what a wonderful time i had with my family over Christmas. it is always such a blessing whenever i visit old family and friends and see their smiling faces and catch up on the time since i last saw them all. celebrating Christ’s birth with the people i love is beautiful.

“the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has annointed me to preach good news to the poor..” isaiah 61:1

isaiah 61 has been on my heart the last couple of days. as i read it, my heart yearns to live my life for the Lord’s sake and His glory. i long to tell others of His love, i long to bring them light and hope that is in Christ. i do not want to live a life of mediocrecy…i want to live a courageous life for the One i love. i heard something today that really caught my attention: “do the hard thing.” so many do what is easy, even in the Christian life. may i would do whatever it takes to live a life that is pleasing in His eyes. i want to do His will and bring people to Him. is that not what we are here for in the first place? to worship our Creator…

“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year od the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God. to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve.” isaiah 61:1-3

you look around and see people who are dying for their faith. you look around and see people who are desperate for nothing more than what we as Christians are so show them…Christ. to find the peace and the beautiful joy that is found in Jesus. praise God that ‘He draws all men to Himself.’

“you must do it. you cannot hold back. you have enjoyed yourself in religion long enough. you have sung, you have had pleasant feelings, pleasant songs, pleasant meetings, and pleasant prospects. there has been much human hapiness, much clapping of the hands, very much of Heaven on earth.

now, then, go to God and tell Him you are prepared to turn your back upon it all, and that you are willing to spend the rest of your days grappling with [these] perishing multitudes.

you must do it. you must go down amongst the perishing crowds. your happiness now consits in sharing in their misery. your ease in sharing their pain, your crown in bearing their cross, and your Heaven in going to the very jaws of hell to rescue them. will you answer His call? will you go?”  { william booth }

 

dear Jesus,

    teach me. use me.

         mold my heart to Yours. and be glorified.

have a merry little Christmas…

 

 

“…and the angel said unto them, fear not: for, behold, i bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people. for unto you is born this day in the city of david
a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. ” { luke 2:9-11 }

 

He came to die for my sake…the least i can do is live for Him and His glory.

 

many blessings to you this season and through-out the new year!

 

 

there once was a young girl who loved Jesus…
she had little money, no fancy clothes, not too much of anything of great value.
she lived an ordinary life in a poor village in the country side.

each day she taught children in a little community school house about the Bible.
she taught in a place where no one had heard of Jesus, and His name was unknown and illegal. hours and hours she spent planting the Word of God into these children’s hearts.
the children sat on the dirt floor of the little school, always listening intently to every word that the girl spoke about Jesus. immense joy filled her heart as she went along helping her students grasp the love of Christ.

as time went on, other children in the village began to wonder what was going on in the school house that made these students so full of hope and joy. this little Bible class of hers began to grow and grow until the locals began filing reports to the authorities of such doings. it was not long before the communist government began knocking on this girl’s door, questioning her about her teachings. they warned her time and time again to stop her teaching of Christianity but she refused. she simply could not go on without the children knowing Christ their Redeemer.

her family warned her, the students even began to take caution…but she would not give in.
she continued teaching God’s Holy Word.

the day came when the government stepped inside her little house to take her away. she did not protest, but knew that this was what she was to do.

she would not give in.

she would not give up.

she loved Jesus and would serve Him with her very own life.

time went on and no longer was there a Bible class in the little school. the young girl never returned to teach after the government had taken her away. she had not given in.

this girl had little money, lived an ordinary life in a poor village, but she loved Jesus.

little did she know that her faith was of great value in her Father’s eyes. for she had given up her life for the sake of the gospel…for Jesus.
nothing could have ever amounted to such a beautiful faith she had.

 

 

“..that Your ways may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.
may the peoples praise You, oh God, may all the peoples praise You.
 may the nations be glad and sing for joy…”

{psalm 67:2-4a}

“take my life, make it clay

shape this life in intricate ways “

“the highest glory of the creature is in being a vessel,

to recieve and enjoy and show forth the glory of God.

it can do this only as it is willing to be nothing in itself,

that God may be everything.”

{ andrew murray }

 

“yes, oh Lord, You are the Father, we are the clay..

…You are the Potter, we are the work of Your hands.”

{ isaiah 64:8 }

this life is not my own..

…it’s Yours, Jesus.

shape this life    so that Your beauty and glory might shine through…

hello! i hope that your thanksgiving was wonderful! (if you had one)
i love this time of the year here..the snow, the family, the memories..it’s lovely!

this morning i read a quote from charles spurgeon that has really been on my heart:

“every Christian was sent into the world to be a preacher; and just like every other creature that God has made, he will always be preaching about his Lord.

does not the whole world preach God?

do not the stars, while they shine, look down from heaven and say there is a God?

do not the winds chaunt God’s name in their mighty howling?

do not the waves murmur it upon the shore, or thunder it in the storms?

do not the floods and the fields, the skies and the plains, the mountains and the valleys, the streamlets and the rivers, all speak for God?

assuredly they do; and a new-born creature—the man created in Christ—must preach Jesus Christ wherever he goes.

this is the use of good works. he will preach, not with his mouth always, but with his life. the use of good works is, that they are a Christian’s sermon. a sermon is not what a man says, but what he does. you who practice are preaching; it is not preaching and practicing, but practicing is preaching. the sermon that is preached by the mouth
is soon forgotten, but

what we preach by our lives is never forgotten.

there is nothing like faithful practice and holy living, if we would preach to the world.”

