oh, how I love Jesus....

Oh, how I love Jesus!

 

Master.... Savior... LORD

 

He reaches down with His mighty arms and rescues me when I feel hopeless.

 

He reaches out with His loving arms and embraces me when I am weary.

He stretches forth His nail scarred hands and issues healing when I am in need.

 

He is Powerful.

Mighty.

Strong.

 

He sees broken hearts. He is aware of shattered spirits.

He tenderly touches the tears upon my face and wipes away the evidence of grief.

 

My God, the God who can walk on water;

 raise the dead;

 give blinded eyes their sight;

make the lame to walk and the deaf to hear.

 

He takes what is wrong and makes it right.

 

He cares about our hurting souls. He listens to our wounded cries. He hears the despairing utterances of our lips.

 

He knows.....

He knows the problem. He knows the pain and agony. He knows the outcome, because....

 

He is....

He is the first and the last.

He is the Almighty.

He is all Sovereignty and all Authority.

 

Master of the Sea.

Keeper of the Stars.

Creator of all things.

 

He is Maker. Redeemer. Righteousness. Ruler of all.

 

He is seed to the sower. Bread to the eater. God of the whole earth.

 

He knows the way that we take. He is our souls delight!

 

When we cry out in our frailty and deep need,

He extends sweet mercy upon us and responds.

 

Our unknown is known by Him. Our blindness of spirit becomes His surety as we follow Him.

 

He is HOPE.

He is LIGHT.

He is GRACE.

He is TRUTH.

He is FORGIVENESS.

 

The God who formed the earth and all that is in it,

 

loves us,

tends to us,

comforts us,

heals us,

saves us...

 

He is the great I AM. The beginning and the end.

 

He is faithful. He is true. He is peace. He is Holy.

 

The mere knowledge of who He is becomes our refuge.

 

We can trust without fear because He is our strength and our song and our salvation.

 

He leads us and guides us and never forsakes us.

 

He is the WORD. Perfect and Holy and Righteous.

 

Reaching down to lift me up. Reaching down to fill my heart.

 

Loving.

Caring.

 

He is my all.

 

Oh, How I love Jesus.

Master... Savior.... LORD....



Are we passionate?

Are we passionate about worship? We have to first be passionate about the One we worship. We must be in love with the Lord our God if we are going to enter into true, unadulterated, passionate worship of Him. We must love Him above all else, more than all else and in spite of all else. We must be deeply in love with our Savior. With an insatiable and ever increasing intensity. We must have a desire to know Him and to make Him known.

He is the New Covenant.

He is our Mediator, Creator.

He is worthy of our worship.

He is worthy of our praise.

Our God is our Lord and our King. He is eternal. He is Holy. He is righteous.

He is our Bread of Life.

He is our Living Water.

The Nourisher of our soul.

He fills. He completes. He satisfies.

He is mercy. He is grace. He is Salvation.

He redeems. He restores. He refreshes.

He is our everything. He is all that we need. He is love.

 When we fall completely in love with our sweet Lord, we will see that He is certainly worthy of our worship and praise. And we will be more than passionate in our worship of Him. We will fall on our faces in awe of who He is and worship Him from the very depths of our being. We will passionately pursue our Savior with an insatiable appetite. We will long for Him and thirst for Him like never before.  And we will indeed be passionate about worship.

hope of Jesus

As I walked through the double doors to the lobby, I took a deep breath. I mentally prepared myself for the onslaught of emotions that assails me each time I enter this building. The instant I crossed the threshold, I met mortality. It stares you straight in the face no matter where your gaze lands.

The elderly couple sitting across from each other as they sip coffee look normal until you see the IV pole standing tall beside him. When you take a closer look you can see fatigue on their faces overshadowed by the obvious love that they have for one another. I see a young girl walking by her mother and notice the pretty scarf tied to her sweet little head that is covering the ravages of chemo.

Everywhere you look, the curse of cancer is evident. There are untold stories walking the halls of MD Anderson. Stories of disbelief and horror. Anger and fear. Strength and tenacity of spirit. There are miracles taking place around each corner and miracles in progress walking through those doors daily. 

