To the Hills...

I think that these bodies that we live in weren't built to withstand wear and tear. There's no doubt that life's elements can wear on this mortal flesh. I think the solace I find in hard times comes from the knowledge that I have a Strong Tower that I can run into and find safety. We weren't created to go through life without shelter and without a safe haven.

I don't think that the cares of this world can stand a chance against the greatness of our mighty God. The problem arises when we forget to run to Him. I think that this post is here to serve as a reminder that we aren't meant to go this road alone. There is an awesome Savior who loves us deeply and passionately, and He wants to walk this path with us. When times get rough, He wants to be a friend and a shield and a hope. I think that the psalmist understood this. Psalm 121 (NIV) says this:

¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills—

where does my help come from?

² My help comes from the LORD,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot slip—

he who watches over you will not slumber;

⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The LORD watches over you—

the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

⁷ The LORD will keep you from all harm—

he will watch over your life;

⁸ the LORD will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore.

This passage is exceedingly comforting. As Christians, our hope comes from the knowledge that our help doesn't come from the fallible hand of a man. Our help comes from a God who never sleeps on the job. He's always watching over us. Always protecting, always loving, always guiding, always keeping. And here in lies our peace: our God who created this earth will not allow us to be lost within it. He sees, He cares and He knows.

What is it that you are afraid of? What is it that looks bigger than your strength? What is that thing that seems insurmountable? Look up. Look toward the hills and take a good look at the mighty God who is fighting on your team. He is greater. He is bigger. He is stronger. He is mightier than any fear or doubt or insecurity or trouble. He is greater.

Paths of Righteousness

I think about the nature of Jesus a lot. I like to think about the
things that He's done, too, but thoughts of those things always point
back to thoughts of who He is. I'll be honest in saying that when I
think of who God is my mind is boggled. I've lived long enough to be
let down and rejected and abandoned and humiliated. Thinking back on
some experiences, I can truthfully say that I've seen the nature of
man and it ain't pretty. But the nature of Jesus is Love. It is
incorruptible. It is pure. To me that is mind-boggling and I will not
apologize for being in awe of this magnificent God.

I read one of David's psalms again today. Psalm 23 speaks volumes
about our God's nature. It speaks of how He takes care of and
protects us. With each verse, I become more and more grateful. More
and more amazed.

The verse that stood out to me this time was verse 3. This verse says
that our Lord restores my soul. It says that He leads me in paths of
righteousness for His Name's sake. I don't think that I am able to
describe how much this means to me. I think about God's nature:
strong, kind, compassionate, faithful, unchanging. I think about human
nature: desperately wicked, frail, fickle and weak. If God were to
lead me in paths of righteousness for my own name's sake I would be
worried. It would be easy for me to believe that I could get lost,
somehow, in the thickness of life. But it's not based on my name.
Righteous living and righteousness itself are not based on my nature. They are based on the nature of One who is steadfast and unchanging. He is
steady and faithful. He is trustworthy and good. He is really really
good.

I think this verse means so much to me because it means that God will
never let us go. He won't let us slip away. It will never be His
choice if we walk away from His providence. As long as we remain as
sheep, following with complete trust a mighty Shepherd, He will always
show us the right way to go. He'll never change His mind and choose to
lead us astray. He will not choose not to lead us. It is not in His
nature to abandon us. These paths of righteousness, paths of peace,
paths of love, paths of grace are ours to walk along.

Sent from my iPhone

Musings...

Remove from my life the nature of wickedness
And reign in my heart with no rival
For only in You will I find rest
And in Your love, my soul's survival

Sent from my iPhone

Our Secret...

So...apparently it's been a poetic month for me. Here's another:

It's like You know a secret about me that You won't share

And it has to be something good

It has to be something amazing

Because I look at me and

I can't for the life of me understand why

Your love has carried me above the

Muck and Mire

Its like You know a secret about me that You won't share

Maybe I'm a princess from a far away land

Maybe I'm a warrior queen from an exotic coast

But I look at me and I'm still me

No riches or fame or power to claim

But Your love has rescued me

Its like You know a secret about me that You won't share

Why do You love me?

It seems so unfair

But then I look up and You are still there

Perfect in all Your beauty and splendor

I get it now

Its not because of me, I see

You are Who You are

That's why You even see me.

Thank You.

Musings...

The shame is removed in Your presence
I look at You and I know that I am beautiful
This love, Your love
Has broken the chains
I lift my arms high
I shout aloud
You have saved me
Its amazing
I am free

My Heart Yearns...

