Being The Church

Ok, so here's the thoughts I have about today. I attended a little different kind of church service today. Yep, it was us, as 'The Church' walking and talking and sharing our prayer requests and being....yep, just being in Him. Sharing thoughts, asking questions of each other with no condemnation, no judgements, no hidden agendas, and no lack of the love we have for each other in Christ. We met at a local park, discovered some beautiful trails with a lake and flowers and wildlife and just the sweetest communion with God, His saints and nature. See the thing that is so cool here is that we really don't know each other that well. Some of us, know one other or two or what have you...but the huge part of this particular day of blessing for me was that I probably shared more today with 'The Church' than I have ever shared with my regular church. I guess the Lord allowed us the freedom to be real, not perfect, but able to come alongside each other because of our bond in Christ. There was some tentativeness felt, I guess as I let the Lord lead me in this. Sometimes this is hard for me, because I get in the way of His gentle guidance so often....but today....He touched me and gave me assurance that this was a very good thing to have been a part of. I was moved to ask for prayer for my son, who needs Jesus in his life, and who needs a job this summer. I was moved to pray some unshared prayers as well, and I think this is ok. He was there, in us and amongst us. He heard them all.
This verse spoke to me last night and I shared it today. It makes my heart leap.

1 Samuel 16:7
But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

With Him living in and through me He is showing me how to do the same.

Longing

My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. Isaiah 26:9

When young people in love are apart, they long to be with each other again. When a parent is separated from his or her child, the parent misses the child intensely. When a spouse can no longer be with a long time marriage partner because of disease, death, or divorce, that person's soul can ache to be reunited to the one they have loved. I wonder does my spirit ache to be with God? Do I end each day and begin the next longing to be in the Presence of God? I want to recognize my God-hunger and not only satisfy it by spending time in His Presence, but also communicating my desires, affections, and thoughts to Him during these times of longing. He knows and He replaces these aches of the soul with Himself.
Father, I do ache sometimes even in Your Presence. I know the piece of my soul that sometimes I feel is missing is only found in You. Please, dear Father, let me remember that You are very real and present in my life today and every day. You fill me and replace that ache with Yourself. Thank You for that. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine; according to his power that be at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20,21

Thoughts based on a devotion from:
www.SearchGodsWord.org

Well, here's a thought

Replacing Numbness

Brennan Manning in his book The Importance of Being Foolish, writes: Consider how our churches have explored and exploited our need to replace the numbness in our lives with a passion for something, anything. We've created worship in which music is meant to stir the emotions but the soul is left unmoved, in which the words spoken are little more than manipulations of the heart. We have created cathartic experiences filled with weeping and dancing in the Spirit that leaves us with the sense that we have touched God but that fail to give us the sense that God has touched us. We run to churches where the message feels good and where we feel energized and uplifted - but never challenged or convicted. "It is not surprising that spiritual experiences are mushrooming all over the place and have become highly sought-after commercial items," writes Henri Nouwen. "Many people flock to places and persons who promise intensive experiences of togetherness, cathartic emotions of exhilaration and sweetness, and liberating sensations of rapture and ecstasy. In our desperate need for fulfillment and our restless search for the experience of divine intimacy, we are all too prone to construct our own spiritual events."


HOW DESPERATELY WE WANT TO FEEL..... I want only intimacy with Him by His Hand ...not mine...not others. I want my relationships with others to be the same....because of His workings and weavings...not mine. I look to You, Lord to help me with this because feeling seems so much better than trusting, sometimes.

picture www.arbre-de-lune.fr

So many books....

