Joy of My Heart - by Andrew Feliciano

Hey, everyone, here is a beautiful new song I just 'happened' upon when looking for some wonderful, grace-filled worship music...the song is so wonderful, and then I realized that my family knows the artist!  He is a great and wonderful guy and full of love for Jesus, very musically talented, too!

I really wanted to share this song here, not only because I want to just highlight my friend's music, but also because God spoke to me through this song today..

He has been reminding me lately just to REST in Him and His love, and also telling me that I would see His face..I had wanted a revelation of God's love for me, just to understand and know it more, and so I took this message to be that I can just rest in His love and not even try, and He will be so gracious and show me His face, let me look into His face and just see His love!  Isn't that true that He just longs to show us His love and how we can just enjoy such communion with Him that it is "face to face", our spirits fellowshipping with His Spirit, just able to be open and honest before Him and let Him love on us and heal the wounds from lies we have believed, lies that we aren't 'good enough' or 'worthy enough' - and how He'll just wash over us with His love and let us know we're so perfect and beautiful in His sight, and that we are worth so much to Him, worth the price of His Son!

So as I was looking for music today, I came upon Andrew's song.  The song is about heaven and all God will say to us on that day, but I imagined it as things God is saying to us right now, because in our spirits we are already in heaven, seated with Christ in heavenly places, and He is in us, in union with our spirits right now down here on earth!  So anyway, I was listening to the words, and there was the phrase again, "You will see My face!"  And it just ministered to me..

Think of it - God wants to show us His love!  He wants to show off His love, even!  He just pours out His love and kindness on us in that secret place in our hearts by the Spirit, who dwells there, just pouring out God's loving Presence as a living water of love to soothe and encourage and heal and nourish and refresh!  He is truly a spring of living water..

I hope you like the song!  It's wonderful to think of heaven, when faith will be sight!  Also wonderful to think that we have heaven on earth right now with Him inside us!  Rivers of living water are pouring out of you..And you are in perfect communion with the One who is Life..He is just feeding your spirit and loving on you today..we can all lay back and rest in that Love..in that place there are no more tears and no more pain, for He wipes them away with His Presence...in that place we see His face and look upon the Beloved, with those eyes full of delight for us! And we hear Him sing His song over us, the love song we have wanted and needed to hear, the song that heals and refreshes as it flows over us!  We love You, Jesus!

Rest in His Love

He gives us rest, leads us to rest, to lie down in green pastures, by still waters..

I feel the Holy Spirit is telling me over and over again lately to just REST..Rest in Him and His Love..

To stop trying so hard..to stop 'doing' at all..to just relax and rest..

To be still and listen to His heartbeat of love..

To stop trying to figure out the answer to my problems and just look at Him..

There is healing in that gaze, in those eyes of Love..

His eyes are on us at all times, watching over us, looking at us with love..

A friend told me she had heard a pastor say, "Go look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself 'God loves you'", and we were agreeing that it would be hard to do that, that we might break down and cry or find ourselves unable to do it..

But it is true..God loves us..we will never get to the end of that Love.

It never fails, never runs out, never gives up on us, as the song says.

It is freely given, without us needing to earn it, deserve it, or CAUSE Him to give it to us - it's FREE!

Rivers of Living Water are flowing to us - that is the Spirit of Love pouring out the Love of God in our hearts, our souls, our emotions, our lives..bringing healing to all our insecure and wounded places..

It's like there is a little child inside us longing to be held and loved, and God sees that little child in the deepest part of our heart..

We might tend to put up walls to keep people from knowing that little child, to protect that little child from being hurt or rejected..

His gentle grace melts away those walls and soothes us with love, envelopes us in love - He is holding the little child in us, wrapping us warmly in the blanket of His love. We can let Him just hold us and love on us today..

Love on us, Jesus, hold us in Your arms, and reveal Your heart of love to us, sing Your love song over us, show us that we matter, that we are special to You..

There's a place in His heart just for us..He's put us there, and we are safe in His heart always, loved, cherished, home..so we can rest, rest, rest in His love today..

The Holy Spirit Shows Us That Grace Is True!

A couple of years ago I had the amazing experience of being filled or baptized with the Holy Spirit (I simply asked God to do this in me - and He did!), and since then I have been so encouraged to get to know the Holy Spirit who indwells us and to experience more of His interaction in my life!

He has shown me so many things, but I think one of the most beautiful and most special is that Grace is TRUE!  I had learned a lot about the grace of God in past years and had been blown away in learning that God truly accepts us because of Christ, and that He is not looking on our performance but on Christ's performance - so we are totally, unconditionally, eternally accepted by God because it stands on that perfect and finished work of Christ, not our own merit or efforts!  Also, the idea that I don't have to live this Christian life, that Christ is my Life and will live through me, so that I can just rest - this whole idea was riveting to me as well, and made me feel so relieved that nothing was required of me or demanded of me - I could just rest in Christ and He would live.  Well, when I had the experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, it was like I was really getting to know and experience God in a more personal and deep way - I felt that the Spirit brought me face to face with Christ in such a powerful and intimate way, and I was a little nervous..what if it turned out that grace wasn't true when I really experienced Christ so deeply?   What if He really was more demanding or works oriented?  What would He be like?  Deep down in my heart I think I knew He was love and grace, but here I was experiencing this very real presence of Christ, Christ Himself making Himself known to me through His Spirit, so what would He be like toward me??

Well, it is awesome that I have found Him to be nothing but grace and love!  Every experience with Him through the last couple of years just confirms over and over that Grace is really true!  Wow, what a gospel and wow, what a Savior and Lord! The Holy Spirit is God's Spirit in us, and the way He is to us shows the nature and character of God Himself toward us.  In every way the Spirit has shown me grace and love!

He is there to show us Christ, and He has truly shown me that Christ's finished work is more than sufficient and has brought me into a perfect and unchanging and intimate union relationship with God, and that Christ has completely done away with my sin and isn't relating to me based on my sin or works but on the work of Christ alone!  So I have a God who is constantly smiling at me because of Christ's finished work on my behalf!  I have experienced this in such a real way, really driving home those truths and making them come alive for me!  When I have felt His presence or filling, it is always with so much joy, peace, love and power!  He is always delighting in me and smiling at me!  I have experienced Him delighting in me even in the midst of sin.  After I've sinned and feel awful, there He is, loving me JUST THE SAME, delighting in me JUST THE SAME, ready to go on with me as if nothing happened, because that sin is already gone and put onto the cross, and sin never separates us from God's presence anymore as believers!  We are just right with God all the time, no matter what we do, because our rightness is Christ's rightness given to us, and that rightness is a perfect rightness or righteousness, not based on works we have done but on the blood of Christ the spotless lamb!  We have been perfected forever by His one perfect offering!  And the Holy Spirit has made that truth just come alive in real experience by the way He treats me with love, acceptance and joy even in the midst of sin struggles!  He just doesn't see our sin..He sees us with joy and is always love!  I have felt Him fighting against sin's attacks/temptations in me, fighting against lies, rising up in my with love when I have been tempted to get irritated, for example, fighting on my behalf..yet never condemning me when I fail but instead being there loving me and ready to fill me with love and power to defeat any temptations!  That is how He has been with me when I am tempted or when I've failed.  It is amazing to me that even when I choose wrong, He's always there ready to fellowship and always there loving me anyway!  What a Friend, who truly shows me grace and loves me unconditionally.

