Still Faithful

So let us seize and hold fast and retain without wavering the hope we cherish and confess and our acknowledgement of it, for He Who promised is reliable (sure) and faithful to His word. (Hebrews 10:23 AMP)

Is He ever. 

One of my favorite songs is "He Is Faithful". 

I have heard a sound 

coming on the wind
Changing hearts and mind, 

healing brokenness
I feel a generation 

breaking through despair
I hear a generation 

full of faith, declare

And our song it will be 
Out of the darkness 

we will rise and sing

He is faithful, 

He is glorious
He is Jesus, 

all my hope is in Him
He is freedom, 

He is healing right now
He is hope and joy, 

love and peace and life

I have seen a light 

like the break of dawn
Giving blind men sight 

and letting lame men walk
I see a generation 

with resurrection life
We are a generation 

filled with the power of Christ

And our song it will be 
Out of the darkness 

we will rise and sing

He is faithful, 

He is glorious
He is Jesus, 

all my hope is in Him
He is freedom, 

He is healing right now
He is hope and joy, 

love and peace and life

He has paid the highest price
He has proven His great love for us
We will praise Him with our lives

And proclaim our love for Him
(x2)

And proclaim our love for Him

Sometimes, I sing that song to rejoice, to lift up to the heavens the hope and joy and love and peace and life I have in Jesus Christ. 

Sometimes, I sing that song to speak into life, in my own mind and heart, what I know to be true from experience. To remind myself, with this limited-focus mortal noggin of mine, what I know to be true, and to bring my focus back to it.

And sometimes, I sing that song with a heart that is utterly broken, and pleading desperately for relief.

But through all of it, He IS Faithful. 

He IS glorious. 

He IS Jesus . . .

and ALL my hope truly IS in Him, for His name is the only name under Heaven by which anyone can be saved.  

Father, we really could all use some saving. Show us how to walk right beside You. Show us what Your compassion really and truly looks like. And suffer us not to be led into temptation, please. We get there fast enough on our own, thankyouverymuch. ;-) In the name of Him who truly is mighty unto salvation, Jesus'. Amen. 

Resisting in humility.

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ~James 4:7 NLT

I've always wondered how this works . . . resisting while humbling yourself.

Today, I began to understand.

Humility = giving your will to Jesus. Acts of humility take tremendous strength in both spirit and character.

Resisting the devil = Being who God tells you to be, and believing what God says, no matter what the devil does or says, how he tries to scare or dissuade you. Jesus resisted the devil on the mount after his 40 day fast. He didn't contend with him, but did not give in either.

Lord, I desire nothing more in this life than to know You better. I trust You. I believe what You have said. I believe what You have said about me, and who I am. You are Truth. You are faithful. You are beautiful to me, and I love Your grace, Your mercy, Your love, and Your sense of humor. :o) I love You, Lord of mine. Please show me what You want me to do next, how You want me to pray, whom You would have me pray for, how You would have me speak, and the choices You would have me make. I long to walk with You in my everyday, praise You in every circumstance. In Jesus' name, amen.

Still Good! :o)

Give thanks to the  lord , for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. ~1 Chronicles 16:34 NLT

Oh, how good our God really and truly is. :o)

And the best part is, I have a feeling I've only just barely begun to see just how good He will be to me, as I follow Him, bringing unto Him my weaknesses, and allowing Him to clothe me in His strength, His faith, His righteousness, all through the blood of His atoning sacrifice.

You see, He won. He won, because He finished. On the cross, He told us so. I cannot imagine the deep relief, and wonder how much joy He felt as he hung there in so much agony . . . but even then, knowing that He had done it, that He had WON!, and He could finally release Himself from that tortured body and rest for a little bit. And then, to be able to take it up again, heal it and make it whole, and glorify it. Just, wow. I know how much I love putting on my most comfortable, well-fitting clothes. I can hardly imagine what it must've felt like to be able to clothe Himself once again in the flesh He had come to know so well, and yet to do so in glory, without the temptations, without the pain, without the burden of His mission before Him.

You see, my God is faithful. He never gives up, never wimps out, never fails me. Ever. His love isn't going to fade away, He's not going to change His mind. He is Eternal. He is Endless. He is Good. He is LOVE. And He has poured that love out over and around and through me, filling me up until it was more than I thought I could bear . . . and then He filled me some more.

And He wants to fill you, to heal you, to save you, too.

Jesus, I love You. I keep trying to find words to thank You, to praise You, to communicate somehow even a tiny bit of the miracle You have worked in me. It's not working out so well. lol But I'll keep trying, for it is one of the sweetest works I've ever had set before me. I thank You for Your patience, for Your grace, for the infinite nature of Your love and attention. I'm so glad You are Who You Are, and that I can keep learning, keep receiving, keep on growing in light each day. Thank You for not giving up on me, for not giving up on anyone, ever. Keep on reaching out, keep on showing, keep on entreating, and lead me more fully in Your light, in Your ways, and in Your love. And please . . . show me how to translate this into how I serve my family, how I care for them, how I work in my home and in the sphere of influence You've given me. It's all I want to do. Thank you!