November 17, 2024

Remind Me Who I Am

March 2, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

When I lose my way
And I forget my name
Remind me who I am
In the mirror all I see
Is who I don’t wanna be
Remind me who I am
In the loneliest places
When I can’t remember what grace is

Tell me, once again who I am to You, who I am to You
Tell me, lest I forget Who I am to You, that I belong to You, to You

When my heart is like a stone
And I’m running far from home
Remind me who I am
When I can’t receive Your love
Afraid I’ll never be enough
Remind me who I am
If I’m Your beloved
Can You help me believe it

I’m the one You love
I’m the one You love
That will be enough
I’m the one You love

Singer / Songwriter: Jason Gray

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it,
and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions,
I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it.
I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway.
My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions.
Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.
It happens so regularly that it’s predictable.
The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up.
I truly delight in God’s commands,
but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight.
Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.
I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope.
Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?
The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does.
He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions
where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind,
but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.
Romans 7:17-25 MSG

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   * 

I must admit I am feeling pretty worn and weary. I am beginning to wonder if I will ever be able to make the changes I desire in my life. I have lost my ‘want to...’.  Lysa TerKeurst puts it this way:

“It’s not the how to I am missing. It’s the want to…really wanting to make changes and deciding the results of those changes are worth the sacrifice.”

As I was deciding which song to blog about, I was torn between this song and “Thrive” by Casting Crowns. God whispered to my heart “You must know who you are before you can thrive.”

  • How do we so easily forget who we are and Whose we are?
  • Why is it that “…in the mirror all I see is who I don’t wanna be…”?
  • Why do I struggle to do what I know is right and not do what I know is wrong?

I read an article on the story behind this song.  In it Jason Gray says this:

“Most, if not all, of the time I really don’t want to sin, so that I do so seemingly against my own will.  Or as the apostle Paul famously said, “I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway…”
So sin begins to look more like addiction than anything else, as though there is a ravenous hunger deep inside of me that demands to be fed. What is that hunger, I wonder? Genesis Chapter 3 tells us that one of the first consequences of sin entering the world is that the ground would be cursed, that we would eat by the sweat of our brow and the soil would produce weeds and thistles. This carries in it the idea of futility: that our efforts are frustrated, that no matter what we do, we feel it’s never enough–that perhaps we are never enough.”

Oh, how I can relate. I have been ready to throw in the towel. I am “afraid I’ll never be enough.” Why? Because I have been trying to do it on my own. No matter how much effort I put into it, I am doomed to fail on my own. Only when I realize who God says I am and rely on Him to lead me will I have success.

Who does God say I am?

Colossians 3:12 AMP says I am “well-beloved [by God Himself,”
1 John 3:12 NASB tells us “now we are children of God,”
Zephaniah 3:17 NIV states “The Lord your God is with you…He will take great delight in you;  He will rejoice over you with singing.”
Isaiah 49:16a AMP reminds us “Behold, I have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture of) you on the palm of each of My hands;”

Think about Isaiah 49:16 for a minute.   Can you imagine the pain of having something inscribed (or tattooed) on the palm of your hand? How much more painful was it for God to sacrifice His only Son for me?  I need to remind myself that God gave up everything for me so I don’t have to do life on my own.

All I need to do is ask God…
If I’m Your beloved, can You help me believe it?

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Have Everything

March 1, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

The first time I met you, I was on my knees
Praying, “Lord, if You’re out there, can You speak to me?”
‘Cause I was in a desperate place
My life looked like a hurricane
The moment I felt Your grace

You can have me, You can have everything
Oh, I am Yours
Not holding on, onto anything
But Your promise, Lord
It’s a new day, it’s a new dawn
I’ve found a place where I belong
Nothing I want more than what You’ve given me
Hey, so You can have everything
You can have everything
You can have everything

You are like the sunshine in the dead of night
You’re the only one standing when my world ignites
So why would I hold anything back
‘Cause You keep my world intact
It’s true, Oh, God, it’s true, so I’ll say

Every day I’m gonna wake up,
Gonna wake up, wake up and say
You can have me, have everything

Singer/Songwriter: David Dunn along with Justin Ebach

  *   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   * 

It’s hard for me to remember a time when I didn’t have Jesus as my Savior, my Companion, and my Rock.  I was a young child of eight when I asked Jesus to come into my heart.  I had very few hard times as a young believer and really all throughout my childhood.  He walked with me through my days and I could feel His presence.  I knew I belonged to Him and I knew that He was all that I needed.  I remember thinking, “How do people live when they don’t have Him?” Little did I know just how desperate I would feel one day…like He had left or taken a break or maybe fallen asleep on the job.  But really, it was I who had moved.

