Psalm 8

"O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory
above the heavens.
From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise[b]
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings[c]
and crowned him with glory and honor.

You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:
all flocks and herds,
and the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.

O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!"

I absolutely love this Psalm. What i love the most about it, is verse 2. He has ordained the praise (or strength in other versions) of children and infants because of his enemies to silence the foe and the avenger! This is amazing to me! When I think of children and infants, i think of purity and absolute faith and innocense. I want to have that childlike faith and purity. I love that God has ordained strength and praise from the lips of children...to silence His foes. This is a powerful majesty of God.

A Willing Heart + Prayer = Opened Eyes

“…we can have faith that when God commands us to do something, He will provide what we need to carry out his command.” Daily Inspiration Devotional

“By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.” 2 Peter 1:3

As I was doing my devotions this morning, I was reminded at how meaningful and dominant God’s Provision in my life has been this past year and how utterly grateful I am for it. His financial provision in my life has been a huge blessing: with no job, each month I have enough to pay the bills and still have some to save and to be enjoy. With a horse accident, only having to pay $1,000 out of $30-$32,000 of hospital bills. His spiritual provision in blessing me with every spiritual blessing (ephesians 1:3) and putting people in my life who can speak truth into me and who I can go to when I have questions. His emotional provision through strengthening my current relationships and bringing aboard and continuing to bring aboard new ones….
And my list could go on.

But what sticks out in my mind and heart the most, is how in a leadership role, or in your giftings/talents, desires, God provides all you need. He gives you strength, He gives you finances, He gives you people to help you…and so on. I keep thinking about God’s Closet and how God has given me this vision to help the poor and I am actually attempting at doing it. And each time, He somehow lets me know what to do, He has equipped me and continues to equip me. I often question myself, or ask God, ‘why me? i don’t know what I am doing…’ but He has chosen me. And so far, its all worked! It is all a learning and growing experience.

I have also realized, that in God’s provision, there must be a willing heart…a giving heart. We must be willing to lose everything, in order for God to provide us with our needs. We must be willing to sacrifice ourselves, our time, our wants…We must be willing to give back to God what He has given to us (gifts, talents, finances…etc). And with all of this, we must be grateful.

I am just blown away by God’s constant Provision in my life. And realizing that He does equip me, I have no need to worry or to question ‘why me.’ God knows what He is doing with me. I just need to be willing, grateful and obedient. And to GIVE back.

“…but when you give what you can-even if it’s only a little-He has the power to turn it into something great. Whether we offer him our time, our ability, or some other resource, He takes it and multiplies its effectiveness beyond anything we could have imagined. Give what you can to God. He will show you how he can use you when you have a willing heart.” Daily Devotions

“God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, He will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.” 2 Corinthians 9:10

Thanksgiving Devotions

I just now read my devotions for today and I wanted to share them because I really like them, and we can always be reminded to be thankful.

1 Thessalonians 5:18
”Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

One of the best ways to experience God is to notice and appreciate all the so-called little things around you. Often it is when you turn your focus outward that you see many things for which to be thankful. Instead of saying ‘I wish’ try saying, ‘I’m thankful.’ Cultivate an appreciative heart by giving thanks regularly, consistently, and spontaneously. Doing so helps to drive away thoughts of the disappointments that blind you to God’s gifts in the here and now. Every moment is an opportunity to see evidence of God’s provision and presence.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.” 1 Chronicles 16:34

A broken heart on Thanksgiving

Today on my drive out to my aunt's house for Thanksgiving lunch, I was looking forward to all of the food that I would be able to eat!! All of a sudden, my heart sank. I was reminded of all the poor, starving children and adults in this world. And here I was, thinking of stuffing myself...
I felt sick.

Thanksgiving is a huge American holiday that we all use as an excuse to over eat and it be okay. This is a sickening act. My new goal and conviction for my own life, is to get away from that. Today, I prayed for the poor. I did not eat as much as I normally would, I did not stuff myself. And in the future years, I plan to serve in someway, whether that be going to a homeless shelter, or inviting someone who is not able to have a big get together with lots of food...someway, because I don't want to be selfish with the abundance of what God has blessed me with.

So each day, and each Holiday, especially Thanksgiving, allow yourself to be humbled, and to think of others and maybe even sacrifice a little.
I learned this today.

God keeps stretching my heart out for the poor.

In honor of Thanksgiving, a few things I am thankful for:
My family, friends, OTW family, Jesus dieing on the cross for me to save me, Sanctification, Grace, God's unending love, the presence of the Holy Spirit, God's unending provision (financially, spiritually, emotionally), a warm house, a comfortable bed, enough food, a working car to drive, laughter, light...

