April 25, 2024

Captivate Us

August 2, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Your face is beautiful
And Your eyes are like the stars
Your gentle hands have healing
There inside the scars
Your loving arms they draw me near
And Your smile it brings me peace
Draw me closer oh, my Lord
Draw me closer, Lord, to Thee

And captivate us, Lord Jesus, set our eyes on You
Devastate us with Your presence falling down
And rushing River draw us nearer
Holy Fountain, consume us with You
Captivate us, Lord Jesus, with You

Your voice is powerful
And Your words are radiant bright
In Your breath and shadow
I will come close and abide
You whisper love and life divine
And Your fellowship is free
Draw us closer, oh my Lord
Draw me closer, Lord, to Thee

And let ev’rything be lost in the shadows
Of the light of Your face
And let ev’ry chain be broken from me
As I’m bound in Your grace
For Your yoke is easy, Your burden is light
You’re full of wisdom pow’r and might
And ev’ry eye will see You

Captivate us,  Lord Jesus, with You
Captivate us

Watermark
Writer(s): Charlie Hall, Christy Nockels, Nathan Nockels

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You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride;
You have captivated my heart with one glance of Your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
Song of Solomon 4:9

Can you think of anything more awesome than to be captivated by Jesus? I looked up the definition of the word captivate and this is what it said:

“…to attract and hold the attention of, as by beauty or excellence; enchant“

Now imagine that your whole life is centered around Jesus and you are captivated by Him.  The Son of God really is completely in love with you.  So, as you listen to this beautiful song today, I hope that you will close your eyes and just sing this as a prayer to Him.  He is so worthy of such a praise song from you…

Tell Him that His face is beautiful; just picture His eyes focused on you, just you.

Then look at His hands. See the scars? And those nails that were driven into His hands and they drove out the sins of us, His daughters and sons. And in those scars, there is so much healing. Remember the woman that just touched His garment? Oh the power that He holds. Lay all your afflictions down at His feet and allow Him to begin to heal you.

Now let His arms fold you in. Feel His embrace and allow Him to hold you long…it’s okay , y’know. He wants to love on His children and that includes you.

And while you’re in His presence, look up at Him.  See the smile on His face.  See how He looks at you with adoration and joy.  It is time to  let all the cares of this world just crumble and vanish in His presence.

{Oh Jesus, please draw us closer to You. Let all the other things of this world pale in comparison and keep us from putting anything before You, oh Lord.  Let all our chains be broken in Your name.  Break all addictions, oh Lord.  All worry and all spirit of fear replace with peace that only You can give. You are stronger than any burden that we carry, Jesus….}

Friend, if you prayed this song today, I am so glad! Jesus wants to captivate us, and be so big in our lives that He is the first and last thing we think about. That during the day—when burdens stack up—that we are quick to give them to His capable hands.  He is waiting and watching and hoping to get some time with you today…I pray He consumes you, friend!

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Dear Jesus, we echo the prayer above today.  Oh Jesus, we come to You today wanting to be captivated by You.  We want to put all earthly things aside and just dwell in You.  I pray that the things of this world will become so small in the presence of our big Savior.  Thank You for Your arms that hold us and for Your smile that warms us and for Your nail-scarred hands that stretch out to pull us close.  Keep us focused on You.  In Your name we pray, amen.

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

CHRISTLife — ThirtyFive: Delighted In, Favored, and Honored

February 28, 2014 by

cl delighted in favored and honored

Hadley, my two-year-old granddaughter, recently spent a week with me.  And, yes, I pampered her as all grandmothers do their grandchildren.

Like most women, Hadley enjoys a bubble bath at the end of a day and I was happy to oblige her.  One night, along with the rest of the bath toys she likes to surround herself with, I tossed a crown into the tub that had been used for decoration on a birthday cake.  As she soaked in the bubbles, the crown floated past her.  She grabbed the crown, placed it on her head and said:

“I’m a Queen.”

Oh, the imagination of a child!  How quickly Hadley had made the transition from being a little girl surrounded by bubbles and toys to wearing the title of Queen!  Just for fun, let’s play an imaginary game.

Suppose you were standing outside the palace gates of a king. As you stood there at the gates, your attire looked something like this:

  • you were clothed in filthy rags of whining, coaxing, self-pity, anger, resentment, revenge
  • you fought for your own rights and pushed your way through life
  • you always tried to borrow from others the kind of love you desperately needed
  • you rummaged through garbage pails looking for scraps of self-realization
  • the life of a pauper was your lifestyle

As you stood outside the palace gates in your filthy drab, you heard the king beckoning someone to come to him and be his bride.  You look around to see who he is calling, but there is no one else standing at the gate at this time.  And then you hear him issue the call again.

You look up to the window where he stands, your eyes meet his gaze, and say:  “You can’t mean me—why I’m just a pauper.  I’m not good enough for you. And my appearance, well, I am not the prettiest woman in the world.  I wouldn’t be a very good helpmate either, because I am just so dumb.  One of my teachers in school told me I would never amount to anything, and she was right, I didn’t; I’m just a failure.  No, I can’t marry you; I’m just too unworthy to be your bride.  But, thanks for asking anyway.”

