YOGA - The west side's version :)

I remember hearing a debate on KKMS back in the Todd Friel days...... (man, I miss that brother!) The callers were chiming in about whether or not they thought that Yoga was okay for Christians to participate in. Wellp.............I have to say that the class that they offer at my gym is as disconnected from religion as it gets. It's just posing and breathing!

And although it is very obvious that the secular leaders of the fitness classes (including yoga) -(because they slip in little comments to let you know that they sadly follow a *false* eastern religion).......should I then not attend the class? They need the Gospel too!!

I'm thinking no........and I also think that they can sense that there are believers among the crowds. Hibby is going with me tonight, and I'm gonna want her to comment on this tomorrow.

Mohammed is in the grave, Budda is in the grave..... Jesus ISN'T.

Laters ~
Jen2

I surrender all, all to Jesus I freely give ~

Had a great conversation with B last night and I think he hit the nail on the head and brought many of my scattered thoughts together.
(I'm still putting the thoughts together yet, so sorry if this is all over the place)

I was talking about how I want to be in the "Christmas Spirit" and to really cherish the season.......
He made a simple yet profound point that we aren't just to shocked and awed by God's sending His Agape love down in the form of Christ Jesus just ONE or two days a year, nor just merely for "a season."
We should seek to better understand and to treasure that amazing truth every single day.
So why am I seeking to go to the mountain top for the holiday season ? What is my underlying hope and desire.....to meet with God.......absolutely.........but underneath that - why?

Then thoughts of how Edwards said things such as how false affections for God rest satisfied in themselves.....(as in when people take the mountain top experiences to mean that they communed extraordinarily with the Lord, yet when they come down from the mount there is not a change in their nature, but such persons tend to trust in their emotional experiences rather than the fruits that are either wrought or lacking after their supposed 'meeting with the Father') By their fruits you shall know them.
And in Corinthians it is noted that when Moses came down from the mount after meeting with the Lord, he covered his face with a veil so that they might not see what was being brought to an end ~
2 Cor 3:11
"For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory."

(OLD COVENANT the glory of the Lord did not remain on Moses because the Holy Spirit was not indwelling until the New Covenant in Christ......just a random thought....no text to back that up.....helpful insights are welcome here friends)

Where true affections put a savor of Christ forward in the soul - which is precious to the taste and highly enjoyable yet leaves you longing for more love and knowledge of God.
Panting after God and holiness as it were.

Wellp.......Praise the Lord for His goodness to us today - that Agape came with us in mind.......
Romans 5:6
"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly."

Love from above and in truth ~
Jen2

Holy......Workout ?

Oh, man. My heart is all over the board with this.
The fine line between working out to honor your future spouse in the blessing of giving them yourself in the best condition - AND the danger of falling into vanity and foolish pursuit of having a trim body that is only going to rot.
(trying to honor your husband VS vain pursuit that will not benefit the soul)

On one hand I'm thinking "I want to be loved for who I am"
and on the other I'm thinking "I want to be a tremendous blessing to my future husband and help him obey the command to delight in his wife, to be enraptured."

So, I was reading Mark Driscoll's blog http://www.theresurgence.com/md_blog/
and his recent post is a clarification of one he posted a few days ago about the Haggard affair.
He said some pretty blunt comments about how a wife should seek to take care of herself physically to help her husband avoid a snare of the devil (lust) and how so many pastor's wives just seem to let themselves go after they get married.........yikes. (actually, I think he's got a point..........but he also added clarification that a husband's fidelity is not determined by his wife, but by the covenant he made with the Lord to love her forever)
The odd thing was.......I actually appreciated the charge. What woman who loves her husband would just brush this charge off and discount how God made men to be visual creatures?
I've come to know that deep down - men want to be attracted to their wives.........
So, for a wife to simply not care to make an effort (eating reasonably and exercising) to take care of her exterior in my opinion is simply unloving. Yes, we should be loved for who we are and the exterior fades and a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised....AMEN !!!
But if marriage is about outdoing one another in showing honor ------ hello ~
Is this not one practical way to honor our husbands ?? By maintaining our health and figure as best we can for them? Will he not feel loved and respected and give thanks to God for having such a wife that seeks to bless him?

