Everything That Glitters....

Psalm 73

"Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.  But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;  I had nearly lost my foothold.  For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.  They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong.  They are free from the burdens common to man;  they are not plagued by human ills.  Therefore pride is their necklace;  they clothe themselves with violence.  From their callous hearts comes iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.  They scoff, and speak malice;  in their arrogance they threaten oppression.  Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth.  Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance.  They say, 'How can God know?  Does the Most High have knowledge?'  This is what the wicked are like--always carefree, they increase in wealth.  Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure;  in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.  All day long I have been plagued;  I have been punished every morning.  If I had said, 'I will speak thus,'  I would have betrayed your children.  When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me, till I entered the sanctuary of God;  then I understood their final destiny.  Surely You place them on slippery ground;  You cast them down to ruin.  How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!  As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, You will despise them as fantasies.  When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You.  Yet I am always with You;  You hold me by my right hand.  You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will take me into glory.  Whom have I in heaven but You?  And earth has nothing I desire besides You.  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Those who are far from you will perish;  You destroy all who are unfaithful to You.  But as for me, it is good to be near God.  I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all Your deeds."

Its easy to let the enemy tell you that you are lacking something the world has.  Its easy to believe...because we can see it all around us.  BUT, when we enter the sanctuary of God...we can see clearly through His eyes...that all the world offers will wither.  Its just fools gold.  In His presence we realize that we are His children...and we walk in intimacy with Him.  He holds us and guides us with His counsel.  What more could we want??

Come Thou Fount

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I'll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.

Painted Red

Painted Red
by JJ Heller


If I could not hold a pen
I would write of You on my heart instead
You have bought me with Your blood
And I am painted red by Your love

Ooh …


If I could not say a word
My life would speak of love I don’t deserve
Hope means holding on to You
Grace means You’re holding me too


"You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Psalms 16:11


"How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me?  I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.  I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people."  Psalm 116:12-14


"Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name.  Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits-who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."  Psalm 103:1-5

The Iniquity of Us All....

I recently went on a retreat with my Sunday School class to Lake Junaluska, NC.  The Lord used this time away to remind me of who He is...and of some basic truths.  One of the verses shared on the trip was Isaiah 53:6.  

"We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

This is certainly not a new verse to me...nor a new concept.  However, He did bring it home a little for me.  God is not surprised at all by our humanness...just as it says in this verse...we all have gone astray.  We have each wandered, meandered, ran (choose any and all that may apply!) in another direction than toward the Father.  We have all tried to accomplish dreams or desires on our own...tried to overcome a hurdle by ourselves.  None of this is new, though I did need the reminder.  The end of this verse, however, just struck me.  Yes there is forgiveness for our wanderings and disobedience.  The Bible says in Romans 8:1-2,

"There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives you life has set you free from the law of sin and death."

Basically, Jesus already died for the sin of disobediently wandering.  And we are not to walk in condemnation for that sin that has already been forgiven.  The last part of Isaiah, though, brought a tad bit of conviction for me.  I believe that life is all about balance, and this is definitely not any different.  We are not to live as condemned people because we have grace through Jesus's death on the cross.  Yet, at the same time, we should not be so careless about that gift of grace.  "The Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all."  There is a price for our disobedience/sin....a price that He paid.

My pastor, Steven Scoggins, said in the recent past that we should not presume upon the grace of God.  That is what I believe this verse is saying.  This verse finds the balance between grace and sin.  The first part comforts by saying...we have ALL gone astray..we are human (or evidently sheep like!) and the second sobers it up with the price for the wandering.  

I think this hit me so hard because I KNOW the Lord.  I am confident in who I am in Him.  I know what the Bible says of Him and of grace.  So, I think the conviction is just in not being apathetic about the price of grace.  I know that when I sin/make the choice to disobey, He has already forgiven me and welcomes me back into His arms.  May I always find a balance and remember that it was laid on Him and that is how I am able to walk so freely with the Father.

Lord I love You! I'm so thankful for grace and the free gift of salvation...forgive me when I've taken it too lightly!