A Love Song to My Jesus

A Love Song to My Jesus

The wind brushing through the trees,

The birds chirping their songs with glee,

Ripples journeying across the water’s surface,

Hazy mountains in the distance,

A crisp, clear sky colored an inspired blue.

A brilliant tribute of blues, browns, and greens.

The humming bird at the feeder,

Two squirrels running along the branches,

A puppy searching for the perfect stick,

Sun shining down on my face.

Praise! Praise the Father! Praise the Son!

Praise the Spirit! Three in one.

Stars twinkle their lights in delight,

The moon sighs a gentle lullaby

Bidding heavy eyelids to rest.

Tides come and go in perfect rhythm,

Hearts beat out life life life.

Motions set to action by a Divine Love.

God woke me with a smile, what can be better than that?!

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

~ John 10:10, NLT

Psalm 63 (New International Version)

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.

¹ O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

² I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.

³ Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.

⁴ I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.

⁵ My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

⁶ On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.

⁷ Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.

⁸ My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

⁹ They who seek my life will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.

¹⁰ They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.

¹¹ But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God's name will praise him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

Joseph and Paul.... praying for others.... a big smile!

Of all the men in the Bible, of all the examples I would want to follow besides Jesus, Joseph and Paul are the top two for me.

I think what I like most about these men was their ability to allow God to shine through their own imperfections. Their lives certainly weren't perfect though: both men made mistakes in their lives, both were a little cocky during their younger years, both spend time in prison, both had unique talents that they used for God. Yes, they were clearly anointed men, Joseph interpreting dreams and Paul preaching the Word with such passion and insight. But they had other talents as well.

Joseph was extremely organized and an amazing administrator, he had to be. It's not easy running a country on the verge of famine, but he did it. God used Joseph's divine talent of dream interpretation to put him in a position to use the earthly talents that God had been cultivating in Joseph his whole life through working for Potiphar, and holding a position in the jail, even through working with his father and brothers. Joseph was cultivated from a very early age to understand the importance and the many nuances of the role of administrator.

Paul was just plain brilliant. The pure knowledge that man held in his head amazes me! He knew the law like the back of his hand, he knew traditions, expectations, rules, and regulations. And he knew God. And he knew which one was most important. When Paul became a Christian, he went and spent time with the disciples because he knew that he needed to relearn things. He understood himself and God enough to know how to position himself to best learn what he needed to know. Both of these men used their God-given abilities, both natural and supernatural, to honor, obey, and glorify God. While I'm on Paul, I read Eph 1 this morning and learned how to pray for my friends and loved ones! Check it out!

How to pray for your friends and loved ones according to Paul (Eph. 1):

1. Do not stop giving God thanks for them and their faith and love for God and for others.

2. Continually pray for them; for God to give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation so that they can know Him better.

3. Pray that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints (1:18).

4. Pray these things also for yourself.