The article comes at a really great time for me actually, as I've been wrestling with this topic since I was saved in 2000. Prior to being saved, I participated in figure competitions and ''swim suit'' contests......and my goal was a twisted version of what is inherent in God's design of a woman's heart. Because deep down - all women know the truth that we WANT to be desired, in every way.
It's just how we're made....which is good because God made men with a natural desire for women. I think that where I went wrong was that being physically desired became everything to me.......It was what defined my worth......which is probably why God caused me to forsake it 100% upon my regeneration and in being identified with Christ.
(the priceless, matchless King of Glory became mine, and I became His)

So now, I'm thinking that the desire to be desired is not a vain thing at all.....and actually God created us with that desire in order to have this fulfilled in God-glorifying ways - first in finding our value and worth in Christ. (you are worth what you treasure.......excp Piper Sermon)
Then, in the blessing of marriage...... the husband is right to desire his wife.
In fact ---- he's commanded to.
And in the ideal marriage scenario, the wife could care less what the world thinks, but LONGS for her husband to approve of and rejoice in and relish her - her heart and her mind and her physical beauty. And his and her longings are blissfully fulfilled.
(ahem........song of songs)

Tough topic, dangerous topic.......and I'm still wrestling hard with this. My boyfriend is an amazing man. He has given me so much encouragement and focus on Christ in all of this that I feel a sense of freedom in Christ to pursue honoring and blessing him all the more.
keeping watch over my heart and soul, and said that if he sees me taking it in a wrong direction that we will cancel our gym memberships.
Nothing is more important than our souls.....NOTHING.
So we do all for the glory of God.

I think Cross Movement said it best when they said:

"Even your beautiful body will rot fast, you're enough vapor to fill up a shot glass.
Don't miss out on what God has, and find out you never got treasure, you got trash."
God sees through the weave and makeup - He sees your make-up...cause he's your maker.
Get fly inside and out, I said enough just ride it out"

Find out what it takes to make your soul bling ~

Up out ~
Jen2

“Honor All Men”

(an excerpt from the Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards)
1 Peter 2:17

A humble Christian is not only disposed to honor the saints in his behavior; but others also, with all those whose ways that do not imply a visible approbation of their sins. Thus Abraham, the great pattern of believers, honored the children of Heth: Gen 23:7, “Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land.”
This was a remarkable instance of a humble behavior towards them that were out of Christ, and that Abraham knew to be accursed, and therefore would by no means suffer his servant to take a wife to his son from among them;
So also, Paul honored Festus: Acts 26:25,
“I am not mad most noble Festus”
Not only will Christian humility dispose persons to honor those wicked men that are out of the visible church, but also false brethren and persecutors. As Jacob, when he was in an excellent frame, having just been wrestling all night with God, and received the blessing, honored Esau, his false and persecuting brother: Gen 33:3
“Jacob bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother Esau.”
So he called him lord, and commanded all his family to honor him in like manner.

Thus, Jonathan Edwards has endeavored to describe the heart and behavior of one that is governed by a truly gracious humility, as exactly agreeable to the scriptures as he was able.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Treating people outside the church with ....honor??? What the ???

As I think about what we're commanded to do in loving our enemies and repaying good for evil.......it is not merely just buying something for them for Christmas when we are well aware that they gossip and slander us behind our backs .......it is so much more........it is the attitude of our hearts when we are in their presence.

People can easily sense when they are despised......they can see that their practices are disapproved of by us.....easily.......but - I wonder if they can they feel the power of the love of Christ that dwells in us by the Holy Spirit that we received while we were yet sinners?