That is the second way I have seen Him demonstrate that grace is true - by His unconditional love and friendship.  Grace is acceptance of us as we are, and I have experienced this in my relationship with the dear Holy Spirit.  He is the Best Friend I have always wanted. He is always there for me.  He is always ready to listen and understand.  He loves to hang out with me!  He loves to listen to me ramble.  He is delighted with me, even with my quirks and eccentricities.  He enjoys my company and would still choose to have me as His Friend, even knowing how weird I truly am!  He is there to counsel, console, comfort, and encourage.  He always lifts me up.  He never says a harsh word.  He never makes me feel worse - I always, always feel better from time spent with Him! He will never reject or abandon me - He is with me forever, always there, faithful, constant, loyal, true.  He demonstrates the acceptance in the Beloved and pours out on me the unconditional love of God!  He is all love, all the time!  He is safe and can be completely trusted. He is so loyal and won't leave - He just won't leave me! He will be with me forever, for He promised never to leave me or forsake me!  That means I am safe and secure in God's friendship forever!  He will always be my Friend!  No matter what..safe and secure and sure..He truly demonstrates grace to me!  He is everything we have always wanted in someone to love us without condition..

The last way I have seen the Spirit demonstrate that grace is true is in the living of the Christian life.  To me, one meaning of grace is that I don't have to live this life - Christ will live it in me, and I just get to rest in faith.  I don't think I ever really even started to understand that until I was baptized/filled with the Spirit.  When I have been tempted to have bitter feelings toward someone and have gone to Him, He has just filled me powerfully with Himself and driven away the bad feelings, and a peace and love have just settled over me!  Other times, when I knew Satan was attacking me with worry or fear, He has risen up within me to fight against that attack.  Whenever I turn to Him needing Him, He is there to just take over and rise up with the strength and power and love and joy and peace I need.  He doesn't just give those things, He IS those things and He brings out those things in such a personal way by just rising up in His very presence inside me!  So Christianity isn't just asking for "things" like joy or victory but having a relationship with a Person and experiencing Him as joy or victory! It's being able to just open up with  Him and tell Him all your needs, and then seeing Him actually work on your behalf in those areas and be all you couldn't be in those areas.  I just ask Him to fill me and He then rises up and is all within me!  With Him filling me, I am so strong and so willing to love people, and everything makes sense - and that is all HIM inside as the Spirit of power, love and a sound mind!  Wow!  Christ really LIVES in and through us by His Spirit!  We don't have to live this life, solve our problems, have perfect love or forgiveness, overcome the enemy's attacks of fear or worry, or even have faith on our own!  He will do it!  He is ALL to us!  He will supply ALL our need out of His riches in glory in Christ!  HE will live this life in and through us, and it will be His works of power and love that come forth, His faith, His strength, His Spirit actually moving, motivating, willing and working in us!  That must have been somewhat of Paul's meaning when he said he labored, yet not him, but the grace of God that was with him.  The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Grace loving us and moving in us!

The Spirit is the embodiment of God's grace to me!  Thank You, dear Holy Spirit, for showing me without a doubt that grace is true, that God really does love us unconditionally, that we really are accepted and right with God in the Beloved, that we are perfect to and in perfect relationship with Him, that His blood really did take away our sins and they are remembered no more, that we really are secure in Your presence forever, that we are one with You in perfect spirit-Spirit union, that nothing can separate us from Your presence and love and favor, that nothing is required of us and we can let You rise up and live through us, that we can rest and just let You do it all, that You will be everything we need, that we are already more than conquerors, that we are home free, that You will never leave us, that You are for us and delight in us, that You are in love with us, that You will fight for us, that You will keep us and finish the work You began in us!  Thank You for Your grace and for the gift of Your Spirit, who has really made You, Father, and Your Son, Jesus, and Your grace and love so real!

He is Light and in Him is NO Darkness at All!

This is the message that we have heard from Him and proclaim to you:  that God is LIGHT and in HIM is NO DARKNESS at ALL!

God is light and never dark!

He is good and never bad!

He is kind and never mean!

He is fair and never unjust!

He is loving and never hateful!

He is beautiful and never ugly!

He is truth and never false!

He is faithful and never disloyal!

He is LOVE and LIGHT and never one bit otherwise!

Thank You, Lord!

(The photo was taken by my daughter and is unedited - it just 'came out' that way - wow!)

God's Mind Isn't Thinking of Our Sin

This thought came up in a comment recently from a friend out there in cyberspace, and the more I got to thinking about it, the more happy and excited I became in Him, and just wanted to share some of my thoughts on this topic, because I have struggled with sensing God's acceptance even when I have sinned, and have lived under a lot of unnecessary guilt and condemnation, thinking He was mad at me or only cared about my works.   I thought His main agenda was for me to not sin, but He showed me His main agenda for me was to receive His love!!  So here are some of my thoughts:

God's mind isn't thinking of our sin!  Wow, how can that be, when we know God hates sin and loves righteousness, and we know that sometimes we as believers still mess up and do things wrong?  Sometimes I have been filled with fear that God majored in my faults and was always thinking "why can't you do better" when He thought of me.  I felt the main thing He wanted from me was for me to stop sinning and do better.  And I kept failing, experiencing more and more failure the harder I tried to do rightly!  It almost made me feel God must hate me or at least be really disappointed in me!  Because I knew God hates sin, and I seemed to have so much of it in my life..But what is really on God's mind?  Not our sin (Christ washed it away!) but Christ and His perfection and beauty, and us in Him, beautiful and perfect, too, in Him!

He has helped me understand a little better His nature!  He is LOVE!  Yes, He hates sin - sin, not people!  He LOVES people, and He hates what sin does to people, for He hates to see them trapped by sin and deprived by sin of the union relationship with Him that He had in mind when He created people.  (We were created for a love relationship with God, and sin robbed us of that by killing our spirits and thus cutting us off from being able to be united with God on that deep spirit to Spirit level, Him dwelling in us and us in Him.)  He loved us so much and wanted to stop the destructive hold of sin so much that He sent Jesus to take away our sin and set us free in Christ from its power! So we as believers are set free from slavery to sin and now have a new nature that loves God and an alive spirit that is ONE with God's Spirit, His very Spirit dwelling inside us and fellowshipping with us 24/7, in fulfillment of God's very purpose in creating us! God knows that sin leads to nothing but trouble and wants to help us have the most fulfilling life, which is a life filled with the Holy Spirit Himself, with His wonderful presence giving us joy and love and hope and faith, so that we can be trusting Jesus to live a love-life through us, His very Spirit flowing through us like a river of living water, to bring love and hope to this world.

