November 16, 2024

(Patsy’s Lullaby) Cradle Me

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Cradle me in midnight mercies
Fill me with Your day starlight
Adorn me with thanksgiving
Strengthen me with might
Guide me with Your holy kindness
Into yet another day
Lead me on to glory, Jesus
In Your everlasting way

Through valleys, through darkest night
You guard me, speed my enemy to flight
Be the lifter of my head in sorrow
Mend my broken heart today
and heal up my tomorrow

Pillow me with Your Presence
Comfort me in Your holy rest
Surround me with your angels’ songs
Sleep safe in Your shelter of my Father’s arms

 Mandisa
written along with Patsy Clairmont and Ron Rawls

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Have you listened to this beautiful lullaby yet?  If not, please do.  Go right ahead…we’ll be waiting right here for you.

So beautiful…so calming…just as a lullaby should do!  A lullaby, by definition, is a song which quiets; and in particular, quiets babies.  This song does just that for me!  And why?  For one, the tune—the melody—is written in such a way that it evokes peaceful feelings.  And the instruments that were chosen to play this peaceful tune…the cello, the piano, violins…all communicate to our sense of hearing in a gentle way.  Along with the instrument of Mandisa’s beautiful voice!  All of a God-inspired design. But mostly I think it is the words that are sung that communicate Truth that calms and settles our minds and hearts.  These are encouraging words, for sure, but not in a compelling or powerful manner.  Rather, they encourage in a comforting way that causes one to feel safe and sheltered.

These words bring reminders to me of some of the phrases about sleep and peace that are written in the Book of Psalms.

In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You, Lord,
alone make me dwell in safety and confident trust.
Psalm 4:8

By day the Lord commands His steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
Psalm 42:8

In the Scriptures we are told, time after time, of the ways in which God guards and protects and blesses us. I love the promises given to us in Psalm 91.  Here are just three of them:

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place
—the Most High, who is my Refuge—no evil
shall be allowed to befall you {#1},
no plague come near your tent {#2}.
For He will command His angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways {#3}.
Psalms 91:9-11

God’s heart is to care for us now…while we still live in this ever-changing world, on this earth that is diminishing and daily being destroyed by the ways of man.  And He accomplishes this in ways that show us how perfectly He will care for us throughout eternity!  He wants us to be assured that He can be trusted to provide all we need…and that we, ourselves, cannot do this successfully on our own.

It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late,
To eat the bread of painful labors;
for He gives to His beloved <blessings> even in his sleep.
Psalm 127:2

So learn of His promises, fill your heart and mind with the Truth , and meditate on God and His faithfulness to provide. Praise Him and thank Him and bless Him!

Because Your loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.
So will I bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.
My whole being shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness;
and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips
When I remember You upon my bed and meditate on You in the night watches.
For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings will I rejoice.
Psalms 63:3-7

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Perhaps tonight when you lay your head down, you will remember the words of this beautiful song, and will sing “pillow me with Your Presence…comfort me in Your holy rest.”  May you “sleep safe in the shelter of your Father’s arms.”

God bless you and keep you…and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-25).

Word Of God Speak

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

I’m finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it’s okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say
Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That You’re in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness
Word of God speak

I’m finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet, hear Your voice

I’m finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it’s okay

MercyMe
written along with Peter Kipley
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The Lord God is waiting to show how kind He is
and to have pity on you.
The Lord always does right;
He blesses those who trust Him.
Isaiah 30:18
God so wants to bless us!  All we have to do is call upon His name and He will bend His ear to hear our cry.  For we have been grafted into His family through Jesus Christ, His on.  Without the people of Israel—the Jewish people—we would not have the Bible and we would not know the person of Jesus.  We are a blessed people!
As we go through this week, let’s focus our thoughts on the nation of Israel, finding ways to bless them by praying for them daily and lifting up their nation. Asking for their protection, we are bringing on a blessings to us…for we are to bless God’s people.