“…I was in a desperate place, my life looked like a hurricane…”  Oh, how those words described my life at times, when I had decided that I knew how to run my life better than Him.  He waited patiently, with so much grace and mercy until I once again told Him that He could have everything.  Now when my feet hit the floor, I pray a simple prayer: “Empty to fill.”

Every day is a new day.  One that is full of joy and wonder at the greatest life I could ever have.  My sweet Savior rescued me from darkness and filled me with His light and I will never be the same. What about you today?  Have you asked Jesus to be your Lord?  Have you felt His presence lately…or do you feel you have moved away a little bit? If so, all you have to do is ask Him to come into your life and live in your heart.  He is waiting for you to say, “You can have everything.”

Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. Lamentations 3:23

LORD, be gracious to us; we long for You.
Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.
Isaiah 33:2

I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever;
with my mouth I will make Your faithfulness known
through all generations.
Psalm 89:1

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   * 

Let us pray:
Dear God, thank You for giving us Your Son to be our Savior and Rock and Comforter.  Thank You for the grace and mercy that are ours through You.  When we fail and trip and stumble, Your hand is always there to pull us up.  What a privilege to be able to lay it all at Your feet, to be able to give You everything that weighs us down knowing no burden is too heavy for You.  All we have to do is ask…and trust You. You love us and You forgive us.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Broken Vessels

February 26, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see

All these pieces
Broken and scattered
In mercy gathered
Mended and whole
Empty handed
But not forsaken
I’ve been set free
I’ve been set free

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now I’m found…was blind but now I see
Oh, I can see You now
Oh, I can see the love in Your eyes
Laying Yourself down
Raising up the broken to life

You take our failure
You take our weakness
You set Your treasure
In jars of clay
So take this heart, Lord
I’ll be Your vessel
The world to see
Your life in me

Temree Miller along with SaddleBack Worship
Written by Joel Houston and Jonas Myrin

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   * 

Such grace…such amazing grace!!!

How blessed are we {mankind} to have been shown such love and grace by Almighty God that He would give us the gift of grace through the awesome, incredible gift of His Son? !! ?

But not as the offence, so also is the free gift.
For if through the offence of one many be dead,
much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace,
which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
Romans 5:15

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, 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 coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:4-9

This is amazing grace!  That we…dead in our trespasses and our sins, without hope, destined for eternal damnation…have been redeemed, saved, set apart, made alive, raised up, seated in heavenly places!

He <Jesus>appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles,
and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain;
but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.
1 Corinthians 15:8-10

The apostle Paul was a man who always purposed to magnify God and speak well of the grace he had received.

…and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance,
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost,
Jesus Christ might display His perfect patience as an example
to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life.
1 Timothy 1:14-16

In all of Paul’s encouragement and admonition through each of the Epistles, he wrote over and over again to the first century believers of the greatness of God’s grace. Paul seemed always to endeavor to help the people (and us, too!) to remain aware and thankful for God’s grace!

According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved.
In whom we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace;
Ephesians 1:4-7

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   * 

I pray for each of us that our hearts will cry out every day with praise and acknowledgment of His great grace to us. And that we, like our brother Paul, would share this with others.

Come and hear, all you who reverently and worshipfully fear God,
and I will declare what He has done for me!
Psalm 66:16

Amazing grace!
How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see…

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

I’m Gonna Lay It Down

February 25, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

I’ve been lookin’ till my eyes are tired of lookin’
Listenin’ till my ears are numb from listenin’
Prayin’ till my knees are sore from kneelin’ on the bedroom floor
I know that You know that my heart is achin’
I’m running out of tears and my will is breakin’
I don’t think that I can carry the burden of it anymore
All of my hopes and my dreams and my best-laid plans
Are slowly slippin’ through my folded hands

So I’m gonna lay it down
I’m gonna learn to trust You now
What else can I do
‘Cause everything I am depends on You
And if the sun don’t come back up
I know Your love will be enough
I’m gonna let it be, I’m gonna let it go,
I’m gonna lay it down