God's love makes its object Holy. (not a theological trap.....I do not mean by our loving them they will become Holy, just meaning that our loving them by God's grace can lead to their conviction of sin.......beholding Holy love has a beauty in it that rocks the soul)

I'm sooo in need of learning this in the core of my being - so that while I can hate sin.........with utmost hatred.......I can still view people as eternal beings, desperately needing to embace the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

Anycrux, that's all I got today ~

Jen2

Quote Board II

Today when I couldn't sit still and wait for a co-worker of mine to find a tid bit of info I was looking for - I decided to just hustle back to my office to work on other things. (it may have looked like impatience, but seriously, I was just redeeming my time......)


5 minutes later..........
Enters said Co-worker into Jen's office........

"You know what?" - co-worker

"No, but I bet you're going to tell me." -jen2

"I figured out why I like you." - co-worker

"Oh, really, why's that?" - jen2 (said cautiously, with one eyebrow up)

"You're complicated and high maintenance" - co-worker

"I am not!" - jen2 (I said as I turned around in my chair to get back to looking busy)

"Oh, sure you are, in fact, if I had a little magical door that I could use to get inside your head,
I wouldn't.........too scary." - co-worker
(followed by a shivering sound and gesture)

Children and unbelievers say the craziest things. I'm still not sure how to take this....
I think it was a back-handed compliment.......

How I became a Reformed Baptist,
Calvinist, Christian Hedonist :)


In August of 2004, I went through my first stint of 'luke warm' feelings towards God and anything to do with Him. (scared the tar out of me)
My experience went something like what seems to be what many pastors try to encourage people NOT to struggle with, when all the while, I couldn't have been rocked and purified little by little had I not gone through the flames of doubt......(one of the greatest blessing I've had from the Lord)....and in that, He has revealed more of Himself to me....

This is a copy from an email to a couple of my friends in the midst of that struggle;
(not to get people to feel pity for me, as I do not know one professing Christian who can say that they love Jesus ''enough''........)

With Christ, well, I have not enough love toward Him, as I should for His dying love on the cross.......which has left me going back and forth over whether or not I am going to be saved.
My heart knows that Jesus is the I AM so well that his name makes me tremble and cry often times....but my sin and failures I see more and more as hateful ingratitude towards Him who is of infinite value, and worthy of everything. My brother Jesse has the grace of God in his steadfastness to the Word....and Jesse constantly reminds me of the promises to Israel and what it means to be saved. Afterall, believing comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of God. I have had great joy in that recently, and wrote some things down regarding my broken heart......I had a hard time one night while at a worship deal at Bethel college, that as I was doubting the words that I was singing, "my name is written on His heart" I began to believe that anyone that continues in sin is not worthy to have their name written on the heart of Christ - and wondered -
HOW can this be ??.........
But in thinking on it awhile, if a person has reverence and a true understanding of the cost of the cross and the value of Christ - how can we not see when we look within ourselves that we are unspeakably unworthy.....and not just saying "I'm a sinner" but a holy humiliation as "being confounded, and not opening the mouth when the Lord has pacified" ....and so to cause a trembling before a holy God and doubt at my own salvation BECAUSE of my unworthiness --- but then in lifting my eyes to the living Christ....the tears of joy I experienced far exceeded the tears of repenting despair of myself in this sinfilled state....(of which I cannot explain or excuse away.) So I have figured out that if I doubt my salvation without thinking on and seeing Christ for who he really is......it will only cause my despair to increase......but if he gives me grace to see the surpassing worth in the treasure of Jesus the Christ, it leaves my broken heart and soul leaping humbly within me.
(I can finally now say with Paul that "I count all as loss, save this, knowing Christ Jesus my Lord")
I'm still quite nervous about my salvation, and how people throw around 'the prayer' as the primary means of grace (only to have false hopes in that --as an action...it becomes a 'work')
When it seems to me that a new heart, a new love to God, and new eyes to see His glory, and a new taste to savor His goodness, are among some of the true evidences of conversion and a saving faith."