Who I Am

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Another voice, another choice
To listen to words somebody said
Another day, I replay
One too many doubts inside my head

Am I strong…beautiful
Am I good enough
Do I belong
After all that I’ve said and done
Is it real when I feel
I don’t measure up
Am I loved

I’m running to the One who knows me
Who made every part of me in His hands
I’m holding to the One who holds me
‘Cause I know whose I am, I know who I am
I am sure I am Yours

Turning down, tuning out
Every single word
That caused me pain
Unashamed, and unafraid
‘Cause I believe You mean it when You say

I am strong…beautiful
I am good enough
I belong
After all
‘Cause of what You’ve done
This is real what I feel
No one made it up
I am loved

I am sure I am Yours
I know who I am
I am sure I am Yours

Fearfully, wonderfully, perfectly
You have made me

I’m running to the One who knows me
I’m holding to the One who holds me

  Blanca
Written by Blanca Callahan / Seth Mosley / Mia Fieldes

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For it was You who created my inward parts;
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made.
Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well.
Psalms 139:13-14 HCSB

“Another voice, another choice
To listen to words somebody said
Another day, I replay
One too many doubts inside my head

Am I strong…beautiful
Am I good enough
Do I belong
After all that I’ve said and done
Is it real
When I feel I don’t measure up
Am I loved?”

Surely I am not the only one that can relate to these words!  Thoughts and questions just like these have played over and over in my head at least a thousand times (sometimes in just one day) but as I was listening to this song on the radio, the light bulb went on!  I have to know WHOSE I am before I will really understand WHO I am. Duh!  {Mental head slap here}

As I looked through the many lists of Scriptures about ‘who I am’, I began to see ‘Whose I am’:

For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:26 NLT

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, His own special people…
1 Peter 2:9 NKJV

…For our citizenship is in heaven…
Philippians 3:20a HCSB

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved…
Colossians 3:12a NASB

Little children, you are of God [you belong to Him]
1 John 4:4a AMP

I am a child of God!
I am His!
He chose me.
He created me.
And He holds me close.

John 10:28b-29 states:

…No one will snatch them out of My hand.
My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all;
and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

Since I belong to Christ, that means:

For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night.
1 Thessalonians 5:5 NLT

Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit
Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God?
1 Corinthians 6:19 AMP/(1 Corinthians 3:16)

Now you are the body of Christ and individual members of it.
1 Corinthians 12:27 HCSB

…But I have called you friends…
John 15:15

For we are God’s masterpiece.
Ephesians 2:10a NLT

Did you get that?  We are God’s masterpiece!

A masterpiece is beautiful.  It is lovely.  It is treasured.  It is of immeasurable worth!  So that means God sees us as beautiful, lovely, treasured, and of immeasurable worth!

Knowing Whose I am gives me a sense of identity, of self confidence.

We are strong, we are good enough, we are loved!
{And I really need to remember that!}

Lift Me Up-The Afters

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

You lift me up with Your love
You lift me up with Your love
You lift me up with Your love
You lift me up

Waiting for the sunrise
Waiting for the day
Waiting for a sign that I’m
Where You want me to be

You know my heart is heavy
And the hurt is deep
But when I feel like giving up
You’re reminding me

That we all fall down sometimes
When I hit the ground

You lift me up when I am weak
Your arms wrap around me
Your love catches me so I’m letting go

You lift me up when I can’t see
Your heart’s all that I need
Your love carries me so I’m letting go

I know I’m not perfect
I know I make mistakes
I know that I have let You down
But You love me the same

And when I’m surrounded
And when I lose my way
And when I’m crying out and fallen down

I can see the dawn is breaking
I am feeling overtaken
With Your love, with Your love
I don’t know what I can offer
In this moment I surrender
To Your love, to Your love

The Afters
Matt Fuqua, Josh Havens, Jordan Mohilowski, Daniel Ostebo

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How many times do you question if you are where God wants you to be?  The hurt and heartache are too much.   And you think that if this was His will, it would be so much easier.  That’s so not the truth!  Nowhere in God’s letters to us in His Word does He say that we are to be happy.  Rather we are to have joy and the peace that passes all understanding.  And that the storms are never too strong that He can’t still quiet them.

We are so blessed to have a Father Who is there to pick us up when we are tired and Who lifts us above the circumstance so that we can see the way.  The path may seem dark but His light shines so bright in those times and He meets you right where you are.  You don’t have to be good enough or smart enough, you just have to be willing to follow Him through it all.

