ever faithful, ever true. love that satisfies

Jesus you endured my pain
Savior you bore all my shame
All because of your love
All because of your love

Maker of the universe
Broken for the sins of the earth
All because of your love
All because of your love

Because of your cross my debt is paid
Because of you blood my sins are washed away
Now all of my life, I freely give
Because of your love, Because of your love I live

Innocent and Holy king
You died to set the captive free
All because of your love
Lord you gave your life for me
So I will give my life for you
All because of your love
All because of your love

Because of your cross my debt is paid
Because of your blood my sins are washed away
Now all of my life I freely give
Because of your love, because your love I live

You did it for me, you did it for love
I'ts your victory, Jesus you are enough

phil wickham. Because of Your Love

God is God and i am man

"I alone am God, the first and the Last. It was my hand that laid the foundations of the earth, my right hand that spread out the heavens above. When I call out the stars, they all appear in order."
isaiah 48.12-13

"for I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea, causing its waves to roar. My name is the Lord of Heaven's Armies. And I have put my words in your mouth and hidden you safely in my hand. I stretched out the sky like a canopy and laid the foundations of the earth. I am the one who says to Israel, 'you are my people.'"
isaiah 51.15-16

"have you explored the springs from which the seas come? have you explored their depths? do you know where the gates of death are located? have you seen the gates of utter gloom? do you realize the extent of the earth? tell me about it if you know!"
job 38.16-18

"can you shout to the clouds and make it rain?can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct? who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind? who is wise enough to count all the clouds? who can tilt the water jars of heaven when the parched ground is dry..."
job 38.34-38

it baffles me when i try to think of all this, keeping in mind that the God described here came as a man and lived with human limitations for thirty years. fully God and fully man, but he did not act out of his divinity (phil. 2.5-11). all because of love for a people who would be so stubborn in accepting him.

amazing love, how can it be. that you (YAHWEH) would die for me?
maker of the universe, died for the sins of the earth.
love came down and rescued me, love came down and set me FREE.

quoted

The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them."

-thomas merton

truth

“Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living

Romans 6:12-18

silent voices

"The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world." Ps. 19.1-4


we need each other

why is it so easy to live close to others yet not know them? why can we live and laugh together and yet not feel close to them? why is it that we can spend so much time around others and yet not have a strong relationship with them?

i feel for him. i felt the emptiness there and the love that needs to be poured into his life. Father, if you are calling me, call me again. use me.
wrap him in your loving arms and surround him with friends who can uplift him. you've designed us for relationships with others and we so easily neglect that.

quoted

"Is He safe? No, but He is good."

This has taken on new meaning recently. And it's stirring something in me.

we are at war

there is a war going on today that we are all caught up in but hardly ever realize it. at least i don't anyway.
this war is against our souls and the image that God has placed in each of our hearts. it's a war that seeks to maim our relationship with God and keep us ineffective unaware of the deterioration of our lives. it's something that i've just recently begun to see, but it's overwhelming how far the reaches of our Enemy have stretched.

masculinity is under attack. men today are going through so many different things and have become twisted in how they live. there are few men who really understand wisdom, love, justice and most of all truth.

families are under attack. the relationship between men and women that provides structure to our society and is a mirror of Christ and his church has splintered. according to our world, there is no standard for what a family is supposed to look like: one parent or two, hetero or homo, grandparents or aunt/uncle parents; most families aren't loving or guiding anymore.

our country is under attack. there is so much corruption in the legal system, in our state capitals and in the nation's capital. politics has worked so hard to provide equality for all that Christianity has become unofficially discriminated against. our leaders have so many things that motivate their decisions, but hardly ever is it motivated by their Maker.

education is under attack. Christianity has been beaten back in different avenues of learning, written off as a fool's way of thinking. according to our world, Christianity has nothing to offer us; we are an enlightened people and can determine our own meaning in this world. our education should be focused on what science tells us and that is all.

and my soul is under attack. i think that this is the largest and most foundational front to this war. Satan, disguised as an angel of light, or better yet, seeming invisible and nonexistent, prods us subtly off the path of life. our souls have a rival and we often don't acknowledge it. he hates the fact that we exist and even more, hates that we are given grace for sin. he will do what it takes to keep us from the transforming love of Christ.

but there IS hope. we have been made by God himself; the one who forged our souls and breathed life into our bodies controls the world. He has defeated death and beaten Satan into submission. because we have been chosen and redeemed by Christ's blood, we have freedom to obey Him and not the depraved nature that lives within us. we can fight back.

"Stay Alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a raoring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him and be strong in your faith." 1 Peter 5.8-9

"Dear friends, I warn you as temporary residents and foreigners to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls." 1 Peter 2.11

"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." 1 John 4.4

reblog(ging)

Rob Lind
Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.
1 Samuel 16.7

You have heard it said that “image is everything”. I guess this has importance to you if your perspective is governed by this principle (how man perceives things). This text tells us that man and God have a clearly opposite way of viewing things and “sizing up” a person.

Is this text saying that we don’t have the ability to perceive a little deeper into a person’s heart (his inner being if you will)? I believe the passage is saying that this is how we look at life, people, etc. We’re struck by first appearances, by the external. This context reminds me of a statement I have heard, “It is what it is.” First impressions, externals, etc. are what we gravitate to in our minds, what we focus our observations on, and what control our conclusions. If we choose to live in this way, then not only is our perception of life governed by externals, how we present ourselves to the world is also governed by externals. Issues of the heart in reality become non-issues. The sad reality of living this way is ultimately that we are left empty, confused and deceived.

Does a person’s inner man, his heart matter? The obvious conclusion is of course it does, but the real challenge is,
does it matter enough to me for me to change how I see others and myself? Am I willing to allow God to “search my heart”, and am I willing to see people beyond what I externally see in front of me? This choice of seeing life how God sees it or how man sees it will inevitably permeate your whole person and life. Maybe, just maybe you could say, “The value of a person’s soul (and mine for that matter) is far more valuable to me then the value of the clothes he has on his back.”