Lord, We're Amazed at How You Love Us!

He dances over us, even while we are unaware!  We see our sins and struggles and issues, and we think we're so imperfect before Him, yet He is dancing with joy over us! 

He doesn't see any fault or blemish on us.  We are perfect before Him, perfectly loved and accepted and in perfect relationship with Him!

He delights in us every moment of every day, even after we've just blown it for the umpteenth time.  He delights in us...  Wow - God is delighted with us!  He thinks you and I are something special.  He thinks we're worth knowing, worth being around.

And He's always in us, loving us, caring for us, carrying us - how amazing..

He is Perfect Love.  To be in His presence is to be in the presence of Perfect Love in a Person, Someone who will always do us good all the days of our life.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our life, and we shall dwell in the house of Perfect Love forever!

Lord, we're amazed at how You love us!

Rob Rufus on New Covenant Faith

Here is an excerpt from a sermon by Rob Rufus (at the Grace and Glory blog) that is just wonderful.  In it he talks about the nature of faith in the New Covenant.  It's so encouraging to be in the New Covenant, where everything is up to Christ and the pressure is off me...He even takes cares of faith!  New Covenant faith is about God's faith in us, not our faith in Him - wow!  I need to ponder that for a while!  Here's the excerpt:

"Listen stop trying to have faith - put all that blooming Old stuff and weights and laws and put it all off and run with patience". Not looking to have faith or trying to have faith! But looking to Jesus the author and perfecter of faith! The NIV says; "Our" faith but it is not in the Greek. "To Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith". So we have a high priest who authors our faith. You didn't author your faith. Your High Priest - HE is the originator and the perfecter! You need perfect faith to be perfectly saved!

Some say; "Am I really saved - I don't know if I have enough faith!?".

No - there is someone called your High Priest that represents you on all matters relating to God and He has perfect faith and is the author and perfecter of faith and so because of Him you have perfect faith before a perfect God and you are perfect in your High Priest!

I want to say a few things about this.

Old Covenant faith is me trying to please God. New Covenant faith is something God gives to me and something that Jesus has on my behalf. Jesus has faith for you. And Jesus has faith IN you.

Did you know that our New Covenant High Priest is better than the Old Covenant priest that failed? He dealt gently with those who are ignorant and went astray - this perfect High Priest is touched with the feelings of our infirmities and He sympathises with you. He has faith for you - but listen to me. He has faith IN you.

I want to say something life-changing here. Your life is not primarily or essentially changed by who you believe in. Your life is essentially changed by Who believes in you.

The most powerful influence over your life is not who you believe in - the most powerful influence over your life is Who believes in you. Our great High Priest has faith in you and has faith for you and is the author of faith and the perfecter of faith as the perfect High Priest because He has made you perfect forever.

When you know someone believes in you, it has such a powerful positive effect on your life. Everyone in this room has many natural gifts and talents - forget about the supernatural for a moment. Many natural gifts and talents. But most people do not exercise them in fullness unless someone you love and respect believes in you and lets you know that. Whether that be a mother, father, brother, sister, friend or a mentor. Take away the Old Covenant law and bondage and condemnation - and see this great High Priest who believes in you and a Father and a Holy Spirit who believes in you. Can you imagine the revelation of that supernatural power that would be released into your life?

Do you know that when someone recognises you it empowers you? Do you know that if you went to a celebrity concert and whoever your great celebrity is was performing on the concert with 20, 000 people there and they stopped and said; "Oh there's so and so! They were a great blessing to my life!". You would just feel a thousand feet tall! Someone as important as that has just recognised you!

It is not the lesser recognising the Greater - it is when the Greater recognises the lesser that the power of the supernatural of the New Covenant takes place!

The Old Covenant had great emphasis on faith in God. The New Covenant's emphasis is on God's faith in you and for you. The Old Covenant lays the burden on you to have faith in God. The New Covenant lays the burden on our Great High Priest to have great and perfect faith on our behalf so you are not examining yourself all the time to see if you have faith - but your eyes are on Jesus all the time - the author and perfecter of faith.

It takes all the pressure off self-focus! It is not your concern anymore. No - my focus is on the revelation of Christ and in Him I was crucified. He did it because He loved me and gave Himself for me. I am crucified with Him! And the life I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God.

Before the Cross, the flow of faith was us to God. After the Cross the flow of faith was God to us.

When someone asks you; "Do you believe in Jesus?" - you say one thing. "Well I know one thing - He believes in me!". And I am not insecure about whether I have enough faith in Him - I am very secure that He has enough perfected faith for me! If you ask me - do I believe in Jesus? I say - absolutely! How much do you believe in Him? That's not the issue. I do not even want to probe or analyse or introspect that. I just want to keep looking at His lovely face!

I want to keep looking at what He did at the Cross because THAT releases His faith and confidence in me. Your life is not stabilized by you trying to have faith. Your life is stabilized by the revelation of how much faith He has in you and for you.

You see - the High Priest has to have faith for you. The power of the King is not rooted in man's faith in God. That is Old Covenant elemental milk teaching. The power of this kingdom is rooted in God's faith in you. He believes in you - His faith in you is not a blind faith. He is not pretending. He invested everything at the Cross for you so that now His opinion of you is one of integrity.

He sees you not as one trying to be holy or trying to be righteous or trying to be sanctified or trying to be redeemed - He sees you AS YOU ARE. You are acknowledged by God because of the perfection of your great High Priest.

Yes - God says - "I know who and what you are. I know everything I have made you to be through the Cross."

                                                                                                                        Rob Rufus

Jesus, Friend of my Heart..

I loved this song back in the day..and lately as I've been going through some anxious times, the Spirit has kept this song playing in the background of my mind.  I finally stopped to notice, and I realized I'd been trying to deal with my worries rather than simply looking to Him.  So I began to talk to Him about things and began to truly feel better and know He was there.  Of course He had been there all along, and it was like He was reminding me that He carries me, He's the friend of my heart, He's the One who truly cares and takes care of my issues - so I don't have to.  Ever since I became God's child, my heart and life have been in His hands and He's been taking care of me.  That brings such peace.

Here are some of the lines in the song that meant a lot to me:

"Whisper the words of a prayer
  And you'll find Him there
  Arms open wide, love in His eyes!
  Jesus, He meets you where you are
  Jesus, He heals your secret scars
  All the love you're longing for
  All the love that you need
  Is Jesus - the Friend of a wounded heart."

I am so glad we are never alone, never without a Friend, never without support, for He is living this life through us!  It's a relief to stop and just bask in His Presence.  His Presence is all that's needed.  He ministers to us all that we need because He ministers HIMSELF!  His Presence by His Spirit in us is the source of all joy, peace, hope, rest, love, acceptance, comfort, victory, strength, clarity, fulfillment and life.  HE is all those things to us.  His Presence is the one necessary thing that Mary discovered, and it (HE) won't ever be taken away from us!