Mothers, fathers, children. Grandparents and other loved ones. Some are just beginning their journey into this world of dreaded diagnosis and treatment and others are walking a well beaten path. 

My heart hurts and I have to be careful not to utter those familiar words... 'it's not fair'. Because I know that life isn't fair. It isn't supposed to be. God created a perfect world, but it didn't stay that way long. Sin in the Garden took care of that.  But life is certainly good. God created us in His image to worship Him and to love Him. God is good and He is faithful. We aren't promised that we will never face hardships and trials in this life, but we are promised that He will walk beside us every step of the way.

"Fear not, for I am with you;

Be not dismayed , for I am your God.

I will strengthen you,

Yes, I will help you.

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand"

(Isaiah 41:10)

God is with us. We can walk through the valley of the shadow of death because He Is. We can rest in the confidence that He is aware of our needs. He knows. He sees. He cares.  No detail of our life goes unnoticed by the Lord. His purpose for us stems from His unending love for us. 

So, as I walk the halls of this great hospital, I can see with the eyes of our Savior. I can see with the love that He has for each person I encounter. 

 As  I talk with Mike, a 40 year old  husband and father undergoing radiation, I can impart the love of Jesus to him. He is courageously waiting for the results of tests that will tell him where he has progressed in his treatment.  He and his wife have hope. Hope that comes from their Lord.

As we talk with a young mom in the elevator, we can encourage her with the promise of prayer for her 8-year old little boy. Tristan had surgery to remove a brain tumor and is now having blood pressure problems. Even though I sense her weariness, I also sense the determination of her spirit as she fights alongside her son for his life.

We talk with a woman who is walking this journey beside her cousin who is fighting lung cancer. She knows the hope of our Lord and it was encouraging to talk with her and exchange names for the purpose of intercessory prayer. God is so good.

I pass by a young teenage boy and his dad on their way to chemo. I can sense the despair on the dad's face of having to watch his son go through this trial of pain and uncertainty. I see a young man with a mask on to prevent germs from invading his body in the now weakened state due to his treatment.  Everywhere I look there is a story to be told and prayer to be needed. I silently pray for each person in each room I pass by.

There certainly is pain on many of the faces we pass by. Pain of the unknown outcome of the journey. Pain of watching a loved one hurt.  The pain of fear itself.  But there is also the unmistakable expression of hope etched on so many. Hope for victory over evil.  Hope for a new tomorrow. Hope for healing.  Hope that comes from an intimate relationship with a personal Savior. Hope of Jesus.

"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed
on us, that we should be called children of God"
(1 John 3:1)

~~~~~~
Please continue to pray for my father-in-law as we are embarked on this journey again. He will have surgery in a few weeks to remove the cancer in his pancreas and bile duct. We have been here since Wednesday night after the stent in that duct got blocked once again and had caused a bacteria to form in his bloodstream. They replaced the stent but he is still pretty sick. He is better, but we need him WELL so he can undergo the surgery to take care of this once and for all.

always learning...

Things that I learned this week and things that I love:

I loved the sweet morning I had with the Lord yesterday. I was fixated on a passage of scripture - something that Bill Hybels calls 'saturation reflection' - and the more I read it the more it just pierced my heart with deep emotion. God began taking me back to my 9 year old self and just showed me the love I had for Him even at that young age. He was teaching me about a child's heart and the sincerity of my profession of faith during the early years of my life. I saw the sweet love I had for Him and saw how small it was in comparison to the abounding love that He had for me. I know without a shadow of a doubt that the decision I made 40 years ago was true and it was binding. I became His child at that time and even though it took me many years to begin to grow, I had salvation at the very moment I believed and professed His name. Thank you, Jesus, for your everlasting love for your priceless gift of Salvation and eternal life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love my husband with all of my heart. He is faithful and true and He loves me even when I am not very lovable.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"If we are walking in God's will, we will experience God's power"

"God's power is what propels the mission He has called us to.

Regardless of where we're headed, the power is not ours

to provide; it's His. The Spirit of God propels us."

(Greg Matte)

