Aleph=Blessed

I mentioned in my last post that I wanted to read Psalm 119 looking for ways that it could tell me how to live life in Jesus’ Name.  It has so many references to God’s law (and many synonyms for the Law or words similar to it) that I know God wants us to love His law and live rightly.  So here goes…I will read each section of Psalm 119 and write about it in the coming days.  If you did not know, the psalm is divided into 22 sections and is an acrostic…my knowledgable husband tells me.  Each section’s first word (in the Hebrew) begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet in order from Aleph to Tav.  Aleph means blessed.  In my Bible, I have small subtitles written by each section that I got from somewhere and they must have been important to me at one time!  They seem to be summing up each section according to the “first word” of the acrostic.  This first section, then, is titled:  “The Blessing of Obedience”.  So I read the following verses with this title in mind:     

     How blessed are those whose way is blameless,
     Who walk in the law of the LORD.
     How blessed are those who observe His testimonies,
     Who seek Him with all their heart.
     They also do no unrighteousness;
     They walk in His ways.
     You have ordained Your precepts,
     That we should keep them diligently.
     Oh that my ways may be established
     To keep Your statutes!
     Then I shall not be ashamed
     When I look upon all Your commandments. 
      I shall give thanks to You with uprightness of heart,
     When I learn Your righteous judgments.
      I shall keep Your statutes;
      Do not forsake me utterly!

Can you see the blessing for those who are obedient?  My greatest wish and prayer for this blog is to be a blessing (hey…Aleph) to all those who read it.  So, I seek to be as practical as I can.  But when my mind wants to know what all the different words synonymous with law actually mean in the Hebrew (the bolded words above) and when I live in the same house as a Pastor, its hard for me not to get “theological” at times.  So bear with me. 

Who is the blessing for?  It is for those who walk in God’s law, observe His testimonies, seek God, walk in His ways, keep His precepts diligently, keep His statutes, not be ashamed of His commandments, be upright in heart….  

Whoa…this is a TALL order!  It boggles my mind and seems impossible to do especially when my Pastor husband tells me that each of the bold words above is a different Hebrew word and I want to look them all up!  Be thankful I did not this time.  I asked Kris:  “Can I safely replace all these words with “God’s Word”?  He told me no, I have to be careful of doing that.  It seems that in my translation the word “law” is most always the Hebrew word Torah, which is the first 5 books of the Bible.  So if I want to have this blessing mentioned above, do I need to follow all those specific laws in the first 5 books?  If you have ever read the book of Leviticus, you know what is going through my head here!  There is no way I can or even want to follow all those laws.  God led me to remember what Paul wrote to the Romans in chapter 8: 1-8

  Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
   For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
   For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
   For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
   However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

What this means for me:  Christ is the fulfillment of the law and because I am born again, His Spirit sets me free from the law of sin and death.  Christ’s death, His offering for sin, gives me the freedom to live/walk by the Spirit!  It will not be a perfect walk, but I pray it will be a surrendered, obedient walk that will bring glory to God and reflect Jesus, His Son!

So, practically, what can Psalm 119 say to me?  I can’t let it be a downer for me because I will never attain to it…it serves to remind me who God is and how wonderful His law and precepts are.  It can inspire me, and point me to Christ and how I am to walk in the Spirit.  That is how I will read the rest of the psalm.  More in a few days…

Walking, Fearing, and Glorifying…

As I continue to make my way through the Psalms, the following verses stood out for me a couple of weeks ago:

“Teach me Your way, O LORD;  I will walk in Your truth;  unite my heart to fear Your name.  I will give thanks to You, O LORD my God, with all my heart, and will glorify Your name forever.  For Your lovingkindness toward me is great, and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.”  Psalm 86:11-13

I saw 3 important verbs, I always look for verbs because that is telling me what I need to do!  The first verb is walk.  I am to walk in God’s truth.  Now that encompasses a lot and when I am faced with too much, I freeze and don’t do anything.  So, I was reminded of how Psalm 119 is all about the truth/God’s Word and tells me how to live and walk in that truth.  So I am in that Psalm for the next few days, asking God to specifically show me what it means to walk in truth.  I am sure I will be sharing insights that God gives me from that Psalm later this week.

