Psalm 61:2,3 "From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower againt the foe."
It seems lately that the Lord Jesus has been calling me back to times in my life that he has spoken amazing truths to me. I have shared a few on here already, and again I am priveledged to share something else. I know it's not just for me. When the Lord speaks, he speaks to all of his children.
My personality is one that can tend to get overwhelmed easily. One night as I was sitting in my Philippians class at the Bible college, around eitgh years ago, I started to feel overwhelmed, one of the many times this has happened to me. I was completely overwhelmed with the thought of all the people who had yet to hear the gospel, overwhelmed with the "work" that needed to be done. I don't know how to explain this feeling other than it seemed like a real heaviness upon my shoulders. And then came words from my sweet Savior, "Don't be overwhelmed with all of that, be overwhelmed with Me".
My primary goal, as Paul wrote in Philippians 3:8-10, needs to be to Know HIM. As I become overwhlemed with him, all of the other "stuff" faids away.
If you find yourself overwhelmed today, turn to the rock that is higher. He will overwhelm you with his goodness, his grace, his power, and so much more. All that he is, He wants to pour out on you, to fill you to overflowing. Praise God. He is all we should overwhelm ourselves with!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
You're Beautiful
A song by Phil Wickham:
I see Your face in every sunrise
The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes
The world awakens in the light of the day
I look up to the sky and say
You’re beautiful
I see Your power in the moonlit night
Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
We are amazed in the light of the stars
It’s all proclaiming who You are
You’re beautiful, You're beautiful
I see you there hanging on a tree
You bled and then you died and then you rose again for me
Now you are sitting on Your heavenly throne
Soon we will be coming home
You’re beautiful, you're beautiful
When we arrive at eternity’s shore
Where death is just a memory and tears are no more
We’ll enter in as the wedding bells ring
Your bride will come together and we’ll sing
You’re beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful
I see Your face, You're beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful
I see Your face, You're beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful
I see Your face, I see Your face
I see Your face, You’re beautiful, You’re beautiful, You’re beautiful
Today I remembered something. The week before I got married, I was trying to wrap my mind around the amazing fact of Christ being our bridegroom, and the church being the bride. As I was praying, it came to my attention how sad if a bride were not completely and utterly captivated and so much in love with her soon to be husband. And so lovingly, I felt that the Lord Jesus allowed me to feel for a brief second that that is indeed what He has felt so many times. It broke my heart, and if you are a born again Christian it should break yours too. He gave up everything for us, and loves us far beyond anything we could ever imagine in this life. Do you love Him back? The Bible says we love him because he first loved us. I think it's time that we allow the love of God to flood our lives so that we can love him in return. "I want to know you" should be the cry of our hearts. When we see him all we can say is "you're beautiful". That is the response when we allow God to infiltrate our lives. But it's a choice. And, just like in any relationship, it involves giving up of ourselves and our own desires.
Lord, reveal to us how great your love is. How wide, how deep, how far it reaches, beyond all we could ask or think in our finite minds. You are great God, and your love towards me is great. God I pray our desire would be to know YOU. In Jesus name, Amen.
1 John 4:9 "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through him."
I see Your face in every sunrise
The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes
The world awakens in the light of the day
I look up to the sky and say
You’re beautiful
I see Your power in the moonlit night
Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
We are amazed in the light of the stars
It’s all proclaiming who You are
You’re beautiful, You're beautiful
I see you there hanging on a tree
You bled and then you died and then you rose again for me
Now you are sitting on Your heavenly throne
Soon we will be coming home
You’re beautiful, you're beautiful
When we arrive at eternity’s shore
Where death is just a memory and tears are no more
We’ll enter in as the wedding bells ring
Your bride will come together and we’ll sing
You’re beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful
I see Your face, You're beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful
I see Your face, You're beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful
I see Your face, I see Your face
I see Your face, You’re beautiful, You’re beautiful, You’re beautiful
Today I remembered something. The week before I got married, I was trying to wrap my mind around the amazing fact of Christ being our bridegroom, and the church being the bride. As I was praying, it came to my attention how sad if a bride were not completely and utterly captivated and so much in love with her soon to be husband. And so lovingly, I felt that the Lord Jesus allowed me to feel for a brief second that that is indeed what He has felt so many times. It broke my heart, and if you are a born again Christian it should break yours too. He gave up everything for us, and loves us far beyond anything we could ever imagine in this life. Do you love Him back? The Bible says we love him because he first loved us. I think it's time that we allow the love of God to flood our lives so that we can love him in return. "I want to know you" should be the cry of our hearts. When we see him all we can say is "you're beautiful". That is the response when we allow God to infiltrate our lives. But it's a choice. And, just like in any relationship, it involves giving up of ourselves and our own desires.
