In Awe ...

So, I'm reading Psalm 119, and get to verse 120 (in the Amplified Bible):

¹²⁰ My flesh trembles and shudders for fear and reverential, worshipful awe of You, and I am afraid and in dread of Your judgments.

In my head, I hear, "I'm in awe of You, I'm in awe of You" - and recognize that what I'm hearing is from Chris Tomlin's song, At The Cross (Love Ran Red).  [Just occurred to me that the reason I was reading Psalm 119 was because of Passion City Church, where Chris Tomlin is a worship leader ... love God's sense of humor, the Way He brings all things together, working them for our good, for His glory ...]

... and my journey with Him continues ...

Playlist reminder: God Is Here

Isaiah 41:10 (AMP)
¹⁰ Fear not [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My [victorious] right hand of rightness and justice.

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All week, The Lord reminded me through these songs, that He, The Eternal, Almighty, Omnipresent One, was with me:

• Here Now (Madness) – Hillsong United
• You Are Here – The Outsiders
• He is Here – Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship Mass Choir
• Already Here – Brian Courtney Wilson
• God is Here – Martha Munizzi
• Tu Estas Aqui – Jesus Adrian Romero featuring Marcela Gandara

Then my heart rejoiced and was encouraged as I read Scriptures regarding His Presence:
 

Exodus 33:14

And the Lord said, My Presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.

1 Chronicles 16:27

Honor and majesty are [found] in His presence; strength and joy are [found] in His sanctuary.

1 Chronicles 16:11

Seek the Lord and His strength; yearn for and seek His face and to be in His presence continually!

Psalm 16:11

You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 21:6

For You make him to be blessed and a blessing forever; You make him exceedingly glad with the joy of Your presence.

Psalm 23:6

Surely or only goodness, mercy, and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and through the length of my days the house of the Lord [and His presence] shall be my dwelling place.

Psalm 27:4

One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, to behold and gaze upon the beauty [the sweet attractiveness and the delightful loveliness] of the Lord and to meditate, consider, and inquire in His temple.

Psalm 27:8

You have said, Seek My face [inquire for and require My presence as your vital need]. My heart says to You, Your face (Your presence), Lord, will I seek, inquire for, and require [of necessity and on the authority of Your Word].

Psalm 31:20

In the secret place of Your presence You hide them from the plots of men; You keep them secretly in Your pavilion from the strife of tongues.

Psalm 51:11

Cast me not away from Your presence and take not Your Holy Spirit from me.

Psalm 84:4

Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are those who dwell in Your house and Your presence; they will be singing Your praises all the day long. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

Psalm 85:9

Surely His salvation is near to those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, [and is ready to be appropriated] that [the manifest presence of God, His] glory may tabernacle and abide in our land.

Psalm 140:13

Surely the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall give thanks to Your name; the upright shall dwell in Your presence (before Your very face).

Isaiah 63:9

In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

Acts 2:28

You have made known to me the ways of life; You will enrapture me [diffusing my soul with joy] with and in Your presence.

Acts 3:19

So repent (change your mind and purpose); turn around and return [to God], that your sins may be erased (blotted out, wiped clean), that times of refreshing (of recovering from the effects of heat, of reviving with fresh air) may come from the presence of the Lord;

Acts 11:21

And the presence of the Lord was with them with power, so that a great number [learned] to believe (to adhere to and trust in and rely on the Lord) and turned and surrendered themselves to Him.

1 Corinthians 2:7

But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden [from the human understanding] and now revealed to us by God—[that wisdom] which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification [to lift us into the glory of His presence].

2 Corinthians 2:17

For we are not, like so many, [like hucksters making a trade of] peddling God’s Word [shortchanging and adulterating the divine message]; but like [men] of sincerity and the purest motive, as [commissioned and sent] by God, we speak [His message] in Christ (the Messiah), in the [very] sight and presence of God.

