2013 Word of the Year

I am extremely tardy posting this.. but not as tardy as 2012. I was looking back to see all the words I have chosen since starting this tradition of having a word of the year... 2008 was the first year and my word was Gratitude (I never posted it here)... 2009 -  Peace... 2010 - Change ... 2011 - Choice ... 2012 -- Less / More .. I never posted about it!  Needless to say 2012 was not a good blog year... I really did not put the time and energy into it that I needed to. Hoping 2013 will be better.

So now on to 2013's word... I have known what my word would be for a while.. really before 1/1/2013.. God started speaking to my heart about it months ago...  the word is KNOW.

Know.... might seem an odd word, but there are several aspects of it that God is working in my life.

First off... an rather obvious.. is a need to KNOW Him... not just Know about Him but really Know Him.  The Hebrew word for Know is Yada and it means to know .. well in the Biblical sense... Adam knew Eve.. to be intimate with someone. Now I am not talking about sex .. I am talking about knowing someone so deeply.. so intimately.. like a husband and wife know each other.. that is how we are to know God .. what I am striving for in my relationship with Him this year.  To Know Him more... deeper... in ways I have never known Him before.  And I will confess that the thought of that excites me and scares me.  I have grown in my relationship with the Lord most in the difficult times.... and I fear the answer to that prayer.. to know Him more.. might require a walk through the valley.. but I also know it will be worth it, if that is the path He has chosen for me.

Second... as I think of wanting to Know Him.. to Yada Him.. I am struck by the reality that He already knows me that intimately.  Read Psalm 139!  In fact, He Yadas me more than any other person / being ever has and ever will... more than my parents.. more than my children.. my best friends.. even more than my husband, who knows me better than anyone else on this earth.  No human can know me the way and to the depths that God knows me.. in fact, I don't even know me as well as He knows me!  Mind boggling, isn't it!?  This year I want to grasp that.. to realize I don't have to hide the real me.. to pretend to be who I think He wants me to be. I can trust Him with all of me because He already knows Me.. and He loves me even in the messed up state I am in.

Third.. I want to Know His Word more.. some of that is practical knowing.. I am striving to dig in and study more.. to memorize more Scripture this year.. but again, I am striving for something deeper. I want to Know His Word not just in my head, but in my life.. I want to see it at work and KNOW without a shadow of a doubt the realities of it. When I say that God will supply all my needs I want to KNOW that to my core.. when I say He will never leave me or forsake me, I want to KNOW it without a trace of doubt... I want His Word to be a part of me... as Hebrews 4:12 says, it is living and active.. I want it to be living and active in me.

So I am striving to KNOW more this year... not just head Knowledge.. heart knowledge that is walked out in my life and that glorifies God so that others see Him and not me.

I want to be able to say with Paul...  

I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  (Phil. 3:7)

More & More - part 2

Verse 2:

To know You as my Healer... "... by His wounds we are healed" (Isa. 53:5 & 1 Peter 2:24)

To know You as my Love.... "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us" (1 John 3:1)... "For God so loved the world.." (John 3:16)... "This is how we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us." (1 John 3:16).... "God is Love"  (1 John 4:16)

To know You as my Advocate to Heaven's Throne above... "He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to interceded for them." (Heb. 7:25).... "... Jesus has entered on our behalf." (Heb. 6:20).... "Christ... is at the right hand of God and is interceding for us." (Rom. 8:34).... "Jesus.. endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."  (Heb. 12:2)

To know You as my Savior .... "we have put out hope in the living God who is the Savior of all men." (1 Tim. 4:10)... "You are my Father, my God, my Rock, my Savior" (Ps. 89:26)

To know You as my Lord .... "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one" (Deut. 4:6)... "How awesome is the Lord Most High." (Ps. 47:2)... "Delight yourself in the Lord."  (Ps. 37:4)

To know You as the coming King who reigns forevermore.... "If I go.. I will come back." (john 14:3)... "This same Jesus, who has been taken away,... will come back." (Acts. 1:11).... "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!" (Rev. 4:8)... "Behold, I am coming soon.) (Rev. 22:7 & 12).... "The Lord reigns forever!" (Ps. 9:7)

"O, I want to know You. Deeper than before. And O, I want to know You more and more... more and more... more and more...."