My brother Jesse invited me one day after a I had a bad day at work to a class on the book ''Religious Affections'' by Jonathan Edwards (a puritan from the 1700's, renown both in religous and secular realms as the greatest american thinker of all time)
The book changed my perspective on everything in life......and still, I believe God -that He'll change me much much more. The bluntness of JE's (Jonathan Edwards) theology is the most difficult I have ever struggled with. He says such things as "True religion in great part, consists in Holy Affections" Which is as to say, in the year 2006, that saving faith consists in great part in a Holy love toward God that trumps your carnal decisions- your heart, mind, soul and strength and tends to this -
Love toward God that from which will arise the other holy affections - the hatred for sin, fear of sin, and dread of God's disciplines, gratitude for his goodness, joy in God, and grief when a feeling of distance is present, joyful hope when future enjoyment in God is expected....and a fervent zeal for the glory of God.

An email from a man that I used to really look up to threw me for a loop back then......in that the loving God is seemingly NOT a great issue that should concern any believer, nor make them question their salvation.... I was like "wha??" (Hibby saying)
But love toward God is such a serious issue that it is the first and most important commandment, as stated by Jesus himself. Another quote from the book "Religious Affections'' by Jonathan Edwards, (yes, a human, yes fallible, but a man who loved the Lord whole heartedly such as the apostle Paul) .....
"That religion God requires, and will accept, does not consist in weak, dull, and lifeless wishes, raising us but a little above a state of indifference; God in his word, greatly insists upon us being in good earnest."
"Be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.'' Romans 12:11
and Deu 10:12 "And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in His ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul ?"

Don't you love when God opens up our view to see things more as they really are....in that we are not even close to where we ought to be - and yet, we're loved and proclaimed righteous ONLY because Jesus gave us His righteousness?

What a Savior, What a God~

In Jesus Name,
Jen2

All at ONCE

Sensuality has been surrounding me lately.....a much more blatant sin than the pride that creeps in oftentimes unawares.

First of all, one of my co-workers is seemingly on a mission to get me into a mindset where he can make innuendos and jokes and gain a reaction of approval from me. Constantly testing me by various comments, and when it fails, he apologizes.
It's sad really.....(dirty joy I mean)

Then, Friday evening, I decided that I should spend some time with a married couple who happen to be my best clients.
(they're in their early thirties and are wealthy)
In the back of my mind was, "perhaps the Lord might open a door for the Gospel"
I planned originally to stay only for an hour or so, but when the conversation went to truth and scripture, and they said that they would love it if I'd stay for dinner; So, with hopes of talking more about truth, I decided to stay.
No sooner had we sat down, the conversation went corrupt.
The husband said things that I will not repeat, and the fact that he said such things in the presence of his wife - made it VERY apparent that they had discussed the indecent proposal sometime beforehand.

It hit me like a ton of bricks when I was driving home that I really am a sheep amidst wolves.....God made me a sheep in His pasture, and having been out of the world for 6 years now, I sometimes forget just how vile the practices of the world are.
It was a shock to my system. The fear I had for them was probably written all over my face as toward the end of the night I was fearless in loosing them as clients and said "All of the pleasures of sin are so very fleeting....and Jesus IS coming back, and those who practice such things should fear Him.....sin is not worth being condemned forever"

Thoughts of how God has not given me over to chasing and serving temporary pleasures of sin (Rom 1) just amazes me.
My heart was never sensitive to such things prior to my conversion. The realities of Satan's work scared me a bit that night, I'm sad to admit.....though I prayed constantly as I walked to my car downtown all by myself. I was fearing Satan's anger against me, in my not falling into his trap.(though yes, all the while, I fought my fears with the truths of God's Sovereignty in all things)

Wellp ~

Praise the Lord, the sermon at church on Sunday was on Romans 16:17 Jesus has already defeated satan....and it will not be long before God crushes him under our feet. He's doomed and he knows it.
My mind turned to my clients as I listened...and thoughts of how satan is the great deceiver - and what that looks like.
How satan works his plans alongside the lovers of pleasure by befriending them and encouraging them that
"if it feels right, it can't be wrong"
Satan befriends the sinner and gives him comfort in his sin....cheering him on in it, and telling him to take it to the next level, for surely the sinner has 'rights' to choose what feels right to him.
(Again, As if God is a democrat that we should vote for Him )

What a shock it would be to them that love the darkness, because it just may be that satan is called as a KEY witness in the courtroom, and the Judge reveals the hard truth that satan is the one who initiated the charges against them...some 'friend'....