Thank You, Lord, that not only are you WITH us and IN us, but You are also living THROUGH us and You will perfect all that concerns us today!  Thank You for the way You woo us back to remembering that when we get anxious; thank You for how You draw us to look to You and see Your "arms open wide, love in Your eyes."  Jesus, thank You for being Our Truest Friend who always understands and accepts us and who lifts us UP!  Troubles can't get us down because we're upheld and kept by You, and You are living through us!  You are always just what we need, and You meet us right where we are and minister to us the word, the love, the joy, the peace, the power - whatever it is we need in that moment, You ARE that for and in us!  Thank You for being the Friend of our wounded hearts!

Because of the Resurrection...

Christ is risen...He is risen indeed!

Because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, because of the resurrection:

- we have also been raised to new life in Him

- our spirits are now alive

- we have God's Life within us

- we are new creations in Christ, all things have become new

- we are righteous new persons, with His righteous nature as our new (and only!) nature

- we have new hearts that are good with His goodness and pure with His purity

- we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places

- our lives are hidden with Christ in God

- we are now part of the eternal

- we can't be eternally lost, because His life in us can't be extinguished

- we're in union with Eternal Life

- we're eternally secure with His indestructible life in us

- we are out of the realm of sin and death and into the realm of Life

- we are no longer married to the law but to Christ

- we serve not in the oldness of the law but in the newness of the Spirit

- we are a clean and holy temple where God dwells by His Spirit

- we are part of Christ's body along with all other believers

- Christ is our very life

- we no longer live, for Christ now lives in us

- we have been born again, born from above, begotten of God

- we are children of God!

- we are part of God's family forever, belonging with Him always

- we are in Christ, enjoying the relationship He shares with the Father, accepted in the Beloved

- we can call God "Daddy"

- the Spirit of His Son is within us testifying that we are children of God

- we are joined to the Lord, one spirit/Spirit with Him

- there is no separation between our spirit and His Spirit

- we are one with Him, in union with God

- we have perfect fellowship with Him

- we are always in His Presence!

- He is with us always, even to the end of the age!

- death has lost its sting for us

- if we die, we won't stay dead!

- Christ is in us, the hope of glory (we already have His glory in us, and one day it will be totally and visibly manifested)

- we will one day be raised up with our resurrected bodies

- we will live with God forever!

Happy Resurrection Day to all!

You're the Sweetest Thing

You're the sweetest thing, Lord!  Your love is the sweetest thing, the most beautiful, touching, tender, heart-moving thing of all!

Because of the Cross...

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the cross where You died for us and as us!

You said, "If I be lifted up, I will draw all..to Myself."  I read somewhere that the word "men", as in draw all men, isn't in the original.  So maybe we can think of You drawing all that was against us, all that would keep us from blessed fellowship with You - drawing all that upon and into Yourself on the cross.

You were lifted up on the cross and You drew ALL to Yourself..

All our sin...

All our failures...

All our shame...

All our guilt...

All the law's requirements upon us...

All the law's judgment upon us...

All the law's condemnation of us...

All the law's curse upon us...

All the effects of the law's curse upon us...

All the pain...

All the sorrow...

All the weaknesses...

All the alienation...

All the lostness...

All the animosity...

All the power of the enemy over us...

All the accusations of the enemy against us...

All the enslavement to sin...

All the bondage to fear...

All the entrapment in lies...

All the confusion...

All the misunderstanding of who You really are...

All the unfaith...

All the hopelessness...

All the neediness...

All the dead works...

All of the sin nature...

All of the old self...

All of the old person infected with the sin spirit...

All of who we were without You...

All of the old creation...

ALL of it, taken to the cross so we need bear it no more!

ALL of it...GONE!

Thank You, Lord, that You took all that was against us, all that bound us, the sin that was destroying us, the bondage to the law that doomed us, the power of sin and the enemy to kill us - You absorbed all that into Your own body on the cross and killed it off!  You put an end to it and took it down to the grave!  And none of it rose!

Praise You, Lord Jesus, we are free! Free, free, free!

You and You Alone

Here's another new worship song by Ben Dunn, a beautiful song...

I Have the Perfect Friend

I have the Perfect Friend, the Perfect BEST Friend - the dear Holy Spirit!

He is always there for me, always loyal, always true.

He's an ever-present help in trouble!  He sticks with me through thick and thin.  Nothing I do would push Him away.

He's there for me to take my part and handle things for me.  He's a constant encourager and His words are always to build me up, not tear me down.

He's never disappointed in me.  He delights in me and in our friendship.  He loves being around me and loves spending time with me.  He understands all my little quirks and eccentricities and doesn't think I'm weird at all.  He likes me for who I am, isn't always trying to change me or make me better.  He sees the goodness in me that I can't see, and He points that out to me and empowers me with His encouragement.

My mistakes don't matter in this relationship.  They don't affect His loyal friendship or His opinion of me.  He goes right on being my friend as if nothing happened.  He never holds a grudge, either.  If I have been off in my own thoughts and then come back around, He acts just as open and close as ever.

He is a faithful, supportive, wonderful Friend.  He is always building me up, comforting me when I'm down, reminding me of the truth when I forget it.  He really wants the best for me, and He has such trustworthy words of counsel when I need them.  He is always ready to listen, always ready to help and support, always there for me when I need help, when I need encouraging, when I need someone to stand by me, when I need a Friend.

He is my Best Friend, the best friend I have ever had, the best friend I have ever known or ever will know.  He is my ally, my confidant, the One who knows all my secrets and still loves me, who has seen me on the bad days and still accepts me.  He has been with me through the dark seasons and has never let me down.

I have the Perfect Friend!

I Have the Perfect True Love

I have the Perfect True Love and Husband - it's my precious Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ!

He is the Perfect Love and Husband.  We have a deep and perfect relationship.

He's passionate about me!  He thinks I am absolutely beautiful.  He sees no fault or flaw in me.  His smile, the way He looks at me, just melts my heart!  He treats me with honor and makes me feel so special.

He loves me truly.  He loves me with all His heart, with all that He is.  He loves me completely, irrevocably, and overwhelmingly.  He can't hold back His love for me or contain the strong emotions of delight He has in me!  He loves being with me, and He couldn't bear to ever be without me, couldn't bear for us to ever be apart.

He cherishes and understands me.  He loves to talk with me, laugh together, and just be in each other's company.  We have fun together and also go through the tough times together.  We're close, and I can share anything with Him and have total acceptance by Him no matter what.  Nothing I do, say or think will ever change the way He sees me or loves me.

He'll never leave me or abandon me - I'm secure in this relationship!  He's totally trustworthy and faithful, like a rock that I can count on to be solid for me as I lean against Him for strength and support.  And when I feel my world is crumbling around me, He will hold me in His arms as I cry.  He will always be there for me.

