zephaniah. charles spurgeon

i was seeking advice from a friend a few months ago, having a hard time understanding that God loves me, that He died for me. with how selfish and unloving i can be, with all of my unfaithfulness towards Him. i believed that He was putting me through trials because of what a bad job i was doing at being a Christian, at being His daughter. this isn't the gospel, but i was believing lies and so she told me this: "My husband loves our one-year old daughter. sometimes our daughter can be stubborn and not want to go to sleep. she doesn't know when she needs to eat. she is rebellious and throws temper tantrums, but Paul(the husband) will always unconditionally love her." she explains further, "every night before she goes to sleep, Paul goes in to say goodnight. He makes up little songs for her every night to put her to sleep and he gets so excited to sing them for her. he gets to remind her how much daddy loves her"

the daughter doesn't understand the songs. she's only one. she doesn't understand that when her daddy tells her it's time for bed, it's because he loves her and wants her to stay healthy. just as we don't realize that our heavenly Father puts us through trials and times that seem unfair, to the point where we want to throw a one-year old tantrum, because He DEEPLY loves us. He wants to make us into what He intended us to be, 'mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (ephesians 4:13) sometimes that means we have to do what Daddy tells us to do, simply because He is our Sovereign Father and He indeed always knows what is the very best for us.

in the midst of struggles we can remember this because of what Christ did on the cross"The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." zephaniah 3:17

How heart-cheering to the believer is the delight which God has in his saints! We cannot see any reason in ourselves why the Lord should take pleasure in us; we cannot take delight in ourselves, for we often have to groan, being burdened; conscious of our sinfulness, and deploring our unfaithfulness; and we fear that God’s people cannot take much delight in us, for they must perceive so much of our imperfections and our follies, that they may rather lament our infirmities than admire our graces. But we love to dwell upon this transcendent truth, this glorious mystery: that as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so does the Lord rejoice over us.”

charles spurgeon

tony evans.

i'm currently reading The Promise by Tony Evans. in this book He talks about the Holy Spirit's presence, purpose and provision. There is a section on the purpose of the Holy Spirit...

"The Holy Spirit has one overarching goal. if you want to sum up what the Holy Spirit is about, He is about glorifying Christ. What do I mean by glorifying christ? the Spirit advertises Christ. He puts Jesus Christ on display. The Spirit does not put Himself on display, He does not even speak on His own initiative. His job is to glorify Christ. So whenever you have anything that transcends the priority of Jesus Christ, it is not the Holy Spirit's doing. Anytime there is an emphasis on the Spirit that supersedes the crentrality and priority of Jesus Christ, it is not the Holy Spirit doing it.
The Holy spirit is not here to advertise Himself. His goal is to advertise Christ, to make us God's advertising agency by working in our hearts in such a way that our lives magnify the Person of Christ, The Spirit is busy making Jesus preeminant."
-Tony Evans

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you. john 16:13-14

amen.

ben rector. hank

this song is just too precious not to share.
uncle ben is giving his new nephew hank some lessons on life. amen:)

octavius winslow. john.

i just can't get enough of this guy's writing.

"There is no other solution to the marvellous mysteries of His Incarnation and Sacrificial Death but this: Christ has loved us.

There is not a circumstance of our Lord’s history which is not another form or manifestation of love.

His incarnation is love stooping.
His sympathy is love weeping.
His compassion is love supporting.
His grace is love acting.
His teaching is the voice of love.
His silence is the repose of love.
His patience is the restraint of love.
His obedience is the labor of love.
His suffering is the travail of love.
His cross is the altar of love.
His death is the burnt offering of love.
His resurrection is the triumph of love.
His ascension into heaven is the enthronement of love.
His sitting down at the right hand of God is the intercession of love.

Such is the deep, the vast, the boundless ocean of Christ’s love!”

octavius winslow

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. 1 john 4:9

brooke fraser. paul.

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 corinthians 3:18

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 1 corinthians 13:12

He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! revelations 22




some mornings i wake up and just can't wait to see Jesus. don't get me wrong i'm not always perfectly awaiting Jesus return but today i did. if now we see in part and with unveiled faces, how much greater must He be when we finally SEE Him. the Lover of our souls.
one day on the beach, with a girl i was discipling this summer, we were talking about heaven and how lovely it will be. she was coming up with multiple ways that this world is a shadow to heaven. then she stuck out her arm and said "you see the shadow of my arm? it doesn't really look like my arm does it. you can kind of tell but it doesn't look like an arm." i looked in the sand, and didn't see her arm but a very vague line that was a little distorted. she opened my eyes that day. i realized how this world really is just a shadow. like her arm, it doesn't look like it's supposed to. but one day we will see the substance. that is Jesus Christ...
soon and very soon...

paul. the verdict

So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me..
Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings..
1 corinthians 4:1-5,8
And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Beloved Son; with whom I am well pleased." Matthew 3:17

sometimes i feel like i'm in a court room and i look to everyone else to fill me or judge me or tell me who i am as a woman. this verse reminds us not to live that way. don't let others view of you matter. don't even let your view of yourself matter. let Christ's view of you matter. become like Paul whose "concience is clear but that does not make him innocent." His concience is clear not because he is perfect and righteous but because He only cares how the Lord sees Him, through the work of Christ...forgiven, Beloved, a "king"(or queen) and co-heir with Christ. let the Lord's verdict on you matter above all else..

so what's the verdict? according to the sufferings of the most loving Man who ever lived around 2000 years ago. you are His beloved.
court adjourned..

You've been wandering so long
Looking for Me in all that you see
It's all a shadow sweet child
you're longing for My glory
You have an emptiness in you
only your Creator can fill
you see I knit you together
so you could know My love and fulfill My will
My will is your sanctification
to become a new creation
to trade in those ashes for beauty
oh if only you knew Me
and how I intercede daily
asking that My Father would reveal to you His glory
How He sent me
He loved Me, don't you know
but He knew I had to go
leave My throne
My Home
and come in the humblest form
to a land that was ravished and torn
I went into the river
He said He was pleased
so I willingly went
set My face like flint
to the sacrifice before Me
I joyfully went to set you free
I knew at the end you'd be gathered to Me
oh how I yearn for you to see
He's no longer angry
He looks at my blood and sees you as righteous
I loved you enough to be forsaken by Him and say it is finished
so come bring your broken and dirty self before Me
even if your dirty self is the deeds you're performing
I died for that too
oh how i wish you knew
I am so endlessly in love with you