Words of Wisdom~Martin Luther

"This life is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness; not health, but healing; not being, but becoming; not rest, but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it; the process is not yet finished, but it is going on; this is not the end, but it is the road; all does not yet gleam with glory, but all is being purified." 

~Martin Luther 

May you be blessed by the Lord today as you continue in this journey called life.  Keep your eyes upon Him who was lifted up on the cross for us so that we would believe and be saved. 

"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him." ~John 3:14-15 (NIV)

WorshipFULLWednesday...Without You

"My days have passed, my plans are shattered.

Yet the desires of my heart

turn night into day;

in the face of the darkness light is near."

~Job 17:11-12

This song is so beautiful and powerful (so is the story behind it).  I think that when God tells us in His Word that He can make for us a crown of beauty instead of ashes, an oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair (Isaiah 61:3), He is saying that while He allows us to enter into a world of ashes, mourning, despair, He doesn't intend on keeping us there.  God ultimately wants us in a world of beauty, joy, and praise.  

Without the one world, we would never know the experience of the other.  In other words, without experience mourning, we would never know the experience of joy.  What we might see as despair, God sees as an opportunity of praise.  Hold fast, endure the valley of shadows, look to God in the time of ashes, for He is waiting to show you a whole other world of beauty, joy, and praise!  And remember always: "In the face of the darkness light is near."

Praise God

"Praise the LORD, all you nations. Praise him, all you people of the earth. For his unfailing love for us is powerful; the LORD's faithfulness endures forever. Praise the LORD!"

~Psalm 117

Praising God is easy when joy fills our hearts and we are overwhelmed with the feeling of being blessed.  But what about when life is not so joyful or so blessed?

I know when I recently was betrayed by someone who was suppose to be by my side, praising God was not a thought in my head or an expression in my heart.  But, that's exactly what God wanted me to do.  He wanted me to praise Him for the heartache.  He wanted me to praise Him for the unjust situation.  He wanted me to praise Him for the hurt.  He wanted me to praise Him for the disappointment.

And so, I did.

It was not easy, but I surrendered to God's request because I thought, 'Why not?'

Why not praise God in our trials?  Why not praise God in our sufferings?  Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  (James 1:2)  There's not much else we can do in those situations.  We can't change what has happened.  But God can.

He began to change my heart and how the betrayal affected me.  When I began praising God for the situation and all the hurt I felt, I began to feel joy replacing pain.  What release of freedom overcame me!

God didn't change what happened to me, but He changed me.  That in itself is worth praising God for!  Only when we begin to praise God for everything, do we begin to really love God for everything.

I needed to really love God in the hurt of my situation.  I needed to praise Him.  Jesus understood my hurt.  He, too, had been betrayed by someone who was suppose to be by His side.  In fact, in the hour Jesus needed a friend the most, Peter denied him.  Peter-the same man who hours before said he wouldn't desert Jesus even if everyone else did (Matthew 26:33)-left Him when He needed someone the most to stand by His perfectly innocent side.

Jesus still loved Peter.  Jesus still loves us.  Jesus still loves me even when my world is crashing down around me or even when I sin.  His love isn't in the hurt.  His love is in our hearts.  And when we begin to praise God for everything, including our hurts, He reveals His love to us in ways He couldn't if everything in our life was perfect and wonderful.

Experience the indescribable joy of the Lord today.  Praise Him not only for the good in your life, but also for the pain, the unjust situations, the heartaches, the people or things that are making your life difficult, the hardships, the laundry that needs to be done, the toilets that need to be cleaned, the work you've put off, the unanswered prayers, the mistakes, the challenges, the disappointments, the illnesses, the weaknesses, the imperfections.  Praise God for His faithfulness!  Praise God for His gracious, abundant, powerful and unfailing love!  Praise God, all you nations!  Praise God, all you people of the earth! Praise God!

One Word

"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit."

Proverbs 18:21

One word this past week had a power to revive me. And one word this past week had a power to prostrate me. "The tongue has the power of life and death," and it only takes one word.

James warns us (in James 3) that the whole body can be corrupted by the tongue, and in Jeremiah 9:8, the tongue is referred to as a deadly arrow. With one word we can sin, and with one word we can cause more sin. One word. That's all it takes to destroy. One word. That's also all it takes to build.

"A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." Luke 6:45

What's in your heart? I know mine lately has been burdened with hurt, betrayal, frustrations, discontent, confusion, and insecurity. The good in my heart has been hidden under this heavy pile. How can I possibly speak words of encouragement, of goodness, and of love? I can't.

What I can do is hand my heart over to God and ask to receive Him. I can ask Him to cleanse my heart of all impurities and fill me with His love so that I can speak words of love. That's all any of us have to do to receive a heart full of His power and to speak of good things. One word to the King of Kings: Here. One word: Help. One word: Forgive. One word: Thanks. 

There is power in one word, and there is absolute power in His Word. Let us, then, empty our hearts onto Him and let Him fill us with His life-giving Word. 

More than Conquerors

"No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us."

Romans 8:37 NLT

Needed this verse today and this song by Rend Collective Experiment.  This life can make you feel so defeated, so weighed down by hurt, so incredibly burdened by demands and expectations, and so lost that you don't even see a direction.  But God is for us, and through His Son Jesus Christ, we have overwhelming victory over this life and all its trials and tribulations.  

So while it may seem like the waters are rising, God extends a lifeSAVIOR.  We are more than conquerors through Him.  We just need to reach out to Jesus who saves, who loves, who finds us and sets us on the right path, who takes our burdens, who heals, and who gives us victory.  Despite the heaviness of my heart today, I am more than a conqueror, I am His. And so are you.

A.S.K.

 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. 

Keep on seeking, and you will find. 

Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you."  

Matthew 7:7

For the month of October I've been challenging myself to begin every day on my knees and journal a prayer to God.  The guideline of my prayer has been Matthew 7:7--ASK.

A.sk God for what you need.
S.eek what needs improvement.
K.nock on the doors that only the Lord can provide.

I can honestly say, after two weeks of this, I have noticed a difference in my day and in my heart.  I have become stronger spiritually, and I have felt more equipped to handle whatever the day brings.  I can say this honestly because yesterday I did not start the day on my knees in prayer.  I totally skipped over it.  I didn't have a horrible day, but I felt like something was missing.  I also felt weak and out-of-sorts.  

I'm realizing more and more what a blessing it is that God invites us to ASK anything in prayer.  By doing so, we acknowledge our need for Him, and isn't that true of us?  Don't we love it when people need us?  The difference is, we don't love people asking more of us all day long, but God does!  (Hallelujah!)  He wants to show us how much He loves us and cares for us.  He wants us to A.S.K. so that we can receive.  Wouldn't it be grand to receive security and strength?  Wouldn't it be glorious to receive peace and joy?  Wouldn't it be gratifying to receive certainty and contentment?  All we have to do is A.S.K.!

"Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence.  And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him."

1 John 3:21-22

All for God's Glory

"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

1 Corinthians 10:31