And when God’s loving arms wrap around you tightly, it is time for you to let go and let Him take over.  He is capable and so willing to take your burdens.

It is the Lord who goes before you.
He will be with you;
He will not fail you or forsake you.
Do not fear or be dismayed.
Deuteronomy 31:8

I have set the LORD continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Psalm 16:8

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.
John 14:2

 Why not let this song be your prayer today?

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Let us pray:  Dear God, You are so amazing!  You love us so much and You truly care about each problem we have, big or small, and You want to lift it from us.  Lord, help us to be able to let go of the things that are keeping us from moving forward and let Your capable hands take over.  And, today, give those who really need to feel Your Presence an extra special moment that can only come from You.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Hide Myself

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjvI’ve heard the thunder before
I’m not a stranger to storms
Even in the flood
I can always run
To where You are

I’ve had to wait in the dark
And hold the Truth in my heart
Even in the night
Still You open wide
Your faithful arms

And I hide myself
Where I find my help
And I hide myself
I find only rest
I find only peace
Beneath Your wings

You are the Refuge that stands
You hold my world in Your hands
The quiet in the noise
The stillness of Your voice
Will be enough

And it’s Your Presence alone
That changes all that I know
‘Til all that I know
Is just Your Presence alone
I’m safe in Your shadow

Even in the flood
I can always run
To where You are

Michael W. Smith
Writer: Mia Fieldes

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We certainly can sense there is turmoil and strife in the world.

They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice.
They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness.
They are gossips….
Romans 1:29

God knew there would be trouble in our lives.  Some because of our choices and some because of the world.  It is how we meet those challenges, lifting His name in all situations, that sets us apart from the world.  He will not always remove the testing, but He will walk with us through it.  If God can be with David all the while, He will surely be with us.

We need to search our hearts to see where we might doubt Him—where our faith is weakest.  We must ask God to help us strengthen it, to help us grow our faith, and to trust more and more.  David sometimes wondered where God was; and even the prophets did, too.

Look at Elijah….  With God, he had just destroyed all of the prophets of Baal but upon hearing that Jezebel was going to kill him, he was afraid. But isn’t that the man in us—our human side? To forget what God had just done…?  (How quickly we forget when our peace is threatened?)  God knew that Elijah was tired and needed rest and reassurance.  After receiving it, Elijah’s faith was restored and God told him what would happen in the future (see 1 Kings 19).

As God was faithful in restoring Elijah,
how much more will He restore us?

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God
so that at the proper time He may exalt you,

casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.
Be sober-minded; be watchful.
Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion,
seeking someone to devour.
Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering
are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace,
Who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ,
will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
To Him be the dominion forever and ever.  Amen.
1 Peter 5:6-11

Let this be our prayer for our nation and our world.

Give Me Faith

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

I wanna feel the strength David felt
With a rag and a rock, knowing that he couldn’t fail
And I wanna trust that would lead me up a hill
To give my only son, if I knew it was Your will
I want a faith like that, God give me faith like that

To speak Your word and mountains move
To reach beyond all I can do
‘Cause You’re doing things I cannot see,
So I’m gonna trust You and believe
You are all I need, give me faith

When my heart’s about to break
Don’t know how much I can take
And my soul is like a ship, overtaken by the waves
I need the courage to walk on the water and be strong
Like Peter in the storm until I fall into Your arms
I want a faith like that, God give me faith like that

I believe You’re strong enough to save
I believe every promise You’ve made
And when I just don’t understand,
You hold my world inside Your hands

I’ll speak Your word and mountains move
I’ll reach beyond all I can do
‘Cause You’re doing things I cannot see,
So I’m gonna trust You and believe
You are all I need, give me faith

Royal Tailor
written by: Tauren Wells, Blake Hubbard, David Cox, Jarrod Ingram

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I play music in my car almost constantly. And while most of my selections create a sense of peace and calm in the mornings with an uplifting beat as we began our journey, there are times when some songs do more than this.