2 Corinthians 4:2

We have renounced disgraceful ways (secret thoughts, feelings, desires and underhandedness, the methods and arts that men hide through shame); we refuse to deal craftily (to practice trickery and cunning) or to adulterate or handle dishonestly the Word of God, but we state the truth openly (clearly and candidly). And so we commend ourselves in the sight and presence of God to every man’s conscience.

2 Corinthians 4:14

Assured that He Who raised up the Lord Jesus will raise us up also with Jesus and bring us [along] with you into His presence.

2 Corinthians 12:19

Have you been supposing [all this time] that we have been defending ourselves and apologizing to you? [It is] in the sight and the [very] presence of God [and as one] in Christ (the Messiah) that we have been speaking, dearly beloved, and all in order to build you up [spiritually].

2 Corinthians 13:14

The grace (favor and spiritual blessing) of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the presence and fellowship (the communion and sharing together, and participation) in the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen (so be it).

Galatians 5:22

But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness,

Ephesians 2:21

In Him the whole structure is joined (bound, welded) together harmoniously, and it continues to rise (grow, increase) into a holy temple in the Lord [a sanctuary dedicated, consecrated, and sacred to the presence of the Lord].

Ephesians 3:19

[That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!

Colossians 1:22

Yet now has [Christ, the Messiah] reconciled [you to God] in the body of His flesh through death, in order to present you holy and faultless and irreproachable in His [the Father’s] presence.

James 4:10

Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant].

1 John 3:19

By this we shall come to know (perceive, recognize, and understand) that we are of the Truth, and can reassure (quiet, conciliate, and pacify) our hearts in His presence,

1 John 5:18

We know [absolutely] that anyone born of God does not [deliberately and knowingly] practice committing sin, but the One Who was begotten of God carefully watches over and protects him [Christ’s divine presence within him preserves him against the evil], and the wicked one does not lay hold (get a grip) on him or touch [him].

Jude 1:24

Now to Him Who is able to keep you without stumbling or slipping or falling, and to present [you] unblemished (blameless and faultless) before the presence of His glory in triumphant joy and exultation [with unspeakable, ecstatic delight]—

Revelation 7:15

For this reason they are [now] before the [very] throne of God and serve Him day and night in His sanctuary (temple); and He Who is sitting upon the throne will protect and spread His tabernacle over and shelter them with His presence.

Thank You, Lord, for Your love, and for Your faithfulness to Your Word to never leave me nor forsake me!

1 Timothy 1:17 (KJV)

 

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

... and my journey with Him continues ...

God as Father

Luke 11:9-13   (NKJV)
⁹ “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹ If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
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I found a bookmark from Derek Prince Ministries (www.derekprince.org), "God is my Father" - which had the following thoughts and Scripture:

 

John 1:12   (NKJV)

¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.

I am a child of God.

1 Corinthians 12:27   (NKJV)

²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.

I am a member of the Body of Christ.

Ephesians 1:5   (NKJV)

⁵ [God] predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

I have been adopted as a child of God.

Deuteronomy 32:6   (NKJV)

⁶ Do you thus deal with the Lord, O foolish and unwise people?  Is He not your Father, who bought you?  Has He not made you and established you?

My Father has made me.

Ephesians 1:4-5   (NKJV)

⁴ … He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, ⁵ having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

In love, He has predestined me to be adopted as His child.

Matthew 6:8   (NKJV)

⁸ “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

My Father knows what I need, even before I ask Him.

Psalm 103:13   (NKJV)

¹³ As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him.

As a father has compassion on his children, so You, Lord, have compassion on me.

Romans 8:15   (NKJV)

¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

I did not receive a spirit that makes me a slave again to fear, but I have received the Spirit of sonship.  And by Him I cry, “Abba, Father.”

2 Corinthians 6:18   (NKJV)

¹⁸ “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty.”

The Lord Almighty says to me, "I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My child."

*********************************************************   Thank You, Lord, for being such a "Good, Good Father"! I love You - Happy Father's Day!

Songs: Good Good Father, by Housefires II
            No longer slaves, by Jonathan and Melissa Helser

                                           ... and my journey with Him continues ...

Please, come to Jesus NOW!!!

