Jesus draw me ever nearer
As I labour through the storm.
You have called me to this passage,
and I'll follow, though I'm worn.
May this journey bring a blessing,
May I rise on wings of faith;
And at the end of my heart's testing,
With Your likeness let me wake.
Jesus guide me through the tempest;
Keep my spirit staid and sure.
When the midnight meets the morning,
Let me love You even more.
Let the treasures of the trial
Form within me as I go -
And at the end of this long passage,
Let me leave them at Your throne.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgpKYWENgNQ&feature=related
Friday, March 18, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
If you want me to.....
The pathway is broken
And The signs are unclear
And I don't know the reason why You brought me here
But just because You love me the way that You do
I'm gonna walk through the valley
If You want me to
Chorus:
Cause I'm not who I was
When I took my first step
And I'm clinging to the promise You're not through with me yet
so if all of these trials bring me closer to you
Then I will walk through the fire
If You want me to
It may not be the way I would have chosen
When you lead me through a world that's not my home
But You never said it would be easy
You only said I'd never go alone
So When the whole world turns against me
And I'm all by myself
And I can't hear You answer my cries for help
I'll remember the suffering Your love put You through
And I will go through the valley If You want me to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtNzOpKvPfw&feature=related
And The signs are unclear
And I don't know the reason why You brought me here
But just because You love me the way that You do
I'm gonna walk through the valley
If You want me to
Chorus:
Cause I'm not who I was
When I took my first step
And I'm clinging to the promise You're not through with me yet
so if all of these trials bring me closer to you
Then I will walk through the fire
If You want me to
It may not be the way I would have chosen
When you lead me through a world that's not my home
But You never said it would be easy
You only said I'd never go alone
So When the whole world turns against me
And I'm all by myself
And I can't hear You answer my cries for help
I'll remember the suffering Your love put You through
And I will go through the valley If You want me to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtNzOpKvPfw&feature=related
Sunday, March 13, 2011
I Will Listen
Hard as it seems
Standing in dreams
Where is the dreamer now
Wonder if I
Wanted to try
Would I remember how
I don't know the way to go from here
But I know I have made my choice
And this is where I stand
Until He moves me on
And I will listen to His voice
This is the faith
Patience to wait
When there is nothing clear
Nothing to see
Still we believe
Jesus is very near
I can not imagine what will come
But I've already made my choice
And this is where I stand
Until He moves me on
And I will listen to His voice
Could it be that He is only waiting there to see
If I will learn to love the dreams
that He has dreamed for me
Can't imagine what the future holds
But I've already made my choice
And this is where I stand
Until He moves me on
And I will listen to His voice
Lyrics by Twila Paris heart cry by me :)
Standing in dreams
Where is the dreamer now
Wonder if I
Wanted to try
Would I remember how
I don't know the way to go from here
But I know I have made my choice
And this is where I stand
Until He moves me on
And I will listen to His voice
This is the faith
Patience to wait
When there is nothing clear
Nothing to see
Still we believe
Jesus is very near
I can not imagine what will come
But I've already made my choice
And this is where I stand
Until He moves me on
And I will listen to His voice
Could it be that He is only waiting there to see
If I will learn to love the dreams
that He has dreamed for me
Can't imagine what the future holds
But I've already made my choice
And this is where I stand
Until He moves me on
And I will listen to His voice
Lyrics by Twila Paris heart cry by me :)
Thursday, March 10, 2011
From the Book, A Hunger For God by John Piper
Why I Wrote This Book
My aim and my prayer in writing this book is that it might awaken
a hunger for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all
peoples. Fasting proves the presence, and fans the flame, of that
hunger. It is an intensifier of spiritual desire. It is a faithful enemy
of fatal bondage to innocent things. It is the physical exclamation
point at the end of the sentence: “This much, O God, I long for
you and for the manifestation of your glory in the world!”