He's never angry with me, never demanding of me. He never points out my faults.  He never mistreats or abuses me.  He's never rough or harsh with me, no matter what I've done or how I've messed up in my own eyes. He didn't enter into this relationship with me to make me His slave or servant;  He entered in this relationship to lavish all His love on me and to share Himself with me.  He loves me for who I am and makes me feel so beautiful and cherished.

His words and actions don't tear me apart, no - they heal me and lift me up!  He always reminds me of the truth of His unconditional, forever love for me, sealed by covenant vows that won't ever be broken.  I am His, and He is mine, forever!  We have perfect communion and a perfect bond of love between us.  Everything is always fine between us.  We have an open relationship of trust and care and understanding.

I am His one and only!  I have the Perfect True Love..

I Have the Perfect Father

I have the Perfect Father - God Himself is my Father and the Spirit of His Son is in my heart crying, "Daddy," and testifying that I'm His child.

I've been brought into intimate relationship with My Father, into the relationship of the Father and Son - I share that same intimacy and closeness with the Father that Jesus does.  The Holy Spirit has shown me that, pouring God's love in my heart and showing me my sonship, giving me the experience of that intimate relationship with my Father God!

The Holy Spirit is kind and gentle and loving, and that Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God - that is, He is my Father's very Spirit!  My Father is revealed to me to be pure Love!

Jesus said "We (the Father and the Son) will come and make our home in you" - by the Spirit this has happened!  The Spirit dwells in me as a believer, and the Spirit reveals Christ, who reveals the Father.  They have made their home in me and I am taken up into this wonderful Father and Child relationship, the perfect parent-child relationship.

He is ALL Love towards me ALL the time, always treating me with tenderness as His dear little child.  He is never angry with me, never uses harsh words with me; He always treats me with gentleness, kindness, generosity, and goodness.

Yes, He is a GOOD Father - He never puts bad or evil things upon me.  He only gives good and perfect gifts!  He loves to shower His love and favor and kindness upon me, just because He loves me.  That is the kind of wonderful Father I have.

I can sit on my Daddy's lap anytime and get a wonderful holy hug!

He holds me in His arms, and those arms protect me from all evil.  My daddy is stronger than anything, and He keeps me safe from the enemy - He won't let the enemy even touch me, and nothing can snatch me out of those strong arms!  Those arms are my support, for He's always watching, ready to catch me if I'm falling, ready to support me when I get tired.  He carries me in His arms, and I can truly fall asleep on His shoulder and just rest, rest, rest.

His arms are not just a place of protection and support, they are also a place of tender embrace, a place of total acceptance.  He loves to just hold me in His arms.  He is always there for me, always has time for me, loves to be with me and listen to and talk with me. And those arms are my comfort as well, for just being in His arms melts my anxieties and sadness away, and I calm down and breathe easily again. 

In His eyes, I am always His perfect and beautiful little daughter.  In His arms, I am always safe and secure, loved, held, understood, sheltered, cherished!

I have the Perfect Father!

You Put the Color in My Eyes, You Turned the Water into Wine, You Turned My Heart to Love YOU!

I found a new song and loved it, so I wanted to share it here with you!  What a wonderful song about His grace.  His loving presence breaks through our darkness, and then His light shines in brilliant colors in our hearts..  And we are filled with Him and His love, and fall in love with Him!  I love the line that says He is closer than our breath and we see His face and His smile..  He is smiling at us today!


You found me when I wasn't looking
My heart was cold and my way was crooked
Black and gray, they filled my day
And all I wanted, all I needed was YOU
Oh You

Then Your dawn broke in
And everything turned to color, glorious color
Night turned to light, water turned into wine,
And all I wanted was YOU
Oh, You

You came closer than the air I breathe
You came closer, Love came to me
 
You put the color in my eyes
I saw Your face and Your smile
Water turned into wine
And my heart turned to love YOU
To love You

And all I love is YOU
I love You..
                                                                       Benjamin Dunn

On Love...

Here are some more quotes from a book called Overwhelmed by Grace, by Kent McQuilkin.  These are on God's wonderful love for us.  I especially love the last one about God's love being everlasting.  I was having a bad week a couple of weeks ago, and God kept bringing that verse to mind over and over again, through people's conversations with me, in books I read..He said to me over and over "My love for you is everlasting." I can't fathom such a love!

Anyway, here are the quotes:

"Jesus is saying to you, 'The greatest thing in all My life is knowing you, loving you, serving you...!'  Do you know that God's full attention is never diverted from you for the briefest moment?  Do you know He can't stop Himself from gazing on your face in deep love, even for a moment?  God is infinite and can deal with all matters at once, but His full attention is on you as though He thought of nothing else."

"God is thinking of me [here he asks us to put our own name in]:  'I love ____ with an everlasting love (Jer. 31:3)...I have chosen ____ from the foundation of the world to be My precious treasure (Eph. 1:4,18)'.....

"'His lovingkindness is everlasting' is God's way of saying 'Infinity I love you!'"

                                                                                                                    Kent McQuilkin
                                                  

On Faith...

In the past I have almost made faith into a work.  I looked inside myself to see if I had enough faith to get God to move.  And I always felt my faith was lacking and needing a boost.  I was constantly examining my faith, which left me more focused on myself than on God.  I had more focus on faith than on its object!  And so somehow, in my performance-oriented way, I turned faith into more of a work, when actually, faith is the end of our work.  Faith isn't something I work up but something that I've been given as a gift from God.  The faith of Christ Himself rises up in me by grace as God shares His true nature and the good news of Christ with me (Ps. 8:10, Rom. 10:17).  Faith isn't about looking at myself to see if I've got enough trust; it's about looking to Him and seeing He's got enough trustworthiness!  These are some of the things I'm starting to understand about faith.  God is still teaching me and I have much to learn.

I recently found some great quotes on faith from a book called "Overwhelmed by Grace" by Kent McQuilkin. You can find the whole book online here.  Here are some of the parts about faith that I really liked:

"Jesus is not demanding faith from us as a prerequisite to grace.  He is giving grace to us as a prerequisite of faith.  He is inspiring faith in us as we look into His strong, loving face and know that this is One we can trust beyond all doubts."

"It's a mistake to think that 'Trust is that rare and priceless treasure that wins us the affection of our heavenly Father' - Never!  It's rather our Father's affection that wins our trust, that produces our trust.  Faith is not a payment we render to God for His grace, faith is the bag God gives to hold all the grace He is pouring out on us."

"We wrongly focus on faith as though it has power to win grace.  Grace is not the reward of faith, faith is the reward of grace.  It is always grace that comes first and produces faith, not vice versa.  Grace gives us the content of faith (Rom. 10:17), the understanding for faith (2 Co. 4:6), and faith itself (Acts 18:27).  Faith is God's gift from first to last (Heb. 12:2)."

