Know. Love. Praise. Value. Hate.

Grant me, O Lord, to know what I ought to know, to love what I ought to love, to praise what delights You most, to value what is precious in Your sight, to hate what is offensive to You. Amen.
-- Thomas à Kempis

Absolutely Obey God. Completely Love God.

Last night I gently heard the voice of my Father God. What I sensed Him saying was too personal to share. I am totally humbled, because I had no other desire but to absolutely obey what I heard Him say.

We must exercise the greatest care to be utterly obedient to God. He sees all the battlefield all the time. It is only He who can put each of us in the place where our lives can count for the most.
-- "Praying" John Hyde

But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love Him. That is how we know we are living in Him.
-- 1 John 2:5 (NLT)

Holiness Unto The LORD!
Grateful

"I Will Free You!" -- God

(6) “Therefore, say to the people of Israel: ‘I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment. (7) I will claim you as My own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God Who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt. (8) I will bring you into the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as your very own possession. I am the Lord!’”
-- Exodus 6:6-8 (NLT)

Freedom from "Egypt's slavery" equals freedom from "Sin's rule".
Grateful

Vision from Brother Job (of all People)

Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) says : Where there is no vision, the people perish.

I've been reading lately from the Old Testament Book of Job and my heart is encouraged by what he could see with the eyes of his soul especially in the midst of his personal suffering that was too awful for words.

Yes, Job said this in Job 19, verses 25 and 27:

But as for me, I know my Redeemer lives and He will stand upon the earth at last... I will see Him for myself. Yes, I will see Him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought.

Let's lift up our heads, my brother and sisters. Our Redeemer is Alive and Well! Yes, His Help is on the way. Our Deliverer is Coming! Are we overwhelmed at the thought?
Grateful

Jeremiah 33:3

This morning I awoke with a Bible reference on my mind as strong as any impression I've ever had. A life-verse for one of my pastoral leadership mentors, Dr. Charles Thompson, God's Wonder-filled words of expectation are recorded in Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV):

Call to Me, and I will answer you,
and show you great and mighty things,
which you do not know.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Being Still. Doing Nothing.

Being still, I've wonderfully learned, is much different than doing nothing.

Be still, and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Do We Know The Way Home?

We have to come Home to Jesus before we can go Home with Jesus. -- James Spruill

"Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way where I am going." Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going; how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me. -- Words of Jesus in John 14:1-6 (NRSV)

Lord, thank You for being our Way Home. Because there will be no sin in The Father's House, thanks for being our Way to find forgiveness for our sinful actions and cleansing of our Sinful attitudes. We can now know there's room for us There. We cannot adequately express our gratitude in knowing that the Way of Your Cross leads us to You and You lead us to our forever Home. Amen.

For God took the sinless Christ and poured into Him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God’s goodness into us! -- 2 Cor. 5:21 (TLB)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Completely Understand Ourselves?

In his book, Bread for the Journey, Henri Nouwen wrote:

We make a mistake when we think that we can ever completely understand ourselves and explain the full meaning of our lives to others.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Knowing Christ -- The Priceless Gain

What do you want to gain more than anything?

I say "Amen" to Paul's Priceless Gain Goal, recorded in Philippians 1:8-9a (NLT):

(8) Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ (9) and become one with Him.

ALL JOY!
Grateful

Prayer for a Pure Heart & The Mind of Christ

Pray along with me these soul-searching words in Psalm 139:23-34:

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (NLT)

Lord, I want my heart in your flame -- yes, a pure heart -- and my head in your game -- yes, I desire the mind of Christ. In Jesus' name. Amen.

ALL JOY!
Grateful

The Lord Hears. The Lord Knows.

If you belong to the Lord, I invite you to inhale within the depths of your soul and embrace with all of your life these two verses:

* Psalm 34:17 (NLT)
"The LORD hears His people when they call to Him for help.
He rescues them from all their troubles."

* 2 Timothy 2:19 (NLT)
"But God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: 'The Lord knows those who are His,' and 'Those who claim they belong to the Lord must turn away from all wickedness.'"

Together, let's pray and obey Psalm 34:17 and 2 Timothy 2:19. The keyword for me in both verses is the word HIS.

And let us never forget that Our Lord Hears and Our Lord Knows.

ALL JOY!
Grateful

Our LOVE is proven by our WILL!

I once heard a well-known and respected radio preacher say this sobering sentence (and I paraphrase): The reason we don't obey God is sadly because we love sin more than we love Him.

In John 14:15, Jesus said: "If you LOVE me, you WILL obey what I command."

I believe that if we passionately LOVE Jesus we WILL obey Him out of unconscious devotion, not out of conscious carefulness. (His Spirit within us makes this our reality. Read 1 John 4:4.)

Unless we love Jesus, we will obey the commands of God for all the wrong reasons -- out of religious requirements (fear/I have to) rather than relational responses (love/I want to).

1 John 4:18: There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

When we as "the saints of God/those who are exclusively God's" say, "I fear God," it really means "I know God," and/or "I love God."

That's why I tell my loved ones: Please Love Jesus Passionately! Indeed, to know Him wonderfully is to LOVE Him WILLingly.

ALL JOY!
Grateful

God Knows Our Hearts & Our Thoughts

According to Psalm 139:23-24, God cares what's in our hearts and what's on our minds. Let's join the Psalmist in this prayer for God's leadership in our lives:

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

ALL JOY!
Grateful