One Saturday morning at church, after corporate prayer had ended (with “corporate” pertaining to a united group of people), I just kept sitting in the room as music played.  I began praying in the Spirit and crying.  I wasn’t sad, and couldn’t think of why I was crying so much, so I asked the Lord what was going on. In my spirit, it was as if I heard, “I will do a thing you wouldn’t believe if I told you.”

Immediately I thought of Habakkuk and looked up the reference.  Verse 1:5 in the NASB version of the Bible says:

⁵ “Look among the nations! Observe!  Be astonished! Wonder!  Because I am doing something in your days—You would not believe if you were told.

As I read more of what God says to the prophet Habakkuk about the Chaldeans (in verses 1-11), I thought of the things that had been in the news lately concerning ISIS and Boko Haram:

¹ The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw.

² How long, O Lord, will I call for help,
And You will not hear?
I cry out to You, “Violence!”
Yet You do not save.
³ Why do You make me see iniquity,
And cause me to look on wickedness?
Yes, destruction and violence are before me;
Strife exists and contention arises.
⁴ Therefore the law is ignored
And justice is never upheld.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore justice comes out perverted.

⁵ “Look among the nations! Observe!
Be astonished! Wonder!
Because I am doing something in your days—
You would not believe if you were told.
⁶ “For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans,
That fierce and impetuous people
Who march throughout the earth
To seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
⁷ “They are dreaded and feared;
Their justice and authority originate with themselves.
⁸ “Their horses are swifter than leopards
And keener than wolves in the evening.
Their horsemen come galloping,
Their horsemen come from afar;
They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour.
⁹ “All of them come for violence.
Their horde of faces moves forward.
They collect captives like sand.
¹⁰ “They mock at kings
And rulers are a laughing matter to them.
They laugh at every fortress
And heap up rubble to capture it.
¹¹ “Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on.
But they will be held guilty,
They whose strength is their god.”

I wasn’t sure what to do with this, so again I asked the Lord because I sorely need His wisdom.  (James 1:5 NLT 1996 says, “If you need wisdom-if you want to know what God wants you to do-ask Him, and He will gladly tell you.  He will not resent your asking.” [pronoun capitalization mine])  The answer seemed to be in Acts 13:38-41-

³⁸ So let it be clearly known and understood by you, brethren, that through this Man forgiveness and removal of sins is now proclaimed to you;

³⁹ And that through Him everyone who believes [who acknowledges Jesus as his Savior and devotes himself to Him] is absolved (cleared and freed) from every charge from which he could not be justified and freed by the Law of Moses and given right standing with God.

⁴⁰ Take care, therefore, lest there come upon you what is spoken in the prophets:

⁴¹ Look, you scoffers and scorners, and marvel and perish and vanish away; for I am doing a deed in your days, a deed which you will never have confidence in or believe, [even] if someone [clearly describing it in detail] declares it to you.

It was as if I was to urge people to “come to Jesus NOW!” beginning with this blog entry.  As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:20 (NASB), I now say:

Therefore, as an ambassador for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through me; I beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

… and my journey with Him continues …

Are you willing ... ?

One morning I was just thanking God that He loves us - loves me! - enough to send His Son to die for me so I could be reconciled to Him.  I went on from there to thank Jesus that He was willing that His body be broken and His blood spilled for me, to atone for my sins.  It was then as if I heard, "Are you willing to be broken for the sins of others?" 

Somewhat confused, my immediate reply was, “But I thought Jesus did that?”  Then I remembered a Scripture that said something about completing the Lord’s sufferings:

Colossians 1:24 (NRSV)

²⁴ I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.

We had a few discussions about this as I questioned to see if I could tell if this was indeed the Spirit of God, but (like the song lyrics of For Your Glory by Tasha Cobbs) I finally tearfully came to the confession, "For Your Glory, I would do anything" - believing that if this brokenness will give God Glory, with His help and in His strength, I submit (as Jesus did in Gethsemane) that not my will but His be done; (as Mary said in Luke 1:38) "let it be unto me" according to His Word. 

