noun. – the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something.
This post is inspired by the PROMPT: VALUE from Kate Motaung and the Five Minute Friday crew. in 2018. The challenge is to write for five minutes. No editing. I encourage you to go to the link-up and read what others were inspired to write.
But God values us as His children. Actually, He gives us our value. We are His children. And because of this, we have great value. We are nothing without him. We can do nothing without Him.
Then I remembered how King Hezekiah faced a great army. He wondered how he could defeat them.
But God said “I’ve got this. You won’t even have to fight.”
So Hezekiah, sent the choir out in front of the army singing praise to God. The enemy turned on themselves killing each other.
MY CHALLENGE FOR US
Let’s fill social media with praises to God. Fill it with lyrics or YouTube videos of praise to God. Do it all day long, all week long, and see what God will do. I’ll be doing it. If you want you can go to my social media and share from there.
This post was prompted by the gang at Five Minute Friday Each Friday we take five minutes to write on the same prompt. It’s a lot of fun to see what others are inspired to write from the same prompt. Give it a try or click and do a bit of fun reading.
We can sometimes feel that we just want Jesus to return. We need him here with us. But friends, He is here with us. He is within our hearts. And each of us, as the church, are a part of Him. We are His hands, His feet, His mouth, etc. – 1 Corinthians 12:27
How God Confirms His Message
It amazes me when God verifies His message to us from various unconnected sources at the same time. It tells me this is something serious to think about.
So Mike and I watched all three God’s Not Dead movies this week. We didn’t even realize there was a third, but that’s the one that got my attention. After seeing the movies, I sat down to do my daily study of the 7 Feasts of Israel. And the same message was brought out to me again.
What struck me is this…
We, the Church, are not just the temple of God, where He lives but we are the Body of Christ. That means we are His hands and feet. Others see Christ through our actions. So the question is... Are we allowing Christ to love and comfort others through us? Are we being Jesus to others? It’s something to think about.
We want to hold on to the “stuff” we have. We want to hold on to our own rights. But this wasn’t the way of Jesus. He gave it all up for us. And we should be willing to give it all up for Him.
The third confirmation was in a sermon.
What is your greatest treasure?
Where your treasure is, there your heart is also.
Matthew 6:21
Where is your treasure? Are we storing up treasures in heaven or here on earth? You know, if we have treasures here on earth, they will not last. Treasures on earth will burn up. They will not be of value when we stand before God. The treasures that are stored in heaven are our actions – living like Jesus – Serving others. Those are the things that will last eternally.
FiveminuteFriday.com
Let’s Start Being Jesus.
We need to get our hands dirty. It’s not necessarily, getting our government to do these things.
Devote yourself to good works – Titus 3:14
Hospitality – Romans 12:1
Be compassionate and kind – Colossians 3:12
Treating others better than ourselves – Philippians 2
Bear with One another and forgive – Ephesians 4:32
Do not without good from others, when it is in your power to do it. – Proverbs 3:27
Thees are just a few of the things we can do to “be Jesus”. These are the things that will last.
Give me your heart, my son, And let your eyes delight in my ways. Proverbs 23:26
Take My Life & Let it Be
Take my life, and let it be Consecrated, Lord, to Thee; Take my moments and my days, Let them flow in ceaseless praise, Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move At the impulse of Thy love; Take my feet and let them be Swift and beautiful for Thee, Swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice, and let me sing Always, only, for my King; Take my lips, and let them be Filled with messages from Thee, Filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold; Not a mite would I withhold; Take my intellect, and use Every power as Thou shalt choose, Every power as Thou shalt choose.
Take my will, and make it Thine; It shall be no longer mine. Take my heart; it is Thine own. It shall be Thy royal throne, It shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love; my Lord, I pour At Thy feet its treasure-store. Take myself, and I will be Ever, only, all for Thee, Ever, only, all for Thee.
I still love the old hymns and this one is a favorite; however, the further you sing, the more consecration you need. I wonder if this might be why people no longer want to sing the old hymns… TOO CONVICTING?
In contrast, this hymn could be my life song of commitment. Giving God everything I have… my hands, my head, my voice, my moments, my silver, my gold. I want to trust that He has the best in mind for me. I truly believe if I let it all go and place it in His hands that He has something even better to give me in return.
This hymn was written by Frances Havergal (1836-1879) was an unusually gifted and passionate saint. The daughter of a church rector, she was raised in Worcester, England and attended schools in England and Germany. In her love of learning, she grew to become an able scholar (even becoming proficient in both Hebrew and Greek) and a talented singer and pianist.
Perhaps you will be interested to know the origin of the consecration hymn, “Take my life.”
I went for a little visit of five days. There were ten persons in the house, some unconverted and long prayed for, some converted but not rejoicing Christians. He gave me the prayer, “Lord, give me all in this house!” And He just did! Before I left the house every one had got a blessing.
