Quietly I sit...

Quietly I sit...

eyes closed.

heart receptive.

My spirit longing.

aching.

yearning.

Waiting...

The silence is deafening.

Yet, it speaks in gentle whispers.

Bringing peace and comfort

deep within.

I sit in the stillness.

Wanting.

Expecting.

Lord, I seek You.

I want to know You.

I want to be filled, Lord.

Pour out to me in such abundance

that I may overflow.

Amaze me!

Astound me!

Show me Your Glory!

Embody me with the truth of Your Word.

Empower me with the might of Your Spirit.

Energize me with the glory of Your Presence.

Stir my spirit...

Consume me...

Fill me with the wonder of You.

Infuse me with Joy

Magnify Your Word in my soul.

As I am still before Him,

the warmth of His Presence

begins to flow through me.

Bringing tears of renewal.

Tears of restoration.

Tears of unmitigated Joy.

Cleansing tears.

As He speaks to my heart,

I feel His touch.

My spirit is moved and He ministers

to the depths of my being.

Revealing truth.

Revealing love.

I am ablaze with the splendor of His Glory.

It leaves me with a deep hunger for more.

Quietly I sit...

eyes closed.

heart receptive.

Purify my heart, O LORD...

"God simply won’t make Himself at home in an unholy place”

I read that statement in a book called “Holiness - the Heart God Purifies” by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

I don’t have to tell you that when I read that simple statement, it really caused me stop and think. Stop and really ponder. It really stopped me in my tracks.

Is my life a place that God can make Himself at home in? Would my life be considered a Holy place? Is it an acceptable abiding place for His Spirit?

The truth?? Sometimes. Maybe even most of the time. But certainly not all of the time. I try very hard to keep myself deep in God’s Word. Seeking, searching, and finding more of Him. But would I consider my life a Holy place? Hmm.. That is a very sobering thought.

I desperately want to keep myself right with God. I aim to keep Him first.To keep my thoughts pure. To keep my actions right. Keep my heart repentant. I desire to live a life that pleases Him. A life that brings Him the glory and honor that He deserves.

But am I succeeding? What about those times that I am most unholy. When I am angry or jealous or irritated. When I am being selfish and unloving. When I am cranky. Can He dwell in me then?

I concede that there are many instances when I don’t exemplify Christ. When I don’t shine for Jesus. Times that my actions don’t always back up my words. Times that my thoughts don’t line up with Him.

Just facing that reality makes me sad. It causes my heart to mourn for all of the “could haves” and “should haves” of my life.

This coming year, I resolve to do some major, heart-changing, life-altering, God-centered business in my spiritual walk.

I am going to do my best to pursue holiness and sanctification in my life.

I plan on spending more time in prayer and more time focusing on allowing Him to show me His holiness. Allowing Him to reveal my sinfulness.

Searching hard after righteousness.

Striving to be Holy as He is Holy.

Making a Holy place of my life so God will abide there.

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's"

(1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

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Precious Father, I lay all things unholy in my life at your feet tonight. I confess all things unrighteous in my life to you. Cleanse my heart. Purify my thoughts. Help me to create a dwelling place in my life that is worthy of your presence. Help me to keep seeking after You. Searching for more. Help me to strive higher and dig deeper. My hearts desire is to bring nothing but glory to your name. I love You from the depths of my soul. I praise You with all that I am. Thank you for the awesome and matchless gift of Salvation through your Son. In the mighty and saving name of Jesus, Amen.

Joyfully His,
Beth

He calls my name.

Sleep aludes me,

tossing... turning...

Once again He awakens me.

Stirs my soul.

Tests my obedience.

Calls my name.

The warmth beckons

and my body cries out for rest.

He persists..

My heart listens and I rise.

I open the Word and I search.

Searching for that hidden treasure that
He so lovingly breathed into His Word.

Seeking that which comes from Him.

Each page I turn and each scripture I read,

reiterates the power of God and who He is.

"I am the Lord, keep my statutes.

Obey my commands and

walk in my ways"

Yes, Lord...

You are the way.

You are God.

Oh, Lord You are Sovereign and Holy.

Matchless in might.

Unchanging.

Faithful.

Worthy.

My spirit ponders.

Questions.

Am I walking in His ways?

Am I begin obedient and following

His commands?

I sit still in His Presence.

Feeling His Peace.

Receiving....

Basking....

The quiet and stillness are heavy

with the energy generated by

His Holy Spirit.

