Day 273: "And the glory which Thou gavest me I have given them."

Day 273: "And the glory which Thou gavest me I have given them."

Read: John 17:22 (22 - 26)

Taking a day to be with my wife who has been so very diligent in her studies and in loving her husband and above all else - the love of her life - The Lord who is our God. So I pray that today you will let these words of Reverend Charles Haddon Spurgeon work their way through heart and through your spirit. Weave them into your life today as you consider the breadth, length, height and depth and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of our God.

"BEHOLD the superlative liberality of the Lord Jesus, for He hath given us His all. Although a tithe of His possessions would have made a universe of angels rich beyond all thought, yet was He not content until He had given us all that He had. It would have been surprising grace if He had allowed us to eat the crumbs of His bounty beneath the table of His mercy; but He will do nothing by halves, He makes us sit with Him and share the feast. Had He given us some small pension from His royal coffers, we should have had cause to love Him eternally; but no, He will have His bride as rich as Himself, and He will not have a glory or a grace in which she shall not share.

He has not been content with less than making us joint-heirs with Himself, so that we might have equal possessions. He has emptied all His estate into the coffers of the Church, and hath all things common with His redeemed. There is not one room in His house the key of which He will withhold from His people. He gives them full liberty to take all that He hath to be their own; He loves them to make free with His treasure, and appropriate as much as they can possibly carry. The boundless fulness of His all-sufficiency is as free to the believer as the air he breathes.

Christ hath put the flagon of His love and grace to the believer's lip, and bidden him drink on for ever; for could he drain it, he is welcome to do so, and as he cannot exhaust it, he is bidden to drink abundantly, for it is all his own. What truer proof of fellowship can heaven or earth afford?"

"When I stand before the throne
Dressed in beauty not my own;
When I see Thee as Thou art,
Love Thee with unsinning heart;
Then, Lord, shall I fully know—
Not till then—how much I owe."

Let Us Pray This Prayer of Invocation:
(based on Psalm 25: 1-5)

To You, O God, we lift up our souls.
To You we offer our praise and prayer,
our worship and thanksgiving,
even unto our very lives.

Make Your ways known to us.
Show us the path on which we should walk.
Lead us in Your truth and teach us.
For You alone are the God who saves,
the God in whom we trust;
and the One on whom we wait.

Amen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoPyLcY6Zv4
Selah - Before The Throne Of God Above [with lyrics]
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"My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people." Ezekiel 37:27

Selah - Before The Throne Of God Above [with lyrics]

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"My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people." Ezekiel 37:27

Day 272: The Making Of Our House Into God's Home

Day 272: The Making Of Our House Into God's Home

 

Read: Ruth 4

I think that maybe I have been trying to be too serious lately. I believe it is time to try and lighten things up a bit. Try and have some fun with the seriousness of the Gospel message. So, let us try and sit back a bit and take a trip back down memory lane, to a time of our childhood. To a time when it was hopefully and prayerfully fun to be a kid. Life was good, we did not know any better, we seemed to laugh at the most silly of things. We did not recognize the seriousness of the events going on around us. We were in the business of being a kid and being a kid means having fun at every chance we got. My personal all time favorite was watching cartoons on TV Saturday morning.

My personal all time favorite cartoon - The Three Little Pigs against the big bad wolf. It always made me laugh or cry the hardest. Three pigs (I thought them as brothers as I did not have any) built three different houses. Then that 'bad old wolf' coming in and trying to ruin it all. I always cried the hardest, yelled 'Mom' when those first two pigs lost their home. But then I laughed myself silly, clapped my hands together until they hurt when the wolf could do nothing with the third house made of brick. Happy, oh so happy that all three pigs came together under one roof and lived happily ever after. Oh, I remember that I was beaming from ear to ear about realizing that one.

But then like all kids must do, we must grow up and learn different lessons about our homes. We will learn responsibility through our chores, finance through paper routes, and lemonade stands, the importance of our successes and failures through athletics, the playing of musical instruments or other cultural pursuits. We learn what we like and invariably what we do not like. If our parents are into church, religious stuff, we might learn something special, meaningful about God. How important it was to have a loving home, a spiritual house, whatever that was supposed to mean. Me, not so much, I was Jewish, went to synagogue for a while learned about being unaccepted.

What does or should a house represent? Security, comfort, provision, acceptance? I do not often read the Book of Ruth which lately I realize has represented a great loss for the powerful, profound lessons it gives the reader about the making of a home. A home that represents a place of acceptance, love and great personal sacrifice. It is a very inspiring story of God's welcoming and beginning, redemption and reconciliation for the sinner looking to find a safe and secure home for themselves in God's house. It has become very thought provoking for me and I am now finding my heart being strangely warmed by the hearth inside. Ruth and Boaz, God and me, God and you too.

Let Us Pray: An Irish House Blessing:

God Bless the Corners of this House
and be the Lintel Blessed
And Bless the Hearth
And Bless the Board
And Bless Each Place of Rest
Bless Each Door That Opens Wide To Strangers and to Kin
And Bless Each Crystal Windowpane
that lets the Sunshine In
And Bless the Rooftree Overhead
And Every Sturdy Wall
The Peace of Man
The Peace of God
The Peace of Love to All Amen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ULJhI7ojBM
Bill & Gloria Gaither - Going Home [Live] ft. Bill Gaither
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Music video by Bill & Gloria Gaither performing Going Home (feat. Bill Gaither) [Live]. (P) (C) 2012 Spring

Bill & Gloria Gaither - Going Home [Live] ft. Bill Gaither

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Music video by Bill & Gloria Gaither performing Going Home (feat. Bill Gaither) [Live]. (P) (C) 2012 Spring

Day 271: What About All Those Overlooked Harvests?

Day 271: What About All Those Overlooked Harvests?

Read: John 4:35 - 38

What a whirlwind experience it has been for this woman at the well, this simple small village so isolated from their larger neighbors, Israel. What it is that has been opened up to them, revealed to them by this unexpected visit from Messiah Jesus? What is it that has been revealed to us about our Messiah Jesus? What lessons about our lives in the Kingdom of God can we glean, then turn around make powerful use of in some other fields of mission and ministry? What fruit has been born within us, what seeds do we have to plant? Remember where we were before Messiah came to us? Lives that were shut off from love? Busted, completely broken by sin? War against death?

Messiah just sauntered in neat as you please, approached our broken states without any fear of our response. He quietly entered who we are and spoke to us the words of love and acceptance our hearts so desperately needed to hear and to experience. He quietly and yet decisively interrupted our mundane existence, through a monkey wrench into the works of our lives. Clatter, clatter, clank, one by one those gears of who we once were slowly, subtly come flying apart. Flying everywhere, every which direction only to be put back together. Miraculously they fit better than ever before. I and you too are remade, reshaped into something that Messiah can use in the fields.

