Angela’s Thoughts

The Bible has many scriptures, especially when you read from the KJV, that are poetic, and unless we take time (individually – ourselves) to study them out… we may miss their real meaning.  One scripture I have heard over and over, always thinking I fully understood the meaning… but WOW,  Today in prayer, I began to feel the need to study it.  I’m so thankful I did!

“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” KJV

The wind (pneuma – Christ’s spirit, the Holy Spirit) bloweth (pneo – to breath) where it listeth (thelo – to will, be resolved, to desire), and thou hearest (akouo – to hear, to attend, be noised, be reported) the sound (phone – a sound, tone, musical instrument, a voice, a sound of uttered words, speech, of a language, tongue) thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so (houto – in this way, in like manner) is (esti – to be, come, must need) everyone (pas – all, any every) that is born (gennao – to be born, begotten) of (ek – after, out of, from, by) the Spirit (pneuma – Christ’s spirit, the Holy Spirit).

The other morning, I was reading in the book of 1 Kings, where Solomon begins his rule and how that God allows him to build the House of the Lord.

In 1 Kings 3 :5-15, God said unto Solomon, “Ask what I shall give thee.” Solomon asked for an understanding heart to discern judgment.

1 Kings 4:30 “And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.”

I Kings 6:11-13, “And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying, Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father:  And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.”

Then in 1 Kings 8 Solomon blesses the Lord, and blesses the newly built house of the Lord.

I Kings 9:2-7,  “That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.  And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.  And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:  Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.  But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:  Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:”

As I was reading this, I began to think about how Solomon was considered such a wise king… but his wisdom didn’t save him, or even keep him from making wrong choices in his own life.  Twice, God appeared to him to let him know that He (God) would bless His house and the children of Israel… if they would only do as He asked.  You would think that in all that wisdom, he would have understood that.  But after reading chapter 11, verse 4 … you see that there is a vital difference between him and his father, David.  “The heart.”

1 Kings 11:4, “For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.”

I think at times we become so caught up in finding wisdom in situations that we get to the point where we loose our “Heart.”  We focus so much on the next step and the direction we are supposed to be heading, that we don’t enjoy the moment we are in, and praise God for what He is doing, and has already done. We don’t just magnify and glorify God for who He is!

This last weekend has been another building block in my life.  We had our Michigan Matters Ministry Training Conference, and I found some answers to questions that had been taunting my mind.  I found a renewed certainty… God is with me.

Seeing such a anointing of God in our services, and the desire that Michigan has for reaching souls… and then we attended the “How Sweet The Sound” Finale in Detroit, where there was a spectacular outpouring of the anointing of God.  To the point where I stopped, raised my hands and felt my soul cry out… “This is MY God! This is Who I serve, There is NO Doubt!”   It was such an amazing experience, to see the FIRE from Heaven fall in that arena, that my soul cried out to magnify and glorify HIM.  My feelings were not to disregard someone else’s faith in God, but to affirm my own.

Wisdom is needed, knowledge is needed… but it has to be hand and hand with Heart.  And if I had one without the other, I would want the Heart after God…because my faith in Him would bring about direction.  I don’t want to be like Solomon, where I had so much wisdom, but couldn’t follow after God.  He built the House of the Lord, but also built temples for other gods for his many wives.

How do we get there?  How do we get from building the House of the Lord (our temple – given to God) to a point where we settle for building other temples here and there…. pushing down the walls of the once sacred and holy place in our life?  We all want knowledge and understanding, but what good will they do if our “Heart” is not fixed upon God.

When Solomon blessed the House of the Lord, his heart could very well have been in tune with God.  I believe that it probably was, but I also see that God warned him of the choices that stood before him.  That there would probably come a time when there would be a choice… Every day, we need to take time to acknowledge God’s place in our heart.  The longer we take between those moments, the farther we get from Him… is that how Solomon found himself building houses for other gods?  He began to spend more time with all his wives and their gods, that he eventually pushed the ONE TRUE God out of his life completely?

I don’t know about you, but I want to make the right choices.  I want to have wisdom in my dealings … and I believe that will come with having a “Heart” like the Heart of David… one that is perfect with the Lord!