The air is filled with sweet expectancy.

As I close my eyes, I feel

Him settling deep in my soul.

I feeling the longing building

in my heart.

Stirring emotion in the depths of my heart.

He whispers sweet words of comfort.

Sweet words of encouragement.

His love enfolds me and wraps me in a tight embrace.

I open the ears of my heart and listen closely

for His voice.

The silence is filled with expectancy and the air

becomes heavy with His Presence.

His love sweeps over me and I tremble

at His touch.

I rejoice in Him.

Marvel at His Majesty.

I glory in His Name.

My spirit stirs and I feel such longing

for my Jesus.

Speak to me, Lord.

Show me. Lead me. Guide me.

In Your ways. In Your statutes.

In righteousness.

Stir my soul.

Call my name.

I am yours.

 

Do you want the "much more" of life?

"Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" (Matthew 6:30)

Are we experiencing the "much more" in our life that God intends for us?

The life abundant?

The full life that He ordained?

Most of us would probably say that we are not in the "much more" category. But most of us probably desire to be there in a big way! I know that I do.

The key to the "much more" in this life lies in direct correlation to our obedience to God. When we are walking in His ways and we are consecrating our lives in Holiness to Him, we will certainly begin to see the "much more" of Christ start to take shape and thus take root in our spiritual lives.

The more we seek, the more we will find. The "much more" we seek, the "much more" we will find!

The deeper our relationship with God becomes, the deeper our desire to walk in obedience becomes. Once we begin to taste the richness of life walking in the Spirit, the more we will desire to ascend higher and higher in our relationship with Him.

We begin to reach up in anticipation of Him reaching down.

We learn to put our trust soley in the Lord.

We begin to understand the submissive state we have to achieve so we can stay in His will in all things.

Once we obtain the sweet and intimate relationship with Christ that He so desires, we begin to take such delight in our Savior!

He emerges to us in such a new light. We  start to take marvelous joy in discovering who He is and who we are in Him.

Thus our "much more" in this life starts to become more and more evident in the days to come.

We begin to cherish the times we sit before our God and soak in the radiant glory of His presence.

At His Feet, we prostrate ourselves and embark in the wondrous rapture of fellowship with our precious Lord and Savior.

Drenching ourselves in His splendor, we tap into the awesome aspects of His grace that He so lovingly dispenses to us.

As we allow the Holy Spirit to minister to the depths of our souls, we begin to experience the "much more" of a life in Christ.

Sweet communion.

Glorious rapture.

Marvelous grace.

Deep and intimate fellowship.

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Father, thank you for the 'much more' that a life walking in your ways offers to us. Thank you for the precious gift of  Your Word. Thank you for the love you bestow on us. Thank you for your sweet mercy and grace. May we walk in obedience to your commandments and experience the fullness of life made possible by the sacrifice of Your Son. You are life and You are breath to us.  In the precious name of Jesus, Amen.

In His Mighty Grip,

Beth

 

Brokenness to Grace

How many of us could use a fresh infusion of grace in our lives?

How many of us greatly desire to experience life abundant in Christ? To experience the flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives like never before?

I daresay all of us would love that type of an encounter with God. An encounter that would leave us breathless. An encounter that would leave us speechless. An encounter that would totally change us from the inside out.

A prayer-induced, God-ordained, Holy Spirit-anointed, all-out, mind-blowing encounter with Jesus.

The pathway to this encounter is something called brokenness.

We have to realize that brokenness is not just an emotion. It is so much more than that. It has to be a way of life. Brokenness is coming face to face with our own will and absolutely, undeniably, surrendering it to God. It is the complete submission of our life to Him.

Our brokenness will stem from the purposeful choice we make to alter our lifestyle. To alter it in such a way that we completely follow after God’s heart. To realize that we are totally dependent on God IN all things and FOR all things.

Broken hearts are the most receptive hearts. Broken hearts are the most responsive hearts. Through our brokenness, God can begin to restore us to wholeness. Wholeness that is the product of His marvelous, matchless grace.

The greatness of our sin is surpassed only by the greatness of His grace.

So, how do we walk that road to brokenness?

1. We boldly lay down our pride.

2. We strip away all pretenses.

3. We remove that cloak of self-reliance.

4. We choose to walk with Christ and submit to Him daily.

Our brokenness will expose us for who we really are. Sometimes that look we take of our inner self isn’t a pretty one. It can be hurtful, humbling and eye-opening. But once we allow that part to be exposed, we can begin to get honest with ourselves and with God.