Neil Cole on "Organic Church" I think Organic Church is a book I want to pick up. Here are some quotes that are posted on the House Church blog.On Tranformation:Church attendance, however, is not the barometer of how Christianity is doing. Ultimately, transformation is the product of the Gospel. It is not enough to fill our churches; we must transform our world. Society and culture should change if the church has been truly effective. (Intro)The measure of the Church’s influence is found in society-on the streets, not in the pews. (Intro)It is not the local church that will change the world; it is Jesus. Attendance on Sundays does not transform lives; Jesus within their hearts is what changes people. (intro)On Reaching Others:Instead of bringing people to church so that we can then bring them to Christ, let’s bring Christ to people where they live. We may find that new church will grow out of such an enterprise, a church that is more centered in life and the workplace, where the Gospel is supposed to make a difference. What will happen if we plan the seed of the Kingdom of God in the places where life happens and where society is formed ? (intro)If you want to win this world to Christ, you are going to have to sit in the smoking section. That is where lost people are found and if you make them put their cigarette out to hear the message they will be thinking about only one thing: “When can I get another cigarette?” (intro)On the Core Message:Everything about church begins and ends with the single question: Who is Jesus to you? Jesus statement about the church has a context that begins with God’s grace revealing the identity of Jesus and ends with the work of Christ on the cross and His awesome resurrection three days later. Even if we get everything else right but skip this important question, we are not truly the church. Church begins with Jesus: who he is and what He has done. It is all about Jesus, and if it begins to be about something else, then it stops being the church as Jesus mean it to be. (7)On "The Church":“We want to lower the bar of how church is done and raise the bar of what it means to be a disciple.” If Church is simple enough that everyone can do it and is made up of people who take up their cross and follow Jesus at any cost, the result will be church that empower the common Christian to do the uncommon works of God. (27)The conventional church has become so complicated and difficult to pull off that only a rare person who is a professional can do it every week. Many people feel that to lower the bar of how church is done is close to blasphemous because the Church is Jesus' expression of the Kingdom on earth…This results in a passive church whose members come and act more like spectators than empowered agents of God’s kingdom. (27)Many a church continues long after the soul of the church has departed because the building itself keeps them going. A building can become an artificial life support system that keeps a church alive even though it died long ago. (37)When you imagine the amount of resources, energy and time invested in a service held only one day a week, it is remarkable. With all the importance placed on this event, you would expect there to be a lot of scriptural directives to make sure people get it right. But if you search all of the New Testament looking for the commands or injunctions having to do with this important weekly event, you will find them sadly missing. Instead you will find verses, chapters, and entire books that speak to how we are to live together as a spiritual family (40)We have come to understand Church as this: the presence of Jesus among His people called out as a spiritual family to pursue His mission on this planet. (53)

Again, my thoughts are it is nothing we are doing but Christ in us, but there are some great thoughts to ponder in this article if you are focusing on Him and doing "church". Life is church. We are His Body.

Prayer by Thomas Merton

Dear God: I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following Your will does not mean I am actually doing so. But I believe this. I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please You. I hope I have that desire in everything that I do. I hope I never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this, You will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it at the time. Therefore, I will trust You always for though I may seem to be lost, and in the shadow of death, I will not be afraid, because I know You will never leave me to face my troubles all alone. (Thomas Merton)

picture by www.christianartforyou.com

Disturbed

I came across this prayer from a brother in Christ. His blog is brokenstainedglass. Interesting guy and thoughts. It reminds me that when life is too comfortable, and too easy, when we aren't in a restless thought and process, we are either totally abiding in Christ or we are out of that place of "Divine Discontent". May I always be listening. May I be disturbed as He disturbs me.

"A prayer from Sir Francis Drake that I refer to in the book.
Disturb us, Lord
when we are too well pleased with ourselves;
when our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little
when we arrive safely because we sailed too close to the shore
Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess
we have lost our thirst for the Waters of Life;
having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity;
and in our efforts to build a new earth,
we have allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly -
to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery;
where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars.
We ask you push back the horizons of our hopes,
and to push us in the future with strength, courage, hope and love. "

Filling the empty space

Widowed? Abandoned? Alone? Jesus will fill up that big empty space in your soul.

However......the world would say otherwise. Read this great advice????

(Know When You've Got it Good You made a list, you've dated some sexy singles, and finally one came along that fits the bill perfectly. So why can't you seem to fully enjoy the relationship? You have to let yourself trust again. It takes time, effort, and risk, but if you've found the one, the reward is worth it. Have faith that you've made the right decision. After all, ultimately the only person who knows what's best for you is... you. ) By MSN...news?

Riggghhht....maybe not!

pictures www.goes.org.uk
www.actingforum.org

Forgiveness

Well, I started listening to a series on forgiveness by Frank Friedman. This man will never know what his teaching on the life we live in Christ has done for my journey with the Lord. He is a man who speaks the Truth in love. He speaks Jesus.

