Hall of Fame vs. Call His Name

Football season officially ended in the USA last evening with the Super Bowl and this morning there's much talk about famous football greats who were and were not voted into the National Football League's Hall of Fame.

With these thoughts on my mind this morning, I prayed this prayer:

Dearest Lord Jesus, it matters not that people remember my name, only that they remember Yours and that You remember mine. I rejoice today not because my name is up in lights, but because my name is written down in Your Lamb's Book of Life. I claim Your fame, not mine. In Your Holy Name, I pray. Amen.

...rejoice that your names are written in Heaven...
-- Luke 10:20b (NIV)

 Click here: He Knows My Name Israel & New Breed - YouTube

Forget the Hall of Fame, Lord, as long as I can just Call Your Name!
Grateful

Everything in Heaven and on Earth is Yours, Lord!

¹¹ Greatness, power, splendor, glory, and majesty are Yours, Lord,
because everything in heaven and on earth is Yours.
The kingdom is Yours, Lord,
and You are honored as head of all things.
¹² Riches and honor are in front of You.
You rule everything.
You hold power and strength in Your hands,
and You can make anyone great and strong.

-- 1 Chronicles 29:11-12

 

And I am Yours, too.

Grateful

Thou Art Mine, And I Am Thine.

Together, let's echo this prayer from the Covenant Service written by John and Charles Wesley:

I am no longer my own, but Thine.
Put me to what Thou wilt,
rank me with whom Thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for Thee or laid aside for Thee,
exalted for Thee or brought low for Thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things...
to Thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Thou art mine, and I am Thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

(As used in the Book of Offices of the British Methodist Church, 1936).

Click here: YouTube - "I Surrender All" The Isaacs

Holiness Unto The LORD!
Grateful

God Yearns Jealously

I don't pretend to comprehend these seven words from James 4:5:

"... GOD YEARNS JEALOUSLY... TO DWELL IN US!" (NRSV)

My God, I know the last seven words Your Son prayed in John 17 were "that I Myself may be in them!" While I do not understand a Love like Yours, I still say with all that is within me, "I'm Your sanctuary. Dwell in me, my jealous God. I love You so much because You first loved me too much!" In Jesus' Name. Amen.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful (and Speechless, too.)

Consecration Simply Defined

Consecration is simply a matter of letting God have what He has paid for, or returning stolen property. -- Mrs. Chas. Cowman

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV) -- (19) Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; (20) you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Jesus, You paid it all. All to You I owe. Let me live my life not only claiming "You are mine" but also declaring "I am Yours". In Your wonderful name, Jesus. Amen.

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

TO BE!

Today, I 'm thinking along the lines of those curious words old Billy Boy Shakespeare penned: TO BE OR NOT TO BE? That is the question.

Lord, I want TO BE focused more on BEING YOURS than on DOING CHORES. Let Your overflowing Holy presence override my overworking human performance.

1 John 3:1 (NLT) -- See how very much our Heavenly Father loves us, for He allows us TO BE called His children, and we really are!

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

The Other John 3:16? Give Up?

We're all familiar with John 3:16: For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

But I invite you to also consider with me on this wonderful Christmas Day the similar words of the other John 3:16. THE OTHER JOHN 3:16? Yes, 1 John 3:16. Here it is: We know what real love is because Christ gave up His life for us. And so we also ought to give up our lives for our Christian brothers and sisters.

Abba Father, on this Christmas Day, we give praise to You for so loving us that on that first Christmas Day You gave us Your only Son in Bethlehem's Manger. We are so grateful, too, that we know even more clearly what real love is because Your only Son gave up His life for us on Calvary's Cross. Help us to now GIVE UP our own lives for our Christian brothers and sisters so that we will prove to the world that we are Yours. Amen.

ALL.. JOY TO YOUR WORLD... All the boys and girls, now!
Grateful

Who's Our Daddy?

We are Yours, Lord. You are our Abba Father. Yes, You are our Daddy Father God. We love You so much because You first Loved us too much. We reverence You. We dedicate ourselves to Your desires. In the name of Your Son, Jesus, in Whom You are well pleased. Amen.

Romans 8:15-17 (NIV) -- (15) For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, "Abba, Father." (16) The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (17) Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.

ALL JOY!
Grateful

Holiness...

Holiness is not about what we put on, but about Who God puts in us -- the Spirit of Truth.

John 14:16-17 (NIV) -- (Jesus speaking...) (16) And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—(17) the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know him, for He lives with you and will be in you.

Lord, we do not want a humanly manufactured self-righteousness of our own. We do want a holy manifested Holiness that is Yours.

ALL JOY!
Grateful

Our Definition of Success: To See God!

Jesus said in Matthew 5:8 -- Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God!

Also, Jesus prayed for our protection and His projection in us and through us. Listen as God the Son prayed a four-part declaration to God the Father concerning His fully, devoted friends (disciples):

1. ...they are Yours... (John 17:9b)
Do we belong exclusively to God? Do we belong to Him or to sin?

2. ...all I have is Yours... (John 17:10a)
Does all we have belong to God, too? Our hearts, our dreams?

3. ...and all You have is Mine... (John 17:10b)
Do we know we're joint-heirs with Jesus? Talk about success!

4. ...and glory has to come to Me through them... (John 17:10c)
Are we the glory of "Jesus in our time?" Do we manifest Him?

Let's Pray: Our Holy God, let our definition of success (as Your fully, devoted friends) be to see God and for others to see God in us and through us... Yes, our Holy God, we only exist so that You, Holy God the Father, might reveal the glory of Holy God the Son, in us and through us by the presence of God the Holy Spirit. Yes, You are God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit... ONE... in us and through us. We want to be "Jesus in our time." Amen, Amen, Amen!

The songwriter defined what our definition of success really is: "Holiness is what we long for. Holiness is what we need."

Hebrews 12:14 ends with these words: "...without holiness no one will see the Lord..." And this is true, "...without holiness no one will see the Lord in us, either."

Let us be an answer to the prayer of Jesus, Unity, lest we embrace the snare of the devil, division. Let us declare with our Holy God that we are "ONE IN THE SPIRIT... HIS!"

ALL JOY!
Grateful

Ownership? Are You His?

I often ask myself these questions:

Who do you belong to? Whose are you?
1. Are you yours? ...or... 2. Are you His?

Then I refer to God's Word for the right answers. One right answer is found in 1 Corinthians 6:19b-20a (NLT): You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price.

And Isaiah 45:9 (NIV) asks a real ownership question: "Does the clay say to the potter, 'What are you making?'" To which I pray from my surrendered heart: Lord, have Your way with Your clay... forever and a day... and today. Amen.

My Desire: Lord, I long to be exclusively YOURS!

ALL JOY!
Grateful