So when God looks at us, how could He help but see His new creation work?  Satan's work in our life has been put down, for Jesus came and destroyed the works of the devil in our life and set us free!  Do we still somtimes fail?  Yes, but God knows that whole arena is who we were, not who we now are!  For He has re-created us righteous in Christ, and that is on His mind!

Another way to say it is that we are more important to God than our failures, so when He looks at me He sees the child He loves over any mistakes. All the mistakes and sins have been taken away on the cross and He has promised to "remember our sins and iniquities no more" - ! So His mind is set on helping us enjoy the new life we have in Christ, that relationship with Him. The natural result of just being with Him and seeing His grace for us is that we trust Him more and Christ flows through us more to love others! Sin is naturally put down without our even trying, because it is all an effect of Jesus' life welling up in us by the Spirit! Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom! We live, yet not us, but Christ lives in us!

I think it is like a parent with a child - our main focus isn't on their behavior, but on having a good relationship with them and making sure they know we love them, and out of that as a bonus or by-product will come more trust in us and a willingness to accept our 'coaching' for life's situations, for they trust we want the best for them and know in wisdom what pathways would give them that happiness and fulfillment, pathways of love and honesty, for example.  But the focus isn't on producing the 'prefectly well-behaved child', it's on loving our child and having a great family relationship.  I know that even if my child messed up his/her life in some big way, it wouldn't change our relationship one bit.  I would love that child just the same.  I would still see my child as beautiful in my eyes.  I wouldn't be thinking of their mistakes when I looked at them, but thinking, "This is my child that I love and accept always."  That's the main point I was making here.  God doesn't see sin when He looks at us, because Christ took it away at the cross and "by one offering perfected for all time" God's dear children,- us!  When He looks at us, He sees the new creation child that He made in the image of His Son and re-birthed into His own family (He sees His true "blood relative", connected to Him by Jesus' blood!), and His heart is just overwhelmed with love and He sings over us with joy!

You and I are beautiful before God! When He looks at us, He is so in love with us, and He sees us as perfect in Christ and as His beautiful children, not as sinners or messed up people who "won't ever get it right".  Lord, fill us with that knowledge of Your love and acceptance and may we just enjoy being in Your arms today and having You delight in us, and may Your Spirit push away any of the enemy's attacks as we just stay here with You!  And may Christ live through us and the Spirit bear fruit and display His gifts through us, as we just worship!  We love you and thank You that You are all about love and Jesus, and that You don't see any of our sin, for it was taken away, away, away on the cross and we are the righteousness of God in Christ!  Thank You for Your love that is so amazing!  Let us hear the song You sing over us today!  We are in love with You, too, and want to sing Your praise!  In Jesus' name, Amen!

Beautiful Photos

Look at these beautiful photos that my daughter took and then edited!  Wow, I love them!  I am so proud of her..just had to show them off to everyone..

I Sing and Dance Because You Are Good!

This song is going out in honor of my dear friend Julie, a wonderful and beautiful daughter of God who loves Jesus with all her heart and just radiates with the dear Holy Spirit!

Julie, you have taught me so much about the goodness of God and you never fail to encourage me and remind me of that fact.  I have seen how you handle daily life - hard times as well as good times - with constant faith and reliance on Jesus and His goodness!  Thank you for being such a light and letting the Spirit shine through..I am one of many who are blessed to know and love you!

This is an awesome song by Jeremy Riddle all about how good God is!  He is good all the time and is ALL good!  There is not one bit of evil or badness in God!  His motives are never suspect!

He has only good thoughts toward us,

Desires only good things for us,

Gives only good gifts to us,

Makes only good plans for us,

Dreams only good dreams for us,

Provides only a good future in store for us!

Honestly, I have been so down lately and worried about so many issues and problems, with things seeming so hopeless, and God has reminded me today of how GOOD and wonderful and kind He is, how it's His will to do good to us, heal us, love us, bring us out into an abundant and hopeful life, and take care of all our needs!  He is so good to us!

I love You, Lord, and I will sing because You are GOOD!  You are my Provider, Healer, Supporter, Keeper, Father, Love, and Friend!  You are so good  - pour out Your goodness and love on all who read this!

You are Good

Brian Johnson, Jeremy Riddle

Vs: 1
I want to scream it out

From every mountain top 

Your goodness knows no bounds 

Your goodness never stops

Your mercy follows me 

Your kindness fills my life 

Your Love amazes me

Chorus:

I sing because you are good 

And I dance because you are good

And I shout because you are good 

You are good to me to me

Vs: 2

Nothing and no one comes

Anywhere close to you

The earth and oceans deep 

Only reflect this truth

And in my darkest night 

You shine as bright as day

Your Love amazes me


Bridge:
  
With a cry of praise My heart will proclaim 
    
You are good You are good
           
In the Sun or rain My life celebrates 

                   
You are good You are good 


With a cry of praise My heart will proclaim 

You are good You are good

In the Sun or rain My life celebrates 

You are good You are good 

We Aren't, We Are..

We aren't lost, we're found..

We aren't hopeless, we're hopeful..

We aren't rejected, we're accepted..

We aren't on probation, we're secure..

We aren't lacking, we're full..

We aren't broken, we're whole..

We aren't sickly, we're vibrant..

We aren't weak, we're strong..

We're not bound, we're free..

We're not worthless, we're precious..

We're not rebuked, we're encouraged..

We're not losers, we're victorious..

We're not vulnerable, we're safe..

We're not unimportant, we're significant..

We're not unwanted, we're loved!

Why?

Because Jesus is not a weak God!  Jesus is not an effective Savior!

Jesus is perfect!  His work is perfect and what's more, it's complete!

He is full..

He is complete..

He is holy..

He is lovely..

He is victorious..

He is strong..

He is wholeness..

He is rich..

He is loving..

He is encouragement..

He is kindness..

He is security..

He is protection..

He is KING and reigning over all!

He took all the bad things plaguing us DOWN to death on the cross, buried them in the tomb, and they did NOT come out..

Then He rose up as the heir of the new creation, and sent the Holy Spirit to come down and dwell in us and fill us, so bringing ALL that He is down to live in us and be part of our nature and inheritance..

Our old self died with Him, our new self rose with Him to newness of life in God's kingdom, where LOVE and GRACE reign through Jesus Christ our Lord!!

He has gotten rid of all that we were and brought us into all that He is!

Hallelujah, what a Savior, Redeemer, and King..

