April 23, 2024

Who Am I

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Over time You’ve healed so much in me, and I am living proof
That although my darkest hour had come
Your light could still shine through

Though at times it’s just enough to cast a shadow on the wall
I am grateful that You’ve shined Your light on me at all

Who am I, that You would love me so gently
Who am I, that You would recognize my name
Who am I, that You would speak to me so softly
Conversation with the Lord Most High…who am I

Oh, “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found. Was blind, but now I see”
And the more I sing that sweet old song, the more I understand
That I do not comprehend this love that’s coming from Your hand

Grace, grace; God’s grace
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within
Grace, grace; God’s great grace
Grace that is greater than all my sin

Lord, Who am I, who am I
Lord Who am I, who am I

Point Of Grace
written by Nathan and Christy Nockels

 *   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~   ♥   ~   *

In Jeremiah 31:3 we hear God tell us of His love.

I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore with lovingingkindness I have drawn you.

We also are reminded of God’s love in Psalm 36.

How precious is Your steadfast love, O God!
The children of men take refuge
and put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.

As well as in 1 John 4:9-10.

In this the love of God was made manifest among us,
that God sent His only Son into the world,
so that we might live through him.
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us
and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Oh, the incomparable, unconditional, amazing LOVE that God has for us!  Throughout the Scriptures we are reminded over and over of God’s love for us!

And, in spite of our actions at times, God is always faithful and keeps His promises. Whether we ever believe them or not. Think about the children of Israel…they knew of God’s promise to lead them, protect them, guide them, feed them, guard them. But they were so often disobedient to His simple commands.  As such, because of His compassionate and abiding love for them, God had to help them to learn…as He will with us, too.

You must carefully follow every command I am giving you today,
so that you may live and increase,
and may enter and take possession of the land the Lord swore to your fathers.
Remember that the Lord your God led you on the entire journey
these 40 years in the wilderness,
so that He might humble you and test you
to know what was in your heart,
whether or not you would keep His commands.
Deuteronomy 8:1 and 2

“As we hear and believe all that God tells us—as we intentionally think these truths and begin to act accordingly—He unfolds the true personality He designed us to be.”

ChristLife, Mrs. Ruth Myers, page 60

(Oh! Don’t you just love that!)  And so we learn more of the Truth as we begin to believe what God says about us. And as we trust Him and take Him at His Word, we will begin to be freed from lies and misconceptions we have held in our hearts.

But the fact remains that we need to be diligent in reminding ourselves constantly of these Truths and promises.  One would think that, with all the many, many, many examples and proofs that God so graciously shows us about how very much He loves us, we would be convinced.  However God is equally as patient with us as He loves us. The negative images that we have allowed into our hearts can be replaced by the Truth of just “Who we ARE” in Christ.  But it takes work and effort on our part. Thankfully, we are not left to do this on our own. God can and will help us through His Holy Spirit! Remember to pray, pray, pray!

Friends, I hope that the beautiful lyrics of this song can be a tool for you to use to pray and sing your heart out to God. Your heavenly Father has MUCH to say to you…MUCH to remind you of…MUCH healing and deliverance and blessing to give to you as you seek Him!

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~   ♥   ~   *

 

I Choose Jesus

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

I have searched to find the meaning of this life
Something that would fill my empty soul
Some believe a lie, choose darkness over light
But I will stand and let the whole world know

I choose Jesus, I choose Jesus
The One who first chose me

I stand unashamed trusting in one Name
‘Cause I have seen the Cross and I believe
This choice comes at cost, all other things are lost
No other love could mean so much to me

I choose Jesus, I choose Jesus
The One who first chose me
I choose Jesus, I choose Jesus
For now and eternity

He chose to love me when I felt unlovable
He chose to reach me when I felt unreachable
He carried me out of my fear and doubt
How I want the world to know—I choose Jesus

Moriah Peters
along with songwriters: Tony Wood, Chuck Butler, Ed Cash

* ~ ♥ ~ ✞ ~ ♥ ~ * 

Have you searched to find meaning and SOMEthing that would fill the emptiness of your soul?  I have….  Oh, how I have yearned to KNOW I was l-o-v-e-d!  Probably for most of the first quarter century of my  life, I attempted to fill that void. But nothing…not accomplishments, not approval, not food, not inappropriate relationships…nothing was able to fill that hole in my heart.  And, assuredly, there is nothing which COULD fill that hole in my heart…only Jesus.  Perhaps you have heard this quote,

“There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every person,
and it can never be filled by any created thing.
It can only be filled by God, made known through Jesus Christ.”

