December 23, 2024

The Sun Is Shining

January 11, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Yesterday I found
That everything I knew was wrong
It was upside down
The life I thought I had was gone

But You came and whispered love to me
And You gave me strength to carry on

Oh, the sun is shining
There is hope for me again
A new day’s dawning
The sun is shining

Yesterday I lost
Everything I had and loved
Then I cried out for You, Lord
And You came and picked me up

And the sorrow lasted through the night
But the joy came with the morn

I will lift my voice
No, I won’t be silent
For You heard my cry
And You turned my mourning into dancing
And so forever I’ll sing

Singer/Songwriter: Mac Powell, along with Third Day

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It’s still the beginning of January…the beginning of a new year but sometimes we are stuck looking at the past.  All the things we were going to do in 2014 aren’t done.  The patience we were going to master towards our kids?…well, we are still impatient and saying some words we regret at the end of the day.  The wife we were going to be—the one who had dinner on the table and clothes clean and in their right places and an immaculate house?…well, we still have baskets of socks that don’t match and frozen lasagna still goes into the oven at the end of a long day.

But we are NOT failures in Jesus.
We ARE more than conquerors when we have God as our Father.

Maybe you’ve lost someone or something that meant the world to you and stepping into this year without them seems impossible.  But God does whisper in your ear today and says, “You are mine, and I am yours…and together we can do this.”

You are not alone, my friends.  His strength is your strength.  And always there is darkness before the dawn, and the sun always comes out…always.  Joy does come in the morning.  And doesn’t a new day bring some hope?

Some seasons are harder than others and some days seem to last forever.  There were days that I myself just had the strength to lift up my head and cry out to Jesus for the strength to make it through one more minute.

He always showed up and He still does.

And when you do see His face and the light of the new day starts peeping through, don’t be silent.  Use your voice to give hope to others who may be where you have been.  I leave you today with the verses that I clung to during a particularly hard, long season:

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Romans 12:12

Lord, You know the hopes of the helpless.
Surely You will hear their cries and comfort them.
Psalm 10:17

Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for,
the absolute conviction that there are realities you’ve never seen.
Hebrews 11:1

For His anger is but for a moment, and His favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
Psalm 30:5 ESV

And my favorite:
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,
for the power is made perfect in weakness.”
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,
so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9

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Let’s pray:
Dearest Lord, You are mighty and awesome.  You are our Strength in our struggles, the Light in the darkness, and our Peace that passes all understanding.  You love us so much and forgive our every debt.  Thank You for walking with us into this new year. Help us to make lists of all the good You do and not the failures that we see…for You see us so much better than we see ourselves.  You see us as precious children that You saved with Your only Son, Jesus.  We love You and praise You.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

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Trust In Jesus

October 28, 2014 by

One of these days we all will stand in judgment for
Every single word that we have spoken
One of these days we all will stand before the Lord
Give a reason for everything we’ve done and what I’ve done is

Trust in Jesus, my great Deliverer
My strong Defender, the Son of God
I trust in Jesus, blessed Redeemer
My Lord forever, the Holy One, the Holy One

What are you gonna do when your time has come
And your life is done and there’s nothing you can stand on
What will you have to say at the judgment throne
Well, I already know the only thing that I can say

There’s nothing I can do
On my own to find forgiveness
It’s by His grace alone
I trust in Jesus, trust in Jesus

Singer/Songwriters: Third Day ~ Mark Lee, David Carr, Mac Powell, and Tai Anderson
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Jesus came to call the Jewish people to a new life.  When His people would not listen, He sent the disciples and Paul to minister to everyone.  Jesus reached many hearts who turned to Him and His Father, but He knew His twelve would need to reach the rest of the world.  Now it is up to us to go and tell others the good news of his edemptive work on the cross and how God loves us. John 3:16 (KJV) tells us, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  Isn’t that amazing! Only let’s look further, let’s look at the context of the verse. Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus, a leader of the Jewish people. Nicodemus came to ask Jesus how to become saved. Here is a bit of their conversation from the Gospel of John, chapter 3…
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?”  Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?  Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended into heaven except He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.  Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  And this is the judgment: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light because their works were evil.  For everyone who does wicked things hates the Light and does not come to the Light, lest his works should be exposed.  But whoever does what is true comes to the Light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Wow, He did that for us.  We are blessed to know the Father through the Son.  When we feel the Holy Spirit nudge us, sometimes to the point of a hit, we should heed the warning and repent.  We should stop and listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying.  We do not know when we will be called home.  We should be mindful of what we are doing and example we are displaying for others to follow.  God is a forgiving God, One who does have limits.  I do not want to find those limits.  But I feel sometimes I push them. Thank You, Lord, for not giving up on me.