I’ve been walkin’ through this world like I’m barely livin’
Buried in the doubt of this hole I’ve been diggin’
But You’re pullin’ me out
I’m finally breathin’ in the open air
This room may be dark but I’m finally seein’
There’s a new ray of hope, and now I’m believin’
That the past is past, and the future’s beginning to look brighter now
Oh, cause all of my hopes and my dreams and my best-laid plans
Are safe and secure when I place them in Your hands

Jay Jenkins, Miquel Scott, Lee Dixon, Jacoby White, Jasper Cameron
Jaci Velasquez

* ~ ♥ ~ ✞ ~ ♥ ~ *

This song reveals the brokenness of my heart every single time I hear it…and for that I am oh-so-very thankful!  Each of us has burdens and cares and concerns…some days it seems they are more than we can bear.  To think that they will not happen and that one can walk through this life without is to deny the Truth.  However, they are not ours to carry and bear on our own.  Throughout the Scriptures, we are told that the Lord will bear them for us.

Blessed be the Lord,
Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day,
even the God Who is our salvation! Selah
Psalm 68:19

Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.
All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me,
because I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30

The burdens, the concerns, the cares of this life can turn into worries, doubts, fears if we do not bring them to our Lord letting Him take care of them. We are to humbly recognize our great need for Jesus, and all that He has already done and promised to do for us, because He cares for 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.
1 Peter 5:6 and 7

Listen to Jesus’ admonition and promises in Matthew chapter 6;  as you read along, put your own name wherever there is a ♥ , ok?

Therefore I tell you, ♥, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on.  ♥,  is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you, ♥, not worth much more than they?
And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the span of his life?
And why should you, ♥,  be anxious about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field and learn thoroughly how they grow; they neither toil nor spin.
Yet I tell you, ♥, even Solomon in all his magnificence (excellence, dignity, and grace) was not arrayed like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, ♥, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you of little faith?
Therefore do not worry and be anxious, ♥, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear?
For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you, ♥,  need them all.
But seek first of all His kingdom and His righteousness, ♥, and then all these things will be given you besides.
So do not worry, ♥, or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own.  Sufficient for each day is its own trouble. (emphasis added)

Jesus’ words are full of action for us to take, true…but not the action of taking care of ourselves. Rather, He tells us to

  • stop being perpetually uneasy
  • look at (and consider) the birds of the air
  • consider the lilies of the field
  • do not worry and be anxious
  • seek first of all His kingdom
  • <and again> do not worry or be anxious

This is not always easy to do…but they are what we are to do in obedience.  It is a moment-by-moment choice.  Will we stop…look…consider…not worry or be anxious…and seek His kingdom OR will we have worry, doubt, fear, anxiety, and bear our own burdens, concerns, and cares.

I pray for you that TODAY you will choose to trust and say, “I’m gonna let it be, I’m gonna let it go, I’m gonna lay it down…in Jesus’ powerful name, amen.”  (Will you, please, pray that for me, too?)

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lord, I Give You My Heart

February 24, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjvThis is my desire
To honor You
Lord, with all my heart
I worship You
All I have within me
I give You praise
All that I adore is in You

Lord, I give You my heart
I give You my soul
I live for You alone
Every Breath that I take
Every moment I’m awake
Lord, have Your way in me

Songwriter: Reuben Morgan / Performed by Hillsong United

  *   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   * 

The Lord our God is so worthy of our praise!  For us to praise Him should be part of every facet of our lives. He is sure to be there when we lift up our voices to praise Him for all things in our lives—the good and the bad.

All through the Scriptures God is praised. From Genesis to Revelation we find praises being made. In Genesis we see Melchizedek, king of Salem blessing Abraham, praising God:

And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.”
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Genesis 14:20

Then we see the women giving praises to God along with Ruth after she followed Naomi home.   Ruth was not member of the Jewish nation, but because of the love she had for her mother-in-law, she was willing to stay with her, return to Naomi’s people, and be accepted.