[When he thought that it all depended on him to get grace from God:]  "How could grace break through when so much depended on me?  The obvious answer is that nothing did depend on me.  That's why it is called grace.  Faith is not something we must stir up within ourselves...it's an abandonment of all effort and a resting in God.  The question is not 'is your faith strong' but 'is your God strong.'  Faith is an act of giving up on ourselves, even on our faith, and trusting wholly in God, who will grace us despite our badness and weak faith."

"Faith is simply a true understanding or knowledge of God.  Is He the kind of person you love to spend a lazy afternoon with...or is He the kind you have to tiptoe around and try not to disturb?  Does His presence make you grow relaxed or uptight?  When He thinks about you is it with delight or disappointment, and are those thoughts based on how good you have been?"  [This whole quote shows me it's so important to have the true picture of God in our understanding and not receive a teaching that would give us any other picture of God besides 100% pure Love!]

"Faith is not the currency of the kingdom, something we pay God to get His approval and love.  God doesn't need to be induced, even by faith, to love us.  He loves us passionately regardless.  Faith doesn't win God's love - it merely recognizes that His love is already there.  Gods' grace is pounding at the heart's door and faith says, 'Yes, You are welcome!'....and they lived happily ever after."

                                                                   from Overwhelmed by Grace by Kent McQuilkin

God Loving People Through Us

                                     

My kids just received this homemade little house from some friends!!  It's pretty amazing, huh?  The top photo shows how it looks including the roof, and the next one is with the roof removed.

These next two pictures show the inside view of a couple of the rooms, complete with the little pieces of furniture.  Our kids found that Lego people fit perfectly into this house, and they love playing with it!

Here's the story behind this beautiful handmade house:  I have a wonderful email friend named Patty who is like my soul sister, and we write back and forth and talk about God and grace.  (I have so enjoyed getting to know you, Patty!  You are God's beloved!)   Patty's husband Dave has a great pastime - making little houses and forts out of popsicle-type sticks.  He also makes the little, delightfully-detailed furnishings.  He has made a house for our kids and we were all blown away by this wonderful gift!  We have never met Patty or Dave in person - we have only known them across cyberspace.  And yet Dave spent a whole month making this little house for our kids.  That has Jesus' love written all over it - thank you so much, Dave, you are an expression of Christ's love to us!

Christ in us shines forth in so many ways, doesn't it? His life shining through us truly creates a kaleidoscope of love and grace to bless this world.  It's exciting to think of God loving someone through me, of helping them to see the truth or even bringing them an encouraging word through me.  Not only can He manifest Himself through various spiritual giftings, but I think He manifests Himself so beautifully just in our everyday life.  I think that in my lowest moments, He has encouraged me greatly just through a person's kind word to me, maybe just "how are you today?" or something so seemingly insignificant, yet God ministered to me through that little word and reminded me He saw me, He knew about my hurt, and He was there.

I think God shines forth from us without us even knowing it, how with hardly our even perceiving it, He is touching the world through us. I think He shines forth from us whether we've got it all together today or not, whether we're always in a good mood or not, whether we always feel especially spiritual or not.  He can even work through or in the midst of our mistakes to bless others.  I think of how sometimes I may get irritated, rant and rave because I burned the dinner - again (just to use a real life example, ugh).  Yet my outbursts, or "flesh-outs" like that often lead to a conversation about grace with my kids!  About how God loves us even when we're not perfect, about how even if we fail, we are still just as loved and right with God as ever. Thus God uses my mess-up to actually build me and my children up in His grace truth.  He truly makes ALL things work for good somehow!

Everywhere we go, with everyone we meet, we are anointed or "Christed" ones bearing His very Spirit, bearing His very glory in us - and He is shining out from us to bring light to the dark world, pouring out of us to give His refreshing Self to those who are thirsty.  Wow!  We're really lovers.  We really want to love people, don't we?  That's the life of Christ in us, of course, for it is our nature to love.  It's programmed into our spiritual DNA at our new birth.  We are loved by Him and we are vessels that pour out His love to the world.  I don't think it's something we have to think about, either.  I think we are caught up in Him and in His grace, and He just flows out.  I don't think we realize it sometimes, but we glow!  We glow with His glory.  You can't have the Light of the World in you and not shine!  As one of my favorite authors, Dan Stone, says, "We have received the Life.  We can't help but manifest it!"  And it isn't by our effort but by His.  It isn't us they are meeting or hearing or interacting with, it's Him. We rest in Him and He works through us!  That's the grace walk, walking in the Spirit, the wonderful Christian life!

God is wonderful and I love the way He loves people right through us...whether through a little popsicle house, through a smile, through a loving word, through building us up when we fail.. He is constantly gracing us all!

Melody of Salvation

Here's a new praise song I found that I really like.  It's by Benjamin Dunn and Friends..

His Presence IN Me Reminds Me That...

The very presence of the Spirit of God in my life tells me so many things.  He is called a seal or sign of the New Covenant salvation we have, and it is so wonderful to think on what His being within us means..

 

His presence in us tells us the staggering truth that we're actually, amazingly in union with God Himself.  Wow!  The wonderful and almighty God of the universe has come to make His home in us by His Spirit.  He has joined His Spirit with ours and we are never apart.  That is unfathomable to me.  I have sweet fellowship with the very Spirit of God!  God and I are actually one in spirit/Spirit!  In union forever, unbelievable but true.  Oh, grace is just sooo good!

Just His being in us also means we have all we need for this life.  He is the Spirit of Grace, and of Love, and of Power, and of a Sound Mind.  He is the Spirit of Truth, Holiness, and Grace.  He is the Spirit of Wisdom, Understanding, and Might.  He is everything we need, the very Spirit of Christ dwelling within in infinite abundance, joy, peace and life.  We never lack because we have the One who is all within us!

His presence in us tells us God loves us and accepts us!  He is the One sent into our hearts to pour out the love of God, to cry out Abba (Daddy) from within us, to assure us that we are accepted by our Father, to assure us that we are safe forever in His arms.  He tells us we belong with God, we're included and embraced and at home with Him.  Getting to know Him, I have been discovering that He is so much more loving, good, kind and wonderful than I ever could have imagined.  He is 100% pure love and grace, trustworthy, faithful, and good. 

Since He dwells only in a holy temple, the fact that He's dwelling inside us reminds us that we are holy and perfect and clean before the Father, all because of Jesus' perfect work, not at all based on our efforts.  (What a relief!)  His very presence within us is the constant reminder and guarantee that we are right with the Father 100% of the time, no matter whether we fail or not. 