He did this series a while ago, I think and I was just talking to a brother about this today. Here it is, on the radio. God is intervening in His most glorious way and shedding light into and on my life in Christ.

I can't do it. Forgive. My life is not my own. Jesus is a forgiver. I can' t, but I can through the cross of Jesus. I need to fix my eyes on Him.

He restores my soul

Today this picture of serenity touched my heart. It gave me a peace, but nothing like the peace of Jesus that floods my entire being. Eternal life continues today.

Happy Anniversary, if he only knew

Yea, so today is the big 25th.....yep, 25 years.....25 faithful years (on my part). Is it time to let go ? He has most definitely moved on. God, where is the answer to this prayer? ....6 years....long time to wait for an answer. Am I living under the law..... am I released by grace? Still searching for that answer.

An Easter morn, at "Sonrise"

Might I share from my heart. Is there any other way to share? I attended a gathering of beautiful saints yesterday on Easter Sunday for a "Sonrise Service" at first light....which did appear shortly after arriving there. It was cold. It was muddy. It was a site where one would not find oneself there for no good reason. The location was a reminder of a time 2000 and some odd years ago when Jesus did something that sometimes I wonder... why? This small gathering maybe had the answers in their hearts as we stood together, with one another, a little nervous, a little unfamiliar with one another (some of us), but each one of us remembering. I could see His heart broken for each one of us there. He went to the cross for each of us, for our pain and hurt and He knows how we feel, alone, tired, sick, despairing for Him and His understanding at different times. He was there. He was always there. His words, "It is finished", was not a cry of despair like ours are so often. No, His cry was one of victory. Completed redemptive work. The last note to the song had been written. I saw this work on that hill yesterday as I viewed three crosses standing against Father's sky. As we came together as His Body and as we honoured His life in us, His love for us, His plan for us, His choice to "go to hell for us rather than go to heaven without us", as Max Lucado words it, I saw the cross, the cross the wonderful cross in those moments. I saw my Redeemer in each saint standing, unique and yet unified by Him, by Him because of Him, for Him. We stood there, forgiven, redeemed, righteous in Him, sanctified, holy children of a living God, seated at the right hand of God with Jesus in Jesus and significant because of Him. It is finished. In Christ, we stand on holy ground each moment of each day. I thank Him for killing me there at the cross and allowing His fire to blaze inside of me. It will never be put out. Amazing, that a gathering such as this could touch me this way. The words spoken and unspoken touched me because those words came from Him. His voice singing His praise. Worship to Him, touching our hearts. What a wonder! What a joy! What a privelege to be unified in Him. He allowed me to touch a piece of Him there on that hill. As I reflected on it over the course of the day it was made clear to me that true worship in Spirit and in Truth is a place where He allows you to touch, a place in Him that is hidden and yet totally accessible as He directs a pure heart. As I continue in this journey the firsts just keep on happening (as this was a first Easter morn spent this way ever). What a blessing He gave me. What a joy filled me as I reflected on the uniqueness of each spirit being and yet the bonds that connect us in Christ making us one in Him. These saints are loved and appreciated. No judgement, no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Christ took me to a new place yesterday. I have far to go in this journey and yet I take not one step. May He direct always, and may it be nothing that I do. May I live out the freedom of Him being my life. His steps moving me forward. I pray the same for each saint that stood on the hill yesterday, Easter morn.

We Are Free. The Tomb is Empty!

Christ has paid for our liberty at Calvary.

We are redeemed by the blood of Christ.

Jesus took our cursed place.

The tomb is empty.

We are forgiven, accepted, one with Him, righteous in Him and given life in Him.

We left the tomb with Him.

We are freed from sin as we focus on Him.

We have freedom from the law because we have Christ.

We are free indeed.

Never need to walk the aisle again!