The second verb is fear.  The Psalmist is asking God to unite his heart to fear God’s name!  The word fear in the Bible has many meanings, but I think here it means to revere God’s name.  Honor His name and give Him the glory He deserves!  I can do that in everything I do during the day if I just remember that God is there and guiding me, giving me the strength to do whatever He is calling me to do.  Even while doing the most mundane task, I can honor and glorify God. 

That leads to the third verb which is glorifying.  The name(s) of God reveal His character…Yahweh, Adonai and so many more.  God’s character is worthy of glory and honor, blessing and praise as Revelation tells us in the first 4 chapters.  I have been thinking for a long time that I want to look deeper into the names of God to really understand who He is, who Jesus is and how I am to have life in His name.

I realize that originally when I decided to write this blog I was going to go through Ann Graham Lotz’ book Just Give Me Jesus.  I still plan to do that, but will also continue to share insights that God gives me from the Psalms.  I just didn’t want you to think I had completely given that up.  And in between those things I hope to throw in insights about God’s names.  How is that for a tall order?  Well, with God’s grace I will share what He leads me to!  Thanks for listening!

My Refuge…His Everlasting Arms

Oh, it is good to be back writing.  With my hubby, Kris, on sabbatical, we have been traveling more often and it is hard to keep up on posting.  Then when my computer crashed…well, that made it all the more difficult.  Thanks for you patience, those who have been reading and checking regularly.  I will be posting 2-4 times per week now as we are heading home tomorrow and I have a computer to borrow!

Recently, Psalm 71:3 really gave me much encouragement:

“Be to me a rock of habitation to which I may continually come; 
You have given commandment to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress.”

I have always loved the idea of God being my rock, refuge, fortress!  It helps me to know that I have a strong God on my side when I don’t feel so strong.  When I read the word, habitation, I wondered exactly what that meant…so I looked up a cross reference to that word in Deuteronomy 33:27a:

“The eternal God is a dwelling place (rock), and underneath are the everlasting arms…”

To live in Jesus’ Name means to return again and again, day in and day out, every minute if we need to, to our dwelling place, Who is our fortress and refuge and He will be there with HIS EVERLASTING ARMS…such a sweet phrase.  It makes me think of a Mother holding her baby tenderly yet strongly.  God’s arms are indeed strong and tender and they will be there forever!

Why should I turn to God as my refuge…Ps. 73:28 gives me an answer:

“But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;  I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works.”

Two reasons:  1) Because it is good to be near God, and 2) because then I will tell others of God and what He has done for me!  Isn’t that what we are supposed to be doing?  Sharing the Gospel with others?

When I, when you, are in trouble and need help…pray as the psalmist did:  Be to me a rock of habitation and hold me in Your Everlasting Arms!  Amen and Amen!

I Am Still Here…

Just a note to let you know that I am still here!  I have been out of town and experiencing a computer crash which adds up to not blogging regularly like I want to.  I plan to make a post either tonight or tomorrow!  So hang in there and keep coming back!  God bless!!

Be an Olive Tree!

David was constantly being pursued by Saul and many of his psalms show how he cries out to God for refuge and help from his enemies.  Psalm 52 is one of these.  He talks about wicked and evil men and what will happen to them in the end.  Then in verse 8 there is a contrast:

“But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.
I will give You thanks forever, because You have done it,
And I will wait on Your name, for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.”  Psalm 52:8-9

I want to be an Olive Tree!  I want to trust in the lovingkindness of God forever!!  (I once learned in a Bible Study that God’s lovingkindness is His covenant with us…and covenant is important in the Bible).  I want to give thanks to God forever!  Why?  Because He has done it!  Done what you ask?He is King, He is sovereign and He has saved me by sending His son Jesus to die for me!  And I want to wait on His name…of course the word name caught my eye.  I wondered, what does it mean to wait on God’s name?

