Glory-Nichole Nordeman with Selah

Heaven is Being With You

Some things are unbelievable....but not You, O God.

With earth-shattering realness, You manifest yourself to the seeking heart,
First revealing the depravity of our own souls...
Bringing us to freeflowing sorrow for our sins, before
Flooding us with the realization of Your grace,
and then Filling us with the Fullness of Your Holy Spirit...

Grace, peace and love, all over-flowing, all ours by Your Spirit
In ever-increasing, never-failing supply
If we only believe...

Where else would we go
To find this rest for our soul?

Compared to Your purity,
All else seems dirty,
and crass,
and drains the very Life
out of those for whom
You gave so much
to save.

Who else could fill every crack and
crevice of our being with such
awesome wonderfulness that we feel we will burst out,
at a loss to contain the "Christ in us,
the Hope of Glory"?

Who else could make us spin in such glorious
rapture of song and dance and praise?

How I Approach God When Feeling Rotten by John Piper

A vague bad feeling that you are a crummy person is not the same as conviction for sin. Feeling rotten is not the same as repentance.

This morning I began to pray, and felt unworthy to be talking to the Creator of the universe. It was a vague sense of unworthiness. So I told him so. Now what?

Nothing changed until I began to get specific about my sins. Crummy feelings can be useful if they lead to conviction for sins. Vague feelings of being a bad person are not very helpful. The fog of unworthiness needs to take shape into clear dark pillars of disobedience. Then you can point to them and repent and ask for forgiveness and take aim to blow them up.

So I began to call to mind the commands I frequently break. These are the ones that came to mind:

Love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Not 95%, 100%. (Matthew 22:37)

Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Be as eager for things to go well for him as you are for things to go well for you. (Matthew 22:39)

Do all things without grumbling. No grumbling—inside or outside. (Philippians 2:14)

Cast all your anxieties on him—so you are not being weighed down by it anymore. (1 Peter 5:7)

Only say things that give grace to others—especially those closest to you. (Ephesians 4:29)

Redeem the time. Don’t fritter or dawdle. (Ephesians 5:16)

Set your mind on things that are above. Connect all your thoughts to Christ. (Colossians 3:2)

Do not return evil for evil—like when your wife or daughter says something you don’t like. (1 Thessalonians 5:15)

Rejoice always, and again I say rejoice. Always. If sorrowful, keep rejoicing. (Philippians 4:4; 2 Corinthians 6:10)

Give thanks in all circumstances. All. All. All. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

So much for any pretensions to great holiness! I’m undone.

But now it is specific. I look it in the eye. I’m not whining about feeling crummy. I’m apologizing to Christ for not keeping all that he commanded. I’m broken and I’m angry at my sin. I want to kill it, not me. I’m not suicidal. I’m a sin hater and a sin murderer (“Put to death what is earthly in you” Colossians 3:5. “Put to death the deeds of the body” Romans 3:18.)

In this conflict, I hear the promise, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1:9). Peace rises. Prayer feels possible and right and powerful again.

(Full text can be found here: http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/)

My Own Version of the New Christmas Campaign

The Hidden Man

I read in some blog this week (I wish I could remember which one! so I could give proper credit) about the "kind of Christianity that makes God merely a means to an end rather than an end in and of Himself," and it struck me afresh about the loveliness of laying aside all other agendas in our lives, and solely seeking the joy of fellowship with our Creator, hidden away in Him.

Awhile back, I kept pondering on the scripture 1 Peter 3:4, "But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." This scripture is used in the context of wife winning over her husband without a word, and that has meant a great deal to me at other times in my life.

At this particular time, however, I felt that God was bringing out more about the hiddenness of our heart; here we are, hidden in the wounds of Christ, delighting in Him in the hidden place, the secret place of the most High. And yes, no one will see us as we spill over in thankfulness to Him, as we reverently bow before His throne in our empty living rooms, or raise our hands in awe of His majesty. But isn't that the whole point?

To find ourselves alone with Him, and fully satisfied with Him? Sozo---nothing missing, nothing broken?

I kept thinking about how Jesus called to task the hypocrites of His day for praying long prayers in the sanctuary, instead of going into their private closets. (I think you can tell people who have been "closeting" themselves away with God; they have a distinctive "righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost" glow :) )

Or how Jesus adjured us not to let the left hand know what the right hand was doing when giving to the poor...

It seems these days everyone wants to be known; even blogging itself has become a way of being known, with people seeking ways to rev up traffic to their site.