(Blaise Pascal)

I think that describes it so well—a ‘God-shaped vacuum in the heart.’  I believe God created man (and woman) with that need.  And I know He perfectly provided for the filling of that vacuum when He made Adam and Eve and gave them the opportunity to have perfect fellowship with Him every moment of every day.  And I trust He would have always supplied their need…but they were deceived.   They chose to think that something else—being equal and alike to God Almighty—was the true answer to their needs.

But the serpent said to the woman,
You shall not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil and blessing and calamity.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave some also to her husband, and he ate.
Genesis 3:4-6

And, because they chose the deception of the enemy of their souls and disobeyed the One Who truly DID love them, they lost that fellowship and perfect connection and the fulfillment that a relationship with their God gave them.

And mankind has suffered under the sin of Adam since.  But God would not allow His plan, His desire to fail.  And He provided so that all of humanity could have that ‘God-shaped vacuum’ filled in the way He has originally planned.

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

Jesus IS the perfect and complete filling of that vacuum!  We do not need to search or attempt to fill the void inside…we need to accept God’s perfect provision making Jesus our Lord and Master and live our lives in obedience to Him.

In this beautiful song, Moriah Peters sings, “He chose to love me when I felt unlovable…He chose to reach me when I felt unreachable…He carried me out of my fear and doubt.”  No longer do I (nor you either!) have to search for something to fulfill the emptiness, the void.  We need to choose Jesus!  He has chosen me (you, too)!

Would you sing and praise along with me…

I choose Jesus, I choose Jesus
The One who first chose me
I choose Jesus, I choose Jesus
For now and eternity

I Choose Jesus

Jesusthewaythetruththelife

I have searched to find the meaning of this life
Something that would fill my empty soul
Some believe a lie, choose darkness over light
But I will stand and let the whole world know

I choose Jesus, I choose Jesus
The One who first chose me

I stand unashamed trusting in one Name
‘Cause I have seen the Cross and I believe
This choice comes at cost, all other things are lost
No other love could mean so much to me

I choose Jesus, I choose Jesus
The One who first chose me
I choose Jesus, I choose Jesus
For now and eternity

He chose to love me when I felt unlovable
He chose to reach me when I felt unreachable
He carried me out of my fear and doubt
How I want the world to know—I choose Jesus

Singer/Songwriter: Moriah Peters along with Tony Wood, Chuck Butler, Ed Cash

* ~ ♥ ~ ✞ ~ ♥ ~ * 

Have you searched to find meaning and SOMEthing that would fill the emptiness of your soul?  I have….  Oh, how I yearned to KNOW I was l-o-v-e-d!  Probably for most of the first quarter century of my young life, I attempted to fill that void. But nothing…not accomplishments, not approval, not food, not inappropriate relationships…nothing was able to fill that hole in my heart.  And, assuredly, there is nothing COULD fill that hole in my heart…only Jesus.

perhaps you have heard this quote,
“There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every person,
and it can never be filled by any created thing.  It can only be filled by God, made known through Jesus Christ.”
(Blaise Pascal)

I think that pretty much describes it well—a ‘God-shaped vacuum in the heart.’  I believe God created man (and woman) with that need.  And I know He perfectly provided for the filling of that vacuum when He made Adam and Eve and gave them the opportunity to have perfect fellowship with Him every moment of every day.  And I trust He would have always supplied their need…but they were deceived.   They chose to think that something else—being equal and alike to God Almighty—was the true answer to their needs.

But the serpent said to the woman,
You shall not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil and blessing and calamity.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave some also to her husband, and he ate.
Genesis 3:4-6

And, because they chose the deception of the enemy of their souls, and disobeyed the One Who truly DID love them, they lost that fellowship and perfection connection and the fulfillment that a relationship with their God gave them.

