I Speak Jesus

 It is get the morning praise music rolling in the morning. Right now I'm starting with "I Speak Jesus" and usually hit replay. Yesterday, the Spirit was so strong I cried as the sun rose literally during my ride.

Now if you know me you know I'm not a "work up emotion in order to worship" girl. But friends, the words! I'm old. I've done this teaching thing a long time. I've had accolades through the years. However, right now I want to speak Jesus!

"Your name is power
Your name is healing

Your name is life

Break every stronghold
Shine through the shadows
Burn like a fire"

There's just something about it. Philippians 2:10 says, "...so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth."

Matthew 10:27 says, "“What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops."

Oh friend, what if we all "Considered" this Jesus and spoke Jesus where ever we went?

Hebrews 10:24

 

Yesterday, the preacher started preaching in Hebrews. This verse seemed to jump off the page. Did you know the word "consider" in this context is only used twice in the book of Hebrews, here and in chapter three, verse one? 

I had to stop and think, do I get up every morning and ask God to show me what I need to do for others?

John Piper said, "When you get up in the morning, Consider — think about, ponder, deliberate, meditate, mull over — other people, with this conscious goal: what can I do today so that they will be stirred up to love and to good deed?"

Piper went on to say, this should be the aim of our lives.

Friend, I used to think only certain people were gifted to be an encourager, but after reading Hebrews I think we all are called. It isn't a selective gift given to a few, it is a call on us all!

Lord, help me consider those you put in my path and spur them on!

Psalm 61:5

 For you have heard my vows, Oh God. You have given me an inheritance reserved for those who fear your name.

Psalm 61:5

Many people take offense when you say anything about fearing God. They will quickly say this is "old time" thinking, because God is love.

The writers at gotquestions.com answer this best, "For the unbeliever, the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God and eternal death, which is eternal separation from God (Luke 12:5; Hebrews 10:31). For the believer, the fear of God is something much different. The believer’s fear is reverence of God. Hebrews 12:28-29 is a good description of this: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ’God is a consuming fire.’” This reverence and awe are exactly what the fear of God means for Christians. This is the motivating factor for us to surrender to the Creator of the Universe."

Reverence and awe of God. I don't find that a point in many sermons today. The psalmist tells us that God heard that vow we made to serve Him, and in return there is an inheritance for those who fear (have awe and reverence) your name.

The writers at gotquestions.com go on to say, "Fearing God means having a reverence for Him that greatly impacts the way we live. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His discipline, and worshiping Him in awe."

This may be the key to this verse, when you made that vow to follow God, did it change the way you live? Do you weight your actions on the basis of are they pleasing to God.

You see my friend, He heard and hears you. Does He see a awe and reverence in what you do? Do you weigh everything in light of His word? I've heard people say, "Well, I've got fire insurance." Yikes! I don't think that is being a Christ follower.

Alistair Begg said it so eloquently, "Gathering with the 'Jesus crowd,' being able to say all the 'Jesus words,' singing all the 'Jesus songs' is no ticket of admission into heaven."

He hears us, carries such deep meaning. I pray I'm walking worthy of His name.

Psalm 90:12

 A few weeks ago I saw a tic tok video where the man was talking about his parents aging. He lived across the country from them. He talked about coming to the realization that he would see them about 15 more times in his life. Sobering thought!

It was odd to come across the video, because Dan and I had recently discussed that we are at the winter of life. Somedays that thought hits me hard.

Now this came on the heels of Alistair Begg asking his church to pray for singer, Paul Simon. Begg was greatly influenced by music as a lad and often incorporates musical lyrics in his sermons.

Begg's sermon started me thinking about the music of my own life. Surely, it is filled with Bad Company, Eagles, Bonnie Raitt, Lynard Skynard, and the Allman Brothers band. This trip down memory lane had me contemplating my "days".

Which brings me to yesterday.

As I listened to ABB I came across Gregg's last recording which was released after his death. "My Only True Friend" is a haunting song of the end of life with such lines as:

"You and I both know this river will surely flow to an end..."

