensuality our hearts are dark and cold
We are twisting and turning hoping to find our true identity
but we continue to search elsewhere and ignore the reality
We say we are busy but yet we are really going nowhere
caught up in ourselves we seldom enjoy the present here
We are afraid to find out the truth so we dare not look
it is our excuse to avoid the truths found in God's book
We do not want to accept that we were created for His purpose
for that means we must present ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus
We must come to accept that it is a privilege to be in this His story
different colors and faces and places all created to bring Him glory.
we want to be our own gods because we want the glory
We all struggle with the same common denominator
yet we think that somehow we can be our own savior
We create our own gods and with them our own creed
in our attempts to find for ourselves the peace we need
We are all polluted, proud, and perverted from within
it is a matter of the heart for from thence flows our sin
We lust after things our flesh wants to have and to hold
given to all sorts of sensuality our hearts are dark and cold
We are twisting and turning hoping to find our true identity
but we continue to search elsewhere and ignore the reality
We say we are busy but yet we are really going nowhere
caught up in ourselves we seldom enjoy the present here
We are afraid to find out the truth so we dare not look
it is our excuse to avoid the truths found in God's book
We do not want to accept that we were created for His purpose
for that means we must present ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus
We must come to accept that it is a privilege to be in this His story
different colors and faces and places all created to bring Him glory.
No Greater Love
No greater love has ever been demonstrated,
but by the One who was despised and rejected.
He came to earth to fulfill the Father’s plan,
for only He was the perfect lamb for salvation.
Salvation full and free for a lost and depraved people,
who are always in pursuit and enslaved to all that is evil.
Yet, God chose to love us though sinful were we,
He showed us how much on the cross of Calvary.
His wrath He poured out on His Beloved for our sake,
for holiness demands justice which He cannot forsake.
Why would God choose to sacrifice Himself for you and me?
Why did He not sentence us to death and hell for all of
eternity?
It is what we deserve but instead He chose to demonstrate
love,
and there is no greater love than that which came from
above.
John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.
Romans 5:8
But God shows His love for us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
The LORD God Reigns
The LORD God reigns even if we think He doesn't
The LORD God reigns even if we think He wasn't
The LORD God reigns even when we've lost our way
The LORD God reigns even when our bodies decay
The LORD God reigns even if we say He's not real
The LORD God reigns even if we say He's not ideal
The LORD God reigns even when we fail to confess
The LORD God reigns even when we are in distress
The LORD God reigns because He always does
The LORD God reigns because He always was
The LORD God reigns for He is supreme over All
The LORD God reigns for He is the LORD of All
The LORD God reigns even if we think He wasn't
The LORD God reigns even when we've lost our way
The LORD God reigns even when our bodies decay
The LORD God reigns even if we say He's not real
The LORD God reigns even if we say He's not ideal
The LORD God reigns even when we fail to confess
The LORD God reigns even when we are in distress
The LORD God reigns because He always does
The LORD God reigns because He always was
The LORD God reigns for He is supreme over All
The LORD God reigns for He is the LORD of All
Did You Know
Did you know that there are some things that God cannot do? Here's a list: He cannot sin, fail, break His covenants, deny Himself.
Did you know that to put God first means He must be the center of our everything?
Did you know that there is only one way for us to be fruitful in doing God's work? His way!
Did you know that God is not on our time schedule nor is He subjected to it?
Did you know that nothing or no one could unsettle or unseat God? Yes, no one and nothing!
Did you know that God wants us to be contented in Him and not in anything or in any other?
Did you know that God's will for our lives is not mysterious? It's all in the Bible.
Did you know that even if God granted us permission to judge Him He will still be blameless?
Did you know that to put God first means He must be the center of our everything?
Did you know that there is only one way for us to be fruitful in doing God's work? His way!
Did you know that God is not on our time schedule nor is He subjected to it?
Did you know that nothing or no one could unsettle or unseat God? Yes, no one and nothing!
Did you know that God wants us to be contented in Him and not in anything or in any other?
Did you know that God's will for our lives is not mysterious? It's all in the Bible.
Did you know that even if God granted us permission to judge Him He will still be blameless?
