December 22, 2024

Glow In The Dark

November 16, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Sometimes the world feels like a mess
Full of drama, full of stress
And life puts a fist right in your ribs
You can hide if you choose to
And no one would even blame you
Or you can let ’em see how you deal with it

That even in the darkest place
His love can make you radiate

Doesn’t matter how deep, how dark the night is
Keep hoping, keep on shining
And they’ll see His light burning in your heart
And if the road gets rough, just keep your head up
Let the world see what you’re made of
That His love’s alive in your deepest parts
Like a flame, like a burning star
You can shine right where you are
He made you to glow in the dark

Don’t be ashamed of your past
If you’re shattered like a piece of glass
The more broke you are the more the light gets through
Show your wounds and your flaws
Show them why you still need the Cross
Let them see the work He’s doing in you

That even in the darkest place
His love can make you radiate

Jason Gray, singer/songwriter

*   ~   ♥   ~    ✞    ~   ♥   ~   *

And you, beloved, are the light of the world.  You are like that illuminating light. Let your light shine everywhere you go, that you may illuminate creation, so men and women everywhere may see your good actions, may see creation at its fullest, may see your devotion to Me, and may turn and praise your Father in heaven because of it.

Matthew: 5:14-16 The Voice

For a long time I thought, as a Christian, I needed to hide my struggles, my flaws. Then I realized broken is still beautiful to God.

“If you’re shattered like a piece of glass
The more broke you are the more the light gets through
Show your wounds and your flaws
Show them why you still need the Cross
Let them see the work He’s doing in you “

This is my favorite part of the song and, I think, the soul of this song. Others need to see our brokenness and how we respond in times of desperation and despair.  Christians are not perfect.  We are imperfect people loved by a perfect God.  We need to let our imperfections, our cracks, and scars show…because His light shines through them. Our imperfections reveal God’s grace to the world. Our weaknesses reveal His strength. It is more about being who we are than what we do. In John 12:46 NLT Jesus says:

I have come as a Light to shine in this dark world,
so that all who put their trust in Me
will no longer remain in the dark.

Jesus’ Light shines through us. As this song says

“That even in the darkest place
His love can make you radiate”

It is the brightest in our darkest situations.  In Matthew 5:16 we are called to let our light shine.  Not only in the good times but in our dark times also.  Then we can illuminate others in the darkness as well. This is such a joy-filled song. We can experience joy in our darkest nights because of His love. It doesn’t matter how deep or how dark our night is—we can still “glow in the dark,” radiating joy and the love of Jesus.

*   ~   ♥   ~    ✞    ~   ♥   ~   *

Thank You, Lord, that Your love makes us radiate even in our darkest place.  I am so thankful You find beauty in my brokenness and can use my imperfections and cracks to shine Your Light through.  In Your Holy Name – Amen, it is so!

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

Holy, Holy, Holy

July 22, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy
Holy is the Lord God Almighty
Worthy to receive glory
Worthy to receive honor
Worthy to receive all our praise today

Praise Him
Praise Him and lift Him up
Praise Him
Exalt His name forever 

 Alvin Slaughter (along with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir)
written by Joe Wood, John Dykes, Reginald Heber

 *   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

One day we will perfectly, completely, totally, truly exalt and praise and honor and glorify the Great I Am forever and ever…for all eternity!  Oh, isn’t it going to be so AWEsome?!!!?  Then we will be just like the heavenly host who now are around God’s throne.

…and day and night they never stop saying, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY
is the Lord God Almighty, Who was and Who is and Who is to come.
And whenever the living creatures offer glory and honor and thanksgiving to Him
Who sits on the throne, Who lives forever and ever,
The twenty-four elders fall prostrate before Him Who is sitting on the throne,
and they worship Him Who lives forever and ever;
and they throw down their crowns before the throne, crying out,
Worthy are You, our Lord and God,
to receive the glory and the honor and dominion,
for You created all things;
by Your will they were [brought into being] and were created.
Revelation 4:8-11

But even now we can exalt and praise and honor and glorify Him!!!  We have our Lord’s example…even He did not seek to bring glory to Himself!  Jesus lived His life on this earth to bring glory to His Father.

Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing.
My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies Me.
John 8:54

Jesus also taught His followers that they, too, could glorify God.

You are the salt of the earth.
But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world.
A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.
Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16

Just like you, I so yearn for my walk in this world to bring attention—to bring glory—to the Great I AM!  My prayer every day is that others will see Jesus in me, and that anything good or righteous I might do will glorify the God that I love.  As His child, everywhere I go He is with me.  But not always do my actions {or my words} prove that I am a child of God.

God will be glorified through our lives in the big, and the small, things as we live and breathe with His character within us.  By His grace we have been enabled to love with His love…to show mercy as He shows mercy…to forgive…to give grace.

These are things that bring Him honor and glorify Him:

  • when a wife chooses to speak words that respect her husband
  • when we sit with our children and grandchildren reading to them out of their little Bible story books teaching them about their heavenly Father
  • when we go on a missions trip to a far-away country (or a nearby town!) and share the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus with young women who have lived with no hope
  • when we take a meal to neighbors who have just added a new baby to their family
  • when we take part in our church’s community-wide VBS program and minister to a little girl who has never heard about Jesus until this week
  • when we are in a long line at the grocery store and ask the mom with a cart overflowing with food AND 3 children to get in line ahead of us
  • when we go sit on the porch to chat (and listen) with an elderly neighbor whose family rarely comes to visit

And so I ask…
today will Almighty God, the Great I AM,
be glorified with you or without you? (And me, too….)