"Behold!" the Messiah says to us. "Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. (35b)" The word harvest in the Bible is a vital and living reminder for us of the many unforgettable things Messiah did for us when he sowed the seeds of life, told us what we could do with our weeds. Harvest, significant usages will stir our awareness to take a closer look on many areas of our lives. Harvest, it will move our sensitivity to realize some hidden sins in our lives that we should stop cultivating. We firmly believe that not 1 man would like to overlook so remarkable a harvest, and no man in his sound mind wants to avoid a joyful harvest.

My friends, what incredibly good news this is for us! In His own words, Messiah Jesus wraps up His short unannounced ministry to this forgotten little town with this truly awesome reminder that the fields are "white for harvest." Neglected lives, neglected fields as ours once were are set before us to sow the seeds Messiah sowed within us when He first came upon us. My friends, it is a time of great urgency. The time is so now. Heart aches and groans under the strain of sin, choices being made at our own expense, trembled under the strain of our greed and vanity. Look around you, please! Harvest is not four months away, it isn't tomorrow, it is today. Life's fields are ready!

Let Us Pray: Messiah, you have made us and loved us more than we deserve. You have designed us to live in fellowship with you and with each other. May your infinite gentleness fill us with an assurance that you will hear us when we kneel and pray for your fallen and hurting world. For those who are angry. For those are hurting. For those who are suffering in isolation and those who are mired deep in sin and shame. May the caring and gentle presence of their Messiah be upon them. May we come to a time when we who are your children care enough for them as you cared enough for us. Messiah, may we come alongside one field, one soul today who needs You!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmziwSNs40Y

De Colores

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De Colores - "The Colours" - a delightful song about God's colourful and varied creation, written by Spanish pilgrims with a lot of time on their hands while...

Day 270: Our Next Unconventional Act: Opening The Pathway To Jesus

Day 270: Our Next Unconventional Act: Opening The Pathway To Jesus

Read: John 4:39 - 42

What does it take, to say, convince people that Niagara Falls is the honeymoon capital of the world. I mean, being from that region of the great state of New York, having been to the Falls more than my fair share of the time, I can tell you by my witness of it's magnificent grandeur day or night. I can try to tell you of the thunderous roar of the water as you virtually stand right next to it as though it is an intimate part of your being. I can tell you that for me, there has yet to be any sight or sound, magnificence to compare it with. But how is that going to help you believe that what I'm telling you is the least bit believable? How is it going to compel you to move one inch closer to it?

What will convince people to seek, find Jesus? I write these words in the Lord's name and will post it to Facebook and from the host of friends that I have, maybe only one person will read it and in all likelihood, not one person will comment how these words may have impacted their day. One person might click 'like'. I'll post it on my Blog site, send it all over the known world and get back some wonderful comments. I will also receive as I did last night, a comment "I hate all people because of my religion". I've so much respect, admiration for the one's who can articulate a well reasoned defense for Jesus' life and ministry. But do our efforts open up, reveal any pathway to Jesus?

Are they supposed to move people one inch closer? Are we supposed to get wrapped up in this question "What do we have to do to get the people to believe"? Is there a formula of one part of this mixed with three parts of that, then add secret ingredient? What might the Lord say about this? Jesus did not tell the Samaritan what to do with her witness. I believe that what truly brings people to accept Jesus as their Lord is the simple testimony that we don't read about in the Gospel - the woman ran back to the rest of her people: 'From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.”

Jesus did not go with her when she returned to the villagers. Mark 5:14 - 20, when Jesus cured the demoniac of his 'legion', the people compelled Jesus to leave so He left the man in his healed state to "go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you and how He had mercy on you." And that is what the Samaritan woman did. The woman’s bold witness opened the way to Jesus. This stage of belief is, can only be an introduction. For their way to be open to Jesus, they needed their own personal encounter with Jesus. The magnificent climax is that the Samaritans came to settled conviction, acclaiming Jesus as Savior of the World.

Let Us Pray: Lord, send us out in the name of Christ; fill us with your love and mercy. By your Holy Spirit, enable us so to live and speak that your love and joy may flow into every corner of life. We will go in the holiness of your name. We will go in the greatness of your love. We will go forth in the righteous glory of your great name.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m_GVAx3EKA

Love & The Outcome - City Of God [Official Video]

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© 2013 WMG Love & The Outcome - "City Of God" [Official Video] For more information, visit

Day 269: Our Next Unconventional Act: "Turn Your Eyes FULLY Upon Jesus"

Day 269: Our Next Unconventional Act: "Turn Your Eyes FULLY Upon Jesus"

Read: John 4:16 - 18

As I am sitting here, prayerfully contemplating what the Lord would have me write for Him, an old hymn came, started rolling around in my mind, started to strum the heart strings of my spirit. "Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus". It has only one verse: 'Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full into his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace (Lemmel 1922).' Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look FULL into his wonderful face ...' What an unconventional act that would be for any one of us who believe in Jesus let alone the Samaritan woman. I do not get the idea that even Jesus' disciples did that very often. Each of them had much to hide.

Hide? What was there to hide? Their humanity for one. What do we have to hide but our own humanity as well. The long and the short of it is this: We like to hide all the pretense of what has gone before us from our pasts that we carry forward into our futures. Not because we want to necessarily, we would discard it in an instant if we thought we could get away from it for good. But, fortunately or unfortunately as the case may be, our past is in our spiritual DNA. All the unconventional things we ever did, all that junk we had such fun doing or experienced great spiritual or physical pain from, those moments we call 'the most regrettable' are our own eternal possessions.

Could Matthew who was once called Levi, the tax collector, just forget and discard all the memories of who he once was - hated and despised by all who passed by his tax booth? Nope! Not the least bit possible. Desirable - definitely, but still not the least bit possible. What about the Samaritan woman? Married, divorced and widowed 5 times. Can she erase that - No she cannot. She keeps it 'tight to her breast'. Does not speak of it for the shame it carries. Probably holds her head down to avoid any eye to eye contact with anyone. Then Jesus says to her "Go, call your husband and come here." Did this woman look FULL upon Jesus' face when she responded "I have no husband?"

Nope! And this may have been a cultural sign of respect. But I also believe it was her own effort to hide her past, to avoid lying to this stranger who asked for the water. We want so desperately to project an image around others that everything is okay. We do not want people to know the truest depths of our shame, the magnitude of all our regrets, the reality of what our lives have become because of them. We pretend! Guess what my 'hide and seek' friends, and let this revelation sink in deep: God sees behind your mask. He is not blinded by our pretense. He is not nor will he not become deceived by deceptions. He FULLY knows who we are. So look FULLY upon who He is!