Satan will bring out God's law, as it is HOLY, and use it to accuse and condemn the children of wrath. And satan will be right in his accusations, as God, the Omnipotent, Omniscient, will have a detailed account of their thoughts and works, deeds and hearts......and so, with more than enough to condemn, the gavel will drop and the sentence will be carried out. Eternal damnation for rebelling and sinning against The Eternal and Infinitely worthy God Almighty - and for rejecting the only sacrifice that is acceptable in His sight - His perfect Son.

The Lamb who IS the I AM.

Snatched from the flames,

Jen2

Motives of the Heart

"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret."
~ Matthew 6:6

The main idea in the region of religion is -
Your eyes upon God, not on men.
Do not have as your motive the desire to be known as a praying man.
Get an inner chamber in which to pray where no one knows you are praying, shut the door and talk to God in secret.

Have no other motive than to know your Father in heaven. It is impossible to conduct your life as a disciple without definite times of secret prayer.

But when ye pray use not vain repetitions . . . (v.7). God does not hear us because we are in earnest, but only on the ground of Redemption. God is never impressed by our earnestness. Prayer is not simply getting things from God, that is a most initial form of prayer; prayer is getting into perfect communion with God. If the Son of God is formed in us by regeneration, He will press forward in front of our common sense and change our attitude to the things about which we pray.
"Everyone that asketh receiveth." We pray pious blether, our will is not in it, and then we say God does not answer; we never asked for anything. "Ye shall ask what ye will," said Jesus. Asking means our will is in it. Whenever Jesus talked about prayer, He put it with the grand simplicity of a child: we bring in our critical temper and say - Yes, but . . . Jesus said "Ask." But remember that we have to ask of God things that are in keeping with the God Whom Jesus Christ revealed. "

Brought to you by the number 777, the letter A and O, and by our dear brother Ozzie.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, with that,
Would it be called discernment or judgmentalism to say that it is painfully obvious to me when someone is being forward in their words and actions with the intent to make it known how amazingly humble they are?
We're like the world in that sense........as in, the people of the world try to impress each other by what they think other people want......ie...a high buck sports car, or a huge house, or fancy clothes......but believers just do it up a bit different......we do it up like the Pharisees!!
We want people to admire us for our seeming humility or charity or works. This is all very icky.
It must be the most unattractive quality amongst us believers.......and honestly, I think that some of those who imitate the fruit of Christian humility may know it...... although most probably don't.
(I recognize plastic fruit that has been taped to the tree, only because I have much experience working in my own orchard..........real fruit and fake fruit can be distinguished by prayer and seeking to walk in the Spirit and please the Father.....first always -in our own orchards (hearts) )
A huge indicator to me that my abasement before God is not genuine, is if I am too quick to share it with people..........this, accompanied with the fact that as I'm sharing I get concerned with what they are thinking of my "abasement" and a hope that they won't see that it has not really struck my heart with the force with which I am claiming it has......(yet anyway)
Not that we shouldn't share our hearts ponderings with eachother....but we need to be slower to speak, checking our motives for sharing this or that.

Isn't caring what people think of you as you share something that is humiliting is really contradictory if you think about it ???? wellp........

Later bloggers ~
This post is dedicated to the people I love and pray for who recognize this tendency in themselves and hate it. To anyone who doesn't see themselves as a person who does this, I highly recommend the book "The Religious Affections" by Jonathan Edwards.