Joseph Prince on what it means to be "In Christ"

Here's a wonderful sermon clip about being in Christ, knowing our real identity is in Him...

It's so wonderful to think of being in Christ!

To know that my true self is not this struggling mass of flesh but that my true, real self is Christ!  Wow, what a statement...

To know that it's not that I have to somehow face life's challenges alone, but that Christ Himself is representing me on this earth, and HE is going to face those challenges for me!

To know that God doesn't see me and all my struggles and sins, no! - When God looks at me, He sees Christ and is perfectly pleased with what He sees!

To know that I have died and that old sinful self I used to be is GONE, and now I am a new self!

To know that just as Jesus is seated at the right hand of God as the perfect man, because I am identified with Christ, God sees me as a perfect man (woman)!

"As He is, so are we in this world!"

Joseph Prince says that the phrase "in Christ" means that God is looking at Jesus as   our true self now!  God is treating us like Jesus!  So why should we treat ourselves like trash, he asks.  Yes, why?!  Why should I shame myself and condemn myself and find fault with myself when God sees me as Jesus! Perfect and beautiful and righteous in every way!

Pastor Prince says, "We are no more in self; we have died and our identity before God is CHRIST HIMSELF!"  I really want that to sink in today..  :)

Gregg Gibbons on the Call to Relationship

Here is another of the weekly newsletters sent out by my friend and brother in Christ, Gregg Gibbons.  A lot of what is written below is by his friend, Mike Daniel.

It was so touching to read this newsletter, and I really wanted to pass it along and share it!

What a relief to read in this newsletter about what God wants - not so much for us to DO something for Him or become BETTER, but for Him to DO something for us and give us the BEST - a perfect relationship with Him!

Wasn't that the whole point of the cross and resurrection and sending of the Spirit?  So that God and man could be together in perfect union and fellowship for all time, with Him filling us with Himself, so we could enjoy abundant life with Him - that is what LIFE was meant to be!  Walking with our Dear Savior, Father, and Friend forever in a love relationship!  It's so tempting to get into works, issues, struggles, and the things of the natural life.  But we have something so much better - a SUPERnatural life in union with our Loving God!

Here is the newsletter, called "The Call to Relationship" -


When it pleased God
who separated me from my mother's womb
and called me through His grace,
TO REVEAL HIS SON IN ME,
so that I might preach Him.
Galatians 1:15-16 

I love how this verse reveals that we, as God's children, are not called to do anything for God, but that, first  and foremost, we are called for God to do something most glorious for us: 

TO REVEAL HIS SON IN ME!

When God the Father reveals the life of His Son in us, He is moving us to do everything in relation to His Son.  In the above verse, only after Christ was revealed in Paul was Paul moved to preach Christ (and not to preach about Christ).

NOT BETTER, BUT DEPENDENT
The following biblical-based notes by my  friend Mike Daniel have encouraged me during trying circumstances this year.  You can read more at www.StoneLife.org. 

God has designed every single circumstance in your life, no matter how small or how large, to have a relational purpose with His dear Son.

God is not calling you to overcome circumstances.  He is calling you into a deeper reliance and relationship with the indwelling Christ in the circumstances.

God is not calling you to be better at your finances.  He is calling you into a deeper reliance and relationship with Him as your Source of all your provisions and as your Wisdom with what you do with your finances. 

God is not calling you to be a better spouse.  He is calling you into a deeper reliance and relationship with Him to love your spouse through you with the very love of Christ.

So, God's grace in and through you by the life of Christ is for His renown to be increased, not yours. 

NOT INITIATING, BUT RESPONDING
In our Rest Stop verse, Paul responded and related to the revealed life of Christ in him.  It is God's grace that initiates  everything in your life.  God is the Source of true life.  Christ is true life in you.

When you think that you are initiating something in relation to God, you are deceived.  God is the great Initiator.  Christ is always initiating life (His life) in you. 

And God is the gracious Inviter.  He is always inviting you to relate to Him in His grand redemption plan for this world.  What a glorious invitation!

Ian Thomas well said:  Faith is not you getting God engaged in your agenda.  Faith is God drawing you to be personally engaged with Him in His agenda.

And Corrie Ten Boon well said:  It is not my ability but my response to God's ability that counts.

CLOSING


I love how this picture shows a child continuously connected to the risen Christ by holding His glorified, yet still nail-scarred, hand.  The child is simply relating to Jesus as they walk and talk together. 

And this precious child (you) can be sure Jesus is leading you in paths of righteousness and for His Name sake! 

This relationship is thriving in you each moment through the Holy Spirit!  You are united with the life of Christ and God your Father is providing you, His child, every need to fulfill the purposes He invites you into with Him!


Gregg Gibbons

Jesus Culture sings "Your Love Never Fails"

God put this song in my heart this morning..He often does that, and I don't even realize there's a song in the "background" really, and then I become aware of the song He has given me and I am always so touched and blessed! 


This song has a wonderful message - that God's love won't ever, ever fail us!  


Even if we run away, HE won't!  


Even if we face dark nights, HE will bring us a joyful morning!  


He won't let us down!  He will keep every promise to us - SURELY His goodness and UNFAILING LOVE will follow us all the days of our lives, and we will dwell in His presence forever!  (Ps. 23:6). 


His love is so powerful, alive and active!  His love is not just the kind of love that says, I accept you and am always with you..that is amazing and miraculous, yet His love goes beyond that and is so much more..  It is so much greater than that, so that we can't ever begin to even comprehend or fathom it!  His love isn't just accepting and embracing - His love is also active and powerful, rescuing, delivering, uplifting and truimphing!  He doesn't just accept us, He doesn't just delight in us, He doesn't just stay with us in the trials and troubles - He actually lifts us up from the trouble, lifts us up on eagles' wings to soar over the troubles and problems!  He is a God of solutions and a God of victory!  His love is victorious and moves on our behalf to help us, uplift us, and bring us through to victory.  I don't believe He will rest until He has done that - He will complete the work He has started in us and bring us through in victory to our heavenly home.  His great love doesn't just motivate Him to look on us with delight and tenderness and favor - His love actually MOVES Him to act on our behalf and change situations, give us escapes from trouble, lift us up out of darkness and depression, and give us hope, joy, peace and victory, ever leading us in triumph.."joyful music leads us sunward in the triumph song of life!"  As the old hymn says, because of His great love for us, He "melts the clouds of sin and sadness, drives the dark of doubt away, gives immortal gladness, fills us with the light of day!" And because His love is UNfailing, always coming through for us, always faithful, sure and reliable, we can be sure He will do that for us every time.


He and His love won't let us down! What a wonderful God and what wonderful love!


Thank You, Lord, that Your love will never run out..Your love will never fail us!