 I went to my Logos software and I was so excited to find out that this Hebrew verb “to wait on” means:  hope for, look for, i.e., look forward with confidence to that which is good and beneficial, often with a focus of anticipation in a future event.  It also means to look eagerly for.  The future event that came to my mind was of course when Jesus returns…what better thing to “wait eagerly for”.  I really like the word, eagerly!  It seems to have so much meaning…yet how often am I eagerly waiting for God/Jesus?  Waiting eagerly for His Name makes me think of Philippians 2:9-11:

For this reason also, God highly exalted Him (Jesus), and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,  SO THAT AT THE NAME OF JESUS, EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

My prayer today is that I might wait for you eagerly, LORD, for you and your Son!  That everything I do each day is with eagerness and expectation of what You will do that day and will do in the future.  May it be so…Amen and amen!

It works!!!!!

After all that I have been reading in the Psalms about a contrite spirit and knowing my sins…I have an example to share with you!

I was with a family member here in Colorado at a coffee shop.  We were having such a good time sharing and catching up.  He said something and I replied with the first thing that came to my mind, that was my first mistakeThere were a lot of people in the shop and I spoke rather loudly.  It wasn’t until later that night God showed me that I had been rude!  I had sinned against Him and hurt my family member.  I felt so bad.  I asked God for forgiveness and had the opportunity to talk to that family member later and apologize.  I felt so cleansed and thankful that God showed me my sin and was able to rectify it.  Praise God!!!

Psalm 51: A Picture of a Contrite Spirit

    “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
     And cleanse me from my sin.
     For I know my transgressions,
     And my sin is ever before me.
     Against You, You only, I have sinned
     And done what is evil in Your sight,
     So that You are justified when You speak
     And blameless when You judge.”  Psalm 51:2-4

Wow!!!!  What a picture of a man convicted of his sin…it took Nathan the prophet to proclaim to David what he had done, though.  (See 2 Samuel, chapters 10 and 11).  What does this say to me about the way I am to live?  Well, first, I need to know my sins.  I must ask God to show me my sins, or others to show me my sins and I need to be open to hearing the truth.  Secondly, I need to know that my sins are against God!  No justification here, I sin against God!  And if I hurt someone in that sin, I need to go to that person and ask forgiveness.

     “Create in me a clean heart, O God,
      And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
      Do not cast me away from Your presence
      And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
      Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
      And sustain me with a willing spirit.
      Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
      And sinners will be converted to You.”  Psalm 51:10-13

When David does cry out to God, it gave me a picture of what a right relationship would look like because of what he asks God to do.  He would have or be:

• a clean heart
• an upright spirit
• in God’s presence
• filled with the Holy Spirit
• the joy of God’s salvation
• a willing spirit
• teaching sinners God’s ways

To me, a right relationship with God is living in Jesus’ Name!  O LORD, I pray that I can have a contrite spirit, giving an acceptable sacrifice to you and living as David lived…knowing my sins and crying out to God for forgiveness and then repenting…turning around and doing the right thing!  Amen and amen!

A Right Offering and Sacrifice

As I read through the Psalms I find that I am so drawn to the psalms that King David wrote.  My Bible tells me at the beginning of each psalm who wrote it.  David is called “a man after God’s own heart” (and who wouldn’t want to be known as that?  Ok, I guess I would want to be known as a woman after God’s own heart:), but he is so real and human and I can identify with him.  His trio of psalms, 50-52 have really been touching my heart.  Today, I will write about Psalm 50.  As I continually seek, when I read, what it means to live in Jesus’ Name, God shows me much.