Just trying to gain some insight on faltering in this walk in Christ and this 'Grace Walk' wherever we find ourselves on the journey.
It seems that we all stumble along the way. As much as we speak and exhort this life, allowing Him to live in and through us, why do so many of us and I include myself in this, falter periodically.
I know that we all have up days and down days because we are human and still on this earth. Isn't there a way to live more victoriously, as we have been released from the old law and have embraced not having to 'do' anything. The freedom is there isn't it? We still seem to struggle and I don't know why the encumbrance of the old way of living stays with some of us (all of us?) despite our new understanding and revelation by the Holy Spirit. We may not be walking the aisle every so often but it seems like this repetitive falling away and coming back continues in many saints lives. Is this an inevitable part of the Christian walk? It makes me nervous.
Does it come down to just not appropriating entirely who we are in Christ. Are we all going to falter at some point? Can we avoid this? I want true victory!

God is so faithful. Just when I finished asking this question, I hear a message from Frank Friedmann, on this very topic on Grace Walk radio.

He said in part,

"I do not need to DO anything if I am in Christ. That we need to treat ourselves and each other with incredible respect and dignity because we are standing on holy ground because God Himself lives in us. We need to know who we are in Him. There is a fire inside of me that will never be put out. Appropriate it and don't be manipulated....you know who you are. If a hundred saints go forward on an altar call....don't be surprised, but don't feel pressured to go as well. It is unnecessary if you know who you are. I am a child of God. I am a saint. I am perfectly loved. I am holy. I sit at the right side of God because Christ does and I live in Christ. I am the righteousness of God. I am sanctified. I have died. I am now alive in Him. I know who I am in Him."

I have already come to Him. He is with me, in me and lives through me. Victory is mine! I guess we need to hear this and remind ourselves over and over again until it is there without question. Still would appreciate your thoughts.

I love this Life!

Hope in my Home

"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:5

*"{Hope has become such a "wimpy" term in modern vocabulary. It hardly qualifies as an adequate translation of the meaning in most New Testament passages. Hope is the assurance that what we believe will happen. We could call it spiritual confidence. We have that spiritual confidence because more than just a wish, more than just an emotion, more than just a belief rests in our hearts; God himself lives in us through his Holy Spirit.
When we becomeChristians, Jesus pours out the Spirit upon us (Titus 3:3-7) as God's gift to us (Acts 2:38; 5:32) to cleanse us (1 Cor. 6:11), make us part of the same Body (1 Cor. 12:12-13), and live inside us (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Paul adds one more thing to that list of blessings from God's presence within us -- God's love. We don't just have it; God keeps refreshing it through the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus had promised (John 7:37-39).}"

*Based on a devotion. Source unknown.

Don't you just love Him?

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine; according to his power that be at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20,21

Image by www.users.ox.ac.uk

Chirst is All and in all

"Brethren, God will take away all things in order to give you one Person who is to be simultaneously your humility, your patience, your gentleness, and your love. For Christ is all. And this is what Christianity actually is.

Quite candidly speaking, here lies the basic difference between real and faulty Christianity. Many of God's people are seeking something which seems to be everywhere else except in their own lives.

What most people fail to recognize is that in the spiritual realm there is nothing but Christ. "

(Excerpts from Watchman Nee's above pictured book)

Colossians 3:4

International 'BE REAL' Day

Okay, so today is international ''BE REAL' day. I decided to make it such. I am a Child of the King so I figure it is pretty much within my power in Him to do this and so many other things that I won't even get started on. :)
Put all pretense, masks and falsity aside and let me know what you really think. I have a hard enough time figuring out the Truth, let's have a day, a week, a year or how about better yet......a lifetime of being real with each other. Let the defenses down and share your heart one with another. It changes not who you are in Christ. It changes not your identity in Him. You know what? It changes not my love in Christ for you. You are a Child of the King. Free in Christ. Free indeed!

Love you all just because He is surging His love within me and through me.

COME TO HIM

All around,
So many hurting in their lives, in their situations.
May they come!
May they come and rest in the Truth.
The cross is empty.
May their hurts be left there.
He has given new life, His Life.
He is alive!


Come to the Lord Jesus, come.
Come to the Lord Jesus, come.
Come to the Lord Jesus, come.
All who are thirsty, tired and hurt
All who are weak, sick and broken
Come to the fountain.
Dip your heart in the Stream of Life.
Let the pain and the sorrow be washed away
In waves of His mercy,
As Deep cries out to deep.
Come to the Lord Jesus, come.