Today, for me, this passage from I Chronicles 29:10-18 says it all…

¹⁰Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.
¹¹Thine, O LORD is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.
¹²Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.
¹³Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.
¹⁴But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.
¹⁵For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.
¹⁶O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own.
¹⁷I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee.
¹⁸O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:

David had such a way with words.  Many times my words fail me… so, today my words are taken from this passage, which exalts God, lifts high His Name, and requests a look at my heart…  Lord, prepare me!

Have you ever talked with someone, or should I say listened to someone, who takes over a conversation?  You try to say something, but either get cut-off, or they just keep going on and on and on?  It is like all they want to do is be heard, and it doesn’t matter who they are talking too… just that they are talking?

I have a daughter that is 11 going on 12 and she loves to talk.  Amongst the constant talking there are nuggets of information about her life, but sometimes I miss it because she is always talking… and after a while, I tune out the chatter.  It isn’t something I intentionally do, but often find myself asking, “What did she just say?”  And at times she will be so focused on what she wants to say, that when I do get to respond… it is never heard.  It could be that I am asking her to do something, or replying to a question she has… and within minutes she will either have to be told again what to do, or I’m answering the same question that was just asked.  Sometimes, we will see the same thing happen, and she will repeat it about 5 times… to make sure that I knew it happened.  I saw it too!  I knew it happened! I understand that a lot of this is a girl thing… the mind racing from one thing to another so quickly that you feel you need to get it all out.

But… as I was praying this morning, I found myself asking, “Who is leading my conversation with God?  Him or me?  More times than not, I think it is me.  I have so much to say, doesn’t He want to know it all?  I had this happen or that happen (which He already knows) and I need to tell Him how I feel about it (which He already knows).  I have so many requests and I need to remind Him about them all.  When I am finished… Have I allowed Him to say anything?  Did I lead our conversation?

Interestingly enough, as I was looking for scripture references from the concordance in the back of my Bible, I couldn’t find the word “Listen.”  And when I looked for “Hear”, all the references were … guess?!  How God hears our prayers!  Wow.  Such selfish people we are!  But as I was reading Psalms 143, I went passed the referenced scripture where David is saying, “Hear me,” to him saying, “Cause me to hear…”  Isn’t it crazy that my Bible concordance forgot to add the scriptures references about listening and hearing from God?

Psalms 143 says,  ^“1Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. ²And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. ³For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead. ⁴Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.  ⁵I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands. ⁶I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah. ⁷Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.⁸Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. ⁹Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me. ¹⁰Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. ¹¹Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name’s sake: for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble. ¹²And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.”

In this Psalm, David did let God know how he was feeling, and he did petition God… but he left room for God to respond when he told God how his soul was thirsty for Him, then said, “Cause me to hear… and cause me to know…”  Both of these statements are seeking God’s advise, and acknowledging that He wanted to hear from His God.  And then, “Lord, teach me… and Quicken me.”  They were all types of requests, but showed us that David wanted to allow God to lead him.

I don’t know about you, but I want God to lead our conversations.  I want to listen when he decides to speak, I want to feel the nudging of His spirit and allow Him to change the direction of my prayers if it is His will.

Take time and think about this… Who is leading your conversation?

This morning as I was praying and then studying, I stopped for a moment to check Facebook.    It has become such a part of me, that I check at the oddest times of the day.

I’m glad I did today.  There was a video posted by a friend… and it got me to thinking.

As I opened my Bible to Proverbs 21, I began to read.  21:2 says, “Every way of man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.”

This is so true.  In today’s society, there is a blur of what is right and wrong, because no one will stand for right (which is laid out for us in the Bible)!  Everyone person has made up their own mind what is right or wrong. We live in a world that is so afraid of encroaching upon someone else’s values that they compromise their own.  There “appear” to be no absolutes.

“But the Lord pondereth the hearts”.  Oh, I want to be in the place where I am following after God, and that I am speaking and living in His absolutes… so that as He searches my heart, He will find a servant, and seeker of truth. Many people claim to be “Christians” or followers of Christ, but any part of the Word of God that is offensive to them, they discard as not being for “them”.   I was taught that we were to take the whole Word of God, not taking away from or adding to it! I want to view right and wrong with God’s eyes, not my own.  I want to be pliable in His hands, and stand firm on His word.

