He wants it all...

What is man, that thou at mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? ~Psalm 8:4

I am still amazed by the love of God. Everyday, He continues to reveal His love to me. My heart simply melts before His Presence as I experienced His incredible love and forgiveness.  I find myself desperately desiring more and more of Him.  

The enemy of our souls (satan) has lied and seduced God's people into side issues that hinder them from embracing God's truth about who He is and the love He has for His people. He earnestly wants all of us, even our broken parts.

This song spoke to my heart yesterday at church. The lyrics are simple, but reflect the heart of God. He wants all of us.

Please take a few minutes and prayerfully read the lyrics to this powerful song. Don't dismiss this, simply because they are lyrics. Jesus used many visual images and props to convey the  message and the principles of the Kingdom of God. If you would like to listen to the song, there is a link available. 

My prayer is that God will speak to your heart as you listen to this song and your heart will respond in total surrender.  We can then say together with the Apostle Paul: 

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ~ Philippians 1:21

Click to watch the video He wants it all

Music & Lyrics By Forever Jones  (A Christian Family Band)

There's a voice that cries out in the silence, 

searching for heart that will love Him, 

longing for child that will give Him their all, 

give it all, He wants it all 

There's a God that walks over the earth, 

He's searching for heart that is desperate, 

longing for child that will give Him their all, 

give it all, He wants it all 

and He says, love Me, love Me with your whole heart 

He wants it all today 

serve Me, serve Me with you life now 

He wants it all today 

bow down, let go of your idols 

He wants it all today (x4) 

There's a God that walks over the earth, 

He searching for heart that is desperate, 

longing for child that will give Him their all, 

give it all, he wants it all 

and He says, love me, love me with your whole heart 

He wants it all today 

serve Me, serve Me with you life now 

He wants it all today 

bow down, let go of your idols 

He wants it all today (x4) 

Oh oh oh, all of you, more of you 

wants it all today (whole thing x3) 

He wants it all today, He wants is all today 

so give it all 

There's a voice that cries out in the silence, 

searching for a heart that will love Him, 

longing for child that will give Him their all, 

give it all, He wants it all

A Personal Note: Holiday Posts

Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. ~Proverbs 16:3

These are the words the Lord whispered to me during my personal devotion time today. I love the way it reads in  the Amplified version:

Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and thrust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, ans] so shall your plans be established and succeed.

One of the "works" I've been praying about is the time commitment for the blog.  I love writing, sharing the heart of God and my journey. I spend time praying about each post and especially for each one of you. My prayer is that you will be drawn closer to the Father and seek Him in a deeper way. He is indescribably rich: full of love, mercy, compassion, wisdom, and strength. Oh! I could go on and on...

As I discover more and more about Him, I've come to understand why it will take eternity for us to get to know Him. He is so worthy of all the glory, honor and praise! One stanza in Amazing Grace bears my thoughts:

When we've been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we first begun!

As I prayed the Lord impressed upon my mind to write two to three times per week during the holiday season. If you have signed up to be a follower or on the email list, the posts should come directly to your email. If you haven't signed up, perhaps now is the time to consider that option.  If you have been encouraged and ministered to, please share the blog with your friends.

May our prayers, worship and adoration to Him continue to be a sweet smelling sacrifice.

Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. ~Isaiah 55:6

Distractions! Distractions! Distractions!

I enjoy watching the changing canvas of the seasons. The autumn palette will soon conform to the silvery whites of winter's icy brush. In the days ahead, the routine and rhythm of life will be challenged by the demands of the "holiday season". As I was praying the other day, the Holy Spirit reminded me to beware of "time snatchers". The scripture from Leviticus 6:13 popped into my heart:

The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.

This scripture is a powerful visual picture of God's heart. This commandment of the Lord was God's specific directive to those whom He had called to serve Him.  Matthew Henry says it best:

By this law we are taught to keep up in our minds a constant disposition to all acts of piety and devotion, an habitual affection to divine things, so as to be always ready to every good word and work. We must not only not quench the Spirit, but we must stir up the gift that is in us. Though we be not always sacrificing, yet we must keep the fire of holy love always burning; and thus we must pray always.