Over the past few months faith has been at the center of my thoughts and prayers.  I have cried to God asking Him to give me strength, asking that He open my eyes to situations that will require me to walk in faith.  I read stories of heroes and heroines of the Bible walking in their faith…and great things happening!  But here I was—I felt faithless, helpless.  I didn’t know how to be like David, or like Peter.  I felt as if I did not have even an ounce of faith to stand on.  It was a scary place filled with what feels like very little hope.

I was talking to my husband and he reminded me that all God asks for is faith the size of a mustard seed.  I went and googled what a mustard seed looked like; and realized that a mustard seed was truly all I had.  I realized that I could be like David and tackle the Goliaths of my own life, and I could walk up the mountains in my life, move them, making the sacrifices necessary, all because I did have faith like that little mustard seed.  And slowly (and not without days of questioning) I realized that God was all I needed.  Some days my faith was shown by simply saying the name of Jesus when I did not know what to do.

All this week I have been seeking direction in finding a song to share in this blog. I wanted something different—something that spoke not only to my own heart but one that would speak to the heart of the women who read these words.  While driving I heard this song but kept missing the title.  Finally I caught it and pulled up the lyrics.  These words mirrored what I have been feeling, what I have been praying about.  They shared my fears, concerns, and shortcomings, but they also gave me hope.  The last nine lines of the song express what I want to and can tell myself daily.  These are truths I am making an intentional choice to stand on.

I believe You’re strong enough to save
I believe every promise You’ve made
And when I just don’t understand,
You hold my world inside Your hands

I’ll speak Your word and mountains move
I’ll reach beyond all I can do
‘Cause You’re doing things I cannot see,
So I’m gonna trust You and believe
You are all I need, give me faith

These words are my mustard seed.

He replied, “Because you have so little faith.
Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed,
you can say to this mountain,
‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.
Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 17:20

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Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You that mustard seed!  You can do great things with something so small…this fact amazes me daily.  Forgive myself and others who have allowed our fears, our shortcomings, our life in general to hide the truths in the words of this song.  You are enough, and because You are enough, we are enough.  Because You stand by Your promises, we can move mountains, whatever they may be.  You are all we need Lord!  You and our mustard seeds.  In Jesus Christ’s name we pray.  Amen.

Greater

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Bring your tired
Bring your shame
Bring your guilt
Bring your pain
Don’t you know that’s not your name
You will always be much more to me
Every day I wrestle with the voices
That keep telling me I’m not right
But that’s all right

‘Cause I hear a voice and He calls me redeemed
When others say I’ll never be enough
And greater is the One living inside of me
Than he who is living in the world
In the world
In the world
And greater is the One living inside of me
Than he who is living in the world

Bring your doubts
Bring your fears
Bring your hurt
Bring your tears
There’ll be no condemnation here
You are holy, righteous, and redeemed

Every time I fall
There’ll be those who will call me
A mistake
Well that’s ok

There’ll be days I lose the battle
Grace says that it doesn’t matter
‘Cause the Cross already won the war
He’s Greater
He’s Greater

I am learning to run freely
Understanding just how He sees me
And it makes me love Him more and more
He’s Greater
He’s Greater

MercyMe
written by: Bart Millard, Nathan Cochran, Barry Graul, Mike Scheuchzer, Robby Shaffer, along with David Garcia, Ben Glover

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Will you sing this truth along with me…

“…Greater is the One living inside of me than he who is living in the world!”

Declare it!  Confess it!  Proclaim it!  Believe it!  This truth needs to be deep in our hearts.  It has nothing to do with anything that you or I, my friend, can accomplish…it is ALL because of Jesus.

Little children, you are of God [you belong to Him]
and have [already] defeated and overcome them [the agents of the antichrist],
because He Who lives in you is greater (mightier) than he who is in the world.
1 John 4:4 AMP

 I have been crucified with Christ;
and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,
Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Galatians 2:20

There are times (and there will be more times) when we are tempted to deny this truth….  So you lost the battle today; not such a big deal!

Grace says that it doesn’t matter ’cause the Cross already won the war!”

When we are willing to accept this grace we can be free.  Free to be just exactly who God (in Christ) has made us to be!