Let Us Pray: From Psalms: 120 (lying to self), 139 (Baring yourself FULLY before God)

Heavenly Father, may I never try to hide from the fullness of your presence. Even in those moments when I am feeling the fullness of my shame, the ungodly magnitude of my regrets upon my shoulders. You are the God who FULLY forgives. You are the God in whose FULLNESS of self is Mercy on an order of magnitude I cannot begin to comprehend. God, I cannot figure it out - why do you persist in giving humanity with all the ugliness of its pretense, so many second chances? Help me to look FULLY upon your visage as you reveal the answer to my heart to help me FULLY transform my life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRBoOKjgbOU

Second Chances- Rend Collective Experiment

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Second Chances- Rend Collective Experiment

Day 268: Our Next Unconventional Act: Our Witness Statements

Day 268: Our Next Unconventional Act: Our Witness Statements

Read: John 4:27 - 30

Well, as we dig deeper into the significance of this story, the Hallelujah's just keep on coming for the Samaritan woman, Jesus and the disciples who are just arriving from buying food at the market. Jesus has declared that He is the prophesied Messiah. She is probably close to lifting herself off the ground at what she has just heard. With his Jesus’ declaration that He is the prophesied Messiah the conversation has reached its summit, its pinnacle moment of Hallelujah. But now something must come next. This stunning recounting of Jesus and the Samaritan woman might have closed with Jesus’ evangelical witness and astounding testimony as it did with Nicodemus. What is next?

Yes, the always ubiquitous "what comes next moment"! Freeze the moment for a bit. Freeze frame it for a few moments. Take your time to consider carefully the scene as it is now! Put yourself square into the middle of this absolutely awesome Hallelujah! Walk around a little bit. Ask each person you come to "what is on your mind now?" I hope and pray you will not be afraid to approach Jesus too and ask him that question. Right now, he is probably the only one that you will get an authoritative answer from. Strangely perhaps to us right now, it likewise includes the effect of witnessing upon Jesus. God changes us, changes all others as we bear witness to include eying Jesus.

What is Jesus doing in the midst of his own Hallelujah moments. Let us not yet allow ourselves to get all wrapped up around the woman and the disciples. They are not in all likelihood going to give us the full and complete picture we need to see today for our own witness and testimony. They in ways that may not seem obvious, will seem to lack the measure of authority and relevance to effect and affect others. I mean, I ask you to consider that the disciples said nothing, refused to say anything, knew so much better that it was safer to say nothing than to say anything at all. They were in Samaria. The woman was about to leave but we still are not sure she will come back.

What will she tell her fellow villagers? How will she tell them? Why should she even tell them because she is probably already outcast from their fellowship? Will she just go home and keep it to herself? Would anyone believe her? Why would anyone take the time to defy conventional wisdom and not just listen but allow themselves to be effected and affected by the course and chorus of Hallelujah moments? Even then, if they bothered to listen to her, was it to be polite? Was it to become scornful for one more reason? What if the woman thought about all this mess before she picked up her feet, convinced herself that it would mean nothing to nobody else? To me? You?

Let Us Pray: God in Christ in the Spirit, may we your people bear witness to Your True Love for all. May those whom we encounter in our daily lives know that we are Christians by our lived witness of Your Love for us, in us, through us. We are all a diverse people but we have need of each other and we have need of You. Help us to live into the gift of Your Oneness - Your family - Your church - Your Love ... For it is ultimately true that we all created to live; to live in You ... through You ... and by You. Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Amen (National Council Of Churches {adapted})

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8HffdyLd0c

It Is Well With My Soul [Live]

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Music video by Bill & Gloria Gaither performing It Is Well With My Soul (feat. Wintley Phipps) [Live]. (P) (C) 2012 Spring House Music Group. All rights

Day 267: For Our Next Unconventional Act: An Endless Hallelujah!

Day 267: For Our Next Unconventional Act: An Endless Hallelujah!

Read: John 4:19 - 26

The woman at the well. What an awesome hallelujah moment this is for her and us too. Alone with Jesus, being drawn deeper and deeper into a relationship the very depth of which we cannot yet begin to fathom. Perhaps we sense something unique about this exchange of pleasantries that strikes a chord in our own lives when we too felt like we too were alone, one with only ourselves to talk to, at the well. The well, a place of community. The well, a place of gathering for the entire village where not just water was gathered for their homes, but where the villagers came to share the life of their or neighboring villages. Perhaps too this is a place of communal worship.

She knows that she has come face to face with someone who knows more than she does about truth. Who knows everything about her and ever so gently told her so. I can guess that there were a few in her village who said those same words to her only were much more harsh about it. She knows Jesus is a Prophet. Perhaps recognizes a level of authority, a teacher, a great Rabbi by the way Jesus is dressed and presents himself. She is disarmed. She is exposed. She senses He wants something from her. But it is not the intimate details of a derailed life like most anybody else might taunt her with. She senses something deeper. He wants to know her relationship with God!

"Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” She offers this response as a means to deflect another's attention away from the depths of the reality she must struggle to exist in. "I do the best I can but it is not like I am exactly welcomed in many places anymore." Can you see this thought running through her head right now? Can you feel her just struggling mightily against herself, at war with her shame? Can you sense a growing struggle within herself not to unload the depth of this truth upon this great Prophets' shoulders? Everyone else prefers that she just go away. "What could he want of me?"

What did Jesus want from her? If we were the woman at the well, what would Jesus want from us? How would you respond to the questions "What could Jesus want from me at a time like this? How does Jesus expect me to respond? How could this Jesus expect me to respond at a time like this? How would Jesus expect me to respond at a time like this? How should Jesus expect us to respond at a time like this? "But an houris coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” An endless hallelujah to our King!

Let Us Pray: Show us how to worship you in Spirit, Father—by your Holy Spirit and in the inner chambers of our spirit. We know lip-worship (mere form) and will-worship (mere duty) are not enough, for you are not honored when our hearts are far from you. By your Spirit, enthrall our hearts again with your holiness and your grace. Will you please restore to us the joy of your sovereign salvation for us in Jesus. Bring us back to the love we had at first - love for you, love for ourselves and love for others.

Show us how to worship you in truth, Father - in keeping with the revelation of your Word. The truth about who you are and who we are; the truth about our desperate need for redemption and the perfect salvation you have given us in Jesus; the truth about how we can best love ourselves, our neighbors and serve you, and move our hearts beyond the tragic truth about how we often prefer our idols to you. Hallelujah!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtzAciGlgKE

Endless Hallelujah - Matt Redman (Worship with Lyrics)

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Matt Redman - Never Once, New Album - 10,000 reasons, Year: 2011 When I stand before Your throne Dressed in glory not my own What a joy I

Day 266: Our Unconventional Move: Accepting Our New Beginning

Day 266: Our Unconventional Move: Accepting Our New Beginning

Read: John 4:10 - 14

What did we ever do to get to where we are today? What did we ever do to get this far in our lives? What did we ever do to whomever we did it to to deserve our lots in this life? Why am I where I am now, mired in one mud hole after the other? Is there somebody out there that so desperately hates me that I am stuck for who knows how long wherever I currently am right now? Is this where I'm destined to remain through no fault of my own? I mean I did not really ask for this burden of circumstance to just enter into my home. I understand about hospitality, but is not that going a bit too far? Are there no new beginnings? And if there were, how could I even begin to accept it?