    “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving
      And pay your vows to the Most High;
      Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
      I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.” Psalm  50:14-15

      “He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me;
      And to him who orders his way aright
      I shall show the salvation of God.” Psalm 50:23

Here I am told I need to offer God the right kind of sacrifice/offering…a sacrifice of thanksgiving.  Many times in the OT, God is displeased with his children’s offerings because they are not coming from a pure heart or with the right motives.  I often just call on God when I need something not to thank Him.  This really convicted me.  And in the very next Psalm 51 (which David wrote after he sinned with Bathsheba and had her husband killed) there is further insight into the right kind of sacrifice. 

     “For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
     You are not pleased with burnt offering.
     The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
     A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” Psalm 51:16-17

So, along with a sacrifice of thanksgiving, I need to have a broken and contrite spirit…in other words… I need to confess and repent of my sins and only in that spirit can I give a sacrifice to God, one that He will not despise.

Tomorrow, I will share more insights from Psalm 51…another of my fav’s so stay tuned…

Dwelling in the House of the LORD

I love Psalm 27!  You’re probably going to hear me say that often ‘cause my favorite book is the Psalms!  Recognize any of these lines?

• “The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?”
• “Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice, and be gracious to me and answer me.”
• “Teach me Your way, O LORD, and lead me in a level path…”
• “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.”

Great stuff!  The other day, I was particularly struck by verse 4:

“One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek:  That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,  To behold the beauty of the LORD and to meditate in His temple.” 

I believe this is another aspect of a life in Jesus’ Name.  I looked up the Hebrew word “dwell” in my Logos Bible software (although Kris is studying Hebrew, at this point he could only tell me how to pronounce it…I am so proud of him!).  This word means settle or remain, implying a long period of time. J. Vernon McGee (one of my husband’s fav commentaries") says that dwelling with the LORD means we have access to Him through Jesus!   Imagine my delight when I found out that the word “beauty” in this verse means “delightfulness”!  Finally, I looked up the word “meditate” which means inspect, investigate or inquire.  What does all this mean?  Let me put it in words we can really understand:

“One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek:  That I may settle and remain in the house of the LORD, having access to Him because of what Jesus did for me, all the days of my life, To behold the delightfulness of the LORD and to seek/investigate Him in His temple.” 

Now I know this is Paula’s paraphrase, but I am only inserting meanings from the original Hebrew into the verse to make it more understandable.  It is a tool I learned when I was training in Precept.  Isn’t this a great picture of what it means to live in Jesus’ Name…I love God’s word!!!!!

The next 2 verses in Psalm 27 give us the reason why we should do what verse 4 above says:

“For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.  And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.”  

You know how I know this is the why behind these verses?  Because of the simple word, “For” which begins verse 5!  Every version I checked begins with the word “For”.  This is also something I learned in Precept…look for words of conclusion like: for, therefore, then, etc.  That indicates that whatever comes after the “for” will give you the why or a conclusion to what you have been reading.  It will probably tell you some life application that you can make, so watch for these words.

I don’t know about you but I want God to “hide me” and “lift me up on a rock” when I am going through a time of trouble.  But in order for God to do this I need to be doing what verse 4 tells me do!  It’s a promise with a condition…live in Jesus’ Name (as we have talked about) and be hidden or protected by God!  Amen and amen!!

Heartburn and “Feasting” on God’s Faithfulness

Oh, what Satan will do to divert me from reading God’s word and living a life in Jesus’ Name!  My best intentions were to be reading Psalms every day, work in the book of John using the book, Just Give Me Jesus, and post on this blog 4 times a week!

Well, it hasn’t been happnin’…and I can come up with all sorts of reasons why and justify myself but, plain and simple, it is Satan and I am letting him do it!  Lord, today I pray to get back on track AND I pray for a hedge of protection around me and my family!

