Psalms 19:1-4

The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
² Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
³ There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
⁴ Their line^[a] has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.

In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun,
⁵ Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
⁶ Its rising is from one end of heaven,
And its circuit to the other end;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

⁷ The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
⁸ The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
⁹ The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
¹¹ Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.

¹² Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
¹³ Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.

the dynamics of the current church

We went to a neighbor’s birthday party yesterday. It was very interesting as I reflected on the dynamics of how a church ought to operate. I would say 95% of the people that attended were from the same church. Our family made up the 1% that were not church goers–the other 4% were those that did not possess any sort of faith.

Besides chasing my son around, I had plenty of time to watch the interesting dynamics of this entire group.

Not one person from this so called “church” came over to chat with us or even just say “hi”. They were clustered in their own specific groups. The people that ended up hanging out with us were the very people that were uncomfortable too–the other 4% who had no faith.

We left the party and the only word I could think of to sum up the gathering was the word “cult” which is a pretty intense word to use to describe the dynamics of a simple birthday party.

But it caused me to reflect on how a true church should operate. Are we that “clickish” to the world? So much so that the world can’t stand us?

i refuse

hope to those in need during these uncertain times…

–author unknown
i refuse to be discouraged, to be sad, or to cry;
i refuse to be downhearted, and here’s the reason why:
i have a God who’s mighty, who’s sovereign and supreme;
i have a God who loves me, and I am on his team.
He is all-wise and powerful. Jesus is His name;
Though everything is changeable, My God remains the same.
my God knows all that’s happening; Beginning to the end;
His presence is my comfort; He is my dearest Friend.
when sickness comes to weaken me, To bring my head down low,
i call upon my mighty God; into his arms I go.
when circumstances threaten to rob me of my peace;
He draws me close unto his breast, where all my strivings cease.
when my heart melts within me, annd weakness takes control;
He gathers me into his arms, He soothes my heart and soul.

the great “I AM” is with me. My life is in his hand.
the “Son of the Lord” is my hope. It’s in his strength I stand.

i refuse to be defeated. My eyes are on my God;
He has promised to be with me, as through this life I trod.

i’m looking past all my circumstances,
to Heaven’s throne above, My prayers have reached the heart of God;
i’m resting in His love.
i give God thanks in everything. My eyes are on His face;
the battles his, the victory mine; He’ll help me win the race.
i can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

howdy

So it has been like over a year since I have blogged– here’s an update… isn’t he a cutey?

hello world...!

God’s design

The design of God is unfathomable and yet we as humans seek to contain something that is infinite and beyond our finiteness. And yet He has made us in His image. What a wonderment it is to know that His love is so large and without condition that He could love such a small being who constantly fails at even the simple task of serving such a perfect Master. But that is us—and yet He says, “My grace is sufficient—My strength is made perfect in your weakness.”

I am truly amazed at the design of God. My husband and I recently found out that we are having a baby—we are in awe and our hearts are thankful. As I was looking at photos of a baby in the womb—i noticed something remarkable. A baby being formed is very still—very quiet (at least in the beginning)—and it’s head is bowed as it’s Creator shapes and forms this wonderment. The child is in complete surrender as he/she relies on the Most High God to shape it’s innermost and outermost being—carefully, beautifully and lovingly.

So it’s amazing as we continue in life and grow and are no longer in the womb—that we begin to do just the opposite. Our head is no longer bowed but full of pride. We are no longer still—but cannot sit still long enough to hear the Lord whisper our name. And we certainly are not quiet—but loud and obnoxious and even at times demanding the Lord to work on our behalf. Why is that?

There’s a sweet hymn that says…
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace. 

Truly, are our eyes turned upon Jesus in this generation? Or as Matthew 15 speaks, do we honor the Lord with just our lips, but our hearts are ultimately far from Him?