"Still on and on I run it feels like home is just around the bend

I got so much left to give

But I'm running out of time, my friend"

As I listened to the song on repeat yesterday, and I wondered if anyone ever shared with Gregg that this life isn't the end. I hope so.

Friend, as I'm "numbering my days", I'm in deep thought on the mark I'll make. Gregg's song says, "I hope you're haunted by the music of my soul...When I'm gone."

I want my song to be Jesus. I want to spend the next few years serving Him. I don't need travel, we wore the road out in our younger years. If God intends for me to teach, then I want to have the energy and physical strength to be the best. If God intends me to write on a larger scale then that's what I want to do.

In the words of Henry Martyn, "I want to burn out for God."

So Lord, teach me to number my days that I can gain wisdom, because I know that this life is not the end of the road - it is only the beginning.

Genesis 50:20

 As you've traveled this life have you ever felt like another person has treated you unfairly? Maybe you've even felt targeted in your treatment. Well there is a lot we can learn from the life of Joseph.

You see I'm one of those people who hates change. I'll hang in no matter the circumstances or treatment because the alternative is change.

For a person who hates change, the last three years have been nothing but change. God has given us a snapshot of how our circumstances are filtered by God's hand in the story of Joseph. Samuel Emadi wrote, "Within Reformed circles, preachers often use Joseph merely to illustrate how divine sovereignty and human responsibility intersect..."

Emadi goes on to say, "God’s sovereignty figures largely in the Joseph story because God wants us to see how he puts himself in impossible situations and yet finds a way to keep his covenant promises."

If you know me you know I filter all of life through God's sovereign plan for me. I can't even begin to tell you how this helps me face each day.

The last three years have been nothing but change. I've changed jobs, churches, and my diet, and one thing I can bank on is I'm going to continue changing.

Friend, we all pray, "God use me." We heroically sing the words of Isaiah, "Here am I send me," but secretly add "just don't make it painful."

So you may ask, "What caused this reflective moment?" The answer - an eye exam.

Seriously, I felt like the lyrics in a Johnny Nash song,

"I can see clearly now, the rain is gone

I can see all obstacles in my way

Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind..."

Don't get me wrong I know hard days will come, but I also know that the same God who has allowed the hard days in the past three years will be there using them for my good.

Philippians 1:6

 There is an old Southern gospel song, "I Wouldn't Take Nothing for my Journey Now." This morning while studying the life of Elijah a deeper meaning came forth.

"All of his life set the stage for the life God had planned for him." (Shirer, p. 35) That was so deep and I had to read it twice. See I learned a lot about God in my 26 years in Oklahoma. My formattable years.

Carter County, Oklahoma is where I'm from.

Carter County, Oklahoma is where my heart was formed.

Carter County, Oklahoma is where my own personal set of trials and difficulties became a start a process, a process of living and thinking and navigating my journey by faith. (adapted from Shirer p. 37)

Wow! Just WOW! God prepared me for this journey in those early years. Shirer says, "Elijah's whole life was about to become a clear, bold declaration of God's power and provision. And so is yours."

So me...I'll just be over here thanking God for my journey this far and trusting that He is using every part of this journey to form me into His image!

Quote - Beggs

 

Psalm 4:3

 Yesterday, this verse literally jumped out of the Bible at me! I know the Lord hears our prayers, but some how as I read this it just hit hard!

If I could get one thing across to those I encounter it would be this, "the Lord will hear when I call unto Him." What an incredible promise!

I assigned faith building novels as summer reading this year. Why? Because we all need to be AMAZED by grace. We need to know that in our darkest hour we are not alone - there is a Redeemer.

My prayer was that it these novels were read as a family. To encourage everyone. Both novels include mighty works of God for ordinary people. And this is where I may be crazy, I believe He still does this today.

I don't think Corrie ten Boom or Brother Andrew would say they were super Christians. I think they are just ordinary people who believed God was who He says He is.

Friend, if you've been set apart by God as His own, then He hears you. And that is a game changer.

