All creation cries out your Name
Singing glory hallelujah
when I feel the wind on my face
I am reminded of Your gentle power
And loving grace
Your strong Tower
and warm embrace
That you beg me to rest under Your wing
And bask in your true beauty and light
In Your presence I hear salvations ring
and see your promises become light
Although I am rebelious and immature
You are constant and pure
Your justice is tempered only by Your grace
And I am humbled and thankful to be allowed
a glimpse of Your face
Who am I that You would think of me?
And yet you call me precious and princess
Who and I that You would consider me?
And yet you died for me.
My king who washes His disciples feet
And willfully goes to the cross in percieved defeit
yet death has no sting
no victory
You hold the universe in one hand
and me in the other....me, You love
Me...You hear
Me...You save
What can I do but praise
What can I say but thank you
I rest at the foot of the cross
And in the shadow of Your wing
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
What Does a Christian Look Like?
I was asked this question about a month ago and I have been thinking abut it ever since. It's interesting because it can be so different. Here is my attempt to answer:
A Christian looks like me who grew up in a Christian home and yet strayed for many years, mired myself in a life of sin and then came broken and dirty to the foot of the cross. It also looks like my friend Jennie who has lived an amazing life of integrity, who has always known her self worth came from Christ Himself and was able to present herself pure to her husband on her wedding night. Or like Rich who did not grow up in a Christian home and yet had a God given knowledge in his soul that he there had to be more to life. A Christian also looks like my dear friend Ernie who died several years ago at the age of 35. He was plagued with an addiction to alcohol and although he tried to "kick the habit" was never able to do it.
A Christian can be in a nice suit with perfect hair singing hymns every Sunday or can be tattooed and pierced and rocking out to heavy metal. She can be calm and demure or loud and obnoxious. He can be a shrewed business man or an out of work construction worker. He can have a foul mouth or be an eloquent speaker. She can have it all together or be a complete disorganized mess.
The bottom line is being a Christian has nothing to do with who we are as a person. It isn't how we dress or how we were raised. It isn't what sins we commit and which demons we a conquered. Being a Christian has very little to do with me and everything to do with CHRIST! I have to do one thing to be a Christian: SURRENDER. He does the rest.
When it all comes down to it, working out my salvation doesn't mean I have to keep trying to be a better person, it means I have to keep surrendering more and more of my old sinful self to God who He can get rid of it and replace it with the new creation that He has allowed me to become through His grace and the gift of His Son.
Is a Christian perfect? NO - Christ is perfect!
A Christian looks like me who grew up in a Christian home and yet strayed for many years, mired myself in a life of sin and then came broken and dirty to the foot of the cross. It also looks like my friend Jennie who has lived an amazing life of integrity, who has always known her self worth came from Christ Himself and was able to present herself pure to her husband on her wedding night. Or like Rich who did not grow up in a Christian home and yet had a God given knowledge in his soul that he there had to be more to life. A Christian also looks like my dear friend Ernie who died several years ago at the age of 35. He was plagued with an addiction to alcohol and although he tried to "kick the habit" was never able to do it.
A Christian can be in a nice suit with perfect hair singing hymns every Sunday or can be tattooed and pierced and rocking out to heavy metal. She can be calm and demure or loud and obnoxious. He can be a shrewed business man or an out of work construction worker. He can have a foul mouth or be an eloquent speaker. She can have it all together or be a complete disorganized mess.
The bottom line is being a Christian has nothing to do with who we are as a person. It isn't how we dress or how we were raised. It isn't what sins we commit and which demons we a conquered. Being a Christian has very little to do with me and everything to do with CHRIST! I have to do one thing to be a Christian: SURRENDER. He does the rest.
When it all comes down to it, working out my salvation doesn't mean I have to keep trying to be a better person, it means I have to keep surrendering more and more of my old sinful self to God who He can get rid of it and replace it with the new creation that He has allowed me to become through His grace and the gift of His Son.