More & More Part 3 (Final)

To know You as Forgiver.... "When you were dead in your sings... God made you alive in Christ and forgave us all our sins."  Col. 2:13  ... "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and forgives our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness."  1 John 1:9

To know You as my Friend.... "Greater love has no one than this, that He lay down his life for his friends.  You are my friends i you do what I command.  I no longer call you servants.... I have called you friends."  John 15:13-15

To know You as my Comforter when all is crashing in.... "... the Lord comforts His people...." Isa. 49:13... "I, even I am He who comforts you."  Isa. 51:12... "... the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our troubles."  2 Cor. 1:4... "God comforts the downcast" 2 Cor. 7:6... "And I will pray the Father and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever" John 14:16 KJV... "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost..." John 14:26 KJV

"O, I want to know You... Deeper than before.. and O, I want to know You, More and More.. More and More.. More and More.. More and More..."

More & More part 1...

There is a wonderful song we sing in church called More and More.  In my personal; worship time with God recently, this song came to mind and I started looking at the words and pull out Scripture that came to mind as I sang.

Here is verse 1... and the verses it brought to mind...

To know You as my Father....... "Our Father which art in Heaven..." (Matt. 6:9)

To know You as my King ..... "God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords." (1 Tim. 6:15)

To know You in Your resurrection power and suffering.... "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings."  (Phil. 3:10)

To know You as my Teacher .... "You call me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am."  (John 13:13)

To know You as my Light .... "I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."  (John 8:12)

To know You as a Lamp unto my feet through all the night.... "Your Word is a Lamp unto my feet and a Light for my path." (Ps. 119:105)

Chorus:  O, I want to know You, Deeper than before, and O, I want to know You more and more.. more and more.. more and more...

May that be the prayer for My heart.. and of yours!

Know Him.... Seek Him...

I was reading in the book The Perfect Love by Ruth Myers some things about Knowing God today that just really spoke to my heart...

"... to know God is not just to accumulate facts about Him, but also to experience who He is in our daily living."

"E.M.Bounds wrote that God does not reveal Himself to the 'hasty comer and goer.' If we settle for a casual relationship we won't experience His love deeply.  It's not that anything about His love changes when we neglect Him. His love is still just as full and flowing, just as wonderful and powerful.  But we're blocking it out when we don't pursue a deeper, more constant relationship with Him."

When I read this, I immediately thought of Jeremiah 29:13... I cannot tell you how many times this verse has come before my eyes in the last week and a half.. and from vastly different sources!  The NIV says:  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  

I recently saw it in the NLT and love how it is worded:  If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.

I love that word... WHOLEHEARTEDLY

Brought me to a couple more verses this morning..

Deut 4:29  But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul.  

From there.. from where ever I am at that MOMENT... whatever my situation and circumstance.. I am to seek Him with ALL my heart!

And Ps. 86:11b... which is a wonderful verse to pray for yourself and those you love... Teach me your way, O LORD,  and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

Finally --if you know me personally, then you have heard me say over and over say Be In The Word... it is a soapbox I proudly stand on and shout from and once again I am there urging anyone reading this to be in the Word. My family has had a huge upset this week.. great turmoil that will be with us for a while... I would never lie and say we have had total peace... no anger.. no hurt.. no worry... please, we are human!  BUT in the midst of it all God has used His Word.. either from others who text a verse or devotional emails that come in my inbox... or most importantly and most often through the Holy Spirit who reminds me what HE has shown me in His Word... John 14:26 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.  He teaches and He will remind us at just the right time.. but we MUST be in the Word learning to have something for Him to remind us!

We must seek to have a FULL relationship with the Lord.. not just a casual one. He should be you absolute most intimate friend.  Seek Him with ALL your heart today!

Exodus 33 reading...

Exodus 33:11 "The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend."

God still does that today. Maybe not physically face to face, but He communes with us -- is with us -- His Spirit in me!  All the time!

Moses said to God in verse 13.. "If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you."  This is my prayer today.

Phil. 3:8 & 10 "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus as my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things .... I want to know Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection."

Know.... not just head knowledge... heart knowledge that brings change in my life and is walked out day by day.

"Then the Lord replied, 'My Presence will go with you and I will give you rest.'"  (v. 14)

God's presence is always with me as the Holy Spirit resides in me.  So there is no reason for me not to have rest -- His rest -- peace.

And in verse 16 Moses replied at the thought of God not going with them... "what else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"

Jesus in my life is what distinguishes me from the world... nothing else... He is the difference.

Selah.... be still and know....

One of the lovely things about the Bible are the "old friends" you find there. Psalm 46 is one of those passages for me. It's promises are like a balm to my weary soul. I hope it will be a balm for you also. When you see the word Selah take a moment... pause... meditate on the words you have read and the truth found in them.

Psalm 46 (English Standard Version)

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah

Come, behold the works of the LORD,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
"Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!"
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah