Just a Thought =)

Thank you...
      So much....
           For everything...
        Seriously...
      Amen!

A Journal Entry (Tues Nov. 16, 2010)

"'I love thee, O LORD, my strength. 

Psalm 18:1'

Good morning Love. Just wanted to jot down a quick letter of praise to show my love for you. I appreciate all that you've done and am exceedingly excited about all that you'll do & are doing in & through me. You're the best LORD. Thanks for Your love, for being my strength. For being willing to step in & handle things when I can't. I love the way You talk to me, Your so gentle yet stern. I need that, I need You! You're special, terrific, magnificent, majestic. Your lovely & precious. Nothing in this world could ever  add up to Your worth. You're worthy! I'm honored to serve You. Thank You for adopting me & befriending me. Thanks for receiving me & giving me a garment of praise when my spirit gets a little too heavy for me. Thank You for Your Word & for constantly [& consistently] whispering instruction. Thank You for not smiting me me when I don't listen to You, but You are always patient& giving me another chance. Thank You for allowing me to fall sometimes so I can learn from my actions, thank You even more for being there to help me up after every fall. Thanks for correction & chastisement because I know it is another expression of Your undying love for me. Thank You for wisdom & understanding and for giving me the grace & mercy to operate [& learn how to operate] it more accurately. Thank You for Your honesty, thanks for salvation. Thanks for eternity, and that I get to spend it face-to-face with You. Thank You for natural families through blood and also extended members (through faith). I love You LORD & I really want to to say thank You for being such a great Father. Thank You for being You!

Luv,

Li" 

Everything I've Wanted in A Dad

My devotional today:

 Make a list of everything you want in a father.
Then go back to that list and put a check beside every one of those qualities that you see in God. (source: girlfriendsingod@crosswalk.com)


Caring
Kind
Thoughtful
Insightful
Wise
Strong
Protective
Encouraging
Accepting
Proud
Supportive
Loving
Understanding
Honest
Protective

Thank You Lord for being everything on this list and more! =)

My answer

Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men."

2 Thessalonians 5:14-15

Thank you for your quick answer. I pray that You would give me strength, wisdom and understanding as I attempt to walk in the way of Your will.

Wise Counsel

"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."

John 14:26

Dad,

This is Your promise to me. I need it to be fulfilled right now. I know that You are not a man that You would lie, and that Your promises to Your children are always yes and amen. I believe, so I'm expecting to receive according to my measure of faith. I will read Your word in search of counsel on how to deal with the situation I am facing. I know You won't disappoint me by not answering me, because Your love is mighty and can do anything BUT fail. Thank You for staying true to Your word and honoring it above Your name. You really are the best. I ask You humbly for a rhema. I love You. In Jesus' name... Amen

Keeping Your Commands

To Phos Tou Kosmou [The Light Of The World]

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.  

1 John 1:5-7

Then God spoke all these words:

 ²“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of slavery in Egypt.

 ³“Never have any other god.  

⁴Never make your own carved idols or statues that represent any creature in the sky, on the earth, or in the water.  

⁵Never worship them or serve them, because I, the Lord your God, am a God who does not tolerate rivals. I punish children for their parents’ sins to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.  

⁶But I show mercy to thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my commandments.

 ⁷“Never use the name of the Lord your God carelessly. The Lord will make sure that anyone who carelessly uses his name will be punished.

 ⁸“Remember the day of worship by observing it as a holy day. ⁹You have six days to do all your work.  

¹⁰The seventh day is the day of worship dedicated to the Lord your God. You, your sons, your daughters, your male and female slaves, your cattle, and the foreigners living in your city must never do any work on that day.  

¹¹In six days the Lord made heaven, earth, and the sea, along with everything in them. He didn’t work on the seventh day. That’s why the Lord blessed the day he stopped his work and set this day apart as holy.

 ¹²“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live for a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

 ¹³“Never murder.

 ¹⁴“Never commit adultery.

 ¹⁵“Never steal.

 ¹⁶“Never lie when you testify about your neighbor.

 ¹⁷“Never desire to take your neighbor’s household away from him.

   “Never desire to take your neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey, or anything else that belongs to him.” 

Exodus 20:1-17 [GOD'S WORD TRANSLATION]

Jesus replied, "'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments."

Matthew 22:37-40 [New Living Translation]

