tears, praise, worship... His presence

I made my way to the place where I was meeting with 40 other Christian women to finalize preparations for an encounter weekend.


As I walked into the church, I immediately felt His presence. His awesome and mighty presence. It was so thick it was almost overwhelming. Holy ground.

From that very moment, I could feel the fingers of God reach out and touch me. There was such electricity surging through me. I could sense Him. I could feel Him.

As we made our way to the sanctuary for devotion and communion, I could already feel the beginnings of tears forming beneath the surface of my eyes. Soon, they were brimming with liquid joy and threatening to spill over.

Tears of thankfulness.
Tears of tenderness.
Tears of His presence.

He was there.
Pressing down upon me.
His spirit abounding.

I was ever so aware of Him. I closed my eyes and worshiped.

As I partook of the representation of His body and His blood, I couldn’t hold the tears back any longer. They flooded down my face in a torrent of spiritual cleansing. A river of grace and mercy flowed uncontrollably. A river of release. A river of praise.

As I knelt at the altar, the sound of women sobbing filled the room with humble expectancy. There was an awareness of God and His glory. His Majesty.

The presence of God in the room was palpable. It was astounding. It was so powerful and so alive that I could almost see it!

Oh, He was there. He was present and He was bestowing me with a fresh glimpse of His glory that day. I was encountering Jesus with a fresh anointing. Feeling myself in the grip of His hands. The finger marks of God left behind on me.

It was consuming me. Like fire had fallen from heaven. Engulfing me with the sheer splendor of His manifest presence. Holy ground.

I began to imagine what heaven would be like. I couldn’t even comprehend the magnitude of powerful worship that will take place. To be at His feet. In His presence. Face-to-face with Jesus. Walking with Him. On Holy ground. For all eternity.

Thank you, Lord, for your presence in my life. May I always glory in You and give You praise and honor for all that You are. You are my life and my breath. You are the reason I live. I love You with all of my heart.

In His grip,

Beth

THANKful Thursday

Thank you Greg for being the host of this great way to let the Lord and others know how thankful we are for our many blessings!

I am so thankful that I have the privilege to serve a God who loves me and takes care of me. He is so worthy of much more than I can ever begin to deserve.

I am so thankful for a godly husband who has dedicated his life to serving the Lord through ministry. He is a true lover of God. He is an awesome pastor and genuinely loves people. 

I am so thankful that God has allowed me to experience the joy of being a pastor's wife. While it isn't always a bed of roses, it is a wonderful thing to be able to stand beside your husband and minister to people. 

I am thankful that God never stops teaching me things. I have found that the more I seek, the more He shows me. The more I desire, the more He reveals.

I am thankful for my sweet friends in Christ who I have met through this blog. It is just amazing how close I feel to those that I pray for and correspond with. I truly love y'all with all my heart and I appreciate each friendship more than you can imagine!

"He who believes in Me, as the scripture

has said, out of his heart will

flow rivers of living water"

John 7:38

Praise you Lord for life. I praise you for the ability to read the Word and apply it to my heart.

May the truth of the scriptures flow out of me like a mighty river. May I be nothing less

than an instrument used by You for your glory.

  

break free from those chains of bondage

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which

Christ has made us free, and do not be

entangled again with a yoke of bondage."

(Galatians 5:1)

When elephants are being trained in the circus, they are chained and shackled to a stake when they are just babies. The chains are strong enough at that point to restrain them and keep them from breaking free. As they pull and tug on the chain to no avail, they soon learn that their efforts are futile and soon they don't resist the chains as much.

As they grow bigger and stronger, the chains and shackles don't have to be exchanged for more powerful ones. The elephants have grown so used to the chains holding them, that they just assume that they can't escape and therefore they don't even try.

Do we live like that at times? Are we letting the chains and shackles of this world tether us so tightly to those areas of sin and strongholds in our lives, that we have ceased to even tug and pull on them in any attempt to break free?

Have we grown so comfortable in our bondage that we are living defeated and hopeless lives?

Oh, my sweet friends, I think the answer to those questions is a resounding "yes!". I think that we have grown so accustomed to our chained-up state that we just sit back and remain shackled to sin.

