Bend me, Lord....

Ps 4:1~ Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!

Thou hast relieved me in my distress;

Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.

Father, let Your light shone down on me...

Thank You, Jesus for Your tender loving-kindnesses and teaching. May I be a benefit in some way Lord. Thank You for how Your love draws me in, Your Word washes me and refreshes me, comforts me and stretches me. May I continue to be stretched to be more like You. May I continue to seek fresh encounter with You.

1 Samuel 7:12

...took a stone... named it Ebenezer (the stone of help), saying, "Thus far the Lord has helped us."

Valentines

Thank You, Lord, for the times when You show me love. When one sends flowers to another it is because we love them and want them to know we are thinking of them. You use friends, songs, teachings, the Word to send me flowers throughout the day and let me know You are thinking of me. Vicki notices heart shapes in rocks, clouds, etc and they are valentines from You to her. I love that! Thank You for the flowers and valentines You send to me to show You love me and are thinking of me throughout the day. I love You too. May I be looking for ways to send You flowers...

Hands free

Father thank You, that You have taught me, the people around me cannot live when I have a death-grip on them. I can let them go and love them and hold on to You with every ounce of death-grip I have. They must be free to live. And I must love You with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, and all of my strength. Thank You. I love You.

Submitting to God’s Purpose I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some —1 Corinthians 9:22

A Christian worker has to learn how to be God’s man or woman of great worth and excellence in the midst of a multitude of meager and worthless things.

Never protest by saying, "If only I were somewhere else!" All of God’s people are ordinary people who have been made extraordinary by the purpose He has given them.

Unless we have the right purpose intellectually in our minds and lovingly in our hearts, we will very quickly be diverted from being useful to God.

We are not workers for God by choice.

Many people deliberately choose to be workers, but they have no purpose of God’s almighty grace or His mighty Word in them. Paul’s whole heart, mind, and soul were consumed with the great purpose of what Jesus Christ came to do, and he never lost sight of that one thing. We must continually confront ourselves with one central fact— ". . . Jesus Christ and Him crucified" ( 1 Corinthians 2:2 ).

"I chose you . . ." ( John 15:16 ). Keep these words as a wonderful reminder in your theology. It is not that you have gotten God,

but that He has gotten you.

God is at work bending, breaking, molding, and doing exactly as He chooses. And why is He doing it? He is doing it for only one purpose— that He may be able to say, "

This is My man, and this is My woman."

We have to be in God’s hand so that He can place others on the Rock, Jesus Christ, just as He has placed us.

Never choose to be a worker, but once God has placed His call upon you, woe be to you if you "turn aside . . . to the right or the left . . ." ( Deuteronomy 28:14 ). He will do with you what He never did before His call came to you, and He will do with you what He is not doing with other people.

Let Him have His way.

Yes... Beautiful One I love, Beautiful One I adore, Beautiful One, my soul must sing! Thank You Lord, You are amazing. Your ways are wonderful and far above my own. Thank You... have Your way, may I never hinder You, do Your thing with me and make me Your woman. Thank You for chosing me, for loving me first that I may love You. Peace, love, and yearning... yearning for more of You, Lord. Beloved...

Getting into God’s Stride Enoch walked with God . . . —Genesis 5:24

Getting into God’s Stride

Enoch walked with God . . . —Genesis 5:24

The true test of a person’s spiritual life and character is not what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does during the ordinary times when there is nothing tremendous or exciting happening. A person’s worth is revealed in his attitude toward the ordinary things of life when he is not under the spotlight (seeJohn 1:35-37 and John 3:30 ). It is painful work to get in step with God and to keep pace with Him— it means getting your second wind spiritually. In learning to walk with God, there is always the difficulty of getting into His stride, but once we have done so, the only characteristic that exhibits itself is the very life of God Himself. The individual person is merged into a personal oneness with God, and God’s stride and His power alone are exhibited.

It is difficult to get into stride with God, because as soon as we start walking with Him we find that His pace has surpassed us before we have even taken three steps. He has different ways of doing things, and we have to be trained and disciplined in His ways. It was said of Jesus— "He will not fail nor be discouraged . . ." (Isaiah 42:4 ) because He never worked from His own individual standpoint, but always worked from the standpoint of His Father. And we must learn to do the same. Spiritual truth is learned through the atmosphere that surrounds us, not through intellectual reasoning. It is God’s Spirit that changes the atmosphere of our way of looking at things, and then things begin to be possible which before were impossible. Getting into God’s stride means nothing less than oneness with Him. It takes a long time to get there, but keep at it. Don’t give up because the pain is intense right now— get on with it, and before long you will find that you have a new vision and a new purpose.

Lord, this one hits me. I desire to be in stride with You. Thank You that You pursue and You are faithful to forgive and teach and train and guide. Over and over again. How precious is Your Name! May I work from Your standpoint and not my own or anyone else's. All adoration, honor and praise be to You, God my Father.

Amen, Lord. Praise You. My Almighty, The Almighty. Glorious One. Maker of Heaven and Earth. Father God. My Maker, my Savior. Eternal One. Beloved. Beautiful One. Praise You for You Are. You alone are worthy and You alone are able. My All in all. My Strength and my Song. I bow before You, Lord, in humility for I am weak and You are strong. I fail and You are victorious. Thank You, Lord, for You are my Redeemer, bringing me out of the darkness into the marvelous Light. You have rescued me and brought me to a spacious place because You love me. You love me... I'm amazed, by You, how You love me. So abundantly, wildly, beautifully, pouring over me gently and heavily. Thank You. Pray You will make me one who worships in spirit and truth as those You seek. Lifting up up so many in my heart and basking in the beauty that You know. And You Know. Amen and amen.