Back to business…I shared earlier this week about WMF day at our AFLC annual conference from Psalm 37:3-6.  Verse 3 says:  “Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness…”. There is a footnote for “cultivate” which says that could mean “feed securely” or “feed on His faithfulness”.  God brought that to mind when I had a bout of heartburn the other night.  I couldn’t lay down and go to sleep because it would “burn” more.  When I don’t eat right, I get heartburn, when I eat right I can be secure in the fact that I won’t have any unpleasant aftereffects.  When I cultivate or feed on His faithfulness, things go much better and I have the promises given in verses 4-6.

Psalm 34:8-10 says it well:

“O taste and see that the LORD is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
O fear the LORD, you His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is no want.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.”

Did you see the promises there for tasting, I prefer to think of it as feasting, in the LORD?  I will be blessed and have no want of any good thing!  WOW!!!

LORD, today, I pray that I may feast in you regularly that I may claim your promises of not being in want of any good thing!  Amen and amen!

DELIGHT in the Lord!

As I said I have been attending the Annual Conference of the AFLC, in Sioux Falls, SD.  It has been a marvelous week of inspiration, worship, encouragement, seeing old friends and making new!

Tuesday was the WMF day…Women’s Missionary Federation…where the women of the AFLC gather each year.  The theme for the day came from Psalm 37:3-6, Trust, Delight, Commit!

“Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.”

Did you catch all those verbs (text in orange)?  That means these are active commands…we have something that we must do in order to receive the promises that go along with them (the text in red).

My fav speaker that day was Amy Skogerboe who spoke on how we can delight in the Lord. She did an extensive study on the word delight (sounds like my kinda girl when it comes to Bible study)  Here is a summary of 3 things she found out and shared with us:

•  Delighting in the Lord is WISE…God knows it is for His great glory and my great good.  It is balm for my soul.  I only have to look at Psalm 139 to know how wonderfully He made me and how much He loves me and desires a relationship with me.  Jeremiah 29:11 tells me:  “'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.  'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.’”  We were designed to delight in Him!
• Delighting in the Lord is WORSHIP…He is all He says He is and our delight in Him turns to praise/adoration/worship where we are celebrating the creator/potter/artist/vine!!  We need to REVEL in His attributes.  What better way to do this then to read the Psalms, which tell us who God is, and praise Him right then out loud and/or in song.  Do you realize how many songs come from the Psalms?
• Delighting in the Lord is WARFARE…Satan is afraid of our delight!  When we taste and see that the Lord is good, the world just doesn’t stack up and Satan is thwarted!!  Amy said that the problem with the church today is that we practice “disinterested reverence”.  Oh, how we need to come to worship today prepared and excited to worship and delight in the Lord, causing Satan to turn tail and run, and then go out into the world continuing to delight in Him every day, not just on Sundays!

Tomorrow is Sunday and I am praying God will give me an expectant heart, a heart ready to delight in Him in church and all day long (even if I will be in a car most of the day)!  Praise be to God!!

The Miracle of the Incarnation

First, let me say I have been attending our AFLC annual conference in Sioux Falls, SD and I haven’t had the time I wanted to keep blogging the past few days.  But I am back and want to share about the church I attended last Sunday.

I was in Minneapolis for an extended stay because my Amtrak train home was cancelled due to flooding in ND.  Annika was away for the weekend so I could attend church anywhere I wanted!  I had been to Annika’s church before, Faith Baptist, and really enjoyed the worship (led by friend Mark Jaspers) and the preaching.  So, off I went…and guess what new series the preacher was beginning that day?  A series on the miracles of Jesus beginning with the first great miracle, Jesus’ Incarnation (God becoming man) from John 1:1-18!  At first I thought “what a coincidence” .  How did that pastor know I studying the book of John and was on the first chapter?  Then I realized that with God there are no coincidences…He is in control all the way!