The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord,
Who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer.
May He become famous throughout Israel!”
Ruth 4:14
Even in Daniel we see King Nebuchadnezer praising God when Daniel’s friends were saved from the furnace.
Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego, who has sent His angel
and rescued His servants!
They trusted in Him  and defied the king’s command
and were willing to give up their lives
rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.”
Daniel 3:28
Even when Jesus was on the earth performing His miracles, people were praising God for the miraculous works Jesus performed.
  *   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   * 
Father, thank You for taking care of us throughout history.
Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Great I AM

February 23, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

I want to be close, close to Your side
So Heaven is real and death is a lie
I want to hear voices of angels above
Singing as one

Hallelujah, holy, holy
God Almighty, the great I AM
Who is worthy, none beside Thee
God Almighty, the great I AM

I want to be near, near to Your heart
Loving the world and hating the dark
I want to see dry bones living again
Singing as one

The great I AM
The mountains shake before You the demons run and flee
At the mention of the name King of Majesty
There is no power in hell or any who can stand
Before the power and the presence of the great I AM
The great I AM the great I AM

Songwriter: Jared Anderson
Performed by Phillips, Craig & Dean

  *   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   * 

“I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.”
Genesis 17:1b NLT

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”
Exodus 3:14 NASB

I AM 

Jehovah, our eternal and unchangeable God
Who is always the same—yesterday, today, and forever.

Nothing ever stays the same in this world or in our life.  Nothing except our God.  He is our Rock, solid and unchanging.  Such strength in just two little words—I AM.  Those three letters inspire such confidence and hope.  There is so much wrapped up in those two words…it could never be fully explained this side of Heaven.

Exodus 15:11 (NLT) asks the question:

Who is like You among the gods, O Lord—
glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders?

Jeremiah 7:10 (AMP) answers that question:

For among all the wise [men or gods] of the nations
and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You.

There is NO one like our God.
He is the only One worthy of our praise.

‘There is no power in hell or any who can stand before the Power and the Presence of the Great I AM.’  Yet we have been chosen by Him.  We can be close to Him.  We can know His heart.  And one day we will stand before Him.  But we will never have to stand before Him in judgment.  Isaiah 38:17 tells us “You have cast all my sins behind Your back.”  Imagine that…standing before the Great I AM, clothed in righteousness, hearing the angels sing with one voice

Hallelujah, holy, holy
God Almighty, the great I AM
Who is worthy, none beside Thee
God Almighty, the great I AM

  *   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   * 

Father, I cannot even conceive the magnitude of Who You are—the Great I AM—much less of standing before You, pure and holy. Thank You for the confidence those two small words convey.  You are I AM and we have nothing to fear.  I desire to be close to You, near to Your heart.  Remind me I am always in the presence of I AM and that Your Spirit dwells within me.  ‘Hallelujah, Holy Holy’ You are worthy of my praise.  Amen – So be it!

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Evidence

February 22, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv
It’s not a flag on a field
It’s not a sign in my yard
Not a cause that I join
Not a phrase on a coin
It’s the change in my heart

Mercy and grace and compassion
They’re only words without action

I need hands that are open
Reaching out to broken hearts
Cuz’ that’s the only way this world
Will ever know who You are
Love is the evidence
Love is the evidence

Might be the pain that you share
Might be the time that you spend
Or the war you don’t fight
Backing down from your pride
After all in the end

My life wasn’t changed by an argument
That never would have been enough
My life was changed by the evidence of love

Your hands that were open
Reaching out to my broken heart

  Citizens Way

  *  ~   ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥    ~  *  

For I was hungry, and you fed Me.
I was thirsty, and you gave Me a drink.
I was a stranger, and you invited Me into your home.
I was naked, and you gave Me clothing.
I was sick, and you cared for Me.
I was in prison, and you visited Me.’
Then these righteous ones will reply,

‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you?
Or thirsty and give you something to drink?
Or a stranger and show you hospitality?
Or naked and give you clothing?
When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth,
when you did it to one of the least of these
my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
Matthew 25:35-40 NLT

One day we will stand before Jesus and He will speak to us, His sheep.  There will be one line on the right and one line on the left.  To some He will say; “Oh you, righteous and obedient sheep, I was in prison and you visited Me. I was hungry and you fed Me. I was thirsty and you gave Me water. I was homeless and you took Me in. I was needy and you met My needs.

To the others He will say: “I was in prison and you didn’t come visit Me.  I was hungry and you didn’t give Me food.  I was thirsty and you gave Me no water.  I was cold and you gave Me no clothes. I had no home and you did not invite Me in.”  They will say; “Lord, when were You thirsty and hungry? When were You in prison? When were You homeless? When did I not clothe You?”

He will answer: “If you have done it unto the least of these, you have done it unto Me.”

Jesus calls us to love each other.  More and more we are to love all of God’s people.  Love changes lives.  You may not be able to change the world for everyone but you can change the world for one person just by investing in them and loving them and being Jesus to them. How can we do this?  We cannot do anything on our own, my friends…we have to cry out to Jesus to change our hearts and to make them like His.