Ever have this kind of conversation with or about yourself? It is kind of a trick question in that I am confident we all have had it at one time or another. Out loud or privately, we have all definitely had this talk. If you haven't, I am equally confident that this talk is not as far from becoming a harsh reality as you may think. I guess I can say that in light of what was probably going on in the mind of the Samaritan woman. To begin with she was a Samaritan, avoided by the Jews of that day at all costs. If that wasn't going to be enough, she had been married, divorced, widowed five times, she was now perhaps at a point in life where she felt like giving up, her destiny is determined.

We all mess up. We say things we later wish we could take back. We do things we wish we could undo. We miss opportunities. This happens in all spheres of our lives. Sometimes we make mistakes at work, sometimes we hurt the people we love most, sometimes we just feel like we have even disappointed God. We all feel like we have only one destiny and nothing can ever change that. And because we all mess up, we all like to start over - to turn our backs on the past, to look forward, to hope that this time round, things just might get or are going to be better. We thirst for newness in our lives. Yes, my friends we are all dying of some kind of thirst for a new beginning!

What happens when Jesus enters the situation? He again defies conventional wisdom and He dares to talk to her. What a new beginning for her! What a new beginning of hope for us. Someone dared to get involved. Someone dared to defy our expectation that all destinies are set in stone. There’s something exciting about the possibility of starting over - new challenges, new experiences, new opportunities, new everything it seems! The next question is always going to be hardest one - one that requires of us to make the next unconventional move - of accepting our new beginning of life in Jesus Christ? After a lifetime of feeling disqualified and unworthy, how do I accept it?

Let Us Pray: Father, I thank you for the moment you dared to meet me at the well and offered to me a love that I was sure I did not deserve, was wholly unqualified to receive. Lord, so many of us are so desperately thirsty of a new beginning, a new promise, a new hope. Father in heaven, let me be blunt with you - some are feeling that wilderness experience a little too close to their hearts for comfort. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, Source of the waters that give life, giver of the Living waters, quench our thirsts that we may never thirst again, let this life giving water become in us, by you, through you, in you, a well of water springing up to eternal life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OazUWut9xew&NR=1&feature=endscreen

"Empty My Hands" by Tenth Avenue North (lyrics)

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A beautiful song about letting God empty your hands; to let Him help you let go of the things you idolize, or things you can't stop thinking about, and to pu...

Day 265: The Unconventional Move: Those Who Will Dare To Speak First

Day 265: The Unconventional Move: Those Who Will Dare To Speak First

Read: John 4:1 - 9

Today my friends it is the Lord and me who are welcoming each of you into a new day of health and wellness. After a long hot shower last night, extra strength Tylenol, a warm bed, and a dysfunctional alarm clock which allowed me to sleep beyond my regular hours, I praise my God for His 90% healing and your most welcome prayers. For the last three days it has been basically an unconscious blur of activity. I do not remember most of what happened just that my regular planned for days became an irregular conglomerate of randomness - when did I feel like eating, when did I feel I needed more medication or sleep. I so thank God for the reassuring voice of my wife.

All of us husbands and all of you husbands to be should take a little time and be ever so grateful for the true voice of the one or One that keeps you focused when you can not see straight or your day becomes garbled by too many of those mundane things. I do not know about you but I like to look at the people that seem to get written into the Bible. I look at our Gospel reading today at both the Samaritan woman and Jesus. Why did Jesus go to Samaria, where no Jew would dare to go? 'On his way to Galilee he 'had to' pass through Samaria.' Which seems more like a question mark to me as any Jew would go the long way around the bush around Samaria to avoid at all costs.

I pray that if we have learned anything at all about Jesus' ministry on earth, it is that there is never any journey that does not begin with an all out assault on conventional wisdom of the day. Everything and every journey came with a "lets see what we can turn upside down next" attitude and there was always somebody on the end of that journey whose life would be destined to be turned upside down too. The thing I beg you to notice, is that there were no smart phones back in the day that Jesus could've used to phone ahead: "Yo Samaritan woman. You do not know me. But I want you to be at Jacob's well at say - noonish. You know give me a drink." Who is gonna show?

Nope! Jesus just shows up in your life. Defies conventional cultural thingies and out of
nowhere, His voice speaks directly to you, square into your regular and unprepared life. Nothing is ever the same again. Who really knows why the Samaritan woman is at the well? Jesus does! Regular day? Irregular day? Who knows? Jesus does! The all glorious news is this, my friends, it did not matter what brought her to the well, what mattered is that Jesus was already there and waiting for her. And if we were the one at the well, He would be waiting there for us too. We do not notice Him? That is okay as Jesus already noticed us. Jesus will make the first move by the sound of His Voice.

Let Us Pray: Father, You brought the world into existence with Your Words. You defy conventional wisdom to speak in places where few people would dare to go, where still fewer people would dare to give You the time of day. You speak with the sound of your voice when we are too busy with our days and from amongst all the other voices that drone ceaselessly into our ears, Yours is the One that gets our attention. Why You would choose to so completely defy the ways and wisdom of man to speak even to me where I am, is incomprehensible to me. Why would You consider me worthy enough to defy all convention of the everyday man and come to my "Jacob's Well"? What is it about me that You so urgently feel the need to always make the very first move? Always speak the very first words I need to hear? Can you love me that much?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zulKcYItKIA
Tenth Avenue North - Worn
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Music video by Tenth Avenue North performing Worn. Worn is the newest single off Tenth Avenue North's album, The Struggle. Facebook:

Tenth Avenue North - Worn

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Music video by Tenth Avenue North performing Worn. Worn is the newest single off Tenth Avenue North's album, The Struggle. Facebook:

Day 264: "Thou art fairer than the children of men..."

My friends, I desire to express to each of you my sincerest gratitude for praying for my health and wellness to become more healthier and more well in the name of the Lord. There is some good news in that the Lord has heard you and my body has responded to your intercessions. I was finally able to sleep through most of the night. However, it still requires more time to come to a full circle of healing - a day maybe two at the most I hope. God Bless each of you in the name of The Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

Day 264: "Thou art fairer than the children of men..."

Read: Psalm 45:2

"THE entire person of Jesus is but as one gem, and His life is all along but one impression of the seal. He is altogether complete; not only in His several parts, but as a gracious all-glorious whole. His character is not a mass of fair colours mixed confusedly, nor a heap of precious stones laid carelessly one upon another; He is a picture of beauty and a breastplate of glory. In Him, all the "things of good repute" are in their proper places, and assist in adorning each other. Not one feature in His glorious person attracts attention at the expense of others; but He is perfectly and altogether lovely.

