The Song I Want to Know

I know many of you have been in situations where you are driving down the road to the common destinations( work, home school or church) and suddenly the radio or should I say "satellite radio "plays a hot new track. From my experience, I recall getting super excited or giddy wanting to know every lyric to the song. The main reason for acquiring this memorization being I want to know it in order to execute my rendition at a moments notice. I want to be able to interject the passion and personal modifications to make it apart of me. The Holy Spirit spoke to me tonight as I begin thinking that this is also how I am to view the desire to know God's will and direction for my life. One of the lyrics to one of my favorite songs describes this very idea by saying "Your [God] desire is the song I want to know" I have listened and sung this particular song many times without once pondering and pausing with this line. Thinking of God's desire as song and wanting to simply know that song. How beautiful is this thought. These past few weeks, I confess, much of my attention has been placed on my desires and wants. Instead of asking " Yahweh what is it you desire?" My thoughts have been self-centered to say the least; never once asking him what he wanted." I say the Lords prayer at night and the words " Thy will be done" are never contemplated as I am rushing to get underneath the covers for a nights sleep. We are working to break the habit of hurriedly getting up in the mornings and beginning daily tasks; bypassing the opportunity to give God first fruit of my thoughts. Thankfully the Holy Spirit is here to counsel and teach us the error of our ways. I am thankful for this instruction and the ability to share this revelation with others. In essence he is saying this " Delight yourself in the Lord, and he shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord also, trust in Him, and He shall bring it to pass~ Psalm 37:4-5. Without first seeking to know Gods song, his desire for my day I am completely lost and prone to the inevitable attacks of the enemy. I become the one driving instead of letting God be my cruise control. Time and time again God has proven to be a steady pace with a known destination. Its often my lack of trust that disturbs the transaction. Its my unwilliness to ask for his direction. Tonight as we prepare to celebrate the gift of life given through the precious blood of Jesus, his song is the desire I want to sing. I want to sing it with passion, and I want it to be the essence of my being. Happy Holy Week. Christ is risen, Christ will come again and we are forgiven through him. This is the good news!

Risen Savior

Through all the sleepless nights.. The worrying and crying, the greatest gift I have ever received is Christ's love. I don't claim to know how god works but I know that he is and he lives. He lives he reigns and is with us always. The tactics of the enemy are clear. He deceives us into thinking thoughts of hopelessness and abandonment. The enemy causes us to forget the supernatural forces that have reigned since God created time. The kingdom lives within each of us, his power and authority to give us victory over sin. He first loved us and sent his power manifested through his son Jesus Christ. I am in adoration of him, for without him my life would perish. I stumble with trust, doubt, and fearfulness. These things leave me through grace. These things leave me through accepting his son, Christ and the gift of the holy spirit in my life. All these years I am so grateful he receives my highest praise. He forgives me when I thought he disliked me, the clear strategy of the original foe. By faith he makes me strong enough to tell others of his saving grace. A fresh spirit has arrived and dwells deep within. A new covenant for my retentive ways. Through the blood shed on Calvary we have life. Oh that others to will receive new life. A life built on solid ground free from the snares of the enemy. It takes belief and love for our God, our Christ, the Messiah, the savior. I pray for those who struggle ( for I belong to them) that we shall all come into a life of Christ being set free from bondage. Stepping into the fresh anointing and presence of our lord and savior Jesus Christ. " Therefore there is no condemnation for those in Christ. There is no execution of judgement" Romans 28:1

From Whom All Blessings Flow

Last night my sister was singing the Hymn “ Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow. At our church this is the common doxology or song of praise, as we present our tithes and offerings. Its goes like this for those unfamiliar.

Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow

Praise God all creatures here below

Praise God above ye heavenly Host

Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost

As she sang there were several thoughts going through my head. First, I realized that my sister was reflecting on her blessings. This has certainly been a year for her. She is blessed to have transitioned into motherhood and things have seemingly come together for her. She is preparing to graduate from Auburns pharmacy school next month, and it’s hard to believe that Moriah will be a year in June. A mighty long way she has come. I remember how tiny she was when she was first born. My sister and I were peering over her incubator in the Neonatal Intensive Care unit at Huntsville Hospital. She let out a little cry and both of us froze up. She lay on her stomach and my sister finally got up the courage to flip over! Today she is trotting behind us in her musical walker and has two grown in teeth! All of these blessings flowed from God.