The chapter continues… vs. 15 “It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.”  Amplified version, “When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous (the upright, in right standing with God), but to the evildoers it is dismay, calamity, and ruin.”

As I read these scriptures, I could already see a courtroom.  Justice prevailing.  It is, unfortunately, a common sight to see the “evildoer” feeling the dismay, calamity and ruin over what is Justice, what is right!  So many today, don’t ever feel regret for their wrong doing… it is the system that is wrong… it is the laws that need to be changed.  There has to come a time when we just begin to take responsibility for what we choose to do, what is right and wrong in our sight.  There is such a thing as Absolutes.  Right and Wrong.  We choose what we do.

What will God see in our hearts today?  Right or Wrong?

The other day, while seeking an answer to a question… God led me to a certain passage of scripture.

Being a pastor’s wife, there are so many times that we have to realized the importance of our walk with God.  The importance of leading people the right direction.  Yes, unfortunately there are many interpretations of the Word of God.  Even in many translations, there are scriptures changed, or completely left out.  What right do we have to change the Word of God?  Yes, we need to understand it… in layman terms… but change it?  NO!  But not only do we need to be careful about how we interpret the Word of God, we also need to be very careful in what we say God says.

Recently on Facebook, a friend of mine mentioned that “FACEBOOK USER… thinks it’s funny how some folks think it is very important that they made certain changes in their lives because it was God’s will.  When you say it once there is meaning to it.  When you have to repeat it several times,… one starts to wonder….. was it really God’s will, or yours and you just feel guilty about it?

I was surprised by the responses.  Many people ridiculed this person for mentioning the possibility that whomever they talked of was wrong… that they questioned their motives.  I think it is necessary that we question.  If we didn’t, we would believe blindly, we would follow whatever new fad came and just go with the flow.

Ezekiel 13 warns us of prophesying from our own spirit… having seen nothing.

“AND THE word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts.  Hear ye the word of the LORD;  Thus saith the LORD GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!  O Israel, the prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.  Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD. They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.  Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it: albeit I have not spoken?  Therefore thus saith the LORD GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the LORD GOD.  And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD GOD.  Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered mortar:  Say unto them which daub it with untempered mortar, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall: and a stormy wind shall rend it.  Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?  Therefore thus saith the LORD GOD: I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it.  So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.  Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered mortar, and will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it.  To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the LORD GOD.  Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy against them.  And say, Thus saith the LORD GOD; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls!  Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you?  And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies? Wherefore thus saith the LORD GOD; Behold I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly.  Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.  Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:  Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am LORD.

It is very important that we be sure what we say is from God before we put the words, “The LORD saith,” or before we proclaim something came from God.  This has caused me to analyze my own words.  I have already been very careful of using the words, “The LORD saith,” because I have never wanted my own words/desires to come after it… I want to make sure that I don’t lead someone else the wrong direction because of what I say… Salvation is so very important, Direction from God is very important, Living a life Holy and acceptable unto God is important… There are many times that I have seen someone say, “I heard this from the LORD…” and it didn’t line up with His Word.  How can that be from God?  It wasn’t.  I can stand firm on that!  He will never do anything against what His Word has already proclaimed.  His Word is Truth.  It stands!

I don’t think it is wrong to question the motive?  Especially when something in your spirit just questions it.  When you know the Word of God, the spirit within you will discern whether something is of GOD or not.  But you have to spend enough time with GOD to be able to discern the difference!

I challenge you to read this passage of scripture … even in other translations (Amplified, NIV, etc…) for better understanding.  Compare it to the King James Version, so that you don’t lose the full meaning but read it!!!  Take it to heart.

We need to make certain that what we profess, what we proclaim… especially when it comes to the Word of God,  aligns with His Word and that we are not allowing self or our own vain visions to cloud truth… What does the LORD saith?

Today, I am playing (notice I said playing) catch up.  I don’t know that it is possible to finish everything that is on my list.. and then some that aren’t.

We had an awesome time at Youth Congresss.  Last night during service, everyone that attended Congress had the chance to speak about what they recieved from the sessions and services.  It was awesome to see that each person found something for them.  Every testimony was different, and so compelling.  I heard from a young man that I can now see the call of God on his life to the ministry of preaching.  I heard from another that is most likely feeling the call to being a sunday school teacher (but has not yet recognized it), and the list goes on.