The grandbabies

Cameron and Andre. My favourite guys. My grandkids. Say a prayer for them. May they come to know, really know the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thanks.

He steers!

Jesus is the Head of the Church. He leads us and belonging to any group will never save us. Take hold of His very large hand when on the rough seas of life. If you know the Truth, you know Christ. Teachers will fail. Mentors will fail. Yes, we need these people in our lives. Never make them your life. He is the only one who will never disappoint. Don't make teachers or speakers or leaders or pastors your idols. Only put your hope in the Lord for nothing else gives us eternal hope. If you are not in Him, you are against Him. Accept all the imperfections in the people around you, because you know they are there. There are imperfections in you as well, No surprise there, eh? They are not Christ, they are not God. How exciting to recognize that no one can take my hope away. I am His. Always will be. No matter what happens. No matter what anyone tells me. No matter what has happened in the past. No matter what.
He steers this boat even with its holes and groanings and creakings. He steers this boat from within the boat. He knows this boat. He created this boat. He loves this boat.
http://www.erasmagazine.com/

Relationships

I find myself withdrawing in relationships. Is it easier for me? Not having to deal with those difficult people or those truly caring people who may get a little too close (which of course then that means I have to be vulnerable, take a risk, maybe get hurt, again). Is it possible to live in Christ with the possibility of rejection looming large in my self-thought? God is doing a work in me on forgiveness and humility. Rejection in the Church usually involves those people that God would most want me to speak to or would want them to speak to me. Believer or not. He is working on me, through me to be more accepting of others, all others, even the ones whose outward appearance is unappealing to me in my flesh, or unappealing in their thoughts. People whose ideas differ from mine. Whose beliefs differ from mine. Interesting. Jesus would speak to everyone, pretty much from the palace owner to the palace whore. They didn't always agree with Him. He could read them easily as the God-man. He still spoke. Polite religious church faces abound. I can only allow Him to speak through me. I can only accept that He ordains my steps as I look to and turn over every minute, every thought to Him. God places people in the Body as it serves His purpose. Keep an open mind, open heart and open arms at all times. Usually what I find is that someone who is totally opposite me is put in front of me all the time? Someone who rubs me the wrong way. God has a sense of humour. When am I going to stop getting caught up in personality clashes? He wants to show me Himself in these encounters. He is teaching me a spiritual lesson. Instead of rejecting people, I need to receive people as I am living in Him, and He is living in me. When I realize it is Christ in me....and in you and you and you. Receiving one another in this manner. Look past seeing people on the outside and seeing Christ on the inside. He is there. Loving my neighbour as myself. It is not I that lives, it is Christ in me. That is the freeing power of an awesome God. Then, I need to start paying attention to the message of God through others to me. Sometimes I wonder, God is speaking to me through someone like that!? But they are....fill in the blank... gay? ugly? unspiritual? embarassing? immoral? All the judgement going on in my flesh, eh? Some Christians think they are always right all the time. God doesn't care if I am right all the time. He is only concerned about me being in a right relationship with Him. I am not to be about rejecting others, or ignoring, or shunning, or judging. We all have a deep need to be loved and accepted, but it doesn't matter if anybody on this earth accepts or loves me. God is taking me to a place to really show me this. He does! God is enough. Jesus is enough. If the church doesn't meet a need, even a desperate one....He is showing me that He is enough. God, may we be Your Body as You would have us be. May He be the center of my life. He will give freedom in this thing and the thing after this as I trust Him and focus on Him. I want Him to be able to live through me, as me, despite my erroneous thinking on things. He is drawing me into Himself, more every day. He is always right here! Thank You, Jesus. It is all about You.

