Jesus, our source of life

Jesus...

Our source of hope.

Our source of life.

When nothing makes sense.

When nothing else can...

We have Jesus.

Running to Him

           in desperation.

Embracing Him

         and His love.

Feeling the power

            of His goodness.

Oh, envelop us God.

Cradle us in your mighty Hand.

Speak life to us.

Bestow us with your mercy.

Drench us with your grace.

Fall like fire on our heads.

Consume us...

Change us....

Be glorified in us.

Jesus.

Our source.

Our life.

Our all.

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A few weeks ago, I was sent a copy of Sandi Patty's new book that I was to read and then post a review about on my blog. "The Edge of the Divine" is what I call an "easy read". Filled with light humor and stark honesty, it managed to keep my attention throughout its entirety.

I enjoyed reading about her life and I feel like her message is one that will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers. I did get a little bogged down in too much detail about her children's lives and about a ring that she kept losing and finding. Much of the book was about her 80-lb weight loss and how she went from a life that was spiraling downward to one that was looking upward to Christ.

If you are looking for a book that is filled with spiritual insights and one that will serve to deepen your christian walk, you won't find it here. There were times when I felt like the scripture references she used were put in place as afterthoughts instead of being the springboard for her journey.

In this book, you will find an enjoyable story about a woman at a crossroad in her own life and how she goes about making the right turns to get back on track with God. She did make one statement at the end of the book that spoke to my heart. A statement about our belief in God. About our race toward that finish line. A statement about putting our trust and faith in Him.

 She says, "Jesus doesn't say it'll be easy, just that it'll be enough".  That statement alone made reading this book well worth my time. 

thankful for mercy and grace

Joining greg for another thankful thursday. I am so glad that he does this each week, as it gives me a chance to really focus on how blessed I am and how I need to be more mindful of thanking Him in all things.

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Days like today, I am so thankful for God's Mercy and His Grace.

Days like today, I need to crawl up in my Lord's lap and just get a big, Holy hug.

On days like this, when I wake up with a heart that is heavy and my emotions are awry, I am ever so thankful that my God is a God of love. And a God of forgiveness. And a God of patience.

On days like today, I find myself clinging to the verse in Lamentations that assures me that His mercies are new EVERY morning. I am so thankful for God's Word.

I am thankful for new mercy. Thankful that beause of His compassion, we are not consumed but we are given freely of His portion to sustain us and give us renewal. Restoration. Hope.

I am thankful for:

Grace Immeasurable

Mercy Inexhaustible

Peace In expressible

I am thankful for salvation through the blood of God's precious Son.

Poured out from a never-ending supply, in a river of forgiveness, healing, compassion and love.

Thank you Lord, for being the Giver of Life and the Keeper of Eternity.

"I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the LORD"

(Psalm 116:13)

have your waters been stirred?

Have the waters been stirred at your pool of Bethesda?

Are you in need of relief from the stresses of life?

Are you tired?

Weary?

Lonely?

Frustrated?

Step into the water.

Are you burdened or weak?

Dip your feet into the pool and let the waters

swirl around you and minister to your soul.

The waters have been stirred gently

by the Hand of Jesus.

Preparing them for those who believe.

The waters beckon for those who cry out.

He stirs them and they are infused with

Healing and Hope.

Mercy and Grace.

The ripples on the surface are gently swirling

as His Hand reaches down and dispenses

His awesome power into the waters.

Whirlpools of His infinite might.

Step into the water and let God

begin ministering to your body and your spirit.

Let the healing begin.

Let the grace fall down.

Let the water flow from the

river of His mercy and engulf your

entire being with renewal and restoration.

Step into the water and be made whole.

God speaks....

This morning God really spoke to my heart during my study time. He spoke TRUTH to my spirit and laid it strongly on my heart that it was for someone else also. I felt Him nudging me to share this here and I pray that it ministers to somebody .

Those of us who profess Jesus Christ as our Savior and our Lord are NOT perfect. We will mess up. We will go through hard times. We will endure trials. We may feel unloved, unworthy and unimportant.

But praise God we are not defeated. We have victory in Christ. Through the atoning blood of His Son Jesus, we are covered in mercy and grace.