Your Love Never Fails (sung by Jesus Culture)


Nothing can separate
Even if I ran away
Your love never fails
I know I still make mistakes
But You have new mercies for me everyday
Your love never fails

You stay the same through the ages
Your love never changes
There may be pain in the night but joy comes in the morning
And when the oceans rage
I don't have to be afraid
Because I know that You love me
Your love never fails

The wind is strong and the water's deep
But I'm not alone here in these open seas
Cause Your love never fails
The chasm is far too wide
I never thought I'd reach the other side
But Your love never fails

You make all things work together for my good

Nowhere Else I'd Rather Be..Than in Your Heart

Here is a great old song from a group my husband likes and introduced me to..the Seventy Sevens sing here "Nowhere Else."

This one's going out today to Jesus, from Sparrow!  There's nowhere else I'd rather be, but in Your Heart, dear Jesus, in Your eyes, in Your arms!  I know I'm safe with You and I love the way You love and care for me, protect and look after me, understand and hug me!

There Is Nowhere Else I'd Rather Be
Than in Your Heart
There Is Nowhere Else I Wanna Be
But in Your Eyes
In Your Arms

The Moon Blew Through the Valley
Carried Away the Clouds
The Stars Seem So Much Brighter This Night
Orion's Belt Is Shinin'
The Big Dipper's Upside Down
Over Us It's Pourin' Out It's Light

You Slip Your Arms Around Me
Draw Me to Your Side
The Full Moon's Shinin' So Clear
Is That Music in the Distance?
For a Moment of Time
There Is Nowhere Else But Here

I Could Walk Across the Desert
Build My Own Oasis
Where the Palm Trees Shade Me From the Sun
I Could Swim Across the Ocean
Find a Desert Island
But Your Arms Would Always Draw Me Back Home

There Is Nowhere Else I'd Rather Be
Than in Your Heart
There Is Nowhere Else I Wanna Be
But in Your Eyes
In Your Arms

Hey na Na Hey na Na
There Is Nowhere Else I'd Rather Be
There Is Nowhere Else I Wanna Be

The Removal of Our Masks - by Gregg Gibbons

I recently read a wonderful article on masks that we wear and how God in His grace removes our masks so that we can finally be free to be ourselves before Him and others.  I especially loved how the article explains faith as the result of, not the cause of, Jesus' presence with us.  I love that!  

What a relief that I don't have to have some great faith to 'get' Him to come help me.  He is already here and makes His presence known, in all His love and power and acceptance, and that causes my faith to just leap up unconsciously and effortlessly!  This is so freeing for someone who has always felt she has 'weak faith'..  

What matters is not the strength of my faith but the presence of my Lord.  Yes!  He is here, and He can do anything, WILL do everything for me.  This brings sweet relief and rest to my soul.  It frees me and makes my masks (of trying to look like a good Christian or a faith-filled person) just fall away so I can just be myself - naked, humble, childlike, helpless yet LOVED and BEAUTIFUL, even HONORED and PRECIOUS in His sight!  So I can feel confident in His presence, confident that I'm welcomed, embraced and have Someone who will take care of all my needs, so I can bring any and all concerns before Him and know that He will handle them and be all I need for those situations.  

The author of the article, Gregg Gibbons, has graciously allowed me to post the article here.  You can find other grace writings by Gregg on his website, Christ My Heart.  Here is the article:

When I sensed God was calling me into discipleship ministry, it was out of a deep desire He gave me to simply be genuine in sharing His truths.

For you see, God had begun showing me masks I was hiding behind because I didn't know the truth of who He had made me to be in Christ.  And I came to realize that masks are heavy burdens to try to keep up for so long.

I hope this encourages you.  And I am delighted to share with you my first poem that I believe Christ wrote from my heart this past Saturday (see below). 

THE WORD GENUINE IN THE BIBLE

There are three Greek words in New Testament manuscripts that provide wonderful insights into the word genuine.

Anuopkritos means "without hypocrisy" or "without masks."  Romans 12:9 uses this word to describe a "genuine love" that is from God who is love.

Gnesios means "natural" or "legitimately born."  Philippians 2:20 uses this word to describe Timothy's "genuine concern" for the Philippians because it was a natural expression of his heart that had been legitimately born by the Spirit.  

Dokimos means "to be tested and proved to be true." This word is used in 1 Corinthians 11:19 to encourage the Corinthians that their faith will be proved genuine while the faith of factions among them would not.  

THE FREEDOM OF NO MASKS

Being genuine means no masks for your words.  You are free to speak from your heart while speaking with love and wisdom.  You are free to grapple with finding the right words.  You are even free to be misunderstood.

Being genuine means no masks for your feelings as a way to cope with pain.  You are free to feel and heal in the presence of God.  Through the genuine life of Christ in you, you are free to pour out your feelings to God in your personal Gardens of Gethsemane.

Being genuine means no masks for your identity.  Receive God's words telling you who He has made you to be in Christ.  Apart from your personal embrace of these truths, you will be tempted to identify yourself with a Christianized version of a mask. You are free to receive biblical truths by faith even when feelings don't line up.

THE REMOVER OF MASKS

It is not our responsibility to remove our masks! This is such a wonderful revelation to me because I have tried so long and hard to be genuine!

Think about the blind men Jesus healed.  The faith of these men did not cause Jesus to come to heal them.  The presence of Christ led to their faith.  When they heard Jesus was in their presence, they cried out to him.  Jesus then healed them of their blindness.  Beautiful!

 This blindness is a picture of masks.  We cannot see truth with masks.  Masks represent lies.  However, whenever by God's grace we know the presence of Christ in us, we can call out to Him by faith, and He removes our masks!

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden (including being heavy-laden with masks), and I will give you rest (including taking away our masks).

Learning to rest in truth with you,

Gregg Gibbons

MASKS

by Gregg Gibbons

Honestly, I didn't know it was a mask.

I really thought it was just me.

But the more I tried on other masks,

I began to ask, "How could this be?"

Then one day by God's grace,

He touched my eyes so I could see.

He showed me His Son's genuine face,

And it was then God began introducing me to me.

For you see only God knows who I really am.

He united me with His Son so true.

Now it's from His life I am what I am,

And I'm growing in Him forever new.

Oh I still cling to some masks of old,

And they feel more unfitting as the days go by.

But it's not up to me to release their hold,

I just look to my Lord who sees me eye to eye.

There's power in His eyes, His loving gaze upon me,

That nurtures my new heart with a hope so sure,

And removes my masks to reveal I am free

To relate to Him, a life real and pure.

Coming to Him Empty and Being Filled!

I was thinking today...what one word would I use to describe me?  And it is sad that the first word that came to mind was "failure".  (I guess that was the enemy lying to me??)

That is sad and I know it isn't how God sees me, I know He loves me as I am and delights in me as His child; I guess I just wish I were being more victorious as a Christian, victorious over some fears and doubts and struggles and such. 