The last night of my visit I was too happy to sleep and passed most of the night in praise and renewal of my own consecration and these little couplets formed themselves and chimed in my heart one after another, till they finished with, “Ever, ONLY, ALL for Thee!”
Consequently, I am thrilled that contemporary artists are now incorporating the old hymns into their own style of music. Here’s Chris Tomlin’s version of “Take My Life”
Did you grow up singing this song?
In Conclusion, do you remember singing this old hymn in church? Do you like Chris Tomlin’s updated version? Leave your comments below.
Aren’t you glad we can live by faith and have no alarms?
I am.
I love the hymn, Living by Faith by James Wells
As a child, I mostly just loved the harmony and the echo parts.
That is still wonderful to me, but now I especially love the words.
Living by Faith
words by James Wells and Robert Winsett
Music by J. L. Heath
I care not today what the morrow may bring, If shadow or sunshine or rain, The Lord I know ruleth o’er everything, And all of my worries are vain.
Refrain
Living by faith in Jesus above, Trusting, confiding in His great love; From all harm safe in His sheltering arm, I’m living by faith and feel no alarm.
Though tempests may blow and the storm clouds arise, Obscuring the brightness of life, I’m never alarmed at the overcast skies— The Master looks on at the strife.
Refrain
I know that He safely will carry me through, No matter what evils betide; Why should I then care though the tempest may blow, If Jesus walks close to my side.
Refrain
Our Lord will return for His loved ones some day, Our troubles will then all be o’er; The Master so gently will lead us away, Beyond that blest heavenly shore.
Refrain
The Gaither HOmecoming group
Previously published!
on February 10, 2017 with the crew over at Five Minutes Fridays writing on the prompt word “Safe”. But it still is valid today, don’t you think?
“Normal is really just a setting on your dryer”. I find those words to be very true. But I want normal nonetheless. I want normal, but it seems elusive. Maybe normal is traditional?
The times as of late have established a “new normal”. I don’t want this “new normal. I want the normal of what was. I don’t have to change, but I hear people saying it must change and so I ask “Why?”. Why don’t you want it to be normal? Who doesn’t want it back to normal?
Somehow this push for accepting the “new normal” seems abnormal. Something is going on.
We were halfway there. The four of us planned to lead a witness team from the college over the weekend. We rented a car and headed to West Virginia. But halfway there we had a blowout.
Thankfully, there were guys on the team willing to change a tire! That done, we jumped back into the car and continued on. I began to sing out a refrain. Surprised, the other members joined in as we praised God for His watchful care.
www.fiveminutefriday.com
God is always listening to hear us worship Him in praise. Do you burst out into singing when troubles come your way? Or maybe it is more like a grumble. I promise you if you sing praises, He will bless you beyond measure. Give it a try sometime.
One of my favorite refrains is from the old hymn, Victory in Jesus.
This post was prompted by the gang at Five Minute Friday Each Friday we take five minutes to write on the same prompt. It’s a lot of fun to see what others are inspired to write from the same prompt. Give it a try or click and do a bit of fun reading.
This post was prompted by the gang at Five Minute Friday Each Friday we take five minutes to write on the same prompt. It’s a lot of fun to see what others are inspired to write from the same prompt. Give it a try or click and do a bit of fun reading.
Prompt: Adjust
Start
Adjust: verb, to adapt or become used to a new situation.
What an appropriate word for me this week. We just moved from a townhome we loved to a slightly smaller apartment. While we were saddened to say goodbye to neighbors we have grown to love, we are now just a couple minute walk from our daughter and her husband. I can adjust to that!
The strange thing is that I am having trouble just adjusting to normal life: to my regular habits. All because we are in a different place. Yes, It’s true that we are all on the infamous “shelter in place” edict. But that hasn’t really affected my husband and me.
Basically, we stay at home other than visits to the doctor and church. Our church is streaming live so we have all the same habits. We happened to have a doctor’s appointment yesterday. It was a bit of an adjustment to get stopped at the door and asked several health questions to be sure they would allow us to enter. We entered our doctor’s office to find only about half the amount of chairs and they were all separated by several feet. Then I am accustomed to going in to meet the doctor with my husband. This time I had to stay in the hall and wait. Oh well, it all seemed to go alright. Just different.
It was an adjustment to stay home and watch church online. Wednesday night we had a wonderful discussion at Bible Study online. We actually had more attending than we normally do.
STOP
The nice thing was that some who aren’t able to attend physically are able to attend virtually (including us). There’s always a silver lining in every situation. What is the silver lining for you during this quarantine? How are you adjusting? Share in the comments.
I’m participating in the Five Minute Friday challenge to write on a prompt for five minutes. Kate said “Before”.