Is a Christian perfect? NO - Christ is perfect!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Pure Worship
God gave me a great gift the other day. I have been struggling lately that I haven't Felt the Holy Spirit during my prayer time lately. I know God is listening. I believe His word when He says that the Holy Spirit intercedes for me, but the "feeling" hadn't come in a while.
I was driving home in my car and Faith Hill's song "I can feel you breathe" came on the radio. I closed my eyes and sang it to God. It was an amazing, spirit filled moment. It did not require a big build up of 3 hours on my knees or an eloquent prayer. I was just suddenly in His throne room, feeling Him hold me and breathe His life giving breath on my shoulders. It was amazing and the exact thing I needed.
Thank you, God for meeting my every need, all the time.
I was driving home in my car and Faith Hill's song "I can feel you breathe" came on the radio. I closed my eyes and sang it to God. It was an amazing, spirit filled moment. It did not require a big build up of 3 hours on my knees or an eloquent prayer. I was just suddenly in His throne room, feeling Him hold me and breathe His life giving breath on my shoulders. It was amazing and the exact thing I needed.
Thank you, God for meeting my every need, all the time.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Random
I haven't posted in awhile so I am just putting a list of some things I have been thinking about.
1. Thanks to The Coffee Bar, I am slowly but surely drinking more caffeine every day. This is not a good thing!
2. Korey and Krissy are starting school. I have mixed emotions on this. I am glad to be back in a better routine and I know both girls are ready for school, but it means they are growing up. I don't mind that it means that I am getting older, but it scares me that they will have so many other influences in their lives now. I pray for the Lord's protection and for wisdom.
3. I can't wait for BSF to start. I am just not as diligent as I should be with bible study and quiet time without it.
4. I am scared to death about the idea of government run health care. What if Rich's cancer comes back? Will he get the care he needs in time?
5. God is teaching me to be present in the moment that I am in. By His grace, I am learning to not be anxious especially when things are beyond my control. The other day, Jennie and I locked the keys in the car and had to wait for AAA. I didn't get upset at all. As a matter of fact I laughed! And I am so happy for the time that Jennie and I got to sit on the hood of her car and just talk. We didn't talk about the Coffee Bar, church or even kids, we just talked and laughed. It was great. It ended up being a great gift of fellowship with a good friend. I think it's cool when He does that; gives us little detours from our plans to stop and invest in a friendship.
6. I think I am going to color my hair red.
7. I am so glad that my parents raised me to understand that Christianity isn't a heritage or a religion, but a relationship with Christ. I may not have always walked with the Lord, but I can't imagine not always knowing Him.
1. Thanks to The Coffee Bar, I am slowly but surely drinking more caffeine every day. This is not a good thing!
2. Korey and Krissy are starting school. I have mixed emotions on this. I am glad to be back in a better routine and I know both girls are ready for school, but it means they are growing up. I don't mind that it means that I am getting older, but it scares me that they will have so many other influences in their lives now. I pray for the Lord's protection and for wisdom.
3. I can't wait for BSF to start. I am just not as diligent as I should be with bible study and quiet time without it.
4. I am scared to death about the idea of government run health care. What if Rich's cancer comes back? Will he get the care he needs in time?
5. God is teaching me to be present in the moment that I am in. By His grace, I am learning to not be anxious especially when things are beyond my control. The other day, Jennie and I locked the keys in the car and had to wait for AAA. I didn't get upset at all. As a matter of fact I laughed! And I am so happy for the time that Jennie and I got to sit on the hood of her car and just talk. We didn't talk about the Coffee Bar, church or even kids, we just talked and laughed. It was great. It ended up being a great gift of fellowship with a good friend. I think it's cool when He does that; gives us little detours from our plans to stop and invest in a friendship.
6. I think I am going to color my hair red.
7. I am so glad that my parents raised me to understand that Christianity isn't a heritage or a religion, but a relationship with Christ. I may not have always walked with the Lord, but I can't imagine not always knowing Him.
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