I was so proud of our youth.  Each one had never been to a Youth Congress.  Let alone a place where 18,000 young people joined to worship God in spirit and in truth.

There were so many highlights that it is impossible to mention all of them… but there were a few that are more prominent.

• It’s Okay to Be Different – Bro. Huntley.  He talked to our kids about not being ashamed of who they are.  To stand up for what they believe in… and embrace being different.
• What if? – Tim Rutledge.  He spoke on our choices.  What if we do this? How will we look? What if we mess up?  He challenged them to take risks in the Name of Jesus and for the gospel.  Don’t look back on life later and ask What if I had just did what I thought instead of dwelling on what others might say or do?
• Recognizing the Call – Bro. Haney.  He ministered in so many ways during his session.  But one thought stood out more than others.  He talked about how God calls some one, and we keep asking for direction, keep asking for affirmation.  He talked about Noah, and how that God spoke to him to tell him how to build the ark, what to preach and then for 120 years Noah didn’t hear from God again, until it was time for the door to be shut.  Where is our commitment to just do what God has asked us?  Why do we need confirmation upon confirmation.  Isn’t his word enough in the first place?

Those are just a few of the things that were brought out during this years Youth Congress.  So much was accomplished in the lives of our young people.  I believe in this generation!  I believe that they are the generation that will lead during the last days.  They are the ones that God has chosen for this time.  And they will do it without fear or shame, and with more boldness than those that came before them.

Let’s encourage them!  Let’s stand behind them and support them when they fall!  Let’s believe in them and what God has called them to do! I would rather be a part of it, than not at all!

There is a great stirring within my spirit.  I can’t even explain the feelings I am having.  They touch deeply into my soul.

On my way home yesterday from Cory McCool’s Going Home service, … Kelsea sleeping in the back seat, and Jay working on his laptop in the front seat… me driving with one earphone in my ear listening to the Bible on my iphone, dwelling in the presence of God that I felt so strongly through-out the day.  I didn’t want to leave that special resting place, a place of peace that just is so thick and real… where you can almost feel the arms of God wrapping around you.

I chose to listen to Romans… starting in the first chapter… I got to the end of the 5th chapter, and beginning of the 6th… and I kept replaying it over and over.  Romans 5:20, where it says, “…But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” And in Romans 6:1-6, 11-12… “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid.  How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life.  For if we have been planted together in likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his ressurection…. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but ALIVE unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal BODY, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.”

This last week has been a time of deep reflection into my soul.  My intents, my purposes… ME.  Let’s hit it even deeper.  MY SIN!  Where am I living today?  I live in a world where, yes, there is much sin, therefore much grace… But I think so often we become immune to sin.  “Oh, it really isn’t as bad as that!”  “God wasn’t talking about that, or he loves us too much to do that.”  If God’s word is true in one statement.. it is true in all statements.  God is loving, but God also expects obedience and loyalty to Him.  We fail, often.. but are we so comfortable in our failures that we don’t allow God’s grace to do the work it was meant to do.  It isn’t meant to allow us to stay in that sin… it is meant to give us the opportunity to rely on God, as he helps lift us out of that sin.

I look at this world…and think, are we in Sodom and Gommorah?  Are we so far from God in our culture, in our times, that we really believe that everything is okay… Does our flesh suffer from sacrifice?  Or is it happily content with the state we are in?  Does the devil fight us?  or does he leave us alone because we aren’t causing a ripple in the work he set out to do?

I want to be lifted out of the sin.  I want my mind to be focused on God and living my life to the fullest by serving Him in whatever he desires of me.  I don’t want to go backward… I don’t want to be part of a great falling away because I just accept that things are the way they are because of the time we live in.  No, they aren’t!!  God is still God!  God’s word is still true!  God still expects the same from his people as he always did.

Am I so caught up in the “things”… (busy, busy, busy.. entertained daily, going through the motions…etc)  that I miss out on the opportunity that God is giving me to step out from among the rest,  to dedicate fully and completely to him.  This isn’t a one time dedication… it is daily, leaving behind the things that would distract me, tempt me, change me to be something other than what God has called me to be.

