This is an old hymn that has always been my favorite. I was singing through my song book, came across this song, read the words very slowly, and fell in love with it all over again! I'm going to put the lyrics on here because I think they are very powerful!
Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole;
I want thee forever to live in my soul;
Break down every idol, cast out every foe,
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
(CHORUS)
Whiter than snow, yes whiter than snow,
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
(VERSE 2)
Lord Jesus, look down from Thy throne in the skies.
And helm me to make a complete sacrifice;
I give up my self and whatever I know.
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
(CHORUS)
(VERSE3 3)
Lord Jesus, for this I most humbly entreat,
I wait blessed Lord at Thy crucified feet;
By faith, for my cleansing I see Thy blood flow,
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
(CHORUS)
{This is my personal favorite verse}
(VERSE 4)
Lord Jesus, Thou seest, I patiently wait.
Come now and within me a new heart create.
To those who have sought Thee, Thou never saidst "no."
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Loving, Trusting, Waiting.
Sorry for the lack of blog posts the past few weeks! Life has been busy and exciting! Just the way I like it! :)
So I've been thinking about God's love for the past few days. My blog is about me learning to love God more, but I've also been thinking about how He shows His love to me, and how valuable it is.
Ever since the Passion for Jesus conference last March at our church, my absolute favorite passage of the Bible has been Romans 8:35, 37-39. It says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? (37) No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (38) For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers (39) nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
As I said in my last blog post, this year has had a lot (and yes I mean a lot!) of ups and downs. There have been times when I've felt so discouraged that I just wanted to give everything up. Living for Jesus isn't an easy thing to do...but then I remind myself that God didn't intend it to be easy...and it won't be! But it is possible. With Christ Jesus's help, all things are possible. (Philippians 4:13) God is there every step of the way, and NOTHING can separate me from His unconditional love!
When I was little, my mom used to say to me, "Jesus loves you more than anyone in the whole world ever could!" That was a lot for me to process. I didn't think anyone could love me more than my mom did. I also didn't really understand what kind of love that was. God has been teaching me more and more about loving and trusting. Those are two things that I don't do very easily. It's hard for me to love and trust Someone who I can't see or touch.
The more I read my Bible, the more I learn about God's love, and the more I question what makes me stop loving and trusting God. Do hardships, disasters, catastrophes, unexpected road blocks, etc. make me question God's love for me and cause me to stop loving Him?
Verses that have come to my head countless times recently are, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and turn away from evil." Proverbs 3:5-7 I was trusting in what I felt was the right thing to do too often. That's why I wasn't getting anywhere! God has had to throw some things my way to wake me up out of that mind set!
When I put my trust fully in Christ, He provides answers for me! I am a babysitter, so jobs are pretty sporadic. I went through a month or so without a job, and there were a lot of things I needed to pay for. It was easy to get worried or anxious about money, or the lack thereof! I was reading through Psalms one morning, and God gave me a verse that encouraged me so much. (I love it when He does that!) "Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the Lord". Psalm 27:14 I had been worried the night before, but after I read that verse, I felt so at peace! I prayed, placing that need in His hands, and completely trusting Him to provide for me. Within two hours, I had gotten two babysitting jobs! It's so encouraging to see God answer prayers like that!
Loving, trusting, and waiting. Those are not my favorite things to do, but I'm so glad that God is teaching me more and more about how to do each one. God's love is everlasting. He will provide for me. He's faithful. I'll close with this verse:
Jeremiah 31:3 "...I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore, I have continued My faithfulness to you."
So I've been thinking about God's love for the past few days. My blog is about me learning to love God more, but I've also been thinking about how He shows His love to me, and how valuable it is.
Ever since the Passion for Jesus conference last March at our church, my absolute favorite passage of the Bible has been Romans 8:35, 37-39. It says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? (37) No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (38) For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers (39) nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
As I said in my last blog post, this year has had a lot (and yes I mean a lot!) of ups and downs. There have been times when I've felt so discouraged that I just wanted to give everything up. Living for Jesus isn't an easy thing to do...but then I remind myself that God didn't intend it to be easy...and it won't be! But it is possible. With Christ Jesus's help, all things are possible. (Philippians 4:13) God is there every step of the way, and NOTHING can separate me from His unconditional love!
When I was little, my mom used to say to me, "Jesus loves you more than anyone in the whole world ever could!" That was a lot for me to process. I didn't think anyone could love me more than my mom did. I also didn't really understand what kind of love that was. God has been teaching me more and more about loving and trusting. Those are two things that I don't do very easily. It's hard for me to love and trust Someone who I can't see or touch.
The more I read my Bible, the more I learn about God's love, and the more I question what makes me stop loving and trusting God. Do hardships, disasters, catastrophes, unexpected road blocks, etc. make me question God's love for me and cause me to stop loving Him?
Verses that have come to my head countless times recently are, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and turn away from evil." Proverbs 3:5-7 I was trusting in what I felt was the right thing to do too often. That's why I wasn't getting anywhere! God has had to throw some things my way to wake me up out of that mind set!
