April 17, 2024

Love Came Down

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

If my heart is overwhelmed
And I cannot hear Your voice
I hold on to what is true
Though I cannot see

If the storms of life they come
And the road ahead gets steep
I will lift these hands in faith
I will believe

I’ll remind myself
Of all that You’ve done
And the life I have
Because of Your Son

Love came down and rescued me
Love came down and set me free
I am Yours; Lord, I’m forever Yours
Mountains high or valley low
I sing out and remind my soul
I am Yours,  I am forever Yours

When my heart is filled with hope
Every promise comes my way
When I feel Your hands of grace
Rest upon me

I am Yours, I am Yours
All my days, Jesus, I am Yours

Staying desperate for You, God
Staying humble at Your feet
I will lift these hands in praise
I will believe

Yeah, I am Yours, I’m Yours, I am Yours
Jesus I am Yours

Kari Jobe ~ singer/songwriter

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Has your heart been overwhelmed?  Have there been storms in your life so dark that you couldn’t see your next step?  Who, or what, do you rely on during those times?

I know in my life it’s not if but when my heart is overwhelmed and when the storms of life come.  None of us are immune to troubles; after all, we live in a fallen world where sin abounds.  Thankfully, from the time I was born I was taught about the love of God through Jesus, and at an early age I accepted Jesus as my Savior.  (Read John 3:16-17.)  That certainly didn’t take away all the bad stuff that life brings, but it did give me Someone to look to for love and security.  And that has been my foundation when “the road ahead gets steep” or the “mountains high or valleys low.”

I’ve had some very dark days when I couldn’t see my next step. During those times “I’ll remind myself of all that You’ve done, and the life I have because of Your Son.”  The love of God rescued me as a child from sin and death, and His love continues to rescue me. Why? Because I am His!

But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much,
that even though we were dead because of our sins,
He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead.
(It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)
Ephesians 2:4-5

The following passage is a little long, but please take time to read it with a listening heart.  When you do, I believe your ‘mountain’ won’t seem too high, because of the reassurance that you are God’s and  that NOTHING can separate you from His love.

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these?  If God is for us, who can ever be against us?  Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won’t He also give us everything else?  …Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and He is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love?  Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?  …No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, Who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

from Romans 8:31-39

Your unfailing love will last forever.
Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.
Psalm 89:2

I am so thankful to sing:

Love came down and rescued me
Love came down and set me free
I am Yours
I am forever Yours

 Are you singing with me? I pray it is “yes and amen” for you, too!

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Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for Your great love for each of us.  You have rescued us and set us free from sin and death, and for that we give You all praise and honor.  There are times when we are overwhelmed in the storms of life, but we have the security of knowing that You are always with us.  Knowing You love us fills us with hope.  Our hearts’ cry is to stay “desperate for You,” and “humble at Your feet.”  We are so thankful to sing, “I am Yours, I’m Yours, I am Yours, Jesus, I am Yours!”  In Jesus’ Precious Name, Amen.

I Can Pray

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

I may never sing a song that brings people to their feet
And mighty men of world renown I may never get to meet
But I have an invitation to hasten to His throne
To lay my burdens at His feet and make my petitions known

I can pray
Though the storm around me rages
I can trust the Rock of ages when I pray
And the peace I can’t explain when I call upon His Name
I just know I’m not the same when I pray

When it seems the road I’m trav’ling on just doesn’t have an end
I have found that He will be my brother and my friend
For He never will forsake me; He will always hear my plea
Because He stands beside the Father, interceding just for me

If my people
Who are called by My Name
Will humble themselves
Will humble themselves and pray

Singer/ Songwriter: Kim Culpepper
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I heard this song several months ago, and it spoke to me.  I put it in my ‘maybe’ list of songs to blog, not knowing when or if I was to share it.  Over the past two months a 16 year old young man in our church has been struggling with a deadly illness and has been through several brains surgeries already, with the almost certain need for more.  Our congregation, friends and family, both near and far, are praying for this boy!  What more can we do?!

Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2

Instead of worrying, pray.
Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers,
letting God know your concerns.
Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness,
everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down.
It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Philippians 4:6-7 MSG

The songs I sing will never bring people to their feet, and won’t heal Zach.  The mighty men of world renown can visit him at his hospital bedside, but they can’t heal Zach.  This road that Zach and his family are traveling on seems to have no end.  This is a storm that is too great for any human to conquer.  Perhaps you, too, (physically, emotionally, or spiritually), are on a rugged road that seems to have no end, and are in a storm too great to conquer.

BUT GOD!  Each of us has an invitation to hasten to the Throne of the One and Only God, the Rock of Ages, Who can do anything, including heal our dear Zach and calm your storm. That is exactly what Zach’s parents, and we are doing daily, even moment-by-moment, and I encourage you to do the same.

Where else can we find peace?
Who else assures us that He hears our prayers?
Who else promises to never leave us or forsake us?
Who else can calm the storm?
Who else can heal Zach?
Who else can smooth your road?
No one, BUT GOD!

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God.
There we will receive His mercy,
and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
Hebrews 14:16 NLT

Trust in the LORD always, for the LORD God is the eternal Rock.
Isaiah 26:4

Trust in Him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our Refuge.
Psalm 62:8

As one song says, “Our God is an awesome God, Who reigns in Heaven above, with wisdom, power, and love, our God is an awesome God.”  With that assurance, we run into God’s Throne Room, and lay our “burdens at His feet and make my (our) petitions known.”

It is there

  • we have the assurance that He hears our prayers
  • we know that Jesus is interceding before our Father for us
  • we find our peace
  • we find our answers
  • we are “not the same when I (we) pray.”

If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all,
how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?…
Christ Jesus is the One who died
—more than that, Who was raised—
Who is at the right hand of God, Who indeed is interceding for us….
Romans 8:31-39

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Whatever your storm is today, dear friend, believe that Jesus wants you to come to Him with it.  Believe He will take care of your need, no matter what is it.  When you can’t do anything else, YOU CAN PRAY.  And we, your sisters in Christ, will pray with you.  Jesus is waiting and listening…and answering.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7 NIV

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You.
Isaiah 26:3

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:27