Oh, Jesus! Thy power, Thy grace, Thy justice, Thy tenderness, Thy truth, Thy majesty, and Thine immutability make up such a man, or rather such a God-man, as neither heaven nor earth hath seen elsewhere. Thy infancy, Thy eternity, Thy sufferings, Thy triumphs, Thy death, and Thine immortality, are all woven in one gorgeous tapestry, without seam or rent. Thou art music without discord; Thou art many, and yet not divided; Thou art all things, and yet not diverse.

As all the colours blend into one resplendent rainbow, so all the glories of heaven and earth meet in Thee, and unite so wondrously, that there is none like Thee in all things; nay, if all the virtues of the most excellent were bound in one bundle, they could not rival Thee, Thou mirror of all perfection. Thou hast been anointed with the holy oil of myrrh and cassia, which Thy God hath reserved for Thee alone; and as for Thy fragrance, it is as the holy perfume, the like of which none other can ever mingle, even with the art of the apothecary; each spice is fragrant, but the compound is divine."

"Oh, sacred symmetry! oh, rare connection
Of many perfects, to make one perfection!
Oh, heavenly music, where all parts do meet
In one sweet strain, to make one perfect sweet!"

The Reverend Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Let Us Pray: Lord, you overwhelm us. Your might and majesty are beyond anything we can imagine or create. Your glory is so great it simply cannot be contained. Not even the vast expanse of time and space is sufficient to encompass your glory. And yet - more beautiful still, more wonderfully still than we can imagine or comprehend, you are here and you have come to receive our worship. You have come to make your home even in our poor lives. We have come to receive all you are and all that you will in your infinite and unconditional grace give. We will cause Your name to be remembered in all generations; Therefore the peoples will give You thanks forever and ever. We come to your mountain, we come to our cross in Jesus' name. Amen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdkJYJyCk0U

HOLY HOLY HOLY PAUL WILBUR.mpg

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Thank you all for the overwhelming response to this video. It is my prayer that it continue to minister. People of God what I like more then making the

Day 263: "The Lord Our Companion"

Forgive me my friends for I find myself way under the weather. So, it is at my wife's suggestion, I post this devotional from The Reverend Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Pray for me while I am recovering. In Jesus name, please enjoy this writing of his. Amen

Day 263: "The Lord Our Companion"

'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.' (Psalm 23:4)

"Sweet are these words in describing a deathbed assurance. How many have repeated them in their last hours with intense delight!

"But the verse is equally applicable to agonies of spirit in the midst of life. Some of us, like Paul, die daily through a tendency to gloom of soul. Bunyan puts the Valley of the Shadow of Death far earlier in the pilgrimage than the river which rolls at the foot of the celestial hills. We have some of us traversed the dark and dreadful defile of "the shadow of death" several times, and we can bear witness that the Lord alone enabled us to bear up amid its wild thought, its mysterious horrors, its terrible depressions. The Lord has sustained us and kept us above all real fear of evil, even when our spirit has been overwhelmed. We have been pressed and oppressed, but yet we have lived, for we have felt the presence of the Great Shepherd and have been confident that His crook would prevent the foe from giving us any deadly wound.

Should the present time be one darkened by the raven wings of a great sorrow, let us glorify God by a peaceful trust in Him." The Reverend Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Let Us Pray: Lord, we call you friend, but your glory should overwhelm us. We name you Lord, but we fail to recognize your sovereignty. We sing your praises, but we do not reach the heights of heaven. We think of you as Father, but your kindness and love are beyond comparison. We celebrate your truth, we acknowledge your glory, but our tiny, finite minds are hopelessly inadequate to comprehend your power. God, Savior, Lord, Master and King, we come with our imperfect lives, our impoverished praises. Accept them in the name of Christ. Amen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXMIvsSrpqA

Hillsong - The Deep of Your Grace - With Subtitles/Lyrics - HD Version

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Hillsong - The Deep of Your Grace - With Subtitles/Lyrics - Mighty to Save DVD- HD Version

Day 262: "Behold Him"

Day 262: "Behold Him"

Read: Luke 24:13 - 16

"The disciples ought to have known Jesus, they had heard His voice so very often, and gazed upon that marred face so frequently, that it is wonderful they did not discover Him. Yet is it not so with you also? You have not seen Jesus lately. You have been to His table, and you have not met Him there. You are in a dark trouble this evening, and though He plainly says, "It is I, be not afraid," yet you cannot discern Him.

Alas! Our eyes are holden. We know His voice; we have looked into His face; we have leaned our head upon His bosom, and yet, though Christ is very near us, we are saying "Oh that I knew where I might find Him!" We should know Jesus, for we have the Scripture to reflect His image, and yet how possible it is for us to open that precious book and have no glimpse of the Well-beloved!

Dear child of God, are you in that state? Jesus feeds among the lilies of the Word, and you walk among those lilies, and yet you behold Him not ... And why do we not see Him? It must be ascribed in our case, as in the disciples', to unbelief. They evidently did not expect to see Jesus, and therefore they did not know Him.

To a great extent in spiritual things we get what we expect of the Lord. Faith alone can bring us to see Jesus. Make it your prayer, "Lord, open my eyes, that I may see my Savior present with me." It is a blessed thing to want to see Him; but Oh! it is better by far to gaze upon Him. To those who seek Him He is kind; but to those who find Him, beyond expression is He dear!"

A Classic Devotion by The Reverend Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Let Us Pray: Father, keep my eyes open and my faith strong to always see Jesus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkvCWeqKVEQ

Hillsong - Open My Eyes - With Subtitles/Lyrics - HD Version

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Hillsong - Open My Eyes - With Subtitles/Lyrics - Mighty to Save DVD- HD Version

Day 261: God's Letter To The Other Prodigal: "Come On In And Join The Party!"

Day 261: God's Letter To The Other Prodigal: "Come On In And Join The Party!"

Read: Luke 15:25 - 32

To: My Stay At Home Prodigal,

Over the last week or so, I have been spending as much time as I could on the 15th chapter of Luke. A truly glorious chapter with countless lessons about Jesus and His and our ministry toward those He considered the 'least, the last, the lost'. What an array of characters we have encountered - tax collectors, Pharisees, a women and her frantic struggle to find one small silver coin at all cost. Now we are with a family. A prodigal son who wants what he wants when he wants it and gets it. A father who watches his rebellious son leave and squander his life away. Now, we arrive at the final character of this drama - the son who remained at home. The unheralded son.