~~~~~~~~~`

Jeremiah 29:13 tells us that if we are seeking God with all of our heart, we will find Him. 

~~~~~~~~~~

I love my sweet granddaughter Mikaela and miss her so much!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I miss my precious Mercie and miss her so much!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Oh, how I miss my little Eli! I miss him terribly!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love my baby boy! Little Silas is growing so fast and I miss that little fella so!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

God showed me how special our time together was in Pennsylvania and taught me to cherish every moment. Even the moments when they were making funny faces....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sin doesn't mix with the Holy. Mixing the Holy with the profane only leads to destruction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love my sweet Bryton. He is always such fun to be around!

~~~~~~~~

Sweet Sawyer. He's such a mama's baby but is always willing to give me some good hugs and kisses!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"But unto every one of us is given grace according

to the measure of the gift of Christ"

(Ephesians 4:7)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I wait on the Lord to reveal to me the next step He has for me, I rest in the assurance that whatever it is and wherever it takes me, He will be right there with me. He never calls us to a place that He won't go before us. So I sit and learn to be still and listen. I open my ears to receive, my heart to hear and my spirit to discern His precious voice. Speak Lord, your servant is listening....

His love is better than life.

God truly blessed our time in Boston with our daughter, Melissa. And then He heaped blessing upon blessing as He so graciously allowed us to travel to Pennsylvania to visit with our daughter Megan, her husband Rod, and their precious 4 children. We had a great time in both places and it was with much sadness that our time with them came to an end this morning. It was a teary good-bye, but it was a time filled with many new and happy memories to add to our every growing list.

God has been revealing the vastness of His love for us in the past few months. My awareness of just how amazing and endless the supply of His love is increases day by day. It isn't just the good things that happen that fuel my thankfulness for that love because certainly our lives aren't always filled with the good things. But I have come to fully understand that even in those 'bad' times, God is still love. He loves us unconditionally. He loves us with an everlasting love and one that encompasses more than we can imagine. And no matter what our circumstances, we can always depend on our loving God to carry us through. To give us strength. To lift us up and be our portion and our shield. 

"We love Him, because He first loved us"

(1 John 4:19)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you sweet Father for always teaching me. Thank you for revealing your love to me in a new and a more powerful way. Help me to be ever mindful that your love is all I need.  No matter that circumstances, no matter the trials, no matter the situation.... You love me and for that, I stand in awe of You.  I love you with all my heart and I will serve you all the days of my life.

things that i love

Things that I love:

**I love it when God opens my eyes and reveals TRUTH to my SEEKING spirit.

**I love it when God widens my understanding of scripture and speaks a much needed WORD to my thirsty soul.

** I love it when all 3 of my girls call at the same time and we have to keep swapping back and forth to talk to each other. So much fun!

** I love it when Bryton and Sawyer get to come to Nana's house and play in the water and paint beautiful pictures for me and Papa.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** I love it when my God overwhelms me with His sweet Presence. There is nothing quite as amazing as the feeling that comes when God's spirit settles down upon you.

** I love it when God gives you tangible proof that you can't out give Him by blessing you 6 times over! He is so good and His abundant love for me blows me away. Oh, He is so good!

** I love it when God gives you a glimpse into the human body and shows you His miraculous power in a tiny  baby girl still in the womb. The amazing miracle of life never fails to totally astound me every time I experience this.