One might think that those who feast most often on communion
with God are least hungry. They turn often from the
innocent pleasures of the world to linger more directly in the presence
of God through the revelation of his Word. And there they
eat the Bread of Heaven and drink the Living Water by meditation
and faith. But, paradoxically, it is not so that they are the
least hungry saints. The opposite is the case. The strongest, most
mature Christians I have ever met are the hungriest for God. It
might seem that those who eat most would be least hungry. But
that’s not the way it works with an inexhaustible fountain, and
an infinite feast, and a glorious Lord.
When you take your stand on the finished work of God in
Christ, and begin to drink at the River of Life and eat the Bread
of Heaven, and know that you have found the end of all your
longings, you only get hungrier for God. The more satisfaction
you experience from God, while still in this world, the greater
your desire for the next. For, as C. S. Lewis said, “Our best havings
are wantings.”
The more deeply you walk with Christ, the hungrier you get
for Christ . . . the more homesick you get for heaven . . . the more
you want “all the fullness of God” . . . the more you want to be
done with sin . . . the more you want the Bridegroom to come
again . . . the more you want the Church revived and purified
with the beauty of Jesus . . . the more you want a great awakening
to God’s reality in the cities . . . the more you want to see the
light of the gospel of the glory of Christ penetrate the darkness
of all the unreached peoples of the world . . . the more you want
to see false worldviews yield to the force of Truth . . . the more
you want to see pain relieved and tears wiped away and death
destroyed . . . the more you long for every wrong to be made right
and the justice and grace of God to fill the earth like the waters
cover the sea.
If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the
glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are
satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of
the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is
no room for the great. God did not create you for this. There
is an appetite for God. And it can be awakened. I invite you to
turn from the dulling effects of food and the dangers of idolatry,
and to say with some simple fast: “This much, O God, I
want you.”
http://cdn.desiringgod.org/pdf/books_hfg/hfg_all.pdf
My aim and my prayer in writing this book is that it might awaken
a hunger for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all
peoples. Fasting proves the presence, and fans the flame, of that
hunger. It is an intensifier of spiritual desire. It is a faithful enemy
of fatal bondage to innocent things. It is the physical exclamation
point at the end of the sentence: “This much, O God, I long for
you and for the manifestation of your glory in the world!”
One might think that those who feast most often on communion
with God are least hungry. They turn often from the
innocent pleasures of the world to linger more directly in the presence
of God through the revelation of his Word. And there they
eat the Bread of Heaven and drink the Living Water by meditation
and faith. But, paradoxically, it is not so that they are the
least hungry saints. The opposite is the case. The strongest, most
mature Christians I have ever met are the hungriest for God. It
might seem that those who eat most would be least hungry. But
that’s not the way it works with an inexhaustible fountain, and
an infinite feast, and a glorious Lord.
When you take your stand on the finished work of God in
Christ, and begin to drink at the River of Life and eat the Bread
of Heaven, and know that you have found the end of all your
longings, you only get hungrier for God. The more satisfaction
you experience from God, while still in this world, the greater
your desire for the next. For, as C. S. Lewis said, “Our best havings
are wantings.”
The more deeply you walk with Christ, the hungrier you get
for Christ . . . the more homesick you get for heaven . . . the more
you want “all the fullness of God” . . . the more you want to be
done with sin . . . the more you want the Bridegroom to come
again . . . the more you want the Church revived and purified
with the beauty of Jesus . . . the more you want a great awakening
to God’s reality in the cities . . . the more you want to see the
light of the gospel of the glory of Christ penetrate the darkness
of all the unreached peoples of the world . . . the more you want
to see false worldviews yield to the force of Truth . . . the more
you want to see pain relieved and tears wiped away and death
destroyed . . . the more you long for every wrong to be made right
and the justice and grace of God to fill the earth like the waters
cover the sea.
If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the
glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are
satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of
the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is
no room for the great. God did not create you for this. There
is an appetite for God. And it can be awakened. I invite you to
turn from the dulling effects of food and the dangers of idolatry,
and to say with some simple fast: “This much, O God, I
want you.”
http://cdn.desiringgod.org/pdf/books_hfg/hfg_all.pdf
Praise
You lead us through the fire, through the drought of the desert, but O how glad You make us, when you provide a stream! Your Presence revives us, enables us to press on, because You are with us, You walk with us. And how surprised we are to find our cup overflowing, even in this waste place. We praise Your Name, Abba, we praise Your Name, Messiah Jesus. May Your glory, and the fame of Your Name be displayed, Everlasting, Your light WILL shine when all else fades, hallelujah <3
The Valley of Vision
Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory. Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision. Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine; let me find Thy light in my darkness, Thy life in my death, Thy joy in my sorrow, Thy grace in my sin, Thy riches in my poverty, Thy glory in my valley.