Psalm 17:6

 "...hear my prayer." A quick Google search says there are 450 instances of this phrase in the Bible. My quick search Sunday gave me 24.

The Hebrew word for God who hears is El Shama. "Though ‘El Shama’ is not an official name of God, it refers to the fact that God hears…He listens." (Elizabeth Prata)

Matthew Henry wrote of this verse, "Those who would proceed and persevere in the ways of God, must, by faith prayer, get daily fresh supplies of grace and strength from him. Show thy marvelous loving-kindness, distinguishing favors, not common mercies, but be gracious to me; do as thou used to do to those who love thy name."

Friend, I don't know about you, but there is something humbling that happens when I realize the God of the Universe hears ME! He cares for me personally enough to listen.

There is a Latin term, Coram Deo, which means “before the face of God” or “in the presence of God.” The writer at gotquestions.com states, "To live one’s life “before God” (coram Deo) is a scriptural concept, as the Lord is omnipresent and perceives our every action and thought."

If we just for a moment could comprehend the meaning of this. We are quick to throw around "I'll pray for you"; however, do we really comprehend the magnitude of what we are saying. I hope so.

Have a terrific day and remember Coram Deo. You are in his presence and He hears you!

Ecclesiastes 12:1

 I am one of those unique individuals who trouble came in my youth. At 14, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, by 18 she was dead. Mine was not a typical youth; however, I was taught from birth that there is a God who made me for His purpose and His plan for my life.

So whether good times or bad the one thing we can count on young or old is time flies by. Erma Bombeck said, "Time, it hangs heavy for the bored, eludes the busy, flies by for the young, and runs out for the aged.” Most of us understand the brevity of life.

Of course we all know, that no matter our age, time is passing. Now in the sunset of life I sometimes contemplate my earlier days and decisions. The Teacher is telling us, "Beware of allowing the best years of your life to pass while you’re waiting for them to begin."

I was so guilty of this in my 20's and 30's. Sometimes I look back and think, "I wish I'd of enjoyed this or that more."

But Begg's says of this verse we are being called to know God more. He says it like this,, "Okay. “Remember your Creator.” Know him, love him, serve him as your highest joy."

It is wise then for us to number our days. The psalmist, in Psalm 90, says, “Teach us to number our days aright, [so] that we might gain a heart of wisdom.”

Then, my friend, we have circled back to the age old question, "What are you going to do with Jesus?" All of scripture points to Him. Without Him our lives are as the Teacher says, "Meaningless." And that might be the saddest end of all.

Psalm 28:6-7

 Today I've pondered why the Psalms are full of reminders that God hears us? My quick search found 11 in the Psalms alone.

In verses 6 notice the word because. David's praise to God had a reason. Spurgeon said, “Real praise is established upon sufficient and constraining reasons; it is not irrational emotion, but rises, like a pure spring, from the deeps of experience.”

You might want to read that twice. We are so busy trying to work up emotions in order to praise God, when there is enough to praise Him for in our daily living.

As a young girl when my mom got sick I asked my Grandmother, "Why us?" Why had cancer come to our house? Hadn't we prayed? Her answer was classic Alice and has stuck with me all my life, "Why not us?"

I spent a good five years running from God instead of to Him. As the old saying goes, "I couldn't see the forest for the trees." And only when I, like David, cried out to Him, acknowledging who He is did I find Him to be my strength and shield.

Friend, He is either God of all things or God of nothing. And as the Psalm goes, "My heart trusted in Him and I was helped."

Psalm 54:2

 Things aren't going great for David when we get to Psalm 54, but know what he does at the beginning of the Psalm.

"O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth." (54:2)

Alice used to say, "Where are you going to go but to the Lord?"

One of my favorite verses is in Jeremiah 12:5, “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you are so trusting, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?"

So friend what are you going to do if the Jordan gets deep? Well the Psalms tell us what David did, he went to God for help and he gives us the assurance over and over that God heard him.