It is wonderful to know that God is not only working things out for my good, but also recognizing his measure of grace and faithfulness in the lives of those around me. It became to real to me the different stages of our spiritual walk. Everyone is on a journey or a walk with the ultimate goal being a relationship with Jesus Christ. No one walk is greater or superior to the other. Paul says “ I say to everyone of you Do not think of yourselves more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment. “Romans 12:3. The power of God works in those around us through both his blessings and his discipline. I was reminded of that God shows no favoritism. If he disciplines me he also disciplines others and molds them into his likeness and image. For a long time I couldn’t see this. I felt I was the only one who experienced correction. Woe to me I often cried. This is not the case because the scripture clearly states “ God Disciplines those he loves “~Hebrews 12:6. The keyword in this being those meaning more than one.

In the same way he disciplines he blesses. He gives each of us a measure of his grace and faithfulness. The measures of God’s grace come in different packages. Each package fits unique to the design and purpose God has for your life. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Dove Resting

I was reminded this morning of an experience I had a year ago. It’s one of those experiences in which I did not fully grasp or assign meaning until further reflection. It seems these last two weeks my mind has been fixed on the Holy Spirit and his presence. Truthfully I do not completely understand the concept and it is very much a work in progress. However the recent reflection on the experience has given me more insight. On the morning before I was to give my final oral presentation to culminate my graduate studies, I found a dove peacefully resting on my car. During this particular season I had spent much of my time in the revelation of Jesus Christ but had missed a critical piece, the fulfillment of his promise to send the holy sprit to help us navigate the fiery trials of this life. Jesus said “ But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you.”~ John 14: 26. My initial reactions to the Dove were fear and frustration. I stood a couple of feet back and sounded my car alarm thinking it would just fly away. The Dove remained unafraid of the sounds and peacefully lay on my car. At this point, I am getting ready to complete this two year long journey called graduate school and I am too afraid to get in the vehicle. Fear attempted to paralyze me and make me late for an event I waited two years to attend. Finally courage from within swelled up and I decided to walk towards the car. I thought for sure the bird would fly away but it still remained peaceful and content. Fortunately it happened to be lying on the passenger side, so I was able to get in. When I got in the Dove remained and looked me dead in the eyes. My natural human emotions had not recognized the treasure of this moment. I began to honk and wonder if something was really wrong. I turned the car on and it still remained. I backed out of the parking space and it still remained. After driving a few feet in the parking garage it finally spread its wings and ascended to the air. When I drove away I still had the image in my mind. After I completed my presentation the spirit led me to do more research. It is important to note that I did not know it was a Dove until hours after this encounter. I remembered that the bird had white tail feathers. Sure enough I discovered that it was indeed a Dove, which is symbolic of the presence of the Holy Spirit. I realized that even through my ignorance the sprit was teaching me a lesson. It was at this moment that I became aware of the Sprit’s unique purpose to guide and instruct my steps. The Spirit was attempting to calm my fears and anxieties about my upcoming presentation. It was a symbol of peace, and had I been more vigilant could have provided comfort to my tattered nerves. The Dove should have been my example of calmness in the midst of sounding car alarms or in my case nervousness about the presentation. In the midst of all the chaos the Dove remained just as peaceful. How applicable this is right now. Nearly a year later and I face a whole new set of challenges and opportunities. I am thankful for the patience of the Spirit’s presence. I realize that I am an unwise sheep in constant need of a Shepard to guide and direct me besides still waters. One that overlooks my ignorance and is compassionate towards the limitations of my human mind. This Shepard is the spirit of the living Father and Christ dwelling within us guiding us through our seasons of sorrow, difficulty, joy, and excitement. Only through the work of the Holy Spirit are our eyes unblinded so that we are attune to those things and purposes God has ordained us to fulfill. It is only through his work do we realize our individual nothingness and God's complete authority. I am thankful that the Spirit never gives up even through complete and utter blunders. I am thankful that the Spirit bought me back to a moment of reflection, and did not let me flounce about my way. I am thankful the Spirit cares for stupid sheep to which in my own strength I qualify! Wishing everyone a Happy Monday and wonderful rest of the week!