Why do we choose to live as captives when we have been given the glorious key to freedom?  As Christians, our battle has already been fought and won for us. Our state of bondage was overcome on the Cross at Calvary.

God freed us from the chains of sin and gave us  Hope through the shed blood of His Son.  When Jesus gave up His life for us, the sacrifice He made was to atone for our sins forever. Those chains of bondage were broken that day and we were given the ability to live victoriously through Jesus.

Whatever is holding you hostage and is binding you up in those chains, isn't worth it.  Whatever is defeating you, burdening you and weighing you down, is keeping you from living in the freedom of a life of Hope and Victory. You will be forever tethered to that dismal and defeated existence unless you allow God to remove the chains so you can be set free!

Oh, my friends, surrender it to Him and let Him loosen those shackles so they fall off. Confess it and lay it at His feet. Repent of it and arise from there washed anew with His mercy and grace. Free from those chains of captivity. Under bondage no more!

Praise You, Jesus. Praise You, that we have the ability to live a life of freedom. We can walk in victory. We have hope. We can be loosed from the things that bind us and experience the true, abundant life that you intend for us.

Oh, Lord help us to walk in the Spirit. Help us to walk in your ways, obey your commandments and be free from the bondage of the world. Thank you, Lord, the because of Your Son, we can be set free from sin and the ties that bind us. We can live in the freedom and victory of a life in Christ.

"And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness"

(Romans 6:18)

THANKful Thursday

I am excited to join Greg for his Thankful Thursday post today!

1. I am thankful that when I cry out to God, He hears me.

"In my distress I cried to the LORD, And he heard me."

Psalm 120:1

++++

2. I am so thankful that I have the amazing and awesome privilege of Worship.

"I was glad when they said to me, Let us go into

the house of the LORD"

Psalm 122:1

++++

3. I am thankful that God delivers and rescues me in times of trouble. He is always

there for me. He tends to me and takes care of me.

"He delivered me from my strong enemy,

From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me"

Psalm 18:17

++++

4. I am thankful that when I am weary, He gives me rest.

When I am down, He lifts me up.

When I am weak, He is strong.

++++

5. I am thankful that when I was a 9 year old girl, I made the decision to ask Jesus into

my heart and accept Him as my Lord and Savior. I am thankful that He lives in my heart

and that through Him, I have forgiveness of sins, redemption, and eternal life.

"But God demonstrates His own love for toward us,

in that while we were still sinners,

Christ died for us."

Romans 5:8

Captivated by His grace and,

 

Oh, sweet victory in my Savior...

SWEET VICTORY
My heart is heavy.

tired

burdened

There is no assuagement from the guilt.

feeling down.

defeated.

disappointed.

I battled the flesh today and lost.

I let my guard down

and the foe is ruthless.

Just waiting for the opportunity

to attack.

Crouching and waiting.

he rears his ugly head at

the first opportune moment,

prowling,

devouring.

I allowed him to hold me captive for a short time

Until finally my spirit resisted.

I recognized the conflict

with the flesh.

Between good and evil.

I cried out to my God.

The One who can rescue.

cover

redeem

strengthen

Through Christ, I tapped into the power

afforded me through way of

The Cross.

The power to fight.

The power to win.

The power to defeat the enemy.

Reaching up, I grasp

The Hand of my Savior.

Embracing the unity I have

with Him when I call upon His Name.

I feel His touch.

Melt in His arms.

Allow Him to move.

Because of Him,

I am victorious in the fight.

The guilt fades.

The weariness recedes.

The burdens are lifted.

Joy returns and

I rest in the sufficiency of

His almighty Presence.

The width and depth of His love

Overwhelms me.

The height of it fills me with awe.

Praise You, Lord.

Praise You for your continuing

love,

care

and watch over me.

You are my refuge.

My strength.

My Savior

You are the defeater of my enemies.

The victory in my life.

My heart is light.

Renewed

Restored.

No condemnation,

No defeat.

Only sweet victory in Jesus.

+++++++

"For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh

reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit

reap everlasting life."

((Galatians 6:8)