After a long day in the field he comes home to the sound of loud music and dancing. What was he thinking about? What do you believe he is thinking about? What is this mysterious celebration going on? Why was I not told of this so I could finish my work and get cleaned up and join in the revelry? Is my father finally throwing me a surprise party? I have been waiting forever you know! He is dirty from a long day in the fields. A servant of his father tells of the return of the rebellious child the killing of the best calf. His steps suddenly slow down. His heart sinks into the ground he's been sowing. Joy suddenly transforms into great anger and resentment! A new prodigal is revealed.

A new prodigal? Yep, I would say so! Only this one left home, never got any further than his fathers fields however far away they were from home. I would call his older brother, 'Stay at Home' Prodigal. Although he never left his home physically, he too had a considerably strained relationship with the rest of his family. Only his heart has never left home. He would be the one who would remain quietly obedient to the true cause. Work harder than most everybody else but do so for quite the selfish gain. He represents many of those folks here today who feel perhaps that while they have not sinned against God by running off, going wild, that somehow they do not measure up.

In fact, your life is so tame and boring that “wild living” isn’t part of your vocabulary. It was never meant to be wild living. But you know and most other people know who you are. You have been around for a long time working hard. But when it comes to really celebrating what God is doing in the lives of others, you don’t, no wont, rejoice. The center of attention is no longer celebrating your efforts but someone else. Quick to grumble and complain, you will continue to work the fields but to gain attention lost to the returning sinner. Hey I’m not angry at these people, the Father loves them, and I do too. How do we say, how do we convince them, “Come on in and join the party?”

Signed and Sealed by My Love, Your Father God

Let Us pray: Lord, Your celebration is for everybody. Help me, help us to be just as welcoming to those who feel on the outside looking in after years of hard, dedicated work in the service of Your kingdom. Help us to recognize them equally. Help us to be inclusive. Help us celebrate all the work done on behalf of Your kingdom. Help us to not be selfish in our hearts, let our motivations be not upon ourselves. Let us accept the open door that leads to the greatest celebration of all - in Your New Jerusalem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfGvXfe9LK8

Amy Grant - Don't Try So Hard (Lyric Video) ft. James Taylor

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Buy Now! iTunes: http://smarturl.it/iTunesHowMercyLooks?IQid=HMLFHlyric Amazon: http://smarturl.it

Day 260: One Thing Remains At Home - The Depth Of Our Father's Love

Day 260: One Thing Remains At Home - The Depth Of Our Father's Love

Read: Luke 15:20 - 24

The word for today that I would pray that you keep in your heart is Reunion. Family reunion. Let that phrase sink in for a while as well. Re-Union as in bringing together once again of that which has been for a substantial period of time, been separated by a measurable or immeasurable distance of travel. Family and friend get separated for whatever reason - job, raising a family, school, retirement, health and wellness. I would also have to include separation as a result of a relationship gone horribly bad, personal as in divorce, spiritual as in times of great doubt about God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit (Where were You God when ... Psalm 137). From a Very long way off.

In today’s devotional effort, I pray you will see one of the greatest reunions in all the Bible when the Prodigal Son came home to his father. In this parable the father is a picture of the compassionate Savior. It reveals to us how Christ receives sinful men. What a beautiful scene of reconciliation. The rebellious child is welcomed home with the full love and warmth of their gracious father. No grudges! No recriminations! No reminders of past mistakes. No accusations. It is God who loves and redeems us all. How many of you now reading this devotion experienced this during your Father's Day celebrations? How many of you witnessed this greatest of reunions in your families?

If you could see into the Father's heart what do you imagine you would see? The true depth of The Father’s Love (v. 20). You see it in His Patience (20a) as The Father has waited who knows how long for his son to return home. You see it in His Persistence (20b) as The Father ran who knows how far to meet his son. You see it in His great Passion for the moment (20c) as He stood there for who knows how long kissing his son repeatedly. If you could get close enough into the Father's heart, could you hear the resounding declaration of The Father’s Love (v. 21-24)? His sins were Excused as (21) The Father did not hold his past against him. What more could our Father do?

He Spared No Expenses (22-24)! He gave him the very best of what he had: A Robe of State covering up his scars; a Ring - Identifying with the Father's household; He gave His child sandals worn only by sons - a powerful mark of complete restoration; He gave His child great rewards - the best fatted calf held only for very most special events. What more could our Father do for us? A child returned home to His Father and a great celebration broke out! What a wonderful picture of our Father's desire for His church. When a single sinner comes to know the Father's Love! Yes, and when a believer who has fallen into sin is once again restored. Love, the one thing remaining!

Let Us Pray: Father, give me Your heart of joy when the lost come home to You. Help me to never give up on the one who seems so very far away from You, their Father. Let the joy of my Father's Love for me be the one thing remaining steadfast in my life, the Three In One Father, Son, and Holy Spirit thing, the most important thing that I'll ever need to keep celebrating with You. Thank You Father God for waiting for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_KXsMCJgBQ

One Thing Remains - Jesus Culture (lyric video)

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Lyric video in the style of iWorship to Jesus Culture's "One Thing Remains." Some of the motion backgrounds were free of copyright via this man

Day 259: Are We Ashamed To Praise Our God?

Day 259: Are We Ashamed To Praise Our God?

Read: Psalm 150

I was originally going to take a day of personal time to reflect on what God has done for me through my family, my friends and Christ's Church. It is Sunday after all and it is Father's Day. Then I started looking around me, and at my wife. All I could do was say "Praise the Lord!" I heard Pastor speak about the story of Moses. I heard this one verse thumping thru my soul: "“Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” It spoke to me so strongly, so very eloquently. Tom, Tom, remove the sandals from off thy feet for the ground you stand on is Holy!

Remove my sandals from off my feet? Um, really Lord? You know I have been walking in them for a while, right? You know that they are the ugliest most shameful feet in the world, right? You want me to shame myself in front of others with feet like mine? You want me to worship you in my bare feet in church? Um, shameful hygiene Lord? Considering all the things that God has done for us, we should never be ashamed to give him the honor and praise that he so truly deserves. Admittedly it would be weird walking around in bare feet in the presence of others! What wouldn't they think of me when they saw naked feet? Take a bath? Worse? Your parents would be ashamed?

Now I am not trying to start a new trend. But considering all the things that God has done for us, we should never be ashamed to give him the fullest honor and maximum praise that he so richly truly deserves. We are created for God’s glory and we are to offer Him praise continually. The whole breadth of Psalm 150 declares that everything that has breath, takes a breath, should be reaching for every available means to do one thing - and that is praise the Lord with every single fiber of our God created being because that is what we were created for. What exactly does ABBA God require of us regarding worship? What sacrifice of praise are we bringing into the Houses of God?

