December 23, 2024

Step By Step

August 10, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv
Sometimes the night was beautiful
Sometimes the sky was so far away
Sometimes it seemed to stoop so close
You could touch it but your heart would break
Sometimes the morning came too soon
Sometimes the day could be so hot
There was so much work left to do
But so much You’d already done

Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
And I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You’ll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days

Sometimes I think of Abraham
How one star he saw had been lit for me
He was a stranger in this land
And I am that, no less than he
And on this road to righteousness
Sometimes the climb can be so steep
I may falter in my steps
But never beyond Your reach

Rich Mullins
written along with David Strasser

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

This was one of the very first ‘contemporary’ Christian songs I ever heard.  I fell in love immediately.  Little did I know how much this song would affect me or that I would continue to carry it with me “all of my days.”

Rich Mullins considered this a prayer song because, as he said,  “Sometimes I find it hard to pray.”  (Don’t we all?)  Rich also talked about trying to impress God with our prayers: “We don’t have to impress Him…He is already knocked out about you…God takes the junk of our lives and makes the greatest art out of it.”

This is the cry of my heart, that “I will seek You in the morning and I will learn to walk in Your ways; and step by step You’ll lead me…and I will follow You all of my days!”  I desperately want Him to take the junk of my life and make something beautiful out of it.

My deepest desire is to seek Him each morning and follow Him…truly step by step.  I pray God will “Guide my steps by Your Word, so I will not be overcome by evil” (Psalm 119:133 NLT).  But, being human, I falter and sometimes I fail.  What a relief to know that I am never beyond His reach.  Psalm 139:7 (HCSB) asks the question, “Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?”  Acts 17:27b (HCSB) provides an answer, “He is not far from each one of us.”  Deuteronomy 4:7 (NASB) ties it all up for us, “For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the Lord our God whenever we call on Him?”

I think this quote from Jerry Bridges gives a great perspective:

“Our worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.”

We cannot escape God’s amazing grace.  It is always there for us. We will always have need of it—at our best and at our worst.  That’s why I am so thankful that “Oh God, You are my God….”  Yes, “I will ever praise You!”

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

Lord, I am so thankful for Your leadership.  I am grateful You direct my steps.  Teach me to walk closely with You.  Keep my feet on the path You have placed them on that I may follow You all of my days.  In Christ’s name, I ask this, Amen!  It Is SO!

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

Step By Step (Sometimes By Step)

October 13, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv
Sometimes the night was beautiful
Sometimes the sky was so far away
Sometimes it seemed to stoop so close
You could touch it but your heart would break
Sometimes the morning came too soon
Sometimes the day could be so hot
There was so much work left to do
But so much You’d already done

Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
And I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You’ll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days

Sometimes I think of Abraham
How one star he saw had been lit for me
He was a stranger in this land
And I am that, no less than he
And on this road to righteousness
Sometimes the climb can be so steep
I may falter in my steps
But never beyond Your reach

Singer/ Songwriter: Rich Mullins along with David Strasser

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

This was one of the very first ‘contemporary’ Christian songs I ever heard. I fell in love immediately. Little did I know how much this song would affect me or that I would continue to carry it with me “all of my days.”

Rich Mullins considered this a prayer song because “Sometimes I find it hard to pray.” (Don’t we all?)  Rich also talks about trying to impress God with our prayers: “We don’t have to impress Him…He is already knocked out about you…God takes the junk of our lives and makes the greatest art out of it.”

This is the cry of my heart, that “I will seek You in the morning and I will learn to walk in Your ways; and step by step You’ll lead me…and I will follow You all of my days!” I desperately want Him to take the junk of my life and make something beautiful out of it.

My deepest desire is to seek Him each morning and follow Him…step by step. I pray God will “Guide my steps by Your Word, so I will not be overcome by evil” (Psalm 119:133 NLT). But, being human, I falter and sometimes I fail. What a relief to know that I am never beyond His reach. Psalm 139:7 (HCSB) asks the question, “Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?” Acts 17:27b (HCSB) provides an answer, “He is not far from each one of us.” Deuteronomy 4:7 (NASB) ties it all up for us, “For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the Lord our God whenever we call on Him?”

I think this quote from Jerry Bridges puts it all into perspective:

“Our worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.”

We cannot escape God’s amazing grace. It is always there for us. We will always have need of it—at our best and at our worst. That’s why I am so thankful that “Oh God, You are my God…” Yes, “I will ever praise You!”

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

Lord, I am so thankful for Your leadership. I am grateful You direct my steps. Teach me to walk closely with You. Keep my feet on the path You have placed them on that I may follow You all of my days. In Christ’s name, I ask this, Amen! It Is SO!

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

Awesome God

January 22, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

~  Listen while you read, please!  ~

There’s thunder in His footsteps and lightning in His fists
(Our God is an awesome God)

And the Lord wasn’t joking when He kicked’em out of Eden
It wasn’t for no reason that He shed His blood
His return is very close and so you better be believing that
Our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God

~  Singer/Songwriter Rich Mullins: Our God Is An Awesome God  ~

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God;
and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.
1 John 3:1

Our God is a wonderful, loving, merciful, and graceful God. He loves us all in a way that we will never truly understand. The closest that we can come to understanding any of it is that He shed His own blood on the Cross for us. God has shown us the greatest love by giving us the greatest sacrifice of all time—His own blood.

