Bless the Lord, O My Soul...

Psalm 103:1-5 says:

1Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

2Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's

I love these verses! I can relate to the psalmist because I, too, have received so many benefits from knowing Jesus and having a relationship with Him. I, too, cannot forget these benefits. I, too, want everything in my life to bless the Lord. I don't want to have anything to return unused for His glory on that last day.

What does it mean to "bless the Lord?" For me, it just means that I want to be a blessing to Jesus. I want to be an asset to His kingdom and His cause here on earth. Not because I have anything to give, not because whatever I give will be enough to repay Him for all He's been to me, but because it would be a crime for me to look at all He's done for me, and how He's changed my life, and all He's given me and not want to do something to say thank you.

I don't talk about Jesus so much because I think I'm better than anyone. In fact, I believe the opposite. I'm not a Christian so that I can be judgemental and toss accusations at passers by. The truth is that when I see people in the amazing world around me, I want to get to know them, hear their stories, understand and the give them excited hugs. The reason that I talk about Jesus so much is that He has done too much for me to keep to myself. This is my way of blessing the Lord. If I looked back over my short life and saw everything that this amazing and kind God has done for me, and I was prompted to do nothing in return, I may as well be dead.

My prayer is that everything in my life -the good and the bad- will be a blessing to God and to His church and to His cause. I want all that is within me to bless the Lord and because of this, I cannot keep silent.

"I will love You with all my heart. I will love You with all my strength. I will love You with all my soul. Take all of me."

"I Am Willing," He Said...

Let me start by saying that if I were Jesus, I wouldn't have given me a second thought. I say this to express that I haven't the slightest idea why Jesus loves me. I don't know why He went so far to prove to me that He loves me. I don't know why He calls me His own and gives me a hope and a future. But that's my Jesus; He's just that kinda God.

I think that so many people are caught up in the perception that Jesus only came to judge and to condemn. I can understand why the enemy of our souls would fight so hard to keep this impression in people's minds. The truth is that knowledge of how much God loves us gives us such a boundless amount of power over the wiles of our adversary. It's the knowledge of God's love that causes people to be filled with Him, and thus having an immeasurable amount of confidence and power. It says so in Ephesians 3:19 (NIV):

And to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God

To know a love that surpasses knowledge. It goes beyond our limited mental faculties. But it is ours for the taking, nonetheless. And when we know this love in the depth of our hearts, we are filled with the fullness of God, because God is Love. They are one and the same.

But I digress...

The purpose of this post is to speak to someone who is wondering whether or not Jesus wants to deliver them, or use them, or make them whole. These words stand as a testament to a kind and compassionate God who desperately loves a flawed people.

In Mark 1, there is a certain leper who saw Jesus in Galilee. The bible records their meeting in verses 40-42:

40. A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."
41. Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!"
42. Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

This man had lived the life of a leper. Ostracized. Scorned. Rejected. But he heard that there was a Man in town who drove out demons and healed the sick. I'm sure he struggled with whether or not to go to Jesus. Would He send him away? Would He reject him like all of the others? But in the end, the man went to Jesus, still skeptical. "I know You can do it if You can bear the stench of my disease," he said, " I know that You can help me if You are willing to bother with my filth." And Jesus in all of His kindness and compassion, reached out to touch a man who had not felt the touch or connection of another human being in such a long time. Jesus touched this man and said, "I am willing."

This moves me to tears. Because I know that my sinful nature is like leprosy to Jesus. But He saw me in my sin, and He washed me in His blood, and then He went the extra mile to call me "friend." People, Jesus is willing to love you. Jesus is willing to wash you. Jesus is willing to take you just as you are. You don't have to be perfect for Him. You don't have to be "good." You don't have to be clean. Jesus will reach out to you from where He is. He will touch you and His touch will make you whole.


Come Just As You Are...

So, The Funniest Thing Happened...

I was on the DC metro yesterday...just making my merry way home from another work day. My iPhone was playing songs from Hillsong's latest CD and I was contemplating life...

Then a very VERY square man takes a seat next to me. When I say square, I mean SQUARE. Very straight-laced. The man is holding what looks like a portfolio that houses what looks like a short paper that an undergrad student would turn in for an English 101 assignment. Now, I will make this disclaimer: I'm not (that) nosy. I like to mind my own business, but for some reason my eye happened to read a few lines of this manuscript of sorts that my fellow commuter was holding. The first thing that jumped out to me was a passage from the book of Matthew. I was so excited! I thought to myself, "Yay!! He's a Christian! He's my brother!!! I'm so happy! We're gonna be friends and then we're going to encourage each other in the Word and blah blah blah..," silently rambling to myself about friendship with a person that most likely wants nothing to do with me! lol! I could not muster the strength to wipe the grin off of my face. Then I began to strategize...how can I introduce myself so that this beautiful friendship could commence? I decided to just go for it...

"Hi, I'm a Christian!" I said, with the biggest, cheesiest, corniest grin on my face. My heart was racing. I couldn't wait to hear his excited response!

The man turned to look at me and said, deadpan, "Oh...really?" and then turned back around to face the front of the train.