And P.S. to B ~ The most genuine and humble man that I know - by God's amazing grace,
You are a man among men.

Culturally Relevant VS. Culturally Relative

Wellp....I'm a pot stirrer by nature, though lately I'm quite a bit more gentle about it, and selective about which pots are worth stirring.

Music seems be to one of the most influential forms of media in our culture. And unfortunately, my critique of Christian music is a bit more severe than the music of those who make no profession to faith in Christ and remain in an unconverted state -
Seriously - what DO we expect Total Depravity to produce??? Nothing but love for sin.

Christians are getting weak in their testimony by writing emotion-provoking songs about who we think God is......rather than being connected directly to truth.
Don't get me wrong, I go to Bethlehem, and we believe that emotions are commanded in the bible. (umm, because it's true)
But we also believe that it is folly to let anything BUT truth drive your emotions. ie....to get razzed up for the sake of getting razzed up - that can lead you away from the living God.

Lyrics matter so very much....because by the means of hearing the word of Christ, Christians are able to be kept by God, and unbelievers are converted to faith in the Savior.
I would say it matters MUCH MORE than the beautiful and soft melodies of songs with poor and/or vague doctrines in the lyrics.
If someone listens to a song like......ummm......."Above All"
A 'worship of self' song if ever there was one.
"You took the fall, and thought of ME above all" ??????????
And all this time, I thought that God was vindicating His just wrath toward sinners......and magnifying the attribute of His mercy toward the sinner, NOT the sinner. Hmmm.......???

Perhaps I've been listening to too many of my pastors sermons on Doing Missions when Dying is GAIN.....in that I cannot settle for the 'comfy cozy false feeling based faith' that has little or no root to sustain it through trials (that I've been going through lately)
It's just not reality....we're romanticising the Christian life -just like Hollywood (movies) makes relationships look so easy and perfect and always exciting and smooth and romantic.

Well, perhaps to end on a high note, a bit more from the brothers in Christ of Cross Movement:

"Man is used to seeing Jesus in His Lambness,
But they don't understand this Lamb is running every single planet,
More than just a man,
This is more than just a Lamb that's dying, from ZION,
BEHOLD, the resurrected King the LION!"

No one gets to 'vote' for Jesus to take His place as King.
We can be brought by God sweetly to yield now,
or we can be subdued and forced to the ground later.

Every knee shall bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

In Him,
Jen2

Deeply Theological......RAP ? :) Yes indeed.

If you take time to meditate on the holiness of God.......even if your meditations are inspired by a beat and a poetic rhyme........no matter how you come to it.....the solid doctrine of God's intrinsic worth will quiet the heart and root your joy in the truth that
there is just no one like Him.

(some of my favorite meditation starters are in bold)

Lord You Are

Every time I think of You When I think about the things You do
Oh it's not too hard to see it's not what You do but its who You are
Good, Holy, Pure, all of this and God You're so much more!
Doin' your will, I can just chill,
Focus on who You are
(Lord You Are)
Kindness, Compassion, Timeless, Matchless, Divine in Your actions
(Lord You Are)
The Bedrock of trust; Sin stops on your block cause You're the head cop, You're Just
(Lord You Are)
So Gracious and Merciful Praise - You deserve it so, worthy of worship,
Oh! (Lord You Are)
We call You hope, we call You Peace and Love You're all of these
You're all of the above

The Bible told me holy are Your ways
Nobody stops or had to start Your days
So I marvel at Your endlessness
And at the fact that You're righteous, You're m'quadesh
You got the victory and the glory is already Yours
And we can be sure Your character is morally pure, Lord
We can't help but adore You, Can't help but applaud You
Our soul saw You, so now we can't help that it's all
You're awesome, majestic, Your style's eclectic, pure perfection, King unelected, Nexus
Your love stretches, elastic, Now I'm connected, No more sin and death
You're sin's antiseptic.
I checked forensics and found that your power's intrinsic
And flows only for agendas that you've intended
Solid, the Rock, Sweeter than nectar, Three in one winner - Yeah, Trifecta