She sucked her thumb almost the entire ultrasound. We also got a big smile out of her. I love her already. What a blessed Nana I am.

~~~~~~~~~~

** I love it when God speaks.

** I love it when the Holy Spirit moves in our midst.

** I love it when God lays something on your heart and you act out of love and obedience to Him, and then He just lavishes His love upon you in return. Just because He loves us so much. We serve a good God.

**I love it when my grandchildren in Pennsylvania call me on the phone and I get to hear their precious voices. 

** I love it when God works out the details so my husband and I can take a trip to Boston to see Melissa and deliver all her 'worldly goods' to her and as an added bonus, we get to 'swing' by Pennsylvania on the way home to see our oldest daughter and her precious family! Thank you Lord!!

** I love hugs from sweet boys.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** I love this t-shirt!

** I love Jesus with all my heart and all my soul. I am so thankful that He loved me enough to die on the cross in my place, that I might have forgiveness of my many sins, redemption through His blood and eternal life with Him in glory! May I honor Him in all that I say and do and may I never fail to spread the gospel to those who need to hear the TRUTH.

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Please be in prayer for us as we leave in the morning headed to Boston. I won't have Internet service until the evening, so I won't be visiting blogs much, but I will be thinking of each and every one of you! Thank you for your prayers!

thankful for PASSION

Thanks Greg, for allowing us to be part of your Thankful Thursday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Passion - an intense or overwhelming emotion such as joy or love.

The word passion generally conjures up thoughts of romantic love in our minds. Even thoughts of lust seem to be indicated by the word.

In reality, passion extends to a lot more than the intense, physical feelings we experience in our marriage relationships. Passion is a necessary catalyst for love to abound. It is a necessary emotion that we use as a transporter of love from one person to another. Especially in our love for God. We must be passionate about the way we love God.

Deuteronomy 6:5 tells us "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might."

It doesn't say we should 'like the LORD'. It doesn't say with 'some of our heart' and 'most of our souls.' It clearly states all. All of our heart. All of our soul. All of our might.

That's pretty powerful love. That is an intense, overwhelming, passionate love for our LORD. A love that takes all the energy and passion that we can muster up.

Passion for Christ.

Our passion for Him should reflect His deep passion for us. He is passionate about His creation. Every time God created something, He noted the goodness of it. Even us. He is deeply passionate about His love for us.

John 3:16 is evidence of that. He was filled with such powerful love for us that He gave the precious life of His only Son. He gave that life to take our place on the Cross so that we could experience salvation and eternal life.

God is passionate about His love for us.

We need to be intense in our love for God and in our worship of Him. We need to love Him with ALL our heart. With every ounce of our capacity to love. Connecting our heart with His.

Fueling our passion with even more worship. Fueling our passion with deeper surrender. Fueling our passion with more knowledge and understanding.

Opening our hearts wide and pouring out fully. Inhaling His passion for us and exhaling our passion for Him.

Intense, purposed and surrendered to a passionate pursuit of a passionate God.

Thank you, God for allowing us to feel passion in our love for you. You are worthy!

a drink of love from God

"Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;

And His greatness is unsearchable."

(Psalm 145:3)

It's 6:45 am as I write this and the quiet in the house is almost deafening. Almost too quiet, if that is possible. As I sit at my desk, snuggled up to God's Word with a steaming cup of coffee and a hungry spirit, I am filled again with the amazing wonder of God. His love for me and His generous grace on my life is overwhelming.

In the bedrooms in the back of my house, sleep 3 of the precious gifts that God has graced me with. Mikaela, Eli and Mercie have been with me and their Papa for a few days to let their mom go visit their dad, who is off working, before the new baby arrives.

These last few days have been filled with much laughter and a few tears. Good times together. Snuggles, kisses and hugs. Lots of bedtime stories and musical beds as Nana had to take turns sleeping with everyone.

The love I have in my heart for these babies grows with each passing day. As does my life for their mother - my sweet firstborn daughter. Sometimes I look at them in amazement and just can't believe that my baby has 3 (almost 4) babies of her own. God is good.