God will never, ever leave us. He will always be there with open arms to pick us up and to lovingly lead us on our walk with Him. There may be times that we wonder if God is there. Oh, yeah... He is there my friends. From the beginning of time, He has been there and will remain for all eternity.

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1)

There will be times when we feel like He has hidden His face from us.

"How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? For ever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?" (Psalm 13:1)

 But He will always answer when we call upon His name. When we cry out, He is there.

"In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and He heard me" (Psalm 120:1)

There will be times when man will fail us. There will be times when man will disappoint us. But God will never fail us, never leave us and never let us down. Never.

"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man" (Psalm 118:8)

There will be times we don't feel like going on, but God gives us the strength we need to keep plodding along lifes pathway. He lifts our weary heads and enables us to put one foot in front of the other and keep walking.

"He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (Isaiah 40:29-31)

There may even be times when we wonder why we were even born. Why we were put on this earth. What purpose we could possibly have in God's kingdom.

"Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea I have made him" (Isaiah 43:7)

We were created for Him! For His glory. Created to bring Him honor and praise.

So, no matter what you are going through, He is there, ready to sustain you. Ready to take you from strength to strength. Ready to walk beside you. No matter where you are in your spiritual walk, He is there.

Whatever your circumstances. Whatever your situation. Whatever your state of mind. Rest assured that God cares for you. He loves you and He wants the best for you. He wants you to have a life abundant in Him. He is all we need. He is our sufficiency. He is enough.

"In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength and my refuge is in God" (Psalm 62:7)

Thank you Lord, that you are all we need. You satisfy like nothing else. You fill us and you equip us. You are our refuge. Our strength. Our all. Give us the sustaining power to lift our weary heads and hearts and follow hard after you. In all we do and all we say. May our hearts be hungry and thirsty for you. Reveal yourself to us in a new and powerful way that our spirits are quickened anew and we are drawn more closely to your side. Thank you for loving us and for giving us life eternal through your precious Son.

a good day at church indeed

About a month ago, our church was doing a project we called 'God's Hands'. Each night after our work was done, we met at the church for an amazing dinner perpared by our food crew and then we had a glorious time of worship.

My daughter, Megan, was just a few days away from Silas' birth at that time and she wasn't feeling well, so she and her 3 children came to spend the night as her husband was in Arkansas working. I had just come in from the work we were doing, so Megan and I gathered up the kiddos and we all headed over to the church to eat.  

We had a great time in fellowship and enjoyed a really great dinner and then we let the kids play for a little while with the other children that were there. Afterwards, I went back to the house with her to help her get the children ready for bed before I headed back to the church for worship. So basically, we had just gone to church and eaten and played and then headed home.

As we left the church, Eli was just bouncing along the sidewalk in a great mood and he looked back at me and said in a very serious and enthusiastic voice,

 "Now THAT was a good day at church!"

Of course, we got a good laugh at that, but the sad thing is that this reflects the attitudes of many christians these days. We go to church hungry for the wrong kind of food. We go to church wanting to be fed and entertained. We go to the Lord's house and want to be coddled and pampered. And then we consider that to be a 'good day at church'.

We actually do need to arrive at our place of worship hungry. Hungry for the Word. Hungry for the Bread of Life. Hungry for an almighty encounter with God.

"For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness." (Psalm 107:9)

Our spiritual lives can only grow and become richer in Christ if we are feeding ourselves the powerful and mighty Word of God. The God-inspired and God-breathed, inerrant Word of our Lord.

It is our responsibility to dig deeper into His Word and discover all that He has for us. It's up to us to search the scriptures diligently and eagerly so we can receive that which God has to offer.

We have to feed ourselves. We have to be desiring more than just entertainment. It's about being hungry with an insatiable appetite for MORE of God. MORE of His Word. MORE of Him. It's about a deeply personal and intimate relationship with our Lord. It's about an awesome encounter with our Savior.

It's all about seeking Him

Searching

Expecting

Encountering

Knowing

As we enter into His House to worship, we arrive hungry for Him and everything that He has for us to receive. Hungry to then give back to Him in our worship and our praise.

We leave filled with His Spirit and satisfied on the bread of His Word, broken and dispersed to our hungry souls.

Now, THAT is a good day at church!!