Let’s practice what we will be doing forever…and ever…and ever!

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

Until The End

October 2, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Since my youth, God, You have taught me, and to this day I declare Your marvelous deeds.
Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God,
till I declare Your power to the next generation, Your mighty acts to all who are to come.
Psalms 71:17-18

Learning is one of those things that we are going to be doing continually. It never ends! Although, there are some things that you learn that you don’t have to keep learning—like walking—many of the areas in our lives are going to be slightly repetitive.

At one of my jobs I feel like I’ve mastered my job duties and everything is beginning to seem repetitive. To me this is the worst thing that could happen, because I need newness in all areas of my life. When I feel I’ve mastered something, I become disinterested. Oddly enough, in my walk with God, I don’t have this problem. I sometimes long for the day when God will say that I’ve mastered it all…that I’ve mastered life! Funny notion, don’t you think?

Since my youth, God, You have taught me, and to this day I declare Your marvelous deeds.
Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God,
till I declare Your power to the next generation, Your mighty acts to all who are to come.
Psalms 71:17-18

Since the beginning of my relationship with the Lord, I have been aware of all the lessons God has taught me and the blessings He has bestowed upon me. Learning to, and then continuing to, share all the Lord has done for me is a constant struggle. Some days I will pray that the Lord will give me the opportunity to share Him and then that He would give me the courage to follow through. Other days, I am not so brave and want to just curl up in a ball and be left alone.

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.
No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket.
Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see,
so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
Matthew 5:14-16

God wants us to share Him until the very end. Learning about God and sharing God are two things in our spiritual walks that just do not end…rather…should not end.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Lord, help me to remember that as long as I am alive on this here earth my goal is to shine for You. May I keep the flame burning for You and continue to move forward each day. Amen.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: , , , , , ,

“I AM” Week 2 – Day 5: Glory of The LORD

July 19, 2013 by

One day we will perfectly, completely, totally, truly exalt and praise and honor and glorify the Great I Am forever and ever…for all eternity!  Oh, isn’t it going to be so AWEsome?!!!?  Then we will be just like the heavenly host who now are around God’s throne.

…and day and night they never stop saying, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY
is the Lord God Almighty, Who was and Who is and Who is to come.
And whenever the living creatures offer glory and honor and thanksgiving to Him
Who sits on the throne, Who lives forever and ever,
The twenty-four elders fall prostrate before Him Who is sitting on the throne,
and they worship Him Who lives forever and ever;
and they throw down their crowns before the throne, crying out,
Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and dominion,
for You created all things; by Your will they were [brought into being] and were created.
Revelation 4:8-11

But even now we can exalt and praise and honor and glorify Him!!!

Our author writes in the I AM study,

“As we seek God, He places the need to conform to His character within us.  As we walk out our life in the world, we take Him with us.  He is glorified or shamed, depending on how we carry ourselves.  It is our responsibility to make sure God is glorified through our life …God will be glorified with or without you….”

Jesus our Lord lived His life as He walked on this earth to bring glory to His Father.  Even He did not bring glory to Himself!

Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing.
My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.
John 8:54

Jesus also taught His followers that they, too, could glorify God.

“You are the salt of the earth.  But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.  You are the light of the world.  A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:14-16

Just like you, I so yearn for my walk in this world to bring attention—to bring glory—to the Great I AM!  My prayer every day is that others will see Jesus in me, and that anything good or righteous I might do will glorify the God that I love.  As His child, everywhere I go…He is with me.  But not always do my actions {or my words} prove that I am a child of God.

God will be glorified through our lives in the big, as well as the small, things as we live and breathe with His character within us.  By His grace we have been enabled to love with His love…to show mercy just as He shows us mercy…to forgive…to give grace.

These are things that bring Him honor and glorify Him:

  • when a wife chooses to speak words that respect her husband
  • when we sit with our children and grandchildren reading to them out of their little Bible story books teaching them about their heavenly Father
  • when we go on a missions trip to a far-away country and share the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus with young women who have lived with no hope
  • when we take a meal to neighbors who have just added a new baby to their family
  • when we take part in our church’s community-wide VBS program and minister to a little girl who has never heard about Jesus until this week
  • when we are in a long line at the grocery store and ask the mom with a cart overflowing with food AND 3 children to get in line ahead of us
  • when we go sit on the porch to chat (and listen) with an elderly neighbor whose family rarely comes to visit

So I ask you…today will Almighty God, the Great I AM, be glorified with you or without you?

Let’s practice what we will be doing forever…and ever…and ever!

Praying for each of you!

♥  coleen

*****

Let’s Pray:

Almighty God, You deserve all the honor, all the glory, all the praises that our hearts could ever hold and our voices could ever speak!  There is NONE like You!  You WILL be glorified throughout all eternity!  We so desire to glorify You here and now, Father!  Today, Lord, may our words and our actions bring glory to You as we obey and love You with our whole hearts, souls, minds, and all our strength.  May the care that You give and the needs You provide for in our lives draw others to You!  May the world glorify You, Lord, as we live out our lives manifesting Your character.  May the light that You have placed in us shine into the darkness of the world bringing hope to the lost.  And may it be clear that it is never ‘us’ but always of You!  We love You…we praise You…we glorify and exalt You!

Amen.

 

Filed Under: Women's Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,