I couldn't help but think of Anna in the temple today while talking with someone else about this. Anna prayed for years and spent hours in the temple seeking God, unknown, until the Lord chose to make known to her the long-awaited Saviour before she died.

Throughout the world, there are Christians who are praying, worshipping God, dying to themselves, and giving their lives for the gospel, but the world, even the Christian population, will probably never know their names (though we will meet them all in heaven, bless them!) There are people who gladly speak the name of Jesus though it cost them everything dear to them, even possibly their very lives. Yet they never make it to the spotlight here on earth.

I guess what I am trying to get at here is that, in a culture where it has become popular to become a star, I am running to the cross once again. I am running to the cross because I do not want to be anything else but the sparrow that has found a resting place next to His heart (Psalm 84). I want to be the hidden man that is of great worth in God's sight. I want to stay where He puts me, no further, no less. I want to be obscure or well-known (ah, yes, for us quiet sparrows, the spotlight itself can be a cross - but that is a whole different post!), seeking only His "well done, good and faithful servant" as I live out my life dedicated to His purposes, to spreading His good news, to actually living out His love.

Lord, I am content with who You have made me, and wherever or however You place me, I have found the place You have prepared for me. It is with You, enjoying Your presence forever.

("No place I'd rather be").

Powerful Testimony - Abortion Survivor Gianna Jessen

Dr. Dobson Interviews Abortion Survivor Gianna Jessen
by Aimee Herd : Oct 22, 2008 : Citizen Linkhttp://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000008470.cfm

"…I am God's girl, and I know that if that [persecution] is coming, then I am on the right road. It fires me up to be like Esther and to live in this time, for such a time as this."

Gianna Jessen was born and survived against all odds—even against the odds of an abortion. Thirty-one years ago, a tiny baby withstood being burned alive in a saline abortion, and was born weighing just 2 lbs.

Fortunately for Gianna, the abortionist wasn't in the room when a nurse had her taken to a hospital and attended to medically. However, due to the attempted abortion, she was deprived of oxygen long enough to cause Cerebral Palsy; a condition she lives with today. Doctors had stated that Gianna would never hold her head up, crawl, or walk. But Gianna—an on-fire Christian—not only accomplished all of those, she has run in and completed several marathons.

Gianna has spoken out about her survival in an ad produced by BornAliveTruth.org, and in various interviews, such as the one excerpted below with Dr. James Dobson.
The following are excerpts from Dr. Dobson's interview with Gianna Jessen on Citizen Link. To download and listen to the interview, CLICK HERE.

Do you have hope Roe v. Wade will be overturned in your lifetime?I know God can do anything. The possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned is quite high—which is amazing to say. But the thing that does trouble me is the hardness of people. All I know is whether it is overturned or not, we will commit ourselves to care for women and children and stand up for them.

In a TV ad, you challenge Sen. Barack Obama over his repeated opposition to the Illinois Born Alive Infant Protection Act. In response, a new ad calls you a liar, sleazy and vile. How do you respond to that?The exact opposite response of what they're expecting. It actually blesses me because I am God's girl, and I know that if that is coming, then I am on the right road. It fires me up to be like Esther and to live in this time, for such a time as this.

If you could sit down with Sen. Obama, what would you say to him? Do you think you could sway him?I've challenged him, and he won't meet with me so far, but maybe one day he will. [I would ask him…]"Sir, why do you discard life so easily? I just want to know why. When did you decide that you had the right to determine who lives and who dies? You are not God."
I think God could sway him. I think he's frightened of me, really. The fact that I have cerebral palsy as a direct result of having survived an abortion is very convicting to people. I mean, that's my sermon.

If the Lord was sitting right in front of me and said, "G ('cause that's my nickname), do you want Me to make you whole?" I would say, firstly, "I'm going to be whole when I get home. But, if You leave me this way, I have a sermon to preach without saying a word, and I'll get to know You in a way I (would) never [have] know[n] You had I not been schooled in the school of adversity."

From a blog by Josh Harris

Biblical Truth for the Financial Crisis

Do not toil to acquire wealth;be discerning enough to desist.When your eyes light on it, it is gone,for suddenly it sprouts wings,flying like an eagle toward heaven.Proverbs 23:4-5

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"Hebrews 13:5-6

Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.1 Timothy 6:6-10

Posted by Josh Harris http://www.joshharris.com/ on October 11, 2008