And then, He can begin a good work in us. He can begin replacing those undesirable things that we stripped away with desirable things that honor and glorify Him. Step-by-step He works, and step-by-step we grow.

We become determined and purposed. We become more intent on being more like Him.

Our broken state is the beginning of our glorious, transforming journey into a more passionate pursuit of our Savior. We walk from brokenness to repentance. To forgiveness and grace. To a satisfying life of unbridled joy and peace that only comes from our heavenly Father.

We move from the guilt of the past to the promise of the future. We will then encounter Christ in an explosion of new truths. New awareness. New life in Him. New graces.

We will encounter Him in ways that will just amaze us and blow us away. In ways that will leave us in awe of the everyday graces of life in Him.

Those everyday graces that will cause our hearts to stretch toward heaven and that awaken a furious longing in our hearts for a deeper, more intimate relationship with our God. One that was paved on a broken road but concludes on the humble path of new mercies.

Thank you precious Father, that we can humble ourselves before You and that You are faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us and restore us from brokenness to wholeness. Thank you that we don't get what we deserve, but that you lovingly give us grace and mercy. You are so worthy of our worship and our praise.  May we always love you with all that we are and all that we could ever hope to be.

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time"

(1 Peter 5:6)

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Thank you for your prayers for Jimbo and his team. They are safely home (minus their luggage!). Things could have been a lot worse, but we see where God's Hand was in the details and taking care of things in advance. The trip was huge success in that there were almost 500 salvations in the 2 weeks that the team was ministering in India. God gets all the praise and glory for His mighty work! He is working in India in a might way. Continue to pray for the people there and for the missionaries in that area. Thank you for your prayers!

Please Pray! Jimbo still in India

UPDATE: 12:40 PM

I got word that Jimbo did get out of Mumbai and is in London and will be arriving in New York late this evening. He should land in Little Rock in the morning and then be home in the afternoon! Praise God !!! I had peace that he was OK. I knew that God was in control and that he would take care of my husband in all things. I had to submit to His will and just rest in His peace.

Thanks so much for your prayers!!!

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Ok, prayer warriors. Time to pray.

Jimbo left me a message yesterday at around 5:30 PM (6 AM India time). Their 2nd flight out of Mumbai, India had been canceled and they didn't know why. He didn't know what was going on but said he would let me know. I haven't heard from him in 12 hours. On FOX news this morning they said that India is under a terror alert  due to a possible Al-Queda attack. I am very concerned, but I am just trusting my God. I know that this doesn't surprise Him and that He is in full control.

Please pray that my sweet fella will get home! Pray that he is resting in God's peace. Pray for protection of all the people at the airport. Pray that he is on a plane headed home.

Thank you and I will update when I can.

Love, Beth

everyday graces...

Everyday graces...

Life

Breath

Hope

Dispensed lovingly by an Almighty God who loves me.

Everyday graces....

Mercy

Forgiveness

Peace

Gathered tenderly by God and so graciously bestowed upon me.

Grace that never ceases to astound me.

Grace that always seems to surround me.

So lavishly poured out by His Hands in such sweet abundance.

Tenders mercies laced with His Splendor and Might.

His protection

His provision

His healing

Leaving marks of Grace in their wake...

some across my heart...

others etched deep in my soul..

and some just settling in my spirit.

I stand in awe of the grace marks in my life. They reveal. They renew. They restore.

So generously gifted to me by Christ.

Grace that I ponder...

Grace that I treasure.

The sweet grace of  my salvation.

The promise of His Word.

I clutch it tightly in humble gratitude.

The grace of freedom. Freedom from the bondage of sin. Freedom in Christ.

Leaving behind the fingerprints of God.

Imprinted on my life.

Inscribed in my heart.

Everyday graces indeed.

Praise you, Lord. Thank you for all that You are in my life. Thank you for having such mercy and grace on such a sinner like me. I love you and I give you all praise, honor and glory that is so rightfully yours.

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As I type this, I just got off the phone with Jimbo. After a canceled flight from Mumbai, India 24 hours ago, due to plane trouble, they are finally about to board and depart from there in about 2 hours. They spent 33 hours in the airport, as there were no hotel rooms available. Please continue to pray for them as they have 20 hours of flying ahead of them.  Thank you so much! They had over 50 salvations on this trip. Praise God for His mercy and His GRACE!