Psalm 34:1
May I always be praising you Lord.

Caring for those in need

I love when you are praying about something and you go to do your devotions and they are basically about what you were praying for/about! I love how God works that way sometimes!

So these are the verses I read this morning…

“When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the Lord your God.”     Leviticus 19:9-10

“Give freely and become more wealthy, be stringy and lose everything. The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.”   Proverbs 11:24-25

I was praying this morning for my heart’s desire to provide for those who are in need, to be an encouragement to them and just to love them. And then I read these verses and was just really encouraged. We are told in the Bible to look after and provide for the widow and the orphan, the poor and the oppressed.
Just yesterday us girls were talking about being a servant. and how selfless it is and sometimes is quite hard to do. But how rewarding it is to be a servant. We need to be willing to serve the Lord by serving the poor and needy, providing for their needs. God has blessed so many of us with our own needs (physically, emotionally and spiritually), that when we are in abundance, we are to share our abundance.

This is my heart. I was just rather encouraged and excited about those verses today and my prayer! Thank you Lord! May we all have servant hearts and refresh those we come in contact with.

God's Omnipresence

There are so many things in my journal, in my heart, in my head that I could choose to blog about right now, but the one thing that is resonating the most with me, is the Omnipresence of God.

John 16:7
'Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you."

My Pastor preached on this passage on Sunday. Why was it to the disciples (and to ours) advantage that Jesus left them? Jesus was with them all the time, was there to lead them, guide them, speak truth to them, discipline them, laugh with them, walk with them, run with them, rest with them...was there for it all. Now He was leaving...Jesus could not stay. He had a purpose to fulfill. The Love Jesus had(has)in His heart for God's children, is so strong that He limited Himself. (Philippians 2:5-10) Jesus is fully God. Yet He limited Himself to a human body, to bring about Salvation and Redemption to us all. I am not quite sure how to portray my heart's outbursts of joy, appreciation, respect, reverence, and love for Jesus...but just know that this is a HUGE deal! Jesus had to die, He chose to die, and with becoming a man, He could not be everywhere, everytime, with everyone. He was limited.

In this passage, He is talking about the promise of the Holy Spirit. Now the Holy Spirit, is with us all, all the time, everywhere. Jesus also had to leave, so that the Holy Spirit could come be our guide, our leader, our truth speaker, our comfort...all that Jesus was and is. As a man, Jesus could not do that for all of us. The Holy Spirit can.

This truth is just now hitting me, after all these years of knowing about the Omnipresence of God. It is becoming real to me.
It is also real to me in the sense, that I struggle. Satan temps me every now and them with old ways of thinking, old strongholds...but the truth is, The Holy Spirit is with me, empowering me, leading me...so He can whisper in my ear in the midst of temptation about who I am in Christ, and I can choose to listen or to ignore. I can choose to be victorious because Jesus has won, or I can choose to allow myself to be defeated. But how can I allow myself to be defeated when I have the Holy Spirit of God living and working inside of me!? This is one thing I forget all too often. It's frustrating, but I find comfort in the truth that the Holy Spirit is with me. I am always spending time with Him, wherever I am, whatever I am doing. I can always talk to Him, ask Him for help, and receive. I have no reason to fear, for God is with me! I have no reason to live defeated or ashamed or discouraged, cuz Jesus has won the victory!

It's been a good week!
God is good!

"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come."
John 16:13

Remain in the Love of Christ. (John 15)

Worship

So recently God has been showing me and bringing up a lot about worship.
Worship is a passion of mine, a huge desire of my heart. To become a worshipper that is described in John 4:23. This past week at bible study with our girls we talked about worship. it was awesome discussion just on what being a worshipper looks like, and on dedicating certain gifts and abilities God has given us back to Him. This is one thing I was challenged on, and that I did and that I need to continue to remember and to do.

One thing that I feel God wants from me and is asking of me, is to become unhindered. Im realizing that there are still strongholds in my life. And i think that these strongholds are what hinder me in worship. not just in worship as a music/singing setting, but in life...living unhindered, but especially in the music/singing area cuz thats my passion.

God desires all of us. He doesn't desire just worship, but worshippers. I long to be a worshipper. To be fixated upon Him, and to glorify Him with my voice, words, and musicianship. It's just a matter of growth and the process of becoming unhindered. I learned the other night that it will be painful, but in the end, there is victory with Christ and it will totally be worth it.

Revelations 4 and 5 have been a huge encouragement to me this past while. Just the picture of perfect worship. and this morning i read Revelation 21 and was just so in awe and excited for the perfectness and the NEWNESS. Pure worship. My heart desires that and longs for that. and is my prayer for on this earth to worship as pure as I can in the name and power of Jesus Christ!