contentment

godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment~1Timothy 6:6.

One of the great temptations the enemy can use against us is discontentment. As Christians called to live humbly, picking up our cross daily, we all struggle with wanting and not having. We're not perfect, we're kidding ourselves if we live in a state of outward perfection. And because we live in a fallen place, we are dependent upon God to redeem us. The Word of God says that "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."Acts 4:12. Its in the name of Jesus that we're saved. We come to Him, surrender our life, lay down our rights and pick up our cross and follow Him. And the life that we once lived in sin and death dies and we pick up His life; freedom, love, rest etc...And He begins to change us and mold us into the person He's destined us to be.

Contentment can never dwell with anger. Is anger in itself an evil thing? No, it's anger occurring in people who are sinners, which easily and quickly becomes evil. The Bible says, "Be angry, and yet do not sin" (Eph. 4:26).

So, Lord Jesus, teach me to be content with where You have me and what You've given me. What do I have that You have not allowed me to? You give and You take away. Help me to surrender my desires to You and in Your perfect time and will, You'll add to my life as You will it. You are Perfect Sovereign. My Papa, I am safe within Your courts, amongst Your people. Let my heart be in obedience to You. As Mary replied to the Angel, "I am the Lord's servant, be it done to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38).

Learning contentment:

Number 1: It cannot dwell with anger.
Number 2: It cannot dwell with self-pity.

Anger and self-pity are from the devil. So if you want to learn contentment you are going to have to quit getting angry and quit feeling sorry for yourself.

just one song...

All of my musician life I've wanted to write a song. I listen to artist's like Brooke Fraser, Hillsong, Bethany Dillon, Vicky Beeching and I wonder if it's really that difficult to write a song. I have tunes and melodies in my head and prayers on my heart...but I sit down and neither of the two collide. I have prayed the scripture in Psalm 40 that says "He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God...". I taught myself to play both the piano and the guitar and have been singing "Jesus Loves Me" since I was 18 months old. I can only come to the conclusion that when He has a song for me to write, it will be all glory unto Him, not something that will glorify my gifts or talents.

"Let the treasures of the trial
Form within me as I go -
And at the end of this long passage,
Let me leave them at Your throne."~Keith Getty "Jesus Draw Me Ever Nearer"

Love Spung

I am not God and I'm not an expert on the human mind. But, I understand the feeling of wanting to be loved and excepted. When you come to a new place searching for friendship and friendly attention, you come hoping that there will be someone there who will not pass you by when they see you standing in a corner by yourself or sitting all alone. A person without friends is friendless for a reason...it's our job (as the church) to find out this reason. We're called to love the lonely and friendless.

Being a leader at a jr. high youth group, I see kids who have more than enough friends and attention, they're loud and outgoing and everyone wants to be around them. Then there are kids who are not so outgoing and possibly even a little "socially awkward", which makes for making friends pretty difficult sometimes. Why are we so caught up in our own little clicks and groups that we by pass people who are just looking for some acknowledgment of their presence? We need to step outside our comfort zone and love people. Really love them. Maybe this world would be a lot different if people saw the heart of God coming through us...

love is waiting

A woman should be so lost in God that a man should seek Him to find her...

Love Is Waiting lyrics by Brooke Fraser

In the autumn on the ground, between the traffic and the ordinary sounds
I am thinking signs and seasons while a north wind blows through
I watch as lovers pass me by
Walking stories - whos and hows and whys
Musing lazily on love
Pondering you
I'll give it time, give it space and be still for a spell
When it's time to walk that way we wanna walk it well
I'll be waiting for you baby
I'll be holding back the darkest night
Love is waiting til we're ready, til it's right
Love is waiting

It's my caution not the cold
There's no other hand that I would rather hold
The climate changes, I'm singing for the strangers about you
Don't keep time, slow the pace
Honey hold on if you can
The bets are getting surer now that you're my man

I could write a million songs about the way you say my name
I could live a lifetime with you and then do it all again
And like I can't force the sun to rise or hasten summer's start,
neither should I rush my way into your heart.

"For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).

