Psalm 61:1-8

After an emotioally draining weekend, a sweet sister sent me this, this very monday morning: I love it. The first 2 verses powerfully spoke to me.

Psalm 61

To the Chief Musician. On a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David.

1 Hear my cry, O God;

Attend to my prayer.

2 From the end of the earth I will cry to You,

When my heart is overwhelmed;

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

3 For You have been a shelter for me,

A strong tower from the enemy.

4 I will abide in Your tabernacle forever;

I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah

5 For You, O God, have heard my vows;

You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.

6 You will prolong the king’s life,

His years as many generations.

7 He shall abide before God forever.

Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him!

8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever,

That I may daily perform my vows.

Hosea 6:6

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,

and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

Hosea 6:6

This was Hosea's heart. I love how it is as relevant today as it was then!

I love how he would desire acknowledgement of God instead of Burnt offerings. God doesn't want our hands without our heart attached.

Hebrews 12:2

I love this verse. It's what I try to do, fail to do enough and aspire to continually do.

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 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 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebews 12:2

Isaiah 40:31

This is a beautiful promise, through which the Lord gives His people hope and courage -


...but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31

Painted Toenails!

After a long day at work last week I came home and took off my socks. I gained a little bit of happiness when I saw what I saw – my freshly painted toenails! To men, this may seem weird, but you ladies know what I’m on about- It’s the little bit of contentment that we get when we get our toenails freshly painted. It may seem minuscule and meaningless, but God taught me something through that little bout of excitement that I got from the revealing of my like-new toenails.

When I open up the Word that He gave me, do I have that same excitement and expectancy that I get from when I see my toenails revealed for the first time after they have been painted?? Not all the time. In fact, not most of the time.

Its time to re-evaluate how much I crave the words that my Lord has given me. I need to hunger and thirst after the words of my Jesus – the same God and Friend that died so that I could live. Why should I be craving this?? In what way can it benefit me??

My challenge to you is to find out. The book God has blessed us with has the words of eternal life, joy and truth. Why would you not want to read this??

Matt 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Psalm 42:1
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.

Want to get to know God?? Read His word. He gave it to us so we could learn from Him and soak up what He has laid out. Be excited for today- what God wants to teach you and show you. Be excited for the opportunities and desires He has given you!

Purity

A friend of mine sent me an email the other day saying that they were going to pray for me for several things, one of which was that the Lord would help me stay pure. I had never heard anyone say that before, but it got me thinking.

Pure in what exactly? Genuinely pure in everything - the Lord took my mind to 1 Tim 4v12 which everyone knows –
Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

The prayer for a brother or sister to be pure has massive implications and I had never thought of that before. Sure I’ve prayed that a brother or sister would keep themselves pure when they are in a place of physical temptation, but its always been for a specific time.
I want to now to pray this when I pray for a brother or sister, to be:
Pure in Speech
Pure in Life
Pure in Love
Pure in Faith

And some other things that gripped me:
Pure in Attitude
Pure in Song
Pure in Emotion
Pure in Knowledge

And that old saying ‘See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil’
Knowing that someone has prayed that I will kept pure has dramatically changed my mindset on how I view things, and stopped my trail of thought when it could wonder to things it shouldn’t. And not finishing a joke I’m reading because it may not finish well.

In doing this and allowing myself to come under these thought restrictions I have realized that my mind wonders a lot more than it should – not necessarily to ‘impure’ thoughts but to things that really don’t actually matter that much. Am I taking every thought captive and bringing that to Christ’s attention and asking His help to keep my mind focused on Him?? In my devotional reading I read Hebrews 3:1 a while ago and it blew me away - Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.

Stay Pure folks! :O)

Amazing Grace!

One of my all-time favourite songs. There are songs I know I am guilty of singing without even thinking of the words, but this one I have always highly admired and worshipped to. Pray and sing it as a prayer!


Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found,
was blind but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
and grace my fears relieved;
how precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed!

The Lord has promised good to me,
his word my hope secures;
he will my shield and portion be
as long as life endures.

Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
'tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
and grace will lead me home.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The world shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun refuse to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Shall be forever mine.

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'd first begun.