He most likely thinks that I'm THE creepiest person he's ever met. lol! The scenario did NOT go down like I was hoping it would! I was still smiling, though, because I was still excited about the fact that he'd be in heaven, but I made sure to keep that thought to myself before I scared him enough to make him bop me on the head with same portfolio that had gotten me into the mess.

The next stop was mine, so I had to leave my new bff without a proper introduction. But that's okay...we have all of eternity to make that happen...:)

Forgiveness...

This, my dear friends, is a very touchy topic. At least for me it is. It's something that I am learning on a long journey...but I honestly believe that its all worth it.

Matthew 18 is a wonderful chapter in the Bible that helps me understand the wicked nature of a grudge. In verse 21 (AMP), Peter asked Jesus, "Lord, how many times may my brother sin against me and I forgive him and let it go? [As many as] up to seven times?" And in the next verse Jesus answered, "I tell you, not up to seven times, but seventy times seven!"

Then Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven to a king who had an attendant that owed him a lot of money. When the king asked for the money that was owed and the attendant couldn't pay, the king ordered that the attendant be sold with all of his belongings. The debt was so large that the king even said that the man's wife and son should be sold. Today the debt would've been equivalent to about $10,000,000!! But at the decree the attendant fell to the king's feet and wept and begged for mercy. After seeing the man at his feet, the king felt compassion and had mercy on the man. This kind and generous king let the servant go and canceled this huge debt! I can't imagine the gratitude and relief that the servant felt. He was given his own freedom and the freedom of his family. He was given peace of mind and a clean slate.

But, ON THE WAY BACK from this wonderful meeting with a kind ruler, the attendant went to go and seek out a fellow attendant who owed him some money. The first attendant's friend owed him only about $20, but could not pay the debt. In the same manner that he had fallen at the feet of the king, the attendant found his comrade falling at his own feet and begging for patience and promising to pay the debt in full, but the man who had been forgiven a large debt looked at him and had no compassion. The first attendant ordered that his friend be thrown into jail until he could pay off the debt!

Isn't that a crazy story? How can a man who had be let out of a debt of $10,000,000 hold on so tightly when owed just $20? It seems absurd, but in reality this is exactly what we Christians do when we don't forgive people that hurt us. Jesus died so that we could be forgiven a debt so great that only the Son of God could pay the price. Why can't we let go of broken hearts or broken friendships? Why can't we forgive a slandered name or a simple misunderstanding? It just doesn't seem fair.

And this is the thing: Most of the time our anger and grudges are completely valid and justified. But we're supposed to be like Jesus. Aren't we? In Psalm 86:5 (AMP) the Psalmist says:

"For You, O Lord, are good, and ready to forgive [our trespasses, sending them away, letting them go completely and forever]; and You are abundant in mercy and loving-kindness to all those who call upon You."

This is the kind of God that we serve. Kind, caring, forgiving, sweet. We've got to be the same way after we've been redeemed because our own forgiveness depends on how we treat others who need it. This fact is taught at the end of the parable I spoke about earlier. When people saw how the forgiven attendant treated his friend, they went to tell the king. The king was rightfully enraged and gave the attendant over to tormenting jailers until the monies that had been pardoned before could be paid off.

I've been reading a book called The Bait of Satan: Living Free from the Deadly Trap of Offense by John Bevere. Its a great book and you should check it out. It gives so much insight into the need for forgiveness in our lives. For ourselves and for others.

From My Heart to His...

Now that the storm has passed
And I'm safe here in Your arms
Now that the waters are quieted
And I find that I'm unharmed
I can finally say that You are all I need

Now that beneath Your wings
I find shelter from the rain
Now that Your matchless love
Has outlasted all the pain
I can finally say that You are all I need

Where would I be?
Where would I be?
If Your love hadn't rescued me...
Where would I be?
Where would I be?
If Your love hadn't rescued me...

Now every second of the day
In every day of my life
My heart will sing Your praises
Because after I searched the whole earth, I found
That You are all I need...

Nothing Can Separate Us...

I can understand what Paul meant when he said that he was PERSUADED. What could convince a man like Paul that there is nothing on earth or in heaven or below the earth that could separate him from the love of God that is found in Christ Jesus? I honestly believe that death and life and principalities and powers and things in the present and things in the future tried to separate Paul from the love of Christ...but did not succeed...


There are things in life...situations...that try your faith...circumstances that will make you question things that you know to be true. They'll make you look at yourself and question the things that God has told you He loves about you...but this is when the beauty of relationship shines through. And I think that Paul realized this. That even in those times when life throws you curveballs that make you question and doubt, God is there to answer every question and quiet every doubting voice...this is how we can be persuaded. This is how I was persuaded. I know now that neither death nor life, nor heartache nor pain, nor faults and insecurities...nothing...absolutely NOTHING...can separate me from the love of God that I've found in Christ Jesus.


"The first time I see Your face, everything else around me will fade to the background...and I'll be struck full by the truth in Your gaze as You work an indelible change in me..."~Brooke Fraser