When I look at the man I love, I search to find the heart of God. The treasure that is hidden within him that explains the beauty of his being. Looking past the handsome features and charm, and seeing his character. How he treats others, what he believes, what hurts him, what brings healing and joy to his heart. A man that knows God. Who understands what it means to walk with Jesus.
There is no such thing as a perfect man. But with the help of the life of God, I will not expect perfection from anyone, only godliness. Who knows the heart of man but the One who created it? If we feel love, He feels love. If we hurt, He hurts. Who created laughter and romance? The same Someone who created life itself. And it is He whom I trust to grant me the blessing of a husband after the heart of the Keeper of my heart, should it be His destiny for me.
"you have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes" Songs of Solomon 4:9
God is the author of love. God is love. And if I believe these truths, I will go right to the source of love to find love!
I believe its important to remember this:"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).". . . Be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and . . . put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (Ephesians 4:22-24,)God is not finished with us. We are still His workmanship. He is creating in us "righteousness and true holiness"—His character.As long as we are human, our character is not firm; it is not permanent. We can change our minds and behavior. We can make mistakes and learn from them. We can learn from the fruits of our right and wrong choices.Since we can change our minds—and repent of our errors—God can change us even more and create in us the will and the capacity to steadfastly choose what is right over what is wrong. "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).

this is our God...

For this reason You are great, O Lord God; for there is none like You, and there is no God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 2 Samuel 7:22

Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders? Exodus 15:11

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground...
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

This is our God...

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness...For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving kindness towards those who fear Him.
As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our sins from us. Psalm 103: 8, 11-12

Does every person come to a place on their journey where they stand still and feel completely unworthy of the grace of God? I have. He who sees who I really am...how can He still love me? How can He still want me...
You can sit and sulk in the weight of what you've done with your life, you can turn away and give up because of hardship, or you can get up and you try harder to love Him and want Him.
You learn what it means to push on, to pick up your cross, to run this mighty race with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength.
Before Him you stand in fear, but fearless of the world. Know that this God who stands behind you, He is for you, and He emboldens you and gives you courage to face whatever may come.
With Him mountains tremble...
With Him, seas divide...
With Him, death is conquered...love is moving...love is here. Love has come down to save the world...

This is our God...

"freely You gave Your all for us, surrendered Your life upon that cross, great is the love, poured out for all, this is our God. Lifted on high from death to life, forever our God is glorified,
servant and King rescued the world, this is our God..."~Ruben Morgan-Hillsong Church

This is our God...

He who is majestic in all greatness and authority. Who is intimately acquainted with all of our ways. Nothing is too difficult for our God. The God of the universe, who knows the number of hairs on our head's.

What will it take for the world to know Jesus? What does it cost us?

"We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. The man who says, "I know Him," but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But if anyone obeys His word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did." 1John 2:5-6

"...for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, for better and for worse, in good times and in bad, forsaking all others and being faithful only to You for as long as I live..."
the vows of marriage should also be the vows of eternal commitment to Jesus.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
and what is the surpassing greatness of His power towards us who believe.
There are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead,
and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rules and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head of all things to the church,
which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all...~Ephesians 1:18-23

As the real church, the body of Christ, we have a responsibility to live up to the light we have, to claim this world for Christ. To be called followers of Jesus, we're called to love the lost and rescue those who are in darkness.
To love the unloved and the hurting and lonely. To allow the Holy Spirit who dwells within us to touch the broken hearts and restore them to wholeness.
This generation needs to rise up, renounce selfishness and vanity. God is calling us. We need the Kingdom of God to invade this land, to be made alive in the hearts of all.

Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things in the past. Behold, I will do something now and it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. ~Isaiah 43:18-19

God is all about new mornings. New beginnings. Not wanting His people to dwell on the past and their old sins and what was, but move on with Him. Running with Him. God is a God of new mercy every morning.
I will follow You, all the way to the cross. Where I lay down my life, and pick up Yours. And neither death, no life, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to keep me from His love.
So let mercy reign, as we run this race marked before me, until I see You, because You will come for me...

The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;
and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him,
though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said. 'For we are also are His children'. Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature
is like gold or silver or stone, and image formed by the art and thought of man. Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed
a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man who He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead..."~Acts 17:24-31