Praise is a mighty weapon of warfare in the life of the believer, when we learn how to exercise ourselves in praise regardless of our emotions we have taken a big step toward consistent victorious living. Psalm 150 tells us that we are to pick up every available musical instrument we can get our hands on and play them like there will be absolutely no tomorrow coming. Music has an incredible power that many people are unaware of. Discover the joy and encouragement that Godly music can add to your life! Have you ever stopped to consider the power of music? The power of music to so completely relax you or get you all fired and pumped up, ready to crash Hell's gates?

Let Us Pray: Let everything that lives pray and sing praises to the LORD! Psalm 150. Shatter the walls of your Jericho, Beat down the Gates of Hell with the sound of the loudest instruments you can lay your hands on! Beat upon the drums from near and far. Remind Satan in no uncertain terms that he IS through because God is coming through. Let the rousing chorus of our hallelujahs resound from within to without.

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=00BMMJNU&utm_source=GodTube+Must-See+Video&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=06%2F16%2F2013

One of the COOLEST Performances of How Great Thou Art using DRUMS!

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Using dozens of drums and percussions, a church performed one of the coolest versions of "How Gre...

Day 258: Who Will Bring Enough Of The Bread Which Gives Life?

Day 258: Who Will Bring Enough Of The Bread Which Gives Life?
 

Read: Luke 15:15 - 17

My friends, permit me to get a bit personal with you today. Not intimately so, but still, permit me to get a little bit closer and a little bit deeper into your comfort zones. I am continuing our journey with this rebellious child because so much of it is so richly and regrettably our own. I have chosen today to try and get a wee bit closer to this child. I have chosen to try and enter the rebellious child's personal space. I desire to come alongside and join this child in their journey of waywardness. I desire to come closer, become empathetic or sympathetic I know not which. I pray that you will come away with me for a few moments. Why? Simply because this is someone else's child.

I am not too sure it will be a fun and pleasant journey. Probably not the best of ways to come into your weekends. It is Father's day weekend after all and it is definitely a time to celebrate all those fathers which give their all to their children. By all means I beg that you continue your celebrations in earnest. But take a few moments of your time to remember too this wayward, rebellious child has a Father too that waits for His child to return home to His Loving Father's out stretched arms. A Father who will, unconditionally choose for the sake of the one, set everything else aside. He will wait. He will wait as long as it takes for the moment, for the day, when His child hungers.

Two people on opposite sides of life. Both suffering for the desperate want and need of each others company. Both are crying buckets for each other. This child who is on their knees, covered head to toe in pig slop, smelling so bad that pigs will not come near him and neither will anyone else. He is unclean. He is untouchable. He is a very pitiable sight to behold for anyone who will even take a moment to look. Is this child worthy of our empathy or our sympathy? What do you think? He has made his bed! I can easily say - "you did it to yourself!" "I told you this would happen!" "You broke it, on your own so now can just you fix it on your own too!" Is this why we come near?

17 'But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!' We watch as the moment has arrived when the child regains their senses. They are mad at themselves for where they are, fully aware of where they have placed themselves and how they placed themselves there. He asks in anguish "how many of of my fathers hired men have more than enough bread to eat?" My question for you to ponder is how many of us who allegedly stake their claim to being disciples 'hired men' of our Father God thought enough to bring enough bread of life (Jesus Christ) to give life to God's child?

Let Us Pray: We praise You, O God of the Harvest and Lord of all creation, and ask for
You blessings upon all fathers and their children, not only upon them but upon all of the wayward and rebellious children of Your kingdom who wander far and wide, who
find themselves on their knees, starving, covered head to toe in pig slop, untouchable,
and utterly pitiable in their outward appearance. You send us, Your alleged disciples,
Your 'hired hands' to come alongside. But we are too often repulsed, too often we're
ill-prepared in our hearts to give of ourselves the way You need us to give. Lord, put
a loaf of bread in our hands, place the Bread which gives Life, Jesus, into our hearts.
God, Let the Bread of Life that we bring give strength that this child may return home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN0Wr9kebPc
Fill Me Up - Jesus Culture
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MERCY JESUS

Fill Me Up - Jesus Culture

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MERCY JESUS

Day 257: Our Squandered Estates, Our Father God's Unchanging Love

Day 257: Our Squandered Estates, Our Father God's Unchanging Love

Read: Luke 15:11 - 16, Psalm 136, Isaiah 43:1 - 7

There are some passages of Scripture that you just sometimes have difficulty trying to figure out - "Just what was on the Lord's mind when He said that?" Why does the Lord just seem to want to drop a bombshell on top of us when we might least expect it? There are times it seems that the Lord just goes 'hardcore' on our spirits. There are no pleasantries. There is just 'boom' - here it is folks! 'You will not like what I am about to lay on you, but here it is anyway. So get over it!' What is this business about God feeling the need to be so demanding, so abrupt with us? I so have allot of trouble with people who want to or feel the need to be abrupt and so utterly demanding with my time!

So we come to the wayward son who abruptly approaches his father and demands of him his share of the family inheritance. The father gives no argument, accedes to his son's request. Brothers and sisters, when have we not done this before with our own Mom and Dads? 13 And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. And there is that word that thumps into your soul: 'squander'! That 'I told you so' word that seemingly remains unsaid until it is too late. Now here it is! From the mouth of Jesus Himself! He so desires your attention! Does He have it?

So now here is the revelation that was revealed to me while I and I suspect you too were so busy focusing on the rebellious son. Slam on the brakes folks it is about to get even more abrupt! The son is not the only one in the story. How so quickly did we forget the presence of the father which remained at home. We want to know about all the particulars of the sons soon to be failed efforts. We are slathering for all those juicy details. But the father has never left the story. We probably just left the father behind just like the son. Revelation (drum roll): It's all about the father who stayed at home! You see as long as there's a loving Father, our squandered story's never done!

In those best of times and in those very worst of times, our 'stay at home' Father God says: "I love you so much that I will always wait for you!" What a mess we all make of ourselves when we run from God, squander our lives, make a complete waste of them. The wayward son reveals a side of God’s character which most people do not know or dare to take the time to realize when they are busy squandering themselves, and that is His Love (1 Corinthians 13). Father God's love does not depend in the least on how good you were before your abrupt departure, how badly you squandered or how many pigs you ended up slopping. The Father’s Love for us never leaves home!

Let Us Pray: Thank You for never giving up on me, O, Father. Thank you that when I was abrupt and rebellious with you, so fully intent, so fully committed to doing things in my own way, so utterly ready to squander everything You ever gave me, that You will always wait patiently for me. You will always Love me even while I'm so foolishly engaged in hating myself. Thank You for always remaining at home. Thank You for providing Your rebellious children with that last remaining singular hope of always having a home to return to even if it can never be our own where we were raised.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRtFi2Mw-c8

Your Love Never Fails | Jesus Culture

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VERSE 1: Nothing can separate Even if I ran away Your love never fails I know I still make mistakes But You have new mercies for me everyday Your love never ...

