A New Heart....

This morning as I had some time alone before the Lord, I was praying.. worshipping... and I started to sing... Be glorified in me... Be glorified in me... Be glorified.. You set my feet to dancing, You set my heart on fire, In the presence of 1000 kings, You are my one desire...

WHOA! Is that true? Is God my one desire? Honestly -- no. But I want Him to be and it frustrates me that I am so easily swayed.

As I was discussing this with Him, God reminded me of a verse.. one I thought was from Jeremiah (I was wrong). I grabbed my Bible and started flipping those well worn and marked up pages... and as I search He lead me to some amazing verses...

Jer. 15:16 "When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight for I bear Your name, O Lord God Almighty."

Jer. 31:33b "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people."

Jer. 32:17 "Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is to hard for You."

Jer. 24:7 "I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart."

Aren't those amazing promises!?

I did finally find my verse... it is in Ezekiel..... 36:26-27... "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my law."

That is one of the most awesome promises of God! And it is my personal prayer today.... I hope it is yours also...

Father, You tell me that the heart is deceitful above all things and that out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. Oh Lord, I stand before you ashamed of my heart... my overflow is awful! It's judgmental... sarcastic... critical... uncaring... self-serving... my heart must truly be a disgusting sight. But oh how I praise You for the promise found in Ez. 36!

I pray Lord for that new heart and new Spirit - remove my heart of stone... replace it with the heart You have for me.. a heart filled with Your love. Help me follow Your decrees and laws and help me to love as You love. Make it a heart that desires to know You -- that overflows with love for You and for my neighbors.

It seems a daunting task, Lord. But NOTHING is too difficult for You... it is an Eph. 3:20 opportunity and I am excited to see where You take me in the process -- excited and scared.. but totally trusting You!

It is in the precious name of Jesus I praying... Believing! Amen.

God of This City

Believe and Surrender.. they go hand in hand

I am working through 2 Bible Study / Books right now. One I started on my own a few weeks ago... Satisfy My Thirsty Soul by Linda Dillow. It is a book that focuses on personal worship and intimacy with God. Last week I started Giving God First Place with a group of online friends. I love how God weaves the things I am studying together.

In Giving God First Place this week we are focusing on prayer and on believing God.. taking Him at His Word. The chapter in Satisfy this week is entitled I Bow My Life and Romans 12:1 is the focus verse. How perfectly these go together.

I can never fully surrender my life to God unless I truly and completely BELIEVE Him. Matthew 21:22 says"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Once I grasp that.... once I am able to say "I believe!" and mean it... then and only then can I "present (my) body as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God." (Rom. 12:1)

So the question comes, how do you get to the place where you Believe. 2 things come to mind.. first you ask.. in Mark 9 a father is seeking healing for his son and Christ tells him he must believe. In verse 24 the father says "I believe, Lord help my unbelief!" Jesus knows we struggle with totally believing Him... with complete surrender... faith... and it is ok. The key is to strive for it and ASK Him to help you. Confess your doubts and unbelief and let the Holy Spirit strengthen you and guide you. And second, the old "practice makes perfect" mindset works here. The more you choose to Believe the easier it becomes.. the more "natural" a response or reaction.

Do not think about tomorrow.. next week... next year etc. Work on today.. just today.. one day at a time.... might seem like baby steps, but it is how we learn to walk the walk.

So for today... choose to BELIEVE God.. to take Him at His Word... to trust in all the things He has promised... surrender everything to Him.. you life, your marriage, your family, your hope, fear, dreams, your children, your financial needs, health, home, work, attitude, mouth... the list is endless.

Lord, today I surrender all to you... every little bit of me and my life. I ask that You help me fully believe... to trust you with my "all" knowing that Your ways are not my ways, they are higher... they are the best!

Update on The Name

I had to post an update to the entry I made earlier today. It is true that "Shout to the Lord" was performed without the name of Jesus (you can watch it on youtube) but things changed tonight. On the American Idol result show, the top 8 sang "Shout to the Lord" again.. and this time they sang it word for word.. My Jesus, My Savior. Don't know what caused them to make the change, but I was thrilled to hear it! I am always amazed when you hear a Christian song on a secular program. It is just such a rarity these days. I am not sure all those singing meant the words, but here is the thing... that song will be available on iTunes and a lot of folks who would probably never listen to "Christian" music will download it and hear it.... and our God is powerful and creative enough to use that to reach some hearts. That's something to shout about!

Barb

The Name

"Therefore, God elevated Him (Jesus) to the place of highest honor

and gave Him the name above all other names" Phil. 2:9 NLT

Last night my husband and I watched Idol Gives Back. This is a special edition of American Idol where they raise money for various charities that help the impoverished throughout our world. During the show, various celebrities talk, perform and show videos of the needs throughout our world from New Orleans to Uganda... homelessness to AIDS orphans... it is a moving show that promotes unselfishness (something we rarely see on television).