The Tongue

The tongue is a scary thing. It is a battle to tame the tongue. The power of speech is a blessing but it can easily become a curse. The third chapter of James gives a good description of the damage that can come from this wild member. We need to speak life but we most often speak death. Doesn't work well with the dreaded critical spirit. Works really well for the enemy, though.
Words. The tongue. The weapon of choice in the battle to discourage, hurt and put others in defense mode. Let Him guide us in the usage of our words. I want to speak with a building up ....encouraging tongue. Prov. 26:20. Do not gossip. Release life giving words. Col. 4:6 Speak the Truth in love.May they be His words. Always. May we never hurt another. May we show Jesus in all things. All we say, all we do, may He be the Sayer, the Doer. I pray that He will make my words always kind. The enemy will use my words to others to hurt others. We can bite and devour one another in our own flesh, with our tongues. There are times when we don't mean to hurt people, but then there are those other times, when we hope they understand what we mean and there may be a twinge of hurt imparted in that. You know what I mean. That is simply operating in the flesh. We need to encourage and build up and love....instead of controlling, manipulating and directing others in our way. Jesus will teach us how to speak to others. The tongue can be a fire, but it can also be a fountain. Man longs for water. Where there is a lot of water there can be no fire. Prov. 12:18 Pierce or heal? The Spirit lives within and can control the tongue. I want to speak with a building up, an encouraging tongue. Col. 4:6 Speak the Truth in love. Seasoned with salt, make the words taste good. Preserves who you are talking to. Speak life. He freed us to live His life and to speak His life. That is our Lord and Awesome God. He is our Life. He has called us to liberty, to love and to life. He is our Lord and our God, our passion. He helps us not lose heart and He works through us to help others by speech and action. He has us covered. He carries us every step of the way. Weariness comes because the source 0f our strength is not Him. Do good to ALL men. May He undo us and may His Spirit be given the freedom to live completely unhindered through us.
James 3:8 "...but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison."
Who holds the riens on the tongue....the flesh or the Spirit. Only allowing God control of this weapon of evil, can it be harnessed for His good purpose.

My thanks to Pastor Frank Friedmann who allowed God to speak through Him to me on this very topic. It was a revelation. It brought freedom.

How Long?

We have sung our songs of victory. We have prayed to You for rain.
We have cried for Your compassion to renew the land again.
Now we're standing in Your presence, more hungry than before.
Now we're on Your steps of mercy and we're knocking on Your door.
How long before You drench the barren land?
How long before we see Your righteous hand?
How long before Your name is lifted high?
How long before the weeping turns to songs of joy?
Lord, we know Your heart is broken by the evil that You see.
And You've stayed Your hand of judgement for You plan to set men free.
But the land is still in darkness and we've fled from what is right.
We have failed the silent children, who have never seen the light.
But I know a day is coming when the deaf will hear His voice.
When the blind will see their Saviour and the lame will leap for joy.
When the widow finds a husband who will always love His bride.
And the orphan finds a Father who will never leave her side.
How long before Your glory lights the skies?
How long before Your radiance lifts our eyes?
How long before Your fragrance fills the air?
How long before the earth resounds with songs of joy?

written by Stuart Townend

Complete in Him

Heavenly Father,

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body, and knit them together in my mother's womb.
Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex!

Psalm 139
1 O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar.
3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O LORD, You know it all.
5 You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,"
12 Even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.
13 For You formed my inward parts. You wove me in my mother's womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand When I awake, I am still with You.
19 O that You would slay the wicked, O God; depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.
20 For they speak against You wickedly, O God; and Your enemies take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with the utmost hatred; they have become my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts;
24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.
(NASB)

Easter Bonnets

I couldn't resist putting this picture of my twin daughters on the blog today. They don't mind because they are now 16!
These angels dressed in their Easter finery made me think about the clothes we put on when we are in Christ.
So many times have we not worn our fancy clothing, hats and masks to match and yet been so naked in our faith, so confused, so many other things we are wearing, like uncertainty, anger, etc. We forget what God has told His priests and His saints. (That is you and me if you know Christ personally).
2 Chronicles 6:41 "may your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation"
Psalm 132:9 "may your priests be clothed with righteousness"
Isaiah 61:10 "For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness"
1 Corinthians 5:2,3 (a personal favourite) "Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed we will not be found naked."
1 Peter 5:5 "All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another,"

There are so many other references to being clothed, or putting on ... Christ, if you will. His salvation, His righteousness, His life. Your outer clothing is much more than easter bonnets, and pressed prints and shiny accessories. Knowing this is knowing the Truth. Look below the surface covering of a person's earthsuit and the garb that dresses that suit. Look for Jesus. He and His attributes are what clothes us and gives us that comfortable well-dressed feeling.