We've certainly had fun these past few days. We have had conversations about Jesus and they have asked a myriad of questions. We have praised and prayed. We've stayed up late and gotten up early. We've read tons of books, colored oodles of pictures and watched quite a few (but not too many) DVD's. We've told stories, played games and raised the noise level in the house by a few notches.

There have been lots of 'I love you's' spoken and many bubble baths given. I have slathered little bodies with wonderful smelling lotion. I have fixed and curled hair and enjoyed every minute. I knew I had gone a little too far with Mercie's hair when she walked into church and my daughter, Ashlie, said "Well, hello Farrah...."  OK, maybe I used the curling iron too much that morning, but it was SO cute!

We rushed to get to church as this Nana lost track of time and forgot just how long it took to bathe 3 kiddos and get them all fed, dressed and ready for church. We made it just in time and I was glad that I live basically in the church parking lot! Ha!

Mikaela kinda summed up the magnitude of love that I have been feeling lately, as they played in the water hose yesterday. She had the water hose held up to her chest and here is our conversation:

I said, "Mikaela, what are you doing?"

"Watering my heart, Nana" was her reply.

I said, "Oh, your heart needs a drink?"

Mikaela said, "Yes. A drink of love from God"

Ahh, yes. A drink of love from God straight into a thirsty heart. Indeed the love that my husband and I have shared, and passed on to our daughter has now trickled down into the lives of our precious grandchildren.  I pray that I continue to water their hearts with the love of God that He has so generously watered my soul and my heart with. God is good.

Encompassed by His love,

Beth

walk in love...

"And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself

for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a

sweet-smelling aroma." (Ephesians 5:2)

To truly walk in love, we have to learn how to love others as Christ does. Not an easy task. But a doable one nonetheless.We must learn to love with an unconditional and all encompassing love.

No strings attached.

No holds barred.

Just pure unadulterated love.

Dependent upon nothing except the amazing ability through Him, to tap into God's power and let His love shine through us.

To look beyond the surface.

See as He sees.

Feel as He feels.

Esteem others higher and just love.

Ultimately, Christlike love requires effort on our part. We must work at denying self. We can't love based on merit. We can't love based on our measure of worthiness. We must love regardless. We love instead of... We love in spite of.... We love anyway. It's not about us. It's all about Jesus.

The only way we can begin to acquire the kind of love that Christ demonstrates is to daily take up the cross - and follow HARD after Him.

".... let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23)

To love others like Him? It is costly. It may cost us our pride - our heart - our selves. But  we can learn to reach way down into the depths of our being, and pull out the love that He put there. And lovingly, purposefully and generously bestow that love on others, we will be a sweet smelling aroma to the Father.

Oh, to be a pleasing fragrance to the nostrils of God. That He might savor the sweet scent of obedience from His children. The sweet scent of us conforming to His image.

To walk in love.

No strings attached.

Just the amazing love of Christ.

It's all about Him.

In His captivating love,

Beth

The Immeasurable Love of Christ.

"...that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height - to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God"

( Ephesians 3:17-19)

The love of Christ is immeasureable.

The breadth of His love extends to all people.

The length of His love extends to the lowest of our human need.

The height of His love extends to the highest heaven.

Christ's love for us covers all dimensions. The love He has for us surpasses all knowledge. His love for us transcends everything we can comprehend or imagine.

He loves us with an everlasting love. An unconditional love. A perfect love.

His love gives us roots to plant deep so we can be firmly grounded in Him.

Firmly grounded in His Word. Firmly grounded in His love. Firmly grounded in our faith.

He loves us with an indwelling love. He abides in us and gives us the ability to love others.

"We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19)

Because of His love -

We keep His commandments.(1 John 5:2)

We love others. (1 John 4:7)

We have no fear. (1 John 4:18)

We are His children. (1 John 3:1)

Because of His love for us -

We can experience victory over sin and death through the shed blood of His precious Son.

I pray that during this time of year, we keep our focus on the baby in the manger. The birth of our Savior. The Christ-child.  I pray that we long to draw nearer to Him and yearn for the deeper things in Christ. May the love that God has for us, cause us to love more. May we keep the season all about the Son of God. Let's celebrate the gift of Jesus. Emmanuel. God with us.

+++++++++++++++++++++