He is the Spirit of Life, and His presence within reminds us that we are now in Life, Life that is Eternal, Life that never ends, wears out, or dies - imperishable, incorruptible Life!  He is the very Spirit of Life who has lifted us out of the realm of sin and death into the realm of Life.  We are now free to enjoy Him, our everlasting source of nourishment, flourishing, growth and renewal.  His presence in me reminds me of all this, that I'm now in the Life realm of Christ, not the death realm of sin.  Sin will never have a hold on me again, will never curse or condemn me or cause me to die.

Since He's the Power that raised Christ from the dead, His presence in us tells us we have resurrection power in us!  We have Someone in us who is way stronger than any evil, attack, lie, threat, problem, worry, fear or trouble.  We're not vulnerable and threatened, we're in the Victorious One and His Spirit is mighty in us to do all!  What a powerful Ally we have on our side and by our side.

He is the guarantee of our inheritance, the down-payment of our heavenly bliss.  Because of His joining our spirits to Himself, our spirits are IN His Spirit and that means our spirits are already in the heavenly realm, seated with Christ in the heavenly places!  He is the constant reminder that we will one day be resurrected in our body as well, and thus He is the guarantee that we're eternally safe with God and won't ever be rejected.  

And He's our Best Friend who will never leave or forsake us.  He's sent to be with us always, always, always!   So His presence in us tells us we will never be without Him, never be without His friendship and companionship.  We will never be abandoned.  We will never be left alone.  We will never be alone to face anything in this life, ever.

His presence in us also reminds us that we don't have to live this Christian life on our own.  We live by the Spirit - we never have to go it alone.  He is there to live this Christian life in us, to handle anything that comes our way, to conquer confusion by guiding us into all truth, to fight for us, to love people through us, to uplift us and carry us when we can't make it, to protect us from the evil one, to bring us through every circumstance in peace.  Paraclete means "one coming alongside to take our part" and He takes our part in this life journey and lives for us. 

He is with us to befriend us, fellowship with us, love on us, reassure us, and even live our very life through us, loving the world right through us!

The Lord is my Shepherd

The Lord is my Shepherd…THAT’S RELATIONSHIP!

I shall not want…THAT’S SUPPLY!

He makes me to lie down in green pastures…THAT’S REST!

He leads me beside still waters…THAT’S REFRESHMENT!

He restores my soul…THAT’S HEALING!

He leads me in the paths of righteousness…THAT’S GUIDANCE!

For His name sake…THAT’S PURPOSE!

Yes, though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death...THAT'S CHALLENGE!

 I will fear no evil…THAT’S ASSURANCE!

For You are with me…THAT’S FAITHFULNESS!

Your rod and Your staff they comfort me…THAT’S SHELTER!

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies…THAT’S HOPE!

You anoint my head with oil…THAT’S CONSECRATION!

My cup runs over…THAT’S ABUNDANCE!

Surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me all the days of my life…THAT’S BLESSING!

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord…THAT’S SECURITY!

Forever…THAT’S ETERNITY!

author unknown

I Know You Love Me, Because of the Cross

"At the Cross"

Oh Lord You've searched me
You know my way
Even when I fail You
I know You love me

Your holy presence
Surrounding me
In every season
I know You love me
I know You love me


At the cross I bow my knee
Where Your blood was shed for me
There's no greater love than this
You have overcome the grave
Your glory fills the highest place
What can separate me now

You go before me
You shield my way
Your hand upholds me
I know You love me

You tore the veil
You made a way
When You said that it is done

And when the earth fades
Falls from my eyes
And You stand before me
I know You love me
I know You love me
                                                                       Darlene Zschech (Hillsong)

Dear Holy Spirit

Dear Holy Spirit,

I'm so glad I found You, or rather, You found me!

I'm never without a Friend now.  You took away my loneliness and filled me with Your presence.  I always have You to talk to, to share even my embarrassing mistakes, and You will never criticize or hurt my feelings!

You never say the wrong thing to me.  Your words never hurt, prick or sting.  They always help.  Your words are always healing and soothing and empowering word to me!

You always sympathize with me and are always on my side.  Even right after I do something stupid, You are right there, always right there, to support and lift my spirits.

You keep on delighting in me and giving me joy, even after I mess up.  You are my constant Encourager and Supporter!  After every sin, You say, "What sin?  It's gone!," and we can go on together in joy!

I never have to face any situation alone, because You are always with me, and You go with me into every situation to take over my problems and handle them for me.  

You prepare me for every situation and build me up ahead of time, and You give me wisdom and carry me along in every way with Your power and work.

I'm so glad to have You!  You are such a joy to be around!  You are truly the Best Friend I've ever had, the Best Friend in the world!  


I love You with all my heart and I love being with You!


Love,
Sparrow

Law Says, Grace Says..

Law says it's all up to me.
Grace says it's all up to Him.

Law says it's all about your performance.
Grace says it's all about His performance.

Law says you must earn your way.
Grace says Jesus earned the way for you.

Law says you must meet all expectations if you want to win.
Grace says Jesus met all expectations and you're already a winner!

Law says keep all the rules.
Grace says enjoy the party!

Law says everything costs.
Grace says everything is a gift.

Law says work for your reward.
Grace says receive and enjoy His free gift!

Law says if you do good, you get blessing as a reward.
Grace says even if you're bad, you still get blessing as a gift.

Law says you must be absolutely perfect or you aren't accepted.
Grace says you're accepted no matter how imperfect you are.

Law says if you blow it, you get punished.
Grace says even if you blow it you won't get punished.

Law says if you mess up, you're out of favor and must earn your way back.
Grace says if you mess up, you're still in His favor, nothing has changed.

Law implies you're a servant.
Grace says you're a son!

Law says I'm 100% responsible for my living.
Grace says He's 100% responsible for my living.

Law says I have to hold on to Him.
Grace says He's holding on to me!

Law says I must maintain this life in Christ.
Grace says He will maintain this life in Christ!

Law says I must keep up my faith, keep it going, or else.
Grace says He will keep up His faith within me no matter what!

Law says you're safe only as long as you do right work.
Grace says you're safe as long as Christ's right work stands, and that's forever!

He Tells Me, "Never Be Afraid of My Voice"

In the past I've been afraid of God.

I've been afraid to stop and listen to His voice, because I've been afraid I would hear condemnation, pointing out of my faults, a heavy burdensome list of things I must change or do better, disappointment, or irritation.  I've been afraid of what He might tell me, and I've thought the Holy Spirit was out to point out my sin and make me feel my guilt.  The message I felt I would probably hear from God was something like, "I love you, but I'm so disappointed in you.  Why can't you do better?  After all, I gave My Son for you.  Is this the best you can do for Me?"

And yet - that's all a crazy lie!

God isn't like that at all, and He is showing me that His words to me will always be wonderful and healing words.  He is out to bless me!  And the Holy Spirit is out to point out what's right with me because of Jesus, not to point out any faults!  The fact is, God is delighting in me right now!  He is rejoicing over me (Zeph. 3:17). Wow!

