He wakes me up

My God awakens me in the early hours of the morning. Sleep alludes me and I know that He is beckoning me to rise and get still before Him. 

My heart is so hungry for a Word from His Holy lips. I seek and I desire a revelation deep in my spirit. Open my eyes, LORD. I'm ready to listen. I'm ready to hear.

You are Jehovah! You are the mighty God! I look unto you, Oh LORD, for my strength. I depend upon you for my every breath. You are my sustenance. You are my everything.

My heart begins to grieve over the rebellion in my spirit. God, circumcise it from my heart. Help me to deny 'self' and desire only to walk in your ways. I want to please you! I want to submit to you and your will for my life. I desire to surrender all!

Lead me into the ways of holiness. Stir up my spirit to walk in godliness at all times. Empower me to push aside those fleshly desires and wants that threaten to seek victory in my life.

Teach me your ways. Help me walk in truth. Make the desires of my heart match the desires of your heart. I want a heart like yours, Oh God!

Hear my cry in the night. Anoint those in need. Bestow healing and restoration to my loved ones in body and spirit.

Obedience. Trust. A heart of Faith. Grant me these things from your Holy Hill. Help me to keep my eyes on you. Help me to see that it's all about you, God. I worship. I exalt your name above all others. Oh, how I love You! You fill me with joy unspeakable. Peace unfathomable settles in and praise flows from my lips to Your Throne.

Thank you for sweet mercy and grace. Thank you for the gift of eternal life that cost You the life of Your Son at  Calvary.

May I never trample on that grace but may I be ever mindful of the saving faith I possess because of the price Christ paid to redeem me from the pits of hell.