I found other Scriptures (AMP) about sharing in Christ's sufferings:

Romans 8:17

And if we are [His] children, then we are [His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His inheritance with Him]; only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory.

2 Corinthians 1:5

For just as Christ’s [own] sufferings fall to our lot [as they overflow upon His disciples, and we share and experience them] abundantly, so through Christ comfort (consolation and encouragement) is also [shared and experienced] abundantly by us.

Philippians 1:29

For you have been granted [the privilege] for Christ’s sake not only to believe in (adhere to, rely on, and trust in) Him, but also to suffer in His behalf.

Colossians 1:24

[Even] now I rejoice in the midst of my sufferings on your behalf. And in my own person I am making up whatever is still lacking and remains to be completed [on our part] of Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of His body, which is the church.

2 Timothy 3:12

Indeed all who delight in piety and are determined to live a devoted and godly life in Christ Jesus will meet with persecution [will be made to suffer because of their religious stand].

1 Peter 2:21

For even to this were you called [it is inseparable from your vocation]. For Christ also suffered for you, leaving you [His personal] example, so that you should follow in His footsteps.

1 Peter 4:1-2

 So, since Christ suffered in the flesh for us, for you, arm yourselves with the same thought and purpose [patiently to suffer rather than fail to please God]. For whoever has suffered in the flesh [having the mind of Christ] is done with [intentional] sin [has stopped pleasing himself and the world, and pleases God],
² So that he can no longer spend the rest of his natural life living by [his] human appetites and desires, but [he lives] for what God wills.

1 Peter 4:13

But insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, rejoice, so that when His glory [full of radiance and splendor] is revealed, you may also rejoice with triumph [exultantly].

… and my journey with Him continues …

Childlike correction

Not too long ago I was with one of my grandchildren who was talking about a car he saw on the street.  He called the car green, but when I looked to see what he was talking about, I saw that the car was blue.  I told him that the car was blue and not green, and the next time he mentioned the car, he called it a blue car.  His willingness to receive correction – a childlike, humble, teachable quality – made me think of Jesus’ words to His disciples:
 

Matthew 18:1-5 Amplified Bible (AMP)

 ¹ At that time the disciples came up and asked Jesus, Who then is [really] the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 
² And He called a little child to Himself and put him in the midst of them, 
³ And said, Truly I say to you, unless you repent (change, turn about) and become like little children [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving], you can never enter the kingdom of heaven [at all]. 
⁴ Whoever will humble himself therefore and become like this little child [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving] is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 
⁵ And whoever receives and accepts and welcomes one little child like this for My sake and in My name receives and accepts and welcomes Me.

I also remember reading a devotional about a pastor who graciously accepted public criticism (http://odb.org/2003/01/22/the-critic/), humbly acknowledging that “God may be in it, and if He is, I need to hear what He’s saying.”

Proverbs 3 Amplified Bible (AMP)

 ¹ My son, forget not my law or teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments;
² For length of days and years of a life [worth living] and tranquility [inward and outward and continuing through old age till death], these shall they add to you.
³ Let not mercy and kindness [shutting out all hatred and selfishness] and truth [shutting out all deliberate hypocrisy or falsehood] forsake you; bind them about your neck, write them upon the tablet of your heart.
⁴ So shall you find favor, good understanding, and high esteem in the sight [or judgment] of God and man.
⁵ Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.
⁶ In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.
⁷ Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn [entirely] away from evil.
⁸ It shall be health to your nerves and sinews, and marrow and moistening to your bones.
⁹ Honor the Lord with your capital and sufficiency [from righteous labors] and with the firstfruits of all your income;
¹⁰ So shall your storage places be filled with plenty, and your vats shall be overflowing with new wine.
¹¹ My son, do not despise or shrink from the chastening of the Lord [His correction by punishment or by subjection to suffering or trial]; neither be weary of or impatient about or loathe or abhor His reproof,
¹² For whom the Lord loves He corrects, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.
¹³ Happy (blessed, fortunate, enviable) is the man who finds skillful and godly Wisdom, and the man who gets understanding [drawing it forth from God’s Word and life’s experiences],
¹⁴ For the gaining of it is better than the gaining of silver, and the profit of it better than fine gold.