God tells me I need NEVER be afraid of His voice or fear anything He might say to me.  He always says something good to build us up!  He's so in love with us, and the cross took away all our sin anyway, so there's no sin left to see!  He sees only beauty and childlikeness when He looks at us!

I think our fears and perceptions can color our "hearing" of Him or the way we hear Him, so that sometimes we PERCEIVE His words as harsh, but His voice is NEVER harsh.  It's always loving and kind.  He is always out to do us good.  He sent Jesus to BLESS us, not to curse and accuse and berate us (Acts 3:26).

We never have to be afraid of anything He says, for His words are always LOVE and GOOD and HEALING.  He loves us, and love does NO HARM!  And what if we sin, fail, blow it, mess up, and crash?  He isn't about pointing out our sins!  He doesn't see our sin, He's promised to remember it no more (Jer. 31:34).  He doesn't see our sin but instead sees our root need for love, and He meets that need, speaking into our hearts the truth of His love and acceptance and thus healing hurt places where we've believed lies about Him or perceived Him in a mixed-up way.

What is God's word to us?  What does He tell us?  He tells us, "You are My beloved child, in whom I am well-pleased!"

He Is Lovely

I love this beautiful song.

It came to mind right after God gave me my emotional healing last year.  I praise Jesus for His beauty and salvation and healing presence!  I wanted to share this beautiful praise song here!

He is lovely, He is holy
Gave supremely, that all might see
He is gentle, tender hearted
Risen Savior, He is God 

Master, Maker, Life Creator
[You've] come and dwell in me
That my heart may know your tender mercy
Shine through me that all may see
Your love so full and free
And I’ll declare your praise through endless ages
 

You are lovely, You are holy
Gave supremely, that all might see 

You are gentle, tender hearted
Risen Saviour, You are God 

                                                                       Bob Fitts

My Testimony Of Emotional Healing

I shared some of my story of emotional healing from anxiety, sadness and fear a few months back, but I wanted to take a little time to share again in some more detail and just take time to thank God for His love and healing power.  I hope this testimony is an encouragement to any and all...

Several years ago, our little daughter was born with a complex heart defect, and my life went into a tailspin.  Our little one is doing great now, praise God!  Yet the trauma of having my 6-day old baby undergo major heart surgery, and then another surgery later, then another, just took its toll and I became a very fearful and anxious person.  I couldn't get out of that bleak place in my life.  I couldn't overcome or be a strong and victorious Christian, no matter what I tried.  I felt like I was supposed to be victorious, and I wasn't, so I suffered great condemnation and sadness at being stuck like that.  The truths I had learned about grace were all that helped me survive that time, and yet the pain of not being able to overcome all my problems made me have this gnawing condemnation inside.

Then through a dear friend named Martha, I was introduced more to the Holy Spirit.  I guess growing up I had not been taught much about Him or His work in us.  I longed to just be soaked in the One who IS Grace, the Person - the Spirit of Grace!  So I prayed and asked God for this gift of being immersed or baptized in His Spirit.  I remember telling God very honestly that I didn't have much faith, and how He basically gave me the faith I needed.  He showed me that I was basically asking for Him, and that was definitely a prayer He would answer with a "yes."  A couple of days after I prayed, I was standing in my bedroom, and I just felt God's presence and realized that all the pain, sadness, worry and fear was just GONE.  It had been lifted off!  It was like it was just me and God, and everything else just faded away.  I realized He had never rejected me all through that time that I was condemning myself for being a failed, unvictorious Christian. 

I had become a fearful and sad person and had condemned myself.  I had felt very un-victorious as a Christian because I couldn't get out of that fear and worry.  And the way God dealt with that wasn't to expose my faulty thinking; in fact He skipped over all my issues and went straight to my heart and filled it full of His Spirit, His Presence.  I felt like it was just me and Jesus standing there, and like noone and nothing else existed. I felt His acceptance.  I felt closeness with Him, He was so PRESENT.  And all my issues and problems were suddenly just a tiny speck, like He could just flick them away with His fingertip.  They weren't a big deal to Him at all!  And lastly, I remember that He was light-hearted!  It was a wonderful experience, kind of like being saved all over again.  And I believe that  is the birthright of every Christian, to know the love and closeness of God by His Spirit!

That whole time He had been accepting me.  And now He had poured out His Spirit in me and delivered me of all that heaviness.  I didn't even ask for Him to do that, I just wanted to have His Spirit in fullness saturating my being.  But with the Spirit came this healing and freedom, as if He just came in and cleared out all the junk that was there inside me weighing me down.  He made me see that all my troubles were just like nothing to Him, that He could handle them all.  My mind  - which had always been racing with thoughts - was now calm.  I felt peaceful, like praising God, joyful like a child again.  I felt like myself again.  I was freed!  "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!"  

And over the next few weeks He started making me aware of how much He loved me, and I started falling in love with Him.  I felt His presence inside me, closer than my own thoughts, and felt His joy and strength within.  I felt Him delighting in me, constantly reminding me that everything is FINE between me and Him.  So many times when the dark feelings would threaten to return, He would rise up from within me to fight them off. 

I love the fact that I don't feel vulnerable anymore.  I used to always be afraid of what terrible thing might happen next.  I always felt like I could be crushed at any moment.  But now I know I am never alone, and He is right there to handle anything life might throw at me, not just there to say He loves me, but also there to do something and get me through the situation with His power and victory.  That gives me hope, not just for my daughter's life, but for my own.  It makes me happy again after so many years of being sad.  I really never thought I would be happy again, and now I am!  It is truly a miracle, and all because of both grace and the Holy Spirit.  They really are one thing, for the Holy Spirit ministers grace and love to our hearts.   Grace is a Person, and His name is Holy Spirit.  

He is a good God and a God who brings hope and healing through His presence, which is 100% pure and powerful LOVE!

Created for Love

"We were created by God to be loved, not punished."  Joel Brueseke

"Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love."  Eph. 1:4

I Am a Friend of God

The Goodness of God

THE GOODNESS OF GOD

His goodness is an ocean that has no shore.
A Mountain that has no summit.
A Road that has no end.
Not meager, but much.
Not skimpy but sufficient.
Not little, but limitless.
Not barely, but bountiful.
Not feeble, but full. 

  Philip Pascal 

No matter how deep we think His love and goodness is, it's always far deeper.  He is a well of infinite goodness and a fountain of eternal life and love!  We can never reach the end of His grace and kindness!  I feel like I am only beginning to even scratch the surface in understanding how good and loving He truly is! 

He is an infinite supply of all we need Him to be, every moment of every day for all eternity. He is everlasting satisfaction, refreshment, and joy!  Thus we aren't ever needy or empty but full and complete in every way because of His riches in glory in Christ Jesus poured out upon us! 

You're Under Attack..