And mankind has suffered under the sin of Adam since.  But God would not allow His plan, His desire to fail.  And He provided so that all of humanity could have that ‘God-shaped vacuum’ filled in the way He has originally planned.

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 4:9-10

Jesus IS the perfect and complete filling of that vacuum!  We do not need to search or attempt to fill the void inside…we need to accept God’s perfect provision making Jesus our Lord and Master and live our lives in obedience to Him.

In this beautiful song, Moriah Peters sings, “He chose to love me when I felt unlovable…He chose to reach me when I felt unreachable…He carried me out of my fear and doubt.”  No longer do I (nor you either!) have to search for something to fulfill the emptiness, the void.  We need to choose Jesus!  He has chosen me (you, too)!

Sing and praise along with me…

I choose Jesus, I choose Jesus
The One who first chose me
I choose Jesus, I choose Jesus
For now and eternity

CHRISTLife – Week Three

christlife graphic 2

A recurring theme this upcoming week in our study CHRISTLife: Embracing Your True and Deepest Identity will be the incomparable, unconditional, amazing LOVE that God has for us! Our author reminds us over and over of God’s love for us!

In Jeremiah 31:3 we hear God tell us of His love.

I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore with lovingingkindness I have drawn you.

We also are reminded of God’s love in Psalm 36.

How precious is Your steadfast love, O God!
The children of men take refuge
and put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.

As well as in 1 John 4:9-10.

In this the love of God was made manifest among us,
that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us
and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Along with this, Mrs. Myers puts in front of us the Truth that, in spite of our actions at times, God is always faithful and keeps His promises. Whether we ever believe them or not. Think about the children of Israel. They knew of God’s promise to lead them, protect them, guide them, feed them, guard them. But they were often disobedient to His simple commands. As such, because of His love for them, God had to help them to learn…as He will with us, too.

You must carefully follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase, and may enter and take possession of the land the Lord swore to your fathers. Remember that the Lord your God led you on the entire journey these 40 years in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands.

Deuteronomy 8:1 and 2

During this week, we also make the transition from ‘Part 1: Who You Really Are…At First’ TO ‘Part 2: Your Life IS Christ.’ Listen to the following statement Mrs. Myers makes.

“As we hear and believe all that God tells us—as we intentionally think these truths and begin to act accordingly—He unfolds the true personality He designed us to be” page 60. (Oh! Don’t you just love that!)

And so we learn more of the Truth as we begin to believe what God says about us. And as we trust Him and take Him at His Word, we will begin to be freed from lies and misconceptions we have held in our hearts.

As we continue our study, the fact remains that we need to be diligent in reminding ourselves constantly of these Truths. One would think that, with all the many many many examples and proofs that God so graciously shows us about how very much He loves us, we would be convinced. However God is equally as patient with us as He loves us. The negative images that we have allowed into our hearts can be replaced by the Truth of just “Who we ARE” in Christ. But it takes work and effort on our part. Thankfully, we are not left to do this on our own. God can and will help us through His Holy Spirit! Remember to pray, pray, pray!

Friends, I hope that the beautiful lyrics of this song can be a tool for you to use to pray and sing your heart out to God. Your heavenly Father has MUCH to say to you…MUCH to remind you of…MUCH healing and deliverance and blessing to give to you as you seek Him!

*  ~  * ~  * ~ * ~ *

Over time You’ve healed so much in me, and I am living proof
That although my darkest hour had come, Your light could still shine through
Though at times it’s just enough to cast a shadow on the wall
I am grateful that You’ve shined Your light on me at all

Who am I, that You would love me so gently?
Who am I, that You would recognize my name?
Who am I, that You would speak to me so softly?
Conversation with the Lord Most High…who am I?

Oh, “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found. Was blind, but now I see”
And the more I sing that sweet old song, the more I understand
That I do not comprehend this love that’s coming from Your hand.

Grace, grace; God’s grace
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within
Grace, grace; God’s great grace
Grace that is greater than all my sin

Lord, Who am I? Who am I?
Lord Who am I? Who am I?