But one good thing is that this feeling of inadequacy, even failure, reminds me that I of myself can do nothing!  It is all Him!  And that is a blessing to remember. 

To me, that means I don't have to have great faith in and of my power.  I don't have to overcome doubt or fear by myself.

He will do that in me.

I can only come to the throne of grace to find grace and help in our time of need.

I can only draw from Him. 

I love the idea of drawing from Him! 

I have to remember I am the branch, not the vine.

I am the vessel, not the wine.

I don't have any power of my own, I draw from and depend on Him for all!  He is teaching me this, so that is a big praise. 

Maybe out of seeing my own inability, I can see His ability shining forth more!

Maybe that is what it means, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in your weakness."

Looking to Him for sufficiency - that is the only place to find sufficiency, isn't it?  In the All-Sufficient One!

Coming to Him empty - that is the only way we really ever come, isn't it?  He doesn't expect us to fill ourselves with something we've manufactured.  He has no expectations of us!  HE is everything that we need and HE is the One who fills us!

That takes the pressure off.  I don't have to somehow BE the liquid of love or joy or peace or even faith that is pouring out.  I only have to look to Him and ask to be filled with Him, with His Spirit, who brings forth all those things naturally as the fruit of His just being there within!

We are empty pots, and He fills us with Himself, and we pour out to the world..

Joseph Prince on the Difference Between Law and Grace

This clip is so good!  Grace is so superior to Law in every way..

I have had a "demand" mentality, thinking God was demanding of me and feeling the weight of things being demanded of me, things I couldn't do.  That mentality made me feel hopeless and ashamed because I couldn't keep the demands and was bound to fail!

Yet Jesus in grace brings us to a "supply" mentality, and we can know that whatever each day holds, He will supply all we need and more in abundance, freely giving through His love!

I love the way Pastor Prince talks about the Abraham asked to sacrifice Isaac passage in this clip.  I love how he relates it to God's love for us!  We can KNOW He loves us, be sure of it - how?  Because He gave up His only Son FOR US!

I think the deepest cry of our hearts is to KNOW we are loved and cared for.  Our insecurities and past hurts and rejections can make it hard to really trust that someone loves us.  Sometimes we can feel unsure whether people really care about us or not, but when they make a sacrifice or show their commitment in action on our behalf, we can cross over to KNOWING they love us.  This happened to me recently.  I have a friend who is very outgoing and has many friends.  I couldn't understand why she would be friends with a little introverted nerdly type like me, and so many times I was insecure that she really wanted me for a friend.   Well, in the past few months I went through a difficult season.  I was hurting and struggling over a personal issue.  I thought noone knew I was hurting over this issue, but somehow my friend figured it out and worried about me.  She was concerned for me, but she never mentioned her worries because I was too upset to even talk about the issue.  Later she told me she worried and prayed for me about this problem every day for six months.  In the moment when she told me that, I really KNEW my friend loved me.  She cared enough to be concerned and pray for me every single day.  And that is just a small picture or analogy of the infinitely greater love of God for us!  When we see that from all eternity past, He has been concerned over us every single second of every single day, not really resting till He could solve our difficulty with sin, not really satisfied until He could have us reconciled to Him, willing and actually giving up His only Son to make that happen - we suddenly begin to KNOW He loves us!  


God is a giver, not a taker.  He is a supplier, not a demander.  He is not our enemy but our Friend.  He is not against us but for us!  He is the One we can be SURE will always love us with a love too great for us to ever comprehend fully!  We will never reach the end of that love, that supply, that grace that is found in Him!  He is our truest Friend for all eternity, and we can say with the scripture verse, "Now I KNOW that You love me, because You have not withheld Your Son, Your Only Son, from me!"

On Hope..

I have been learning about what hope is lately..


I don't think I ever understood it before, and I want to learn more and more what it means, for with God, there is so much hope.  I have been in seasons where I felt things were hopeless, felt nothing would ever change for the better, felt that even if I prayed, it wouldn't make any difference or help matters, felt truly despairing.


Yet, with the wonderful filling of the Holy Spirit, one of the wonderful things His presence brought was a sense of hope!  He started showing me that things are always hopeful with God - after all, He has already won the battle against Satan and evil and already reigns over all!  He laughs at the enemy's schemes.  Nothing is too hard for Him!  He is smiling because He knows that LOVE WINS!  And He is giving us the joy of living in that victory NOW, not just later in heaven.  


I love that!  I love the feeling of freedom and the feeling of having a God inside me who is WAY stronger than the enemy or any attack of the enemy!


I used to feel like a grasshopper under the enemy's foot...now God is showing me that the enemy is a grasshopper under Jesus' feet!  Haha!  And He has given us authority over the enemy, so we never have to be ruled by him in any way.  We are truly free.  I had listened to the enemy's lies so long and had gotten so depressed and hopeless.  Now God is showing me that I have a Big Brother, Jesus, always backing me up and the power of the resurrection always at work in me.  He can do far more than I can ask or imagine.  I want to know that truth and live in it more and more..all that gives me such hope!


Hope for a brighter tomorrow...hope that situations can change and get better..hope that God will bring me through in victory, no matter what..hope that the future will be good, not bad..hope that good things will come and that God will bless and bring me to new and happier places through His love...hope that He will continue to break off those lies that confuse me..hope that He will continue to free my heart to really soar and be carefree and unworried in Him..hope that I will grow and enjoy my relationship with God more and more!


Hope is not wishing something would change or get better.  Hope is expecting good things, because we KNOW good things are coming.  We don't just wish for them, God promised them!  


God keeps His promises, and He promised to deliver all who call on Him, to answer their every prayer, to work all things for good, to carry our burdens daily, to guard our going out and coming in, to bless the righteous, to surround us with favor, to never get angry with us or rebuke us, to never remember our sins, to uplift us when we fall, to always lead us in triumph, to comfort us with the comfort of Christ, to strengthen and establish us, to crush Satan underneath our feet, to complete the work He started in us, to stay with us, to keep us firm in the faith, to bring us safely to heaven and give us the full heavenly inheritance!  I could go on and on, but those are the promises I can think of right now..  


And hope is expecting all those things to happen, knowing they will!  Hope is the real expectation of His grace manifesting in blessing in my life!  It's the confident expectation of that, because it IS going to happen FOR SURE - for He who promised is FAITHFUL!

We Have Found Our Hope, Peace, and Rest in the One Who Saves

I love this song!  I believe it's called "The One Who Saves" - it's by Hillsong...

We sang it at church recently and I started to choke up, thinking of God's love going on and on toward us forever, and how in Him, we have found the rest, peace and HOPE that we always longed for.

Without Him, I have no hope.  With Him, nothing is hopeless and there is always hope!  Things never have to stay the same rotten way they may be right now.  No barrier is too strong for God to break through.  No struggle is too hard for Him to overcome.  No night is too dark for His light to penetrate.  No mind is too confused for Him to bring understanding with His truth.  No one is too far gone for Jesus to rescue!  There is always hope in grace!