When I put my trust fully in Christ, He provides answers for me! I am a babysitter, so jobs are pretty sporadic. I went through a month or so without a job, and there were a lot of things I needed to pay for. It was easy to get worried or anxious about money, or the lack thereof! I was reading through Psalms one morning, and God gave me a verse that encouraged me so much. (I love it when He does that!) "Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the Lord". Psalm 27:14 I had been worried the night before, but after I read that verse, I felt so at peace! I prayed, placing that need in His hands, and completely trusting Him to provide for me. Within two hours, I had gotten two babysitting jobs! It's so encouraging to see God answer prayers like that!
Loving, trusting, and waiting. Those are not my favorite things to do, but I'm so glad that God is teaching me more and more about how to do each one. God's love is everlasting. He will provide for me. He's faithful. I'll close with this verse:
Jeremiah 31:3 "...I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore, I have continued My faithfulness to you."
Sunday, April 1, 2012
One Year Ago Today....
Today, most people are playing practical jokes on people. Why? Welllll, that would be because it's April 1st: April Fool's Day. For me, April 1st is now looked at as the day that changed my whole entire life around.
Last year, April 1st fell on a Friday. This Friday in particular, my sisters and I were going to go shopping, but as soon as we pulled into the parking lot, we got a call informing us that my dad was on his way to the hospital because of a heart attack. That day changed my life forever.
God was merciful and spared his life, and he's doing so well to this day. Sometimes I am wondering why God is doing certain things. Why does He let bad things happen? Why can't life just be peaches and cream?
This morning in church, Pastor preached from Amos 3. It was such a good sermon! It was about God ALWAYS doing the right thing. The part that really hit home for me, was when he was talking about Israel not listening to God, so He would send something to wake them up and show them He was still in control.
I was thinking, last year around this time, I was not listening to God. I was pretty much ignoring Him. Pastor made the statement, "God doesn't ever chasten someone who doesn't need it." Obviously I needed it. I look back on my dad's heart attack as God getting my attention. It's like He was saying, "You think you have everything figured out and that you're in control of your life. But guess what? I'm still in control of everything...including you."
Like most people, I don't like it when I feel like life is out of control and there's nothing I can do about it. In that time of my life, there was definitely nothing I could do about the situations that were taking place. I didn't like walking into the hospital room, seeing my dad hooked up to tons of machines and IV's and not being able to do anything about it. I had to trust God to be in control of everything!
I had heard my whole life that God uses everything for His purpose...no matter if it's good or bad. It's hard to believe that until something does actually happen and you see the good that comes out of it. Psalm 18:30 says, "As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him." (ESV)
God taught me so much by using one thing: my dad's heart attack. I can't say that I have everything all figured out now, and that I have the best attitude every time something bad happens...because I don't! God still has to send things my way to wake me up and to remind me that He's still in control.
I'm thankful for a God who will hear my cry and come to rescue me too! I couldn't have gotten through the past year without prayer! God became my best friend! :) My favorite verse right now: "In my distress, I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears." Psalm 18:6
God put life into perspective for me last year. I was treating it too flippantly, and wasn't taking advantage of God's goodness. It's been a tough ride, but God's been there every step of the way.
Last year, April 1st fell on a Friday. This Friday in particular, my sisters and I were going to go shopping, but as soon as we pulled into the parking lot, we got a call informing us that my dad was on his way to the hospital because of a heart attack. That day changed my life forever.
God was merciful and spared his life, and he's doing so well to this day. Sometimes I am wondering why God is doing certain things. Why does He let bad things happen? Why can't life just be peaches and cream?
This morning in church, Pastor preached from Amos 3. It was such a good sermon! It was about God ALWAYS doing the right thing. The part that really hit home for me, was when he was talking about Israel not listening to God, so He would send something to wake them up and show them He was still in control.
I was thinking, last year around this time, I was not listening to God. I was pretty much ignoring Him. Pastor made the statement, "God doesn't ever chasten someone who doesn't need it." Obviously I needed it. I look back on my dad's heart attack as God getting my attention. It's like He was saying, "You think you have everything figured out and that you're in control of your life. But guess what? I'm still in control of everything...including you."
Like most people, I don't like it when I feel like life is out of control and there's nothing I can do about it. In that time of my life, there was definitely nothing I could do about the situations that were taking place. I didn't like walking into the hospital room, seeing my dad hooked up to tons of machines and IV's and not being able to do anything about it. I had to trust God to be in control of everything!
I had heard my whole life that God uses everything for His purpose...no matter if it's good or bad. It's hard to believe that until something does actually happen and you see the good that comes out of it. Psalm 18:30 says, "As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him." (ESV)
God taught me so much by using one thing: my dad's heart attack. I can't say that I have everything all figured out now, and that I have the best attitude every time something bad happens...because I don't! God still has to send things my way to wake me up and to remind me that He's still in control.
I'm thankful for a God who will hear my cry and come to rescue me too! I couldn't have gotten through the past year without prayer! God became my best friend! :) My favorite verse right now: "In my distress, I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears." Psalm 18:6
God put life into perspective for me last year. I was treating it too flippantly, and wasn't taking advantage of God's goodness. It's been a tough ride, but God's been there every step of the way.
Romans 8:28: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
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