Father, thank you for loving me. Thank you for the unending, eternity reaching, unconditional love that you showed all mankind on the cross. Thank you for loving me when I am unloveable. Help me to love others. Help me to love like you love. Thank you precious Lord for loving me well. You are awesome and mighty and powerful. You are my everything. You are indeed the reason for the season.

CHRISTmas..... it's all about JESUS!

Yes, Jesus loves me

"We love Him because He first loved us"

(1 John 4:19)

Simple truths are sometimes the most powerful messages.

There can be such great impact on our hearts during the most basic and elementary divine moments.  It is sometimes the small things that create great impressions on the inner recesses of our hearts.

A month ago, my precious granddaughter was baptized and before the baptism service began, the church sang a little song that we all know. "Jesus loves me".

As the congregation started singing this simple melody, I was so overcome with emotion. As our unified voices rang out loud and clear, it was if we were singing from the deepest parts of our souls and the sound was angelic. The tears just started rolling down my face and I had the biggest lump in my throat.

The awesome Truth of these precious words just washed all over me like a flood! I was literally so overwhelmed by the words that I could hardly sing.

"Jesus loves me this I know..."

Profound. Simple. Mind-blowing.

"For the bible tells me so..."

The promise of His Word. The Truth.

"Little ones to Him belong. They are weak but He is strong."

What wonderful assurance of His presence. What awesome comfort in the pledge of His protection.

"Yes, Jesus loves me...."

When nothing else is going right.

"Yes, Jesus loves me...."

When no one else does.

"Yes, Jesus loves me...."

When all else around you is failing. When the world seems to be crashing down.

"The bible tells me so."

Oh, Abba Father, thank you for the Truth of your mighty and powerful word. Simple words that span an eternity. You love me. You love us. Even in our unworthy, unlovely, undeserving selves, you bestowed sweet mercy and grace upon us. You fill us with your awesome truth, your amazing promises, and your absolute joy. Yes....Jesus loves me.

He is the Remedy

"And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him." Hebrews 5:9

God loved us so much that He gave His son to be that perfect sacrifice. He gave His son to be that final sacrifice. Jesus died on the cross for you and for me. He became the sins of the world for you and for me.

Jesus became the thing that God hated the most. He became sin so that you and I would have the opportunity to inherit eternal life through Him.

When I think about what Christ has done and continues to do for me, I feel so guilty for not being more grateful, more thankful, and more committed. There is no one else in this world who would do for me what Christ did.

He died for me! He shed His innocent blood on the cross for me! He became sin for me!

Because of Him I am free. I am whole. I am forgiven. I am worthy. I am forever His.

"He is the one Who has saved us,

He is the one Who embraced us,

He is the one who has come

And is coming again,

He's the remedy"

(David Crowder)

Thank you precious Lord for being the author and perfector of our faith. Thank you for doing what no one else would or could do. Thank you for the gift of eternal life. Thank you for loving me with a love that only comes from You. You are my life. You are my breath. You are my remedy.

Beloved Child of God

I was listening to a Beth Moore tape yesterday on the disciple John. She brought out a very interesting point. We all know that John was called "the beloved disciple" and "the disciple whom Jesus loved". But I never realized that the only person who called him that was John himself! How odd is that? No other gospel contains those words.

John was most likely the youngest disciple. The one with the most energy. The one who stuck the closest to Jesus. He was always right by His side. But even so, He was so sure of the love that Jesus had for him, that he had not qualms about calling himself the beloved of Jesus! He had no doubt whatsoever that Jesus loved him.

That, beloved, is how we need to be. We need to know without a shadow of a doubt, undeniably, that Jesus loves us. We tell our children that. We tell our grandbabies that. We tell other people that. But do we tell our own selves? We have to be secure and grounded in our knowledge of Christs' love for us.

In John 13:23-25 the scripture tells us that John was actually leaning on Jesus. He was reclining on Him. Why? Because John wanted to be near Him. He wanted to touch Him. Because he loved Him and because he knew that Jesus loved him in return.

We have to become so sure of His love for us that we want to lean on Him and get as close to Him as we possibly can. Bask in His love for us. Feel His presence in our lives. We need to take a lesson from John and have that security deep inside of us. We are loved by Christ.

"We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19)

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

Basking in His love,
Beth