Without another word spoken from the king, he stretched forth his hand beckoning you to come into his arms.  This time, you caught a look of love on his face that you had never ever seen on another.  It penetrated into the very depths of your heart and you at last realized that, “Yes, he wants me!”  You accepted his proposal, you were quickly ushered into the palace to be with him, and he placed a crown on your head.  Instantly, your life took on a new identity with the king in the palace.

Oh, my dear friends, this is no fairy tale, it is for real.  It is a story about YOU and ME, and how quickly we transitioned from our pauper state into a place of royalty when we accepted Jesus Christ as Savior.  Oh, yes, we became the Bride of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  You now stand daily in His presence and—

  • He sees you as His gift that He delights in—Ephesians 1:11; Isaiah 62:4
  • He takes pleasure in you—Psalm 149:4
  • He rejoices over you with gladness and singing—Zephaniah 3:17
  • You captivate His heart—Song of Solomon 4:9
  • You have favor in His sight—Psalm 84:11; Exodus 33:12; Psalm 4:3; 5:12
  • He honors you by making you royalty—Revelation 1:6; Romans 5:17

Enough said!  Now, if you will excuse me, I think I will just go fill my bath tub with bubble bath, light a candle, turn on the praise and worship music, and hop into the tub with my crown on. Just like Hadley said: “I’m a Queen!”

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Let us pray: Father God, I thank You for rescuing us out of our pauper state through the shed blood of Your son, Jesus, into a place of royalty. I am overwhelmed when I read in Your Word how much You delight in me, how much You favor me, and bestow honor on me as Your queen. May we all wear the crown and title in a way that will bring honor and glory to Your name by fulfilling the purpose for which You created us to be. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Filed Under: CHRISTLife Bible Study Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Captivating: Chapter 7 Romanced – Longing for Romance (pp 111-113)

February 18, 2013 by

Jeremiah31_3

I remember the first time that I heard the above words some few years ago.  My sister, who was staying with me at the time, had just gone to visit my parents in another city.  I felt so alone that evening and I decided to listen to music in order to drown out the silence that was in the house.  I had just bought a new praise and worship CD which contained a song based on Jeremiah 31:3. “I have loved with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with my loving kindness.” The song was so overwhelming; and I felt like God was speaking to me directly.  God LOVES me with an everlasting love.  I can’t express the exact feelings that I felt then but every fiber of my body felt that love.  I was so in awe of God for reaching out to me and telling me how much He loves me through that song.  My loneliness was replaced with God’s presence; it was an experience that I will never forget.

Each one of us wants to feel loved and to be romanced; we want to know that we are special to someone.  There is something about love that changes the way we feel and look at ourselves.  When I am first in love with someone I see things differently…I tend to smile at anything…what could easily annoy me does not bother me at all…the way I walk and carry myself…the time I take to look beautiful…happiness bubbles from inside my heart waiting to burst.  The day dreaming and secret messages that are shared with my loved one all seem to make my world beautiful—like I am on top of the world and nothing can touch me.  I feel special, worthy, and beautiful!

I have come to the understanding that I don’t need to wait for a man to feel special, worthy and beautiful every day because there is Someone who already makes me feel these things and so much more.  His love for me is eternal.  His romance is for eternity.  The romance that the Lover of our Soul, Jesus, has for us.  This romance is ours to experience every day.  It began long before we were born. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5).  Yes, that’s how much God knows (and loves) you and me.  He pursued us way before we came to be and He will never stop.  Like the great lover that He is, He woo’s us with everything that He has created: the flowers and vegetation, the beautiful sunset, the blue skies, the glorious mountains, the enormous lakes and oceans.  Everywhere we look, we are enchanted by the beautiful things that He has made for us to enjoy.

I always wondered why the Song of Solomon was in the Bible until I realized that it was a love message from God to us.  God is so romantic that He dedicated a whole book for romance.  Wow, that’s something not to be taken for granted.  This book beats all the romance novels that you and I have read by far.  The way the writer uses words to describe different animals to reflect the beauty of a woman is intriguing.  The love that is shared between the two lovers is mesmerizing.  I hope you find some time to read this book and embrace its uniqueness, and experience the romantic side of God.

Stasi Eldredge writes, “God longs to bring this into your life Himself. He wants you to move beyond the childlike ‘Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’  He wants to heal us through His love to become mature women who actually know Him. He wants us to experience verses like, “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her” (Hosea 2:14). And “You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride” (Song of Solomon 4:9). Our hearts are desperate for this. What would it be like to experience for yourself that the truest thing about His heart toward yours is not disappointment or disapproval but deep, fiery, passionate love? This is, after all, what a woman was made for.” (pg 113)

Jesus is our Bridegroom and we are His Bride.  I pray that you will accept Him to romance you the way your feminine heart needs because YOU ARE HIS DARLING!  “How beautiful you are, my darling” (Song of Solomon 1:15).

Be Blessed,

Jackie

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LET’S PRAY:

Lord, how wonderful it is to know just how much You love us.  You loved us even before we came to be, and You are coming to take us with You as Your bride.  May we experience this romance with You every day.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

How comfortable are you with the idea of Jesus being your “Bridegroom” and you being His Beloved?  Is this a relatively new category for you to think about in your relationship with Him?

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If you are interested in sending Jackie a private message in regards to this blog, please email her at: Jackie@GirlfriendsCoffeeHour.com

Filed Under: Singles Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,