During this sacred and festive time of year, my spiritual antenna is keenly aware of the potential of my fire going out.  Please note, that this is personal and not corporate. It's easy to "feel" as if we are keeping the Lord the focal point when we include Him in corporate worship, family devotions and group activities. He is glorified when we gather to honor Him corporately, but He's always looking for our personal intimate worship and devotion.

So I prepare, plan and have checkpoints to make sure I keep the "fire of holy love" burning to my King. First, I assess my heart, life and daily routine to see if I have over committed to projects or allowed any bad patterns of behavior or attitudes to creep in that would pull me away from my personal ministry to the Lord.

It can be something as simple as staying up too late, causing me not to be able to get up on time for my own devotions, which then causes me to feel rushed. Once I identify the "time snatchers", I pray and ask for forgiveness. Then, immediately I turn my attention to focus on the primary spiritual culprit. In this case, going to bed at a decent hour so I can get up. This requires discipline and diligence, but Jesus Christ, the King of Kings deserves it!

I'm far from perfect, but my heart's desire is to please Him. My heart beats with Matthew Henry:

"we must keep the fire of holy love always burning; and thus we must pray always."

My Secret Weapon

The Old Testament is one of my favorite books to read. There's lots of drama, incredible miracles, suspense and history displayed right before one's eyes!  As you read, one can't help but notice the cycle of God's chosen people, Israel. Jehovah God watches as His beloved Israel goes from believing and trusting Him, to falling into idolatry. Repentance takes place, the people serve the Lord for a couple of generations and then they fall into idolatry again.

The commandments and directives of the Lord were loud and clear.

Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, [or] the likeness of any [thing], which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee.~Deut.4:23

 
One of the life lessons I've gleaned from the Israelites is the invaluable art of remembrance. It's one of the most basic, foundational, spiritual disciplines that we should employ in our spiritual lives, yet it is often neglected. The Israelites failed to remember the LORD and His commands. They became unthankful, discontent and fell into unbelief and disobedience. My choice of weaponry against the Enemy of Forgetfulness is my journal and pen.

In my spiritual journal, I document the lessons the Lord is teaching me. Flipping through the pages of my journal one may find: prayers of repentance, scriptures I'm studying to replace carnal thoughts and bad habits, lyrics to songs I sing to the Lord, prayer requests, topical studies, book studies, directives the Good Shepherd has given, dreams He's placed in my heart and prophecies. By documenting God's   instructions and answers to my prayers, I am able to remember God's faithfulness, His correction, love and record my own spiritual growth.

As I return to the worn pages of my old journals, I cry as my eyes scan the counsel of God. God really LOVES me. I'm so grateful I took the time to capture the treasure of His heart! Armed with pen and journal, a thankful and believing heart, I now stand poised to trample the Enemy of Forgetfulness!

The law of Thy mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. Psalm 119:72 NAS


 

God's Gentle Reminder

This morning has been a spiritual struggle for me. The Lord has called me to the night watches again, which simply means I get up around 4am to worship, pray and listen to the heart of my Father. The time spent with Him has been so rich that its difficult to pull myself away at times.

I usually write these posts after I have spent time with Him. They are just a natural outpouring of His heart as it relates to the lessons He has taught or is presently teaching me. Since I never intended to write posts daily (it just kind of happened) I thought I would discipline myself and write them in the evenings before I went to bed. Usually the Lord would impress upon my heart a truth to share, so its been easy.

This morning was different. I went to church last night with a friend and got home late. I could barely keep my eyes open and decided to wait until the morning to write a post. Putting pen to paper or in  this case fingers to keyboard wasn't easy. The smooth rhythmic flow of my fingers tapping the keys escaped me. I closed the keyboard and spent time with the Father.

His simple message to me was this. What I experienced this morning is what a lot of believers experience. Doing good or even noble things without spending enough time with the Father makes life's work hard and does not yield the fruit He desires.

In varying seasons of life, each one of us, with different life demands must continue to seek Him.  He wants to write our script for the day, the months ahead, and in fact, our lives. Thankfully, He also is a Redeemer of lost time, dreams and destiny.

He's still calling for His Beloved. That's you and me: The church of Jesus Christ!

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. ~Hebrews 12:2

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. ~Matthew 6:33