Life can throw us curve balls and plot shifts all the time, but the one thing we know is God is consistent and unchanging. The God of David is our God. What a privilege it is to call on Him and know He hears us.

Psalm 34

 Psalm 34 is one of my favorites maybe because I sing it every morning going to work. It is hidden in my heart.

On those morning rides I'm sure I sound like the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. However, one day I will join the heavenly choir singing it unto Him. What a day that will be!

Yesterday, I watched the NFL Hall of Fame induction. I was inspired by DeMarcus Ware giving credit to God and the testimony he shared. I was saddened that the others gave little or no mention to Him, it was all them and their work ethic.

These were Men used to accolades and roaring crowds, yet what they have experienced will be nothing in comparison to heaven.

Philippians 2:9-11 says, "Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Yes, my friend, one day, if we are saved, we will all sing this with new meaning. Why? Because praise God, one day this poor girl cried and the Lord heard me and it made all the difference in the world.

Psalm 6:9

Psalm 18:6

 As I watch our world spiral I wonder why God would bother with us. Then I read these verses and am overcome with the thought God hears me, He not only hears but answers.

Matthew Henry stated, "David was a praying man, and God was found a prayer-hearing God. If we pray as he did, we shall speed as he did."

The use of the word "speed" gave me pause, so I went and looked it up. It means, "make prosperous or successful."

If we pray like David we will be successful. What loving-kindness our God has toward us. Such grace and mercy are hard to comprehend.

My own children, over the years, have done and said things that cut deep in my mother's heart. Yet, I never stopped loving them, caring for them, or wanting them to succeed. Now my love for my own children is so minute compared to God's love for us.

So when we have a God who loves us endlessly, why do we fail to set aside time to talk to Him, commune with Him, and catch a glimpse of His immense love for us.

Friend, I keep going back to the thought, that we don't understand who He is. The only way to fix that is read our Bible's and pray to Him to reveal Himself to us. Are we really too busy for that?

Psalm 66:19

 Sinclair Ferguson is quoted as saying, "If Christ abides in us and we abide in him, as his word dwells in us, and we pray in his name, that God hears us (Jn 15:4-7). But all of these expressions are simply extensions of the one fundamental idea: If I am united to Christ, then all that is his is mine. So long as my heart, will and mind are one with Christ's in his word, I can approach God with the humble confidence that my prayers will be heard and answered. "

I can't think of a greater blessing than to know the Creator of the Universe hears me. Matthew Henry wrote, "And when we pray in simplicity and godly sincerity, our prayers will be answered. This will excite gratitude to Him who hath not turned away our prayer nor his mercy from us. It was not prayer that fetched the deliverance, but his mercy that sent it. That is the foundation of our hopes, the fountain of our comforts; and ought to be the matter of our praises."

Years (I mean years) ago I went to a Bible Study on A.C.T.S. an acronym to teach us to pray.

A- adoration

C - confession

T - thanksgiving

S - supplication

Notice this type of praying starts acknowledging who God is and our need for His grace and mercy long before we ever get to our request. The psalmist understood this.

RC Sproul said, "Unfortunately, we often spell our prayer life something like S.C.A.T., because we start with supplication and spend very little time, if any, on adoration, confession, and thanksgiving."

How true that is! We are more like the Babbie Mason song,

"So gimme this, I want that

Bless me, Lord, I pray

Grant me what I think I need

To make another day

Make me wealthy, keep me healthy

Fill in what I miss

On my never-ending shopping list"

Instead of acknowledging God we just want Him to fix it (whatever it is).

Keith Green wrote a beautiful praise song that looks at prayer from God's point of view:

"For when I hear the praises start

Oh, I wanna rain upon you

Blessings that will fill your heart

I see no stain upon you

Because you are My child and you know Me

To Me you're only holy

Nothing that you've done remains

Only what you do for Me"

Oh Friend, when was the last time you spent time just praising God for who He is. I still think life with Jesus would change dramatically if we grasp a fraction of who He is.

Like the Apostle Paul, " Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14-15)

Why does it matter? Because I want to be a pleasing child until that final day.