Be forewarned:  We are under attack today.  Someone is out to conquer and overwhelm us.  This is a power that we can't resist.  We can't win against this attack, no matter how much effort we put forth.

Resistance is futile!

We might as well surrender...to the Army of Love!

God's Love is an Army.  His love is going to surround you.  It's going to overwhelm you.  It's going to melt all your defenses and destroy the best arguments you've put out as to why you don't deserve that love.  The sin that seems so prominent to you, that you think would keep Him from ever loving you.  The hideous failures in your past, the addictions or struggles of your present, your insane fears of the future - all things you think would stop His love from coming to you..well, they are nothing against His forces of Unconditional Love!

His love is an unstoppable, unconquerable force in your life!  He is taking you with His love and you can't stop Him!  He is going to let you feel His embrace.  He is going to bless you.  He is going to fulfill all the good plans He has for you.  He is going to complete the work He began in you.  He is going to bring you safely to the heavenly kingdom.  He is going to pour out His love on you unconditionally, and there's not a single thing you can do to stop Him. 

He is going to wipe away every fear that would make you draw back from His love.  He is going to conquer every lie that Satan has tried to feed you that would make you doubt that love.  He is going to eradicate every struggle you have in believing in this love for you!  He is going to melt away all defenses until His army of Love has total and complete access to every corner of your being.  His Army of Love will not fail!

And you are going to experience a love like you have never known!  You are going to know and be assured that you are loved by the Perfect Love you've always dreamed of having.  You are going to be immersed in the love that has no beginning and no end, the love that has loved you from all eternity, the Heart that beats with longing for you every second of every day.  You are going to be conquered, overwhelmed, undone and swept off your feet by His Love.

The love of God is an Army.  It defeats every lie  that would keep its Beloved from enjoying that love.  It sets the Beloved free to trust in that love.  It sets its Beloved free to really know, sense, experience and enjoy the greatest Love in the universe!

Perfect love CASTS OUT fear...

NOTHING shall separate us from the love of God in Christ..

Love NEVER FAILS..

:)

Strong in Him!

The weakest Christian has more power than the strongest devil!  Cornel Marais

"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is HE THAT IS IN YOU than he that is in the world."  1 John 4:4

Seven Attributes of the Holy Spirit

I read this wonderful message by Charles Spurgeon on the attributes of the Holy Spirit and thought I would post it here.  He is truly the Spirit of grace!  He ministers nothing but love, healing, help and grace to us!

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; He is the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it does not see Him, neither do they know Him: but you know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you. (John 14:16-17)

1. The Holy Spirit is a loving Comforter. When we face trials and tribulations in life, whose words are more important in comforting our hearts: someone who doesn't know us and love us, or someone who knows every single thing about us, and loves us anyway. The Holy Spirit has loved us since before the creation of the world. He has loved us well. He has loved us forever, and He will love us for all eternity. Only He is able to truly comfort our hearts, because no one loves us as He does. (Rom. 5:5)

2. He is a faithful Comforter. People, even those who love us, can sometimes fail us. They are sometimes unfaithful. And it hurts us - an unfaithful friend is sharper than a serpent's tooth, more bitter than gall. We despair when someone who loves us in prosperity forsakes us in the time of trouble, yet God's Holy Spirit would never do that. He loves us even to the end, for He alone is faithful. Sin cannot separate us from His love; no, indeed, He loved us while we were still dead in our sins. He loved us knowing what the sum total of our wickedness would be. All of our goodness could never make Him love us more, and all of our sin can never make Him love us any less. We can fully trust in Him, for He is ever faithful. He will never leave us, but will be with us until the end, and beyond. (Rom. 15:13)

3. He is an untiring Comforter. Sometimes when we try to comfort persons in their affliction or tribulation, we find it is beyond us, and we grow weary and quit. There are some people who cannot or will not be comforted, in fact, the more we try to comfort them, the worse they get. Often then, we lose heart, leaving them alone and feeling sorry for themselves. The Holy Spirit never loses heart, however, pursuing even those who believe they are beyond comforting. He is never wearied, not by our sins, not by our murmurings and complainings, not even by our stubborn refusal to accept the comfort He freely offers. (Jn. 14:26)

4. He is a wise Comforter. We are often surrounded by people who think they are wise, and yet they are not able to look into the heart and uncover the root of our disease. Like Job's friends, people give us wrong advice, just like a doctor can dispense wrong medicine. Like wrong medicine, it may not hurt us, even though it doesn't cure our disease. Other times it may be harmful, or even deadly. It is very easy for us to mistake the disease, whether our own or someone else's....[Yet the Spirit easily] finds the root of the matter, what is causing the disease. He not only finds the problem, but cures it...and, at the same time, bandages hidden wounds that also afflict us. Thus our wise Comforter offers healing for all of our diseases... (1 Co. 2:10)  [I took this to mean not that He uncovers our sin - because the Spirit doesn't point out our sin but our righteousness in Christ -  but rather that He sees what is causing our misperceptions of Him and He heals those wounded places.  He sees what hurts us and He heals our wounds with His love and power and grace.]

5. He is a safe Comforter. Very often friends and family offer unsafe advice when we are in the midst of trials and tribulations. Any advice that follows the knowledge of this world is unsafe advice. Remember that Satan himself sometimes comes as a false comforter, assuring us that all is well when it is not, and casting doubt on the word of God. Remember, Cleopatra's asp was brought in amidst a basket of flowers, and ruination often lurks in fair and sweet speeches. But the comfort of the Holy Spirit is safe; you may rest in it, and trust it. Let Him speak the word, and give you the cup of consolation, which you may drink to the bottom for there are no bitter dregs, and nothing in it to intoxicate or bring ruin. The Holy Spirit knows the heart of God and the will of God, and his comfort will never go contrary to those, so we can safely trust in it. (1 Co. 2:13)

6. He is an active Comforter. He does not comfort merely by words, but by deeds. He intercedes for us, reminding us of God's great promises and His grace. He will never leave us or forsake us, but instead actively leads and guides us to the perfect will of the Father. (Rom. 8:26-7)

7. He is an ever present Comforter. We never have to send for Him, for He is always right there with us. He will never leave us alone, nor forsake us. We can reach out to Him in our distress, whenever we need comfort, and know that He is there. (Jn. 14:16)

 Charles H. Spurgeon

Photos From Our Trip to Nearby Gardens

We recently took a day trip to the mountains to a lovely garden.  A few plants and flowers were already blooming.  What a lovely day!  Just thought I'd share a few photos from our time there.

"Let Me Be Who I Am..."

This is from a message by Brennan Manning.  I have the youtube video of the message on my sidebar.  Every time I listen to it, it brings tears. He is a Grace God.  He doesn't ask us to change or shape up.  He asks us to let Him be WHO HE IS - and He will bring healing love to our hearts!

