Hurting people

I see heartache everywhere I go.

Hurting people.

Broken hearts.

Hidden pain.

I see their heartache.

I hear their inner cries for help.

I feel their pain.

I want to help.

I want them to see my Jesus.

I want them to experience healing.

I want them to be everything they have been created to be.

I want them to know what it means to truly live; to live abundantly.

So many dull lives.

So many people surviving from day to day with no meaning.

So much loneliness.

They are lost.

They are hopeless.

I pray that one day their eyes are opened.

Their ears are opened.

Their hearts are opened.

To see the glory of God.

To see themselves in their true light.

To receive forgiveness and healing through the stripes of Christ.

I want their eyes to see the magnificence of God.

The radiance of His goodness.

The beauty of His creation; notice the flowers, rainbows and the stars of the night.

And experience God’s love.

We are fleeting.

We are on this earth for such a short time.

This time must count for eternity.

Only two things from this earth lasts forever; the word of God and souls of men.

Nothing is of greater importance.

I want my life to count.

I want every breath to count.

May every word of my mouth be loving and truthful.

May every thought be God-honouring.

May every heartbeat beat in tune with His.

I know how greatly I fall so desperately short, but I will keep striving toward the goal.

More than I deserve

A prayer I read in my devotional by Bo Giertz this morning...

"Lord God, if You kept a record of sins, who could stand?

I know that is true. If You examined my heart and 

tested me to see if I really loved of if my intentions

were really pure and unselfish or if I really hadn't

only thought of myself, I would not pass Your test.

Yet you still love me.  You still let me work in Your

vineyard. I am still allowed to be Your servant and

 Your friend. Help me to remember how good You 

are to me so I am never jealous of You goodness 

to others. Even if I am last in Your kingdom, it is

much more than I deserve. In Jesus' name."

Even if I am last in Your kingdom, it is still much more than I deserve... MUCH more than I deserve... I will be eternally grateful.

If...

'If I belittle those whom I am called to serve,

talk of their weak points

in contrast perhaps with what I 

think of as my strong points;

if I adopt a superior attitude,

forgetting "who made thee to

differ? and what hast thou that 

thou hast not received?"

then I know nothing of Calvary love.'

Amy Carmichael challenges me so much once again....

Lord, protect our children

"Father, hear us, we are praying,
Hear the words our hearts are saying,
We are praying for our children.

Keep them from the powers of evil,
From the secret, hidden peril,
Father, hear us for our children.

From the whirlwind that would suck them,
From the treacherous quicksand, pluck them,
Father, hear us for our children.

From the worldling's hollow gladness,
From the sting of faithless sadness,
Father, Father, keep our children.

Through life's troubled waters steer them,
Through life bitter battle cheer them,
Father, Father, be Thou near them.

Read the language of our longing,
Read the wordless pleading thronging,
Holy Father, for our children.

And wherever they may bide,
Lead them Home at eventide."

Amy Carmichael - The Gold Cord

I often wonder how to effectively pray for my boys... this sums it up beautifully. I look at my boys, so young, so innocent and I am aware that they will one day be exposed to this wicked world and most importantly the fallen wickedness inside themselves. I pray that God would always have them in his care and he would lead them home one day.

Times and Seasons

"He changes times and seasons" Daniel 2:21

I believe my life is moving into a new season and while a part of me wants to cling to the previous season this verse brought me much relief to think that actually this is God's will... He changes times and seasons. He is in control. There is always an element of grief with the ending of one season and moving into a new one. I feel somewhat torn... one side of me wants to cling to the last season in fear of what the future holds and another part of looks with hope to the future and what goodness there is to come.

I know a new season is beginning in my heart as I try to rid myself of the deep selfishness that so often has control within me and to allow God to have his way once again.

Amy Carmichael's wisdom was once again entirely relevant this morning...
"It is not a little matter to leave all- all of self, its desires, pride and ways. But if we do we shall find all that our Lord has to give us. Do we want to live this life? Are we earnest about it? Or do we still want to hold on to the wretched rags of self and self-pleasing? God can deliver us from these, and strengthen us in very truth to leave all, that we may find all."

It seems so foolish to think this world has something worthwhile to offer. Oh to find my identity completely in the One who created me and knows me deeper than anyone can ever know me. He knows the good and bad yet loves me unconditionally despite it all! That truth brings comfort and peace. Thank you Jesus!

Psalm 1

Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

Back on track...

After getting out of my bible reading routine (and consequently becoming distanced from Him) I opened the Word of God today with a receptive heart and he has spoken so clearly through Jeremiah 17...

"Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land." vs 5-6

This pretty much explains the place I have been in for many months now... looking to people for help, love and acceptance. Of course these are things that can only be perfectly done by God alone. No one else can fill my deepest desires or answer my prayers.

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat come,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit." vs 7-8

This is the place I long to be in! A tree nourished by living waters that remains unharmed no matter what the weather conditions throw at it. Roots that go so deep that nothing can move it ever.

"The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
I the Lord search the heart
and test the mind,
to every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds." vs 9-10

I cannot trust myself and the ever fleeting emotions that come and go. My heart is "desperately sick" and the only cure is my Lord Jesus coming in and taking His rightful place in my heart. Ah the beauty of having a heart beating in tune with His own... May this always be my aim, each and every day. Now that my bible is open once again I hope it never closes and I long to drink in the delights and chastisement needed to refine and purify my wicked being to be perfected in Him.

"A glorious throne set on high from the beginning
is the place of our sanctuary...
Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
save me, and I shall be saved,
for you are my praise." vs 12, 14

"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:12-14