To My Sisters, Who Wrestle Every Morning To Get Their Kids To School On Time
And to you moms who labor to get your little ones out of bed, wrestle with them to dress, plead with them to them eat breakfast, rush to gather their things, not forgetting the projects due, who urge them out the door to get them somehow to school before the bell rings and the doors close and you would have to walk in the front door to sign your kids in, in your jammies because you have spent the past hour getting them ready, running back to the house because they forgot their winter things and you cannot stand the thought of them outside without gloves.....you moms, take courage.
There are moms who would long not to hear the sighing, the anxieties, the urging, the exasperating "We're going to be late!" pleading from their children who want to be there EXACTLY when the doors open to allow students in, goodness helping them if they do not complete the morning work that is not graded and is not penalized if not completed...and the moms knowing all the while, there is a 15 minute grace buffer....<3
I know, it is not either/ or, but and/ both.... I get that. A middle ground would be wonderful.... <3
There are moms who would long not to hear the sighing, the anxieties, the urging, the exasperating "We're going to be late!" pleading from their children who want to be there EXACTLY when the doors open to allow students in, goodness helping them if they do not complete the morning work that is not graded and is not penalized if not completed...and the moms knowing all the while, there is a 15 minute grace buffer....<3
I know, it is not either/ or, but and/ both.... I get that. A middle ground would be wonderful.... <3
On Failure, from the chapter Purpose, in The Green Letters by Miles Stanford
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" 2 Cor 3:18. It is one thing to know what God's purpose is for our lives, and it is another to know something of the "how" as to enter into it all right here and now. One of God's most effective means in the process is failure. (Nicole adds Psalm 37:23-24 http://tinyurl.com/4hcemzl ) So many believers are simply frantic over the fact of failure in their lives, and they will go to all lengths in trying to hide it, ignore it, or rationalize about it. And all the time they are resisting the main instrument in the Father's hand for conforming us to the likeness of His Son!
Failure where self is concerned in our Christian life and service, is allowed and often engineered by God in order to turn us completely from ourselves unto His Source for our life - Christ Jesus, who never fails. Rejoice, dear friend, in your need and hunger of heart, for God says, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled " Matt 5:6. As we, in our abject need, consistently and lovingly look upon our Lord Jesus revealed to us in the Word, the Holy Spirit will quietly and effortlessly change the center and source of our lives from self to Christ - hence for each of us it will be, "Not I, but Christ. "
So I stumble forward, but it is forward, praise God...thank You for failure that shows me my need, that continually brings me back to my utter inability to conform myself into Your image. How arrogant to think I can, by some external or even internal desire, conform myself! If that were true, I have no need of You. I cannot do it, I cannot. So here I rest, again, asking You to do in me what I again find I cannot. Let my heart rest, let it be changed by You.
Failure where self is concerned in our Christian life and service, is allowed and often engineered by God in order to turn us completely from ourselves unto His Source for our life - Christ Jesus, who never fails. Rejoice, dear friend, in your need and hunger of heart, for God says, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled " Matt 5:6. As we, in our abject need, consistently and lovingly look upon our Lord Jesus revealed to us in the Word, the Holy Spirit will quietly and effortlessly change the center and source of our lives from self to Christ - hence for each of us it will be, "Not I, but Christ. "
So I stumble forward, but it is forward, praise God...thank You for failure that shows me my need, that continually brings me back to my utter inability to conform myself into Your image. How arrogant to think I can, by some external or even internal desire, conform myself! If that were true, I have no need of You. I cannot do it, I cannot. So here I rest, again, asking You to do in me what I again find I cannot. Let my heart rest, let it be changed by You.
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