He Sees

"The woman saw that she could not go unnoticed." Luke 8:47

Jesus sees EVERY detail about you, every need that you have! When we become desperate, revealing ourselves, our "stuff" ~ it stops Jesus in His tracks! There may be a multitude surrounding you and yet YOU He will take notice of and YOU He will make whole! ♥

Refining Fire

Until we are thrown into the fire, we don't truly know what we are made of.  We will either come out refined or burnt!  Lord, may our lives bring You glory and may we be beautiful in Your sight!

"These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world." 1 Peter 1:7

"The work of each [one] will become [plainly, openly] known (shown for what it is); for the day [of Christ] will disclose and declare it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test and critically appraise the character and worth of the work each person has done." 1 Corinthians 3:13

Thankful

Let's be thankful for what we have. The things we take for granted are merely dreams to other people.

"Always thank God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:20

Follow the Leader

Are you trying to lead the Lord where you want to go or are you allowing Him to lead you where He wants you to be? Time to relinquish control and play "follow the Leader." You can trust Him...

"Those who are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Romans 8:14

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5

"Thus says the Lord, Your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go.” Isaiah 48:17

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way should go; I will guide you with My eye.” Psalm 32:8

“For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death.” Psalm 48:14

Knowing God

On an afternoon walk, a common way that I like to connect with the Lord, I heard Him speak to my spirit, "I want My people to truly know Me for all that I am, not just a portion." 

He showed me how we all have different people in our lives for different purposes.  We go to the doctor for our physical health. We have our pastors and accountability partners who help us grow spiritually.  We have people in our lives that are strictly for business purposes, connections that help us gain wisdom in the area of business, discovering ways to prosper. We have friends who are there for us emotionally. We have friends who are there for us just for a good laugh...

The different people in our lives play a different role... In most cases, we do not know these people in the fullness of who they are... They meet a certain need - vice versa, but it's a limited relationship that lacks intimacy.

God so desires a deep, abiding relationship with each one of us. That is why He is challenging us to know Him as the All Sufficient One. Many times we focus primarily on Him being a faithful God, our Healer, our Comfort, or the One who provides. He is all of those things, but we have to stop limiting Him to  a part of who He is and making Him just another "person," another "go to" that is only given access to a portion of our lives.  He so desires our intimate acquaintance. In knowing the depths of who someone is, true intimacy is then birthed.

I want to encourage you to study the Word and gather tools to assist you in navigating through the Scriptures.  There is so much more to God than we have even begun to tap into.  He is the "I AM."  In Him our every need is found. In Him we can do all things. In Him we are complete.  In Him is life.  In Him we live, and move, and have our being.  We need Him! And the beautiful thing is, He longs for and desires us...

(Acts 17:28, John 1:4, Colossians 2:10, Philippians 4:13, 1 John 4:19)

Study tools: :)
http://www.biblegateway.com/
http://www.gailrodgers.ca/index.php/site/devotionalSeries/C24/
http://truthmedia.com/training/attributes_god/

Prayer for Fathers

We thank You that you are a faithful Father who we can always count on to meet us right where we are.  You engage in our world.  You concern Yourself with the things that matter to us and are always looking out for our best interest in those things.  We can trust You.

Many of us, Lord, haven't had that example in an earthly father. We ask that You send down Your healing to the brokeness that we are living out day after day because of that missing void in our lives.  We all need to be fathered and when that ingredient is missing, life just isn't what You ordained it to be. But in Your goodness - You chose to be a Father to us.  May Your pure love fill all the cracks within us that need to be filled.

We pray for fathers to be awakened to the great call that they have.  When a child sees their father - the way he lives, the way he acts, the way he treats others, the way he treats them - they should see a man who is mirroring his life after You.  We pray that fathers would have a passion for their children's spiritual health by demonstrating Your perfect love and fervently teaching them Your ways and how to hear Your voice. 

Father, we ask for Your blessing on the men who have willfully taken the role of father seriously. Grant them strength and wisdom to finish the race strong.  We pray they would be reassured how worthy their call is and that what they have committed to will not be in vain.  You have placed a generation within their hands, and we know that You are smiling down on them.  Amen. :)

Jesus, My Provider

I never knew freedom

Until You set me free

My mind was never at rest

Then You filled me with peace

Unconditional love

My heart’s never felt

Till I looked to the cross

At the blood that You spilt

Sickness has no right to my body

You purchased healing for me

Demons flee at the sound of Your Name

You’re the Way in which I am freed

Poverty’s not mine, but part of the curse

Cursed is He who hangs on a tree

You did just that, You bore it all

You provide for me...

(John 8:36, Philippians 4:7, Isaiah 26:3, 1 Corinthians 13, Galatians 3:13, Mark 16:17, 1 Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:5)

I AM

I feel Your breath within the breeze

I know You're breathing life in me

A shattered heart

Placed in Your hands

Putting my trust

in the Great I AM

Your loving voice

Calls out to me

"You shall know the Truth

and it will set you free."

You reveal to me

All who You are

"I AM your All in All

The Bright Morning Star

I AM Agape Love

My anger is slow

I AM the God of Compassion

Lover of your soul

I AM the Whisperer

That gently speaks to You

I AM Alpha and Omega

I came to make things new

I AM Mercy and Grace

Forgiver of your sins

I AM the Most High

I will stand in your defense

I AM your Comfort

Your Provider, Your Friend

A Faithful Father

My love never ends

I AM Wisdom

Your Shepherd, your Guide

I AM the God who sees

Every tear you've cried

I AM your Hiding Place

Your Rest, your Calm

I AM your Safe Shelter

From every storm

I AM your Hope

I AM Faithful and True
The Author of your life

Who came to deliver you

I AM the Bread of Life

The filler of your heart

The God of new beginnings

Who gives you a fresh start

I AM the Light of the world

The One to be revealed

I AM the Prince of Peace

I AM the God who heals

I AM your Redeemer

The only One who saves

The perfect Lamb of God

For you, is why  I came

I AM the Resurrection

I AM Absolute Truth

The Anointed and Chosen One

Who has chosen you

I AM the Vine

Living Water for your soul

Refreshing comes from Me

I AM the God who makes you whole"

Such depth to who You truly are

In awe – I humbly stand

My everything, my every need

Found in You,  the great I AM!

Embrace the Fallen

If you ever broke a limb or sickness has worn you down - how did you feel? Were you bothered that a part of your body was not functioning properly? Of course you were!

We, as Christians, are ALL part of the body of Christ. If one falls away, we ought to be grieved, wholeheartedly praying for their restoration, and encouraging them back onto their feet.  They are a part of you, and you are a part of them. We need one another to be a fully functioning body.

Our bodies cannot function properly if they are sick.  The body of Christ cannot either.   We can't kick the wounded and expect them to heal.  We need to stick together.  We need the heart of our Heavenly Father:

“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish." Matthew 18:12-14

Lord, if we can't love our own, how can we truly love a lost and dying world?  When we judge the "fallen" rather than love them back to the Truth; when we kick the wounded rather than embrace their brokeness; when we turn our backs rather than let them see Your love shine on our faces - we aren't demonstrating who YOU are to a world we say we want to see saved.  Why would the world want to embrace a God who turns His back on His own children? 

Forgive us, Father, for misrepresenting You. Help us to see our own selfishness and self righteousness.  May our hearts break for those who stray. Use us, Lord, to draw them back into the fold.