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Loving Obedience
Have you ever had a moment where you desire to do something out of love, not duty? You get to a place where your commitment is because of love. You serve because it is a passion. Your thoughts, feelings, and will are all in. You experience yourself becoming a lover. Before, you were a doer. You focused on doing in order to experience love. You fought to be loved. You felt you have fallen short of it. You thought love will continue to evade you. You worked and worked in order to feel, to give, to know, to hear, and to experience love.
But, it was there all along. There for real. There for free. There in full. There in steadfastness. There in perfection. There in purity. Yet, you kept striving to achieve it. You were determined to earn it. So, you thought doing will make you worthy of it. You willed yourself to love, but you got tired. The harder you fought the more tired you became. The more you strove the less love you had. The less you experienced. The less you shared. Truth is that love is not from us. That means no amount of work. That means no level of determination. That means that no pity party. That means no craving for it was sufficient to create love. That means nothing we could do would have brought love. You obeyed out of fear. You obeyed for appearance. You obeyed out of duty. You obeyed, but your heart was not in it. Love was missing. You screwed up many times. You sought to regain love through work after you sinned. You thought you had to earn something given freely. What pride? What misunderstanding? What deceit?
But, in a moment when you have just sinned you got it. Weird, right? Not in a moment of striving. Not in a moment of doing good. Instead in a moment when you have just disobeyed. You want to do the norm. You know, work to get back in a right standing. So, you could say you earn love. Like you always thought. Like you were told. Like you were led to believe. This time it's different. The love you sought to earn has finally captured you. The love you worked to earn has finally captivated you. The love you strove to achieve has coveted you. The love you desire wants to court you. This love covers you. It has been covering you, and will always cover you. It was always jealous for you, and will always be jealous for you. It was patient, and will always be patient. It was kind, and will always be kind. It was steadfast, and will always be steadfast.
Now you are getting it. Now you are seeing it. Now you are believing it. Now you are receiving it. Now you are allowing it to hold you. Now you are trusting in it. Now you are realizing the truth of it. Now you are surrendering to it. Not out of fear. Not out of duty. Not to give an appearance. No! It is for real. What was and is always real is now accepted by you. You are loved! So, you put away striving to earn it. You open your heart, head, and hand to receive more of it. Your emotions, thoughts, and will you submit to it. In each and every moment. You are in that sweet spot. In that secret place. Not just today. But every day. And you don't want to leave. You are contented there. You find rest there. In the bosom of this love. In the safety and shelter of this love. Now, your obedience begins to be out of love. You love to obey. You obey because you love. Even when you fall. Even when you sin. You are grieved by your sins.
But now you trust in this love. You don't run from this love in those moments of sin and pain. You run to it. There is no fear anymore. Because this love is perfect. And it is removing all of your fears. For that is what this love does. You say, for real, I Love You LORD! Why? Because He has loved you first. Now, you can't but respond to His love with love. It becomes refreshing, powerful, and transforming. Thanks God for Your Love! You are Awesome!
But, it was there all along. There for real. There for free. There in full. There in steadfastness. There in perfection. There in purity. Yet, you kept striving to achieve it. You were determined to earn it. So, you thought doing will make you worthy of it. You willed yourself to love, but you got tired. The harder you fought the more tired you became. The more you strove the less love you had. The less you experienced. The less you shared. Truth is that love is not from us. That means no amount of work. That means no level of determination. That means that no pity party. That means no craving for it was sufficient to create love. That means nothing we could do would have brought love. You obeyed out of fear. You obeyed for appearance. You obeyed out of duty. You obeyed, but your heart was not in it. Love was missing. You screwed up many times. You sought to regain love through work after you sinned. You thought you had to earn something given freely. What pride? What misunderstanding? What deceit?
But, in a moment when you have just sinned you got it. Weird, right? Not in a moment of striving. Not in a moment of doing good. Instead in a moment when you have just disobeyed. You want to do the norm. You know, work to get back in a right standing. So, you could say you earn love. Like you always thought. Like you were told. Like you were led to believe. This time it's different. The love you sought to earn has finally captured you. The love you worked to earn has finally captivated you. The love you strove to achieve has coveted you. The love you desire wants to court you. This love covers you. It has been covering you, and will always cover you. It was always jealous for you, and will always be jealous for you. It was patient, and will always be patient. It was kind, and will always be kind. It was steadfast, and will always be steadfast.