My heart yearns, Oh dear Saviour
Fill me up with You
Do not let the cares of this world
Distract me from what is true

Cleanse my heart and make it pure
My mind, daily renew
So that when all is said and done
I'll look just like You do

Wash me, purge me, do what You must
For You are my reward
And if I cannot be with You
I want nothing, my dear Lord

My heart's desire is to see Your face
And to dance with you indeed
For all else could fade away
But You are all I need

You are so holy, Lord, so pure
And I look to You for peace
Let my heart always be right with You
My praises will never cease

If Ever...

If ever I forget that You are my everything
Remind me, so gently, why You are the song that I sing.

If ever my heart and mind wander from the path of Truth
Guide me, dear Saviour, to the scars that are Your proof.

If ever I give less than my all, or try to walk away
Renew our love and make it clear that this is the place to stay.


You are my Life, my Hope, my Breath
Without You I have no thing.
So if ever I make a single mistake,
Forgive me, for to Your cross I cling.

When I Consider Your Heavens...

He is God. The Creator of all things beautiful and magnificent. The Ruler of the heavens and the earth. The only One who is complete in and of Himself. He is God and no other being in heaven, on earth, or below the earth can begin to compare to the intensity of His greatness. This is known by all. I believe that somewhere deep inside, those who deny the matter know it as well. This truth is astounding, but the part of it that boggles my mind is the fact that in all His glory and majesty, in all His power and strength, He thinks of me. Psalm 4:3-4 says:

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?

When I consider all that You've done...when I think about the amazing things that You've brought to pass without the help of any other being, I wonder why You think of me. I wonder why You consider me a friend. I wonder why You take time out to spend moments of intimacy with me.

I can relate to David in this. I stand in awe of a God who can create a perishable being, know and understand it's flaws, but dwell with it still. This wonderful phenomenon speaks of the humility of my God. He knows that He is all-powerful, all-knowing, pure and perfect, and still thinks of me. The bible doesn't say that He is thinking of His own beauty and greatness...but that He is thinking of me. This is humility of the purest kind. This is my God.

Untitled...

Today -like many days- I am overwhelmed. I remember what life was like before real and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, and I am in awe of how He could take someone like me and make such an indelible and undeniable change. I'm thinking, today, of how He has given me all that I need. I'm pondering His grace and His mercy and His love and His promises and my heart is bursting with the lyrics and melody of a brand new song. I can relate to King David, the psalmist. In Psalm 34:10, he says:

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

This reality that I have found in my Redeemer is irreplaceable and priceless. I haven't a clue what anyone could offer me to turn away from Him. If I was given the chance to choose between one day in the Presence of my King and a thousand days in the lap of luxury, my choice would be simple. I would choose Jesus. I would choose Him every time.

I'm not well-versed in very many things, but of this one thing I am sure: I am desperate to know Jesus. I am desperate to see Him face to face and to know His heart. I have been redeemed. If I lost everything else, of this I can be sure. I am His. He is mine. The very thought of this brings words of uncommon praise to my heart and from my lips.

It is true that in a mathematical equation, the gift of one day with Jehovah is greater than the offer of a thousand days in any other place. This God, this King, is more immense than the sound or formation of any word, but I will not relent until I know Him fully, as I am fully known. I will not stop the songs, I will not cease to praise until it is made known to all who care to hear that there is a God who is greater, more perfect, more immeasurable than any other thing that could ever exist.

A Life Filled With Purpose...

Each one of us has been created for a very amazing and specific reason that is larger than ourselves. Once will plug into kingdom agenda and match our plans with the cause of Jesus, the reason we were created will come to light.

Living life with God and being propelled by purpose is exhilarating and exciting. I love reading Isaiah 61, because this chapter is a very strong reminder that every gift and talent that God has given is for a purpose. That purpose has to line up with God's love-plan for humanity.

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.

These three verses of Isaiah 61 serve as a guide to me. This is why I was born. This is why I am anointed. This is why God called me to intimate relationship. So that as I fellowship with Him and bask in His loving kindness, I can tell other people about Him. I can carry good news, proclaim freedom and comfort those who mourn. This divine purpose is bigger than even we that carry it, but it is ours nonetheless.

Ephesians 2:10 says this:

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

As children of God, we are born to live lives filled with purpose. What are the good works that God prepared for me to do? What am I created for? These are questions that I ask myself over and over again as seasons change in my life. I pray that our lives will be given fully to be used by Jesus to do the work that He so masterfully prepared us for before we were even a thought in the minds of our parents. I pray that our lives will be filled and consumed with divine purpose.