Day 256: The Rebellion Of The Prodigal Son: It's In Our DNA Folks!

Day 256: The Rebellion Of The Prodigal Son: It's In Our DNA Folks!

Read: Luke 15:11 - 32

Well, we continue our foray into Luke 15. We have been getting an insiders look into the home of Tax Collectors. We have watched from afar the grumbling and groaning of the Pharisees on the outside looking in and took a glance at a women upsetting her entire house, upending impossibly heavy furniture for the sake of one silver coin. I am now realizing something else about these Parables. That is they all take place in the context of someone's home. The first Parables were not that personal to us. In all the Parables up to now in this chapter, we probably could not readily identify with any of the characters. Now Jesus is upping the stakes. Now it is becoming about our family! It is becoming deeply personal. It is becoming about who we are!

The first thing Jesus announces to us is in no uncertain terms is the rebellion of the son. No introductions, no names, no ages, no information about the size if the family, the make up of the family. Are they rich? Are they poor? Are they middle class? Who knows. All we are introduced to is the richness of the strife that is taking place inside. What a familiar picture that is. Strife inside the family structure. Strife happens in all shapes and sizes. It comes in various degrees of intensity from raised voices to all of the impossibly heavy furniture being upended every which way possible. We do not know when it started? Was it spontaneous? Rebellion is as Rebellion always will be!

All of us know a younger son. He is someone, although not always so, who is loved and properly raised by parents, yet he insists on rejecting this love in order to make his own way in life. He isn't necessarily being the most mature in his decision making skills and we question whether he understands the responsibility that inevitably comes with his course of action. Nothing anybody says is 'right for his idea of living his life'. I  have been there and done that. We're rebellious much to the chagrin of our parents. Rebelliousness is in our DNA. It is in all of our DNA. It has been there ever since Eden. Embedded in our nature is a desire to say to God that we will do things our own way.

So the younger son's demand to give him his share of the inheritance - even though he had probably done precious little to earn it is not so surprising to me. Son's or I guess even daughters (they will tell you they have a right to rebel just a bit too) will do as they please. What is surprising is that the father gave in so easily. He did not force obedience upon him. Our gracious heavenly father loves us so much that He too wants us to love Him freely. God our Father desires intimacy with His children putting the choice of that relationship into our hands. Even if we squander all He has given us in the riches of His grace. All we can do with our DNA to alter it is splice in God's DNA.

Let Us Pray: Father, You call rebellion and stubbornness detestable attitudes. I now confess that my actions are a reflection of the attitude of my heart. Your Word says in Proverbs 23:7, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." Too many times, I have grievously sinned against You, Heavenly Father. I sinned by going my own way and doing what I wanted to do. These actions have opened the door for the enemy to have an entrance into my life, to harass and attack me. I now confess this rebellious spirit and humbly repent. I want peace and joy in my heart. Father, I choose to have a humble and obedient spirit. I choose to walk toward the light. I claim the cleansing power of the Blood of Jesus over every area of my life and mind, in Jesus' name.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P5MURzi5us

Jesus Culture - Break Every Chain (Hip Hop Remix) (ft. Jen Choi, John Oh, and D.T.)

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Bringing glory to the Lord through hiphop. Decided to take the chorus from a Jesus Culture song that

Day 255: Lighting Our Lights, Upending Our Furniture, Seeking Lost Souls

Day 255: Lighting Our Lights, Upending Our Furniture, Seeking Lost Souls

Read: Luke 15:1 - 10

I am having fun right now. I just want you to know that. The more that I delve into this Parable the more and more God is ever enlightening my life with deeper and deeper truth of what I actually mean to Him in the grand scheme of this thing called my life. I just cannot wait to find what greater joy the Shepherd has in store for me and for you. Today desire to focus on, and share with you a new revelation the Lord gave me yesterday. Something I feel we need to consider over and over again because it is so that important we do it. A message that deals with our purpose, why we are a church and why God has called us to do the things that we are to do. How will you respond?

For those in His audience with our Lord then and our reading audience today who are not able to relate as well to the cost and importance of a sheep to a shepherd, Jesus is now driving home the point using something an object nearly everyone present is able to identify with - money. Jesus wants to make sure in no uncertain terms that we understand the full depth of loss God feels when any one of us finds themselves lost. So He gives us a new Parable - this one about a woman who lost a silver coin. We do not know if she was young or old, widow or married, a Jew or a Gentile, but we do know that the coin was of a highly critically value to her present and future existence.

Jesus says, "Suppose you’re a woman who loses a valuable coin, what would you do? I will tell you what you’d do. You would light a lamp and move the furniture. You’d go through every nook and through every cranny in the house until you found it. And when you found it there would be a celebration. You’d call your neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me. I have found that which was lost.’" Speaking to the Pharisees that were present He knew that their love of every last nickel and dime would send them to their knees (no prayer here except maybe 'Lord, show me my money'). Why do we or should we seek to upend an entire household of extraordinarily heavy furniture?

But what have we as the Body of Christ, the church really been called to do? What is our purpose? Light the light that we may seek that which we assign great value to is lost? We are not the one's who assign the value to that which we are called to seek. One coin is not of much value to me and definitely not worth upending furniture that I will have to break my back on to put back to its original place. But for God, that coin is a soul lost in sin and definitely worth more than any one of us can imagine. I do not guess that God has much furniture to upend in heaven above. But He did have a Son, The Light of all our lives who upended His perfect household just for you, just for me.

Let Us Pray: Lord Jesus Christ, Light of my life, Author of my Salvation, Restorer of my Soul, most days I simply cannot bring myself to assign any value to a single coin lost somewhere in my household. It is after all just one coin that can eventually be replaced with another. I just do not see why I should tear up my house, throw my furniture every which way for the sake of a coin which has minimal value to me. Why should I seek to cause to bring great personal anguish and physical pain upon myself when I know deeper still in my spirit, that it may eventually show up or it may not. I am convinced my attitude of 'so what I could never have purchased anything with it' is more important than just knowing where it is. I am after all merely a human being.

But You are God! And every lost 'coin', every lost soul is of infinite value to You. So much so, that You upended Your household in the heavens, sent Your Son Jesus into mine and my neighbors and by His sacrifice, He upended ours and set things a right. He put us and our furniture in their proper places. For we have a home waiting for us above, a mansion with many rooms. Help me and my neighbors to never lose sight of how precious each and every person, each and every household in Your Kingdom is to You. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, give unto us a steadfast desire and passion to help find those who are of the greatest, most infinite value to You. Lord, give unto us Your strength that we too may light our lights and upend furniture! Thank You Lord. Amen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwpuHQlqUPM

We could change the world - Matt Redman (Worship Song with lyrics)

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Matt Redman - We could change the world, New Album - 10,000 reasons, Year: 2011 Could we live