 

Lord, help me to live so that others may see the light of You in me.
it is not by being ‘religious’, it is not by being wise in others eyes…
it is nothing but simply living in Your love and loving others as You have loved me.
‘make my life a prayer to you!!’

how i need Jesus.

i do not want to breath one more breath without Him. i do not want to take one more step without Him guiding my every way. i do not want another word to come from my lips without His guidance. i desire nothing more than to be with Him in His sweet presence as He speaks so gently.

i cannot go on without Him continually changing me and growing me in my faith. He has said:
“be holy as I am holy.” (1 peter 1:16)
yet, i see how infinately far i am from such a place. i am far from not caring what the world thinks about me. i am far beyond measure of what He, the Sovereign King, really deserves from me!

however, in Him:

there is hope.

it is the hope that is in Christ that keeps me moving. moving towards all that He has for me and all that is in this journey He has written for my life. it is this beautiful Hope that can free me from my sins and pride. it is this Hope whom all can come to and lay down their desires, burdens, and their old ways. and and it is this Hope…it is Jesus, who can satisfy my every need.

there is joy.

“You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and wine abound.” psalm 4:7

there is His joy that allows His children to be a bright light in a dark world. it is His joy that fills me with a sense of being and knowing my Savior personally. as a Child of Him, i am called to be a “city on a hill” and He has given His joy that i might do such a thing.

there is love.

“give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever.” psalm 106:1

what greater love do we have than Christ Himself? when all of the world fails, i know that the love of Christ will never leave me. has He ever left one of His children on His own? think of the shepard who had a flock of 100 sheep. one had gone astray and yet, the shepard left the 99 sheep to go and save the one that was missing. it is this kind of precious love that the Lord gives to His children.

there is peace.

“and the peace of God, which transends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” philippians 4:7

the peace of Jesus is more favorable than all wordly pleasures. even in the worst of times, His peace comforts like no other. when the world around us seems to be a complete mess, sitting at His feet brings me to the place where i know i am supposed to be. the place where i know that He will still and quiet my soul.

 

Lord, change me and allow me to die to my old ways. satisfy me and be Lord of all in my life.
i put away my hypocritical ways and press on to find a true and simple faith in You.

 

“as the deer panteth for the water, so my south longeth after Thee.” psalm 42:1

… so    my    soul    longeth    after    Thee.

 

“wherever i go, i want Christ to be magnified. i don’t want somebody to say :

‘if that’s Christianity, i don’t want it.’

 i don’t want somebody to say :

‘you know, the way you live – you blur the image of Christ.’

i want those people to look through my life and say ‘i see Jesus Christ.’  “

{ leonard ravenhill }

 

this is my prayer today.

 

“let those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You, let such as love

Your salvation say continually, ‘the Lord be magnified!’

psalm 40:16

You’re calling me to lay aside the worries of my day

to quiet down my busy mind and find a hiding place

worthy, You are worthy

i open up my heart and let my spirit worship Yours

i open up my mouth and let a song of praise come forth

worthy, You are worthy

of a child-like faith

and of my honest praise

and of my unashamed love

of a holy life

and of my sacrifice

and of my unashamed love..

{ ten shekel shirt }

 ”I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children,

 you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. therefore, whoever

 humbles himself like this chikd is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” 

                                       matthew 18:1-4

the other day i was studying the story of abraham and issac. the Lord told abraham to sacrifice his son. a son that abraham had waited to have for many many years. abraham had pleaded to the Lord for a son his whole life…and here the Lord was, wanting abraham to sacrifice him. however, abraham was obedient, did as he was told.

“then they came to the place of which God had told him.
and abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order;
and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the upon the wood. “
genesis 22:9

(on the story goes…the Lord was merciful and issac was not killed…praise God!)

as i read this again, i had to think of the obedience abraham had and that of my life…would i be willing to give up everything for the Lord? would i be freely

willing to surrender my job, the house, the car, my reputation?

i like what oswald chambers writes:

“we seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified abraham from this error, and the same process is at work in our lives. God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself. it is a matter of loosening the bands that hold back our lives. those bands are loosened immediately by identification with the death of Jesus. then we enter into a relationship with God whereby we may sacrifice our lives to Him.”

Lord, i long to be obedient to You today.
be my all in everything…so that nothing else remains but You.

o we never can know
what the Lord will bestow
of the blessings for which we have prayed,
till our body and soul
He doth fully control,
and our all on the altar is laid.

~ elisha a hoffman

{ beauty of simplicity }

“as Jesus and His disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named martha opened her home to Him. she had a sister called mary who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said. but martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. she came to Him and asked ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? tell her to help me!’

‘martha, martha’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but

only one thing is needed.

mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’ ” luke 10:38-41

i have read over these verses today and realized how distracted i become as martha did here. i can get sooo distracted by “working” for the Lord, theology, doctrines, and many different beliefs. i can get so distracted that i lose sight of Jesus and the simplicity of His love. i desire a child-like faith…

…a faith that is always holding onto Christ through every circumstance. i might not be able to interpret scripture acurately and i might not even know all of the books of the Bible in ascending order but to have a relationship with Jesus Christ is all that matters to me. it is sitting at His feet that is above all, most joyful….

it’s the beauty of simplicity

that brings me down to my knees

i’ll Praise You for eternity

and Lord i love you

because You, You first loved me

{ telecast }
 

“but i fear that somehow you will be led away from your pure and simple
devotion to Christ, just as eve was deceived by the serpent.” 2 corinthians 11:3