LORD,

I appreciate the grace you've given me to see the need to walk in the light. Help me not to fellowship with darkness, and also not to shun those who do. Make me honorable by helping me to keep Your laws. Remind me to write them on my heart so that you won't give me over to a reprobate mind. Discipline me as a disciple. Teach me Your ways and I'll follow You forever. I repent for breaking your laws. I am prone to honor myself above you by investing my money, time and energy into the things that I want to do, rather than those things I need to do for You. Sometimes I sleep, when I should pray and eat natural food when I should read Your Word. At times I use Your name without regard for how Holy it is/You are. There is not a day that I set aside to only worship You. I go to church on Sundays, but afterward I usually do whatever it is that I want to do (i.e. watch a movie, go out with friends). I have not honored You in keeping the sabbath holy. I repent and dedicate every Sunday to You. I will do no work on that day, but will only feed myself with Your Word and submerge myself in prayer, that I may be more like You. I have not been completely honest when filling out my time sheets at work. I often add an extra 5 minutes or round up or down. That is considered stealing and lying and I repent and vow to be completely honest from this day forth. Please forgive me and give me a fresh start. I want to be right with You. Rid me of pride and animosity toward others. I want to be loving regardless of how people treat me. I want to be gracious and generous and win people with Your love! I surrender to You and Your Lordship and ask that You would be in control of my life at all times. Make me aware of the times I try to take the reigns out of Your hands and do things on me own. You are the vine, and I am only a branch. Without You I can do nothing! NOTHING! I can't hold a conversation, I can't have meaningful relationships, I can't even sleep well. It is in You that I move and have my being, and I am content with that LORD. All I need is You! You certainly are all I need. Help me to be a living example of that. Show me exactly how to walk worthy of the call on my life [as stated in Eph 4:1]. LORD, I want to look just like my Father. I want my face to glow w/ radiance so that others will look at me and know that I've been with You. Humble me and make me new. Teach me and show me how to impact Your people. Reveal the things that You've placed in me to be used to bring You glory to the earth. Highlight the desires You've given me that I need to move forward with. Show me Your glory. I don't want to settle for visitation of Your Spirit, but I need it to be an habitation. I need to abide in Your presence, please show me how to live with You on my mind at all times. Help me to think only on things that are just, true, lovely, pure, honest and of good report. Remind me to only meditate on Your Word... day in and day out. Let me be a living sacrifice to you and a testament to Your awesome holiness. Get me to the point where I can suffer gladly for Christ's sake without murmuring or complaint. Mature me Lord, and allow me to see that the work You started in me will not be completed on this earth. Keep me mindful of the fact that I will never be at the place where I can say I have it all the way together. Jesus was the only 100% sinless man, but I want to be as sinless as possible. Help me, lead me, guide me and allow me to only hear and see what it is that You want me to know about. Let me not draw conclusions based on fleshly analyzing. Make me embrace the fact that as long as I acknowledge that I only know in part I will be wise. Teach me to only speak Your words, because anyone who will try to use them against me will fail. Invade my heart with Your love and light. Thank You for listening to me, and thank You for honoring the requests I make concerning Your glory. It is in Jesus' most powerful and matchless name I pray. Amen

"Hey... Where's the cream filling!?"

Forethought (addressed to you [reader]):
A pure heart should be the center of our relationship with Christ. Not pure in the sense of never doing anything wrong but just being completely open & honest with Him and loving Him and wanting to truly do what He wants us to do. Respecting Him and honoring Him, just because He deserves that (at the least)!
Our honor should act as the soft, creamy filling at the center of your favorite doughnut or snack. The body of Christ seems to be missing it, and so there is just this evasive gaping hole! And God is not satisfied with us because His favorite part of the church (worship/relationship) is not there. I don't know about you, but I want to be the sweet cream filling that He enjoys!

The Lord said, "Because this people draws near with their mouth and with their lips to honor me, but they have removed their heart far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which has been taught;

Isaiah 29:13 (World English Bible [WEB])

You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

Matthew 15:8 (WEB)

That all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

John 5:23 (NIV)

LORD,

I first apologize for "worshipping" You with songs and dance and words but without honoring You. Forgive me for the times when I set my heart on doing things for You without ever asking You or seeking how You would like for me to come to You. I repent, and vow that from here on out I will check with You to make sure that my offering will be pleasing and acceptable. I promise to follow Your guidelines for worship and not get caught up in what I want it to be like. Nor will I come to You only caring about You filling my emotional needs. Worship is a privilege, but I won't do it for just the benefits any longer. I won't "worship" You by asking You for anything. I won't worship You by complaining about my "needs". I refuse to "worship" You by making excuses for my self or my short-comings. No longer will I attempt to "worship" You without acknowledging that You are Holy and I need to be cleaned (by repentance) before I even think of stepping foot into Your presence.  It's amazing how we make so much preparation and waste so much time toiling and working up others and ourselves to give You faulty worship. We get trapped in our "it's all about me" mindsets and make lots of noise and get all emotional and cry and scream and roll around just to make a huge commotion and even bigger fools of ourselves. We involve so much of what we like and never think to consider what it is You require from us. We stain your altars with our filth. We touch your sacred things with filthy hands. We shoot praises from foul mouths that slander, curse and belittle Your beloved. We take the very thing that is supposed to be at the epi-center of our relationship with You and we trample it under our feet without giving it a second thought. We sit down to sing songs inviting You in and asking You to talk, but before You can open Your mouth to speak we leave You and continue with our daily routines. We support the very things and people that curse You. We feed ourselves with their words and check into what they are doing and look to them for advice and we love them and we lend more of our time to seeing what they are doing and saying than we even think of spending with you. It's offensive and I do not want to willingly offend our Holy God anymore. So I repent, and I pray for the person(s) who will read this. I ask that You would prick their hearts, even if it is calloused. I pray that You would turn our stony hearts to soft fleshy ones, that can feel You and are sensitive to Your leading. Make us sheep that know Your voice and will stubbornly refuse to follow any stranger's. Break our hearts for the things that break Yours. Give us an Holy Spirit lead urgency to seek Your face. To spend time with You. To enjoy lying in Your presence. Take us to the heart of true worship, where it's all about You Jesus! Humble us! Remove haughtiness in our lives. Kill our arrogance and pride! Move us to be moved by You. Lord, it's only by Your Spirit that we can even want to be close to You. Draw us Father. Woo us! Correct us and Discipline us! Make us Your true disciples, one's who will wait for Your instruction. One's who spend time with You and don't want to go anywhere without You alongside of them. Lord, make us want You more than we want to see souls saved. If we love You and follow after You then souls will be saved, but we cannot accomplish this by working backward! You and Your laws must be the apple of our eyes and the seal upon our hearts! Take us there, and make us fall so much in love that we'll never think of turning back! I love You Lord. I honor You, I bless You and I thank You! & Jesus, it is in Your name that I ask these things according to Your word [John 14:14]!