Lord, reveal to us how great your love is. How wide, how deep, how far it reaches, beyond all we could ask or think in our finite minds. You are great God, and your love towards me is great. God I pray our desire would be to know YOU. In Jesus name, Amen.
1 John 4:9 "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through him."
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Out of the mouth of babes
This morning Nathanael grabbed my bible and started "reading" to me. He is three and can not read. But I'm pretty sure he gets the idea of what the Bible is all about, after hearing this statement. He said "Okay mom, say this after me, The Lord is God, and Jesus loves me". He just melted my heart, and I had to share. Happy Saturday everyone, have a blessed day!
Friday, January 8, 2010
Living Victoriously
What a week. WOW. Where to begin.
There have been some mountain high times to this week, and then some all time valley lows. BUT God is still God. Regardless of circumstances, HE IS GOD. That seemed to be the theme of this week.
I keep hearing Him whisper in my ear, "Remember who I am." And He keeps reminding me that He created the heavens and the earth. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is He who split the Red Sea, so that His people could walk through on dry land. He is Almighty, powerful God. Jesus, who conquered sin and death; He is my God, and I am His child. What an amazing thing. If that doesn't blow your mind, than what will?
What do you fear? That question kept coming up throughout this week as well. Another theme. But really what do you fear? Psalms 111:10 says "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom..." It was brought to my attention that I was fearing other "things" in this life. The truth is there is nothing to fear, except God. Fear God. Do not fear poverty, sickness, or even death. None of these things can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
This is how we live a victorious life. We are not shaken when things happen because our hope and foundation is in that which can not be uprooted. Romans 15:13 says "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." That is my prayer for us all, that the hope we have been given with overflow into our everyday lives. We don't have to wait to get to heaven in order to be victorious, we can be victorious right now.
I am rejoicing because I have been given an amazing gift of hope. I see God's hand in ways He is providing for us. Our heavenly Father is holding our hands as he leads us along this journey of life.
One last thing to share that was such a blessing for us to hear is that some of our dear friends were graciously and miraculously given a house to rent. And it's very close to us :) Thank you Lord for providing this place for them!
Well, that was a bit all over the place, but I hope it is an encouragement to someone who reads this. God blessings to you until next time, Joanna
There have been some mountain high times to this week, and then some all time valley lows. BUT God is still God. Regardless of circumstances, HE IS GOD. That seemed to be the theme of this week.
I keep hearing Him whisper in my ear, "Remember who I am." And He keeps reminding me that He created the heavens and the earth. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is He who split the Red Sea, so that His people could walk through on dry land. He is Almighty, powerful God. Jesus, who conquered sin and death; He is my God, and I am His child. What an amazing thing. If that doesn't blow your mind, than what will?
What do you fear? That question kept coming up throughout this week as well. Another theme. But really what do you fear? Psalms 111:10 says "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom..." It was brought to my attention that I was fearing other "things" in this life. The truth is there is nothing to fear, except God. Fear God. Do not fear poverty, sickness, or even death. None of these things can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
This is how we live a victorious life. We are not shaken when things happen because our hope and foundation is in that which can not be uprooted. Romans 15:13 says "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." That is my prayer for us all, that the hope we have been given with overflow into our everyday lives. We don't have to wait to get to heaven in order to be victorious, we can be victorious right now.
I am rejoicing because I have been given an amazing gift of hope. I see God's hand in ways He is providing for us. Our heavenly Father is holding our hands as he leads us along this journey of life.
One last thing to share that was such a blessing for us to hear is that some of our dear friends were graciously and miraculously given a house to rent. And it's very close to us :) Thank you Lord for providing this place for them!
Well, that was a bit all over the place, but I hope it is an encouragement to someone who reads this. God blessings to you until next time, Joanna
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Good News
I've never cared for writing all that much, but I would prefer it over speaking any day. So here I am starting a blog in this year of 2010.
I am really starting this for a number of reasons. A couple I would like to share today. The first one being, I am a follower of Jesus Christ. He rescued me, and I hope this can be used as a tool to rescue some other lost soul in this world.
Second, I've heard and seen a lot of bad news lately. You know what I'm talking about. You turn on the news and see it every day. Death, war, disease, catastrophes, financial downfall. We are all subject to these things. This world is full of them, everywhere you turn. And so, this morning I was contemplating all of this and decided I want to start sharing some good news, while I am here and able.