In Your Arms...

Safe and secure
Wrapped in Your embrace
Kept firmly in the shadow of Your wings
I'm at home
I close my eyes
I let my guard down
There is rest here

I want to cast myself into Your arms
This is where I belong
Darkness runs
And peace surrounds me
Eyes filled with tears
There are no words

Your glory is in this place
I push on further
Longing to see Your face
Overwhelmed by the sheer power of Your presence
You are beautiful
My heart sings a new song
And my arms are spread wide

The earth tells of Your majesty
And speaks of the newness of You
Joy that's overwhelming
Peace that floods my heart
You are
Most Excellent
Almighty
Pure
Wonderful
Mine

A Man Will Look to His Maker...

We live in times that have traveled far off from the values of a time that is now only remembered through the tales of the elderly and writings from years past. Man's conscience has been seared and calluses have developed that cause us to feel nothing at the sight of death and violence and contempt for God. I am uncomfortable, however, with the thought of a mere man looking upon my Holy Father with insolence in his heart. It pains me to hear the voice of a human speak of an Almighty God with no sense of reverence and awe. Because of this I pray for the people of a fallen and sinful race. My heart cries out for cleansing and for revival.

Isaiah 17:7 (NKJV) says:

In that day a man will look to his Maker,
And his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel.

In my quest for more of Jesus, I read the Word as if I am a starved man and these Words are my only source of nourishment. In this search for nourishment I ran into this verse and my soul and spirit immediately began to bear witness. Yes! This is it! This is what I've been praying for!

My prayer and hope is that in these days when nothing is sacred any longer, man will look again to his Maker. I pray that this generation will turn their eyes toward the One who sits on the throne and we will respect Him. I pray that we will look at Him and see Him for who He is: holy, worthy, righteous, compassionate, kind, powerful, just and faithful. I pray that "that day" that is written about in Isaiah will be this day. I pray that it will be this season. I pray that it will be now.

Look Closely...

Just another day
Examining the world around me
Such beauty
Utterly Awestruck
Singing of the power of Your love
Reminiscing on our best times together
Established justice
Intense worship
Great power
Never let me go
Sovereign and holy One
Faithful as the day
One true God
Reserve me for Your glory
Extreme faith
Vast revelation
Early will I seek You
Righteous You are, wholly perfect

Rejoice in the Lord...

I'd like to take a chance in saying that we are all tempted to give in the the desires that accompany our mortal and dangerous flesh. I'd also like to assume that each of us has had our shares of ups and downs in this roller coaster life that we've been given the chance to live. I think in saying this, I would not be too far off base. But one thing that I've learned well in all my years of living is this: the one constant thing that is utterly dependable is God. I've found that no matter how many times our lives and the people in them take sharp right turns for the worse and then quickly dart left to add to the confusion, God remains the same. Day in and day out, He never changes. Faithful as the day.

I suppose this is why Philippians 4:4 says this:

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

I find great relief in the fact that this verse does not on any terms urge us to rejoice in our emotions always. It asks not that we rejoice in people or nature or time and space. This verse commands us to rejoice in the Lord always. The beauty of this command is that the Lord remains the same. He does not change. He is always just. He is always kind. He is always compassionate and caring. He is always patient and faithful. This is a testament to the fact that we can always find a reason to rejoice in Him. When everything around us has fallen and our world seems to be shaken by a major quake, we can find in our Lord a reason to rejoice.

Remember this verse when the voice of depression beckons you to come nearer. Remember this when you've lost a loved one or when it seems that failure has reared its ugly head and lifted its deafening voice. Remember this verse when plans have gone awry or everyone you love seems to have turned the other way. Rejoice in THE LORD always. I'll say it again. Rejoice!

I Consider Them Rubbish...

The unfortunate thing is that we live within the confines of the glaringly obvious. We, as children of God, know that there is more to this life than the things that we see. Knowing this does not, however, give us an automatic pass from this world to the next. We must stay here. We must press on to take hold of that for which Christ took hold of us (Philippians 3:12).

Although we live in this world, we have the wonderful blessing of not being of it. We get to enjoy this world to the fullest extent because we can take joy in those things against which there is no law. This is where we find our fortune: In seeking God until we see Him face to face. As we seek Him, we find that we become uncommonly disinterested in the things of this world, as our gaze is focused solely on the object of our desire: Jesus Christ.

