New Mercies

"The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning." Lam 3:22-23.

The Cross

Can words even describe what I feel right now? Probably not. I just finished watching The Passion of the Christ and I just wept.  I wept and prayed. I confessed sins I committed minutes before watching the film. I confessed of my sins of the night before. How could God want to give his son to die for us. We who are so unworthy to even touch the bottom end of his sandal. We are filthy scum who do not deserve to be forgiven. But, here I stand. Forgiven and loved by my God and savior. Forgiven by the son of the Most High. My debt paid for by innocent blood. Innocent blood shed to wipe the scum that sticks to our souls. Innocent blood that cleansed us so that we may share in the kingdom in Heaven. Thank you Jesus. Thank you for taking the cross. Thank you for being the sacrifice even though we do not deserve it. Thank you for being my savior, my hero, my payment. Thank you Father for loving me so much that you did give your son for me, for the world. Remind daily Lord, that I am to love others as you have loved me. Remind me to show those around me of the love you have. Let me be a light to those around. Let me lead others to you. Let your Helper come to me and help me proclaim your name to those I love and those I come across everyday. I love you Lord Jesus, and I am thankful to have accepted your gift. Thank you.

The Passion - Worthy Is The Lamb

  
Its Passion Week. I have been thinking of my salvation today and I am just not worthy.  I am not worthy of the pain Jesus Christ paid on that cross.  I am a horrible person and I shame him everyday by my lack of action. I fail him everyday because I am not out there telling those around me how much he loves them and how he died for them.  Jesus gave his blood for you and for me. God gave his only son! We, I deserve death before being allowed into the kingdom of God. But I am so very thankful that Jesus does love me. Loved me enough to go through this torture so I can rest in Heaven. Thank you Jesus. Thank you for the cross. Thank you God for giving of your son.

Psalm 91 - NLT

Psalm 91

 ¹ Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
      will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
 ² This I declare about the Lord:
   He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
      he is my God, and I trust him.
 ³ For he will rescue you from every trap
      and protect you from deadly disease.
 ⁴ He will cover you with his feathers.
      He will shelter you with his wings.
      His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
 ⁵ Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
      nor the arrow that flies in the day.
 ⁶ Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
      nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
 ⁷ Though a thousand fall at your side,
      though ten thousand are dying around you,
      these evils will not touch you.
 ⁸ Just open your eyes,
      and see how the wicked are punished.
 ⁹ If you make the Lord your refuge,
      if you make the Most High your shelter,
 ¹⁰ no evil will conquer you;
      no plague will come near your home.
 ¹¹ For he will order his angels
      to protect you wherever you go.
 ¹² They will hold you up with their hands
      so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.
 ¹³ You will trample upon lions and cobras;
      you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!
 ¹⁴ The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.
      I will protect those who trust in my name.
 ¹⁵ When they call on me, I will answer;
      I will be with them in trouble.
      I will rescue and honor them.
 ¹⁶ I will reward them with a long life
      and give them my salvation.”

Paralyzing Fear

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

I sat earlier today watching an unpleasant scene. I saw a young boy doubled over in what appears to be pain.  It was pain, but it was mental boy.  The boy, who could not be over ten years old, was having an anxiety attack. He was yelling at his parent/guardian to take him home.  If one didn't know what was happening, you would have been imagining the worst.The boy was having an anxiety attack because of the weather. He had a paralyzing fear of the dark clouds in the sky. He was afraid a tornado was going to come down on him.  He was afraid the wind just going to be picking him up and taking him away. He was afraid of one of the trees blowing in the wind would topple over and land on him.These fears broke my heart.  The fear that was paralyzing him from going any further.  He didn't want to leave his house. He didn't want to play outside or anything. His fear had taken over him.

This sad story reminds me how easily we can be distracted from our view of God as our protector. In Psalm 91, we read how God is our refuge.  This is what God tells us:  "I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation."  If we confidence in our salvation, we really have nothing to fear.  I pray for this young boy.  I pray that his parents will show him how to trust in God. I pray that you will find rest in him. That you will trust in his name and take refuge in him.

Lead me

"If your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here" Exod 33:15
I never want to move forward without knowing that God is right beside me. How many times have made the choice to move in a certain direction and then realize this was not where God had intended for me to go. Then I live with regret and the consequences of my actions. I pray that we remember to keep God in our lives and that we ask for direction and his will be done not ours.

Grief

How do we handle grief? Some people jump off the deep end because they don't know how to handle it or where to turn to.  I remember 5 years ago when my mother passed away.  You see, I grew up taking care of my mother. She had been sick since I was in grade school. Tons of memories came flooding to me.  The way she would brush my hair or hold me when I was sad.  But when she passed away, I had peace.  I had peace because I knew who was in control. My God was and is in control. He was taking care of me and of my mother. I turned to him when she passed and did not despair in my loss.

In 2 Samuel chapter 2 we read of when David found out that his dearest friend Jonathan had been murdered by the Philistines.  He responded by weeping and fasting. Then he wrote him a song.

I wrote a poem for my mom a while ago to capture my pain and my joy. Yes, I had joy at my mother's passing. She was no longer suffering. She was no longer in pain. She was free. And more importantly, she was a believer in Jesus.  I know that I will see her again and that gives me peace. My peace comes from the Lord.

David

I had deleted this blog because I felt, I didn't have enough to put down on "paper," but I do!!!  I do!!!  I have been going through a study of David (Beth Moore study) and I have just been learning a great deal. I see how David is just a man (person, if you must be PC) like us.  He loved God with all his heart but he made mistakes just like we do. I have been battling a lot in my life this past month and what sticks out the most right now is 1 Sam 24. This is the passage where David and his men where hiding in a cave and Saul comes in to relieve himself and David sneaks up behind him and cuts off a piece of Saul's robe. David has the perfect opportunity to take revenge on everything that Saul has put him through. BUT he doesn't. He lets Saul live (again). He does let Saul know what he could have done if he lived according to the ways of the world..."an eye for an eye."

1Sam 24:8-11
David came out and shouted after him, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked around, David bowed low before him.Then he shouted to Saul, “Why do you listen to the people who say I am trying to harm you?  This very day you can see with your own eyes it isn’t true. For the Lord placed you at my mercy back there in the cave. Some of my men told me to kill you, but I spared you. For I said, ‘I will never harm the king—he is the Lord’s anointed one.’  Look, my father, at what I have in my hand. It is a piece of the hem of your robe! I cut it off, but I didn’t kill you. This proves that I am not trying to harm you and that I have not sinned against you, even though you have been hunting for me to kill me."

I pray I keep God's word close to my heart. I want to be like David and seek after the heart of our God.