Now you are getting it. Now you are seeing it. Now you are believing it. Now you are receiving it. Now you are allowing it to hold you. Now you are trusting in it. Now you are realizing the truth of it. Now you are surrendering to it. Not out of fear. Not out of duty. Not to give an appearance. No! It is for real. What was and is always real is now accepted by you. You are loved! So, you put away striving to earn it. You open your heart, head, and hand to receive more of it. Your emotions, thoughts, and will you submit to it. In each and every moment. You are in that sweet spot. In that secret place. Not just today. But every day. And you don't want to leave. You are contented there. You find rest there. In the bosom of this love. In the safety and shelter of this love. Now, your obedience begins to be out of love. You love to obey. You obey because you love. Even when you fall. Even when you sin. You are grieved by your sins.
But now you trust in this love. You don't run from this love in those moments of sin and pain. You run to it. There is no fear anymore. Because this love is perfect. And it is removing all of your fears. For that is what this love does. You say, for real, I Love You LORD! Why? Because He has loved you first. Now, you can't but respond to His love with love. It becomes refreshing, powerful, and transforming. Thanks God for Your Love! You are Awesome!
Monday, March 12, 2012
Consider these
Jesus did not die for our excuses, but for our sins. Stop making excuses! Let us be honest and with humility confess and repent of all sin.
We are to enjoy life, but not by the world's standards or definition. For the world cannot offer us joy because it does not have a clue to what joy really is and how it is attained.
Professing that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior is a lie if we do not do what He says.
The only view of God that we must accept is the high view, in which He is seen and revered as holy! holy! holy!
If we believe in God, then we will embrace all of what the Bible says about Him.
To argue half-truths is foolish for it is an argument to prove a lie.
It is easy to be deceived when we are not immersed in and in love with the truth.
The human race suffers from a degenerate heart condition (i.e., sin) that no legislation is fully capable of healing.
If God is truly our everything we would have no other gods.
God is only the center of our lives when we center our lives on Him.
Whatever our hearts are full of will pour out in our daily lives, even if we try to conceal it.
Where do you place your confidence when you pray? Is it in the words you pray or in God to whom you pray?
The Bible reveals God's heart (pure and perfect) and our hearts too (polluted and proud). So, whose heart will you trust?
Are you aware that God knows and has the best plan for your life? Your plan, though best in your eyes, does not even come close. This is because He created you. You did not create yourself.
Why are we so slow to believe and trust in God who knows, controls, and has a perfect plan for everything? Yet, we are quick to believe and trust in people.
As a blind person cannot give sight to him/herself neither can people dead in sin give give themselves life.
We are to enjoy life, but not by the world's standards or definition. For the world cannot offer us joy because it does not have a clue to what joy really is and how it is attained.
Professing that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior is a lie if we do not do what He says.
The only view of God that we must accept is the high view, in which He is seen and revered as holy! holy! holy!
If we believe in God, then we will embrace all of what the Bible says about Him.
To argue half-truths is foolish for it is an argument to prove a lie.
It is easy to be deceived when we are not immersed in and in love with the truth.
The human race suffers from a degenerate heart condition (i.e., sin) that no legislation is fully capable of healing.
If God is truly our everything we would have no other gods.
God is only the center of our lives when we center our lives on Him.
Whatever our hearts are full of will pour out in our daily lives, even if we try to conceal it.
Where do you place your confidence when you pray? Is it in the words you pray or in God to whom you pray?
The Bible reveals God's heart (pure and perfect) and our hearts too (polluted and proud). So, whose heart will you trust?
Are you aware that God knows and has the best plan for your life? Your plan, though best in your eyes, does not even come close. This is because He created you. You did not create yourself.
Why are we so slow to believe and trust in God who knows, controls, and has a perfect plan for everything? Yet, we are quick to believe and trust in people.
As a blind person cannot give sight to him/herself neither can people dead in sin give give themselves life.
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