~My Soul Thirsts for Jesus~

O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.

-Psalm 63:1-8

~God Shall Stand Forever~

Isaiah 40


1Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.


2Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD's hand double for all her sins.


3The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.


4Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:


5And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.


6The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:


7The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.


8The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.


9O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!


10Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.


11He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.


12Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?


13Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?


14With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?


15Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.


16And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.


17All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.


18To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?


19The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.


20He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.


21Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?


22It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:


23That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.


24Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.


25To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.


26Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.


27Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?


28Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.



29He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.



30Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:



31But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

~We All Have a Part~

The verses I am going to include in this post have been on my mind and heart for awhile now. I have wrestled with writing it because I don't feel like I am putting into words how I feel about this in my heart. Please don't get me wrong, there are certain things that are just plain wrong or right. I am in no way trying to make it seem like sin is okay. As a Christian, we are all going toward the same goal of making heaven our home and doing our best to be more like Jesus. We are followers of Christ, but we all have our own distinct part. We are not all the same. We all have different likes and dislikes. We all have our own way of doing things. We are not all preachers, teachers, or singers and if we are preachers, teachers or singers (or anything else for that matter) none of us have the exact same way of doing things. No matter your personality or interest, we all have a part and we are ALL needed. God has placed an anointing in you to touch the life of others. And he has equipped you with exactly what you need to make a difference. We are members fitly joined together.

Since the Word of God says exactly what it means and means exactly what it says, here are the verses that have been on my heart:

~~

1 Corinthians 12:12-27

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
For the body is not one member, but many.
If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
And if they were all one member, where were the body?
But now are they many members, yet but one body.
And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked.
That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

~

~

I had to look up the word schism. So, for those of you like me, schism is a separation or division.

~

~

Romans 12:1-5

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

~Age to Age He is Still the Same~

Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. While getting older scares me, I still see such beauty in age. The other weekend at church I just looked around at all the hands in the air praising God and I thought about what a message you could get just out of hands. My middle boy was raising his hand(he is almost 2) and then there were hands around me raised. Some my age, some a little older and then the elders of the church. It was beautiful.

You have the babies hands so soft and smooth. Hands that haven't seen the reality of life, but they are doing what they see. Those hands around my age or a little older that may have some scars or a few calluses from a little work and some are still soft and smooth, but have lost that innocence of a child because of life. We learn that at times life is difficult and not at all the perfect place that we would all love. Then you have the hands with those beautiful wrinkles, some a little twisted and yet they are lifted up to their Heavenly Father. Their hands alone seem to tell some of the stories of their lives. Those hands that have seen trials that some of us can't begin to imagine and they made it through. Those hands that have come to depend solely on their Savior because they have seen not only with their eyes, but with their soul that we can't make it without Jesus.

I have been so blessed to see in my own family the love of God from generation to generation. God's faithfulness on those who love Him and serve Him with all they know. When I was young I had 3 Great Grandmother's alive and I still have one living. One thing I don't remember is hearing God left me or He didn't see me through. I remember seeing God's faithfulness and their dependence on Jesus. I have seen in my own family and others how God works all things for the good of those who love him and are called according to His purpose. I don't remember one time hearing my Granddaddy pray with out saying at some point in his prayer 'Help us to love you, serve you, walk uprightly before you. Having no other gods...' I can't remember a time that my Grandparents or parents haven't been in church and lived what they so strongly believe. Jesus comes first, above all else. From generation to generation HE is still the same. Age to age HE IS STILL THE SAME. His mercies endure forever. He is FAITHFUL. He is no respecter of persons. What He has done for me, He will do for you.

~

Proverbs 20:29

The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head.

~

Deuteronomy 32:7

Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.

~

Proverbs 6:20-22

My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

~

Proverbs 14:27

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

~

Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.