"Jesus, the risen Christ, with you at this moment, loves you AS YOU ARE.  You don't have to change to get His love.  You don't have to give up your sin.  You don't have to overcome your problems... You don't have to DO anything to get His love and acceptance.  You have that already before you decide to change and whether you ever decide to change or not.

"Jesus says, 'Take your eyes off yourself and fix them on Me and let Me be WHO I AM.'

"You can come to Him in your brokenness, in your sinfulness, in your darkness, in your emptiness, in your phoniness - He will come and bring HEALING to you.

"His compassion is NEVER based on our performance.  It knows no shade or alteration or change.  'The bruised reed of your life He will not crush, and the smoldering wick He will not quench' until He's led the truth of your life's story to victory."

                                                                                                       Brennan Manning

Where the Spirit of the Lord is..

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  His Spirit is what sets us free to live in our freedom.  We are no longer under law but under the reign (rain!) of the Spirit!  His rule is one of freedom!  He leads us by desire and not compulsion.  And He sets us free from every lie we may believe about God or ourselves and brings us to rise up and walk as free sons and daughters of the King.  In His presence is complete freedom.  Darkness, lies and bondage can't exist there!  He has set us free, and we are free indeed!

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is rest.  His Spirit brings us to rest.  To peace.  To a place of quiet away from the noisiness of the world and the racket inside our own head.  He stills all other voices and makes us to hear His still small voice whispering over and over, "You are Beloved!  You are My delight!  You are constantly favored by the Father!  Everything is fine between you and Me forever!"  What a wonderful place to rest - in the Spirit!

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is love.  We are wrapped in love.  God has tied us up with His Spirit in an eternal love knot that can never be undone.  We will never be out of His loving embrace.  He has loved us from all eternity and loves us for all eternity.  He who searches out every deep thing in our hearts LOVES us with a boundless and perfect and unconditional love!  We can't get away from this love because we are joined to Him who IS this love forever, one spirit with His Spirit.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is confidence.  Places where we had felt vulnerable to enemy attacks now become places of complete protection, where we know we are guarded by Him.  We can rise up and laugh at the enemy.  His lies fade away into nothing as the Spirit dispels each one with His truth.  The insecurity we have felt before God melts away as He shows us He is for us.  He is on our side to fight for us.  We can feel strong and brave because our Best Friend is our Advocate and Defender against the enemy's accusations!  The enemy brings the law out to try to condemn us, and the Spirit brings the Life and Righteousness of Christ out to show off in all His perfection!

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is joy!  He is light-hearted, because He knows Christ has already won.  He knows how things will all wrap up, and so He's light in heart.  He's also light-hearted because He's delighted with us!  He actually sings over us with joy and happiness!  He loves to spend time with us and share Himself with us.  He wants to be around us and never grows tired of us.  He is a joy to be around!  He is constantly joyful in us and constantly delighting in us with Divine Delight!

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is ... you!  And me!  We are in the Spirit as God's children, as believers.  We are in the Spirit and we will never go out of the Spirit!  We are in Him and He is in us.  He will abide with us forever, as an ever-present help in trouble.  As a Friend we can always turn to.  As our constant rear guard who watches our back.  As our giver of hope.  As our lifter of burdens.  As our Comforter, Keeper, Helper, and the very Spirit of Christ who lives the Christian life through us!  He will even live this life for us!  He will do the job that we can't handle: the Christian life.  And He will fellowship with us and delight in us for all eternity!

What a wonderful place You have put us, Lord!  You said You were going to prepare a place for us, that where You are, we may be also.  Then You went and cleansed the temple of our lives by Your finished work so we are now fit to be filled with Your glory, Your Spirit. Your Spirit is in us, and even better, we are in Your Spirit!  The place you prepared is a Spirit place, in Your Spirit.  You have put us in the Spirit forever, and in the Spirit we are joined to You and even seated with You in the heavenly places right now.  What a wonderful place You made for us to dwell - in You, in Your very Spirit!  Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is everything we need in abundance and perfect communion with You, and that is where we are forever!  Thank You, Lord!

He Lifts and Restores

"God is in the business of restoring people, not labeling people."  Darin Hufford

But you, O Lord, are a shield around me;
      you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.  Ps. 3:3

He isn't about pointing out our faults; He is about lifting up our heads!

He's not out to wound us, He's our Healer!

He doesn't cause us pain, He relieves our pain!

He doesn't put heavy burdens on us, He lifts our burdens!

He's not pointing out what's wrong with us, He's pointing out what's right with us!

He's not the accuser, He's the Comforter!

He doesn't kick us when we're down, He picks us up!

Thank You, Lord, for being the God of Restoration and Healing Love!

God Surprises Us With His Love

Here's a neat story to go along with the song I posted yesterday, "You're Beautiful:"

My daughter really likes this song.  She is the one who got me to pay more attention to the words and see what a wonderful message this song contains.  I loved the grace message in the song and decided to post it to the blog.  Yesterday after the song posted, my daughter came to me telling me she had had "a spiritual experience."  She said she had been feeling moody, and that she felt God was asking her to turn on the radio.  She didn't really want to listen to the radio right then, but she reached over and turned it on anyway, and the chorus from this song, "You're Beautiful," was playing!  It was playing as a love message from God to her!

I love that!  I love how He likes to surprise us with His love, or as I've heard one writer say, to "break through our world to bring us flowers."  And I love the grace message in that experience she had.  She was in a bad mood.  She was not being super spiritual.  And that was the moment God chose to say, "You're beautiful!"

I think it illustrates so well that our beauty in His eyes is NEVER determined by how we act, think, or feel.  It's based on the work of Jesus for us and on His own heart of love.  I love how we can rant and rave and act dumb and even seem to lose our way, and we're still just as held, loved, accepted and beautiful as ever.  Our acceptance before Him never changes with our changing performance!  It's as solid as the work of the cross, and that's like eternal bedrock underneath our feet!  I can't remember where I read this quote, but it illustrates this truth so well:  "Grace is when you can act stupid in the morning and get blessed in the afternoon!"

Isn't Jesus the best thing going?  For me, it is like Christianity just gets better and better the more I experience of Him.  He is so deep, and the deeper He plunges us into experiencing Him, the deeper we see His love and grace reaches.  Wow!  He truly IS an "ocean depth of happy rest," as the old song says.

I think my favorite thing lately is how He constantly delights in us!  I have my own share of issues and problems, but they don't seem very troublesome to God.  He doesn't seem to mind in the least that I don't have my Christian understanding all worked out or that I haven't stopped every single wrong behavior.  He just delights in me!  His Spirit in us springs up in delight and joy - He is happy with us and rejoices over us with singing!

Thank You, Lord, for Your love and delight in us!  Thank You that the presence of Your Spirit within is a constant reminder that we're accepted and delightful and BEAUTIFUL to You!  And You are so BEAUTIFUL to us, dear Lord!

                           With love to all,