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Your Love, Oh Lord

February 1, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

~  Listen while you read, please!  ~

Your love, oh Lord, reaches to the heavens
And Your faithfulness stretches to the skies

And Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains
Your justice flows like the ocean’s tide

And I will lift my voice to worship You, my King
And I will find my strength In the shadow of Your wings

~  Songwriters: Johnny Mac Powell, Sam Anderson, Bradley Avery, David Carr, Mark Lee  ~

~  Performed by Mac Powell and Third Day  ~

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This week, in the Seeking Him devotional blog, our devotions have centered around God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. Psalms 36:5-10 has been the featured Scripture passage.

Your steadfast love, O Lord extends to the heavens
Your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
Your judgements are like the great deep,
You save humans and animals alike, O LORD.
How precious is Your steadfast love, O GOD!
All people may take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
They feast on the abundance of Your house
and You give them drink from the river of Your delights.
For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light, we see light.
Continue Your love to those who know You,
Your righteousness to the upright in heart.

Throughout the week, our devotional writers have encouraged and reminded us of many things.

  • Cheris voiced her concern that we, those who do know God, will share about His great steadfast love with those who, yet, do not know Him.  “This psalm writer uses vivid imagery to describe God’s great steadfast love. To explain God’s love and faithfulness to the vast degree it is may be difficult, but we can try to do so to others – hoping the Holy Spirit will allow them to hear and receive what’s shared so they see their desperate need for a Savior!”
  • Tina brought our attention to the faithfulness of God, and said in her prayer, “…We want to know You more fully as we begin this new year. Show us places where we can improve and where we can be brave enough to share our hearts with You.”
  • Tonya focused our thoughts on God, Who is the Fountain of Life.  “There is constant light because God is a constant—He is constantly merciful, constantly faithful, constantly righteous, He constantly preserves, and, most of all, He is constantly loving.”
  • Laura reminded us of our Hope as she shared:  “The fountain of youth is really the Fountain of life—an eternal life with God. This eternal life shines like a light to the world through those who have accepted the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, God’s greatest gift to mankind.”
  • Ann reminded us about the awesomeness of God’s steadfast love.  “God’s love is steadfast. You can count on the consistency of God’s love revealed in the beauty of creation, in the gift of God’s love and preeminently in the life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. There are no limits, no lines, no conditions. God loves us to the end…and beyond.”
  • And Ahmee shares today a reminder that God’s love NEVER fails.  “This is what it boils down to: the truth is that God’s Word is Truth. It says His love is unfailing…and so it is.”

Hopefully this song also will help you to express your trust and confidence in God—and His steadfast love that never fails.

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When Love Sees You

December 30, 2013 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Blessed are you as you weep on your knees with perfume and tears washing over My feet
And blessed are you, beggar, hopeless and blind calling for mercy when I’m passing by
Blessed are you, shaking your head at two tiny fish and some bread
Blessed are you as you tremble and wait for the first stone thrown at your sinful disgrace
   Tell Me your story, show Me your wounds
   And I’ll show you what Love sees when Love looks at you
   Hand Me the pieces, broken and bruised
   And I’ll show you what Love sees when Love sees you
Blessed are you, walking on waves, to find yourself sinking when you look away
Blessed are you, leper, standing alone the fear on their faces is all that you’ve known
Blessed are you, lonely widow, who gave your last shiny coin to Yahweh
Blessed are you, with your silver and lies, kissing the One who’s saving your life
I see what I made in your mother’s womb and I see the day I fell in love with you
I see your tomorrow’s, nothing left to chance, I see My Father’s fingerprints
   I see your story, I see My name written on every beautiful page
   You see the struggle, you see the shame; I see the reason I came
   I came for your story, I came for your wounds
   To show you what Love sees when I see you

~ performed by Mac Powell / written by Nichole Nordeman and Bernie Herms ~

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As we get ready to ring in the New Year,
may you be reminded what love sees when love sees you…

This song is very near and dear to my heart. I was once a very lost woman full of shame. I handed Him the broken pieces of my life and He restored and redeemed it.  Maybe you need to hear that and to know that today—Jesus came for me AND He came for you, too!  May you know and believe who you are in Him. Your identity is not in who you used to be. You are who God says you are—Blessed, Anointed, Redeemed, a daughter of the King!
Praise God that your past does not determine your future…He has great plans for you, sweet sister. You may see the struggle but He sees the reason He came.

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