The worship was awesome, even singing some Advent/Christmas songs because of the theme!   Here are a few insights that God showed me that morning:

• This Gospel, about Jesus, is tied to creation (Genesis 1:1) with the phrase:  “In the beginning…”
• However, because these verses in John 1 tell us Jesus was the Word, He was with God, was God, and apart from Jesus, nothing came into being; Jesus is distinct from the creation
• John the Baptist was the last of the great prophets and was heralding someone totally different and radical!
• When Jesus became flesh (grace and truth realized) He allowed us to see God, He explains God, and challenges us to look for God!

What does this mean for me practically?  I had to ask myself the question:  “Am I looking for God, for Jesus, for opportunities to serve in Jesus’ name?   Isn’t this what I am wanting to find out…what it means to live in Jesus’ name?

Lord, allow me to become the hands, feet, and mouth of the incarnate God!  Open my eyes to opportunities to serve.  Amen and Amen!

Direction from the Psalms

I’ve been reading 5 psalms each day so I will have read the entire book in one month…I hope to do that each month.  The Psalms are so packed with wisdom, promises and yes, how to live a life in Jesus’ name.  Since starting this blog, I have been reading any scripture with “new eyes” looking for what it means to live in Jesus’ name.  I am finding it all over the place!!

For instance, take Psalm 9:10.  “And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.”

The word name caught my attention…so if I am living a life in Jesus’ name I am putting my trust in God.  I am seeking Him and the wonderful promise is this…that those who seek Him will not be forsaken by Him!  So the question for myself is:  “Am I putting my trust in the LORD, Yahweh?  Do I see Him as my creator God, sovereign, the one who was so holy the Israelites could not say His name?  Am I living my life trusting in God or am I living my life trusting only in myself and others?  This is a sobering question and one I definitely need to ask myself regularly.  It is soooo easy to take my eyes off of God and put them on idols that are all around us…those deep idols of comfort, acceptance, and fear.

Psalm 16:8, 11 remind me:  “I have set the LORD continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” 

LORD, give me eyes each morning to look to  You and place my trust in You no matter what is happening all around me!  AMEN and AMEN!

God at the Beginning and End of the Day

I was listening to a CD of mine entitled “Celtic Praise” and one of their songs really resonated with me.  I am trying to, with God’s help, spend time in daily Bible reading because my soul needs it so much!  The words of this song reminded me how much I need to surrender to God all day long…to begin my day with God and to end my day with God as well as everything in between!  Read the lyrics prayerfully and ask God to show you your absolute need to spend more time with Him!  Check out the links at the end too.

God in the darkness and God in the morning
God in the work and the pain and the play
Lord of all Heaven and Earth's great creator
God at beginning and end of the day

God in the tiniest infinite detail
God in the nearest and furthest away
Lord of all Heaven and Earth's great creator
God at beginning and end of the day

I lay down my tears and my hatred
Tear down the curtain of sin
Open my heart and let all that is good enter in

I lay down, my heart is so weary
And gaze on His presence with awe
There's nothing too small to entrust to the infinite God

God for the humble and meek and bewildered
God for the nearest and furthest away
Lord of all Heaven and Earth's great creator
God at beginning and end of the day

Eden’s Bridge gave  me permission to post these words and I invite you to Check out Eden’s Bridge website! They have many wonderful CD’s available!

Hear the song on You-Tube

Until tomorrow,
paula jo

Revelation Song

At 1st Church of the Corolla, one of  my fav songs was the Revelation Song.  Below are the words.  Check out the link at the end of the post to go to the website of the author of the song and play a version of the song sung by Kari Jobe.

Worthy is the, Lamb who was slain
Holy, Holy, is He
Sing a new song, to him who sits on
Heaven's mercy seat

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You
 
Clothed in rainbows, of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor, strength and glory and power be
to You the only wise King

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You

Filled with wonder, awestruck wonder
At the mention of your name
Jesus your name is power
Breath, and living water
Such a marvelous mystery
Yeah...