 

Hebrews 12:5-14 Amplified Bible (AMP)

⁵ And have you [completely] forgotten the divine word of appeal and encouragement in which you are reasoned with and addressed as sons? My son, do not think lightly or scorn to submit to the correction and discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage and give up and faint when you are reproved or corrected by Him;
⁶ For the Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes.
⁷ You must submit to and endure [correction] for discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father does not [thus] train and correct and discipline?
⁸ Now if you are exempt from correction and left without discipline in which all [of God’s children] share, then you are illegitimate offspring and not true sons [at all].
⁹ Moreover, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we yielded [to them] and respected [them for training us]. Shall we not much more cheerfully submit to the Father of spirits and so [truly] live?
¹⁰ For [our earthly fathers] disciplined us for only a short period of time and chastised us as seemed proper and good to them; but He disciplines us for our certain good, that we may become sharers in His own holiness.
¹¹ For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it [a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness—in conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God].
¹² So then, brace up and reinvigorate and set right your slackened and weakened and drooping hands and strengthen your feeble and palsied and tottering knees,
¹³ And cut through and make firm and plain and smooth, straight paths for your feet [yes, make them safe and upright and happy paths that go in the right direction], so that the lame and halting [limbs] may not be put out of joint, but rather may be cured.
¹⁴ Strive to live in peace with everybody and pursue that consecration and holiness without which no one will [ever] see the Lord.

As Proverbs is a book of instruction, my plan, with God’s help, is to begin again reading a chapter of Proverbs every day.

Proverbs 1:1-7 Amplified Bible (AMP)

¹ The proverbs (truths obscurely expressed, maxims, and parables) of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
 
² That people may know skillful and godly Wisdom and instruction, discern and comprehend the words of understanding and insight,
 
³ Receive instruction in wise dealing and the discipline of wise thoughtfulness, righteousness, justice, and integrity,
 
⁴ That prudence may be given to the simple, and knowledge, discretion, and discernment to the youth—
 
⁵ The wise also will hear and increase in learning, and the person of understanding will acquire skill and attain to sound counsel [so that he may be able to steer his course rightly]—
 
⁶ That people may understand a proverb and a figure of speech or an enigma with its interpretation, and the words of the wise and their dark sayings or riddles.
 
⁷ The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning and the principal and choice part of knowledge [its starting point and its essence]; but fools despise skillful and godly Wisdom, instruction, and discipline.

… and my journey with Him continues …

Write!

Habakkuk 2:2-3 (AMP)

² And the Lord answered me and said, Write the vision and engrave it so plainly upon tablets that everyone who passes may [be able to] read [it easily and quickly] as he hastens by.

³ For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end [fulfillment]; it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait [earnestly] for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day.

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It’s still January and I am already behind.  In checking the God at Eventide devotional (www.twolisteners.org), my spirit is stirred when I see that the January 1^st entry begins with what feels like a command personally directed at me:

“Write for all things are now ready.”

I asked what I was supposed to write.  Getting no answer, I went back to my first blog entry where I asked the same thing.  Since I’ve not gotten different instructions in this regard, I am trusting that the answer I got then is the answer for now:

What you have experienced with and of Me.

So … now the question is which thing I am to write.

John 21:25

And there are also many other things which Jesus did. If they should be all recorded one by one [in detail], I suppose that even the world itself could not contain (have room for) the books that would be written.

Something that has come up a couple of times today is the question of whether something is just good, or is it (from / of) God – how it aligns with God’s plans and purposes for me.  Increasingly, I find myself in need of God’s wisdom, guidance and discernment in this area.  I am grateful for this truth from Hebrews 4:14-16 (AMP):

¹⁴ Inasmuch then as we have a great High Priest Who has [already] ascended and passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith in Him].

¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning.

¹⁶ Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].

… and my journey with Him continues …