It’s Time to Move
We recently learned that our townhome was to be put up for sale and since we weren’t in the position to purchase, we find ourselves having to move to a new place. We have found a place now but have a few weeks yet before it will be ready for us to move in.
This townhouse was such a Godsend for us. Being music lovers, we were thrilled to find that it was in the Harmony Community. A scripture that confirmed it as our home was Psalm 133:1
How wonderful it is, how pleasant, for God’s people to live together in harmony!
Harmony Townhome
I did some counting to see how many places I have lived before now. Yikes! It looks like this will be home number 17!
“So where did I live before?” you may ask. “I thought you were a farmer’s daughter. That doesn’t seem to be something that would move around a lot.”
Where did I live before?
Well, I’m married to a pastor. It turned out that we moved about every 3-4 years. Sometimes, we moved into temporary housing until we found something “Permanent”. Here are the places we lived before now.
1990 Barnesville, GA (just south of Atlanta)
1990-1992 Rossville, GA (Just south of Chattanooga, TN) [2 homes]
1992-1997 Savannah, GA
1997-2003 Milwaukee, WI
2003-2015 Moultrie, GA [2 homes]
2015-present Savannah, GA [retired]
Before marriage, I worked in Columbia, SC
I moved into an apartment for a year, then housesat for a summer before moving into a house with 2 friends. All about the same year our lives went in different directions. I met Michael, so I moved in with a friend until the wedding.
As a Farmer’s Daughter
It seems odd that we would move around as dairy farmers but it did happen. When Dad graduated from Ohio State University, he became an agriculture agent in Wooster, OH for a few years before returning to the farm with Grandpa.
Before I was born, my parents, brother, and sister moved into The Bishop Place, adjacent to the home farm place. Grandpa had purchased this as a rental property. We lived there about 3 years until the Kyle farm was rented, where we stayed until moving into the homeplace farmhouse in 1966 or ’67. This house has the majority of my childhood memories, especially since it was my grandparents’ home before it was ours.
Ohio Family FarmWisconsin Farmhouse
We moved the farm to Wisconsin in 1975. And the home farm was sold at that time. It was never an active dairy after that. The barns have been gone for years. Just this month, we learned that the house was being torn down. It’s sad because it had a lot of memories for all of us and it really was quite a historical home as well. (First farmhouse with electricity and running water west of the Alleghanies) Mom and Dad gave me some details which I shared on my memoirs blog. CLICK HERE
P.S. I lost track of time. Kept getting interrupted. 🙂
In today’s society, many would want you to believe that God is distant or uninterested in our lives. That’s is if He exists at all. But I find Him very near to my heart. Ever watching and directing my life.
Recently released book by Dee Brestin
Today, I’d like to show you how God strives to be near us. I recently read Dee Brestin’s new book study, The Jesus Who Surprises. In the past, I have seen Jesus throughout history but this book study brought new excitement about how much Jesus (and God) has been involved with us since before the creation of the world.
Thou has formed us for Thyself,
and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.
Augustine, The Confessions
God has always desired to be near us.
He created us for the very purpose of having a relationship. In the very beginning, God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit existed together as one. They were (and are) the epitome of LOVE. That love grew to the point of desiring more fellowship. So They, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, together created the universe.
Puritan Richard Sibbes wrote that the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost were happy in themselves and enjoyed one another before they created the world but that this kind of love cannot help but spread. He spoke of the living God as a life-giving, warming sun who delights “to spread his beams and his influence in inferrior things, to make all things fruitful.
Dee Bristen, The Jesus Who Surprises, chapter 2
His spirit hovered over the darkness waiting for someone with whom to be relational. God created the earth, the waters, the mountains, the skies. He said, “It is good.” (Genesis 1)
Then finally, He reached down with His hands and took the dust from the earth and created Adam in His own image. He bent low to the earth and breathed breath into Adam’s lungs. [Genesis 2:7] [He was not distant.] Because He didn’t want the man to be alone, He took a rib from the man and created a woman for him to love. Then He said, “It is very good.”
God Maintained Fellowship with Adam
Every evening God came down to earth to fellowship with Adam and Eve. God loved Adam so much; He did not want to force Him to return His love like a robot. So He gave man the opportunity to choose for himself. He set rules before him that would give him a wonderful life and would allow him to fellowship with Him continuously. There was only one DO NOT given, Do NOT eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. [Genesis 2:15-17]
Fellowship was Broken by Man
Sadly, Adam and Eve thought what would be the harm of eating from the tree. So they ate. And then they knew the harm. They suddenly felt the shame of their disobedience. And they covered themselves with leaves and hid in the bushes. [Genesis 3]
When God came that evening to fellowship together with them, they could “not be found”. God called to them, “Where are you?” But their shame made them fearful to present themselves to God knowing that they had sinned. God’s desire for fellowship never changed, but Adam and Eve chose to be distant.