Without Him, I have no rest for my soul.  With Him, there is rest.  There is relief.  There is a sense of being able to stop striving and worrying and fretting, like a release of burdens and pressures to perform, to measure up, to handle all my problems myself.  I am loved as I am, cared for as I am, protected and helped and uplifted as I am.  What a relief to fall into His arms, safe and secure!  That means I don't have to "try" or "strive" - my job is to REST in the arms that won't ever let me go..

Without Him, I have no peace.  With Him, I am filled with the peace that goes beyond all understanding, because I know that my life is SAFE in the hands of Perfect Love, and His love endures forever..

His love endures forever, never running out or giving up on us, never fading or changing, never stopping no matter what the circumstance, no matter what my performance!  His love motivates and moves Him to act with compassion and bless and favor us at all times.  His love motivates and moves Him to uphold us and care for us and take care of all our issues and problems and situations - He takes up our case and takes care of all that concerns us..

He won't let us down - this gives me a sense of rest and relief and peace!

Putting Your Hands in God's Hands....Safe, Not Scary!

I am thanking God for peace today, feeling like a little child looking up into His face, just waiting on Him today for Him to love on me and share His Word with me, realizing what a good thing it is to be in His hand..

You know, Satan always made me think it was scary to "put your life in God's hands", as if He would then do some terrible thing to me like put me in a car accident to teach me a lesson or make me go preach in the faraway jungle with no proper restroom for miles around..so I always felt that to put my life in God's hands would be miserable or frightening.

But really, putting our life in God's hands means it is finally safe! 

We are finally delivered from Satan's harm!  Delivered from bondage!

We are finally cared for the way we've always wanted to be!  We are taken care of and held and loved and cherished and have the love we've looked for all our lives! 

We're not on our own to face the trials of life here on earth, not alone against Satan's attacks!  We have the Almighty God there to fight for us - He always has our back!

Now we are protected and helped, blessed and given all we need, strength, peace, joy, direction, power, clarity..wow! 

Putting one's life in God's hands is not a scary thing but a happy and safe thing..because God, being Pure Love, 100% Love, will never hurt, harm or bruise my heart. 

He knows all the wounded places and is here to bind up and heal, not wound and tear apart. 

He'll be understanding and patient with me, never get exasperated with my confusion or failings, even when I make the same mistake over and over! 

He will always handle me gently. 

He is so good and never to be feared.  For so long I feared Him.  Now I am learning more and more to trust.  Every new experience is a chance for me to experience  Him demolishing another fear and freeing my soul in another way to really see and receive His love and help!

"I'll Be There" - the Jackson Five Singing a Song of God's Love for Us!

Joseph Prince was singing part of this song by the Jackson Five in a sermon I watched recently, as if Jesus was singing to us!  When I looked up the lyrics, I thought it was really touching if you think of this song as Jesus singing it to us...I am so glad He is always there for me, loving me with a love that is faithful and true, always treating me with respect and love!

He is a Friend that is always there for us, always true to us, always taking care of us, always treating us right, always available when we call on Him..

I love how He is the Friend that is always within us, through the dear Holy Spirit dwelling within, as Comforter, Helper, Advocate, Strengthener, Teacher and Advisor, Encourager - He is all we could ask for in a Friend and is really our Best Friend!

Thank You, Lord, for being in me by Your Spirit - thank You for sending Your Spirit to indwell me and for baptizing me in Your Spirit to overflow and fill and empower and reassure me!  Thank You for the Holy Spirit within, to be the Friend I have always wanted, always at hand, always ready to help, always delighting in me, never noticing or holding against me my faults, loving me unconditionally, always working for my good, always rising up in me whenever I need help and a defense against the enemy, always ready to flow through in love and grace to others!  Thank You, dear, Lord, for the gift of Your Holy Spirit, Who will be with me forever - as guide and help as well as a guarantee that I will see Your face in heaven!  It is such a wonderful adventure and a blessed relief to have such a Friend - You, dear Holy Spirit - with me and within me at all times!  I will NEVER be alone again, NEVER have to feel lonely or rejected, NEVER have to face a single thing in this life alone EVER, EVER AGAIN!  


No matter what we go through, no matter what we face, no matter what we do, He says, "I'LL BE THERE!"


I will talk to the Father, and he'll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth.... he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!  Jn. 14:16 - 17 MSG


He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]  Heb. 13:5 AMP

A Picture of Grace

I read this little dialogue between two friends once in a newsletter put out by my friend, Gregg Gibbons, who has a wonderful website called "Christ My Heart."  The dialogue went something like this:

Friend 1 had been explaining to Friend 2 about God's grace being free forgiveness and acceptance and right standing with God)..

Friend 2: "But I'm not worthy!"

Friend 1: "Of course you're not worthy!  That's why it's called 'grace'!"

Grace is a special gift, because it's a gift you don't have to deserve or be worthy of..

I don't have to be "good enough" or "strong enough" or "spiritual enough" or "faithful enough" to get grace. I don't have to be ANYTHING to have grace!

Grace is for failures!  Grace is for the empty!  Grace is for the messed up and broken!

Grace gives wholeness, love, favor, empowering, acceptance and blessing for free!

Grace gives JESUS for free, His Spirit coming to dwell in us, bringing with Him all that He is, which is wholeness, love, favor, power, acceptance and blessing!  He is everything we need a God to be!  And it is all ours for free in Christ, through His finished work on the cross that brought all that to us..

So if you don't feel worthy enough, don't feel good enough, feel like too much of a failure or a reject or a ruined person to ever be graced, favored, loved, accepted or blessed...guess what?  You qualify for grace!   Everyone qualifies for grace, that is the beauty of it!  Because it doesn't depend on anything in US, only the love in the heart of GOD -  grace is for all and we all qualify for it.  And it is already given, already released.  God's grace is already all over us, wow!

We may think our emptiness and inability will turn Him away, but no!  Our realization that we are empty and needy simply brings us to be ready to enjoy His grace, because when we finally see we're empty yet still loved, we aren't afraid to come boldly to Him, knowing we'll have all the help we need for FREE (Heb. 4:16!  Amen!

Even When You Blow It..

To me, grace means that even when we blow it, we're still blessed!

Even when we ruin everything, we're still built up and supported!

Even when we run the other way from God, He comes with us and still helps us!

Even when we fall flat on our face, He still loves and uplifts and empowers us!

Grace is the best thing going, isn't it?

We don't have to be good to be loved.

We don't have to do everything right to be blessed.

We don't have to have perfect understanding to be helped.

We don't even have to have some perfect faith to be favored.

We don't have to be anything - we can rest in His arms, for because of Jesus, we are blessed, helped and favored for FREE!