  • We are set free from bondage and slavery to sin

It was for freedom that Christ set us free;
thereforekeep standing firm
and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1

  • We are free from condemnation

Therefore there is now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
For what the Law could not do…God did: sending His own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin….
Romans 8:1-3

  • We are alive to God and dead to sin

  Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead,
is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all;
but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin,
but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:8-11

  • We are seated with Him now…and for eternity

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air,
of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh,
indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
even when we were dead in our transgressions,
made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
and raised us up with Him,
and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
so that in the ages to come He might show
the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:1-7

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Heavenly Father, how good and kind You are to us!  For all You have provided for us through Your Son, our Lord, we are so thankful!  Truly we are free indeed ’cause “greater is the One Who is living in us than he who is living in the world”!   We do get distracted and tempted to forget this Truth…please help us to remember!  Thank You for Your mercy and love and grace which has made us alive in Christ!  May we keep this Truth in our hearts and on our lips so that we can share it with others!  We pray thanking You and praising You…in Jesus’ name, amen.

I Can’t Stop Singing

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Your grace for me will always be
More than enough
More than enough
The power of Jesus Christ in me
Is more than enough
More than enough

Because my heart is full
And my soul is free
In my weakness You
Had a plan for me

And I can’t stop singing about Your love
No, I can’t stop singing about Your love
Jesus, forever You will be more than enough
No, I can’t stop, I can’t stop

You will provide, You will supply
More than enough, more than enough
Open Heaven, open wide
More than enough, more than enough

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so
I can’t stop shouting
Can’t stop shouting

Because my heart is full
And my soul is free
In my weakness You
Had a plan for me
Now I sing the song
Angels cannot sing
I have been reborn
I have been redeemed

Covenant Worship
Songwriters: Joshua Dufrene, David Binion, Israel Houghton

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Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!
I can’t stop shouting…because my heart is full and my soul is free!

{ And all God’s people said, AMEN ! }

Psalm 107 is full of what ‘the redeemed of the Lord’ should say.  (Click here to read Psalm 107.)  The psalmist writes, in verse after verse after verse, of the awesome deeds and wonders of the Almighty, and repeatedly proclaims that the redeemed should say so in this manner:

Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonders to the sons of men!
(verses 8, 15, 21, 31)

Oh, don’t we have so MUCH to give thanks for!?!  And truly, we sometimes just can’t stop singing about God’s love!!  Without God’s love, each of us would still be dead in our trespasses and sins…bound as slaves because of Adam’s sin.  But because God loves us, we are redeemed by His Son and given new life.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:16

By this the love of God was manifested in us,
that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world
so that we might live through Him.
In this is love, not that we loved God,
but that He loved us
and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:9 and 10

I love the ‘more than enoughs’ in this song!  Just think…we have been given not just enough but more than enough!

  • Your grace for me will always be more than enough
  • The power of Jesus Christ in me is more than enough

And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is perfected in weakness.”
Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses,
so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
2 Corinthians 12:9

  • You will provide…You will supply more than enough
  • Open heaven, open wide more than enough

Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse,
that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it,
says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven 
for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Malachi 3:10

  • Jesus, forever You will be more than enough

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.  Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.  Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own.  But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:8-14

Just like the writers of this song and the psalmist may we—the redeemed of the Lord—also say so!

Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.
Verse 43

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Oh, Lord, Your grace, Your love, Your mercy, Your goodness, Your provision are all more than enough!  How awesome to know that Your sufficiency doesn’t mean “just enough” or “barely enough,” but way more than enough for whatever we face, whatever our need.  Help us to rest fully in Your grace as we seek to live for You today.  Thank You for Your love…we love and adore You!  And we pray acknowledging these things in Jesus’ name, amen.

