God's Love.
This song by Jami Smith will mess you up. Well worth the buck or two you have to pay to download from itunes or amazon.
Your love is deep
Your love is high
Your love is long
Your love is wide
Deeper than my view of grace
Higher than this worldly place
Longer than this road I travel
Wider than the gap You filled
Who shall separate us
Who shall separate us from Your love
Nothing can separate us
Nothing can separate us from Your love
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
In case you were wondering...
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and full of faithful love. 9 He will not always accuse us or be angry forever. 10 He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our offenses. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Psalm 103:8-12
Psalm 103:8-12
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Couldn't have said it better myself
Even if I tried :). Psalm 19- hard not to read something like this and not wish that I had the wisdom and insight to write something so wise, so humble, so profound that it even moves the hearts of men and women towards God's heart thousands of years later. Thank You Lord- Your words are better than life! Give us discernment and conviction to put these teachings of yours into practice, and as we do so, may they consume us and transform our hearts. May eyes of our hearts be opened to see as You do, and may we be moved to use our remaining days wisely, for Your Namesake, for Your purposes, to find joy and contentment in doing the good works that you have prepared in advance for us to do, before there was time.
Psalm 19
1 For the choir director. A Davidic psalm. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands. 2 Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge. 3 There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard. 4 Their message has gone out to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the inhabited world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun. 5 It is like a groom coming from the bridal chamber; it rejoices like an athlete running a course. 6 It rises from one end of the heavens and circles to their other end; nothing is hidden from its heat. 7 The instruction of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise. 8 The precepts of the Lord are right, making the heart glad; the commandment of the Lord is radiant, making the eyes light up. 9 The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are reliable and altogether righteous. 10 They are more desirable than gold- than an abundance of pure gold; and sweeter than honey- than honey dripping from the comb. 11 In addition, Your servant is warned by them; there is great reward in keeping them. 12 Who perceives his unintentional sins? Cleanse me from my hidden faults. 13 Moreover, keep Your servant from willful sins; do not let them rule over me. Then I will be innocent,
and cleansed from blatant rebellion. 14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19
1 For the choir director. A Davidic psalm. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands. 2 Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge. 3 There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard. 4 Their message has gone out to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the inhabited world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun. 5 It is like a groom coming from the bridal chamber; it rejoices like an athlete running a course. 6 It rises from one end of the heavens and circles to their other end; nothing is hidden from its heat. 7 The instruction of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise. 8 The precepts of the Lord are right, making the heart glad; the commandment of the Lord is radiant, making the eyes light up. 9 The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are reliable and altogether righteous. 10 They are more desirable than gold- than an abundance of pure gold; and sweeter than honey- than honey dripping from the comb. 11 In addition, Your servant is warned by them; there is great reward in keeping them. 12 Who perceives his unintentional sins? Cleanse me from my hidden faults. 13 Moreover, keep Your servant from willful sins; do not let them rule over me. Then I will be innocent,
and cleansed from blatant rebellion. 14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
For the Good
Finally got some new cd's back at Christmas, and got a copy of Shane & Shane's latest: Everything's Different. In a word, this CD is awesome! One of the songs that has moved me the most in my walk with Christ is the song "For the Good", which is based off the Romans 8:28 passage, which reads:
"We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose."
When we read this, we may be led to think that God will only allow good things to happen to us, because we think that God wants us to be happy... not the case at all. He wants us to be blessed. Here's a great post that explains the difference: http://joedingwall.tumblr.com/post/528206606/does-god-promise-happiness#disqus_thread
Any ways, here are the lyrics to the song - absolutely awesome with the music. take some time to read and consider these words. Does this challenge the way you see difficulties in your life?
When darkness is surrounding me
by Your Spirit, Lord help me sing
that You are working all things out
Lord, I really need to hear you speak
Remind me in the waiting
that You are working all things out
For the good of those
who are called by You
for the good of those
who are in Love with You
That's why we sing
Holy God of light
I lay down my life
Holy is the Lord
Even in the storm be glorified
We like to take the blessing from You
Shall we not take the trouble too
You are working all things out
We like to take prosperity
Shall we not take the suffering
You are working all things out
Holy are you Lord
even in the storm
be glorified
Worthy of affection
"We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose."
When we read this, we may be led to think that God will only allow good things to happen to us, because we think that God wants us to be happy... not the case at all. He wants us to be blessed. Here's a great post that explains the difference: http://joedingwall.tumblr.com/post/528206606/does-god-promise-happiness#disqus_thread
Any ways, here are the lyrics to the song - absolutely awesome with the music. take some time to read and consider these words. Does this challenge the way you see difficulties in your life?