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come, yeah
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You

REVELATION SONG
by Jennie Lee Riddle © 2004
CCLI # 4447960

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Welcome to the 1st Church of the Corolla

My daughter, Annika, and I have been on a road trip to Colorado to attend the graduation of her cousin, Jesse, in Aspen.  We’ve had a fun time with family and are now on the way back to Minneapolis.  We had to travel on a Sunday to get back in time for me to catch my train to ND.  Sooooo, we attended a rather unique church this morning…the 1st Church of the Corolla (to quote my daughter) with the guest speaker, John Piper (via Podcast).  The worship team included Kari Jobe, David Crowder, and Hillsong (among others) and the guest singers were none other than Annika and Paula Nyman!  What a precious time it was!  We prayed, sang worship songs, and listened to God’s Word being preached.  The theme of the sermon was “God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him!”  (Philippians 1:18-23).  How appropriate this was as I am praying for God to reveal Himself to me through His son Jesus and give me opportunities to  “live my life in Jesus’ name”.

And on that subject….I have to be careful what I pray for.  We got a BIG chance to practice this today as we were sailing along I-80 in Nebraska (at 78 miles per hour) and had a flat tire!  God definitely watched over us, as there were no other cars near us and we could ease over to the shoulder without rolling the car or any other mishap.  It must have been at least 90 degrees with a hot wind blowing.  Can you picture it?  Two females on the side of the road trying in vain to get the darn tire off.  As we pumped the jack to raise the car, it sank into the hot asphalt and did not raise the car like we needed.  With a lot of prayer, frantic calls to Kris and the nearest service station, who sent a man out on a Sunday afternoon to finish changing the tire for us, and some patient waiting, we made it.   We did not get near as far as we wanted today because there was no place open to buy a new tire at that time on a Sunday evening!  We just missed getting to Wal-mart before they closed for the night and the one Auto Parts Store that was open did not sell tires.  Thank God for kind people (the guys at this store) who tried to call around to find a place to buy a tire…all to no avail.  So, we are ready for a good night’s sleep and an early start tomorrow. 

While we were waiting on the side of the road, we were trying to “count it all joy” and find the positive side of all this.  God certainly gave us an opportunity to practice patience, be alive to tell about the experience, and be kind to the lady at Wal-mart who said everyone was going home and they were not allowed any overtime, minutes after the closing time!

Hallelujah to the Lamb!  Our thanks and praise goes to you, creator God!

See ya’ later…
paula  jo  

First day! Woo hoo!!

On p. x in the introduction of Anne Graham Lotz’ book, Just Give Me Jesus, she says:  “How did the apostle John know that in the 21^st century,  at the beginning of a new millennium,

                our lives would be so busy,
                our schedules would be so crammed,
                our focus would be so divided,
                our bodies would be so tired,
                our minds would be so bombarded,
                our families would be so attacked,
                our relationships would be so strained,
                our churches would be so programmed,

that we would be desperate for the simplicity and the purity, the freedom and the fulfillment, of “life in His name?  How did John know that with all the “stuff” in the church in this postmodern age, we would be thirsty for the Living Water and starving for the Bread of Life?  I don’t think he did know.  But God did.  Which is why He just gives us Jesus…”

“When our lives begin to unravel due to pressure, problems, or pain, we don’t seem to know how to access the power and truth of God’s Word in a personal, relevant way that makes a difference. As a result, thousands have spirits that are shriveling even while they are sobbing, ‘Please, just give me Jesus!’”

On p. 310, Anne continues:  “What does your spiritual diet consist of?   Although you may be an active church member and a committed Christian, could it be that you are actually starving for the Bread of Life?  Are you starving for the Bread, which is Jesus Himself, offered to you and me through God’s Word?”

I am asking myself this question today and find that I am starving!  I want to read my Bible more and learn about Jesus more and what he wants in my life!  Please join me as I begin this journey!