Our God is a wonderful loving Father who takes cares of us, provides us with what we need, and rebukes us when we do wrong.

The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.
He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat,
and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden
to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out,
he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword
flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
Genesis 3:21-24

Adam and Eve committed the first sin recorded in the Bible. God had told them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). Yet, Eve, as most humans tend to do, followed her own nature, listened to the serpent, and ate of the tree. Then she convinced Adam to do the same. When they did, they became conscious of themselves and realized that they had sinned. They tried to hide, but were not able to. God found them. He knew where they were and did not have to look for them.

Even though they disobeyed Him, God still loved them. As any loving Father would do, God punishes Adam and Eve and sent them from the Garden, but He still provides for them. He clothed them and provided them with food by providing Adam with an area to farm. He punished Eve just a little more, but this pain also brings a gift. Through the pain of childbirth, women bring forth life. To keep them from eating of the Tree of Life, God banished them from the Garden. They were punished by their Father, but He also continued to provide for them.

God loves His children. He provides for them in amazing ways. He also knows what is best for us and provides and cares for us in ways that we need. God loves us, and that is amazing enough.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for being so amazing. Thank You, Lord, for shedding Your blood to show us how much You love us. Without this great sacrifice, we could not be close to You or live eternally with You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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

Crazy Love: Chapter 9 – “Who Really Lives That Way” (pgs. 153-157)

March 5, 2013 by

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:1

Using this verse as the basis for this chapter in Crazy Love, Chan tells the story of people who sought to live their lives fully surrendered to God.  Let’s take a brief look at the examples on pages 153-157.

Marva J. Dawn: Marva’s life is a reflection of her belief that small acts of faithfulness can have a profound and significant impact on the world.  She has written many books and all the profits of her books go to support charities.

Rich Mullins: A talented musician with much success in the music industry, Rich moved to a Navajo reservation to teach music to the children who lived there.  Rich never knew how successfully his albums sold because the profits from his concerts and albums went directly to his church, who paid him a small salary and gave the rest of the money away.

Rings:  Rings is an ex-convict, ex-addict, and ex-alcoholic.  Since he turned his life over to Jesus, his home is the cab of his pickup truck.  He uses his monthly check to buy food, then drives to the beach and makes meals for the homeless.

Rachael Saint: When Rachel was eighteen, a wealthy woman offered to make Rachel her heiress if she would be her companion for the rest of her life.  Rachel knew she couldn’t accept the offer of a comfortable life spent sipping tea and conversing.  After many years, Rachel finally went to live with the Waorani people, and translated the New Testament into their language.

*****

Just reading about those people inspired me.  Without a doubt, they lived their lives following the example of Christ as they served others.  They are now being read about in Mr. Chan’s book all over the world.

If you are like me, you personally know people who radically lived their lives for Jesus, and impacted their generation, yet their names never made it inside the cover of a book that has sold over a million copies. 

Would you bear with me as I pay tribute to a couple of  people who played a big role in my salvation and spiritual growth?

Edgar Bethany: It was under his ministry that I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. One never forgets their moment of salvation, nor the person who lead them to the Lord.

Paul Radke: A man of wisdom, who taught me the importance of accepting people of all backgrounds in order to share Jesus with them. 

David Berkeheimer: You might say it was under his ministry that I began the process of becoming healed emotionally and spiritually.

Melbab Berkeheimer: She was my mentor that paved the way for me to begin a teaching and writing ministry.

Sylvia Thompson: A lady with the gift of prophesy that spoke many encouraging words into my life during trying circumstances.

Yes, because of these five people giving of themselves, my life was changed.  They did it without wanting any recognition, but I have always wanted to honor them publicly in some way.  Never have I dreamed that I could actually send their name to the other side of the world. But, because God had been preparing one woman to make this possible, I have been able to do just that! Christi Wilson, the Founder of Girlfriends Coffee Hour opened the doors for me to reach across the globe through my writing.  

Christi Wilson: A woman with a heart for online Bible studies that encourages women across the globe to develop a deeper walk with the Lord by studying His word.  She radically lives her life for Jesus to be a vessel that is impacting this generation.

*****

My prayer is that I will be an influence to others in some way and when I get to heaven, someone will say to me: “Thank you for giving to the Lord! I am a life that has been changed.”

Be Blessed, 

Martha

*****

 

Let’s Pray: 

Father God, we ask that You open our hearts to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit to show us where we can best serve You and impact our generation.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.

Your Assignment:

What legacy would you like to leave?

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Our next Online Bible Study

“Girls with Swords” by Lisa Bevere begins March 24th.  

To join us for this amazing study, click on the picture above!

Once we receive your registration, we will email you further details!

_____________________

If you would like to send Martha a personal message in regards to this blog,

you may email her at: Martha@girlfriendscoffeehour.com.

 

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