Unmerited favor means that everything is freely given as a gift, without our having to do anything to earn or deserve it.  Grace means a gift that is free, with no strings attached.  God's love, acceptance, forgiveness, reconciliation, help, deliverance, blessings, favor and strength all come to us as a free and unmerited gift.

In the land of Grace (God's Kingdom), everything is free for the taking!  He has provided all for us in the Son and His finished work has secured for us this amazing inheritance!

The best part of the inheritance is Christ in us!  His Spirit dwells in us in close, intimate, perfect, everlasting union!  This is how it was always meant to be, the dream that was always in His heart.

Thank You, Lord, for being my Father, Lord, Savior, Helper, Best Friend, Confidante, Protector, Provider, Healer, Sustainer, Keeper, and True Love!  Thank You for Your Grace!

Amazing Grace Sung by a Brazilian Child..Beautiful!

Here's a wonderful youtube video from the Brazilian "Kids Got Talent" show, of a young boy singing Amazing Grace..

I don't think I need to make any comments on this one, for the video speaks for itself!

Praise You, Lord, for Your amazing grace!

He's an "ALL" kind of God!

Our God is not a God of "sometimes."

Our God is not a God of "maybe."

Our God is a God of ALL!

He ALWAYS answers ALL our prayers (Jer. 33:3) and He keeps ALL His promises ALL of the time (1 Ki. 8:26)!

He delivers us from ALL our fears (Ps. 34:4).

He delivers us out of ALL our troubles and afflictions (Ps. 34:17, 19).

His love makes us glad ALL our days (Ps. 90:14).

He does ALL our works for us (Is. 26:12).

He forgives ALL our sins and heals ALL our diseases (Ps. 103:3)!

He comforts us in ALL our tribulation (2 Co. 1:4).

He will preserve us from ALL evil (Ps. 121:7)!

He keeps us in ALL our ways (Ps. 91:11)!

He upholds ALL who fall and raises up ALL who are bowed down (Ps. 145:14).

He is ALL that we need and ALWAYS available to help us in time of trouble (Ps. 46:1) .

He saves ALL who call upon Him (Rom. 10:13)!

He ALWAYS comes through for us and is ALL-powerful, ALL-loving, ALL-good!

He is the Lord of ALL (Acts. 10:36), and He has put ALL things under His feet (1 Co. 15:27)!

He is the Giver of ALL good things and the Conqueror over ALL evil things!

I love how He is the Ultimate, is ALL that we need and more!

The source of ALL our joy is in Him (Ps. 87:7).

The peace He gives passes ALL understanding (Phil. 4:7).

He is able to do immeasurably more than ALL that we ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20)!

I love how He is ALL love and kindness, with no hint of evil or harshness or unfairness.

I love how He won't ever fail us or let us down - He is ALWAYS faithful and ALL His words are true and trustworthy!

I love how He answers each and every prayer I pray, ALWAYS!

He can ALWAYS be counted on, ALWAYS be relied upon, ALWAYS be depended upon.

He will be ALL that we need Him to be, forever and ALWAYS..

He is ALL in ALL!

In Better Hands Now - Natalie Grant

In Better Hands Now - by Natalie Grant

It's hard to stand on shifting sandIt's hard to shine in the shadows of the nightYou can't be free if you don't reach for helpYou cant love if you dont love yourself
There is hope when my faith runs outCause I'm in better hands now
It's like the sun is shining when the rain is pouring downIt's like my soul is flying though my feet are on the groundSo take this heart of mine there's no doubtI'm in better hands now
I am strong all because of youI stand in awe of every mountain that you moveOh I am changed, yesterday is goneI am safe from this moment on
There's no fear when the night comes 'roundI'm in better hands now
It's like the sun is shining when the rain is pouring downIt's like my soul is flying though my feet are on the groundIts like the world is silent though I know it isnt trueIts like the breath of jesus is right here in this roomSo take this heart of mine there's no doubtI'm in better hands now


I woke up and had this song running through my mind..I believe God put it there to remind me that my heart is safe with Him!

Even when my faith runs out, Jesus is still faithful and has faith in me and through me and for me.

Even when I fail, there is still grace, still love.  We fail, but His love NEVER fails us!  He keeps holding on to us, blessing us, keeping us, helping us, being there for us, no matter what..

With Him, no matter what, there is always hope.  There is always a brighter day coming and new horizons shining in front of us.  He will never leave us down but will deliver us and lift us up!  He will finish the GOOD work He began in us, all by grace, for free, without our having to earn or deserve it!

So we can be broken and falling apart, and yet we're still held by Him, and up, up, up we go soaring in Daddy's arms as He swings us around!

We can have fears assail us and the enemy attack us, yet we are still safe in the Arms of Love that won't drop us, let us down or let us go!

We can run off and try to live by self-effort again, get stuck in legalism and condemnation again, and yet, when we look at Him (and even before we think to look at Him, whether we remember to look His way or not!), well there He is, still right beside us, loving us and helping us, delighting in us as if we hadn't ever gotten confused or faltered at all!  He doesn't see our sin because to Him, it doesn't exist!  It has already been dealt with and TAKEN AWAY on the cross, and He promised to remember it NO MORE!

No matter what, we are in good hands because we're in His hands, the Hands of Pure Love!

He is Our Everything

Trying to live by self effort wears me out.  I can't do it!  I can't live this Christian life!  But there is so much rest when HE reminds me of the truth that never changed and never will change - HE is my life and my everything.  My source is in Him.  HE is the vine, I am just a branch/conduit.  HE is the Life, the joy, the faith, the power, the wisdom, the ALL that I need.  I don't have to be the Life, I am just a conduit of that Life!  I am not the Hand that ministers to people; I am the glove.  I am not the Wine that pours out to refresh others; I am the cup.  I am not the Water of Life flowing forth as a Spirit-river; I am the vessel.  HE is all I need, and that is more than enough.  And if He is all I need, then I don't have to be all I need!

I can stop trying to manage my life.  I can admit I'm empty, needing help, and unable on my own.  I can drink from the water of Life, Jesus, just enjoy basking in His Spirit and being filled full, for free.  For free!  He gives freely to all!  Without any stipulations, requirements, or demands.  Without any strings attached.  All who are thirsty, drink!

Thank You, dear Jesus, for being my everything!  I can look to You and You impart ALL I need - the understanding, the strength, the power, the love, the joy, the hope, the peace, even the faith!  And You meet all my needs - You are the One who will love me unconditionally, who will always handle my heart with gentleness, who will never be pushy or rude to me, who will never betray me or harm me, who will never leave me or forsake me.  You are the One I can trust with my heart.  My life is safe in Your hands!  I'm in better hands now..  Not vulnerable anymore, but safe and secure.. I can look to You to be all that I need You to be and do all that I need You to do!  Thank You, dear Lord!  Amen..