I know this may seem like rambling, but I wanted to get it on cyberspace “paper”,  so I can study it deeper. 

Today as I was catching up on Facebook updates, one caught my eye almost immediately.  He said he had been woken up early this morning, and the song “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus”, came to mind.  When I woke this morning,  that song wasn’t on my mind, but I felt an overwhelming peace… and love for my God.  After reading his status update, I thought… “yeah, it is so sweet.”

Over the years, I have sang this song… in some of my deepest hours of need.

Being a young mother, I often sang “Jesus, Jesus, How I trust you…” while rocking my daughter to sleep.  I doubt that I was the only one that would look at her child and think… “what an awesome responsiblity it is to raise her.”  It was times like these that I just trusted in God, that he knew what he was doing, and he would help me.  If she was sick, I sang, and prayed… and felt that peace, that only he can give.

When I was on my deathbed in 2003.  That song was one that I heard others singing, and in my mind I was singing it.  It was a time where I could literally feel the prayers of the saints going up for me.  My room would be thick with the presence of God.  I remember my mother sitting in the hospital room with me, and calling her over to my bed… saying, “Mom, their praying… someone is praying… I can feel it.”  That changed my life forever…  He allowed me to live, there had to be purpose, and in that purpose I would trust Him.

Last year, my husband was in the hospital.  I remember sitting in his hospital room, and praying… then, of course, this song would come to mind.  “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, Just to take Him at His word, Just to rest upon His promise, Just to know Thus saith the Lord.”  I begin to remember the promises, and visions God had given us in coming to Kentwood.  During Prayer Force at our church that Sunday, I remember being in a realm of my own with God… trusting Him.

He has never left me, He has never forsaken me.  He has always proved to be trustworthy!

Thank you, God, that I can Trust in You!!!  You are the only real thing in this world to trust in!  Thank you that I know you, Thank you for being there every time I felt I couldn’t go on.  Thank you for teaching me to lean upon you!

’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
And to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus says the Lord!”

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more!

O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me
’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.

I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.

While packing for various trips coming up… my mind starts reflecting on who I am, where I stand, and what others will think when I am gone.

Will I be a person who has gathered much for myself?  In money, prestige, and listening to the comments/compliments of man.  Or, will I have shown the light of the one I worship?    I know that we can become so caught up in how God uses others to lift us up.  But I don’t want to get to the place where I think it is “Me”.  God is my savior, in whom I breathe and live.  I fail.. but He never will.

I feel so emotional… with the passing of Bro. Cory McCool.  The loss seems so great some times I find it hard to dwell on it.  But I force myself to, because there is so much to learn from him and his family.  They have stood strong.  Even in the midst of the trial, Cory was preaching to have Faith in God.  Now, reflecting on his life… there are so many others that he ministered to, that is what they remember.  His special bond with His God.  He reflected the love of God and living by Faith.  He placed his life in the Masters hands.  He allowed himself to rest there, and walk in life knowing that His God was able, but also that it was His God’s choice.  I know there are questions.  Why?  But really, we need not ask.  Cory didn’t.  He trusted.

What do you see in your reflection?

I want my life to cause others to reflect.  I see so many who walk away, deciding to leave their roots.  For what?  For what?  My life is a sacrifice unto God.  I don’t always get my way.  I won’t always understand.  I may hurt and my flesh may not always like the requests of God… but He is my God.  I am his servant.  I will trust and obey Him.

Please Lord, make my life pliable in Your hands.  Help me to draw closer to You instead of looking at what others would expect of me.  Help to see You and to allow You to work in my life.  I pray that You protect my mind and my heart against the lies of this world.  I pray that others see You in me.  What greater joy should I have than to reflect You?  That someone may turn to you because of my walk with You (Your leading me, guiding me and filling me with Your peace and wisdom – not of my own.) Be the savior of my life, Be the Master of my life… expect of me what You need to and help me to meet Your expectations.  I love You and want to live for You the rest of my days.  You are worthy of all honor and praise.  You are excellent in all Your ways.  Although at times we don’t understand.  We rest in You!  Thank you for the peace in knowing, You are in control!  In Jesus Name. Amen.