Our God (Is Greater)

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Water You turned into wine
Opened the eyes of the blind
There’s no one like You, none like You
Into the darkness You shine
Out of the ashes we rise
There’s no one like You, none like You

Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God

And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against
And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against.
What could stand against

Chris Tomlin
written along with Jonas Myrin, Matt Redman, Jesse Reeves

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Little children, you are of God [you belong to Him]
and have [already] defeated and overcome them [the agents of the antichrist],
because He Who lives in you is greater (mightier) than he who is in the world.
1 John 4:4 AMP

I was writing a devotional blog on 1 John 4:4 and this song got stuck in my head.  Such a great reminder that we have nothing to fear.  Our God IS greater than the enemy and anything he can throw at us.  The Scriptures repeat this over and over again:

Now I know that Yahweh is greater than all gods,
because He did wonders when the Egyptians acted arrogantly against Israel.
Exodus 18:11 HCSB

David became greater and greater, for the Lord God of hosts was with him.
2 Samuel 5:10/1 Chronicles 11:9 NASB

And the temple which I build will be great, for our God is greater than all gods.
2 Chronicles 2:5 NKJV

Be strong and courageous.
Be not afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him,
for there is Another with us greater than [all those] with him.
2 Chronicles 32:7 AMP

Look, God is greater than we can understand.
Job 36:26 NLT

Greater than the roar of many waters—the mighty breakers of the sea—the Lord on high is majestic.
Psalm 93:4 HCSB

For I know that Yahweh is great; our Lord is greater than all gods.
Psalm 135:5 HCSB

On and on it goes—our God is Greater.

  • Greater than any human being.
  • Greater than all of our enemies.
  • Greater than any obstacles or circumstances in our life.
  • Greater than any of our mistakes, our failures, our flaws.

To quote MercyMe:

“There’ll be days I lose the battle
Grace says that it doesn’t matter
‘Cause the Cross already won the war
And greater is the One living inside of me
Than he who is living in the world.”

Our God is greater, stronger, higher than anyone or anything else.  Period.  His power is beyond our understanding.  Since God is for us, who or what could ever stop us?  Since God is with us, then what could ever stand against us?

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Thank You, Lord!  You are greater than any other and Your power far exceeds anything we could imagine. Thank You for lifting us out of the ashes and shining Your light on us.  In Your precious name I pray, Amen – It is so!

I Will Lift My Eyes

I will lift my eyes
God, my God, I cry out
Your beloved needs You now
God, be near, calm my fear
And take my doubt

Your kindness is what pulls me up
Your love is all that draws me in

I will lift my eyes to the Maker
Of the mountains I can’t climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer
Of the oceans raging wild

I will lift my eyes to the Healer
Of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes
To You

God, my God, let mercy sing
A melody over me
And God, right here, all I bring
Is all of me

‘Cause You are and You were and You will be forever
The loving I need to save me
‘Cause You fashioned the earth and You hold it together God
So hold me now

I will lift my eyes to the Maker
Of the mountains I can’t climb
I will lift my eyes to the calmer
Of the oceans raging wild

I will lift my eyes to the Healer
Of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes
To You
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes
To You

God, my God, I cry out
Your beloved needs You now

Bebo Norman
written by Jason Ingram, Jeffrey Norman

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Close your eyes and listen to the words; make them your prayer today.

What is it that you need God to be today for you?  He is your Creator and the Lover of your soul.  He created you with a purpose and He longs to spend time with you because He loves you.

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
Psalm 121:1

When the sea is raging all around you, and the storms of life are so loud and strong, He is your Calmer.  Lift up your eyes and see His heart for you.  When you are hurting or sick, either spiritually or physically, He is your Healer.  This world is full of so much hurt and He is truly the only One Who can take it all away.  You are His beloved!

I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine,
He who pastures his flock among the lilies.
Song Of Solomon 6:3

From the beginning of time God has longed to walk with us, His children.  And we were created with a void that can only be filled by Him.  So when the longing in your heart is too much, it is not the world that you are wanting—it is Him.  He truly does hold it all together in His very capable hands.  There isn’t much that stays the same and time brings so many changes that sometimes are hard.  But God is the always the same…He never changes.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Hebrews 13:8

Friend, your life may not be what you are wishing, but God is all you need.  Lift up your eyes today and find your hope in Him!

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Let us pray: Dear Lord, You are our Maker, our Healer and our Calmer.  You are the same today and everyday; You never change. You love us so very much.  Thank You for sending Jesus to take care of all the sins we will ever do and for erasing all the pain and replacing it with joy.  All we have to do is read Your promises and know that You will always come through.  We love You and we worship You today.  In Jesus’ name, amen.