Lost Hope

TRUST GOD EVEN WHEN YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND.

Romans 8:24-28 NLT

24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)
26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own
will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

SINCERELY SEEK THE TRUTH.

Romans 15:4 NIV

4For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

James 1:3, 4 NIV

3You know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Thanks DL and SS!

Turn Away, Give It Up

How often do we find ourselves confessing the same sins over and over again? That repeated sin may be symptomatic of our confessing to receive relief from our guilt, rather than true repentance. Repenting of our sin is turning away from it, giving it up -- not in our own strength, but in His. His Holy Spirit, living in us, empowers us to overcome the temptation of and desire for sin.

The trouble is, we often live without asking for that empowerment...God never asks us to do something He won’t empower us to do. It’s our choice...Anything less than seeking His strength at the point of decision indicates a less than complete desire to change.

We’re quite capable of confessing sins we don’t really want to give up, aren’t we? But our Lord wants us to turn from them...Lord, forgive us when we confess without repentance. Help us desire to turn away from our sins in the strength of Your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Copyright 1999 PrayerPower Ministries, P.O. Box 1368, Dallas, TX 75380-1368, 1-800-949-PRAY. May be copied for personal or church use--please include PrayerPower name, address and phone on copies.

Open the Eyes of My Heart

My head gets it, my heart is stubborn.

No man was ever so much deceived by another as by himself.

Sir Fulke Greville

Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
~James 1:22

It's Me Again, Lord

Word of God Speak...
I'm finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet hear Your voice

Word of God speak, would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see Your majesty
To be still and know that You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest in Your holiness

Word of God Speak~Artist: Mercy Me

Too Much

"How do you know when how much is too much? Too much too soon. Too much information. Too much fun. Too much love. Too much to ask... And when is it all just too much to bear?"

more from Grey's Anatomy

Strength in the Struggle

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
1 Thessalonians 5:16-17

As Christians, God promises us many things, but a nice convenient, easy life isn't in the contract...Fact of the matter is that struggles are a part of everyday life, for everybody. God doesn't want us to struggle per se, but Satan sure does because it is during those struggles that we begin to question and doubt God. The more we question and doubt, the closer Satan nestles up to us and whispers in our ear that it's not worth it.

Paul said to rejoice, pray, and be thankful for everything. We don't always know the lessons or see the rewards that God has in store for us, but God knows. By keeping our eyes on Him, in His time, those blessings will become clear. It might not be immediately or even what we had planned, but we aren't the ones in control. God is. Just trust that He has your best interest in mind.

From Jeremy’s devotions at http://jdbdevotions.blogspot.com/2005/06/pray-without-ceasing.html

I’d almost forgotten about these, JB. Well worth revisiting.

Heard the song "Broken" by Lindsey Haun on the way to work this morning, then "Walk On" by Reba. And then I visited Jeremy's "Welcome to My World" and got re-directed to his devotions (above). I'm hearing, it's just hard to follow through.

"Little girl, don't be so blue, I know what you're going through
Don't let it beat you up
Heaven knows that getting scars only makes you who you are...

When you're broken in a million little pieces
and you're trying but you can't hold on anymore..." ~ Broken


Walk on.

All Praise to the Spirit!

Thy mercy, my God, is the theme of my song
The joy of my heart and the boast of my tongue
Thy free grace alone from the first to the last
Hath won my affection and bound my soul fast

Without Thy sweet mercy I could not live here
Sin would reduce me to utter despair
But through Thy free goodness my spirits revive
And He that first made me still keeps me alive.

Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart
Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart
Dissolved by Thy goodness, I fall to the ground
And weep for the praise of the mercy I’ve found

Great Father of mercies, Thy goodness I own
And the covenant love of Thy crucified Son
All praise to the Spirit, whose whisper divine
Seals mercy, and pardon, and righteousness mine

Thy Mercy~Artist: Caedmon's Call

Hallelujah!

Disobedience

For you lurkers...this is good, lurk over there: http://ccjasper.blogspot.com/2006/11/of-broken-arms-souls.html

Cowboy

Cowboy, take me away
Fly this girl as high as you can into the wild blue
Set me free, oh I pray
Closer to heaven above and closer to you
Closer to you.

Artist~Dixie Chicks

Don't Believe Everything You Think

Don't believe everything you think.

Yeah.