But God Did Not Want to Be Distant with Adam and Eve
This post was partly inspired by this prompt
So he provided a way for them to restore that fellowship. Again, He remained near to solve the problem. He killed an animal to use the skins for a covering. The spilling of blood would be the only way to cover the sins of man. At least for then, God promised that one day He would provide a perfect lamb to cover their sins.
Yes, God could have remained distant right then and left a chasm between Himself and Man. But He came down to them. He gently brought their sin to their attention, but then He provided clothing. And He promised to provide an advocate, Jesus.
God Works Through History to Restore Man to Himself
All through the centuries, He came near to them, guiding and directing their lives. They would turn away and become distant from Him and He would gently draw them back to Himself. He promised to take their hearts of stone and live within them. So many times, mankind turned away, but God came close again and again. [ Ezekiel 11:19; Ezekiel 36:26; Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10 ] Again let me share the words of Dee…
The Bible isn’t about us but about Jesus. Jesus is the greater Adam, who resists the temptation that felled teh first Adam. He is the greater Isaac, who is sacrificed for our sin. Jesus is the greater Moses, who leads His people out of slavery and into the Promised Land. And Jesus is the great sacrificial lamb, the perfect Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
He came to earth to live with us. His son, born of a virgin, he came as a man, yet still God. His name was Jesus. [ Luke 1 & 2] He lived among them and taught them. But mankind again turned away. They refused to believe it was God in the flesh. They crucified Him on a cross made for thieves and murderers.
BUT GOD, raised Jesus to life again, defeating the grave, death, and evil. [Matthew 28] Once again and for all time the chasm between God and man had a bridge. The Distance was removed and we can fellowship with Him once again. Our sins are covered because Jesus paid the full price of the punishment.
He Desires a Marriage-like Relationship with us
Throughout the Bible, you will find descriptions of the kind of relationship God desires with us likened to a marriage. That is how much He loves us. Think of your first love; how you wanted to be with your love every moment. And when you were apart, you could only think of them. This is how God desires to be with us. God created marriage as a beautiful relationship so that we could understand the possibility of having a relationship with Himself. Songs of Solomon is the perfect Biblical example. There is nothing distant about a marriage relationship. God desires the ultimate love story with us. Dee Brestin put it this way.
This earthly love storypoints to the ultimate love story, that of Christ and His bride. A metaphor that the bride uses in this Song [of Solomon] to describe her beloved has penetrated my heart and helped me to trust Him when He hides.
Dee Brestin, The Jesus Who Surprises, Chapter Two
There are many more marriage metaphors within the Bible: Ruth and Boaz, Hosea who married a prostitute to and kept redeeming her to show us how God keeps running after us even when we sin, and absolutely we can look to Revelations 19 and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
God has given us the choice to be distant from Him or not distant. He has given the choice throughout scripture. The most obvious is when Joshua told the people to choose.
“If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Joshua 24:15
in the Psalms
King David shares in the Psalms many times that God is guiding and directing us. Showing us the way to go. He desires us to choose Him but ultimately, the choice is ours to make.
I have chosen the faithful way; I have placed Your ordinances before me.
Let Your hand be ready to help me, For I have chosen Your precepts.
Who is the man who fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way he should choose.
Psalm 119:30; Psalm 119:173; Psalm 25:12
In the Gospels
When he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
Mark 8:34
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 1:12-13
in the Epistles of Paul
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”
Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
Romans 6:23; Romans 10:9-11; Romans 13:2
In Revelations
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Revelations 3:20
And Finally, in the New Earth
As we study the Bible and see Jesus in everything, we will realize that this world is not our home. our Desire to be united with Jesus will increase more and more. This world and its evil will be destroyed. God will renew all things. The New Earth and the New Jerusalem will come down. We will live in the New Eden in perfect fellowship with God once again. The prophet Isaiah said and is quoted by the Apostle Paul.
No eye hath seen, nor ear heard, not the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.
1 Corinthians 2:9
What a day that will be! C.S. Lewis said,
If I find in myself a desire which no experience in the world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.
Let me close with one last quote from Dee’s book.
But indeed, the invitation to our real home is open to all who choose to receive the free gift Jesus offers. He paid the price He did not owe so that we could have the life we do not deserve. It is a free gift, but you must come to Him in repentance and faith…. This is the Good News of the Gospel.
.
My hope is that seeing this same story from Genesis to Revelation will give you great confidence in the reliability of the Scriptures and the truths they hold. For Jesus that surprised the two on the road to Emmaus, and surprises us in our everyday lives, is not at all finished surprising us.
Dee Brestin, The Jesus Who Surprises
God is Not Distant
I pray that you know Him today. If you are skeptical or if you love Him and just want to celebrate His beautiful plan, Please get your hands on one of these study books. You won’t regret it.
P.S. Dee Brestin’s book is available now for purchase as well as her free videos studies. Find them here.
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