This last Friday, the first of the year, I left with my son to go run a few errands. As we were out driving, I was pulled over for not coming to a complete stop behind the crosswalk line. As the officer came up to my vehicle I was bummed to say the least. He asked for my license and registration, and went back to his vehicle. As I am sitting there waiting, I heard my son's sweet voice say "Mom, are you okay? You gonna get a ticket Mom?" I responded, "I'm okay sweetie". What seemed like forever passed by. I was trying to justify in my mind why I didn't deserve this ticket, "I came to a stop, just not before the line" I was telling myself. It didn't seem fair, but I was fully prepared to get citation that afternoon. Then he was there at my window again. "Miss, I'm only going to give you a warning today." he said. My heart dropped, I was so thankful I wasn't going to have to pay, or have it go on my driving record.
As I drove away with Nathanael in the back seat saying "You okay mom?", I couldn't help thinking about grace. I was shown grace that day by that officer. I had broke the law, and I deserved that ticket, and yet I was driving away without one. Which brings me to the next part.
We all have a death sentence, that's the bad news. Measuring up to God's law is not possible. The ten commandments for example, we all fall short of obeying them. The Bible says that we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Just like I was there trying to justify why I didn't deserve that ticket, we try to justify that we aren't that bad of people. We may have sinned in our lives, but not to deserve death and eternal separation from God, we tell ourselves. Sin is sin , whether it is a white lie, or homosexuality, or murder. It is all breaking of the law, we deserve what's coming to us. But not so long ago, a baby was born of a virgin. His name is Jesus, God in human flesh. He was born into this world, to save us from our debt. We were found guilty, but Jesus Christ took our blame. He bore it on a cross, and took on our death sentence, and then rose from the grave three days later. That is the glorious good news! We are found blameless now. We don't get the ticket, not only that, but our slate is wiped clean. It doesn't count against us on a record somewhere.
All we are asked to do is believe that Jesus did that, and we are called sons and daughters of God. We are adopted into His family. Hallelujah to my great God and His amazing reigning grace! I hope and pray as I continue this blog that I can spread some joy. Thank you for reading, God bless you, Joanna
I am really starting this for a number of reasons. A couple I would like to share today. The first one being, I am a follower of Jesus Christ. He rescued me, and I hope this can be used as a tool to rescue some other lost soul in this world.
Second, I've heard and seen a lot of bad news lately. You know what I'm talking about. You turn on the news and see it every day. Death, war, disease, catastrophes, financial downfall. We are all subject to these things. This world is full of them, everywhere you turn. And so, this morning I was contemplating all of this and decided I want to start sharing some good news, while I am here and able.
This last Friday, the first of the year, I left with my son to go run a few errands. As we were out driving, I was pulled over for not coming to a complete stop behind the crosswalk line. As the officer came up to my vehicle I was bummed to say the least. He asked for my license and registration, and went back to his vehicle. As I am sitting there waiting, I heard my son's sweet voice say "Mom, are you okay? You gonna get a ticket Mom?" I responded, "I'm okay sweetie". What seemed like forever passed by. I was trying to justify in my mind why I didn't deserve this ticket, "I came to a stop, just not before the line" I was telling myself. It didn't seem fair, but I was fully prepared to get citation that afternoon. Then he was there at my window again. "Miss, I'm only going to give you a warning today." he said. My heart dropped, I was so thankful I wasn't going to have to pay, or have it go on my driving record.
As I drove away with Nathanael in the back seat saying "You okay mom?", I couldn't help thinking about grace. I was shown grace that day by that officer. I had broke the law, and I deserved that ticket, and yet I was driving away without one. Which brings me to the next part.
We all have a death sentence, that's the bad news. Measuring up to God's law is not possible. The ten commandments for example, we all fall short of obeying them. The Bible says that we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Just like I was there trying to justify why I didn't deserve that ticket, we try to justify that we aren't that bad of people. We may have sinned in our lives, but not to deserve death and eternal separation from God, we tell ourselves. Sin is sin , whether it is a white lie, or homosexuality, or murder. It is all breaking of the law, we deserve what's coming to us. But not so long ago, a baby was born of a virgin. His name is Jesus, God in human flesh. He was born into this world, to save us from our debt. We were found guilty, but Jesus Christ took our blame. He bore it on a cross, and took on our death sentence, and then rose from the grave three days later. That is the glorious good news! We are found blameless now. We don't get the ticket, not only that, but our slate is wiped clean. It doesn't count against us on a record somewhere.
All we are asked to do is believe that Jesus did that, and we are called sons and daughters of God. We are adopted into His family. Hallelujah to my great God and His amazing reigning grace! I hope and pray as I continue this blog that I can spread some joy. Thank you for reading, God bless you, Joanna
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