I bless Your Name Father cause your majestic, time tested
Skillfully built in six and on the seventh You rested
Who else could make the moon glow and the sun shine
And have four different seasons flow all at one time?
You are the main attraction, The Who in what's happenin', Universal Captain
No need for slumber You're never slackin'
Nobody does what you do or could ever do what you've done Most High, Supreme,
King - The only One
If you would have never made the earth, Lord That could never change your worth
And if there was never another soul to behold Your beauty, You'd be just amazing as You are, Truly, I'm gazing at the stars Each one tells a story Each one tells us of Your glory, tells us of Your might and Your power,
May my praise be like a flower, but You made the flowers too What can we give You? Nothing's ours This is yours!

I'm not thinking about what most say -Lord I feel You in the utmost way
You're Divine, We know You're more cool than the Fonzie
You're shiny, Shekinah lights up all your Armies
Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient You're eminent, in addition to intimate and sufficient You're Logos and You're Abba, that's Poppa, You're living agua, that's Water, You're Potter You're God and You're more than a brother has thought of,

I'm electrified by your lightning likeness, Skip the Visine No one that I've seen is like this
You're priceless - Nothing compares, nothing is fair enough to hold up to You
What could dare receive stares and glory and while receiving it Inspire awe and command all obedience? (No one)
You're infinitely exceeding man's limits (plus) You're transcendent (plus) and endless

Lord, You are
(by the Cross Movement)

Tis' so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His word.

Just to know "thus saith the Lord."

Did you know that you don't merit God's favor by all that you do in obedience to Him?
Whew.
You can love others all you want, donate blood, give to the poor, die to self and sell all you have..........doesn't matter, it will not put you in God's good graces.
He does not bless us because we read His word, He blesses us through our reading His word.
He doesn't bless us because we pray, He blesses us through our prayers.
There are so many implications to the poor theology of works based salvation and seriously........sometimes don't we all fall into expectation that God will smile upon us IF we do this or that?
I'm thinking about the fine line of praying with earnest expectation in the goodness of God toward sinners vs. praying from a heart that expects we should be blessed because "we're so obedient," or "we've read our bible every day this week," or "we fasted - therefore we think God should see how serious we are about this or that request and respond to us."
(Pharisee's mindset - yikes)
God is NOT impressed by our earnestness, nor our tears, however many.......this is not the grounds of His answering our prayers. (though yes, He does readily hear the cry of a desperate and repentant sinner - absolutely)

Jesus said "For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

So the greatest blessing in my life (other than the obvious, being given a new heart)
came into my life in one of the darkest times in my faith. It was like being thirsty, but never satisfied. Sad many days because of the distance I felt between me and my father.
I wasn't consistent in reading the word, and when I was reading the word, I wasn't reaping any joy from it. I prayed for sure, sporadically........and with only a little heart since I was feeling so discouraged. I was involved in ministry, but my heart was dying because I felt so disconnected. I was failing to obey the Lord with my whole heart. Externally - all seemed well.

AND this - the perfect entrance for our Merciful God to show me how He gives good gifts to His children NOT based on our performance, but based upon His lovingkindness toward His children - just because. He doesn't love us and answer our prayers because WE'RE lovely or special or worthy......but because He set His love toward us, and while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. We are united with the perfect one.......who desires us to taste and see the Father.
(see John 17)
And so comes every blessing - from the ground of Calvary.
Every good thing that comes into the life of us sinners is mercy.
We deserve hell, and we get eternal life......we deserve to be whipped and beaten, and we get a warm bed and food and clothing, we deserve that God should turn His back on us, and He RUNS TO US and comforts us when we cry to Him.
Is there any better news than the Gospel of our Lord Jesus ?

Thank God for Jesus..........what a Savior!!

Undeserving worm filled with praises,
Jen2