When darkness is surrounding me
by Your Spirit, Lord help me sing
that You are working all things out
Lord, I really need to hear you speak
Remind me in the waiting
that You are working all things out
For the good of those
who are called by You
for the good of those
who are in Love with You
That's why we sing
Holy God of light
I lay down my life
Holy is the Lord
Even in the storm be glorified
We like to take the blessing from You
Shall we not take the trouble too
You are working all things out
We like to take prosperity
Shall we not take the suffering
You are working all things out
Holy are you Lord
even in the storm
be glorified
Worthy of affection
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
TWITTER!
The gap between my blog posts is getting larger and larger... mostly due to the fact that i really don't have time in my day to sit down and type out the kind of thoughtful post that i usually try to do. The other reason is that most people have the same time constraints that i do and are not spending as much time reading blogs as they are keeping up with their facebook and twitter accounts.
So, if you still want to follow my updates, i encourage you to follow me on twitter - it's where i do the most damage on a regular basis :). If you don't have an account, go ahead and take a step off the deep end and dive into the 21st century - like it or not, twitter and facebook is simply the way people communicate anymore. Look forward to chatting with you - follow me here http://twitter.com/LeavingTheGray
So, if you still want to follow my updates, i encourage you to follow me on twitter - it's where i do the most damage on a regular basis :). If you don't have an account, go ahead and take a step off the deep end and dive into the 21st century - like it or not, twitter and facebook is simply the way people communicate anymore. Look forward to chatting with you - follow me here http://twitter.com/LeavingTheGray
Saturday, March 6, 2010
"let it be said of us"
What a joy it would be if this could be said about the church today... God change us! Exodus 36:3-7 (HCSB)
3 They took from Moses' presence all the contributions that the Israelites had brought for the task of making the sanctuary. Meanwhile, the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. 4 Then all the craftsmen who were doing all the work for the sanctuary came one by one from the work they were doing 5 and said to Moses, "The people are bringing more than is needed for the construction of the work the Lord commanded to be done." 6 After Moses gave an order, they sent a proclamation throughout the camp: "Let no man or woman make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary." So the people stopped. 7 The materials were sufficient for them to do all the work. There was more than enough.
Move our hearts once again, Lord. May we bless you Name by returning all that we have, all that we are, for the glory of your Name, for the extension of Your kingdom. May Your church give so generously, that the people must be turned back and told to stop giving because there is so much, that there was more than enough.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
3 They took from Moses' presence all the contributions that the Israelites had brought for the task of making the sanctuary. Meanwhile, the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. 4 Then all the craftsmen who were doing all the work for the sanctuary came one by one from the work they were doing 5 and said to Moses, "The people are bringing more than is needed for the construction of the work the Lord commanded to be done." 6 After Moses gave an order, they sent a proclamation throughout the camp: "Let no man or woman make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary." So the people stopped. 7 The materials were sufficient for them to do all the work. There was more than enough.
Move our hearts once again, Lord. May we bless you Name by returning all that we have, all that we are, for the glory of your Name, for the extension of Your kingdom. May Your church give so generously, that the people must be turned back and told to stop giving because there is so much, that there was more than enough.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
Friday, March 5, 2010
breaking the mold
There is only one you.
Let me say it again - never again in all of history will there be another you. You are uniquely gifted by our Creator with God-given talents, passions, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses, to be used in this exact moment in all of history. You are not an accident. In Christ, you have purpose; you have significance; you are loved.
You were meant to be you- and you are the only person who can BE you! There will always be expectations put on you by others, about what you should do, who you should be like, and on and on... Just as you can't be in two places at one time, you can't be two different persons at the same time. If you are not you, then who will? Who can?
If you are tired of trying to live up to the expectations of others, then break the mold! There's a reason that shoe doesn't fit - it's because you weren't meant to wear it!
If you find yourself imitating someone else's life, then there's no time to make your own life. Break the mold of being like someone else - there's only one you.
Let me say it again - never again in all of history will there be another you. You are uniquely gifted by our Creator with God-given talents, passions, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses, to be used in this exact moment in all of history. You are not an accident. In Christ, you have purpose; you have significance; you are loved.
You were meant to be you- and you are the only person who can BE you! There will always be expectations put on you by others, about what you should do, who you should be like, and on and on... Just as you can't be in two places at one time, you can't be two different persons at the same time. If you are not you, then who will? Who can?
If you are tired of trying to live up to the expectations of others, then break the mold! There's a reason that shoe doesn't fit - it's because you weren't meant to wear it!
If you find yourself imitating someone else's life, then there's no time to make your own life. Break the mold of being like someone else - there's only one you.
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