The last song of the night was performed by the 8 remaining contestants of American Idol. They sang Darlene Zschech's "Shout to the Lord." I was a bit surprised when they announced the song and a bit skeptical. Would they actually sing a Christian Praise and Worship song? Well they did.. sort of.

I expected "My Jesus, my Savior, Lord there is none like You...." I got "My shepherd, my savior, Lord there is none like You..." and there it is... it is all about the Name... Jesus. Our society really has no problem with God.... this creator who sits in heaven and watches us and if we are good we go to live with him one day. They may not call Him God, but they really have no problem with that term. But Jesus.. well now, that is a different matter.

They removed His Name from "Shout to the Lord" last night. I wonder if they had to get permission to do that and if Zschech said ok?

I know there are some who would say "What's the big deal? They still sang the song only changing one word." But see.. it's the word they chose to change. It isn't just a word.. it is THE NAME... the most important word ever spoken... it is what defines everything and everyone... it is the most powerful word there is... and it is the most hated.

"My Jesus, My Savior" acknowledges the deity to Christ... the Truth of who He is... God in flesh. And that is something that so many just cannot deal with. So they tweak the words a bit and make it fit into their nice neat inspirational spiritual mindset that allows for mercy and love, but not conviction and repentance.

The sad thing is for all the money raised last night and all the good that will come from it, many who will be helped will not get what they need the most... Jesus.

And for those who can't bring themselves to say His name....

For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil 2:9-11 NASB

What This World Needs....

I love the Casting Crowns' CD The Altar and the Door. It has been out a while... I have owned it a while... but I have just really started listening to it. WOW! The lyrics to their songs are so powerful! This is the first song on the CD and it has a timely message!

"What This World Needs" - Casting Crowns

What this world needs
Is not another one-hit wonder with an axe to grind
Another two-bit politician peddling lies
Another three-ring circus society

What this world needs
Is not another sign-waving SUPER-
THAT thinks he's better than you
Another ear-pleasing candy man afraid of the truth
Another prophet in an Armani suite

What this world needs is a Savior who will rescue
A Spirit who will lead
A Father who will love them
In their time of need
A savior who will rescue
A Spirit who will lead
A Father who will love
That's what this world needs

What this world needs
Is for us to care more about the inside than the outside
Have we become so blind that we can't see
God's gotta change your heart before he changes a shirt

What this world needs
Is for us to stop hiding behind our relevance
Blending in so well that people can't see the difference
And it's the difference that sets the world free

What this world needs is a Savior who will rescue
A Spirit who will lead
A Father who will love them
In their time of need
A savior who will rescue
A Spirit who will lead
A Father who will love
That's what this world needs

People aren't confused by the gospel
They're confused by us
Jesus is the only way to God
But we are not the only way to Jesus

This world doesn't need my tie, my hoodie
My denomination or my translation of the bible
They just need Jesus

We can be passionate about what we believe
But we can't strap ourselves to the gospel'
Cause we're slowing it down
Jesus is going to save the world
But maybe the best thing we can do
Is just get out of the way

What this world needs is a Savior who will rescue
A Spirit who will lead
A Father who will love them
In their time of need
A savior who will rescue
A Spirit who will lead
A Father who will love
That's what this world needs

Jesus is our Savior
That's what this world needs
The Father's arms around you
That's what this world needs
That's what this world needs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5WCRDxYMhs&feature=related

How Marvelous! How Wonderful!

"I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder how He could love me, a sinner, condemned, unclean."

I love that hymn... I have been singing it all my life... but I wonder if I really mean it. Do I stand amazed in Jesus' presence? Do I even realize that I am IN His presence? Am I amazed at His love for me? Do I see myself as a sinner, condemned, unclean?

Oh Lord, forgive me when I ignore You and take what You did for me for granted... treating it as a trivial nothing. Pierce my heart... let me see You as You are and let me see myself in the light of Your holiness.

"He took my sins and my sorrows, He made them His very own; He bore the burden to Calvary, And suffered and died alone."

You did all that for me, Lord! I didn't even ask You to do it... I didn't even exist except in Your grand plan... and yet, You loved me so much You sent Your son to die for me before I lived... so that I might really live! How can I walk through this life and not be grateful?!

"When with the ransomed in glory His face I at last shall see, Twill be my joy through the ages To sing of His love for me."

What a promise! and what a reason to sing...

"How Marvelous! How Wonderful! and my song shall ever be... How Marvelous! How Wonderful! is my Savior's love for me!"

(lyrics from the hymn I Stand Amazed)

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Ps. 40:3 NIV