If only we could all do this—be intentional with our time here on earth and seek those who are in need and ask Him what we can do. Anyone come to mind?  If not, I pray this week that God opens your eyes to someone that you can bless.  In return, you will be blessed!

   *  ~   ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥    ~  *  

Let us pray:
Dearest Lord, You are amazing and loving and the Blesser of our lives.  You give so much love to each one of us.  You give us a life of abundance and we praise You for it all.  Oh Lord, may we be Your hands and feet to the hurting and needy of this world.  Help us to be intentional about our lives and live to love all people and serve them as You do.  Open our hearts, Lord, to receive the message that You want us to spread—the love of Jesus is so much that He died for them so that they can live with You forever.  As this song says, ” that’s the only way this world will ever know who You are…“.  We love You, in Jesus’ name, amen.

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

(Move Our Hearts To) Remember

February 19, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

This is the Body that was torn for us
This is the Blood that was spilt
Points to the pain You endured for us
Points to the shame, the blame, the guilt

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, come…
move our hearts to remember

This is the Lamb who was slain for us
So we, the Church, may enter in
So bittersweet when we think of You
The One who bore our curse, our sin

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, come…
move our hearts to remember

Singer / Songwriter: Laura Story

   *  ~   ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥    ~  *  

Sometimes, we forget.  (And how could we forget?)  But we do.  (I don’t know how…but we do.)  We forget our Suffering Savior.  We forget His hurt and tortured and bruised Body.  We forget His spilled Blood.  And I think that our Lord knew we would forget; remember what He said to His beloved apostles as He shared His final meal with them?

Then He took a loaf [of bread], and when He had given thanks,
He broke [it] and gave it to them saying,
This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.
Luke 22:19

Undoubtedly, those twelve men had no idea what Jesus was communicating to them.  But within a few days, they knew.  Perhaps, they also asked God to move their hearts to remember.

Paul also caused the believers in Corinth to remember:

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you,
that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said,
“This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in My blood;
do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
1 Corinthians 11:24-26

There are many, oh-so-very-many, reasons for us to remember what Jesus accomplished through His sacrificial death on the Cross. Here are just a few.

“Lord,…move our hearts to remember!”

He himself bore our sins in His body on the Cross,
that we might die to sin and live to righteousness
1 Peter 2:24

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh,
God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,
having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness,
which stood against us and condemned us;
He has taken it away, nailing it to the Cross.
And having disarmed the powers and authorities,
He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the Cross.
Colossians 2:13-15

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us— for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”
Galatians 3:13

For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God
through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled,
shall we be saved by His life.
Romans 5:10-11

…Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold
from your futile way of life inherited from your fathers,
but with precious Blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the Blood of Christ.
1 Peter 1:18-19

…Having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt
that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the Cross.
Colossians 2:13-14

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us,
so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:21

And we must intentionally remember because,

“…the message of the Cross is sheer absurdity and folly
to those who are perishing and on their way to perdition,
but to us who are being saved it is the manifestation of the power of God.”
1 Corinthians 1:18 AMP

These next few weeks (called Lent, in some churches) are an excellent time to determine to focus on Jesus’ sacrifice, and all that He went through (His betrayal, His trial, His torture, His crucifixion) leading up to His death and (oh! joy!) His Resurrection!  There are many things one can do to purposefully remember Jesus’ accomplishments, such as…

  • Read through Matthew chapters 26 and 27; Mark chapters 14 and 15; Luke chapters 22 and 23; John chapters 17 through 19
  • Download an app of a daily devotional focusing on Jesus’ last days. One suggestion would be the YouVersion of the Bible.
  • Listen to hymns and other Christian songs which help you to recognize and remember what Jesus went through. And sing your praise! (Perhaps make a playlist.)
  • Ask a loved one (a family member or a friend) to be your accountability partner during this time.
  • Watch a movie depicting this time period of our Lord’s final days.
  • And finally, but most importantly, pray…asking God through the Holy Spirit to help you to remember.  It is a prayer I know He will answer.
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At The Cross (Love Ran Red)

February 18, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

There’s a place where mercy reigns and never dies,
There’s a place where streams of grace flow deep and wide
Where all the love I’ve ever found
Comes like a flood
Comes flowing down

At the Cross
At the Cross
I surrender my life
I’m in awe of You
I’m in awe of You
Where Your love ran red
And my sin washed white
I owe all to You
I owe all to You, Jesus

There’s a place where sin and shame are powerless
Where my heart has peace with God and forgiveness
Where all the love I’ve ever found
Comes like a flood
Comes flowing down

Here my Hope is found
Here on holy ground
Here I bow down
Here arms open wide
Here You save my life
Here I bow down
Here I bow down

Written by Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash, Jonas Myrin, Matt Armstrong, Matt Redman

  *  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

The center stage of our Christian faith is the Cross.  There our Savior, Jesus Christ, allowed Himself to be hanged on that torturous cross to bleed, suffocate, and die.  Why would anyone do such a thing? Because,

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

Sin and shame imprison everyone.  They bind us in chains that cannot be broken—but for God.  God in His mercy (His compassion) and grace (unmerited favor) loved(s) us, His creation, so much that He chose to make the perfect sacrifice for all people through the crucifixion of His Son, Jesus.  Jesus’ blood was more powerful than any sin or shame that we have ever endured or will ever endure.  Jesus shed His blood for each of us.  His blood dripping from that Cross was His love running red, flowing down into the very depths of our soul to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Here are just a few Scriptures that make it clear that we in our sins are powerless, but that the blood from God’s perfect sacrifice, Jesus His Son, is powerful enough to wash our ugly sins as white as snow.

All of us also lived among them (children of disobedience) at one time,
gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts.
Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.
But because of His great love for us, God, Who is rich in mercy,
made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions
—it is by grace you have been saved.
Ephesians 2:3-5

We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.
And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous.
He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins.
For God presented Jesus as the Sacrifice for sin.
People are made right with God
when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood.
Romans 3:22-25

“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.”
Isaiah 1:18

The Royal blood of Jesus is more powerful than all our sins.  His “love ran red and my (our) sin washed white.”  There at the Cross sin is powerless.  There at the Cross is where love, forgiveness, hope, and peace are found.  When we personally accept Jesus’ great sacrificial love for ourselves, we are made right with God.  From that point on we can have a personal relationship with Him.  His Holy Spirit will dwell with us.  And we can be assured that we will spend eternity with God.

If you have not yet accepted God’s love for you, please take the time today to do this.  God gave His Son.  Jesus gave His blood.  What are you willing to give for such love?  I pray that you give Him your all.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
1 Peter 1:3

  *  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

Dear Jesus, thank You so much for allowing Yourself to be the Sacrifice, once and for all, to save us from our sins and shame.  We bow before You on holy ground with our arms open wide, because here at the Cross Your blood (love) ran red so our sins could be washed white. You have saved us.  Herein is our Hope.  Blessed be the Name of the Lord!  In Jesus’ Name we praise and worship our God of Love.  Amen, It is so!

 

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Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

February 17, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heaven, to earth come down;
Fix in us Thy humble dwelling;
All Thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus, Thou art all compassion,
Pure, unbounded love Thou art;
Visit us with Thy salvation;
Enter every trembling heart.

Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit
Into every troubled breast!
Let us all in Thee inherit;
Let us find that second rest.
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith, as its beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.

Come, Almighty to deliver,
Let us all Thy life receive;
Suddenly return and never,
Nevermore Thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve Thee as Thy hosts above,
Pray and praise Thee without ceasing,
Glory in thy perfect love.

Finish, then, Thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see Thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in Thee;
Changed from glory into glory,
‘Til in heaven we take our place,
‘Til we cast our crowns before Thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise. 

Written by Charles Wesley

  *  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
1 John 4:16

Since we just finished celebrating St. Valentine’s Day, we should not stop celebrating the Author of love, God our Father.  He wants to love us in a way that no human ever could. I was listening to a podcast earlier in the week, in which the person made a comment that caught my attention. He said,

“God wants us to love each other as He loved His Son.”

How many of us do that? Now, how many of us put our kids before our spouses? We should not do that!  We are to love our husbands the way we love our son or daughter.  Our children are important, but not more than our spouse.

Or even God….  God should always hold first place in our lives, our thoughts, and our actions. Then comes our spouse…and then our children. We may not have seen it modeled for us, but now we know.  With all that in order, our families would be okay. God will help us, all we have to do is ask for the help from the Holy Spirit.

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

Dear Father, as Charles Wesley wrote in his song, “Let us see Your great salvation perfectly restored in You; changed from glory into glory, ’til in Heaven we take our place, ’til we cast our crowns before You, lost in wonder, love, and praise.” We will one day stand before You. Let us never forget to love and to forgive as You have shown us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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