I think that Paul felt this way. In Philippians 3:7-8 (NIV), he says:

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ

Paul says here that everything that he once found profit with now seems to produce only loss. The things that he once held in high esteem are now nothing compared to his ultimate goal: knowing Jesus. This "surpassing greatness" proves more honorable, more precious than any other thing. Everything that once took priority in life is now rubbish compared to gaining Christ.

What things in our lives are important to us? I assure you that these things are worth less than nothing compared to the beauty and the privilege of knowing Jesus in pure and intimate relationship. Being established in this truth, let us reach for and press toward those things that are important. Let's press on toward Jesus, toward His cause and toward His church.

Shine Your Light...

Don't shrink to make other people comfortable...no one gains anything from it...but shine as brightly as you can...and those people who are supposed to light their candle at your flame will be able to shine also...

Appreciation...

This post is one that flows from a very personal place in my heart. I just wanted to take a moment to tell the entire world wide web that I appreciate and respect Jesus for shedding His blood for me. I wanted to let the lot of you know that I appreciate the Holy Spirit for being a friend to me when there was absolutely no reason for Him to stick around. I wanted to express my appreciation to my Father, who tells me that I'm beautiful on days when I feel less than. This my heavenly Father -who goes before me to guide my path and also comes behind me to guard it- has my heart.

God has forgiven me for and brought me through very much. He did not have to. This notion is impressed upon me heavily. The superheroesque feat of the Cross of Christ is twisted and insane by any human standard. Knowing this makes me absurdly grateful that the King that is greater than every other king is not human at all. Romans 5:6-8 (NIV) says much about the bloody task of Jesus:

⁶You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Just at the right time...a hero to a fallen race came to redeem us. While we were still powerless, He did the unthinkable and died so that we would not have to die. I love that this verse doesn't hide the ugly truth. It is true that you'd be hard-pressed to locate a man that would die for another man; even if both these men were more righteous than the purest form of nature. But while we were still sinners Christ died for us. This truth is nothing short of amazing and captivating.

I write this post because my heart is grateful. I am grateful for the Cross-endeavor that saved my fate. I am grateful because even after the Cross -the greatest exhibition of love- my God still took the time to save me from my past, to orchestrate my present and to give me hope for the future. And so I appreciate Him...I appreciate Him, I appreciate Him, I appreciate Him. I want everyone to know this love that I know. Let's talk more about Him. Let's do more for Him. Let's all say and do more.

I cannot go a day without You
All of creation whispers of Your greatness
When my soul was in a dark and dry pit
Your love reached down to lift me onto the mountain top
At these heights I will dance
I will sing of Your wondrous works
Who can compare to You?
Whose works are greater than Yours?
Whose ways are more noble?
There is none
My heart, my soul will chase after You
Until I see Your face
My God, my Rock, my Keeper.

I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart;

I will glorify your name forever.

-Psalm 86:12

...For He Cares for You...

The love of God for a fallen race was fully demonstrated at the cross of Christ. John 15:13 says:

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

There is no greater love than the love that God has for us. It is immeasurable. It is unchanging. It doesn't diminish and it doesn't desert. What astonishes me, however, is that this perfect, spotless, blameless, just, merciful, compassionate and almighty God not only loves us, but He cares for us. This amazes me. This is our God who created the earth on its axis, and then told it to spin so that each side could experience the sun. This God...this awesome God cares about you and me. Jeremiah 29:11 says:

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

PAUSE!

"You're thinking about me? You're thinking about me?"

Selah.

The Word of God says to us here says that this powerful, awesome, beautiful God is thinking thoughts of kindness and hope toward us. What is man that He is mindful of us? What is man that His mind is full of us? It says in Jeremiah that God is thinking of how to give us hope and a future. He's thinking of how to make our lives better. He's thinking thoughts of peace toward us. Not only does this God think loving thoughts toward us, not only did He demonstrate His love at the Cross of Christ, but He also says that we can give Him all of our burdens. In 1 Peter 5:7 the Bible tells us to cast all our anxiety and cares and worries on to the Lord because He cares for us. He cares enough to take on our worries. That is kindness in great magnitude.

I pray that we will all experience this love of God in it's entirety. I pray that we will understand that He cares for us. I pray that we will find confidence in the fact that there is Someone who thinks about us and makes plans for out future and wants to see us happy. I pray that we will know the love of Christ so that we will be filled with all the fullness of who He is.