I'm overwhelmed. I'm overjoyed. I awaken to spend time at the feet of my Savior and now He gives me rest.

~~~~~~~~

"...He wakes me up in the morning. Wakes me up, opens my ears to listen as one ready to take orders. The Master, GOD, opened my ears..."

(Isaiah 50:4b) The Message

Word of God speak

I love seeing God work in the lives of loved ones. I love seeing how God allows things to happen in our lives that  He then uses to grow us, make us stronger, or perhaps draw us closer to Him. I love it when God does what only He can do and how it gives us the opportunity to tell others what a mighty God we serve.  I love it when God speaks.

I have seen Him work this past week in many different ways.  I have seen the parents of a little 4 year old girl who lost her life in a church van accident just 3 weeks ago, give their hearts and lives to Jesus. I have seen the father of the young man who also lost his life in that accident beginning to ask questions about being a Christian. I have seen a young 16 year old girl who lost her mom and 2 sisters in that accident come to church to worship the Lord that she still loves with all of her heart. I have seen a community shower a sister church with love and compassion as they struggled to come to terms with what had happened and how to deal with the aftermath. I've seen the true Church of God act like the true Church of God. I've seen God work in the life of my son-in-law as He saved him from potential death or paralysis and instead graced him with a second chance. I have seen his heart begin to draw closer to God in a way that has happened before. I have seen my young daughter stand by her husbands side with love and strength that only came from her Savior.  I have seen God speak.

I glimpsed God in so many ways this past week it just blew my mind. We serve such a loving and compassionate God. We serve a God of infinite power and might. We serve a God that can and a God that will. Our God loves us with an unparalleled love. He is merciful and gracious. He is patient and kind. He longs for an intimate relationship with us. He wants to be wanted. Oh, how He longs for us to long for Him.

I believe that God is beginning to call His true Church out. I believe that God is in the process of pruning and refining. God is speaking and it is imperative that we begin to listen.  He has so much to tell us and we need to have the ears to hear. 

I am desiring a Word from the Lord. There are some things that He is speaking in the life of my husband and I and it's time for us to be still and hear what He has to say. It's time for us to put our lives totally in His control To put our whole life in His hands and trust Him fully. There is no place that God can call us to go that He won't go before us. There is no place of surrender that our Lord will call us to that He won't walk beside us. The place that I desire to be is smack dab in the middle of His will. Wherever it is. Whatever it entails. However long He calls me to be there. I want what God wants.

I am ready for God to issue a powerful and audible whisper from His lips to my ears. I am eager for the power of God to begin flowing freely and fully in my life. I am ready for God to use me for His glory in a new and mighty way. I yearn to hear Him speak. And when He does, I pray for a discerning spirit, a surrendered heart and the guts to respond.

it's not about me

I sit on my back patio and close my eyes. The cool and crisp morning breeze delivers a fresh smelling fragrance that is comforting to my spirit. The quiet is broken only by the occasional sounds of nature. The sweet songs of birds communicating with one another ushers in peace.

I love this time with God. I enjoy gazing all around at His creation and then digging into the Holy Word while surrounded by the awesome evidence of a Holy Creator. He is so amazing.

My heart is still so full of the powerful messages delivered during our revival services. Messages straight from God's heart to the lips of His servant and then right into the hungry souls of man. Delivered deep down into the very depths of my spirit.

So much truth. So much power. Just so much....

My heart was sorely convicted. My spirit was joyously renewed. My fervor for the Word re-energized. So many people to reach. So many lives to touch. So little time to do it.

Too much worry about the temporal and not near enough concern about the eternal. Help me, Lord. Too much focus on fleshly enjoyment and not near enough on spiritual growth and satisfaction.

Therein lies the deep hole in our gospel and in our faith. We get burdened for the lost. We get convicted of our sin. But we fail to do anything about it. We have got to be moved by it. We have got to be stirred into action. We have got to be doers of the Word and not just hearers only. (James 1:22)

It's about obedience to God. It's about a glorious faith that leads to works. It's about service. It's about surrender. Christ beckons to us, His followers, to be His hands and feet in a lost and dying world. Will we answer the call?

"God never asks us to give what we do not have,

but He cannot use what we will not give."

(Richard Stearns)

You see, it's not about us. It's not about this world and the things of this world. It's not about bigger houses, better cars or more stuff. It's all about Jesus. It's about bringing a living Savior to a lost people.

Lord, continue to convict my heart of my selfishness and help me to be selfless for You. Continue to stir my heart into seeking what you are teaching me and help me to be willing to go where you are leading me. I want to be about Your business. I want to put You first. I want to be surrendered to You in all things and for all time. I love you, Lord, and I worship you with all that is in me...

He speaks...

I love that God gives us the desire to seek. There is such an amazing feeling deep inside when my spirit is in this searching mode.When I know that there is something that God is wanting to reveal to me. Something He is ready to show me. Something that He has for me and is giving me directions to find. Something that will change my life in Him and for Him.

This process stirs up a ravenous hunger way down in my soul for a mighty revelation of Him. A deep longing for a Word. It causes me to begin a fervent search of the Holy scriptures to dig deep into the mystery of who He is. Hoping to find, no.... expecting to find a sweet and thrilling revelation from my Father.

It's not always a quick process. There are times when He has me seeking the scripture for long periods and times when He has me searching His heart diligently for days on end. Sometimes I wonder if I am looking in vain as I don't have any clear direction or answers. And then He speaks....

"I'm beginning a work in you my child. A work that I will show you when the time is right. Just continue to follow me and trust me."

You see, we don't always know where the Lord is taking us or what He has in store for us when He finally gets us there. But we can be assured of His presence in our lives during the journey. We know that our faith is secure in Him and His power. He won't let us down. He won't lead us astray.

1 Corinthians 2:5 tells us, "That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God"

He will reveal the things of His spirit to us when He has prepared our hearts and our minds to receive them. It is a gradual process as He gently guides us from step to step. Taking us from strength to strength. Making our hearts ready for each new level of spiritual growth.

We follow Him even when we aren't sure of the destination. We follow Him if He shows us the destination but we aren't sure of the road we are to take to get there. Or the purpose for us there once we arrive. As my heart has been pondering these things that He is showing me, I have to remind myself that unless I am completely surrendered, I am not surrendered at all. That I have to trust Him in ALL things. That when He whispers to my spirit, "I am FOR you", I believe it with all of my heart.

And when my flesh begins to waver and the fear of the unknown starts to take hold, I turn to the Truth of His Word.  The Lord graciously takes me to the first chapter of First Corinthians. My eyes glance down and He guides my focus to three little words.

God is faithful..... (1 Corinthians 1:9)

My spirit relaxes. A peace washes over me with sweet comfort. And I know. I know that wherever He leads.. Whatever the journey along the way entails...Regardless of the fears of my flesh that threaten to overcome me...God is faithful.

Praise you, Lord. You are always faithful.  And I love with You with all that I am. I surrender my all.

I Surrender All

All to Jesus, I surrender.
All to Him I freely give.
I will ever love and trust Him.
In His presence daily live.

I surrender all.
I surrender all.
All to thee my blessed Savior.
I surrender all.

How many times have we sung this hymn at church and not really focused on the words we are saying? So many times, we are just singing words from our mouth and not letting those words penetrate our hearts.

Do we even know the definition of the word surrender?

1. To declare yourself defeated.
2. To give up possession of something.
3. To relinquish control

When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, we should be totally surrendered to Him. Most of us will SAY this is true of our lives, but when we get right down to it, we are far from surrendered. I think that it is something that we have to do on a day to day basis. Surrender doesn’t come easy. It’s a battle that we have to keep fighting.

When we lift our hands toward Jesus as we sing praises - we are in the posture of surrender. Hands held high. Humble. But it’s more than just an outward expression that creates a surrendered heart. It’s that inward attitude that truly denotes the humility associated with surrender.

* We have to declare ourselves defeated. We have to admit that without Christ, we are defeated by sin.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus" Romans 6:23

* We have to give up possession of our own lives. We belong to Jesus. We are His.

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His Name” John 1:12

* We have to relinquish control. God is in control.

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” Proverbs 19:21

If we want to live productive and fruitful lives, we have to come to that place of total surrender in Christ. He is our creator. He is the author and perfector of our faith. He is the one who determines our steps. We are at His mercy - under His authority - dependant upon His provision.

I confess that I need to take “me” out of the equation. I desire total surrender to Christ. Without Him, I would be nothing. Everything I am is because of His mercy and grace upon my life. I want to approach Him with hands held high - head bowed low - heart overflowing with gratitude and praise.