Tag: power

Pizza Note #5 Jesus says, “Call Me”

“What? An automated response?”

“There will be a cost for this service,” notifies a computerized voice.

“Who can I call to help me clean the messy house . . . of my heart? Who will listen to me?”

Pizza Note #5, reminds us, “Don’t Panic!”

Jesus knows the condition of the house of our heart. Psalm 139 helps us understand that.

God is full aware of the tangles in our minds. He’s the de-tangler.

He understands the losses of our soul. He heals the brokenhearted
    and binds up our wounds Psalm 147:3.

God doesn’t want us to run away in shame and regret, but instead, He desires we turn, be still, and call on Him.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble Psalm 46:1.

Pick up the phone of prayer and call Jesus. His number is Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

“This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name Jeremiah 33:2.


There was a man with leprosy who called on Jesus, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

He knew the Lord was able to make him clean, but was He willing?

Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him Luke 5:12,13.

Jesus is able, and He’s willing to clean our mess as well.

We must accept our need for a Savior,

believe on Him,

and call Him to help us in time of need.

No more excuses.

Do we want a heart-house where Christ is center?

Call Jesus. He answers. He transforms us by renewing our minds through the power of His Spirit to those who believe.

The best part about calling Jesus is, He cleans our mess and forgets, forever!

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, Romans 8:1.

Give me five slices of this excellent pie:

Hymn Therapy for an infusion of faith and renewed strength and direction

Hymn Therapy awakens the quiet spirit in the senior folk and they tap their feet and sing each word from memory when I, on occasion have to look at the lyrics to get them right.

Oh, the joy. And even more than that, what power.

Music has power. And add the doctrine and truth of the hymns and you’ve got healing, life, and energy being birthed before your eyes. Everyone in ear shot of the sounds are changed.

In need of breaking through a stressed and restless spirit, an increased tempo is played and then the story. This is actually Christian testimony, universal.

And I must admit, this medley is individually my Christian story.

You see, there comes that day when the heart is touched by the Lord and the decision is made to follow Jesus.

Choosing to give our back to the world and face to the cross gives us courage and strength against the temptations that come every day.

Pressing in closer to God and growing in His grace and knowledge of His precious Son brings relationship unlike any other we can obtain here on earth.

Jesus is a friend that sticks closer than a brother, (Proverbs 18:24).

What a Friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.

Talking to Him through the day becomes a common occurrence.

But I will confess at this time, I fail often. I have let circumstance, and the reactions and responses of others to move me, especially in my home. I get discouraged, tired, and what seems, faith-less.

O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!

How we need infusion of hymn therapy at times like this.

The very act of singing the hymn gives opportunity for the heart to confess to God our weaknesses, which He already knows,

and  our spirit is quickened again to what’s most important—faith that is pleasing to the Lord.

Are we weak and heavy-laden, cumbered with a load of care?

Yes, we are.

Precious Savior, still our refuge.

Oh, how we forget, especially drowning under the load of care.

What happens? What do we do?

Take it to the Lord in prayer, In His arms He’ll take and shield us.

He leads us to the cross.

His willingness, His surrender, His gentleness.

Can we find a friend so faithful? Who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness, Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Then our faith returns, we are healed in heart and God can once again use us to bear fruit.

I may fail, but my Lord is perfect. He is my help in times of trouble. Jesus knows our every weakness, we can take it to the Lord in prayer.

Will you decide now, to follow Jesus? Will you decide now, to follow Jesus? Will you decide now, to follow Jesus? No turning back, no turning back.

Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony.

 Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 

 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 

 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life  1John 5:10-12.

If you decide now, to follow Jesus, simply talk with Him about washing away your sin. He’s paid the debt in full.

Ask Him to fill you with His Spirit. In His arms He’ll take and shield thee, Thou wilt find a solace there.

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sin and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer.

Joseph M. Scriven, What a Friend We Have in Jesus, 1855.

Source Unknown, Folk Melody from India, I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.

 

 

True riches …

So precious the little girls, how they love tiaras and gowns. And the boys how they make the everyday sticks into a swords protecting all around.
Oh, there is much clamor about how this isn’t true. But, silently, some know not to listen, to listen to all the noise.
To breathe in the beauty of the sky above and marvel at it’s breathtaking brilliance and  magnificent poise.
Some choose to hear the music in the everyday sounds. To know that God is. To sing His praise and own riches of inner peace, casting off cares and sleeping sound.
He is fairer than the sons of men, so much fairer is He. He is a Rock, a fortress, a buckler, tis true, but He’s also the Rose of Sharon.
He’s the Lily of the Valley. He is gentle in beauty. He brings joy greater than any man’s wine, and best of all, He’s mine.
And He can be yours too.
May a song sing and your heart dance when your ears hear His voice at last.
This is no ‘dream’ to  follow. There is substance and power. There is lasting hope, there is beauty – never fading. This is faith in believing.
Believing and becoming part of the Bride, (both men and woman together),  the church – for Christ is by our side.
“She lives in a bubble. She’s messed up in the head. She’s been brainwashed to believe!” these are the thoughts of those around. But what have I lost, by believing in the Son? What have I lost?
Faith is believing. God is Spirit. He’s in everything around.
“My Beloved came to His garden, and He knocked on the door in the night, saying, “Open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one; for my head is covered with dew. . .
but I was tired and just wanted sleep and couldn’t move from my bed. But when I came to my senses and opened the door, He was nowhere to be seen, so far out of sight.
So I went searching and asking all around, “Have you seen the one I love?” And it was then, in my search that I found the One . . .
This is written in the Song of all Songs, the words of this ready writer’s pen. Like a wedding procession, He stands and sings over us, His Song:
“Behold, you are fair my love! Behold you are fair! You have dove’s eyes behind your veil…(1)
You are fair my love, and there is no spot in you… You have ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; you have ravished my heart…”
This is the heart of God towards me, this is the heart of God, towards you!
But the clamor, the noise … movement never ending. “Be Still and know!” He calls in the night. He makes us lie down. But we put up such a fight.
“Like a lily among thorns, So is my love among the daughters.” (2) He is the Lily of the Valley among the thorns He came down…
He calls, I will follow. Can you hear His voice in the night? – I am His ‘lily’, His lily among the thorns – sick and torn. Even despised in some’s sight. But, He’s got hold of me, He’s got a hold of my heart.  (3) He calls your name too. He waits for your answer. He has a still small voice – He won’t shout and flail His arms. He is the Lord.
He is God.
He stretched out the heavens. He has power to open blind eyes. He is our peace. He doesn’t fret. He is not anxious at all. He loves with an everlasting love. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is first and He is last.  He has broken down every wall. (5)
“But now in Christ Jesus you[Gentiles] who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. (Ephesians 2:13-18 RSV)
 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 28-30.
What do you say? come out of the night? He will show us the way … moment by moment, one step at a time. He is our Husband, our Maker. He is with us. His love is better than wine!
 
(1)Song of Solomon 4.
(2) Song of Solomon 1-3.
(3) Isaiah 41:10
(4) Song of Solomon 5.
(5) Ephesians 2:14. “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.”